Prologue: The Awakening

My Little Pony: A King Arises
Story Written by Aaron1248
My Little Pony: FiM © Lauren Faust/Hasbro
Godzilla © Toho Co.

Date: Feb. 22, 954 D.C.R (During Celestia’s Reign)
Location: The Isles of the Bikini Atoll, 90 miles southwest of Haywaii

Silence. It was known well during the calm before the storm. Ponies of different colors and breeds were making preparations for the project at hoof. Each one galloping around the ship to make sure the preparations are completed. One pony, however, wasn’t running around. In fact, her attention was focused on the island in the distance.

She was larger than most ponies, mostly in height. Her coat was pure white as snow itself. Both her mane and tail were somewhat rainbow colored and was flowing naturally even though there was no wind. Another feature was she had both wings and a long unicorn horn. She also wore royal attire with a golden crown on top of her head. On her rump was a cutie mark of a vibrant golden sun. This was Princess Celestia, the Alicorn Princess of the Sun and current ruler of the diarchy of Equestria.

The princess continued looking onward, thoughts rushing around in her head. Everything was going to plan and all they needed were the guests of honor to arrive. Her thoughts were interrupted as she looked to see a grey-coated pegasus land next to her saluting her with his hoof.

“Report,” she ordered.

“Your highness,” the pegasus said. “The creatures have been spotted heading this way. The one codenamed, ‘Shinomura’, is heading directly for the island. The second target is quickly following after the first.”

“What of the bomb,” she asked. “Is it ready for detonation?”

“Yes, you highness,” he replied. “It’s set up and ready to be used.”

“Excellent,” she said before turning her attention back to the island. “Give the signal to begin Operation: Lucky Dragon.”

“At once, your highness,” the pegasus saluted before taking to the air and flying off.

The princess’s thoughts ran around in her head as she watched the island. Was this the right course of action to take? Even she didn’t have all the answers and yet everypony looked up to her. Unfortunately, the adversaries her nation was facing was of colossal scale. To ensure the lives of her people, she had to stop all entities that threaten her kingdom. Unfortunately, the actions they were taking now seemed cruel. They were going to wipe away the lives of two creatures. She sighed before looking up to the sky, hopefully the Maker above can forgive her about she is about to do.

Suddenly sirens started wailing, the targets had arrived. A large shadow passed over and Celestia turned her attention to it. It was the first creature, Shinomura. It resembled a colossal scorpion but had two large black wings. The scales on the beast were blue and it also had six multiple glowing eyes. Then she turned her attention to the port side of the boat. Following behind the winged monster, were 3 rows of jagged rows of spikes cutting through the water like the fin of a shark. It passed by the sea craft, luckily not hitting it, heading towards the Atoll. A unicorn then trotted up to the princess and gives a salute.

“Your highness,” he said. “The island’s natives have been evacuated and the targets are already in position.” Celestia then nodded before looking towards the island where Shinomura was circling it above.

“Begin the countdown,” she ordered. ‘And may the Maker have mercy for what we’re about to do.’

Everypony at the moment got the preparations done and were being seated. They then put on darkened goggles as they watch the spectacle unfold. The princess herself then put on some goggles and watched the Atoll with focused sight.

“10…”

The other monster was closing in on the island, while Shinomura spotted it and gave out an unholy roar. The monster then rose from the waters of the ocean to reveal its full form. It was saurian in appearance, around 108.2 meters in height, with thick and highly muscular legs leading into a beefy torso. Its arms looked almost like those of a primate in relative size to the body, but slightly shorter. It had four claws on each, with a prominent collar bone at the base of the throat similar to that of a dinosaur. The shoulders were slightly forward, also similar to a dinosaur. On its back were three rows of spines, with the center row being the longest. The monster’s neck tapered up into a head which looked almost like that of a bear from the front. A fairly small snout leading into high cheek bones with prominent brow ridge. This was the second target codenamed, Gojira.

“9…”

The ponies watched as the two titans clashed with one another. Most were at awe of their sheer might, others in fear of the colossal beasts. On the island, the beasts continued to clash. Gojira tried to overpower Shinomura, but it kept out of the saurian’s grappling range with its flight. Unknown to them on the beach, a large object that appeared to be a bomb was located. It was large in size and was colored green, also a “no” symbol over a symbol of a monster was seen painted on its side.

“8… 7…”

As the ponies watched, Shinomura shrieked as it lashed out its stinger at the saurian. It dug into his thigh which made the reptile roar in pain. Gojira snarled at the flying scorpion as the end of its tail starts to give off a blue glow. It started traveling up his spines until all of them were glowing while giving out a loud hum similar to tesla coils. The saurian took in a large breath before expelling a torrent of blue fire at the flying monster. It was hit by the torrent and shrieked in pain.

“6… 5…”

Gojira then was charged in the gut by Shinomura and forced onto his back. The saurian snarled before sinking his teeth into the wing of the scorpion. This resulted in a pained shriek and was shoved off. He then quickly got up and proceeded to stomp down on the flying arachnid. It shrieked in pain as the saurian continued to stomp its ribcage. It then took matters into its own and then bit down on Gojira’s bulky leg.

“4… 3…”

Gojira shrieked as Shinomura sunk its jaws into his leg. The saurian then raised a claw up and took a swipe at the winged arachnid’s face. The claws slashed through which torn most of its face off. The creature shrieked in pain before it fully reconstructed its face back in place. Then both giants were in a grapple struggle with one another. Gojira snarled while Shinomura roared and tried to snap at the saurian’s face.

“2… 1…”

The island was then covered in an intense light. Then the sound of a large boom was heard as the glow dissipated to reveal a large mushroom cloud where the Atoll once was. The shockwave from the blast was then felt by all the ponies on the boat. It didn’t last long as everypony looked towards the island in both awe and fear. Celestia, in question, had witnessed a power that should never be used again. The aching pain of fear filled her heart as she continued to look at the mushroom cloud. She then shook her thoughts and looked towards the pegasi squadron.

“Pegasi unit,” she ordered. “Fly out to the island and scout for any lingering life. I want to know if it worked.” The pegasi nodded before taking off into the air in the direction of the soot covered island.

The team of Pegasi made landfall on the Atoll. A few of them were coughing from the magic enhanced smoke that covered the island. They then started walking inland until one of the pegasi gave a horrified gasp. There right before them was the charred carcass of Shinomura. Its scales that once were blue are now charcoal black, its eyes dark and dead. One of the pegasi walked up close to the carcass and tapped it with his hoof, but pulled back quickly from the extreme heat.

“Looks like we have a confirmed termination,” the squad leader said. Another pegasi looked around confused.

“Um sir,” he said getting the captain’s attention.

“What is it, private?” he replied.

“If this one is dead, then where is the other one?”

The answer was halted as a shadow loomed over the squad and a growl was heard from the looming shadow. The squad’s eyes widened as the shadow started coming towards them. They took matters into their own hooves and took to the air heading back to the ship.

“We have contact!” he shouted into his headpiece. “The second target isn’t dead. I repeat, the second target isn’t dead.”

Back on the ship, Celestia’s eyes widened at the sight before her. How could any creature alive survive a blast of that magnitude? The smoke cleared to reveal Gojira in all of his glory. Gojira continued to stomp towards the beach ignoring the pegasi flying nearby. He then looked towards to Celestia with eyes locked on. She peered into the ancient creature’s eyes seeing a being that had lived longer than her and seen more than her. He broke the eye contact before letting loose a mighty earth-shaking roar.

The saurian then proceeded to the sea. With a splash, he then swam past the ship full of shocked ponies disappearing beneath the waves. Celestia gave a sigh of relief at the moment. At least the creature left in a non-hostile manner. She then called over to one of her unicorn captains.

“Captain!” she called out. He then trotted over and saluted.

“Yes, you highness?” he asked.

“I want a team of specialists on this. Anything to do with colossal organisms is handled by this team. Is this understood?”

“Yes, you highness. Um, what should the team be called?” The princess looked to the blue sky before answering the captain.

“Call them…Monarch.”

Chapter 1: The Threat

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Date: June 17, 989 D.C.R
Location: Active Mining Site, the Fillyppines

Over the dense jungles of the Fillyppines, a pegasi-drawn carriage carrying two unicorns was seen. One unicorn was a stallion roughly in his mid-forties with a peach-colored coat, short dark brown mane and an average sized tail of the same color. He also had slanted dark brown eyes revealing that he was Neighponese and had a five-o-clock shadow. He wore brown glasses and a white collar around his neck. On his rump, was a cutie mark of the fossil skull of a T-Rex, representing his studies to paleontology. This was Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, the head of the scientific team known as Monarch.

The unicorn mare next to him was shorter in stature to him. Her coat was light chocolate brown with a short brown mane and brown eyes. She wore a silver heart necklace around her neck and on her rump was a grey coelacanth which represented her studies of cryptozoology. This was Dr. Crypto Graphic, Dr. Serizawa’s assistant and second-in-command of Monarch.

Flying in from an undisclosed location, the two doctors began their journey to a mining facility in the Fillyppines where something amazing had been unearthed. They were being flown out to investigate and document the discovery, and as they looked out to the side of the carriage they saw the beautiful scenery unfold.

The islands were full of greenery which was a welcome change from the usual atmosphere from the big city they had come from. However, the green landscape gave way to a dry and barren wasteland that was the mining operation. They’d cleared away hundreds of acres of forest to mine, and there were thousands of workers ranging from earth ponies to a couple of Diamond Dogs all scrambling about like ants in a colony. Each one carrying bags, tools or water to another location as the carriage flew overhead to its destination.

As they descended, the two doctors grabbed their belongings. Serizawa grabbed a straw hat and sunglasses to protect him from the sun. Dr. Graphic chose to forego the hat and enjoyed the Fillyppine sunshine. But out in this environment, the dreary surroundings made it seem less enjoyable as she stepped out of the carriage with Dr. Serizawa and began to trot over to meet their host.

The pony in question was a male earth pony with a cherry red coat and a brown mane and tail. His eyes were brown and on his rump was a cutie mark showing cherries in front of a large slab of stone which had white dots littered around it. The stallion then walked up to the doctors offering up a hoof to each of them.

“Dr. Serizawa?” the stallion said before shaking the doctor’s hoof. “Cherry Salt. I’m warning you, it’s a mess. It’s just a total mess. Monarch sent me in this morning. Took a look around, but I told them we needed you.”

The group then walked through the dig site. Various large machines were in use and ponies of different kinds were hard at work. Both he and Dr. Graphic knew the mining company had important work, but with the recent events that took place everypony were now trying to catch up on lost time. Then the group of ponies arrived to their destination.

“They picked up a magic pocket out here last month.” Cherry Salt started informing them. “They got excited, thinking they either had a magic deposit or uncovering a new magical item. They started stacking up the heavy machinery and then… Well, the valley floor collapsed into a cavern below.”

The valley itself came into view before the group. It was a large chasm, machinery was seen inside it on the edges damaged. The sight of it brought out one word for this event. Tragic. This was utterly tragic to what happened here.

“Just dropped away,” Cherry Salt continued. “Just gone. Best guess right now is about 40 of our miners went down with it.”

A few minutes later, Cherry Salt led the two doctors down to near the edge of the chasm towards the lifts that would take them down below. They then put on protective biohazard suits to protect them in case of high toxic levels of wild magic. The readings may have picked up mild amounts which wasn’t fatal, but better safe than sorry. After suiting up, they then took the lifts to the bottom of the shaft.

Together the group continued their exploration down into the darkness, the unicorns of the group used their horns to shine light as they ventured beyond a certain depth. They continued on for almost an hour before coming to what appeared to be the large cavern.

“This way,” Cherry Salt said as he led them to their destination. The cavern itself was huge. Formations were everywhere in the cave ranging from stalactites to stalagmites. One stalagmite was huge and shaped differently than the others. “When they first discovered this pocket, the magic levels were only half as strong. It’s almost as if contact with the outside air started catalyzing something.”

On further inspection, it turns out that it wasn’t a stalagmite but a colossal-sized fossil rib bone. Dr. Serizawa shined his horn further down seeing more to what appeared to be ribs. He then looked in between and down a bit and saw what appeared to be a line of vertebrae going down further into the cave.

“Some kind of fossils, right?” Cherry Salt asked the doctor as he examined the rock-turned bones. “I’ve been digging holes for 30 years, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

With the glow of a few unicorn horns, magic powered lights activated around the cave. As each one came on, both doctors’ eyes widened to what they saw. There before them, wasn’t just a group ribs or vertebrae but an entire fossilized skeleton. Dr. Graphic looked to the side and to her astonishment saw a colossal skull of what appeared to be an ancient carnivore of an unknown genus. One thought came to mind when she saw this. It could be the very thing they were looking for since the first appearance.

“Sweet Celestia,” she said while in awe before turning to her superior. “Is it possible? Is it him?” The answer she got from the older stallion was a shake of his head.

“No,” he said. “This is much older.”

“Hey, guys,” a voice called out. The doctors turned to see Cherry Salt wave at them and pointed into a direction further in the cave. “You gotta see this.”

The doctors followed after the earth pony for a few minutes before coming up to their destination. There before them was a sight like no other. Attached to the skeleton were two organic-looking pods, one intact and the other busted open. Both were colored near greyish black and appeared to be made of a form of hard chitin. This was something nopony has ever seen before in their entire lives.

Dr. Graphic’s horn glowed grey as she performed a Magic Level Detection spell. This spell told her the exact level of magic these pods created through a series of clicks. Her horn was near the unopened pod and the sound of increased clicks was heard. Whatever was in the pod at the moment had a high level amount of magic stored within. She then turned to Dr. Serizawa, ending the spell.

“What is it?” she asked as she turned back to the pod. “Some kind of egg? A dormant spore? The bones are fossilized but this formation seems to be perfectly preserved.”

“This one looks broken,” Cherry Salt pointed out to the other pod. “It’s like something came out of it.”

Suddenly the sound of cawing was heard in the cave. The group followed the sound till they came to see sunlight fall on them. There above them was a large gaping hole in the earth leading all the way to the surface. Judging on the marks in the rocks, something burrowed its way out of the cave to the surface.

Outside where the hole made an opening, seagulls flew around the area of destruction. Around the hole, earth was kicked up and trees were toppled. From it a path of destruction followed. A single line leading towards to the ocean itself, its general direction is unknown.

Date: June 23, 989 D.C.R
Location: Temple of the Rising Sun, Hoofishima, Neighpon

Neighpon, a land that was once isolated to the outside world. Now economic and touristic business happens here every day. In the past it is known to have many names, the Land of the Rising Sun, Homeland of Kirins and Country of Lush Ears. Even in name Neighpon was a grand land.

In the city of Hoofishima, culture and ancient wisdom is taught here. The main place to learn such wisdom is from the Temple of the Rising Sun. The temple was located outside of the city where it was built into the hillsides. Its architecture was similar to high mountain monasteries but a bit smaller. In the front garden of the temple, a large statue of what appeared to be a cross between a unicorn and a dragon could be seen. This was a Kirin, known in Neighpon as the royalty that governs this sacred land.

Around the temple, several ponies ranging from earth ponies to unicorns wearing monk or miko garbs were tending to the temple. Some were caring for the plants, others keeping the temple clean. A group of unicorn monks and apprentices were seen using their magic for archery training, honing their skills to be great bow masters.

As the other ponies were attending to their chores, a small unicorn filly was walking through the halls of the temple. Her coat was white and a long black mane tied in a long ponytail. She wore a light orange kimono with black leaf designs on it. It was tied with a red obi to keep it from falling off. She also had an iron tsuba covering her right eye as an eye patch.

This was Kaede, younger sister and miko apprentice to the shrine’s head miko Kikyō. The reason for her eye patch happened a few years ago. The temple was under attack by a group of Bakeneko. Kaede saw one sneaking up on her older sister and attempted to take it down with her bow. Unfortunately her aim was off and the Bakeneko slashed out her right eye. Her sister took it out but Kaede paid the price that day. She didn’t let that event get her down. She was taught that every little thing can be a lesson to be learned and overcome. An eye pain but a lesson none the less.

She was walking down the corridor for a few minutes till she reached her destination. There were two large doors in front of her that was an entrance to an important chamber. A carving of Neighsianic Dragons surrounding a beautiful Kirin mare surrounded by a magical glow was seen. She then opened the door and entered the chamber. It was large enough to fit a full grown dragon in it and was decorated as if for the chambers of royals. At the end of the chamber was a large statue of the same Kirin mare that was on the door. This was the statue of the late empress, Amateratsu. She was known as the Royal Sun Goddess of Neighpon. She used her magic to raise the sun over Neighpon. She was like Celestia of Equestria but wasn’t immortal.

Located at the statues feet, was a floating necklace made of jade magatama beads. This was the Magatama Necklace of the Sun, the shrine’s most important artifact. It was once owned by Amateratsu herself. Before she passed away, she focused the last of her magical essence into the necklace. In a way, whoever uses the necklace could gain the power of the empress herself.

In front of the magical beads in a meditative state was a unicorn mare with an alabaster-white coat and a long, rich black mane tied in a loose ponytail with a ribbon. She also had dark brown eyes similar to that of a doll. She wore a traditional miko white jacket and red dress. If her cutie mark was shown it would show an Ib’xianese Bellflower with a glowing purple arrow going through it. This was Kikyō, the head of the Temple of the Rising Sun and Kaede’s older sister. At the moment, she was in her meditation session while her horn glowed purple to enhance her meditative state.

Kaede then proceeded to her sister’s location. She paused a bit hoping not to disturb her sister of her meditation, but then proceeded to tap her shoulder with her hoof to gain her sister’s attention.

“Onē-chan,” she said. Kikyō’s eyes opened and the magic aura around her horn dissipated.

“Yes, Kaede-chan?” she asked.

“I was wondering if you still had time to train me today? My miko magic is getting better but I want your opinion on it.”

Kikyō smiled at her younger sister. Ever since she was a little filly Kaede wanted to be like her sister. The thought of it made smile every day they trained together. Ever since the incident years ago, she wanted to help her sister surpass her in every way.
“Alright,” she said to her little sister. “Just let me finish my meditation session and we’ll head off to the training garden, okay?”
“Okay, onē-chan!” she exclaimed before turning back to the chamber’s entrance. Kikyō smiled before closing back her eyes and the pink aura of her magic enveloped her horn again and entered her meditative state again.

Suddenly Kikyō’s spiritual mind was dragged away from her state of meditation into a realm of pure darkness. She looked around frantically until an image of the temple came into view. Her eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the temple on fire. Every monk and miko had weapons at the ready. The sound of combat was heard before a large object overshadowed Kikyō. She turned and in her horror saw a creature around the size of dragon. It appeared insect-like in appearance but with a hints of a bird. Its eyes were crimson like blood as they glowed in the shadow. It then let out a horrible clicked bellow before Kikyō awoke from the vision.

She was drenched in sweat from the ordeal. The destruction of the temple, the evil aura that creature gave out. It was terrifying. Her thoughts were interrupted as the temple started to shake. It appeared to be an earthquake, but it was somehow strange. There were no scheduled earthquake today. Suddenly a loud boom was heard and temple shook more. She became alert, grabbing her bow and arrows and ran out of the chamber.

She exited out and her eyes widened as her worst fears became a reality. The temple was under siege. She then galloped out into the courtyard in search for her younger sibling. She then saw Kaede looking around frantically in fear. Kikyō ran to her sister and enveloped her in a warm hug.

“Onē-chan,” she said. “What’s happening?”

“Listen to me, Kaede,” she informed her. “I need you and the other apprentices to take the underground tunnels and get as far away from the temple as possible. If you find any samurai on the way, tell them to send a message to the emperor immediately. Do you understand?”

“I-I understand,” Kaede stammered. “B-But onē-chan what about you?” Kikyō then look near the entrance of the temple with determined eyes.

“I’m going to put an end to this.”

She then galloped to where the destruction was happening. She saw several monks and miko standing firm in front of what smashed through the wall. Like in her vision, the creature was around the size of a full-grown dragon. The color of its body was black and red. It had a triangular-shaped head and jaws and had multiple limbs. It had six forelimbs, two of them were its main limbs, two were a smaller pair on its chest, and two of them were similar to wings not yet fully-grown. It had two hind legs unlike most creatures she seen. Its eyes were red and narrowed. The ponies at its feet were shocked at the sight of such a beast.

It then looked down upon the ponies before it. It gave out a series a clicks and growls as the ponies held up bows, spears or staffs at the unknown monster. In the creature’s point-of-view, each pony wasn’t distinguished by looks but instead different colored auras. The auras represent the magic within everypony. To the creature’s eyes the auras meant one thing; food.

The monster roared at the ponies before stomping towards the group. The unicorns with bows let their arrows fly at the creature. To their surprise, the arrows bounced off the creatures hide like as if it was some form of natural armor. The earth ponies with spears threw their weapons only to get the same result. The unicorns with staffs tried to focus their magic from their horns to their weapons but they were interrupted when the monster took a snap at them. One wasn’t as fortunate as the creature snapped on their tail and hauled them up, tossing them into the air and devouring the unicorn in one gulp.

Kikyō then took matters in her own hooves and used her magic to aim at the evil beast. She then used her miko magic to enhance the power of her arrows. She let the arrow fly and it hit the creature right in its face in a minor explosion. The creature shrieked a bit before turning its attention to the white unicorn. Kikyō then kept vaulting it with arrows but it didn’t slow down the monster. It made a snap for her but she dodged the bite and galloped for the temple. The creature roared before chasing after the miko.

Kikyō galloped as fast as her hooves could give. Behind her, the monster kept snapping at her. She then concentrated her magic trying to cast a teleportation spell. She thought of the magatama chamber and her magic started to flare. Before the monster snapped down, she disappeared in a pinkish flash. She opened her eyes to see that the spell was a success. She then saw that the chamber was a bit crowded. A few of monks and miko were stationed at the door casting a fortify spell while others were praying to their gods and goddesses. Kikyō then walked up to one of the monks.

“Kikyō-sama,” the monk exclaimed trotting up to her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she assured before turning to the ponies trying to finish the spell. “What’s the situation at the moment?”

“The creature smashed through the east temple walls and our forces are trying to subdue it. Unfortunately, our arrows seem to have no effect on the creature.”

“What about magic?” she then asked.

“Several of our unicorns tried, but whenever they did the creature seemed interested in them immediately.” Kikyō hummed a bit before giving a distant look.

“That would explain why it reacted to my miko magic.” Then the sound of a boom echoed in the chamber. A few of the ponies had looks of fear in their eyes.

“Kikyō-sama, it’s smashing its way through the temple.” One of the monks said with a bit of fear in its voice. “What does it want?”

Kikyō then went deep into thought. She had to figure out why the monster was here. It first attacks a temple full of ponies. Devours a few to probably satisfy its appetite but that didn’t seem to be enough. It reacts more to those who used magic on it. It went after anypony that used magic. Then the answer shone in her head like a glowing unicorn horn.

“Magic,” she muttered.

“What?” One of the monks said in question.

“Magic,” she said again. “It always shifted its attention to magic. Whenever anypony performed a spell on it, the creature immediately went after them. So what does that tell you?”

“Um…” the monk only paused a bit before Kikyō sighed.

“The answer,” she continued. “Is that it feeds on magic. So here’s another question you can answer. What do we have here that could satisfy its hunger?” The monk thought a bit before his eyes widened in realization.

“The Magatama Necklace of the Sun!” he exclaimed.

Suddenly a loud boom was heard and this time it was coming from the chamber’s entrance. The ponies stationed there held up their weapons as the fortify spell started cracking and the door was starting to splinter. Kikyō thought for a minute on the situation right now before coming up with a solution. She then turned to the monks and miko with determined eyes.

“Listen, everypony!” she called out. “Take the secret exit out of here. I’ll hold off the creature and try to seal it.”

“B-But what about you?” one of the miko ponies said.

“I’ll be fine,” she said while facing the door. “All of you get out of here, now!”

They all looked at each other before nodding and headed to the right side of the chamber. One of them pulled a torch down and a click was heard. A stone slab slid open to reveal the secret exit out of the temple. All of them entered until one miko pony was left. She looked at Kikyō with sadness in her eyes before giving a final word.

“Kikyō-sama,” she said. “…stay safe.” With that the miko entered the secret exit as it closed behind her.

Kikyō smiled before the look of seriousness was shown on her face as she faced the chamber doors. Little by little, the fortification and the door cracked and splintered from each blow. Finally both gave away as the monster busted through with a roar. It clicked as white drool dripped from its mandible jaws as it stared down at Kikyō. Its sight then focused onto the Magatama Necklace of the Sun, where in its point of view looked like a small glowing yellow circle on the pedestal.

“Hear me, monster!” Kikyō shouted to the creature. “You come into my home and harm the ones I cherish and all for what, to satisfy your hunger? Well not anymore! This shrine shall be your grave.”

Suddenly a glowing circle under the mare appeared and empowered her. The magatama necklace started shining as bright as the sun as Kikyō’s eyes shined from the sudden rise in magic. The color of her magic aura on her horn changed from pink to golden orange as she aimed her arrow at the beast.

“The late empress’s will aides me today,” she proclaimed with a furrowed brow. “For with this arrow, I shall aim at thy heart and seal you for all eternity!” With that she let her magic let the arrow fly. The combined power of her miko magic and the magic of the necklace enveloped the arrow and soared toward the multi-limbed beast.

The monster gave a clicked roar as one of its forelimbs started blinking with orange-colored bioluminescence. It then raised it up as the blinking started getting faster and faster. Before the arrow reached the creature, the monster slammed its forelimb down into the stone floor. From it a massive pulse shot out from the creature, stopping the arrow in place and instantly dispelling the magic around it and making it fall to the floor. The pulse didn’t stop there as it then hit Kikyō and the necklace head on, causing Kikyō to cry out in pain as her horn sparked uncontrollably before the magic faded completely. The necklace stopped its intense glow and fell down upon the pedestal.

Kikyō fell to the floor in a heap. Her eyes dropped as she was forced to extreme exhaustion. It was like her magic was instantly sealed away by an outside force. She looked up with a pained look as the monster stood over the unicorn, with its maw drooling.

“E-Everypony,” she weakly said. “F-Forgive me for I have failed.”

With that Kikyō closed her eyes in defeat. She then thought of her younger sister, Kaede. She hoped that she would continue her training after her passing. She only wished that she would be there to watch her grow into the miko she wanted to be. With that final thought, the monster loomed over her with hunger in its eyes. It then opened its maw before going in for the killing strike.

Miles away in the forest near Hoofishima, young colts and fillies were seen exiting a cave. Among them was Kaede, who had a look of worry on her face. She worried about her sister and the temple. She wondered what has happened and hopefully her sister was alright. Whatever attacked the temple, she knew her sister would defeat it.

Suddenly a loud distant boom was heard. Everypony looked and in the distance, the Temple of the Rising Sun was seen crumbling down. A cloud of dust and debris loomed over the horizon as chatter among the group of young ponies started. Kaede zoned out the chatter as she kept her sight on the crumbled temple. Many thoughts rushed through her head at the moment. One of them was very clear, her sister wasn’t going to come back. Tears started to fall down her face as she kept looking in the general direction of the once grand temple.

“Onē-chan…”

Chapter 2: The Trip

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Date: May 16, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Ponyville, Equestria

It was beautiful day in the town of Ponyville. Many ponies at the moment were either enjoying their day or doing their daily business. One pony, however, was different than most of the local populace. He was garbed in royal guard armor, which was colored amethyst purple and had the crest for the Element of Magic on his chest plate. His coat was brilliant gamboge and the hair of his mane and tail was two tones of moderate sapphire blue. His eyes were a vivid cornflower blue. Wings were also seen on his body signifying he was a pegasus. This was Flash Sentry, captain of the Royal Guard of the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville.

Right now, Flash Sentry was on his way to the Castle of Friendship. He was transferred there from the Crystal Empire thanks to Princess Cadence. He had to find a way to repay Cadence back for what she did, considering he got to guard probably the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. He gave a sigh in happiness before arriving to his destination.

The Castle of Friendship, previously the Golden Oaks Library, is a crystalline structure in the shape of a large castle being held up by a tree made of crystal. This very castle was a reminder to everypony of the victory over Tirek around a year ago. Flash came up to the entrance of the castle where two guards were stationed at. Both guards stood at attention as he walked up to the two stallions. He nodded at them before entering the castle.

He climbed the steps into the crystalline hallways and entered one which led to the royal library. He smiled at the site before them as he entered the room of books. There in the room was a beautiful alicorn mare. The color of her coat was a pale, light grayish mulberry and her mane was a mixture of sapphire blue, violet and streaks of dark phthalo blue, moderate purple and brilliant rose. Her eyes were moderate violet which was a lovely color. The cutie mark on her flank was a large purple star surrounded by smaller sparkling stars. This was Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and of Ponyville.

She wasn’t alone at the moment. Next to her, holding a parchment and quill, was a small baby dragon. His scales were light mulberry while his underbelly was light spring budish grey. His spikes were moderate harlequin and his frills were light lime green. His eyes were moderate pistachio and slitted like a lizard. This was Spike, Twilight’s number one assistant and adoptive little brother. He was hatched from Twilight’s magic during her initiation for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. They’ve been at each other’s side ever since that day.

“Good morning, princess” Flash Sentry greeted with a smile. Twilight turned around and gave a loving smile to the pegasus.

“Good morning, Captain” she greeted back as she walked up to him and gave him a loving peck on the lips.

“So you ready for the trip?” the blue-maned stallion asked.

“Almost,” she answered. “Me and Spike are just finishing up the checklist for it.” Flash chuckled at the Princess of Friendship warmly.

“You and your checklists.” He said with a smile. “Some things never change.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Captain Sentry” she remarked with a smirk. “But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t do my checklists. Besides, that’s probably one of the best qualities you love about me.”

“Well besides you being smart, beautiful and a wiz at magic I wouldn’t think of it any other way.”

“Oh, you” she replied as she and Flash leaned in once more to kiss each other. Their kiss however was shortened as the sound of a “ahem” got their attention. They turned to see Spike, still holding the parchment and quill, tapping his clawed foot at them with a raised brow.

“Sorry to cut the flirt fest short,” he said before holding up the parchment. “But we still have a checklist to finish.” Twilight gave a little eye roll before turning to Spike.

“Alright, Spike” she said. “Where were we last?”

“Let’s see,” the dragon said while looking on the parchment. “We were just getting to the beachwear.”

“Ah, yes” Twilight said before giving a smile. “Beachwear?”

“Check!”

“Books on the history, culture, geography, hotspots and wildlife of Haywaii?”

“Check!”

“Extra parchments?”

“Check!”

“Extra quills?

“Check!”

“Camera?”

“Check!”

“Extra camera film?”

“Check!”

“Scrapbook?”

“Check!”

“And last, but not least, completion of the checklist?”

“Check!”

“Great!” she said with a beaming smile. “Now that everything is underway all we need to do now is to go over Nyx’s checklist.” Spike rolled his eyes and gave out a sigh.

“Like mother like daughter,” he muttered.

“Nyx,” Twilight called up the staircase. “Are you done with your packing yet?”

“One sec!” a younger voice shouted from upstairs.

Descending down from the steps was a young alicorn filly with a packed saddlebag. Her coat was midnight black and her mane was amethyst. She had turquoise eyes but unlike most ponies she had the slitted eyes of cat. On her flank was a cutie mark of a dark blue shield. This was Nyx Sparkle, adopted daughter of Twilight Sparkle and the semi-reincarnated Nightmare Moon. A few years ago, Twilight was kidnapped by a cult known as “The Cult of Nightmare Moon” tried to resurrect their queen using pieces of Nightmare Moon’s armor and Twilight’s blood. However, the ritual was halted thanks to Celestia. Unfortunately it wasn’t done yet.

The result of the half completed ritual wasn’t Nightmare Moon but a young alicorn filly. It was later that Twilight found her in the Everfree Forest and raised her as her own. Over that time Nyx gained friends and was quite the filly wanting to learn about everything she could, like her mother. There were a few bumps in the road but nothing that Nyx couldn’t overcome.

“So,” her mother said. “Got that checklist of yours ready?”

“Right here, mom!” she said using her magic to lift up the parchment to her mother. She smiled as she then took the parchment with her own magic as well as held up a quill.

“Now then,” she said as they started. “Clothes?”

“Check!” said Nyx and she checked her saddlebags.

“Beachwear?”

“Check!”

“Goggles?”

“Check!”

“Water wings?”

“Check!”

“Notebook?”

“Check!”

“Extra quills?

“Check!”

“Mini camera?”

“Check!”

“Smarty Pants?”

“Check!”

“Last, but not least, completion of checklist?”

“Check!”

“Now that we got that out of the way,” Twilight said as she started to wrap up the parchment. “I believe we now can start heading for the train station.”

“Yay!” Nyx cheered as she fluttered up a little bit into the before coming down and started hopping around her mother. “We’re going to Haywaii. We’re going to Haywaii. We’re going to Haywaii.” Both Twilight and Flash laughed at the filly’s eagerness.

“Easy there, little lady” Flash said with a smile calming down the eager alicorn. “Wait till we get to the beach to do that. It’s more fun that way.” Nyx nodded as she calmed down, picked up her saddlebags and stood next to Twilight.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed catching both ponies attention. “I almost forgot. Spike, I need to send a message to Princess Celestia informing her of our departure.”

“Already ahead of you, Twilight.” He replied holding up another parchment and quill, ready to write. She smiled before clearing her throat and began the words for the letter.

“Dear Princess Celestia, as you know me and the others are now on our way to our trip to the tropical island of Haywaii. It saddens me, though, that you, Luna, Princess Cadence or my brother Shining Armor couldn’t attend as well. Fear not for I’ll be writing to you during our trip as well as sending copies of photos of it as well. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them as well as the others. Your faithful student and fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle. Did you get that Spike?”

“Twilight…Sparkle,” he said finishing the writing. “There all finished and ready to send!” Twilight gave a smile to the young dragon.

“Well send away, my number one assistant!” With that Spike took a large intake of breath before spewing a blaze of green fire that turned the letter into ash and sent it magically heading for Canterlot.

“Now that’s taken care of,” Flash said before holding out an arm to Twilight. “Shall we be off, me lady?” Twilight giggled at the captain’s gentlecolt mannerisms before looping her arm around his.

“We shall,” she replied as the couple proceeded out the library. Both Nyx and Spike looked onward as the couple left the room. Nyx smiled happily as she turned to her uncle.

“I totally hear wedding bells in the near future,” she said as Spike gave a smirk.

“Probably sooner than you think,” he replied with a mutter. Nyx then raised a brow to the dragon.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing” he dismissed as he carried the luggage out of the room.

“I’m serious! Uncle Spike? Uncle Spike!” With that the filly chased after the dragon trying to get answers from her reptilian uncle.

Near the town of Ponyville, an apple orchard and farm was located. This was Sweet Apple Acres, home to the Apple family for over 100 years since the founding of Ponyville. Right now, the apples that grew on the orchard were not yet ripe but were getting there. Considering the summer harvest was a week away from now. At the moment, the Apples were busy with one thing; seeing off their kin.

At the farm house, four earth ponies were seen. One was taller the three others. He was an earth pony stallion with a brilliant amaranth coat and a brilliant orange mane. His eyes were moderate sap green and had light yellowish grey hooves. On his cheeks were three freckles. Around his neck was a large horse collar, which a bit big for other ponies to handle. On his flank was a cutie mark of a green apple cut in half. This was Big McIntosh or Big Mac for short was the elder brother of the Apple siblings.

Next to Big Mac was an older mare around her hundreds. Her mane and tail was light grey and tied in a bun. Her coat was light lime green and around her neck was an orange scarf with red apple designs on it. On her flank was a cutie mark of an apple pie within a pie pan. This was Granny Smith, the grandmother of the Apple siblings and oldest living resident in Ponyville.

Facing the two were a mare and a filly. The mare was an earth pony with a long pale, light grayish olive mane and tail tied in a short ponytail. Her coat was light brilliant gamboge and her eyes were moderate sap green. On her cheeks were pale freckles and on her head was a cowgirl hat. On her flank were three red apples in a triangular position. This was Applejack, the second oldest of the siblings and the Bearer of the Element of Honesty.

Next to her was an earth pony filly whose coat was pale, light grayish olive. Her mane and tail was brilliant amaranth and her eyes were brilliant gamboge. On the back of her head was a large bow which was light brilliant crimson. This was Apple Bloom, the youngest of the siblings.

“Well y’all,” Applejack said. “We’ve got everything packed an’ ready. Ya think y’all can handle things while me an’ Apple Bloom are on the trip?”

“Ah shucks, darlin’” Granny Smith said. “We’ll have everything under control. You two just go enjoy that fancy antsy trip of yers.” Applejack smiled before turning to Big Mac.

“Now, Big Mac” she said to her older brother. “You be sure to take care of Winona while we’re gone, okay?”

“Eeyup,” the stallion said with a nod. Applejack smiled before turning to her little sister.

“Come on, Apple Bloom” she said. “Let’s get to the train station before the others get there.”

“Okay,” the young filly said before turning to her other family members. “See y’all in a week, Granny and Big Mac!” With that the two country ponies headed out of Sweet Apple Acres to the train station.

Out on the edge of Ponyville, was a small cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Inside was the resident of the cottage. She was a pegasus with a pale, light grayish gold coat. A long pale, light grayish rose mane and tale and moderate cyan eyes. On her flank was a cutie mark of three butterflies with pink wings in a triangular formation. This was Fluttershy, the local animal caretaker of Ponyville and the Bearer of the Element of Kindness. She, however, wasn’t alone.

With her was a creature both extraordinary and strange. It had the head of a pony with a deer antler on the right, a blue goat horn on the left, a long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. It had the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, it had a bat’s right wing, a pegasus’ left wing, a horse’s mane, and a dragon-like snake’s tail with a white tail tuft. The shape of the body resembled that of a snake’s. This was Discord, a draconequus who was known as the Lord of Chaos and represents the Element of Disharmony. Right now, he was reformed and it was all thanks to Fluttershy.

At the moment, Fluttershy was still packing her things into her luggage. She couldn’t wait to go on the trip. To see the exotic wildlife of Haywaii is a once in a lifetime experience. At first she was worried about leaving her animals all alone, but luckily Discord offered to watch over them while Fluttershy was away. She was thankful she had a dear friend like him to help her whenever she needed it.

“I want to thank you for looking over the animals, Discord” she thanked the draconequus. “I just get so worried about them I just don’t know what to do.” He smiled as he set up from the couch.

“Think nothing of it, my dear Fluttershy” he said. “After all what kind of friend would I be if I left you hanging by your hooves?” She giggled until she heard the door being knocked on. She then walked to it and opened it.

Standing at the door were two pegasi, a mare and a filly. The mare had a very light cerulean coat while her mane and tail was that of a rainbow. She had moderate cerise eyes and on her flank was a cutie mark of a cloud spewing out rainbow colored lightning. This was Rainbow Dash, one of Ponyville’s weather patrol specialists, the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty and member of the Wonderbolt Reserves.

The young filly next to her had a light brilliant gamboge coat and a moderate cerise mane. Unlike Rainbow, the filly’s wings have yet to fully grow so flying was out of the question. She had, however, a scooter that she propelled around town like a professional. This was Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash’s adopted little sister.

“You ready to go, Flutters?” Rainbow asked. “Cause me and the squirt are already packed and ready to go.”

“Just a sec,” she said before flying up to Discord. “Now then, Angel and the others get fed daily. If any of them get fussy there’s a list of things on the fridge that you can use. Oh and make sure they get their daily grooming.”

“Now, now, “he said to the pegasus. “You don’t have anything to worry about. They’ll be right as rain when you get back, or in my case chocolate rain.” Fluttershy giggled at his humor.

“Again thank you for doing this for me,” she said with a smile.

“Think nothing of it, Flutter-“he was then cut off when the pegasus leaned in and kissed him right on his cheek. Discord tensed a bit before slowly putting a claw on the area where the kiss was. Fluttershy smiled a bit with a blush before setting down on the ground, grabbing her luggage and turning to the Lord of Chaos.

“I’ll see you again in a week,” she said before she ventured out of her cottage with Rainbow and Scootaloo.

Discord stood there with his claw still on his cheek. He couldn’t help but give a happy sigh. Why did Fluttershy have to be so kind to a creature like him? Well he didn’t care as long as she was happy.

“That little pony never ceases to fascinate me,” he said to himself with a dopey smile. He then hears foot tapping and looked down to see Angel Bunny tapping his rabbit foot while looking at the draconequus with a raised brow. “What?”

Outside the cottage, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were walking down the path leading back into town. All three carrying their luggage with eager faces, they couldn’t wait to get to the island. Rainbow Dash looked at her friend’s home with a worried look then looks to Fluttershy.

“Um, Fluttershy?” she asked.

“Yes, Rainbow?” the pegasus replied.

“Are you sure it was smart to leave Discord to look after your house and the animals?” the rainbow-maned pegasus asked. “I mean, you know how bad he can get.”

“You mean like that one time he made the fountain in Ponyville square spew soda instead of water?” Scootaloo added in. “That was actually pretty cool.”

“The point is,” Rainbow Dash continued. “He can turn anything into a weird situation.”

“I know things can a bit… out of hoof with him,” Fluttershy said. “But he still has a good heart and is willing to do anything for me.” Her voice trailed off a bit as she then was deep in thought with a warm look on her face.

Suddenly, a loud screech of a record player shook Fluttershy out of her thoughts as she and the other pegasi turned to the cottage. Multi-colored lights were seen coming out of the windows and the song “Gonna Make You Sweat” was heard coming from inside. The silhouettes of Discord and several animals were seen dancing in the window. Fluttershy blushed a bit in embarrassment before looking at the two pegasi.

“Then again,” she timidly said. “He does have a few quirks.”

Rainbow and Scootaloo chuckled at their friends comment before continuing down the path. Fluttershy waited a bit before looking at her cottage. In the window, Discord stopped partying a bit and looked to Fluttershy. He smiled and waved to the pegasus. Fluttershy warmly smiled before waving back. She then grabbed her luggage and followed after her two friends.

In Ponyville, a large building was seen. It looked like a well-designed carousel mixed with a house. This was Carousel Boutique, Ponyville’s one and only boutique. Inside the boutique, a unicorn with a white grey coat and curled moderate indigo mane and tail. She had moderate azure eyes and light cornflower bluish gray eyeshadow. On her flank was a cutie mark of a triangular positioned blue gems. This was Rarity, Ponyville’s fashion designer and seamstress as well as the Bearer of the Element of Generosity.

“Oh! Where did I put it?” she said with a worried voice. She rummaged through her things frantically. Her cat, Opalescence, just watched her with a bored expression before yawning and taking a nap.

“Did you try looking in the jewelry case?” asked a monotone voice. The owner of the voice was a unicorn filly with a light grey coat. Her mane and tail were in a curly poof design and was grayish mulberry with pale, light grayish rose streaks. The color of her eyes was pale, light grayish harlequin. This was Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister. Right now, Sweetie Belle was waiting for her sister to get done prepping up for the trip. If only she’d get done with it already.

Rarity smiled and walked over to her jewelry case. “Thank you, Sweetie Belle. I just wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t bring this along for the occasion.”

She opened up the case to reveal gems and other jewels. She then found the one she was looking for. Using her magic, she lifted up to what appeared to be a gold necklace. On it was a large heart-shaped fire ruby. This was Rarity’s most prized possession, the Fire Ruby Necklace. She got this during Spike’s last birthday when he was going to devour the gem. Instead, he generously gave it to Rarity. She cherished this necklace considering it came from her favorite dragon. She sighed warmly of the memory as she put the necklace on.

“There,” she said as she posed in front of her sister. “How do I look?”

Sweetie rolled her eyes as her sister continued to pose. “You look fine, Rarity. Now come on, we don’t want to be late meeting with the others at the train station.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Rarity agreed as she then grabbed her luggage. She turned to white furred cat with a smile. “Now, Opal, the Flower Sisters are coming over to take care of you while I’m gone. Now you be good for them, my cute little gem.”

Opalescence opened one her eyes, only to yawn and fall back to sleep. Rarity giggled and looked over to her sister.

“Let us be off, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity said as she walked out. “Be a dear and carry the luggage will you?” Sweetie Belle looked to the door and then to the pile of luggage that was Rarity’s. She sighed before pulling the wagon and walked out of the boutique.

Outside of Ponyville, two straw roofed buildings near train tracks. This was Ponyville Train Station, Ponyville’s one of many ways of transport. At the moment, most of the group arrived. Twilight smiled before waving to the others.

“Girls!” she shouted. The girls smiled before trotting up to the alicorn princess.

“You all ready to get this trip started?” she asked.

“You bet!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she hovered over the group. “I can’t wait to take on those waves! I heard they’re the best in the Neighsianic Ocean.”

“Well, I can’t wait to experience their fashion.” Rarity added to conversation. “I heard that most of the clothing there is simply divine!”

“I can’t wait to see the animals,” Fluttershy said. “Especially the seagulls, sea turtles, and crabs…”

“Well I can’t wait to have a PARTY there!!!” a voice shouted out which caused the girls to jump a bit and turn to the direction of the voice.

The owner of the voice was an earth pony with a pale, light grayish raspberry coat. Her mane and tail was poofed out similar to cotton candy and was a brilliant raspberry. She had light cerulean eyes and on her flank was a cutie mark of three balloons, one yellow and the other two blue. This was Pinkamena Diane Pie or Pinkie Pie for short. She was Ponyville’s one and only party pony and the Bearer of the Element of Laughter.

“Golly, Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said. “Keep doing things like that and ya may give most of us heart attacks.”

“Sorry, AJ” Pinkie Pie giggled. “I just had to cue it right or the writer would have messed up on the story.” Each of her friends looked at her as if she grew another head.

“Uh,” Rainbow Dash said. “What writer are you talking about?”

“Oh nothing,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “Anyways I can’t wait till we get there, so many parties to discover and use in the near future. Hey! Maybe I can use one for a “We’re Back from Haywaii” party!” The girls giggled at their friend’s eagerness. Who could blame her though? They all were going to a tropical island none of them have ever been to.

“Well I can’t wait to get there, too!” said a Trottingham-accented voice. “A new adventure waiting to happen!”

The owner of the voice was a small colt with a pinto-styled coat. The coat itself was white with grayish brown spots. His mane was dark tangelo with lighter streaks. His tail, unlike the other ponies, was short like a bobcat’s. This was Pipsqueak, aka Little Pip, classmate of Nyx, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie then said. “What if we make it a new adventure party?”

“Huh, I’ve never thought of doing something like that,” Pipsqueak said.

“I know, right?” Pinkie exclaimed.

Suddenly the sound of a train’s whistle was heard. The group looked as the train pulled into the station. The train came to a stop as the breaks hissed with steam. Coming out of the train was the conductor, All Aboard. He looked at his pocket watch before looking to the group.
“Boarding for Baltimare,” he announced. “All aboard!”

The group then started boarding the train. Before they boarded, Twilight casted a shrink spell on their luggage to carry them in their saddlebags. They entered the passenger car and took their seats. Nyx was almost jumping out of her seat as the train pulled out of the station. She then turned to her friends as they were in conversation.

“This trip is going to be awesome!” Scootaloo said. “I have a feeling that this trip will get us our cutie marks.”

Nyx giggled before looking to the others. “So what’s the plan for that?”

“Well,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m thinking of tryin’ out sand castle building.”

“How is that a special skill?” Scootaloo asked. “Anypony could make a sand castle.”

“Oh yeah?” Apple Bloom said with a raised brow. “How ‘bout a sand castle around the size of Canterlot?” Their eyes widened to the idea.

“Okay I admit,” Scootaloo said. “That would actually be pretty cool. I on the other hoof will be trying to get a cutie mark in surfing.” Scootaloo puffed out her chest a bit at her idea.

“How would getting a cutie mark in surfing work if you live in Ponyville?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We don’t exactly have beaches.” Scootaloo only shrugs.

“Don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to try.” They laughed at that. Pipsqueak then looked to Spike.

“So, Spike,” he asked. “What you going to do when we get to Haywaii?” The dragon smiled as he crunched on some turquoise.

“Well when we get there I’m going to plan me and Rarity a picnic on the beach.” He said as ate another gem. “I was thinking on one of the green beaches the island’s famous for.” Nyx raised a brow to that.

“Why do they have green beaches?” Nyx asked.

“The reason for that is because the grains of sand are littered with olivine.” Spike answered. “It’s a green-colored gemstone created from eroded volcanic rock.” Nyx nodded before looking out the window.

She was glad that they were taking this trip. Considering Pip was on the trip with them. She blushed a bit thinking about the colt. She remembered the time she met him. It was around her first Hearts and Hooves Day, Pipsqueak was the only colt to ever give her a card in their class. Ever since then, she had a crush on him.

The young alicorn’s thoughts then drifted off to the princesses. It was too bad they couldn’t come along. Even though they had important roles to play for Equestria, even princesses needed a vacation. She wonders what they were up to right now.

Date: May 16, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Canterlot, Equestria

Earlier that day in the city of Canterlot, Celestia went through the usual routine. Raise the sun, attending royal duties which led to one thing, boredom. Celestia sat on her throne as she read over a few documents from today’s meeting. She sighed as she continued reading. Oh how she wished she could have a vacation.

Suddenly, a wisp of magical ash and smoke appeared before her and then formed into a letter. She smiled before taking the letter with her magic and opened it. She started reading and smiled. She was happy to know that her most faithful student and her loved ones were going to a tropical paradise. Oh if only she and her sister could go.

“Is everything alright, Tia?” a calm Canterlot voice said.

Celestia turned to see her sister, Luna. She was an alicorn like herself but had a different appearance. Her coat was dark blue and her mane and tail had a wavy motion and was moderate phthalo blue with a grayish Persian blue aura surrounding it with little sparkles similar to stars. Her eyes were moderate cyan with light sapphire blue eyeshadow. On her flank was a crescent moon surrounded by a blot of shadow. She wore a black crown, collar and silver slippers.

Celestia smiled to her younger sibling before looking to the letter. “Everything is fine, Luna. I just wish we were attending the trip Twilight and her friends are on.”

“What trip is thou speaking of?" The Lunar Princess asked. Celestia then handed her the letter, started reading and smiled. “Haywaii, huh? Oh, how thou wishes to journey to the island that named a city after us. We hear that they just have the most succulent of coconut cake.” Celestia couldn’t help but drool at the thought of cake. Luna laughed at the Sun Princess’s reaction.

Suddenly, a wisp of smoke and ash whooshed in and formed a letter in front of Celestia. On the ribbon was a wax seal had two triangles facing each other forming wings like a butterfly. Celestia grabbed the letter with her magic and opened it. As she read it, her eyes went from calm to serious. Her expression then turns to that of fear as she almost dropped the letter.

“Is everything fine, sister?” Luna asked. Celestia ignored her a bit and then stood up.

“Guards!” she called out in her Canterlot voice. Two of the royal guards galloped in before saluting to her. “Prepare a two seat flying carriage, immediately.”

“Yes, your highness!” they both said before running out of the throne room.

“Sister, you’re frightening thou.” Luna said. “We’ve never seen you this distressed since the time Discord first took over Equestria.”

“Luna,” Celestia said in a firm voice. “What’s happening at the moment is probably bigger than Discord or even bigger than Tirek.” Luna’s eyes widened from what she heard. How could something in a letter be more trouble to what Tirek caused?

“But right now,” she continued as she started walking out of the throne room. “We must be off. Everything will be explained once we reach our destination.”

“But where are we venturing to?” Luna asked. Celestia turned to her younger sibling with a firm look.

“We are off to Neighpon.” She said. “To the Temple of the Rising Sun.”

Chapter 3: Coral at the Beach

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Date: May 18, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

“Look, girls! There it is!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she was hopping up and down on the deck of the airship.

In the distance, a large island could be seen. Even at the height they were at, the group could see various things happening down near the beach. Varieties of ponies and other species were either enjoying the beach, water skiing and other beach activities. Farther inland, a large city was seen. This was the island of Haywaii, the tropical get-away from Equestria.

The airship then entered the airspace of Honoluna. There the girls saw it descending down upon an airfield where other airships were seen. Most were of different designs and different passengers came out of a few. Others took off to the air to their designated destination. With that their airship finally set down and the group gathered their luggage and started exiting the aircraft.

Suddenly the group was covered in a flurry of Haywaiian hibiscus pedals rained down on them. A group of ponies then started walking towards them, a stallion and three mares. The mares were dressed in hula skirts and had hibiscus pedal crowns on their heads. Around their neck was a hibiscus flower necklace. The mares then put necklaces around each pony’s necks. Then the stallion walked up to the group.

The stallion was an earth pony in his sixties. His coat was dark gray while his mane and tail was black. His mane was tied into a long ponytail and on his head was crown made of hay. There were various tribal markings painted on his muzzle and body. Around his neck was a hibiscus necklaces with a tribal pendant attached to it. On his flank was a cutie mark of a tiki pony head.

“Aloha and welcome to Haywaii, princess and friends!” the stallion said with a strong voice. “I am Chief Tiki Wiki, the chief of the local tribe of Haywaii.” Twilight smiled before bowing to the chief.

“Please to make your acquaintance, chief.” Twilight greeted back. “I take that you’ll be our tour guide of your home?”

“Even better, your highness.” He said. “I’ll be leading you all to your place of stay here on our wonderful island. Come, come! You’ll love it.”

With that the group followed the chief to a large carriage. Once they got situated, they were off. Nyx looked outside in awe of the view. This place had one word, beautiful. The carriage then passed by what appeared an orchard but instead of apples they had weird looking fruits growing on top of short plants. She raised a brow to those before looking at the Tiki.

“What are those things?” she said pointing to the orchard. The chief looked and smiled at pride.

“Those, young one are our pineapple crop.” He informed them. “Like how the Apple family in Equestria is famous for their apples, Haywaii is famous for its pineapples.” Nyx nodded before looking back out to where the orchard was.

A few minutes had passed as the carriage arrived at its destination. It was a condo of sorts large enough to accommodate them all. The group walked in and each of them gaped at what they saw. Inside, the living room was large enough to host a small party and it had a large couch, coffee table and a large television. The kitchen was state of the art. It had a magic-powered oven, microwave and large fridge. One word described this place, amazing.

“My word,” Rarity said with eyes gleaming. “This place is absolutely divine.”

“Darn tootin’, sugercube.” Applejack said. “Look at this here kitchen, Granny Smith would probably have a field day cookin’ in a place like this.”

“Girls!” Pinkie shouted from the backyard door. “You’ve got to come see this.”

The group then proceeded out to the sliding door. Once they exited to the backyard their mouths suddenly dropped to the floor. Right there before their eyes was the backyard connected to a private beach. Each of the young pony’s eyes widened at the sight before they cheered.

“Wow!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “We got a beach for a backyard.”

“Blimey,” Pipsqueak said. “It’s like some sort of backyard beach.”

“Did somepony say backyard beach?” Pinkie said as she poked her head between the Crusaders.

“Yes, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s a beach in the backyard. It’s cool but not really a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? Not a big DEAL!? It’s a backyard beach! I’ve always dreamed of partying at a place like this, which reminds me.” She then put a hoof in her mouth before giving out a shrilling whistle. In a flash, two stallions dressed as tribal Haywaiians appeared each holding a drum and a DJ mixer sound system. The group blinked at this turn of events.

“Uh,” Tiki Wiki said as he was watching this. “Where did they come from?” Rarity then looked to the chief with a half-lidded look.

“It’s better not to question it, darling.” She said as she continued to watch her pink friend’s wackiness.

“Give me a beat, boys!” The pink party pony exclaimed. The stallions nodded before starting out with the music. With a quick twirl, Pinkie was dressed as a hula mare wearing a tiki crown. She then pulled a microphone from behind her as she started her song.

(Song: Backyard Beach (Parody) sung by Pinkie Pie)

“Listen up ponies and I'll teach ya

'Bout the Mane Six

And the backyard beach yeah.

Every morning, the girls, hear me say

(Say!)

Hey girls, what are we going to do today?"

Now you see we're having fun

Playin' under the sun,

And get in line, get in line

'Cause the wet skis runnin'

A backyard beach, a backyard beach

Nothing's outta reach,

We got the backyard beach

You can change in the broken hut,

Drink out of a coconut,

Three games for a token, but the rest is free

You got skiin', parasailin',

Surfin' and a-flailin',

Your contacts need saline,

Or else you can't see

Got the backyard beach, a backyard beach

Nothing's out of reach, we got the backyard beach

Got the backyard beach, a backyard beach,

Don't fall into the breach, got the backyard beach!”

The song ended as the younger ponies were clapping their hooves at Pinkie’s performance. She and the stallions were bowing to the hoof clapping. The chief blinked a bit before chuckling and looked towards Twilight.

“Does this happen often where you come from?” he asked. Twilight giggled before turning to the chief.

“You have no idea,” she said with a smile. Tiki Wiki laughed before nodding to the princess.

“Well I shall be off,” the chief said. “If you or anypony need anything there is a number on the fridge to call me.”

“We’ll be sure to give you a ring if we need anything, chief.” Twilight said before bowing her head a bit to chief who then bowed back.

“Glad to know, your highness.” He said before turning to the door. “Enjoy your stay and aloha.” With that the chief walked out of the condo to leave the group to their business. Twilight then turned to the group, coughing a bit to get their attention.

“Alright, everypony” she informed. “How bout we get settled in and then enjoy our first day here at the beach?” Everypony cheered a bit before trekking to their rooms to unpack their luggage.

A few minutes later, the group exited out the back into the private beach. The younger ponies were excited as they trotted down onto the white sands of the beach. Twilight and the others smiled as they watched the fillies and colt play. Rainbow Dash then set down her surfboard beside her before waving to Scootaloo.

“Hey, Scoots.” She called out. “You ready to go surfing?” Scootaloo gasped in excitement before trotting up to her adopted sister.

“You bet I am!” she exclaimed to the rainbow-maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash smiled before rubbing the fillies head with her hoof.

“That’s all I needed to hear.” She said before turning to the girls. “Get ready to be amazed by the awesomeness of Extreme Surfer Rainbow.”

“And her sidekick, Wave Rider Scoots” The filly added. The girls giggled at that. Rainbow then rubbed the fillies head with her hoof again.

“You’ve got that right.” She said before showing a smirk. “Let’s hit those waves!” With a cheer the mare and filly then raced to the water.

Nyx, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak gathered to the sandy shore of the private beach. In hoof were beach supplies ranging from buckets to small shovels used in sand castle construction. They gathered around each other discussing their project.

“Okay,” Apple Bloom said. “We’ve got the supplies we need for this here sand castle. So does everypony know what we’re doing?”

“Trying to get cutie marks in colossal sand castle construction?” Pipsqueak answered.

“Exactly!” the earth filly exclaimed. “So any ideas on what kind of castle we should build?” The young ponies thought a bit before Sweetie Belle perked up.

“I got it!” she exclaimed. “How bout we make a life-size sand castle of the Castle of Friendship?” The others beamed at that that idea.

“That’s a smashing idea, Sweetie Belle!” Pipsqueak said. Sweetie Belle blushed a bit before Apple Bloom stepped in.

“Then that there’s the task,” she said. “Alright y’all, it’s time to build us a sand castle.” They then gathered together putting their hooves together.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders… Sand Castle Builders, YAY!” With that, the group of young ponies gathered their items and began their project.

Out on the water, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were having a blast. The waves were perfect as they glided through the waters on Rainbow’s surfboard. If only Scootaloo could fly like they were surfing. To glide through the clouds like they were shredding through the wave. Only time will tell though, right now she was enjoying a good wave.

The sound of a splash caught the pegasus filly’s ear as she looked into the water. There she saw a darkened shape, which appeared to be swimming as fast as they were shredding through the wave. The size of it was roughly around her size and it turned around facing Scootaloo. It had large eyes, similar to the filly’s and appeared to be jade-colored. It blinked before flipping back over and swimming deeper into the waves.

“What the heck was that?” the pegasus filly muttered. Rainbow Dash, as she was surfing, looked down at the young filly and noticed her staring down into the water.

“What’s wrong, Scoots?” the rainbow-maned mare asked. The filly then looked up at Rainbow Dash.

“I thought I saw something in the water,” she answered. “It must have been a dolphin, considering it was keeping up with the surfboard.” Rainbow shrugged her shoulders.

“Probably,” she said. “We are on a tropical island. We’re bound to see something awesome.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Suddenly, both pegasi were knocked off the surfboard by an unknown force. They fell into the water, coming back up immediately for air. Rainbow Dash coughed out some sea water before looking to Scootaloo.

“You okay, Scoots?” she asked. The filly coughed a bit before looking at Rainbow.

“Yeah,” she said before looking around. “What happened?”

“Don’t know,” Rainbow answered. “Something must of hit-“Suddenly her eyes widened in the direction behind Scootaloo. “Scoots whatever you do, don’t look behind you.”

“Why wouldn’t I-“she said as she started turning around. As she fully turned, she froze to what was zooming towards them. It was a large grey, triangular fin which belong to one sea creature; a shark. Scootaloo’s eyes widened before the turned around and swam to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash then grabbed Scootaloo and held her close. The shark was then circling the mare and filly. Rainbow Dash was keeping a strong face but the filly was shaking. She then shut her eyes and shouted out.

“Somepony help!”

On the beach, the group heard the filly’s cries. Twilight looked and her eyes widened as she saw the shark circling her friends.

“Spike!” she shouted to the dragon. “Call Chief Tiki Wiki, right now!” Spike then saluted before running into the condo. Twilight then turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, you’re with me.” With that said, both her and Fluttershy took to the air flying over to the pegasi.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “I need you go over to the shark and convince it to leave while I get Rainbow and Scootaloo out of the water.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened a bit at that before pressing her hooves together with one another.

“Um, Twilight,” she said. “I’ve never talked to a shark before. I don’t know if I can convince it to leave.”

“Don’t worry,” she assured with a smile. “I believe in you completely. You ready?” Fluttershy smiled with a blush before nodding and flying over to circling fin.

“Um, excuse me sir?” she asked. “If I could have your attention for a bit, if that’s alright with you?”

The fin stopped before turning to Fluttershy. Rising out of the water was the shark. Its size alone was roughly around 25 feet. It had a torpedo-shaped body with a pointed snout. The back of the shark was dull gray and its underbelly was white. Its teeth were triangular with sawed edges. This was a Great White Shark, one of the top marine predators of Haywaii. The shark then gave a minor growl as it bared its teeth at the pegasus.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your… hunting,” she said to the fish. “But if you could find another place to hunt that be most appreciated, if you don’t mind that is?”

Unfortunately for her, the shark didn’t take too kindly to being talked down by the pegasus. With a snarl, the shark then let out a roar in Fluttershy’s face. The pink-haired pegasus squeaked in fright as she the zoomed out of the way to avoid the flesh-ripping bite of the shark. The shark proceeded to chasing after her and occasionally dove a bit to jump out to try to get a bite into the gentle pegasus.

While this was happening, Twilight flew over to Rainbow and Scootaloo. The rainbow-maned pegasus was keeping the filly close to her. Rainbow then looked up to her friend as she hovered above them.

“You two, okay?” Twilight asked. Rainbow nodded before answering.

“We’re okay,” she said. “The squirt’s a little shaken from it but okay.” Twilight nodded before looking at where Fluttershy was. She was trying to avoid the shark’s assaults in the air. She then turned back to the pegasi.

“Alright, Rainbow,” she said. “Take Scootaloo back to shore on the surfboard. I’m going to help Fluttershy with the shark.” Rainbow’s eyes hardened a bit.

“Are you kidding?” she asked. “There’s no way I’m going to leave Flutters with a blood thirsty fish!” With that, Rainbow Dash gave a mighty flap with her wings into the air before zooming off to Fluttershy’s location in a rainbow trail.

“Rainbow, wait!” Twilight shouted but Rainbow didn’t listen. She was too focused on saving Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, at the moment, was dodging the shark’s lunges. She can feel the teeth of the great white getting closer and closer. She then heard a splash behind her and she looked to see that the shark had disappeared. She looked around for the carnivorous fish, shaking with fear. Unknown to her a shadow was darkening right under the pegasus. Suddenly, the shark exploded from the water from under Fluttershy, with mouth agape ready to chomp onto the pony.

Time seemed to slow down as the shark neared Fluttershy. Her life seemed to flash before her eyes. The day she gotten her cutie mark to the day she helped Twilight defeat Tirek. Right now she found it ironic since she was an animal caretaker that she would be done in by an animal itself. She closed her eyes waiting for the shark to bite into her fragile body.

Suddenly, a blur of rainbow slammed into the shark. It fell back into the water in pain missing writhing in pain. Fluttershy slowly opened eyes and her eyes widened to the sight before her. There hovering in front of her was Rainbow Dash, whose expression was a hardened glare in the direction of where the shark landed back in the water. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her friend.

“Let’s get one thing straight, fish boy.” Rainbow said with a hardened voice. “Nopony messes with my friend Fluttershy!” With that she then zoomed off in the direction of the shark.

The shark shook its head before looking in the direction of the pegasus that hit it. The shark saw Rainbow Dash speeding towards it which it replied back by torpedoing towards her. Both were now in a game of chicken, either one not deterring from their paths. The shark then suddenly dove under the waves. This caused Rainbow Dash to immediately halt. The rainbow-maned pegasus looked around in the water looking for shadows or ripples.

Suddenly the Great White burst from the saltwater. It then quickly turned its body to where it whipped its tail fin at the pegasus. She couldn’t retaliate as the fin smacked right into her body causing her to be sent into the tropical seawater. Rainbow Dash surfaced sputtering for air. She then turned where her eyes widened at the sight of the shark homing in on her.

Rainbow tried to take to the air when she felt pain in her wing. She looked and saw one of her wings was injured, possibly from the smack of the shark’s tail. She at the moment was grounded and her only option right now was to swim for it. Rainbow started paddling in the other direction. Unfortunately for her, the shark was faster in the water than her. Rainbow turned seeing the carnivorous fish getting closer and closer as its saw-toothed jaws opened ready to chomp down on her. It seemed like the end for Rainbow Dash.

Before the shark took a bite out of Rainbow, a shadow and a stream of bubbles was seen between the two. Suddenly a light blue blur shot out of the water and tackled under the shark’s lower jaw. The shark grimaced as it was knocked a few feet away from the pegasus. Rainbow’s attention was then drawn as the blur splashed back down right in front of her. What she then saw before her made her jaw agape.

The blur turned out to be a filly around the Crusader’s age. A filly, for crying out loud! Her coat was light blue similar to Rainbow’s but a different tint. Her mane was blue as well as long in a ponytail with a seashell mane piece near the end. Her eyes were the colors of jade, which was nice color. The filly then looked to Rainbow Dash with a happy smile.

“Aloha!” she greeted. Rainbow Dash blinked a bit before giving a wave with her hoof.

“Um,” she replied. “Hi. Were you the one that swatted away that shark?”

“Yes I am,” the filly exclaimed. “My name is Coral Reef, but you can call me Coral.”

Suddenly a loud roar was heard and the two turned to the direction of the noise. They both saw the shark speeding towards them. Rainbow, even though most things didn’t scare her, she was terrified right now. The filly however had a half-lidded frown on her face. She then turned to the pegasi.

“Wait here,” she said to Rainbow before swimming ahead.

Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A filly was going to go up against a shark of all things. Though then again, that very filly did smack away the shark. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard another roar from the shark. It was getting closer as it started rising out of the water with its maw gaping ready to bite down on the two ponies. Coral stood firm as the shark was ready to bite down on her.

“BRUTUS!!!” the filly shouted.

The shark immediately stopped right in front of the filly. It looked down at a frowning Coral which it immediately went wide-eyed and started shivering in fear. Rainbow’s jaw went agape at the sight before her. How could a filly talk down a shark? A shark for Celestia’s sake!

Her thoughts were broken when she heard Coral scolding the shark.

“Brutus,” the filly said with a hardened voice. “How many times did I tell you not to eat surfer ponies? You know the surfboards give you tummy aches.” The shark then replied with fearful grunts and gibberish.

“I don’t care if Stripes is in your previous hunting ground. Either you two figure something out or I’m going to have drag Spot with me to settle this. Do you want that?” The shark shook his head vigorously in fear. “Good! Now, go on! Go home!”

With that the shark immediately turned tail and swam out of the area. Satisfied with her accomplishment she then turned around only to see a funny sight. Rainbow Dash at the moment was wide-eyed and if her jaw was lowered any further then it would have fallen off of her skull. Coral giggled before swimming up to the shocked pegasus.

“I’m sorry about him,” she said. “He gives surfers a hard time sometimes, but he can be sweet when he wants to be.”

“Uh… yeah,” Rainbow replied. “Listen, thanks for the save but my wing got injured during the skirmish and…”

“I understand,” Coral said as she then turned to where her back was facing Rainbow. “Grab on and I’ll get us both to shore.”

“You sure you can pull me back on to the beach?” The pegasus asked. “Considering you’re a filly and I’m a mare.”

“Trust me,” Coral answered before something rose from the water behind her. Rainbow’s eyes widened at what she saw. Two seal flippers
the same color as the filly’s coat were seen. This filly was some kind of merpony. She then wrapped her hooves around the filly before the
filly then kicked up water speeding towards the beach with the screaming Pegasus in tow.

Back on the beach, Twilight was patting Scootaloo’s back as she was coughing a bit from having sea water in her lungs. She then heard a familiar screaming coming from the water. She turned to see her friend Rainbow Dash on her way back to the shore. She also noticed that the pegasus wasn’t alone. As they reached the shore, the group trotted over to the rainbow-maned pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash, are you okay?” Twilight said. “When we saw you get smacked away by the shark we thought-“

“I’m fine,” the pegasus assured. “Really, I am! The only thing I got out of it was a hurt wing nothing too serious.”

“It is serious, Rainbow!” Twilight chided. “What if something happened or worse?”

“It didn’t and everypony is fine.” Rainbow retorted. “Besides, this’ll be something to tell the others back in Ponyville.”

Twilight sighed in minor frustration. The stubbornness of the pegasus was infectious but she was right in a sense. Everypony was fine with the exception of Rainbow’s injury. A question then popped up within her mind after the whole ordeal. Who was it that saved Rainbow from the shark? Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of splashing was heard. She turned to see Coral coming onto shore and was shocked at what she saw.

Coral exited the water, which not only gained Twilight’s attention but everypony’s attention. She had a normal pony head but her body was a different story. Instead of having hooves there were flippers in their place. Unlike a pony, her body was more seal-like in proportion. On the area where her flank would be located was a cutie mark. It showed a branch of pink coral where two different saltwater fish swam around it. She then raised her right front flipper to the group.

“Aloha, everypony!” she greeted. “I’m glad everypony is okay after all that. Sorry if Brutus scared all of you. He’s really nice when he wants to be.”

“Brutus?” Flash Sentry asked.

“The Great White,” she answered. “He causes problems time to time with surfers, but he calms down when I get involved.”

“Wowy!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I never seen anypony talk a shark down before? Speaking of which, what kind of pony are you?”

“That’s a very good question,” Twilight joined in as she walked around Coral, examining her. “Judging by your appearance you appear to be a selkie of sorts, though you didn’t shift to a pony form when you exited the water.” Coral giggled a bit before explaining to them.

“That’s because I’m not a selkie, silly. I’m actually a merpony of sorts.”

“That’s impossible,” Twilight said. “Merponies have the lower bodies of fish. You, however, have a body similar to that of a seal.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Coral said. “I’m half earth pony and half merpony. My dad was an earth pony and my mom was a merpony. They met and fell in love here on the islands.”

“Aw, how romantic!” Sweetie swooned. Scootaloo only rolled her eyes while Nyx and Pipsqueak giggled at their friend.

“On the subject of merponies,” Nyx brought up. “I didn’t know they could get cutie marks.”

“They don’t,” Coral responded. “I was able to get one thanks to my earth pony heritage.”

“That’s so cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed while looking at Coral’s mark. “So what does yours represent?”

“Mine represents my caring for sea life,” Coral explained. “Basically I take care of the marine animals and the local reefs around the islands.”

“Blimey!” Pipsqueak exclaimed. “You’re like our friend, Fluttershy. She too is also an animal caretaker.” Fluttershy blushed a bit at the comment.

“Is everypony alright?” a voice called out. Everypony turned to see Chief Tiki Wiki galloping towards them. “I got the call from your little dragon friend about a shark attack.”

“We’re fine, chief!” Twilight answered. “If it wasn’t for this little filly then we would have lost a friend today.” Coral gave a wave to the stallion.

“Hi grandpa!” she said. Everypony tensed before looking at Coral.

“Grandpa!?” Everypony practically shouted. Tiki Wiki couldn’t help but laugh at this. He then walked up to Coral and patted her head with his hoof.

“Well I’m glad to know that my little island flower here helped you all,” he said. Coral blushed a bit from her grandfather’s comment. The chief noticed Rainbow’s injured wing. “Miss Dash, you’re hurt!”

“It’s nothing, really!” she exclaimed. The chief then shook his head before looking over the pegasus’s wing.

“It appears to be a minor injury. Not a problem! Our local witch doctor has a potion to cure this right up.” He then turned to the CMC with a smile. “In the meantime, I believe Coral should give her new friends a grand tour of the island.” Nyx’s eyes widened and a smile grew on her face before facing her mother.

“Can we, mom?” she asked excitedly. Twilight smiled at her daughter before answering.

“I don’t see any problem with that.” Nyx and her friends cheered a bit before walking over to Coral.

“So, Coral,” Pipsqueak asked. “Are there any places to explore here?”

“Trust me,” she said. “I know tons of places.” With that the colt and fillies walked away together to explore who knows where. Twilight and
the others smiled at the scene. Twilight one thing about today, she was going to tell the princesses about this little event.

Date: May 20th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Over the Neighsianic Ocean, 10 miles from Neighpon

The trip was calm and peaceful. Luna right now seemed focused on Celestia at the moment. It’s been almost four days since they left Canterlot. Four days since her sister read the letter that made her shake in fear. What was so fearful in the letter that made her believe something in Neighpon could be more dreadful than Tirek? She could only wonder.

Looking down at the Neighsianic, she spotted a pod of what appeared to be a pod of animals. Most of them appeared to be yellow colored dolphins with star markings on their bodies around the size of killer whales. The others appeared to be like sperm whales but colored light green with the same star patterns with sharp tusks jutting out of their lower jaws. They also appeared to be around the size of a leviathan. They were a family pod of Cetus and Delphinus, sea-bearing constellation animals.

Luna smiled as she watched the young Delphins play with their Cetus parents. She even laughed a little when the Delphins tried to jump over the constellation whales only for a few to get stuck on their backs. It was a very heartwarming scene.

“Something entertaining, Luna?” Celestia asked. Luna then turned her focus to her sister.

“Very, sister.” She answered with a smile. “Just admiring the local marine life.”

“Indeed,” Celestia smiled back before looking back ahead. Luna fidgeted a bit before turning to Celestia.

“Sister?”

“Hmm?” Celestia replied.

“Art thou going to explain what has you in such distress since four days ago?” Celestia sighed before turning to her sister.

“Luna,” she said. “It’s very complicated. You’ll get your answer soon enough once we reach Hoofishima.”

“Your highnesses,” one of the guard pegasi spoke up. Celestia turn her attention to them.

“Yes?”

“We are now arriving at Neighpon.” Celestia nodded before looking onward towards the slowly closing mass of land. In her mind, she was thinking on what was written in the letter. The very thing that she and her sister came here overlook was starting to awake. She remembered when the “accident” happened those fifteen years ago, so much destruction, death and sadness. She hoped to whatever was awakening in Hoofishima would be something she and her sister could handle.

Chapter 4: The Hatching

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Date: May 20th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Hoofishima, Neighpon

Night came by Luna’s will. The sound of trotting hooves could be heard as a royal chariot was seen being pulled by two earth pony guards. In the chariot, Celestia and Luna sat as they traveled up the dirt trail in the hillside. The sounds of the Neighponese forest could be heard all around them.

The trek didn’t last long as they reached their destination. The Temple of the Rising Sun had severely changed in the last fifteen years. The structures of the mighty temple still showed signs of damage and destruction. Walls had crumbled, the garden was decimated and cracks could be seen on various objects. However, new structures were seen to have been built over the recent years. Several small work stations could be seen where various ponies were seen doing various tasks.

The chariot stopped at a checkpoint at the entrance of the temple where a unicorn walked up to the guards. They had minor chat before gesturing them to continue. The chariot pulled into the temple where Luna spied various workers, guards and heavy construction equipment hard at work. What was going on around here? With all of the various workers and guards you’d think this was some sort of base of operations. Suddenly, a loud thumping noise similar to a heartbeat was heard. Luna turned her attention to the origin of the noise and her eyes slowly widened at the sight.

In the distance, a colossal-sized arch tower was seen. The tower itself was roughly the size of a fifteen-story building. Instead of being made of stone it appeared to be made of some form of chitin material. A bioluminescent red glow came from deep within the structure. It appeared to be making more heartbeat-related noises, which made Luna believe that something alive was within that tower.

Luna was cast from her thoughts as the chariot came to a complete stop. She looked to see that the chariot indeed stopped and a few Neighponese earth pony guards were waiting to escort them. The princesses got out and walked up to the guards, who bowed in respect to the sun and moon princesses.

“Greetings, your highnesses.” The first guard spoke up in a Neighponese accent. “We hope you had a safe trip.”

“We did,” Celestia answered. “Is the doctor expecting us?”

“Yes, your highness.” The second guard spoke up. “This way, please?” With that, Celestia and Luna followed after the guards. They led them closer to the center of the temple, where the structure was located.

Deep within the center of the temple, the structure stood as various ponies wearing hazmat suits were taking readings from it. Various machines such as huge cameras, sensors and scanners probed it across the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The imposing apparatus, which were at least a story in height, rested upon a ring of grilled metal on stone flooring surrounding it. Above surveying it from an elevated control room dubbed “the crow’s nest”, Dr. Serizawa, now in his sixties, watched the structure as the scientists and technicians were monitoring the data on the structure. The words “MUTO” were displayed along with what appeared to be a form of time code on each screen.

Suddenly, the structure started to pulse. The pulses grew in speed before the air around it rippled as it emitted a luminous pulse. The translucent structure convulsed, shaking off a cloud of dust along the bits of outer husk. The spasm caused the entire temple and the attached scaffolding to tremble slightly, which Serizawa found more a little unsettling. At the same time, the magic-powered lights flickered throughout the facility. Industrial-sized backup generators, installed for just such occasions, kicked in automatically to override the power loss.

With full power restored by the generators, the equipment within the crow’s nest monitored the pulse. Glowing screens, tracking emanations all along the electromagnetic spectrum, registered a continuous spike that only gradually diminished in intensity before subsiding altogether.

“Seven-point-two seconds and getting stronger.” An earth pony scientist wearing glasses reported. “We’re trending exponentially and—“He
then started rapidly tapping his keyboard, collating and translating the latest data from the pulse. “—that’s our new curve.”

A distinctive waveform appeared on a central display screen. The pattern displayed a series of rising peaks, starting small at first, but quickly increasing in size and frequency. Serizawa examined the display in fascination. The pattern didn’t match any biological phenomenon he was familiar with.

The sound of hooves on the metal floor gained the doctors attention. He turned to see a unicorn guard walking into the crow’s nest. He walked up to the doctor before saluting to Serizawa.

“Dr. Serizawa,” he said. “Two individuals are here to speak with you—“

An earth pony official got annoyed a bit by the interruption. “Can this wait? Have Dr. Graphic handle this.”

“She did, sir,” the guard replied. “She sent me to retrieve the doctor.”

The official sighed in frustration, now noticing Dr. Graphic’s absence at the moment. Serizawa recalled her being called away before the pulse went off. Intrigued, he gave the guard his full attention. He trusted Crypto’s judgment, and wondered what about the visitors was so significant.

“She said that the princesses had arrived,” the guard said.

The princesses had arrived? Serizawa found this provocative enough that he let the guard escort him downstairs to the antechamber of a utility room that been made into a makeshift meeting room. He found Graphic waiting for him outside the utility room, while an armed guard stood firm at the door to the larger room beyond.

A bit nervous, Graphic nodded at Serizawa as he arrived. They peered through the clear glass door seeing both princesses sitting down, drinking tea while waiting for the two. Without further delay, the two doctors then entered the room which caught the attention of the two alicorns. Celestia smiled at the two unicorns nodded to both of them.

“Dr. Serizawa,” Celestia said. “It’s been awhile. I can see you’ve changed since we’ve last met.”
“Time has been kind to you, your highness,” the aged unicorn said with a chuckle. “For your beauty hasn’t faltered after all these years.” Celestia couldn’t help blushing a bit before getting back into the subject.

“Anyways,” she said before turning to Luna. “Before we get started, Luna I would like to introduce you to the two unicorns in head of this operation. The stallion is Dr. Ishiro Serizawa.” Dr. Serizawa bowed his head in respect to Luna. “And the mare is his associate, Dr. Crypto Graphic.” Dr. Graphic also bowed her head a bit to Luna.

“Greetings, your highness,” Dr. Graphic said. “I’m assuming you’re here for the situation that’s brought your sister?”

“Indeed,” Luna answered. “Unfortunately thou weren’t informed about what the situation might be. Our sister had said that you’d be able to explain everything to us?”

“We will,” Dr. Serizawa informed. “And we’ll make sure that we don’t confuse you as much.” Luna nodded before listening to the two unicorns.

“Fifteen years ago,” Dr. Serizawa explained. “This temple was attacked by an unknown creature. Survivors of the attack claimed this creature was around the size of a dragon and for some reason had a keen attraction to anything with magic residing within. Some of the survivors claimed that the creature went after anypony that used magic on it. Hence the reason it came here in the first place. It was after the Magatama Necklace of the Sun, a magical artifact passed down from the late empress.”

“So what purpose could this beast have with the artifact?” Luna asked with a raised brow.

“Its purpose,” Dr. Graphic joined in. “Was to feed.”

Luna’s eyes widened in shock at what she heard. It came to this temple to feed? Luna shook the thought from her mind before turning to the two.

“Are thou saying that this beast came to feast upon magic?” Luna asked. Both of the unicorns nodded at her. “So does that mean—“

“Yes,” Dr. Serizawa said. “It consumed anything with magic. Be it an object or a pony.” Luna was filled with horror when heard this. Luckily she calmed down when she felt her sister place a hoof on her shoulder. Luna sighed before turning her attention back to Serizawa.

“So where is the beast now?” she asked.

“You’ve seen the structure outside, correct?” he asked. Luna gave a nod before he continued. “That structure is actually a cocoon of sorts that contains the creature.”

“A cocoon!?” she exclaimed in a shocked tone. Both scientists nodded as Luna tried to get over her shock. “That’s impossible. No known creature in Equestria is able to do such a feat.”

“That’s true,” Dr. Graphic said. “Tell me this, your highness. Are you familiar with fossils?” Luna’s brow rose a bit before answering.

“Yes,” she answered. “We had the pleasure to experience the thrills fossils had within the Canterlot museum.” She thought for a bit before she got what the doctor was getting at. “Wait! Are thou saying this beast is some sort of dinosaur?”

“In a sense,” Serizawa answered. “We believe the creature, that we call the MUTO , is an ancient form of unknown parasite.”

“Parasite?” Luna asked.

Suddenly the entire temple shook. Lights were flickering as a pulse was felt throughout the temple. Each of the horns started to spark a bit from the experience. Luna held her head a bit after her horn stopped sparking. It felt like something was forcefully cutting off her magic.

“Luna, are you alright?” Celestia asked. Luna’s headache subsided as she breathed out a sigh of relief before looking at her older sibling.

“I am fine, sister.” She assured. “It felt like something was trying to suppress my magic.”

“That would be the EMP, your highness,” Serizawa explained.

“What is an EMP?” Luna asked with a raised brow.

“An EMP is an acronym for Electric Magical Pulse,” Dr. Graphic answered. “It’s a pulse of high level magical energy that’s known to suppress any form of magic. It affects a pony depending on their breed. Earth ponies would lose their strength. Pegasi wouldn’t be able to fly and unicorns would temporary lose their magic. Alicorns fall into the same faction for all three.”

Another tremor was felt across the temple. The lights flickered yet again as the pulse covered the temple. Each of their horns sparked again and Luna held her head as she felt the magic suppressing migraine. Both doctors looked at each other with concern as the tremors subsided.

“That was more recent than the last few times,” Dr. Graphic noted. Serizawa nodded a bit.

“When did these pulses start to happen?” Celestia asked. Serizawa looked to the princess with a serious expression.

“It started two weeks ago,” he answered. “They were small at first but over time they’ve started becoming more recent and growing stronger.”

Another tremor shook the temple. This one, however, was stronger than the last one as dust and specks of stone fell from the ceiling. The pulse was then felt as the lights flickered again and each of them grunted feeling the pulse’s effect. Dr. Graphic looked alarmed at Serizawa, whose eyes were filled with the same concern. The EMP seemed to be increasing in intensity.

Suddenly, a unicorn technician rushed into the antechamber. “Dr. Serizawa, they need you upstairs! We have a problem.”

Serizawa took those words at heart and immediately sat up and followed after the technician. Dr. Graphic didn’t waste time either and followed after the unicorn. Celestia and Luna looked at each other before nodding and followed after the two doctors.

The group raced back to the control room, which was now in a barely controlled frenzy. The elation and excitement of only a few minutes ago had been supplanted by an almost palpable sense of panic. Emergency alerts and warnings flashed urgently on almost every screen and console. Buzzers and sirens sounded. Alarmed pony technicians shouted over each other.

“Just seconds apart!” A pegasus called out.

Another pony, whose name Serizawa didn’t know, stared in dismay at the readings before him. “—stronger, broad spectrum!”

A middle-aged earth pony stallion was pacing back and forth in worry. Luna grimaced a bit watching the stallion chew on his hooves nervously. The power and intensity of the pulses were exceeding all their expectations and precautions. The team’s historic breakthrough was turning into a disaster.

“Any wild magic leakage?” a stallion asked in fear.

A larger tremor shook the crow’s nest as the cocoon emitted an even stronger pulse. Serizawa staggered across the quaking floor to the windows overlooking the inner temple. Down below, the mammoth cocoon flexed and heaved, causing great hunks of its rocky outer shell to shear off and crash onto the metal grille covering the floor of the temple. Tiny figures, their movements hampered by their cumbersome hazmat suits, scrambled for safety as the chunks of the shell tumbled down onto the expensive equipment like a rockslide, smashing portions of the sensor array to pieces. The impact of the fragments slamming into the stone floor echoed off the walls of the temple. As the outer layer of the cocoon disintegrated, more and more of the infernal red glow within it was exposed.

“What in Tartarus is it doing?” Luna asked.

“Magic levels still zero,” reported a fellow technician, with audible relief. “It’s sucked all the magic dry from the artifact.”

Serizawa looked towards the trembling cocoon with a hardened glare. “It’s done feeding.”

Puzzled, Luna looked over at Serizawa. She then gazed to the cocoon uncomprehendingly. “What's about to happen, doctor?”

“It’ll break free.” Serizawa explained. “Once it does then this facility and the ponies stationed here will be in danger.”

Graphic ran the scenario through her head several times. All of the destruction, pain and death, just like fifteen years ago. “That’s what it’s building to, converting all that magic until it hatches.”

“We need to shut down,” Serizawa said.

“Secure the temple!” an earth pony ordered. “Wildfire protocols!”

Another pony pressed a button, sounding an alarm. He relayed the order into the microphone. “All personnel, clear the first perimeter, immediately!”

Klaxons blared throughout the base. Crimson warning lights flashed and rotated. Outside the crow’s nest, the generators were cranked up to full capacity as the six looming construction cranes went into operation. Gears engaged and motors roared as the cranes stretched a net of thick steel cables above the inner temple. Those were a precaution if anything tried to escape.

Serizawa watched from the crow’s nest as the tech crews on the lower levels of the temple scrambled out of the way as the huge wire “cage” descended, sealing the cocoon inside, even as another layer of the outer shell shook loose, sloughing onto the floor of the temple with tremendous force. Serizawa offered a silent prayer for the workers below, hoping they would not be crushed by the stony fragments, which were as hard and brittle as volcanic rock.

Agitated voices filled the control room. The pulses, coming faster and faster, were growing steadily in strength. Arguments broke out among the panicky pony scientists and technicians as they debate the correct response to the escalating crisis. Emergency measures were hurriedly deployed, but Celestia and Luna gotten a definite sense that matters were spiraling out of control.

“Temple secured!” a technician called out as the high-tension netting stretched taut above the quivering cocoon. The technician let out a sigh of relief, which Serizawa feared might be premature. After all, the cage had never been tested.

The announcement quieted the tumult inside the control room. Overlapping voices trailed off as all heads turned toward Serizawa, who was keeping a firm gaze on the cocoon. Everypony, except the princesses, knew what came next. An earth pony technician’s hoof hovered above a switch. He looked to Serizawa for the go-ahead.

“Say the word,” the technician said.

A lot was going through Serizawa’s mind right now. He was now given overwhelming responsibility to give the word to end the life of a creature. While he never killed anything before, this was a tough decision. There was still so much they could learn from the creature. Right now, unfortunately, wasn’t the time to be merciful. Either he takes out the threat or many more will die. He then felt a hoof on his should and looked to see Celestia giving him a sympathetic look.

“Doctor,” she said. “It’s your call. Do what you believe is right.” Serizawa nodded before turning his attention back to the cocoon.

Down in the temple, the cocoon shuddered again, shedding yet another layer of the shell. Great chunks of the cocoon rained down on the stone flooring, which began to buckle beneath the avalanche. With each layer, more and more of the unearthly effulgence at the core of the cocoon could be seen, although the organism within remained hidden from view.

But for how much longer?

“Kill it,” Serizawa said.

Celestia let Serizawa make the call. She then nodded to the earth pony technician, who threw the switch.

Thousands of volts electrified the metal grille at the base of the cocoon. Bright blue flashes crackled across the flooring. The cocoon sizzled and convulsed as the electricity arced across its outer shell, jolting it with bolts of contained lightning. Smoke rose from its cracking outer shell. Floodlights and fuses blew, throwing the entire inner temple into darkness. Graphic gasped, and Celestia looked away from the window. In theory, whatever was growing inside the cocoon had just been electrocuted.

Serizawa prayed they had not waited too long.

On the monitors, the data feeds all went silent. A hush fell over the control room.

“All readings are flatlined,” the technician reported.

Serizawa peered down into the murky temple. As nearly as he could tell, the cocoon remained intact, apart from a single long crack splitting its surface. Shadows filled the gap, making it impossible to discern what lay deeper within the cocoon. The bioluminous glow had been extinguished. No sound or motion could be detected from this height. He, however, wasn’t going to take the chance of overlooking it.

“Get a visual,” he instructed.

Down in the temple, a work crew cautiously approached the charred cocoon. The stone floor beneath their hooves was no longer electrified, but their hazmat suits included rubber boots regardless. Massive fragments of dislodged shell, the size of boulders, were embedded in the floor, forcing the workers to detour around them. Burnt and shattered scientific equipment further obstructed their path. The slabbed floor beneath their hooves was cracked and cratered, making it difficult to navigate. It was several minutes before they reached the base of the cocoon, which remained dark and inert.

The leader of the team and unicorn, Koji Tanaka, ignited his horn with magical light. An incandescent yellow glow cast light on the deep, jagged crack running up the blackened exterior of the looming cocoon. He peered up at the crack, but saw only a still, silent darkness. It appeared that the creature was indeed dead, but perhaps there was yet more they could learn by examining its remains?

The team drew nearer to the cocoon. Tanaka was about to report back to the control room, when he spotted a glimmer of movement through the crack. At first he thought it might be just a trick of the light, but, no, something was definitely shifting deep within the cocoon. He squinted into shadows, while the rest of his team started shouting and pointed fearfully. They could all see it now: Elusive shapes—no, a single shape—stirring inside the cocoon, right before their eyes.

Tanaka’s mouth went dry. He began to back away warily.

A deafening howl erupted from the cocoon, echoing off the walls of the temple. Terrified, Tanaka and his team turned and ran frantically for their lives.

They didn’t get far.

A bone-rattling shockwave blasted from the cocoon, flinging the fleeing workers across the floor into the ruins and rubble. The concussive force disintegrated what remained of the cocoon, causing it to crumble to dust, even as a tremendous electromagic pulse blew through the entire base, shutting anything magic-powered down. Tumbling through the air, Tanaka was already dead, his organs pulped, before he slammed into the disintegrating pile of debris.

The creature was now 61 meters. Its entire body was colored greyish black with white patches over its body. One of its two forelimbs were now wings and were twice its body length. Its triangular head bobbed a bit like a bird, looking around its surroundings. It spotted the many workers fleeing from its cocoon. Each of their auras called out to it. The creature then howled again before giving chase after a potential meal.

Along with his fellow scientists and the princesses, Serizawa stared down into the abyss, which was lit only by the intermittent strobing of the emergency lights. The steel-mesh net over the pit remained intact, further obscuring his view of the creature below, which had obviously survived their attempt to electrocute it. Despite the danger posed by the monster, Serizawa marveled at its obvious strength and endurance. They had sent enough voltage through the temple to fry a blue whale, but the creature was still alive and free from its cocoon.

‘We waited too long,’ he realized. ‘It’s grown too strong.’

The erratic lighting frustrated him. Straining his eye, he could make out only the vague impression of some gargantuan form moving below. He caught sporadic glimpses of gargantuan red eyes and gleaming fangs.

Beside Serizawa, Luna gasped as the shadowy beast pressed up against the cable netting, testing its cage. The creature heaved upward, shaking the entire temple. Steel scaffolding and support beams began to buckle alarmingly. Tortured metal screamed in protest. Now she understood why Celestia believe this creature was a bigger threat than Tirek. This creature was a true monster. The crow’s nest bucked beneath everypony’s hooves, Serizawa had to grab onto a window sill to maintain his balance. Graphic stumbled against him, her face pale.

“Everypony out!” Serizawa shouted. “Now!”

His hoof then slammed down on a panic button.

Outside, ponies were galloping everywhere trying to get to positions to destroy the monster that was rampaging inside the temple. However, after a period of aggression, everything calmed after another EMP was released. It stopped moving, until at last its two long hooked forearms rose up out of the temple. Slowly, the guards watched as they then wrapped around on the steel wires and started pulling them down. One by one, they began to snap and split across the space above the temple, several guards and workers were caught in the wrong place as they fall victim to the breaking metal and flailing wire. One unlucky guard was nearly cleaved in two by one such wires snapping at him as it broke free from the tension.

The princesses had made it outside, and watched in horror as the monster continued to pull the wires apart in an attempt to free itself. Another wire was attached to an overpass leading to the temple snapped under the pressure and fell towards the two alicorns. Both dodged out of the way as the metal cable slammed into the ground, causing it to crack.

Luna landed on the ground hard. She groggily looked back to where her sister was at. She saw her older sister getting up. Her coat appeared to be covered in patches of dirt as she shook her head of dizziness. She then looked to Luna before her eyes widened in fear.

“LUNA!” she screamed as she tried to gallop to her sister, but was cut off as a piece of large debris landed in front of her, nearly crushing her.

“TIA!” Luna screamed as she was about to gallop to her aide.

She was, however, stopped by two things. The first was that more metal and debris falling into her path. The second was the sound of the monster’s unholy howl once more. She slowly turned around slowly, her eyes widened in fear as she saw the massive hooked claw rise up and slam into the ground. The monster, known as the MUTO, was free and it hauled itself out of the temple. It gave out a mighty roar as it seemed to celebrate its freedom. With that the guards and workers started scattering about. This caused the MUTO to look down at the scattered ponies. Various auras were seen amongst its gaze, which it caused the parasite to drool. It was a feast it couldn’t pass up.

The MUTO roared as it charged at the crowd of ponies. The workers ran for their lives while the unicorn guards casted Magic Missile spells at the creature. The energy projectiles each exploded on the parasite’s body, which made it shriek in pain. While the spells were painful, they barely did any damage. It howled as it continued its charge before overwhelming a group of guards. They screamed in terror as the monster struck at them with jaws open. Their screams were immediately silenced as the MUTO gulped down its first snack out of the cocoon.

Luna’s eyes widened in horror to what she had just witnessed, that thing just devoured innocent ponies. Her teeth gritted as her anger started to build. She will not allow this beast to do whatever it pleases while in her presence. She will slay this foul monster. Her thoughts were broken as she heard the MUTO roar again. She saw that it then had its attention on a unicorn guardsmare who was frantically firing Magic Missile spells at the monster. Without hesitation, she galloped towards the mare readying herself for battle.

The guardmare fired another Magic Missile at the MUTO. It howled as it closed in on the mare. Before she could fire another spell, her rump hit a hard wall making her realizing her situation. She was cornered and will most likely be dead. A shadow loomed over her causing her to look quickly, her eyes widened in terror. The monsters crimson red eyes focused on the mare with hunger. The guard’s eyes started to water up with tears as she shivered in fear. The MUTO then prepared to strike on the unicorn mare with jaws agape and drooling.

Suddenly, a large beam of blue magic slammed into the monster, causing it to shriek in surprise and pain. This caused the MUTO to get knocked off its feet into a part of the temple. The guard’s eyes widened as she looked in surprise to see Luna land in front of her facing the monster. The princess then turned her attention to the guardsmare with a sympathetic look.

“Art thou alright, my little pony?” she asked. The unicorn nodded before bowing a bit to the princess.

“Hai, Luna-sama,” the mare said while looking down in grief. “I tried to fight with all my might but my companions—“Tears started to fall from her eyes. “—t-they…” She was stopped as Luna placed a sympathetic hoof on the mare’s shoulder.

“There, there young pony,” she assured. “No need to say anymore. Right now, you must get to a safe location.”

“But what will you do?” the guardsmare asked. Luna then turned her attention to the MUTO, who was now getting up from the attack Luna inflicted on it. Its narrowed crimson eyes gazed at the alicorn as it growled in anger. Luna’s gaze turned into anger as she glared back at the monster.

“I will slay the foul beast!” she exclaimed before raising her wings and with a mighty flap took to the air towards the towering monster. The MUTO reacted to this with a mighty roar before rising up and charged at the alicorn princess.

Luna’s horn glowed as she then fired a beam of magic at the winged monster. The beam hit the MUTO in the chest causing it to halt a bit before it roared and continued its charge towards the princess. It then took a snap at Luna, who quickly dodged before ascending to a higher altitude. The MUTO looked up seeing its current prey taking to the sky, with a roar it spread its own wings and gave a mighty flap with its wings and took after the alicorn.

Luna looked behind her and gasped as she saw the winged monster speeding towards her. She dodged to the left as the MUTO passed by, however was knocked away from the extreme wind currents caused by the monster. Luna stabilized herself as she looked up at the MUTO, who made a turn around and was homing in on her.

The princess’s horn glowed as she then sent out a beam of magic at the monster again. The MUTO saw it coming as it barrel rolled to the left, which caused Luna to gasp. It then went back into homing in on Luna. It passed over her, causing the wind currents to hit her hard. She screamed as she was sent spiraling to the ground. She landed hard on the ground, practically knocking the wind out of her. She groaned as she started to pick herself up from the ground. Several feet away, a large “THOOM!” was heard as she looked to see the MUTO right there staring down at her, roaring as its wings were spread out in aggression.

Luna’s horn glowed again as she was ready to cast another magic blast. The MUTO, however, anticipated this as one of its forelimbs started to give out a red bioluminescent glow. The blinking glow grew faster and faster before the MUTO raised its forelimb before slamming it into the ground. An EMP then shot out and it hit Luna with full force. Her horn immediately lost its glow and sparked uncontrollably. Sheer pain shot throughout her body as she let a loud scream as the force of the pulse knocked her back.

Luna groaned as she wearily looked up as her eyes slowly widened in horror. Right there above her, the MUTO clicked as its maw drooled as it looked down at its potential meal. Luna desperately tried to get up but unfortunately her legs wouldn’t respond. The MUTO was about to strike when suddenly it was knocked back by a beam of golden magical energy. This caused the MUTO to shriek in surprise and pain as it was forced onto its back.

Luna then gasped as she saw Celestia land right in front of her. Her eyes were filled with anger as she faced the direction of the monster, which was now getting back up. The MUTO growled as it faced Celestia let loose a loud howl. Celestia spread out her wings to show intimidation to the winged monster. Her horn glowed gold as she continued her hardened glare.

“Listen, unholy beast,” she said with anger. “You will not harm my sister while in my presence!” She rose up on her hind hooved before slamming her fore hooves into the ground. The ground beneath them started cracking and spreading out as what appeared to be magical flames spewed from the cracks rushed towards the MUTO.

The MUTO shrieked as the blaze spewed in front of it. The intense heat caused the monster to recoil and back up. It then roared before spreading its wings and gave them a major flap, causing the flames to die down from the intense wind. Celestia stood firm as the wind rushed past her, not moving from her spot.

The MUTO was about to charge at the two princesses when it then picked up something on its heightened senses. A sound only it could hear, a sound that was calling out to it. The MUTO turned away from the two alicorns before letting out its own high pitched, clicking call. It waited a bit before the call from before responded back. The MUTO then spread its mighty wings and gave them a flap, allowing it to take to the air and headed north, where it disappeared into the cloud cover out of sight.

Celestia sighed with relief as the monster had finally left. Unfortunately, that didn’t ease the tension. The monster was now free and could be anywhere. It could even cause havoc in Equestria. One thing, however, caused her confusion. What caused the creature to deter its attention away from them? Whatever it was it probably wasn’t good. A groan behind her gotten her attention as she turned to see her sister, Luna, still collapsed on the ground. She rushed to her sibling checking to see if she was alright.

“Luna,” she said as she nuzzled her. “Are you alright?” Luna opened her eyes and smiled weakly at her older sister.

“We are alright, sister,” she replied. “Though, thou is weak with our battle with the winged demon.” Celestia sighed while she shook her head.

“That was foalish, Luna!” she berated. “You know it was unwise to face an enemy you had no knowledge about whatsoever.” Luna chuckled weakly as she laid her head down.

“I’m sorry, Tia,” she apologized. “Thou were doing our duty as a princess. We couldn't let that beast do as it pleases.” She was then nuzzled by her older sister.

“Hush now, Luna. Rest and regain your strength.”

Luna nodded before closing her eyes before letting her mind wander into the realm of dreams. Celestia then looked around her, only to feel her heart break. The area around her was devastated, all caused by the rampage of the MUTO. Walls had crumbled, the stone floor was either cratered or cracked and the metal works were completely destroyed.

“Your highness!” a voice called out. She turned to see Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graphic galloping up towards her. She nodded to both of them as they stopped right in front of her.

“Thank the Maker you two are alright,” she said. Serizawa nodded before turning to Luna’s fallen form.

“What has happened to Luna?” he asked.

“She tried to combat the MUTO,” she explained. “Unfortunately she was hit by the full force of the EMP.” Serizawa nodded before turning to Graphic.

“Go find a medic team,” he ordered. “The princess will need it.” Graphic nodded before galloping off to find the medics.

Serizawa then looked upon the destruction before him. The secret would soon get out and panic will spread across Equestria and beyond. Their top priority right now was to locate the monster and detain it. Hopefully they would be able to stop it before “he” comes.

Date: May 20th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Braying Sea, 50 Miles East of the Crystal Empire

The Braying Sea was a small marginal sea that lied between the edge of the Crystal Empire and the Hooviet Union. Here was home to several underwater volcanic fields, where thermal wild magic expelled from within the planet for millions of years. It’s also home to another around the same age.

Under the waves at the base of two volcanoes, an ancient creature slept. Its breathing was calm as oxygen flowed into its gills while it slumbered. The magic expelled from the volcanic vents were absorbed into its jagged spines, fueling and feeding him. Every sea creature knew not to disturb him while he slumbered, but he didn’t care either way.

Suddenly, he heard something. Something familiar he hadn’t heard for a very long time. He began to stir as the noise continued, fueling an ancient anger that he hadn’t felt for a while. Four fingered claws started to scrape across the ocean floor in agitation. A snarl was etched on his muzzle as he then began to rise up off the ocean floor. He knew what this sound was all too well. He snarled again as oxygen filled bubbled escaped his toothy maw as his eyes shot open revealing glowing yellow eyes. He had awakened and the hunt could now begin.

Chapter 5: The Power of Order and Legend

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Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Neighsianic Ocean, 50 Miles South of Haywaii

Morning came as a massive aircraft carrier cut through the ocean’s waves. This ship was known as the ES Saddletoga, one of four supercarriers of the Equestrian Navy. On its flight deck, several ponies were doing various duties ranging from maintenance to their daily drills.

Inside the ship, located below decks, was the Saddletoga’s Combat Direction Center, which was packed and buzzing. Banks of monitors and work stations, manned by uniformed analysts, were jammed with data feeds. Armed services personnel, sporting several allied nationalities, were crammed into the war room, which reminded Serizawa of the crow’s nest back at the base. The overhead lights were kept dim to increase the visibility of various screens and graphic displays. A backlit table map projected the MUTO’s potential courses, as calculated by the incoming data. As the simulations ran, dotted lines crossed the ocean, branching off in all directions, but with most heading north across the Neighsianic. Each dotted line was accompanied by a flurry of algorithmic probability data: wind speed, currents, altitude, weather conditions, and so on. Quietly observing the operations, Serizawa was just selfish enough to be relieved that the creature appeared to be winging away from his homeland.

Not that anywhere in the world was truly safe at the moment.
“Okay! Listen up!” a black-coated pegasus known as Captain Hoofton said, taking the floor. To say that his manner was “brisk” would be an understatement. “Quiet please!” He waited, but not for long, for the general chatter and hubbub to die down. “Briefing is up. New faces. New info. From here out, we do not try to move quickly, we will move quickly.” He turned to introduce a figure to his right. “Admiral?”

A senior earth pony officer, with a cropped white mane and a lean, taciturn face, stepped forward. His coat was grey as his eyes were brown. On his flank, his cutie mark showed an eagle sat stationary on what appeared to be Equis while a slanted anchor went through it. He gestured at a monitor displaying a blurry image of the MUTO. Hushed voices murmured in awe.

“This is our needle in a haystack, everypony.” He said crisply. “MUTO, Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. It is, however, no longer terrestrial. It is airborne. The world still thinks this was an earthquake, and it would be preferable that were to remain so. Before we lost sight, it was headed north across the Neighsianic, and had emitted enough EMP disruption to create havoc with our radar and highly sensitive sensory equipment, and reduced us, for the moment, to a strictly visual pursuit.” A frown deepened the well-earned creases on his face. “I emphasize ‘for the moment’ because we will get on our game and we will find this thing. It is imperative that we do so.”

His remark concluded, he surrendered the floor and sought out Serizawa at the back of the room. He then extended his hoof to him.

“Dr. Serizawa,” the admiral greeted. “Admiral Wheeler Stall. Glad to have you on board.”

Serizawa accepted Stall’s hoof and bowed slightly. He then spied Graphic beckoning him from the open hatchway to the command center. He had dispatched her earlier to keep tabs on Luna’s health. He nodded back to her in acknowledgement. He was hoping to explain everything the younger sister.

“Will you excuse me, Admiral?”

Luna’s face looked at peace as she slept in the medical bed. Parts of her body were covered in wrappings and bandages as she was healed by unicorn medics. Sitting beside her bed was Celestia, whose expression was filled with tired worry. She had dark rings under her eyes from staying awake through the night to watch over her sibling. Seeing her sister on the bed brought both relief and pain to her heart.
The relief of knowing her sister was alive and well but pain to know that she tries so hard to protect their subjects. She was lucky the outcome didn’t turn out worse than it was.

The sound of medical bay’s door hatch opening caught Celestia’s attention. There in the hatchway was a unicorn stallion wearing a doctor’s garb. His coat was orange with a brown mane. He wore glasses over his blue eyes. On his flank was a cutie mark which appeared to represent a rectangular-edged blue star with the symbol of a white snake winding around a pole. He was known as Blue Cross, the top medic assigned to the ES Saddletoga. He smiled at Celestia before nodding to her as he held up a clipboard with his magic.

“Good morning, your highness!” he greeted. “I take it you’ve stayed the night here?”

“Yes, Doctor Blue Cross,” she answered with a nod before turning back to Luna. “I couldn’t leave my sister until she wakes again.”

“That’s understandable,” Blue Cross said as he looked over the clipboard. “If it was one of my siblings on that bed I’d be here all night too.” Celestia smiled and turned her head to Blue Cross.

“Will she awake soon?” she asked. Blue Cross looked over the clipboard before answering.

“She should be any minute now. Considering she had two broken ribs, a fractured left wing, several cuts and bruises, and a massive case of forced magic fatigue.” A groan was heard as both ponies looked to see Luna’s eyes slowly open. Blue Cross smiled at the sight. “And there she is. Good morning, your highness!” He then mutters the last part. “Man I’m good.”

“How are you feeling, Luna?” Celestia asked. The Moon Princess groaned as she tried to sit up and place a hoof on her head.

“We feel, as if, one hundred dragons trampled over us,” she groaned out. Celestia couldn’t help but giggle at that minor analogy of her condition. Blue Cross then stepped into the conversation.

“That’s expected what one would feel after recovering from what you’ve been through.” He stated. “I strictly prohibit, though, any more participation in battles.” Luna only nodded to the unicorn medic before leaving the sisters to their business.

Minutes seemed to pass as the two alicorns remained silent. Celestia then sighed before ending the silence between the two.

“Luna,” she spoke up. “I’m so sorry about what has happened.”

Luna raised a brow as she looked at her sister in confused. “What do thou have to be sorry for, sister?”

“It was my fault that this happened to you. You were hurt because I didn’t properly inform you of the impending danger we were facing. Instead, I kept you in the dark and in the end you almost lost your life. I’m-I’m…” Tears started to well up in the Sun Princess’s eyes as she started to silently sob. She then felt nuzzling as she opened her eyes to see Luna nuzzling her with comfort. She then nuzzled her sibling back as her tears started to slowly dry up.

“You have nothing to worry, sister,” Luna said. “It was our fault that we charged in headstrong. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister lovingly.

“Thank you, Luna.”

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the hatchway door. Celestia and Luna turned their attention to it to see a young petty pegasus officer standing there giving them a salute before speaking.

“Your highnesses,” he said which had a Midwestern accent. “I’m here to escort you to Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graphic.”

Celestia then turned to Luna. “Do you think you can walk?” Luna thought a bit before nodding. She then slowly got off the bed, with

Celestia’s help, and followed the officer.

Serizawa and his team had been assigned guest quarters upon the Saddletoga. Even on the ship as large as the super-carrier, space was at a premium so the cramped cabin was a tight squeeze, but they were making do. Monarch scientists worked beside Equestrian Navy technicians, monitoring data feeds at various workstations, as he and Graphic spoke urgently on their respected pocket magic mirrors.

A knock at the hatchway interrupted both calls. Graphic went to answer it.

“Dr. Serizawa?” the petty officer pegasus said as he stood at the doorway. He had Celestia and Luna with him, with the latter still covered in medical wraps and bandages. Serizawa nodded at the officer that it was alright for him to leave. The officer departed and Graphic escorted the princesses into the room.

Luna approached the desk warily. Her eyes widened as she spotted the photos spread out across the desk, which Serizawa made no concern to conceal. Luna was taken visibly taken aback by the startling images. Serizawa sympathized; what these pictures displayed would be shocking to the younger princess, who had a taste of the darker side of one of Equestria’s many secrets.

“Princess Luna,” Serizawa said with a minor bow. Luna then bowed back a bit in response.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“We are fine, doctor,” she replied. “Body a bit sore, but we shall live.”

Graphic then bowed her head at the princess in apology. “We’re deeply sorry that you had to experience that, your highness. But I’m afraid we need your help.” With that sentence, both princesses stepped into the cabin. Graphic shut the door behind them.

Flickering images played upon the wall of the cabin. A portable digital projector providing relevant visuals as Serizawa attempted to
explain.

“In 954,” he began, “the first time a magic-powered submarine ever reached the lower depths, it awakened something.”

“Equestria first thought it was the Hooviets,” Graphic added. “The Hooviets thought that it was them. All those Mega Spell bomb tests in the
Neighsianic during the ‘50s? Not tests…”

“They were trying to kill it.” Serizawa indicated the ancient film footage from the 950s. “Him.”

Luna’s jaw dropped. Breaking eye contact with Serizawa, she looked more closely at the projected images of the 954 MS-bomb detonation, the bomb with the cartoon lizard inscribed on its cone, a mushroom cloud rising over the once-tranquil Neighsianic Ocean, and, finally, impossibly, the footage of two titanic beasts duking it out on a tropical island. One looked similar to a dragon or a dinosaur, a row of jagged spikes or fins visible along its spine. The other appeared to be an arachnid of sorts with a large scorpion-like stinger and bat-like wings.

“An ancient alpha predator,” Serizawa explained.

“Millions of years older than ponykind,” Graphic said, “from an age when Equis had ten times more magic than it does today. This animal—and others like it—consumed this energy as a food source. But as the levels on the surface naturally subsided, these creatures adapted to live deeper in the oceans, further underground, absorbing magic from the planet’s core. The organization that we work for, Monarch, was established in the wake of this discovery. A multinational coalition, formed in secrecy, to search for him, study him, learn everything we could.”

Luna stared at the footage. The images were blurry, but the creature’s gargantuan proportions and general outline were clear.

“In Neighpon,” Serizawa said, “we call him… Gojira.”

The name, itself, gave Luna shivers down her spine. The appearance of the beast was frightening enough but its name gave it power. She then seemed to remember reading something about Neighpon legends when she was younger. The name was derived from a legend of Odo Island: a mythical king of monsters of sorts. It was known that whenever the island faced a terrible crisis, this beast would rise from the sea to defend the islands. It was also said that the creature could set the sea ablaze with its very breath.

“The top of a primordial ecosystem,” Graphic elaborated. Luna then found her voice as she continued to watch.

“A monster…”

“No,” Graphic responded, “a god, for all intents and purposes.” Then the images of the “cavern” in the Fillyppines then appeared on the wall from the projector.

“Fifteen years ago,” Serizawa continued, “we found the fossil of another giant animal in the Fillyppines. Like Gojira, but this creature died long ago, killed by these…” Close-ups of the MUTO spores appeared on the wall.

“Parasitic spores,” Graphic said. “One dormant, but the other hatched. Catalyzed when a mining company unknowingly drilled into its tomb. The hatchling burrowed straight for the nearest source of magic, the Temple of the Rising Sun in Hoofishima, and cocooned there for fifteen years, absorbing its arcane energy to gestate, to grow.”

“Until it hatched like a butterfly into the creature you saw today,” Serizawa said.

The biology, in fact, was fairly basic, albeit on a monstrous scale. The arthropods were basically eating machines, consuming massive amounts of nutrients before creating a cocoon in which to undergo metamorphosis into their adult stage. Serizawa called up an image of the massive cocoon, which had been discovered fifteen years ago atop the ruins of the temple, not long after the earlier disaster in the Fillyppines.

“Wait. Thou knew about this?” Luna then turned to Celestia while still trying to take it in. “This thing… the whole time? Even you, sister?” Celestia sadly nodded before answering.

“Yes,” she said. “I knew about it. It was I who founded Monarch to handle situations like this. As a princess of Equestria, you should know that putting the safety of our subjects before ourselves was the top priority.”

“Why not slay the beast when thou had the chance?” Luna said.

“It was absorbing magic from the artifact,” Graphic said. “We worried that killing it might release its inner wild magic and endanger millions.”

Serizawa nodded. “That’s why our mission was to contain it, to study its biology. To understand it.”

“We knew the creature was having a magical effect on everything within a close proximity,” Graphic said. “What we didn’t know was that it could harness this same power in an EMP attack.”

Footage from Hoofishima showed the winged creature unleashing its electromagic pulse—a heartbeat before the pulse shorted out the monitors.

“And you felt the full power of it,” Serizawa said. “One can only imagine if the MUTO ventured into populated areas.”

Luna did imagine it. The monster could cause wide-spread destruction to various towns and cities. Many creatures and ponies could fall prey to its voracious appetite. It was a frightening thought.

“Doctors,” Celestia spoke up. “I did notice one thing the MUTO displayed that seemed a bit… strange.”

“Strange?” Graphic said.

Serizawa looked to the princess with peaked curiosity. “Care to explain, your highness?”

“When I interfered the MUTO had its full attention on both of us,” she explained as best she could. “Suddenly, its attention was then drawn away by some sort of invisible force. We were two of the most highly abundant sources of magic, but it turned away a free meal because something drew its interest.”

“Did it do anything else?” Serizawa asked. Celestia nodded.

“Yes,” she answered. “It was as if it was calling out to something and I have a feeling that ‘something’ responded back.”

The princesses look to see both scientists looking at each other in shock. Whatever Celestia had said must have been a major bombshell she’d just dropped, but the two unicorns immediately grasped the implications. They glanced down at an indistinct snapshot of the majestic creature from the ocean’s floor, last seen sixty years ago.

Could they truly be dealing with… him?

“If the MUTO called something that day,” Serizawa reasoned, “our sensors must have recorded something responding back.”

Gripped by a sense of extraordinary urgency, he turned to Graphic. “Check the recordings. Search for a response call.”

She sat down at her laptop, while the projector continued to cycle through the relevant images. Serizawa slumped down into a chair.
Luna stared at the wall, trying to make sense of it all. It was a lot to absorb.

“This parasite… it’s still out there,” she said. “Where’s it headed?”

“The MUTO is young, growing,” Serizawa said. “It will be looking for food.”

“Sources of magic,” Graphic added, glancing up from her laptop. “We’re monitoring all known sites, but if we don’t find it soon…”

Her voice trailed off, not needing to say more.

“Then what?” Luna asked.

Serizawa had his doubts, at least as far as ponykind’s ability to cope with such a threat.

“Nature has an order. A power to restore balance.”

He stared up at the wall, where Gojira could be glimpsed once more. The Equestrian Army had attempted to destroy the beast with a Mega Spell bomb, but even it proved ineffective afterwards. Some were hoping the bomb would have taken both monsters out that day, but that may have been wishful thinking.

“I believe Gojira is that power.”

Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Fort Bray, Braying Island, Braying Sea

Summer thunderstorms raged and roared as occasional large waves hit its rocky shores. Being on this island right now was considered unbearable. That, however, is what happens when one of the Royal Army gets transferred to a fortified outpost here in the middle of nowhere.

Doing daily rounds on the forts wall was a pegasus. His coat was brown while he had a red mane and tail, and his eyes were light blue. His current garb was a bright yellow raincoat, which protected him from the current elements. If his flank was exposed, you could see his cutie mark which represented a gust of wind building up ocean waves. This was Private Sea Breeze, the new recruit who was stationed here at Fort Bray.

He didn’t know why he had to be transferred here of all places. Sure he wanted the peace and quiet but right now it was anything but peaceful or quiet. He sighed as he continued to finish his rounds around the fort. Checking every nook and cranny of the fort, making sure nopony was trespassing. Seeing the all clear, he decided that it was time to head back to the HQ.

He entered the command center, shedding off the rain coat and hanging it on the nearby coat rack. He noticed that he wasn’t alone in the command center. Nearby sitting on a chair watching over radar and sonar monitors was a griffin.
It was a female around his age and was wearing Royal Army attire. Her tuft of feathers had a similar coloration to a harpy eagle, considering her head was similar to one. Her lion half, however, was similar to that of a jaguar. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to the she-griffin.

“Hey, Stella!” he greeted. The griffin turned before giving the stallion a smile.

“Hey, SB!” she greeted back. “How was patrol?”

A groan and sigh was heard from the stallion as he took a seat next to her station. “Boring and wet.” He simply said. “Why the higher ups thought to transfer us here I’ll never know.” Stella giggled a bit at her friend.

“Look on the bright side,” she brought up. “At least our shift is about to end in an hour.”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s true. That reminds me. After our shift, I was wondering if you wanted to hit that restaurant down the road. If you’re interested that is?”

Stella gave a playful smirk while looking to the stallion. “Mr. Sea Breeze, are you asking me out?”

Sea Breeze also gave a coy smirk. “Maybe. So you interested?”

Stella gave a shrug. “Eh, why not? Besides I could go for a bite to eat after today.”

Before the stallion could reply, the sound of a loud ding was heard. Both look to see on the radar screen, a large object heading right towards them. Sea Breeze wasted no time and immediately put on his headphones and activated the long-range radio.

“Unidentified craft,” he announced. “You are entering military waters. Please identify and state your business.” He got nothing over the radio. “Unidentified craft, please respond.” Still nothing. “Why aren’t they responding?”

“Sea Breeze,” Stella said. “Check out the radar.”

Sea Breeze turned his attention from the radio to the radar and what he saw he couldn’t believe his eyes. The radar was reading that the object was around 167.7 meters in length. No craft was that huge. It was impossible.

“What is it?” she asked.

The stallion only gave a shrug. “I don’t know. But-“

Suddenly the entire fort shook like it was in the middle of an earthquake. Small pieces of debris and speckles of dust fell from the ceiling. Both shielded their eyes with their wings as they then heard the alarm going off. The door opened showing an armored officer looking to the two.

“Double time, privates!” the officer shouted. “We’re under attack!”

Without hesitation, both Sea Breeze and Stella swiftly put on their armor and gathered their weapons. They flew out of the control room to see chaos on the battlefield. Several unicorns were casting magic into a large smoke cloud, sound of explosions could be heard meaning they were hitting their target. Sea Breeze found a soldier and flew up to him.

“What the hay is happening?” he asked.

The soldier turned to Sea Breeze with fear in his eye. “It-it-it rose from the ocean. And we’re trying to push it back but it isn’t stopping!”

Before Sea Breeze could ask further, an earth-shaking roar was heard by all of the soldiers. Silence swept over the fort as the soldiers continued to look into the ebony smoke cloud. The earth started to shake as something massive was coming. The silhouette of entity was seen by all of the soldiers, most of them were shaking in fear. That’s when the entity exited out of the smoke.

“Sweet name of Celestia,” a soldier whispered out in fear.

Lightning shot out of storm clouds to illuminate the beast. Its spikes were struck by the various bolts of natural electricity, causing them to illuminate blue and hum. It snarled at its onlookers as they slowly backed away from the colossal monster. It looked up in the distance as its hearing pinpointed the sound it was searching for. It heard the clicking and gave a mighty roar before advancing.

“Everypony, FIRE!” a soldier shouted.

All the unicorns fired magic blasts at the monster, causing minor explosions to erupt on its hide. The earth ponies and pegasi loaded catapults then launched large boulders at the massive reptile. The beast roared in irritation as it was bombarded by the pony’s attempts to push it back. It snarled before raising its leg up and slamming into the ground causing the ground to shake. This caused the everypony to stumble or instantly fall on their rumps.

It gave a snort in satisfaction before continuing onward. The soldiers quickly got out of the beasts path as it stomped its way through the fort. Its tail swung over the troops, smashing into the stone buildings of the complex. It exited out of the fort and continued its trek after its intended prey.

Suddenly, a unicorn officer charged his horn before casting a magic blast which hit the monster in the back of its head. This caused the creature to immediately stop, while the unicorn gave a cocky smirk.

“Yeah!” he shouted. “How do you like those apples, huh?”

The colossal reptile stood there for a bit before turning to the soldiers. Its face was filled with an aggressive snarl, which caused the one who shot at him shake with fear. A humming sound was then heard as the soldiers witnessed a shocking but amazing sight. Its tail starting glowing neon blue before it started trailing up its back near the back its head. The humming got louder and louder as the beast took a major intake of air. The soldiers knew from experiences with dragons that they knew what came next. Everypony there turned tail and ran before monster expelled a blue beam of fire-like energy setting the entire fort ablaze.

After the onslaught, the reptilian snorted out a puff of smoke and looked at its handiwork. The fort was completely demolished and parts were either melted or ablaze. Satisfied, it turned around and continued onward.

Stella pushed up out of the debris that had fallen on her. She looked under her to see Sea Breeze knocked out but unharmed. She sighed before cringing as pain shot up from her wing. She looked to see that it appeared to be sprained. She was fine as long her friend was okay.

She looked up at where the monster was. It was heading back out to sea while the storm raged on. It didn’t care what was in its path and continued to trek on. Lightning struck down onto the colossal reptile’s spikes causing them to glow and hum again. It gave out a mighty roar before diving into the depths of the ocean never to be seen again.

Date: May 21st, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

“Come on, everypony!” Coral calls out ahead on the jungle trail. “We’re almost there.”

Since the three days the CMC met Coral has been an absolute blast. The groups of ponies have been almost all over the island thanks
to Coral guiding them. Currently the group was venturing in the tropical jungles of the island. The reason, to see the island’s ruins located deep in the jungle.

The group trotted up the trail to catch up with the half-merpony. Even though Coral was half-merpony, she was quite fast on the land. Nyx couldn’t help but be in awe of the surrounding area. The sounds of the jungle reminded her of one of the Daring Doo books her mother read to her one time. She couldn’t help but giggle of imagining herself as the daring archeologist currently on an adventure to find an ancient ruin.

Coral turned to Nyx and noticed her giggling. “You okay, Nyx?”

Nyx stopped a bit before turning to Coral. “I’m fine, Coral. I was having a funny thought.”

“About what?” Coral asked.

“About me being Daring Doo,” Nyx replied. This caused Coral to gasp.

“You read Daring Doo!?” she asked with excitement.

Nyx nodded to the half-merpony. “Yep! My mom currently has the entire series. The adventures, discovery, and also the knowledge.”

She couldn’t but inwardly squeal in glee from the experience she had from reading her favorite book series.

Coral giggled at her friend. “Yeah, I can understand that.” Then the islander had a minor thought before turning back to Nyx. “Hey, Nyx?”

Nyx looked to Coral. “Yes?”

“I just noticed, but,” Coral she said. “Were you born an alicorn or did you ascend at a time?”

Nyx looked a bit uncomfortable with answering but answered the best she could. “Um, I’ve always been an alicorn. Ever since I was born.”

“I see,” Coral said as she nodded her head in understanding. “That makes sense since your mom is also an alicorn.”

“Actually,” Nyx brought up. “I was born as an alicorn for a different reason. Plus, Twilight’s more like my adopted mom than my real one.”

Coral tilted her head bit. “So how did that happen exactly?”

Before Nyx could answer, Pipsqueak stepped into the conversation. “I can answer that! Nyx, here, was the result of a spell this cult tried to cast to reincarnate Nightmare Moon.”

This caused Coral’s eyes to widen in shock while Nyx glared a bit at Pipsqueak.

“Pip!” she shouted at him with anger.

Pipsqueak raised a brow in confusion. “What? That is how it happened, right?”

That answer caused Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to facehoof while Scootaloo shook her head.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “Colts heads can be as thick as boulders.”

“That is so cool!” Coral exclaimed. This outburst caused the other ponies to instantly turn their heads to the islander.

“Cool?” Nyx asked with a raised brow.

Coral nodded. “Uh huh! I knew magic could do great things, but creating another pony? That is so cool!”

“So yah don’t care that she’s ah reincarnation of Nightmare Moon?” Apple Bloom asked.

Coral shook her head. “Let me tell you guys what my grandpa told me. ‘It doesn’t matter on what’s on the outside, but the inside that counts.’ I always follow that rule and I ain’t going to break that rule because of a friend’s past.”

Nyx could help but give a warm smile to the half-merpony. “Thank you, Coral.”

Coral smiled back. “No problem! Now come on, everypony! Let’s get to those ruins.”

A few minutes had passed as they trekked through the jungle. Not leaving the trail, the CMC got to enjoy the sight of various wildlife and plant growth of the Haywaiian jungle. That’s when Coral then moved some massive ferns out of the way to show that they reached their destination.

The ruins were made with ancient worn down bricks, moss could be seen growing on the structures. The center of the ruins was a large building which was built into what appeared to be a cave. Coral waddled into the cave and the other followed after. Inside, they could see torches already lit on the walls of the cave which led further into its crevice.

They reached the end of the cave and what they saw made their jaws slack. There standing tall was what appeared to be a large stone slab. The size of the slab wasn’t what made them drop their jaw, but the carving etched into the stone. The carving depicted two massive creatures duking out with one another. One looked like a dinosaur or dragon with jagged dorsal spikes on its back. The other appeared to be a mixture of a sea dragon and a manta ray. On its shoulders appeared to be what looked like cannons, shooting out what was shaped like starfish. Near the bottom, etchings of what appeared to be ponies were seeing witnessing the battle.

“What is this?” Scootaloo said while still in awe.

Coral smiled before raising a flipper at the slab. “This is the founding of our island.”

Nyx raised a brow. “Founding?”

“Yep,” Coral answered. “This slab was carved a thousand years ago to tell future generations about the founding of our island. You all want to hear the tale?”

“I do!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she sat down near the slab. The others agreed as well and took a seat too.

Coral smiled before clearing her throat a bit before beginning the tale. “Long ago, my ancestors migrated to this island from Polyneighsia seeking a new home to live in. They arrived here and saw the beauty and wonder the island gave. Without a thought, they started to settle down and build a community here to live out their lives. Unfortunately, peace wasn’t a thing given freely during that time.

From the waves of the sea, crimson red starfish appeared all over the shores of the island. They were thought harmless until some of the fishing boats were attacked. The local shamans tried getting rid of them but unfortunately this caused things to get worse. From sea itself, a monster arose and attacked them. It had a breath of crimson lightning and brought destruction to the island. It was also the source of the red starfish that was infecting our island.

My ancestors prayed for a miracle to happen and as if the gods above were listening, a miracle did. From the same ocean, another monster arose from it. This one was different from the first and it was bigger. The latter monster ignored my ancestors and immediately went after the evil sea dragon.

The two fought, going tooth and claw against one another. They rooted for the monster that arisen to fight the other. The battle seemed to last for almost the entire day. Both were getting tired, which meant the end was near. The evil sea dragon went in for the kill only to stop instantly by the giant reptile’s breath of blue flame, which burned through the sea dragon right in its heart.

Our savior wasn’t yet done. He took another breath, burning or boiling the starfish till they were all wiped out. The villagers cheered for the savior of our island as he gave a major roar in victory. With his task complete, the monster we call, ‘The Island Guardian’, lumbered back to the ocean never to be seen again.

To this day, we celebrate and share our knowledge of our home’s founding. If something grave such as the events of the island’s founding happen again, our guardian will be there to protect us.”

The CMC were in awe at the story. To think, that the founding of Haywaii was settled over a giant monster brawl. Nyx looked at the etched slab with keen interest. Focused on the etching of the islands guardian, she could only hope that something like that doesn’t happen
any time soon in Equestria.

Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: 20 miles out at sea, Haywaii

A whale-watching boat was stationary in the ocean blue as its passengers were enjoying themselves. Several of them had their cameras out taking pictures of the various whale and dolphin species native to the island. Currently, they were watching a pod of Cetus and their Delphinus offspring, which the latter were either playing with their parents or gaining attention from the boat passengers.

Suddenly, a Cetus felt tense before crying out to its pod and diving under the waves. The confused watchers looked around to see that the pod had disappeared from sight. It appeared that something spooked them. What could have done that?

It didn’t take long for that question to be answered as a colossal black blur dived into the waves, causing the sea craft to rock and making the passengers scream. The water went calm as they looked over the boat into the water. A few minutes seemed to pass until something huge burst from sea.

It was the MUTO, which had a Cetus hooked in its limbs. The constellation whale’s eyes seemed to be faded and white, indicating that it was dead. The winged monster flapped its wings as it passed over the screaming boat full of ponies. It looked around using its echolocation to scout for any landmasses. Suddenly, it picked up something.

Within its sights a massive island could be seen within its range. Deciding to settle and dine, it gave a might flap towards the island. The Cetus may be around its size but it’ll take more than one oversized whale to satisfy its hunger. Hopefully the island could provide more of its favorite food.

Author's Notes:

Hey everypony! Hope you all didn't wait too long for this one! Anyways a previous commenter from one of the previous chapters brought up an important issue. The male MUTO's name! As you know, in the movie we refer the male as the Hokmuto. But considering the male didn't hatch in Hokkaido or in the MLPverse "Hoofkaido", I don't think it could be called "Hoofmuto"...that just sounds silly doesn't it...so I decided to let you guys vote to see what to call the male MUTO. Listed below are names I custom made for it that you all can vote which you all prefer.
Names:
1. Osumuto: Combining "Osu" (One of many Japanese words for "male") and "Muto"
2. Otokomuto: Combining "Otoko" (One of many Japanese words for "man") and "Muto"
3. Hitomuto: Combining "Hito" (One of many Japanese words for "man") and "Muto"
That's pretty much all I got ^^; Anyways hope the voting works! Also keep an eye out for any grammatical errors for me to correct... enjoy!

Chapter 6: Airport Chaos

View Online

Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: 35 miles out at sea, Haywaii

Dusk began as the sun lowered over the horizon. On the Saddletoga, Serizawa and Graphic huddled before a glowing monitor in the ship’s war room as a helpful petty officer uploaded the base’s data onto the display screen. Luna watched as the doctor’s worked, she too watching the glowing monitors. Even though she’s been back in Equestria for almost four years, this day’s and age technology was still a fickle for her. Who can blame her when she was banished from a time that technology didn’t exist. The two scientists studied the telltale waveform as it plotted out across the screen. Serizawa tapped his hoof impatiently against the floor. This was taking too long.

“Keep scrolling,” Graphic instructed. “Near the end, before the EMP—“

Serizawa’s eyes widened. “There!” he blurted, pointing at the screen, where, just before the end of the graph, one peak was followed directly by another—as if in reply. Graphic gasped out loud. The evidence was undeniable, the conclusion inescapable.

“Something responded,” Serizawa said gravely. Luna looked from Serizawa’s grave expression towards the screen. Whatever frightened him made Luna even shudder at the thought.

Graphic lowered her voice. “You don’t think it could be…?”

He knew she was thinking of the unknown leviathan from fifty years ago, but he was reluctant to jump to conclusions. Perhaps there was another explanation.

“Search for this pattern,” he instructed.

Graham regarded him quizzically. “Where?”

“Everywhere,” he said.

Another petty officer came up behind them. Serizawa did not know his name, but could tell that he approached with urgent business.

“Doctors, your highness,” the stallion said. “You need to see this.”

Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

Hustle and bustle was all around at the Honoluna International Airport. Outside the main terminal, the Mane Six as well as the CMC were saying their goodbyes to Chief Tiki Wiki and Coral. It was sad that they had to leave today, but all good things must come to an end.

“Thank you, chief,” Twilight said. “This was a swell vacation.” Tiki smiled before giving a minor bow.

“It was my pleasure,” he said. “We only hope that you all come visit again in the near future.” Twilight smiled before looking to Nyx and the CMC talking with Coral.

“I think that’d be swell,” Twilight said.”

“I guess this is it,” Coral said looking at her friends. Nyx and the others nodded.

“Yeah,” Nyx said. “Who knows maybe you can come visit in Ponyville?”

“Hey yeah,” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Then everypony can meet you, plus Pinkie would throw you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party.” Coral couldn’t help but smile at that thought.

“That would be nice,” she said before tears starting to fall. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

“Hey it’s okay,” Sweetie Belle soothed. “No matter the distance, we’ll always be friends. Besides we all have something to give you.” Coral blinked as Apple Bloom then pulled out what appeared to be a red cape with the insignia of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat before continuing.

“As one of the three founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” she announced. “It is with great heart and pleasure that we give you, Coral Reef, an honorary cape of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. With this cape, you are now part of our group as well as the current leader of the Haywaii faction of the CMC.” With that, they placed the cape on Coral, who looked at it with breaming pride.

“The original coronation was longer,” Scootaloo pointed out. “But given the limited time, we thought this would be just as good.” Coral smiled at each of them.

“Thank you,” she said. “Now it’s my turn to give you all something.” With that said, she reached into her bag to pull out necklaces where they adorned sunny yellow shards in the shape of stars. “I want each of you to have this. These are Star Shards, objects that have been said to have fallen to our island during meteor showers. When you and a friend wear one, it is said that they’ll guide you to them. No matter how far away you are, you’ll always be connected.”

Coral then placed each one around their necks, which brought a smile to their faces. They then all shared a warm group hug with one another. The hug then ended as they all smiled. The Mane Six couldn’t help but smile at the warm scene as well.

With that, everypony gave their goodbyes. The group of friends gathered their bags and headed for the terminal. Nyx looked back to Coral, who was waving goodbye. She waved back before following after her mother and friends into the airport.

Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: 20 miles out to sea, Haywaii

The young petty officer led Serizawa, Graphic and Luna across the CDC to another work station, where Celestia and Admiral Stall awaited them, a grim expression on the admiral’s weathered features. He and the princess wasted no time bringing them up to speed on the latest development.

“We’ve received word from a local whale watching boat in Haywaii that witnessed an animal attack,” he said. Celestia then looked to the group.

“One of the watchers was able to take this before the boat sailed to safety,” she said as a picture appeared on the screen showing the MUTO in flight with the Cetus in its limbs. This made Luna’s eyes widen in shock.

“It killed a constellation animal!?” she almost shouted. “It’s done something so simple that would have been a challenge for us.”

Stall nodded as he then turned to a young analyst manning the console. “Martini?”

An impressive array of data and video screens faced Martini, an alert young officer in her early twenties. She was focused on various screens displaying what appeared to be night-vision feeds of a platoon of Equestrian Royal soldiers trekking through a dense jungle. A spectral green glow tinted a view of dense bamboo groves and underbrush.

“Aye, sir,” Martini reported. “Sparta One is tracking the Cetus’s residual magic trail northwest of Diamond Head.” Disbelief registered on her face as she confirmed the location. “In the midst of Haywaii.”

Serizawa inhaled sharply. Haywaii was no abandoned temple or remote mining came. It was a very populated island.

The MUTO and ponykind were on a collision course.

Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

The Green Berets advanced through the nocturnal jungle, knitted out with hazard gas masks and night-vision goggles. The dense bamboo forest was lush and fragrant, abloom with wild orchids, hibiscus, and plumeria. Hidden waterfalls cascaded in the background, but any wildlife was unusually silent, as though the local fauna had made themselves scarce. They were only miles away from lively beaches and night life of Waikiki, but, from the looks of things, they might as well as been deep in the Amarezon rain forest. The dense underbrush made for hard slogging, but the soldiers maintained a brisk pace. They hacked their way through the jungle with machetes.

The leader of the team, Captian Buck Calzone, was a combat veteran who had taken part in wide variety of missions over the years, ranging from counter-terrorism to ponitarian assistance, but this assignment was a new one. Nothing in his extensive training and experience had involved tracking down a monster, let alone a constellation whale. He used his horn to guide them through the jungle. The spell he was currently using clicked faster and faster as they zeroed in on their objective. Spotting something ahead, through the green-tinted view of his goggles, he raised his hoof to signal a halt.

‘Whoa,’ he thought. ‘There’s something you don’t see every day.’

The Cetus, the largest of the marine constellations, was standing upright among the trees, as though dropped above. Nearly six hundred feet tall and more than forty feet across, the whale was encrusted with a hardening resinous secretion that dripped slowly down its side. Its eyes had lost their light, signifying that it was dead. Its agape jaw was filled with streaks of coagulated blood, causing him and his team to shudder.

The twelve-pony team spread out around the base of the dead whale, gazing up at the surreal sight. Calzone didn’t like the look of this. Whales belonged in the ocean depths, not perched upside-down in the Haywaiian jungle, only a short hop from Diamond Head. This was wrong with a capital W.

“Guardian 3, this is Sparta 1,” he responded via radio. “We’ve located the Cetus, Break—“

Something stirred above the jungle canopy high overhead. Craning his head back, Calzone spied the MUTO itself, crouched above the upright whale. Despite his earlier briefing, the soldier was taken aback by the sheer size and freakishness of the winged monstrosity, which looked like a cross between a giant bug and a dragon. Its shiny black wings were folded in behind it like an ominous dark cloak. A thick orange secretion oozed from the creature’s segmented underside. The photos he’d been shown before had failed to capture how truly monstrous this “organism” was.

‘Sweet mother of—“

“Guardian 3, you’re not going to believe what else we found.”

The command center aboard the Saddletoga immediately responded. “Sparta 1, Guardian 3. Six Actual requests a sit-rep, over.”

To Calzone’s relief, the MUTO ignored the stunned Green Berets down on the forest floor. Instead it had torn open the side of the Cetus’s body and was gorging on the magic-enriched meat, gobbling down the fleshy chunks like a pelican downing a fish. Calzone and his team was suddenly nauseous at the sight, a few of them were green in the face.

He tried to convey to Command what he was seeing.

“Guardian 3, tell the Six it’s… uh… well, it appears to be eating the whale.”

‘Of course,’ Serizawa thought. ‘Just as it fed on the artifact’s magic at Hoofishima before.’

A momentary hush fell over the CDC. Admiral Stall looked at Serizawa, who nodded grimly in confirmation of the Green Beret’s on-site assessment of the situation. Stall absorbed this new intel with admirable calm and efficiency. He looked to Celestia, who was focused on the screen before turning to the admiral. She gave him a firm look before nodding, giving the OK. He stepped briskly to the center of the war room and raised his voice to be heard above the general hubbub.

“Cat’s out of the bag, ponies,” he declared. “New protocol is safety, not secrecy. Get me eyes in the air. Notify Coast Guard District Fourteen and Haywaii Guard. There are a million ponies on that island.”

Serizawa recalled the devastation at the M.U.T.O base and in the Fillyppines years ago. He could only imagine the consequences of the creature invading a major population center. They were looking at a catastrophe in the making.

“Admiral,” an analyst announced. “We’re picking up a message.”

“Where’s it coming from,” the admiral asked.

“It’s from Fort Bray, sir,” the analyst said. The admiral nodded.

“Put them on-screen,” he ordered. The analyst nodded before typing into his keyboard and the large monitor above came to life to showing the caller.

It was Stella, the griffon private from Fort Bray. She saluted to the admiral, who saluted back. “This is Private Stella at Fort Bray,” she said. “I’m calling to report an important message.”

“What is the message, soldier,” the admiral asked.

“Last night,” she explained. “The fort was attacked.” This caused many in the war room tense a bit. “The thing that attacked us wasn’t an army, but a monster. It decimated the fort and practically brushed off our forces.”

“Can you describe it, Private?” Celestia then asked. The griffin nodded before continuing.

“It looked like a dinosaur, your highness,” she answered. “But it could breathe fire like a dragon.”

This made Serizawa and Graphic tense immediately. A dinosaur that could breathe fire like a dragon, it had to be him.

“Tell me, Private,” Serizawa said. “Did it look anything like this?” He then held up a picture taken back in 954, featuring the said creature.

“That’s it!” she exclaimed. “That’s what attacked the base!”

“What was its heading?” he immediately asked. The griffin thought a bit before answering.

“It was heading south, I believe.”

Serizawa immediately trotted over to the illuminated map in the center of the room. He traced his eyes from Fort Bray and continued down south. His eyes then widened as they landed on the next landmass on the creatures path. Haywaii.

“We’re picking something up,” an analyst cried out. This caused everypony to look up on the screen. A large blip was heading right towards them from the north. Whatever it was, it was huge. “It’s approaching from the Neighsianic.”

“We need to check out that object,” Stall said as he looked at the screen. Celestia nodded in agreement as she had a distinct feeling about what it was.

Serizawa then trotted out of the war room heading for the flight deck. He knew that he was coming. Right now, he had to witness the monster’s arrival. Graphic followed after the unicorn stallion, hoping to catch up. Luna then took this chance to follow after both unicorns. She was hoping to witness this as well.

“Where are you going?” Graphic asked.

“Up to the flight deck,” Serizawa answered. “I think he’s coming.”

“What are you doing?” she asked again. Serizawa turned to her with a serious look.

“I have to see this.” He simply said. Luna then trotted over to the two.

“Doctor, wait,” she shouted a bit. Serizawa turned to the princess as she stopped next to him. “We wish to join you. We would like to look upon the beast that approaches.” Serizawa thought a bit before nodding to the princess. They then make their trek to the flight deck with post haste.

At the beach, Coral was trying to settle a dispute between two Elephant Seals. It was irritating that the two bull seals were bellowing in each other’s faces. If they continued this, Coral would eventually end up with a migraine.

“Okay,” she said. “The reason you two are fighting is because Bulk stole your fish pile?” Both seals nodded before glaring back at each other. She sighed before continuing. “Okay. Bulk, you apologize to Blubber here for stealing the fish.” Bulk bellowed flaring up his trunk-like nostril. “I don’t care if your pride is on the line. Either apologize to each other or I’m—“

Her attention was then shifted when she heard the sound of subsonic flight zooming overhead. She looked to see a flight of pegasi heading inland from somewhere out at sea. Sonic booms shook the night. The pegasi came in so fast and so low that their passage whipped up the sand on the beach. This caused nearby tourists to look up in surprise. Even the hula dancers stopped swaying and stared up at the pegasi. Contrails of clouds streaked the night sky. Bartenders stopped serving drinks.

‘Strange,’ Coral thought. ‘Nopony said anything about an airshow happening tonight.’

The previous flight of pegasi was just the beginning. More pegasi arrived next, swooping in from downtown. Haywaii Guard members, equipped with crossbows and armor, each landed on the hotel rooftops, staking out sniper positions. They aimed their weapons at the wooded slopes of the Koolau Mountains, almost as though they expected something bad to attack from the hills any moment. Small airships buzzed above Waikiki.

Coral felt suspicious of the current activity. She looked around at the other ponies to see looks of worry and were whispering amongst themselves. Something was going on and right now she needed to find her grandfather. She looked to the seals, who looked as frightened as the ponies.

“Boys,” she said getting the seals attention. “Go home and we’ll discuss the issue later, okay?” The seals nodded before hobbling over the water and swimming away. With her own hobbling, she trekked to find her grandfather, hopefully he could ease her suspicions about what was happening.

The train glided toward the next terminal along, the elevated track, which ran approximately thirty feet above the tarmac below. Rows of airships were parked, balloon to balloon away from the runways. Twilight was currently reading a book, looking up from the pages to look at Nyx and her friends, who were gabbing away about their experiences in Haywaii. She then turned her gaze to her friends. Rarity and Spike were enjoying each other’s company. He was practically asleep while leaning into Rarity, while she gently stroked his scaly head with her hoof as she smiled. Applejack and Pinkie were chatting, mainly about the sweet delights they got to eat. Fluttershy was asleep as well, leaning next to Rainbow, who didn’t mind, as she read one of the Daring Doo books. She couldn’t help at smile at the scene before she felt a hoof wrap around her shoulder. She looked to see Flash smiling at her. She smiled as he nuzzled her as they enjoyed the ride to their terminal.

“So,” he said. “Was this vacation what you asked for?” She nodded.

“Yes it was,” she replied. “A tropical getaway was something the doctor ordered.” He chuckled.

“Yeah,” he said. “Considering that one night when we were alone.” Twilight’s face immediately went beet red as she tried to hide her face into her book.

Suddenly the sound of excitement from the CMC was heard as most of the group look to see them pointing outside. They looked and saw a flight of pegasi roaring past the airport toward the densely forested hills beyond. This peaked Twilight and the other’s interest.

“What tha hay was that,” Applejack asked. “Those pegasi seemed in ah hurry like cattle in ah stampede.” Rainbow Dash narrowed eyes a bit.

“I think I recognize them,” she said. “I think that was the Lightning Strikers.” Twilight raised a brow at her.

“Lightning Strikers?” she asked. Rainbow nodded.

“Yeah,” she explained. “They’re like the Wonderbolts but they lean more to the marines. I heard from Spitfire that they take care of things that would be too much for the Wonderbolts.”

Twilight simply nodded before turning to the direction the pegasi zoomed off. Rainbow said that they were only sent to handle things that the Wonderbolts couldn’t. She wondered what in the forest was so important. Whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about it.

Streaking through the sky, the Lightning Strikers flew in formation towards the mountain range overlooking Honoluna. The lead pegasi, Captain Donut Latigo, readied himself for combat against an entirely new type of threat. As they crested a rocky jungle ridge, the MUTO came into view, crouching above the bamboo trees like the world’s biggest praying mantis. Despite being prepped for this mission, Donut gulped at the sight of the enormous winged monster. It was hard to believe that such a creature actually existed outside of books and movies. Yet there it was: right in front of them, rippling with some sort of eerie bioluminescence.

The squadron armed themselves by coating themselves with lightning with the use of their pegasus magic, which ought to be more than enough to take out the dangerous creature. “Niner-niner,” he reported over the headset radio. He aimed himself at the MUTO, suddenly the magic induced lightning around him started to dissipate. “What the--?”

As the squadron passed overhead, the MUTO immediately switched its focus from its meal to the pegasi, bellowing at the winged ponies before going back to eating. The sound of incoming subsonic flying deterred its attention again, it looked and saw the same squadron flying above it. It gave a creaking bellow where a piece of Cetus meat dropped out of its beaked maw. The large hunk fell down where the Green Berets were located, causing them to scatter from the fleshy object.

“Be advised,” he said over his headset. “Preparing to engage target.” The squad took a different approach this time. They each gathered a clump of black cumulonimbus clouds, pushing towards the MUTO. Hopefully multiple lightning strikes will do the job.

“Guardian 3,” Calzone reported in the headset radio. “We’re getting movement down here.”

Just as the report was given, the MUTO reared up one of its fore limbs and began glowing brighter than before. A rippling aurora charged the air around it, only a heartbeat before it slammed its limb down, generating a visible EMP. The pulse spread out, hitting the Green Berets as well as the Lightning Strikers. The pegasi instantly felt heavy as they dropped from the sky like flies from a bug zapper. Right now, Captain Donut was panicking as he tried to stabilize himself.

“Control, I’m losing altitude,” he shouted over the radio. “Again, I’m losing—“He and the other Lightning Strikers crashed through the Haywaiian canopy, a few of them landing on some the Green Berets. It was there the captain’s vision began to blur before passing out.

All at once, the entire airport lost power.

Agitated voices filled the train as the overhead lights sputtered out, leaving the passengers in darkness. The train slowed to a stop upon the track, stalling between stations. Twilight place a hoof on her head as a headache was felt immediately after the power went out. She wasn’t the only one, though. Mostly everypony seemed to have weird symptoms. The unicorns looked like they were suffering from collective headaches. The earth ponies looked like their strength was sapped away from their bodies. She even saw a pegasus foal, who she saw fluttering earlier, suddenly appeared to be grounded.

“What the hay was that,” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know, sugercube,” Applejack replied. “But for some reason I feel like I just went through ah county fair rodeo ten times straight.”

“And I feel like I have the most irritating of headaches,” Rarity whined as she rubbed her hoof to her head. “My head feels dreadful!”

“I feel like I went through one hundred parties while taking care of Pumpkin and Pound Cake at the same time,” Pinkie Pie added with a yawn. “Then again I could add a few more parties—“

“We get it Pinkie,” Rainbow said with a frown before turning to Twilight. “Do you have any idea what caused the power to go out?”

Twilight’s brain went into overdrive. She factored everything. From the instant the power went off to the symptoms the various ponies had. She tested her theory and tried casting a spell, to which her friends watched in confusion. Her horn glowed but instantly flickered out. She then turned to her friends believing she had an answer.

“I think it was an EMP,” she answered to her friends. They all looked at one another with raised brows.

“A what?” all answered. She sighed before looking to her friends.

“An EMP,” she continued. “It stands for electromagic pulse. It’s a pulse of high-level magical energy that can spread out for miles. It’s known to shut down anything powered by magic. It’s also known to temporarily affect a pony’s natural abilities.”

“What kind of things?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Well,” Twilight continued. “If an earth pony was hit by it they would lose their strength. Pegasi would lose their ability to fly and unicorns would lose their magic.”

“Does that also apply to alicorns, darling,” Rarity asked. Twilight nodded.

“Yes it does, Rarity,” she said. “Since alicorns represent all three breeds they would lose strength, flight and magic altogether.”

“How long does this last?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t want to be a pegasus that’s grounded.” Twilight thought a bit before answering.

“It really depends on the strength of the pulse,” she replied. “Since the power’s off and we appear to be affected by it on a small scale, I’d say it won’t be long before both the power and our abilities come back.”

Everypony in the group nodded and patiently waited. The sooner the power comes back on the better. Twilight then stared into the forest beyond the airport. She had a deep feeling that whatever those pegasi from before went in there to face, was possibly the cause of the EMP she and her friends experienced.

Chief Tiki Wiki looked onward to the ocean. His eyes focused on the waters of his home. He could feel something amiss. He didn’t have to be a unicorn to know something was wrong.

“Grandpa!” a young voice called out. He turned to see his granddaughter, Coral Reef, bounding over to him.

“What’s wrong, Coral?” he asked. Coral panted a bit before catching her breath and looked up to the earth pony chief.

“Grandpa, something weird is going on,” she said through breaths. “I just saw some military pegasi fly inland.” The chief nodded to this.
“I noticed that too,” he said before looking to the sea. “I can feel it in my old bones that something is amiss.”

“But what—“ she was cut off as she gasped while looking at the water. The tide appeared to be retreating rapidly, ebbing back into the bay. “Grandpa, the tide!”

Tiki Wiki noticed it as well. The waters on the shore continued to recede into the sea. This reminded him of the old legend of their island where the guardian first appeared. He and Coral then heard the sound of emergency sirens indicating a typhoon approaching. Tiki knew something was approaching, but it wasn’t a typhoon.

“Coral,” he said. “You get everypony to higher ground inland. I’ll go to the village and warn the others.” Coral immediately nodded before hauling off towards inland.

“Target spotted offshore,” a surveillance pegasi reported from above. “Two knots due east of your position. Could be a second bogey.”

Aboard the Saddletoga, Serizawa and Luna stood near the ships runway. Serizawa commandeered a pair of binoculars from a passing worker. His eyes peered through the long-distance lenses and looked upon the moonlit sea. Luna peered out to the sea as well, spotting a darkened shape in the distance.

“Here,” Serizawa said handing over the binoculars to the lunar princess. She took them and looked into the lenses and gasped at what she saw.

She quickly located the mysterious shape she saw before, only to discover the jagged protrusion had been joined by two smaller points on either side. Recognition dawned in her eyes as she grasped what she was seeing: a row of gigantic dorsal fins.

Racing straight toward the fleet.

Warning sirens sounded as observers aboard the various ships spotted the oncoming threat and braced for impact. Luna and Serizawa suspected that few aboard the vessels, except perhaps Graphic, Celestia and a hoofful of others, knew exactly who or what was surging their way, but it was obvious something very large and solid was on a collision course with the Saddletoga and the other ships. Luna wrapped her hoof around a safety rail, not that she expected it would do much good. She looked over to Serizawa, who didn’t move an inch, only to continue to watch the incoming object heading right for them.

Then, at the last minute, before the mighty battleship could even attempt to avoid the collision, the fins dipped rapidly beneath the waves, diving beneath the Saddletoga and the rest of the strike group. The ship pitched back and forth as something impossibly massive passed beneath it. Baffled flight crews shouted to each other in confusion. Only Serizawa understood the awesome force that had just passed them by. Luna, however, sensed the power from the creature that passed under them. A strong and ancient power that outrivaled her and her sister’s combined power. The enforcer of balance had spared them, at least for the moment.

Both drained, Serizawa and Luna inwardly sighed in relief. Luna was a little disappointed that the owner of the fins had not revealed himself, but he suspected that the fateful moment would be upon them soon. Both the princess and scientist turned onward toward the unsuspecting island only a few miles away. Both had visited the island before, separately. It was a beautiful island, full of friendly locals and vacationing tourists.

Little did they know what was heading towards them.

“Come on, everypony,” Coral shouted to the crowd of fleeing ponies. “Quickly to higher ground! This way!”

Right now, Coral was motioning the crowd of locals and tourists to safety. However, it was hard considering everypony was panicking at the moment. She kept a strong face and motioned them the best she could.

The sound of large amounts of rushing water reached her ears as she turned around and gasped in fear. Right there, the tsunami roared over the beach to flood the crowded streets and buildings beyond. The raging water washed over blocks of bars, night clubs, shops, and restaurants. Telephone poles and power lines snapped one after another, causing a total blackout to envelop Waikiki. Coral immediately started hauling herself towards inland, hoping to stay ahead of the wave. Luckily for her, the wave finally spent itself, only a few blocks behind her, which Coral slowed to a stop. She panted in relief as she looked at the dying wave. However, the sound of the wave died, only to be supplemented by a series of thunderous impacts, like slow, ponderous footsteps of a giant, getting closer and closer. Thoom. Thoom! THOOM!

The footsteps were accompanied by a deep, churning rumble that sounded like a giant breathing. Coral stared wide-eyed into the darkness behind her, seeing a looming shadow that stood bigger and taller than any of the blacked-out hotels overlooking the beach. A shadow with legs, arms, and a head like a dragon’s.

Several flare spells shot up like fireworks from the hotel rooftops. Flashes of blood red light offered glimpses of the gigantic creature emerging from the bay and stomping through the flooded streets. The monster was literally too big to take in all at once. Coral caught bits and pieces of the colossal whole with recognition in her eyes.

Three rows of jagged fins running down the creature’s mountainous back.

Two clawed hands with four fingers each.

An endless, spiny tail that looked as long as a train.

It was him. The guardian of their island from the Haywaii founding story.

“It’s him,” she muttered in awe. “I never thought I’d actually get to see him in my life.”

Suddenly, the pegasi with crossbows opened fire from the rooftops. Several unicorns also stationed there casted bolts of magic. Arrows and magic bolts split the darkness, but the giant sea-monster kept striding forward, squashing carts, wagons and carriages and small buildings beneath his mighty tread. His mammoth tail swung back and forth behind him, wiping away bars, boutiques, and coffee shops. The furious barrage, however, had no effect on the monster, which seemed to be heading toward the nearby hills, heedless of whatever structures got in his way. He paid no attention to the insignificant stallions, mares and foals frantically running from him, or even the armed troops trying and failing to repel him. Mere equines seemed beneath his notice.

Fleeing tourists and locals scrambled to get out of the way of the monster’s path of destruction. Coral quickly ducked into an alley and watched as the lumbering beast passed her by. She stayed there for what felt like forever until, finally, giant footsteps seemed to recede into the distance. The deafening spell casting died away as well.

Coral ventured out of the alley and looked around. The power was still out all over Waikiki, but numerous small fires blazed inside the ruins of trampled buildings. As the smoke from the spells began to clear, blown away by the wind from the ocean, Coral and the other survivors gaped in astonishment at the cataclysmic view before them.

The monster was gone, heading northwest towards the hills above Honoluna, but he had left a trail of destruction in his wake. A swath of flattened buildings and carriages, at least three blocks across, stretched from the sea to the jungle beyond. The invincible creature had cleared a path through the heart of Waikiki, crushing everything in his way. A trolley carriage was ground into the pavement. A giant footprint was sunk deep into the luxury golf course. Neither tourist traps nor residential neighborhoods had been spared. Palm trees littered the rubble like broken toothpicks.

Coral looked from the destruction to the patch the monster created. It was heading northwest into the hills. Coral then tensed as the answer appeared before her. She knew where it was heading. It was heading for the Honoluna International Airport.

The Green Berets composed themselves after that whole ordeal. Captain Calzone did a quick head count and confirmed that his entire group had survived. A few of them were tending to the injured pegasi from the Lightning Strikers. Most had injured wings but nothing a healing spell couldn’t fix.

“Anypony hurt,” he called out to his group. Most of them shook their head. “Anypony get an eyeball on the bogey?”

Suddenly, a clicking bellow was heard from a distance. Calzone jumped to his hooves, armed and ready, while his team did likewise. His night-vision goggles penetrated the murky night, revealing a leveled stretch of the jungle leading down to the coast. His heart sank as he spied the flickering lights of the Honoluna Airport in the near distance. Thousands of civilians passed through that airport every hour.

And the MUTO was on its way.

Gasps of relief echoed inside the train as the lights began to flicker back to life throughout the airport. It appeared the power had been restored and the blackout was over. The train started moving forward again.

“See,” Twilight spoke up. “What did I tell you?” The others just smiled, knowing Twilight would be right about the situation.

Nyx then looked ahead on the track as the lights on it started to flicker back on. Several meters ahead, she could see something large moving through the darkness. Unlike most ponies, her eyes could see pretty well in the dark. Her eyes at the moment could see something large walking through the airport.

As the spotlights reawakened, each flickered on around the curve to reveal…

The MUTO, straddling the track directly in front of them! It gave out a mighty clicking bellow, alerting the ponies on the train.

Pandemonium erupted aboard the train as the other passengers spied the gigantic winged monster directly ahead, but the automated train kept gaining speed, heading straight toward the creature. Twilight and the others were shocked at the sight of it. Fear-crazed passengers rushed toward the opposite end of the train. Twilight quickly grabbed onto Nyx, but the panicky stampede tore the filly from her grasp. Nyx was swepted away by the mob, even as the train sped toward the monster. She then quickly concentrated her magic in her horn and casted a Levitation Spell, causing Nyx to be enveloped in a purple glow and pulled directly to her mother.

Suddenly, a small but agile airship swooped down from the sky, adding to the tumult. The wash from its rotors rattled the train’s windows. It soared past the head, right overhead. The flying battleship’s sudden arrival elicited more screams than cheers. Ordinary travellers suddenly found themselves in the middle of a battle between the armed forces and a giant insect-thing.

The airship then opened fire upon the MUTO, various cannons firing at the beast. The MUTO howled in protest, swiping at the ship with one of its enormous forelimbs. The elusive airship dodged the swipe, flying away before making a u-turn back to the MUTO. The monster shrieked but its attention then caught the incoming train. It roared at the metallic transport and went in for the attack.
“Everypony,” Twilight shouted. “To the back! Now!”

The MUTO then bit through the front of the train as well the elevated track beneath it. Horrified screams were drowned by the din of shredded metal and shattered concrete. Tons of debris, mixed with falling bodies, crashed down onto the tarmac more than two-dozen feet below. The rest of the train continued over the edge of the splintered track, but caught on mangled steel supports and dangled precariously over the rubble below. Gravity seized the survivors who didn’t have wings and tumbled helplessly out the severed end of the train, screaming all the way, even as the recorded voice kicked in automatically: “Please watch the gap…”

“Rainbow, Flash, Fluttershy,” Twilight called out. “Get everypony here down to safety.”

“On it, Twi!” Rainbow saluted before letting go of the railing. She and the other pegasi proceeded to setting down the surviving ponies.

Twilight then unfurled her wings and proceeded to the ground while carrying Nyx in her hooves. As they settled down, Twilight looked at the MUTO several yards away, perched on the other side of the severed tracks, snapping angrily at the buzzing airship. Twilight stared at the creature with peaked curiosity. She hadn’t seen a creature like that in her entire life nor had she found anything match its description within “Equestria’s Monster Encyclopedia”. Whatever it was, it was must have been an undiscovered species. This made the inner researcher in her to squeal with glee.

“Twilight,” Applejack called her attention. “What tha hay is that thing?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Whatever it is I don’t think it’s friendly. Its characteristics, however, make it similar to various forms of insects, while also being a mix of some form of reptile.”

“Forget the science lesson,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “What are we going to do about it?”

“Yes, darling,” Rarity added. “Do you have a plan?” This caused Twilight to think before immediately thinking of a plan.

“I got it,” she said. “Fluttershy and Rainbow, you two head it off so Fluttershy can talk to it and convince it to leave.” This caused Fluttershy to shudder a bit but Rainbow assured her causing her fear to dissipate. “Pinkie Pie and Rarity, you two try to evacuate the other ponies to safety.” Both of them nodded before galloping off to do their task. “Applejack and Flash, you two stay with the kids and make sure they stay put.” Both ponies nodded and attended to the children. Twilight then looked as Rainbow and Fluttershy flew off into the direction of the MUTO.

The MUTO howled at the airship as it dodged another swipe. This flying thing was irritating it to no end. It will see to it that this thing will never fly—

“Um, excuse me sir,” a timid voice called out. “Could I talk to you for a second if you don’t mind me asking?”

The MUTO turned its head to see both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hovering eye level with it. Its head tilted in confusion at the action of these two creatures. To it they were nothing but food. So why were these two trying to talk to it?

“I’m sorry to say this,” Fluttershy continued. “But, could you go somewhere away from ponies? It would be most appreciated and give other ponies relief.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash added. “So move your flank out of here before I have to kick it out.”

The MUTO growled menacingly at the rainbow-maned pegasus. It let out a howl at both pegasi, covering them a bit in its drool. Fluttershy shook herself of the substance before glaring at the monster.

“There’s no need for that tone, mister,” she scolded the monster. “You shouldn’t roar at ponies trying to ask you kindly to leave. If you don’t behave and heed our advice, I’ll use… the Stare!”

The MUTO then growled at the pink-maned pegasus, hoping to intimidate her. Fluttershy then proceeded to give the MUTO the Stare. Instead of being frightened, the MUTO tilted its head in confusion. Within its vision, it couldn’t make out the visual expression Fluttershy was displaying. All it could see was her pink aura shimmering within its vision. Looking at it made it feel one thing: hungry.

Fluttershy immediately took notice that her Stare wasn’t working on the creature. It rose up with a mighty roar ready to chomp down on the pegasus. Fluttershy screamed before she was grabbed by Rainbow as they zoomed away from the monster. It roared at the two before giving chase.

“Fluttershy! Rainbow!” Twilight shouted as she then galloped towards them.

She took to the air and charged her horn, casting a bolt of magic at the MUTO. It hit the monster’s side causing it to howl. It then turned to Twilight, whose aura was purple and large in quantity. It drooled at the sight of it and started giving chase to the purple alicorn. Twilight gasped in fear before trying to fly away from the MUTO.

Nyx gasped as she watched her mother being chased by the winged monster. Without hesitation, she galloped after her mother hoping to help her. Flash noticed this and called out to her to come back. Nyx ignored him and continued onward.

The MUTO made several snaps at Twilight, who dodged each and every one. Twilight tried to think of a plan on how to stop it but she couldn’t think fast enough when the monster was right on her tail. The MUTO was about to snap at her again but was stopped as a small bolt of magic hit it in the face. It howled in irritation before looking in the general direction of where the bolt originated from.

The origin of it was Nyx, whose eyes were filled with an intense glare at the MUTO. Her horn was glowing with a midnight blue aura ready to fire again.

“Leave my mommy alone, you big bully!” she shouted. The MUTO creaked and clicked at the alicorn filly with interest.

Like Twilight, Nyx’s aura in its vision was as abundant. Unlike Twilight, Nyx’s aura was colored midnight blue as sparkles were glimmering like specs of starlight. The MUTO forgot the mare as it decided to go after an easier meal. With a shriek, it charged after the young filly.

Nyx’s eyes widened and her magic aura dissipated from her horn immediately as she started galloping for her life. Behind her the MUTO gave chase. Twilight immediately noticed the monster’s change in targets and saw with eyes in horror that it was chasing her daughter.

“Flash,” she shouted. “Save Nyx!” Flash showed no hesitation and took to the air after the young filly.

As he was closing in, he didn’t notice the airship from before closing in on the MUTO. Without time to react, the pegasus stallion was knocked away and fell to the ground below. He luckily landed on luggage which cushioned his fall but immediately passed out.

“Target in sight,” One of the airship pilots reported as they closed in on the MUTO. “Two o’clock, 300 meters. We’re on 6-X-01. Target confirmed.” The ships cannons then opened fire on the MUTO as it continued its chase.

Suddenly, a massive object rose up next to it forcing the pilot to take momentary evasive maneuvers. The airship continued towards the MUTO, but lost control and ended up crashing into the MUTO’s wing as it continued its chase. Nyx took this opportunity and concentrated magic into her horn and in a flash she teleported a distance away from the MUTO near the large airships. The MUTO roared in confusion as it tried to find the alicorn. It however was repelled back as the airship from before crashed into the larger airships, igniting them.

Thanks to the flames, the airships started exploding one by one, spreading fire and napalm like a wall. Nyx tried to outrun the flames but unfortunately they were starting to close in on her. Her eyes widened in horror as time seemed to slow down as the flames etched closer and closer. She knew she wasn’t going to make it out of this. Her magic was practically spent thanks to the magic bolts and the teleportation. She looked to see her mother being held back by the others as she desperately tried to reach her and called out her name. Right now, the alicorn filly closed her eyes shut with tears at the edge waiting for the flaming embrace of pain and death.

THOOM!

A deafening sound of a large object striking the ground could be heard around the airport. Nyx slowly opened her eyes and looked to see she wasn’t charred or burned. She heard a massive growl and looked up, causing her eyes to widen in awe. There a meter or two near her was an enormous scaly foot. Everypony in the terminal watched in silenced shock as the owner of the foot lumbered into the airport with a grunting growl. Twilight, the Mane Six and the CMC watched in silence as the massive creature approached the MUTO.

The MUTO immediately realized something approaching, and it turned to face it. It flared its wings and released a howl, trying to intimidate the larger creature.

Twilight looked at the larger creature facing the MUTO. She couldn’t believe something that huge existed. Her head then tried to wrap around the entire description of the monster before her.

It was saurian in appearance, around 108.2 meters in height, with thick and highly muscular legs leading into a beefy torso. Its arms looked almost like those of a primate in relative size to the body, but slightly shorter. It had four claws on each, with a prominent collar bone at the base of the throat similar to that of a dinosaur. The shoulders were slightly forward, also similar to a dinosaur. On its back were three rows of spines, with the center row being the longest. The monster’s neck tapered up into a head which looked almost like that of a bear from the front. A fairly small snout leading into high cheek bones with prominent brow ridge. The nose and lips curled into a snarl, and the creature’s head was rearing back.

What happened next literally shook the earth and everypony’s soul. He roared.

SHREEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGG!!!

Chapter 7: Honoluna Destruction; Gojira X MUTO

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Date: May 22nd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

The residents of the airport held their breaths as they witnessed the event before them. In front of them, Gojira and the MUTO were staring each other down. Gojira snarled at the winged creature as it clicked back while its wings twitched in anticipation ready for battle.

Twilight and the others watched in silence. The tension was killing most of them. Rainbow’s impatience inwardly grew at the moment while watching the monsters in their standoff.

“Okay,” she muttered. “Are they going to do something?” Twilight then turned to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, you’re the animal expert,” she whispered. “Do you know what this is?” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes a bit in thought before answering.

“It looks like a territorial standoff,” she answered. Rainbow Dash raised a brow to the answer.

“A what?” she asked.

“A territorial standoff,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s a common occurrence amongst wild animals. When one animal enters another’s territory, both will standoff with one another. If one makes a wrong move then the battle will start.”

Pipsqueak looked between the two monsters and then noticed something near Gojira’s foot. He squinted his eyes for a bit and gasped at what he saw. He saw Nyx shivering in fear near the saurian’s foot.

“Princess Twilight,” he whispered frantically. “Nyx is near that dinosaur’s leg.”

Twilight immediately turned to look at the where Pipsqueak pointed out and was right on the dot. She saw her daughter near the reptilian monster. Fear gripped her heart of what would happen.

Gojira continued his unmoving standoff with the MUTO. Both never wavered, both never moved until the other did. He couldn’t help but notice the MUTO’s attention shifted from him to something down on the ground. He slightly turned his head to look down, his size may be colossal but his vision was keen and to his surprise he saw an intriguing sight. There near his foot he saw Nyx, shivering in fear, probably from both of them. He looked back at the MUTO, whose attention was on the little filly. Anger started to slowly build up in the saurian. The MUTO wanted to eat the filly.

Nyx right now was scared with every inch of her life. She was in the middle of a battle between two giant monsters. She didn’t think this would be possible. She always thought this sort of thing would happen in movies but here it was. She was too scared to move for the spot she sat at. A calm timid roar then caught her attention. She looked up to see Gojira looking down at her. She shivered at his gaze but the fear started to fade. His gaze wasn’t filled with anger or hunger like a wild animal would, it was filled with calm and tenderness. What shocked her next she’ll remember for the rest of her life. Gojira then gestured his head to his left, telling her to run off.

Nyx gulped a bit and looked around but immediately saw her mother and friends. She looked at Gojira, who turned his attention back to the MUTO. She then slowly walked away from the saurian monster in the direction of her mother and friends. The MUTO took notice of this and gave out a series of clicks. Nyx froze a bit as the MUTO turned its full attention to her and began to advance. A roar was heard as both her and the MUTO looked to see Gojira, anger etched in his scaly muzzle.

The MUTO howled as it took to the air and homed in on Gojira. Gojira roared and charged towards the winged monster as well. The ground trembled as the two clashed and the air was being flooded with the sounds of war being waged. Nyx took this opportunity to gallop to the others and was welcomed in open hooves by her mother.

The two cried a bit as they embraced one another, happy that they were back together. They then ended their embrace and Twilight looked to the others.

“Okay, everypony,” she said with a firm voice. “While those two fight we’ll be evacuating everypony out of the area. So let’s get to it!” Everypony nodded and they galloped away from the battle, leading ponies away from the battle of the clashing titans.

The two monsters went tooth and claw against one another. Gojira had just snapped the MUTO’s shoulder into his jaws and was swinging it around back and forth like a ragdoll. The MUTO desperately tried to get out of its vice grip and started striking the saurian’s face with its hooked forearms. Gojira barely avoided a direct strike to the eye, but received a nasty scratch across it all the same as he let go. The MUTO flew out and away from him, circling around back and began bombarding Gojira’s back with its claws. Gojira’s hide was tough, but repeated attacks over and over at the same point began to compromise it and caused blood to be shed on his back just to the right of his spines.

Gojira gave out a cry in pain and snarled as he swirled around and latched onto the MUTO’s arm with his right claw. Pulling the winged menace in, Gojira used his head like a hammer and smashed the MUTO across the chest sending it flying like a child’s toy through the air and onto the ground. The MUTO fell directly into the terminal of the airport, causing various ponies to scream and scatter. Gojira wasn’t going to go easy on the winged beast as he trudged forward and stomped through the terminal, hundreds of ponies still running about scattering like ants beneath his feet as they slammed into the ground. The MUTO scrambled to its feet, clawing at the earth to force it upright as Gojira’s foot came down on its hind leg. The MUTO let out a terrible shriek and insanely clawed and stabbed Gojira’s leg, but he stood firm.

In the background, Twilight and the others watch the spectacle before them. While most of the ponies were galloping away in fear, they decided to watch the outcome of the fight. Considering whatever the outcome might be, it would determine the fate of Haywaii.

“Geez this is insane,” Rainbow said. “It’s like watching a movie without the screen in front of us.”

“No kiddin’, sugar,” Applejack replied. “So any of ya have ah clue on who’ll win?”

“Judging by what’s happening right now,” Twilight said. “I would have to say the bigger one. It clearly seems to have the advantage considering its size and strength.”

“Anypony wanna take bets?” Pinkie Pie suggested to them. Everypony in the group looked at Pinkie with a half-lidded unimpressed expression on their faces. “What?”

The MUTO desperately tried to claw his way out from under the saurian’s foot. It could feel Gojira applying pressure, slowly growing closer and closer to the force of bone break. The MUTO then became more desperate as it then bit into Gojira’s scaly leg. Gojira bellowed in pain as he let his leg off the MUTO, who then immediately took to the air. Gojira recovered and looked up at the MUTO with a snarl.

It made a U-turn back to Gojira, with forelimbs raised to strike. Gojira braced himself as the MUTO collided with him, sinking its beak and teeth into the saurian’s flesh. Gojira then bit into the MUTO’s shoulder and began to thrash it around, mainly slamming it into the cement. He then angled his body a bit before giving a mighty heave, tossing the winged monster into one of the nearby buildings. The MUTO shrieked in pain as it collided with the pony-made structure, causing debris to fall and the structure to tumble. Gojira then proceeded after the MUTO, trudging through the airport with a mighty stride.

The MUTO shook its head of dizziness, and looked up to see Gojira approaching. With a howl, it clung to the building flaring its wings. Gojira responded with a mighty roar before the onlookers of the battle started to see an amazing sight. A neon blue light shone as it started to travel up Gojira’s tail to its back, humming with power. The MUTO sensed this as one of its forelimbs began to glow. It raised its forelimb before slamming it down on the structure, sending out an EMP. Gojira was hit by the pulse, causing him to shudder a bit. His back began to lose its glow before humming out of existence. The MUTO gave out a clicked howl, as if it was mocking the saurian. Gojira snarled before trudging forward and picked up speed to charge in.

The MUTO immediately took to the air as Gojira charged through the structure it was occupying before. The ponies below ran for cover as debris came crumbling down over their heads. Gojira snarled in anger as he saw the MUTO homing in on him. As it got close, Gojira tried to snap at it but the MUTO gave a mighty flap of its wings to dodge the bite. The MUTO spied a structure behind the saurian and immediately went into action. It zoomed past Gojira before coming upon the building and with a mighty strike of its forelimbs it slashed through the structure causing it to topple over. Gojira looked behind him to see the building collapsing towards him. He shrieked in surprise as the structure caught him in its fall and toppled over the saurian.

The MUTO, perched on another building, watched as its enemy was trapped under the pony-made structure. It gave a cackling howl to the sky, believing it had won the battle. It then suddenly felt a spike in magic as it looked to see the pile of debris was glowing neon blue. Suddenly, a beam of fire-like neon blue energy burst from the debris hitting the MUTO dead center in its chest cavity. The MUTO shrieked in pain and agony from the burning sensation in its chest as it fell from its perch. The ponies below screamed as they scattered from the falling form of the monster. The winged monster smashed into the concrete, kicking up dust and debris from the fall. It groaned in pain as it lied there while trying to ward off the pain.

The pile of debris exploded out, revealing an angry Gojira. The saurian gave out a mighty roar, which was heard for miles. It turned its vision to the MUTO, who was still recovering from Gojira’s last attack. He growled before standing up and started stomping to the MUTO. The MUTO shook its head of dizziness and tried to get up, but only to be knocked back down by Gojira. It shrieked in pain as the saurian’s foot was now pressing against its chest, on the area where its burn was. It tried to prop itself up but was instantly pressed back into the pavement by the saurian.

Suddenly, a bolt of magic struck Gojira’s neck in the area where his gills were, causing him to shriek in pain. Gojira turned to see a battalion of Royal Guards armed with catapults and unicorn horns blazing with magic. The MUTO took this opportunity and pushed itself from under Gojira’s foot to then take flight. Gojira instantly noticed this and tried to give chase but was stopped by multiple magic blasts as well as explosives pelting his hide. Gojira shrieked as one of the explosives hit his gills again causing his to waver before tumbling into another building.

The MUTO watched from another perch from a higher building with satisfaction. If the food kept the predator busy then it could make its escape. Then a familiar sound reached its hearing, causing the MUTO to turn northwest looking out to sea. The sound called out to it and it responded back with its own call. It listened for a second or two and heard another response call. Without further delay, the MUTO spread its wings and took to the skies flying northeastward, leaving Gojira to deal with the onslaught from the equines.

Gojira watched as the MUTO made its daring escape. He tried to give chase but was pelted with another barrage of bolts and cannon fire. He shrieked in pain as the attacks exploded on his hide, luckily not drawing blood. The amount of attacks, however, were pushing the mighty saurian back, causing him forced up against a skyscraper. A large bolt of magic rung out above him, hitting the building, and causing an explosion which caused shrapnel and debris to fall. Gojira looked up as the piece of the building started to give away, falling towards him. Gojira shrieked as he was caught under it and both fell to the ground, causing dust and debris to kick up into a massive cloud. The guards witnessing this, gave out a major cheer as they believed they won.

Twilight and the others watching this were shocked beyond belief. Why was the Royal Guard attacking Gojira when they should have attacked the MUTO, who fled? The winged monster caused more of the destruction and panic, not Gojira.

“Just what the hay are they doing,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with voice laced with anger. “Don’t they know they’re attacking the wrong guy?”

“While the situation does look bleak,” Rarity added. “I do have to agree with Rainbow Dash. Those guards seemed to be attacking the wrong one.”

“Yeah,” Spike exclaimed. “The big guy saved the airport.” They all looked to see the crumbled terminals and still blazed airships. “Well… kind of.”

“What ah don’t get is why that winged one didn’t stay,” Applejack asked. “It could have tried to finish tha fight but it decided to flee.” This made Twilight think hard a bit.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But for whatever reason it can’t be good.”

As the Mane Six discussed the situation amongst themselves, Nyx was focused on where Gojira was covered by the debris. It wasn’t his fault this happened, he was only trying to get rid of the MUTO. Now the Royal Guard was closing in on the pile and she was getting worried. He saved her life and now it was her turn to save his. Without a thought, Nyx started galloping to where the Royal Guards were. Pip noticed this called out to her, but it went unheeded. The others of the CMC tried to call out as well, which got the Mane Six’s attention.

“Nyx!” Twilight called. “Get back here!”

The Royal Guard moved in closer to the colossal pile of debris, horns and weapons at the ready. This monster wasn’t going to get out of here alive. Considering the orders from Admiral Stable, the monster had a little to no chance with them. They were considered the best of the best amongst the Guard. They weren’t going to let some overgrown lizard attack a civilian city.

“Troops,” one of the captains called out. “Weapons at ready!”

With that order, most of them aimed with the cannons. Some unicorns flared their horns with magic, ready to fire. Catapults were stocked and ready to fire at the pile. The captain’s hoof, high in the air, was ready to give the signal.

“FI-“

“STOP!” a voice cried out.

All the guards looked with shock at the owner of the voice. It was Nyx, who galloped up in front of them and stood firm with a glare at the guards. The captain then walked up with a voice strong and firm.

“Please move, your highness,” the captain said. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“Yes it does!” she exclaimed, expression unchanged. “This monster saved my life and I won’t let any of you harm him anymore!”

“But, your-“Nyx then cut him off.

“Don’t ‘but’ to me, mister!” she berated. “He’s not the one that caused all this. He was trying to fight the one really behind all of this. If you all would get your heads out of your flanks you would see that!” The captain at the moment was lost at words, while a few guards in the back were quietly snickering as the captain got scolded by a filly. “Now as princess, I’m giving you all an order to back down!”

“Bu-“

“I said,” she repeated. “Back down!”

Few of the guards cringed at her slitted glare. One couldn’t argue with a princess, even they were only a filly. The captain sighed before turning to his troops, signaling them to stand down. Each of them lowered their weapons and powered down their horns in an instant. This was quite an embarrassing day for the Royal Guard.

Nyx, at the moment, was panting a bit. She hated that she had to use her princess status to do this but it was necessary. She was lucky that it was enough for them to stop. Her thoughts were deterred as a flash of purple light appeared next to her, causing her and the guards to widen their eyes. The flash ended as it started to show Twilight before them. She looked to her daughter with a hardened expression, which Nyx shuddered a bit from. She was in trouble.

“Nyx,” Twilight said. “Do you realize how stupid that was to gallop in front of a battle like that? You could have been hurt!”

“But mom,” Nyx said. “I couldn’t just let them hurt him. He was trying to save us.” Twilight sighed at this before continuing.

“I know, dear. But you can’t just run off into a battle like that. If you had gotten hurt then I wouldn’t forgive myself if something like that were to happen to you. Just promise me you won’t do that again, okay?” Nyx simply nodded.

“I promise, mommy.” Twilight smiled before giving her daughter a warming hug, which she returned back.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble and quake causing the various ponies to nearly fall. They looked at the source of the shaking which happened to be the colossal pile of debris, with various bricks shaking off it. Like a whale breaching the water, the head of Gojira rose from the pile before he gave out a loud mighty roar. The force of the roar could be felt by everypony as they looked in shock at the sight. This creature was pelted with explosives, blasts of magic and was caught under a tumbling building and it appeared to not have a single scratch on it.

Gojira snorted a bit as he rose from the pile of building debris. He shook off excess dust and dirt from his body, causing it to sprinkle onto the shocked ponies. Dust tickled Nyx’s nose as she then let out a loud sneeze, causing everypony to tense. This caught the saurian’s attention, which he looked down at the crowd of ponies. He lowered his head to where Nyx and Twilight was, who right now was holding her daughter close. He gave a rumble in his throat as he inspected the tiny creatures before him, slightly recognizing the young filly. He then leaned in closer, causing everypony to tense, as he then stopped several inches from the mother and daughter.

Nyx right now should be terrified. Who wouldn’t when you have a giant dinosaur capable of destroying city blocks by walking through them? But something in her head told her not to be afraid. She stared into the eyes of Gojira, who stared back. Both didn’t show a sign of fear or anger, it showed signs of curiosity. Curiosity about each other, each curious how beings such as themselves could exist. Her thoughts were deterred as Gojira started to inhale large amounts of air, with a sound occupying each inhale. He was smelling her.

Gojira then slowly rose a bit from the two before looking behind them. He stared at the battalion that caused the MUTO to get away. Anger started to boil inside the mighty saurian as he remembered their onslaught. He was about to punish them when he remembered the filly amongst them. He may be a giant monster but he couldn’t harm something as innocent as a child. He gave a minor grunt before deciding the suitable punishment for the battalion. He started taking in a huge intake of breath, causing the ponies to tense and prepare for a fight. After taking in enough air, he gave a mighty roar in the direction of the battalion. The force of the roar caused many to cover their faces with their hooves and others to cover their ears from the loud noise. Gojira ended his roar and looked upon them, seeing his result. A few guards were shaking by the roar’s sheer power. Others tried to put on a strong face but failed miserably. Several fainted in a heap like a certain species of goat.

Satisfied with the result, he then rose to his feet and started sniffing the air. He immediately caught the scent of the MUTO, with the winds in his favor. He then trudged forward northeastern to the ocean. There onlookers watched as the mighty reptilian slowly waded into the bay, continuing his pursuit for the MUTO. He reached deep enough before diving into the waves and slowly sinking out of sight.

Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Honoluna, Haywaii

The sun rose over the beach at Waikiki, which now resembled a refugee camp more than a vacation spot. Both civilian and military medical tents had been erected along the devastated coastline, while scores of stressed-out first responders coped with the wounded, the homeless, and the traumatized. Most major blazes had been extinguished, despite the heaps of rubble blocking the streets, but smoke still rose from scattered small fires between the beach and the airport. Once-luxurious hotels and condos were now just larger mountains of debris, which emergency crews were desperately excavating in hopes of finding trapped survivors beneath the collapsed buildings. The press was already on the scene, interviewing survivors. Rumor had it that the princesses declared Honoluna a disaster area.

Wandering through the aftermath of a devastating monster attack, Twilight and the others looked around them as they walked through the devastation. It was a horrible sight, many ponies either lost their homes or families to this event. They looked at the camp which was full of desperate ponies, urgently seeking missing loved ones. It made each of them frown.

“This is terrible,” Fluttershy timidly said. “All of these poor ponies.” The others couldn’t help but nod.

“It simply is dreadful!” Rarity said. “To think that this could have happened anywhere, it had to be this beautiful place.”

“It’s probably not over,” Twilight said catching their attention. “For all we know those creatures could be anywhere by now. And what’s worse I think this might happen in Equestria.”

“We can’t just sit around and do nothing!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I say we find an airship and fly back to Equestria as soon as possible!”

“I hate to tell ya this, sugar cube.” Applejack interjected. “But them monsters practically blew up our only chance to get back home. Unless Twilight can teleport us back?”

“I wouldn’t risk it,” she said. “I may be an alicorn and very skilled in magic but I can’t teleport that great of a distance.”

“Think Celestia could give us a lift?” Spike inquired. This caused Twilight to beam with joy.

“Great idea, Spike!” she said. “Get ready to send a letter.”

“That won’t be necessary, my faithful student.” A familiar voice called out. They all turned and to their surprise saw Celestia and Luna standing there.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed before galloping to her teacher and nuzzled her, which she nuzzled back.

“It’s good to see you again, Twilight.” She said with a warm smile.

“And it’s so good to see you, too!” she replied back with enthusiasm. “You wouldn’t believe what happened.”

“Two colossal-sized beasts combated each other in the city of Honoluna?” Luna added with a raised brow. This caused the group to be silent and wide-eyed.

“How did you-“Twilight said before being cut off by Celestia.

“We were tracking one of the creatures.” She said. “The one with wings arrived here in Haywaii shortly before the larger one made landfall.”

“But what are they?” Twilight asked. “They don’t fit any description of any creature in any book I’ve read.”

“I know you all have questions that wished to be answered,” Celestia said. “But the only one who can answer them is waiting for us on the Sattletoga.” This caused Rainbow Dash’s eyes to widen.

“The Saddletoga!?” she exclaimed almost screaming. “That’s one of Equestria’s best supercarriers. No way I’m missing out on this!” The princess nodded before calling out to a guard. He flew in before saluting to the alicorn.

“Guard,” she said. “We need a carriage to fly us to the Saddletoga immediately.” Twilight then joined in.

“Also,” she said. “Could you find another one to take my guard and the children back to Ponyville?” This caused the CMC to complain.

“Why do we have to go home?” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah!” Applebloom said. “We want ta see tha monsters fight again.”

“I’m sorry, kids,” Twilight said. “But this is one situation not suited for children.”

“But we can help,” Pip added but Pinkie then shook her head.

“Sorry, Pippy Wippy,” she said. “This is something us grown-ups have to do.” This caused the CMC to have sad down casted looks on their faces.

“Besides,” Rainbow spoke up. “We’ll need you guys in Ponyville to keep an eye on things while we’re handling this.” She then gave a wink to the others, who then understood what she was doing.

“Of course,” Rarity said. “Why Ponyville will be left vulnerable while we’re gone. So we need a group of the most trustworthy ponies we know to keep the peace.”

“Plus,” Applejack added. “That could give you ah chance to earn your cutie marks.” The caused the CMC to beam up immediately.

“Do you think you ponies are up for the task?” Twilight asked before the CMC all gave a salute with their hooves.

“We won’t let you down!” they said in unison. This caused the older ponies to giggle at their antics.

The guard from before then flew in with the large carriage. He gave a salute as the group then loaded into it. Twilight looked down at her daughter as she waved goodbye to her. Twilight waved back sadly as the carriage then took off into the air. Twilight was deep in thought about the current events that took place. Hopefully she and her friends could stop the terrifying force making its way to Equestria. One thing for certain though, they weren’t alone on this.

Chapter 8: Applewood Under Attack; Femuto Awakes

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Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: ES Saddletoga, 2,000 miles Southeast of Equestria

The observation platform overlooking the Saddletoga’s flight deck, located on the carriers upper island, was nicknamed “Vulture’s Row.” The unnerving parallel with the crow’s nest back at the doomed Neighponese base was not lost on Serizawa. A briny wind blew against him as he occupied the high balcony, distractedly twisting the stem of his antique pocket watch. The observation platform offered an excellent view of operations down on the flight deck, but he gazed out at the ocean instead, where Gojira could be seen swimming across the Neighsianic.

The submerged leviathan was a great dark mass swimming beneath the waves. The peaks of his spikey dorsal fins sliced through the churning foam, directly ahead of the carrier fleet, which had to pour on the speed to keep up with the swiftly moving colossal saurian. The Saddletoga could manage a maximum speed of more than thirty knots but Gojira was even faster. Several pegasi, trained for low-altitude surveillance, skimmed above the surface of the water like a flock of seabirds dogging an orca. The Saddletoga and the rest of the strike group followed behind the underwater monster at what they hoped was a safe distance. To the mounting concern of everypony aboard, Gojira remained on course for the east coast of Equestria.

Which meant the MUTO was heading for Equestria as well.

Before descending to the decks below, Serizawa spotted a pegasi-drawn carriage coming in for a landing on the flight deck. He noticed that Celestia and Luna had returned and they weren’t alone. With them he saw Twilight and her friends exiting the carriage. He instantly recognized them from a report over the Elements of Harmony a few years back. Without a second thought he descended down the steps from the observation deck to the flight deck.

After exiting the carriage, Twilight and her friends were amazed at the sight before them. Numbers of flight deck crew working diligently as they made completed tasks assigned to them. Rainbow Dash at the moment was spazzing out with excitement for being on one of Equestria’s most famous supercarriers. Twilight’s attention was drawn out to the open water, where Gojira continued its course to Equestria. Fluttershy couldn’t help but stare in awe of the sight as the colossal saurian, but still shuddered a bit in fear considering it looked more terrifying than a dragon.

“Quite a sight, isn’t he?” Celestia spoke, catching Twilights attention. This caused the purple alicorn to nod her head a bit before turning back to the direction of Gojira. “I still remember the first time he first appeared. It was during the 950’s I believe.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked turning her attention back to her teacher.

“Well,” Celestia continued. “Before he appeared, another monster arisen from the confines of the forests of Hoofishima. It was like a colony of microscopic starfish conjugating into a massive form of a flying arachnid. We dubbed it the Shinomura.”

“Shinomura,” Twilight muttered in thought. “That’s Neighponese for ‘Swarm of Death’, correct?” Celestia nodded before continuing.

“Like the name suggests, the more magic it consumed the bigger it grew. It attacked several cargo ships containing lost magical artifacts. What we didn’t know was that another Shinomura appeared in the Fillyppines. It was exposed to a pool of wild magic and regenerated itself. Soon, the two Shinomura met and began to merge. However, Gojira-“

“Godzilla?” Rainbow Dash interrupted a bit. Celestia raised her brow a bit at the name the pegasus gave but continued.

“-Gojira intervened. It killed the other one but the first Shinomura fled. We then decided to use something to lure the Shinomura and Gojira to an uninhabited island to where we would try to dispose of the threat.”

“What did you use?” Twilight had to ask but had a suspicious feeling on it was. Celestia looked from her student then to the direction of ‘Godzilla’.

“A Mega Spell Bomb,” she simply said. This caused Twilight to widen her eyes in shock. The others, however, didn’t know what the princess was talking about.

“A Mega Spell Bomb!?” she repeated her teachers words. “Princess, I know a giant monster threat should be handled but isn’t that a bit…excessive?”

“I know, Twilight,” she assured. “But with little options considering these creatures had a high resistance to our attacks we had to go with any option. So we decided the bomb could complete the job that we couldn’t. The bomb went off as planned while the two creatures fought, but something happened.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“The bomb did its job. The Shinomura was slain but Gojira miraculously survived the blast. The bomb itself was filled with 15 kilotons of magical force.” Twilights eyes widened at the amount the bomb contained. That contained enough magic to take out a major city. Her thoughts broke as Celestia continued on. “There was no explanation behind it. Gojira seemed to shrug it off before returning to his home in the sea.”

“Wow!” Spike spoke up. “So he’s like a guardian of sorts?” This caused Celestia to raise a brow a bit at the young dragon.

“In a sense,” she said. “Why do you think that, Spike?”

“Well,” he started explaining. “Nyx and the CMC told me about when Coral took them to some ruins in Haywaii. They talked about how the island had a monster protect the founders thousands of years ago. Plus, it fit the description to Godzilla.” This peaked Celestia’s interest.

“Ah, the founding of Haywaii,” a voice called out. “I’ve looked into that whenever I researched Gojira.”

The group turned to see Serizawa and Graphic walk up to them. Both unicorns bowed their heads a bit to the princesses. He turned to the Mane Six with a smile.

“Greetings, everypony,” he greeted. “I’m—“

“Dr. Ishiro Serizawa!” Twilight immediately said with excitement in her voice. This caused Serizawa to blink in both amazement and shock. Amazement that the new princess immediately knew of his name and shock that the princess was excited to meet him.

“Uh,” he said before continued his question. “How do you—“

“I’ve read most of your published works,” she answered immediately with glee. “My favorite was ‘Extinct or Is It?’. I loved how you explained the theories of the possibilities of extinct species existing during modern times. Considering the discovery of the coelacanth in Maredagascar and Indoneighsia was added as a perfect example and reference.”

Serizawa couldn’t help but chuckle at Twilights enthusiasm. “Well I’m glad to know a princess found my published works an enjoyable read.” A cough was heard as Serizawa looked to see Dr. Graphic gesturing to the ship, telling him they needed to proceed inside. “Ah, yes. If everypony will follow me inside then we can continue.”

Inside, the war room remained a buzzing hive of activity. Glowing monitors displayed flickering magical imagery of the flying MUTO as well as live UAV footage of Godzilla swimming beneath the sea. Twilight and the others stared in fascination at the visuals. Despite the unidentifiable danger to the Equestrian population, Twilight was obviously intrigued by the unique creature she had borne witness a few hours ago.

Serizawa knew exactly how she felt.

“Magic transfer complete. Simulations uploaded. Visual tracking continues,” Petty Officer Martini reported from her post. “Last visual confirmation predicts the MUTO continuing due northwest. All of our models have the targets converging on the Neighsianic Coast.” She glanced up at an accompanying image of Godzilla. “As of now, it looks like Godzilla’s still following the MUTO.”

Serizawa corrected her. “He’s hunting.” This made Twilight raise a brow a bit. What did the doctor mean by “hunting”?

“Have all vessels maintain current distance from target,” Admiral Stall ordered, overseeing the operations. He remained in command of the joint forces’ response to the crisis. “Plot the speed and heading of these things. I want to know exactly when and where they make landfall.”

The backlit table continued to plot out potential courses for both creatures, constantly updated to reflect the most recent intel. Dotted lines headed for the eastern seaboard, with possible landfall sites including Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Manehattan and the eastern coast of the Crystal Empire. There were too many possibilities over too great a distance, making it difficult to plan a defense against the monsters’ eventual arrival. Serizawa contemplated the ever-changing lines on the map.

“Doctor,” Twilight spoke up causing Serizawa to turn his attention to the purple alicorn. “You said the he was ‘hunting’? Is he tracking this thing?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Gojira is an alpha predator. He’s here to restore balance.”

“But if the MUTO is his prey,” Graphic began, calling Serizawa’s attention back to the printout of the wave pattern taken from the Neighponese base, “the signal shows a call. Why call up a predator?”

“Fight to the death?” Rainbow spoke out.

“Territorial dispute?” Fluttershy quietly spoke.

“Cupcake battle royale?” Pinkie Pie spoke up, which everypony gave her a questioning raised brow. “What?”

“It didn’t,” Serizawa said solemnly. “I think Gojira was only listening. The MUTO was calling something else.” His reasoning led him to another ominous hypothesis. “The pattern,” he addressed Graphic urgently. “Focus our search on Applewood.”

The intensity of his tone cut through the chatter. Competing voices tapered off as all present gave Serizawa their full attention.
“Applewood?” Applejack asked. “Why tha hay would it go to Applewood?”

Graphic’s face turned into that of fear. The blood drained from her face. “It can’t be. It’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible?” Twilight asked.

“There was another spore,” Graphic informed her. “Intact. Found in the Fillyppine mine.” She looked at Serizawa, shaking her head in disbelief. “But we vivisected it, ran every test on it for years. You confirmed it for yourself. It was dormant!”

Serizawa understood her skepticism. He had indeed spent years studying the apparently inert egg sac they had recovered from inside the giant skeleton in the Fillyppines. Unlike the larva that had burst from the other egg sac and made its way to Neighpon, the organism in the captured spore had displayed no trace of vitality or growth. It had not been absorbing magic from anything. By all indications, it had been an unbroken state of stasis or hibernation. And yet…

“Maybe not anymore,” he said.

The horror of this possibility, that they might be dealing with two MUTOs, causing a momentary hush to fall over the CDC. Pinkie Pie gulped and even Rainbow Dash’s stoic reserve cracked for a moment.

“This spore,” Twilight asked urgently. “Where is it now?”

“It was highly magical,” Graphic said. “It was disposed of. The Royal Guard, they took it.”

“Where?” Twilight repeated, with more concern etched in her voice.

“Where we store the most dangerous of magical artifacts,” Serizawa said flatly. He called their attention back to the map table, where two converging dotted lines extended past the east coast of Equestria.

Applewood lay directly in their path.

Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Yucca Mountain Magical Artifact Repository, Applewood

A stone marker, alongside a dusty desert road, pointed to the nearby San Palomino Desert National Security Site, about sixty-five miles south of Las Pegasus and Applewood. For over forty years, the desolate and cratered terrain beyond had been the site of nearly a thousand tests for deadly spells. Cacti sprouted amidst the sunbaked dunes and gullies. A guard convoy sped past the marker, stirring up a cloud of dust. Wonderbolt squadrons flew overhead, keeping pace with the rumbling troop carriers below. Inside the carriages, tense guards geared up in anticipation. An assault force donned anti-magic suits and gas masks. Heavy weaponry was prepped for battle: swords, axes, spears, crossbows and whatever else might make a dent in a monster. The mood amongst the troop was grim. Everypony on the mission had heard about what had struck Haywaii and had seen some of the on-line footage of the gigantic creatures tearing up Honoluna. They knew they had to be ready for anything.

The convoy quickly reached its destination. The Yucca Mountain Magical Artifact Repository was the final resting place for more than countless hundred magical artifacts found over the years that were deemed too dangerous for modern day use. Dug deep into a barren ridge of volcanic rock, surrounded by acres of restricted federal land, the vast repository was designed to contain the highly dangerous artifacts and their dark magic for a lifetime. In theory, it could withstand earthquakes, the elements, even time itself.

Giant prehistoric monsters, on the other hoof, had not been taken into account.

The main entrance to the facility consisted of an enormous tunnel that had been bored into the north side of the mountain. Armed guards stationed at the entrance admitted the troops, who deployed with both speed and purpose. The commander of the assault force, Captain Raspberry Parfait, led his troops through a sprawling underground maze of tunnels, branching off into numerous long galleries lined with large sealed compartments. Steel doors, each nearly thirty feet tall, guarded the vaults and their dangerous contents, which were routinely sealed inside solid steel canisters. View ports were installed in each door to allow for direct visual inspections.

Moving swiftly but methodically, the soldiers worked their way through the dimly lit tunnels, checking each vault on the go. The precise location of the captured Fillyppine spore was buried amidst layers of official secrecy, misdirection, redaction, and plausible deniability, defying ready access, but Parfait had reason to believe that it was somewhere in this particular gallery, nearly a thousand feet under the mountain. Given the possibility that a second MUTO might be stirring, it had been decided to conduct an immediate search and inspection of the vaults, pronto.

“Move it!” Parfait urged his troops. “On the double!”

One after another, view ports were slid open. Unicorn horns shined with light probed the interiors of the vaults, finding only the expected stores of nuclear waste in airtight casks. So far everything appeared secure, although they had yet to locate the MUTO spore, hatched or otherwise. Parfait had to wonder what the princesses were thinking, storing something like that. He would have blown it to pieces years ago.

Then maybe they might not be in the fix they were in.

Parfait hung back, observing the operation, as yet another view port was opened. Instead of the usual darkness, a blinding white light shone in his face. Blinking, he shielded his eyes from the glare and recoiled along with his troops. Instantly on guard, the troops raised their weapons as their comrades warily unsealed the massive hatch. More light flooded the tunnel as the heavy door swung open, revealing a disturbing sight.

‘Sweet Celestia,’ Parfait thought.

The entire vault had been torn open from the inside. An enormous hole, at least three hundred feet in diameter, gaped at the far end of the cavernous chamber, where what appeared to be a newly dug tunnel climbed all the way up to the surface. The blinding light pouring down from above? That was sunshine, Parfait realized, coming from outside the buried repository.

Yucca Mountain had been breached—from within.

Already dreading what he’d find, Parfait and his soldiers scrambled up the crude tunnel, which was big enough to accommodate a tank or more. It was a steep climb and he was breathing hard by the time he reached the top, where the passage opened onto a panoramic view of the sprawling desert to the south. Heaps of shattered stone were strewn beneath the tunnel exit, where something had obviously burst up through the base of the mountain. Enormous tracks, at least fifty feet across, scarred the arid landscape, leading off to the horizon.

Parfait called sharply for binoculars, which were immediately smacked into his grip by a junior officer. Raising the lenses to his eyes, he increased the magnification to maximum and scoured the sunlit badlands to the north. Through a haze of uprooted sand and dirt, he glimpsed the distant outline of another enormous creature making its way across the desert.

They were too late, he realized. A second MUTO had hatched.

And it was headed straight for Applewood.

Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Applewood, Equestria

“Good day, Applewood!” the blue-maned unicorn known as Vinyl Scratch shouted to crowd. “Is everypony ready to shake it?” The caused the crowd to cheer at the DJ. “Good! Now give a hoof for my friend helping me today, Tavi!”

The grey furred earth pony known as Octavia was standing near Vinyl holding her cello. She gave a wave to the crowd of ponies at within the club they were performing at. While she wasn’t into to the style of music that Vinyl preferred, the unicorn suggested that they do collaborated pieces. They practiced with their styles to see if their music could mend together in harmony. Surprisingly it did which made Octavia appreciate knowing that her classical pieces could be converted into modern styled music. She was happy that Vinyl thought of this. Now the ponies here would be able to enjoy their musical creation.

With a simple nod to each other, both Vinyl and Octavia started their music. The crowd whooped and hollered as they danced to the mix of classic and modern. While head-bobbing to the beat, Vinyl couldn’t help but look at Octavia as she played her cello. To think that this same mare that preferred old-styled music was now helping her with the performance. Her heart went aflutter as they both played in sync, on cue, and in harmony. Octavia turned her head to Vinyl with a warm smile, causing the unicorn to blush a bit. This caused Octavia to giggle a bit before turning her focus back to her cello. Somepony was going to have a wonderful time back in the hotel tonight.

Suddenly the lights of the club went immediately off, causing some of the ponies to scream. Not only that but Vinyl’s DJ station turned off as well. Vinyl fiddled with the knobs and buttons but it didn’t react once. Vinyl then lit up her horn to see, but it was harder to do for some reason. She saw Octavia giving her a look of worry as the crowds muttered amongst themselves.
“Vinyl,” Octavia whispered to the unicorn. “What in the name of the princess happened?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “This never happened before.”

Everypony’s thoughts were interrupted as the entire club started to shake. This caused the ponies in the crowd to scream a bit. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling making Vinyl, Octavia and various ponies cover their eyes. The shaking continued until it abruptly stopped. The ponies were silent. Minutes passed and nothing happened. It didn’t last long, however, as something massive crashed through the roof of the club. This caused many ponies to scream in horror as what appeared to be a colossal sized hooked limb was seen.

The owner of the limb was none other than the other MUTO, which gave out a clicking howl. Ponies in the club started to evacuate trying to get away from the colossal beast. Vinyl wasted no time and abandoned her station and galloped to Octavia. The cello-playing mare gasped in surprise as Vinyl grabbed her hoof and both started to evacuate the club as well. One thing was certain right now. This day went from grand to horrible to this moment.

Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: ES Saddletoga, trailing Godzilla as he swims to the east Equestrian coast

The Saddletoga was speeding across the Neighsianic, making thirty knots, but the crisis had obviously reached Equestria before the carrier and its attached strike group could. In the briefing room, live feeds captured shocking views of the Applewood strip being torn apart by the second MUTO, the one that had just broken loose from the Yucca Mountain facility. Soldiers and scientists crowed before the monitors, gaping at this latest threat. Smoke and static obscured the live feeds, making it difficult at first to compare the new MUTO to the immense winged arthropod that hatched from the cocoon in Neighpon, but Twilight and Serizawa managed to make out its appearance.

Instead of six legs plus a pair of wings, the new MUTO had eight limbs in total: two sturdy hind legs, similar to those on the first creature, two sets of elongated middle limbs, and two smaller forearms on its upper thorax. Like the earlier organism, the creature was a chimera that defied ready classification, but, if pressed, Serizawa would have labeled it some manner of gigantic semi-arthropod. Its dark, iridescent exoskeleton, composed of a thick, chitinous material, displayed shades of blue and red. Its backwards-jointed hind legs rested on two squat claws, but its upper limbs ended in hooked talons. A flat, anvil-shaped head boasted glittering red eyes and beak-like jaws.

“It’s almost 300 feet,” Graphic said to her colleague. “It’s far bigger than the other one.”

Luna then pointed out a difference. “This one doesn’t have any wings.” This gave both Serizawa and Graphic the same thought.

“A different sex?” she said. Serizawa then nodded in affirmation.

“A female.” He said with confirmation.

“So that’s what the other one was calling to,” Celestia muttered a bit.

“It must be a mating call,” Serizawa explained. Sexual dimorphism would explain why two radically different creatures had hatched from identical pods. Such gender-based variation within a single species was not uncommon in nature. “The female remained dormant until the male matured.”

“Now they’re seeking magic,” Graphic added. “To reproduce.”

“Now hold up,” Applejack said. “You two are sayin’ that them varmints are goin’ to make even more?” The two unicorns couldn’t help but nod to the apple mare’s question.

“My word,” Rarity exclaimed. “If we could barely handle two of them, think of what would happen to Equestria if any more of those brutes were stomping around.”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight asked her friend. “You’re an expert on animals. Since this thing is similar to various insects, how much could these things reproduce?”

Fluttershy, at the moment, hated being the center of attention but right now she needed to focus. She went over various insects in her mind. A few of them could reproduce in numbers that made her shudder when she thought of the MUTOs.

“Well,” she began. “It has some characteristics with mantises. So through careful thought I believe a single clutch can either range from ten to…” she then muttered the last part.

“I didn’t hear you, Fluttershy.” Twilight said. Fluttershy quietly muttered again but slightly a bit louder. “One more time, Fluttershy.”

“Th-Three h-hundred,” the pegasus timidly stuttered up. This made everypony’s jaws to fall to the floor while looking wide-eyed.

“Three hundred!?” the purple alicorn nearly shouted. She immediately went over the scenario in her head. A countless number of MUTO spreading throughout Equestria, attacking cities and devouring anything with magic, which included ponies. They could barely handle two right now but three hundred would be a massacre. They had to stop this.

“Sister?” Luna spoke up, catching everypony’s attention. Celestia right now had a hardened glare on her face. She glared at the monitor, which showed the Femuto and the Hitomuto, with anger.

“They mustn’t be allowed to procreate,” she said with a firm voice. She then turned to Spike. “Spike, I need you to write a letter.” The purple dragon immediately saluted before looking for a parchment and quill. The Sun Princess then turned her attention to her student. “Twilight, I’m going to need you to perform a permanent duplication spells on the parchments.”

“Of course, princess,” she said with a nod. “But why do we need to duplicate the letters?”

“The threat to Equestria has now escaladed from a national crisis to an international one.” She said with her voice still firm. “The MUTO not only threaten Equestria but if they were to reproduce, the young could spread from Equestria to other countries, devouring and procreating more.” Twilight nodded understanding the severity of the situation.

Spike came back with a parchment and paper, ready to write. “Ready for your letter, your highness!” She nodded before starting the letter.

“Dear allied nations of Equestria,
I am writing to you now about a situation that not only threatens Equestria but your nations as well. There will be a meeting in Canterlot tomorrow to discuss about the threat. If you cannot reach Canterlot by that time I will have a friend aide you in being teleported to the capital.
The Princess of Equestria,
Princess Celestia”

With that, the letter had been completed. Spiked then rolled up the parchment before handing it to Celestia. She then motioned Twilight to perform the spell, which she immediately casted, creating a pile of duplicates to be sent.

“Spike,” Celestia said as she handed him another parchment, which had a list of the various allied countries and nations. “I need you to send the each letter to these places on the list.” Without another word, Spike saluted before getting to work by sending the letters by dragon fire.

Celestia then turned to the Mane Six, which caused them to immediately pay attention. “We all must return to Canterlot at once to prepare the international meeting. The fate of Equestria and beyond rests with this.”

All of them nodded in affirmation. They all knew things were bad right now, with two monsters heading for Equestria and another rampaging through it. What lied in store for them in the future, though, they didn’t know.

Chapter 9: The Plan

View Online

(Warning: The first part of this chapter contains sexual situations. Viewer discretion is advised)

Date: May 23rd, 1004 D.C.R

Location: The Badlands, Equestria

The moon shone over the desert wasteland. Several animals ranging from lizards to coyotes were seen scouring the sands for either food or shelter. In the distance, a castle around the size of Canterlot castle was seen. Unlike the castle of the capital, this castle appeared more dark and sinister. The walls itself appeared to be made of a black-colored chitin material and looked similar to a hive. This was castle of Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings.

Within the confines of the castle was an unusual sight. There in the halls of the castle, a very fluffy pink pony with aqua eyes was playing what appeared to be a plush of the changeling queen. This was Fluffle Puff, a fluffy pony originating from Ponyville and the ambassador of the Changeling Kingdom. As she enjoyed playing with her plush, a voice then spoke up catching her attention.

“Ambassador Fluffle Puff,” the voice said. “There you are.” Fluffle Puff turned to see a changeling guard buzzing right up to her. He stood firm before speaking. “Her royal highness has requested your presence in her living quarters at once.”

“Pffftftpfpfffttff,” the fluffy pony simply said.

“Yeah,” the changeling replied. “Let’s assume that I knew what you said.” It was common knowledge that no one, except Chrysalis, could understand Fluffle Puff’s infant-like language. They still couldn’t figure out how their queen could though.

“Anyways,” he continued. “If you would follow-“

He immediately stopped talking when he noticed Fluffle Puff wasn’t in front of him anymore. He frantically looked around for the fluffy pink pony. How could something that fluffed out and brightly color disappear like that!? He then heard Fluffle’s raspberry sound and looked around for the source. It wasn’t to his left or his right. He peered ahead and looked behind him; still nothing. With a sigh, he looked up and his eyes immediately widened as he saw Fluffle Puff, who was somehow sticking to the ceiling like a gecko, doing doughnuts on the ceiling while making her signature sound. The guards compounded eye twitched from the sheer stress but also to the impossibility that was this pony.

‘How does the queen put up with her!?’ he thought as he saw the fluffy pony sped off into the direction of Chrysalis’s chamber. He sighed while following after with a mutter.

“I don’t get paid enough for this…”

A few minutes later, Fluffle Puff, who was back on the floor which the guard was thankful for, arrived at the door to Chrysalis’s room. The guard walked up to the door and knocked on it.

“Yes?” The voice of the queen was heard.

“It’s Bombardier, my queen,” he said. “I’ve brought the ambassador as per your request.”

“Excellent!” she exclaimed. “Let her in.”

Bombardier’s horn glowed slime green as his magic took hold of the knob. The door opened and the guard gestured her to proceed. Fluffle Puff immediately went inside the chamber of the changeling queen.

The room was large, which wasn’t uncommon for someone of Chrysalis’s stature to have. The walls, like the castle itself, were colored with black chitin-like material while the marble floors were the color of moderate harlequin. On the walls, various paintings hung. One of them was a painting of Chrysalis, standing valiantly on a charcoal-colored rocky ledge as her changeling hoard was in the background buzzing into battle. At one end of the room, was the queen-sized bed. It was black while the covers were dark cerulean. Near it was a charcoal-colored wooden nightstand. On it was a frame with the picture of both Chrysalis and Fluffle Puff. Fluffle Puff was making a goofy face while Chrysalis was giving a warm smile. Her attention was drawn to the plate of food that was next to the frame. On it was considered her most favorite food in the entire land of Equestria, tacos. She salivated at the sight before hearing Chrysalis’s voice from the backroom/restroom.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” she called out. “Make yourself confortable on the bed and help yourself to the food.”

Wasting no time, Fluffle Puff immediately jumped onto the large ebony covered bed. She inched herself near the plate of Mexicoltan food before biting into one. Her pupils enlarged to sizes not possible as she tasted the hard shelled delight. She could see sparkles in her eyes as the flavor of the taco danced in her mouth. This was truly made by the gods themselves.

Suddenly, the needle of the record player was covered in a slime green aura and was set down. From it music began playing which caught Fluffle Puff’s attention. The song was being played on the piano, which was calm and very relaxing. Fluffle Puff almost eased off to sleep until Chrysalis’s voice called out to her.

“Oh, Fluffle Puff,” she said with a flirty voice.

The pony turned and her mouth went agape as well as her eyes widening. Her pupils grew big again and the sparkles in her eyes returned. There before her was Chrysalis. She was leaning against the door frame in a pose that would make any stallion’s head spin. She was wearing a long sleeved dark green sweater along with black-striped, green thigh-high socks. She was also wearing what appeared to be equine-based panties which were colored red and had a Swiss cheese-styled black heart on it. On her head she wore a different crown. Unlike her previous one, this one was similar but had hearts on the top instead of the previous ornaments. The queen gave a smirk to the dazed fluffy pony.

“Like what you see?” The changeling queen said in a seductive tone.

Fluffle Puff’s only response was a piece of taco dropping from her gaping mouth. Chrysalis giggled as she walked to the bed, strutting her flank as she headed towards the fluffy pink pony. She then pushed up Fluffle Puff’s mouth closed while she smiled.

“Do you know what today is?” she asked.

“Pffft,” the pony simply answered. This made the queen smile.

“Yes,” she said before going on. “The anniversary of our discovered love and you becoming the ambassador of my precious kingdom.” Chrysalis then slowly climbed onto the bed towards Fluffle Puff. She then leans over to the fluffy pony’s ear and whispered. “And here’s my gift to you.”

Chrysalis then leans in to give the pony a kiss. Time seemed to slow down for a bit as Chrysalis had memory flashes when she first met the pink pony, the time they spent, and the adventures they both had. All those days seemed to come together reaching up to this day. The day they could share each other’s love. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open causing Chrysalis to tense immediately. The culprit behind the opening was a changeling guard. Unlike the others, this one’s armor was of a different color and more refined. This was Captain Scarab, the captain of the Changeling Guards. He held a rolled up parchment within his magic and was panting quite a bit from running in the castle.

“Your highness,” he said with hastened breath. “A letter came—“Scarab immediately did a double take of what he seeing before him. He saw the ambassador of the Changeling Kingdom in the same bed with their queen, who was dressed in scantily-styled clothing. It was silent for a minute or two before the captain spoke up again. “What in the name of the Hive is going—“

He didn’t get to finish those words, however, when Chrysalis gave a hiss in fury. The slits in her eyes thinned to their max as a result of her fury. Her horn began to glow as it charged with power before sending a beam of magic towards the captain. He saw this and immediately ducked under it as it passed over his head.

“Get out!” the queen shouted with venom in her voice as she continued to fire at the captain of her guard.

“B-But, your highness,” he stuttered, dodging another beam of magic. “I have—“

“I SAID GET OUT!!!” she roared as she fired another blast of magic. The captain squeaked in fear as he hit the deck, avoiding the magic. An explosion was heard behind him, with several changelings either screaming in agony or fear.

The captain got up and was about to continue until he felt something grip his throat. He started choking a bit as he was pulled over to his almighty queen, who was glaring daggers at him while her horn glowed with magic gripping his throat. He struggled a bit before he was face to face with Chrysalis. If looks could kill then he would probably be dead by now.

“Captain,” she said with her voice laced with venom. “You have about ten seconds to tell me about was so important to interrupt the most important day of my life before I obliterate you to cinders.” The captain shook with fear as he held up the scroll.

“A letter,” he rasped out. “From Princess Celestia. It said it was of great importance.”

“From Sunbutt?” she said, immediately letting go of her guard and took the letter. She opened it up before looking it over. Her eyes etched through the letter before she gave a groaning sigh. Why did something have to happen on her most joyest of days? She then looked to her guard with a stern look.

“Captain,” she said firmly. “Prepare my carriage. We leave for Canterlot immediately.”

“Yes, my queen!” he said with a salute before making his leave.

“Oh and captain,” Chrysalis said before getting Scarab’s attention again.

“Yes, your highness?” he asked.

“If you ever speak a word of what you saw here, you’ll be demoted and sent to the recycling chambers,” she said with a firm voice. “Is that clear?” The captain answered with a quick nod before running off to prepare the trip.

Chrysalis sighed a bit before closing the doors. She spent weeks planning this day to be perfect. Now though, it was ruined. Why did it have to be ruined because of a stupid international leaders meeting? She turned to Fluffle Puff, who was blinking in confusion. She sighed before walking up to her favorite pink pony.

“I’m sorry, Fluffles,” she said in a sad tone. “Looks like we’ll have to reschedule this another day.” Fluffle Puff didn’t say anything and instead grabbed a taco and put it into the queen’s mouth. Chrysalis blinked a bit before eating the convection with a hearty giggle. Sure this day didn’t end so badly but Celestia is going to have to make up for this.

Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Canterlot, Equestria

Talk around the streets of Canterlot was going around as the news of the international meeting was being hosted today. Many delegates from other lands and nations allied to Equestria were attending to what would be the discussion about what to do about the current monster threat. The castle was in chaos as the workers and maids were prepping everything for the meeting. Whatever the outcome will be this meeting will decide.

In front of what seemed a large door which led to the conference room, the Princess Celestia and Luna were standing along with the Mane Six and Spike waiting for the delegates to arrive. Not many international meetings were held but this one situation called for it. If they were going to stop the threat then they needed the help from their allies. Twilight shifted nervously a bit which Applejack noticed immediately.

“Y’all alright, sugar?” she asked. Twilight tensed a bit before sighing to her friend.

“Well,” she said. “It’s just that I’ve never attended an international meeting before. Let alone one that involved dealing with giant monsters.”

“I get why you’re upset, darling.” Rarity said. “I can’t understand why we have to attend the meeting as well. We’re not exactly leaders ourselves.”

“The reason you’re attending, my little ponies, is that you all represent the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia said catching their attention. “With you there, it will give the leaders some ease knowing the bearers will be there to help in what way they can.”

“Hopefully this doesn’t take too long though,” Rainbow Dash said why smacking her front hooves together. “I want to get out there and kick some monster butt!”

“I agree with fair Rainbow Dash,” Luna said. “The more time we waste the closer those things get to bring the downfall to our grand nation.” She didn’t have to wait long as the sound of trumpets announced the arrival of the first delegates. A unicorn guard stands firm before announcing.

“His royal highness,” he announced. “From the Griffin Kingdom. King Gordic Gryffindor.”

After the announcement, a large griffon walked in along with two griffin guards side-by-side. Gordic’s eagle half looked similar to a Golden Eagle while his lion half was like a regular Zebrican Lion. His eyes brown in color but a different shade than his eagle feathers and lion fur. The way he walked you can tell he was filled with honor and pride. He looked at Celestia and gave a hearty laugh before enveloping the alicorn in a hug, which shocked most of the Mane Six.

“Celestia,” he said with an Irish-accent. “Ya sun-coated lass, how are ya?” Celestia giggled before answering.

“I’ve been doing fine, King Gordic.” She said. The griffon gave a hearty laugh.

“Come now, lass,” he said. “I told ya tha next time we meet you don’t ‘ave to be so formal. Call me Gordy.” This caused Luna to giggle which Gordic caught immediately with a smirk. “See, the wee moon lass gets it.” Celestia couldn’t help but giggle again. “Anyways, no time for wee pleasantries. Gotta find me seat before ole scale butt comes. Tell ‘im I’ll be waiting to talk to him about poker night once he gets inside.” With that, the griffin king walked into the conference room along with his guards.

Most of the Mane Six blinked in confusion, except Pinkie. They knew griffins were prideful in nature but had a bit of a temper. The one they just saw a few seconds ago was prideful but didn’t look like he even a speck of temperament in him. Pinkie Pie could help but grin with a giggle.

“I like him,” she said. “He’s spunky.” This caused the group to laugh a bit before the sound of trumpets settled them down.

They looked to see the same guard from before making an announcement.

“Presenting her royal highness,” he announced. “The Queen of the Changeling Kingdom and her ambassador, Queen Chrysalis and Fluffle Puff.”

With that Chrysalis strolled from the hall with Fluffle Puff following alongside her. The Mane Six were tense at the moment, mostly Twilight. The changeling queen walked up to both princesses and gave them a bow, which they both did in return.

“Celestia,” she said casually. The sun princess gave her a nod.

“Chrysalis,” she said. “It’s good that you could attend.”

“Yes well,” the queen said. “When one’s country is in peril, one must heed the call, so to speak. Though I wish it was another day.” This caused Celestia to raise a brow.

“Why is that?” she asked.

Chrysalis made a polishing motion with her hoof on her chest. “Well the day we received it was during a special occasion me and my dear Fluffle were enjoying. Happens once a year?”

Celestia immediately knew what she meant and bowed her head in apology. “I am terribly sorry, Chrysalis. When this is over both me and my sister will make it up for the time you missed.”

“See that you do,” the changeling queen said. She then turned her attention to Twilight. “Well, little Sparkle it’s been a while.”

“Yes it has,” Twilight said with a nod. Chrysalis gave a smirk.

“Anyways me and my little Fluffle will head in now,” she said as she looked to Fluffle Puff, who was now tug playing with Chrysalis’s tail like a dog with a toy. “Come, Fluffles. Let us find our seat.” With that Chrysalis walked into the meeting room, dragging Fluffle Puff with her as she continued her little tug war.

More delegates started showing up by the flock. There were zebras, minotaurs, kirins and etc. The room was going to be filled with all sorts of delegates. Twilight then noticed two ponies walking up, both were a familiar pink alicorn and a blue-mane white unicorn. This made Twilight smile with glee.

“Shiny! Cadence!” she cried out happily as she galloped up to them. Cadence saw Twilight and smiled just as brightly. The two sisters hugged before doing their greeting gestures and rhyme.

“Sunshine, sunshine ladybug’s awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake.” Both couldn’t help but giggle with each other.

“It’s so good to see you,” Cadence said giving her sister-in-law another hug. “After what the papers said about what happened in Haywaii we were so worried.”

“We’re fine, Cadence,” Twilight assured her. “It could have happened anywhere.”

“She’s right, dear,” Shining said before smirking. “Though, trouble seems to follow my little sis where ever she goes.” This got him a punch in the shoulder by his LSBFF. Cadence could help but giggle.

“We’ll meet you all inside,” she said before pulling Twilight closer and whispered. “Also, after this is over you and I are going to have quality sister time.” Twilight beamed a bit before nodding.

The royal couple proceeded then into the meeting room. Shining Armor stopped a bit before turning to Celestia.

“Word of caution, your highness “he said. “The delegate from the Hooviet Union is here. Last we saw, he was stirring a bit of trouble with one of the maids.” Celestia nodded.

“I’ll make sure to let him know his place,” she said calmly. Shining nodded before proceeding inside.

A group of two stallions walked up to the group, one an earth pony and the other a unicorn. Unlike Equestrian ponies, these ponies had shaggier fur similar to the coat of an animal in winter. Another feature was that their tails were different. Instead of the usual long tail most ponies had, these two had tails similar to that of deer.

The earth pony’s coat was colored brown and he had blue eyes. The unicorn had a light eggshell ivory coat with brown eyes. Both were wearing grey winter military coats. The earth pony had a small hat while the unicorn’s was a bit larger and had various badges on it. A guard straightened himself before announcing the two.

“His lordship and advisor of the Hooviet Union,” he announced. “Grand Duke Red Star and Advisor Gold Sickle.”

The two Hooviet ponies walked up to the princesses and gave a minor bow. Celestia returned it briefly before looking at the unicorn.
“Red Star,” she said with a firm tone.

“Princess,” he replied with the same tone. This made Luna’s eye twitch a bit in irritation. She didn’t like this stallion.

“I received word that you were pestering one of the maids?” she asked her tone not wavering. Red Star scoffed a bit.

“Reason was that she trotted in my path,” he answered. “I don’t see why you’re making a big deal about this. A commoner should know when those of royalty make their stride.”

“I’m making it a big deal because this is my home,” she said. “And when I have guests within my home they are to follow the rules. Is that clear, Red Star?” Red Star rolled his eyes.

“Crystal,” he simply said before making his way inside. Gold Sickle immediately bowed to the princesses.

“Please forgive his behavior, your highness,” the earth pony said. “He’s still a bit sore about what happened in the Winter War.” Celestia nodded.

“It is fine,” she said. “He should learn by now that his stubborn behavior needs to be let go.”

“Again,” Gold said bowing again. “I apologize.”

“Nothing to worry about, Gold Sickle,” Celestia said. Gold Sickle then bowed again before entering the meeting room.

Celestia sighed a bit before looking in the direction of the meeting room. How could a kind pony such as that work for a leader who was so pig-headed? She had a feeling Red Star’s stubbornness will be the death of him. Her thoughts were broken as the room started to shake like large footsteps were being made. She looked and gave a hearty smile to what she saw.

It was a dragon. Unlike most dragons, this one was far larger, but not large enough to get stuck in the castle. His scales were colored similar to the metal platinum. On his head was gold crown and his neck had a gold brace with a ruby gemstone in it. He also unlike most dragons had blue eyes. The Mane Six and Spike were in awe of this dragon, but Fluttershy still shivered at the sight of it. The dragon then looked down at both princesses and gave a smile. They smiled in return.

“Your highnesses,” he said in a reverbed cool voice. “It has been far too long.” Celestia nodded in agreement.

“Indeed it has,” she said with a smile. “Lord Bahamut.”

“Forgive me if I’m late,” he said. “I had to make sure my kingdom was secure before leaving. My sister is currently keeping her eyes on things but I don’t want to stay long enough if I have to.”

“Of course,” Celestia said. “Tiamat can be quite a handful. Most sisters are, actually.” Luna gave Celestia a scrunched glare which made Bahamut laugh.

“Indeed,” he said before turning to the Mane Six. “By the way, which of you is the one called Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy immediately squeaked as her name was mentioned and hid behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow rolled her eyes as she moved out of the way to where Fluttershy was revealed again. Bahamut lowered his head to meet eye-to-eye with the pegasus mare. Fluttershy shivered under his gaze.

“Be at ease, young mare,” he said in a calm voice, which made Fluttershy open up a bit. “I only wish to speak with the one who bravely stared down one of my kind.” This made Fluttershy sit up a bit in curiosity.

“M-Me?” she stuttered. Bahamut nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “I wish to thank and congratulate you on convincing one my kind to leave while he made refuge in the mountain near your home. I also wish to apologize for that. Most of my kind follows the ways of my sister, only a few follow my noble ways.” Fluttershy blushed before she smiled.

“No need to apologize,” she said. “After all, it worked well in the end and that dragon learned not to bully those who were smaller than him.” Bahamut could help but give a hearty chuckle.

“A very noble lesson to learn,” he said before looking at Celestia. “I shall enter now. I will see you all inside.”

Celestia then called his attention. “Bahamut.” Bahamut looked to the white alicorn. “Gordic is already inside and wishes to speak to you about poker night.” Bahamut nodded and continued onward into the room.

“Is that everyone?” Luna asks with a raised brow. Before Celestia could answer, a voice called out.

“Now, now,” it said. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

In a flash of light, Discord appeared before them. This made Fluttershy beam with happiness as she fluttered over to her friend and hugged him. The draconequus returned the hug, which made the group smile at the affection.

“I missed you so much,” Fluttershy said as she ended the hug. “How are the animals?”

“Oh they’re just peachy,” Discord said before his face showed dramatic concern. “When I heard about that incident in Haywaii, I was so worried. I was torn with a decision of going to your aid to keeping the promise of taking care of your animals. Oh, the choices were difficult.” Fluttershy comforted Discord with a pat on the back.

“It’s okay, Discord,” she assured. “I’m fine as well as the others. Anyways, thank you for keeping your promise for taking care of the animals.”
She leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek, which caused the draconequus to tense before his face immediately turned red and steam came out of his ears. This made the group silently giggle.

“Um, well,” he said with a blush. “It’s not a problem, my dear Fluttershy. Which reminds me.” He snapped his fingers and a large scrapbook appear in his paw. “I remembered to make a scrapbook of my time with the animals of that week.” He opened it and showed it to Fluttershy, who smiled at the pictures.

Pinkie Pie looked over Fluttershy before laughing at one picture. “Ha, ha, ha! Angel’s ears are tied to look like he has pigtails.” Pinkie then fell over laughing. This also caused Fluttershy to giggle. Discord smiled before snapping his fingers, causing the scrapbook to poof away.

“Anyways,” he said. “I do believe we all have a meeting to attend?” The princesses nodded before they and the group entered through the doors of the meeting room.

Within the meeting room, many of the delegates were discussing amongst themselves. They immediately quieted down when they saw Celestia and the others enter the room. She, Luna and the Mane Six took their seats as all eyes were on the princesses. She looked around, seeing that they were waiting for her to begin.

“Welcome, everyone,” she said. “I’m sure you all are wondering why I have called this meeting.”

“Judging from the letter I’d say you were pretty worried about something weren’t you?” Bahamut spoke with the other delegates nodding their heads.

“Indeed,” she continued. “The reason I called you all here is to discuss a solution to a current threat. The threat I’m speaking of are monsters.”

With a flash of her horn, a spectral image of both the Hitomuto and the Femuto were seen separately. The delegates were in shock of the sight before them, considering the size of the beasts themselves.

“The creatures before you are what we call the MUTO,” she explained. “Several days ago, the one on the left, known to be the male, hatched from a cocoon located in Hoofishima. Once it was free it made its way to Haywaii to feed. However, something stopped it.”

With a glow of her horn, another image appeared. This one showed Godzilla, making his arrival at the Haywaii Airport. All eyes widened as the image gave out the same roar that chilled the bone of everypony at the airport. It still had the same effect on the delegates.

“This creature you all see before you is what we call Godzilla,” she continued which caused the delegates to mutter amongst themselves. “This one first appeared fifty years ago when the threat of giant monsters first arisen. One thing is for certain, if he tried to destroy the MUTO in Haywaii then he would be considered an ally.” This caused more mutter amongst the meeting before Celestia continued. “Shortly after, another MUTO hatched near Applewood where it caused panic and destruction. That one is known to be a female of the same species. We believe the two MUTO are now trying to come together so that they can procreate, increasing their number.” This caused a veil of fear to envelop the delegates as the mutter with one another. “I’ll now switch it off to one of the experts I have working on this.”

With that, she gave a guard nod, who nodded back before trotting over to the main doors and gesturing someone to enter. He backed up as both Serizawa and Crypto Graphic both walked in, all eyes on them.

“Greetings everyone,” he said to them all. “I’m Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, lead researcher of Monarch. As you all know, the MUTO are coming together to procreate. From what we can gather the MUTO are both converging to this location.”

Serizawa’s horn glowed showing an image of a map of Equestria. It zoomed in on the eastern coast where the lines converged on one location. This made the delegate’s eyes widen on what the hit point was. Manehattan.

“Tell us, Doctor,” Bahamut spoke up. “What can you tell us of these beast’s capabilities?”

“The MUTO,” the unicorn explained. “Both have the innate ability to expel EMP within a given area. However, the female seems to have a constant field of influence around her. This affects ponies and magical creatures that are caught within the field. As for Gojira, not much is known about him other than his ability to sense sudden changes with the balance of our world. Plus his breath attack is still quite a mystery.”

“Quite,” Discord suddenly spoke up, with everyone’s eyes on him as he seemed to hover in the air while filing his claw with a familiar baby alligator. “Though then again given the situation, aether is still quite a mystery even to you ponies.” This made most of the delegate raise a brow.

“What do you mean, Discord?” Celestia asked. “Are you saying Godzilla can utilize—“

“Aether?” Discord interrupted. “But of course! Why? Did you think that stuff he was spewing was similar to dragon fire or something?”

“Care to explain?” Serizawa asked.

“Why certainly!” Discord said.

With a snap of his claw, the room changed to appear similar to a college classroom. The delegates as well as the princesses were seated in the seats while Discord was below wearing a lab coat. Next to him was Fluttershy, who was wearing a formal dress suit and wearing non-prescription glasses. With another snap, a black board appeared behind them and displayed a biology chart of Godzilla. Discord then pulled out a pointer stick and smacked it against the black board.

“Now class is in session,” Discord announced. “As you can see behind my lovely assistant, shows Godzilla’s biology. Here we see what makes this big lizard go tick. Though the thought in your heads is, ‘How does Godzilla use aether?’ well look no further. What make’s Godzilla special is not only to consume magic itself but the fact it can use this very magic to biologically create aether energy. How does it do this you ask? The answer, my dear students, is his heart.”

“His heart?” Rainbow Dash brought up.

“Yes,” Discord said. “From an x-ray scan I performed before coming to the meeting, I discovered that Godzilla had aether energy being pumped throughout his body, originating from his heart. How this is done is that he absorbs magic though the spikes on his back. There the magic travels through his body like the blood within the bloodstream and makes its way to his heart. There the heart converts the absorbed magic into aether energy. It’s really quite fascinating considering this creature is quite ancient. As a plus, he can even expel this energy similar to how dragons breathe fire. You can call it his ‘Aether Breath’ if you will.”

“Sorry to spoil your fun,” Red Star spoke up with a snarky tone. “How is this relevant to the problem at hoof?” Discord rolled his eyes at the rude stallion.

“Now really,” he said. “Has anypony told you to zip your lip while class was in session?” With snap of his claw, a zipper appears over Red Star’s mouth causing his voice to be muffled.

“Discord!” Fluttershy berated at the draconequus.

“What?” he said. “Everyone wanted him to shut up.”

“While I somewhat agree with the Chaos Lord’s minor method,” Bahamut spoke up, making Red Star glare at the dragon king. “But Red Star does have a point. How is this relevant?”

“You see,” Discord said before snapping his claw again causing the board to reveal a biology chart of both MUTO. “The MUTO have a similar method to absorb magic and use it to their advantage. Instead of absorbing it like the Big G does, they need to ingest anything magical, be it a highly magical artifact or magical creatures. However, unlike Godzilla, they can’t naturally create aether. Instead they can naturally produce nether energy. This explains them able to use EMP abilities.”

Dr. Serizawa thought for a minute before answering. “That does make sense in some way. But, how do you know of this?”

“When you’re a creature of chaos, you tend to know things that help make up reality itself,” Discord answered before snapping his fingers turning the room back to normal. Red Star, however, had the zipper still attached to his mouth. Fluttershy gave him a look which made him sigh before snapping his fingers making the zipper over the Hooviet pony’s mouth disappear.

“So we know what they’re capable of,” Gordic said. “So anyone got a solution?”

“Why don’t we send the draconequus?” Red Star spoke up, causing Discord to give him a half-lidded stare. “He seems powerful enough to make them disappear.”

“Sadly I can’t,” the Lord of Chaos answered immediately. This made Red Star glare at Discord.

“And why not?” he asked. “If you’re able to bend reality to your whim, surely making monsters disappear would be a breeze.”

“The reason,” Discord explained. “Is because these creatures came from an era where a certain type of chaos ruled supreme. And I wouldn’t even dare touch the stuff. Bleh! Plus, all of them have a large pool of magic even I can’t manipulate. My magic is the size of a lake while theirs would be an ocean in comparison.”

“Looks like that plan of yours shot out the window immediately,” Chrysalis said with a snide comment which made Red Star seethe with anger.

“Silence you, para—“He couldn’t finish which a hiss of anger was directed at him. It wasn’t coming from Chrysalis but Fluffle Puff, who was giving him the stink eye at the moment. She scrunched her face while sounding like an angry, growling cat but was calmed immediately when Chrysalis patted her head with her hoof.

“There, there, my little Fluffles,” she said in a soothing voice. “The mean stallion isn’t much of a threat.” That comment made Red Star see red.

“HOW DARE—“Gold Sickle held back his leader before things got out of hoof.

“Lord Red Star, please,” he said. “There is another solution to the problem.”

“And what pray tell do thou have to share?” Luna asked.

“We have a weapon that we never hoped to use,” he explained. “But I believe this the best time to use it. Considering it would have enough force to kill these creatures.”

Celestia immediately understood what he was hinting. Her eyes slowly widened.

“You don’t mean,” she uttered out. Red Star smirked as he put his hooves together in a defiant manner.

“Yes,” he answered. “A Mega Spell Bomb.”

This caused the room to mutter with one another before they were silenced by a massive slam of a hoof on the table. Everyone turned their attention to the source of the sound. There Celestia had been the one to slam her hoof down, which left spider web cracks where she slammed it down. Her expression was filled with anger.

“I forbid it,” she firmly said. “There is a reason why Mega Spell Bombs are forbidden to be crafted in Equestria. I’ve seen the power it possesses. It’s too destructive and I will not allow my subjects to be exposed to that sight. Not now, not ever!”

“Princess,” Red Star said. “I speak for all at this meeting that the bomb is our best chance. I don’t know about you, but I will not allow a bunch of savage beasts terrorize my homeland. I will protect my country no matter the cost.”

This was insane! Twilight couldn’t help but wonder the mental stability of this stallion. Didn’t he not see what horrors he’d unleash if he used the bomb. Ponies barely knew the existence of Mega Spell Bombs and this pony had the gall to make one himself!?

“Here’s what I suggest,” he said. “We rig a MS warhead with a shielded timer, put it on a boat and send it 20 miles out away from Manehattan, the magic lures the MUTOs, and the MUTOs lure Godzilla.”

“Then we detonate,” Gold Sickle finished. “With minimum fallout risk to the city.”

“You can’t be serious,” Dr. Graphic countered. “They feed on magic.”

“Correct,” Gold Sickle said. “That’s why we use the bomb as bait.”

“And kill them,” Red Star finished. “With the sheer force of the blast.”

“This is crazy,” Dr. Graphic uttered.

Twilight inwardly agreed this was crazy. She bet that Red Star didn’t take in account about the possibilities of the plan going astray. Using an armed bomb like that near a populated area was insane. If the bomb went off before reaching its destination it could endanger thousands. She then turned to see Dr. Serizawa deep in thought.

“Doctor Serizawa,” Twilight spoke up, getting his attention. “Do you have a better solution?”

Serizawa went back into thought as everyone’s eyes were on him. He then raised his head and gave them a serious look.
“Gojira may be the answer,” he said. “I believe he’s here to restore balance. He can defeat them.”

“And what?” Red Star asked. “We just sit back and watch? I’m sorry, doctor. I speak for everyone here that I rather put my trust in a weapon than an overgrown prehistoric monster.” Most of the delegates seemed to agree to that, much to Serizawa’s dismay.

“Why not alter the plan?” Twilight suggested. “We can still use the bomb as bait but not have it armed. That way there will be no chance of it going off and we can lead the MUTO away to an offshore island. There, Godzilla can fight both of them without any loss of life to the citizens.”

The delegates conversed with one another. That plan seemed more liable than Red Star’s. A few mutters in agreement made Twilight smile. Celestia looked around, seeing the agreement amongst them and sighed.

“It seems the motion has passed,” Celestia said. “Very well. The bomb will be used for bait to lure the monsters away to an offshore island. There Godzilla, hopefully, will take care of the threat. This meeting has now ended.”

With that, the delegates began to exit out of the room. Twilight was about to leave when she looked to see Dr. Serizawa hadn’t left his chair, his focus on a bronze pocket watch. She had a feeling he needed somepony to talk to at the moment. She then felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked to see Rainbow and the others looking at her.

“You coming, Twi?” she asked. Twilight nodded before answering.

“I’ll be right behind you,” she said. “I just need to talk to the doctor.” Rainbow Dash only nodded as she and the others left out the doors.

Twilight then started walking up to Serizawa. His focus turned to Twilight as she gave him a look. He sighed before turning his attention back to his watch.

“Doctor,” she said. “I’m sorry you don’t agree to this. But, I tried to make it to where we didn’t need to use the bomb to—“She was cut off as a hoof raised for her to be silent.

“I know, your highness,” he said. “You tried you’re best. I’m just gracious that bomb won’t be armed. While still being used, at least it won’t cause any harm.” He then continued to stare at the pocket watch in his hoof, which Twilight took immediate notice.

“Doctor,” she said. “Can I ask about that pocket watch of yours?” He didn’t say anything but handed her the watch.

She immediately took it in her hooves and stared at it. She could tell by its composition that it was quite old, around 59 years she believed. The most curious thing though was that it wasn’t ticking and its hands were frozen in place at a certain time.

“It’s stopped,” she simply said.

“Yes,” Serizawa said. “Eight-fifteen in the morning. August 6, 945.”

That date must of have been important. Twilight racked her brain through the collective knowledge she obtained throughout her academic years. That’s when it hit her like a piano falling from the sky.

“Hoofishima,” she said. “During the Griffin-Pony Wars.”

He gave a simple nod, before taking back the watch. “It was my father’s.”

With a click, he closed the watch before walking out the room. Twilight’s ears went down a bit. Now she understood why he never felt strongly about the bomb. Considering that was hard day for both ponies and griffins.

Red Star was in a foul mood and Gold Sickle could see it. The scowl on his face could scare a manticore if given enough effort. His thoughts were interrupted as Red Star addressed him.

“Advisor Sickle,” he said. “Tell the troops to make sure the warhead is prepped and ready to be armed.” This caused Gold Sickle to widen his eyes.

“Sir, you can’t possibly mean—“

“I do,” Red Star berated with a firm voice. “I don’t care what the princess says. All I care about is protecting my country. I will see to it that those beasts are put out of commission. Even if it means that the princess loses one of her precious cities.”

“Sir, this goes against many international treaties,” Golden Sickle said with panic in his voice. “If the princesses knew—“He didn’t say more when Red Star got into his face.

“Are you questioning my leadership, advisor?” he quietly said with anger. “You know what happens to those who betray our country, no?”

Gold Sickle shivered before nodding. “Y-Yes sir. Not questioning your order, sir.”

Red Star smiled. “Good. See to it that the bomb is prepped and ready. I look forward to see the results.”

With that he walked away, leaving Gold Sickle there as he was frozen with fear. He knew his leader’s motives were questionable but this was practically going too far. All he knew that karma was going to bite his leader hard in the flank.

“Celestia, forgive me.”

Chapter 10: Ancient Power vs. Rainbow Power Pt. 1: Origins Revealed

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Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R
Location: Canterlot, Equestria

Night had fallen over the grand capitol of Equestria. From the castle, Luna looked over the city with tired eyes. Most nights she’d be wide awake but the past days were exhausting. Finding out that her own sister had kept a secret from her and the populous about ancient giant monsters would keep anyone awake. Even though the current situation was dire, her duty to bring forth the night was still as important.

The flap of wings was heard as she turned to see one of her night guard. Like all of her guard, he was a bat pony. He however had a different shade of fur than the others. Almost a dark grey was shone on his coat. He then landed before her and bowed to her.

“What is it, fair night guard,” she asked with a calm tone. He stood up firm before answering.

“Your highness,” he said. “We bring word of the female MUTO’s movements.”

“And?” she asked. The guard looked to stall a bit with his report but continued.

“We believe it’s making its way to a nearby settlement,” he said. This caught the princess’s attention immediately.

“What settlement?” she asked if almost hastily. The guard’s eyes shifted a bit before inching in and whispered to her. As he whispered into her ear her eyes slowly widened as her pupils shrunk.

Still in her stupor, she walked to the edge of the balcony. She looked out in the distance of the possible hit by the fiendish monster. A little town in view from her current position where a familiar crystalline tree-like structure stood in the middle of it. The wonderful little town of Ponyville.

“Maker, help us…”

Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R
Location: Everfree Forest, Equestria

The Everfree Forest, a location where barely anypony ventured close to, was quiet except for the sounds of nocturnal wildlife. The crickets chirped as usual. The moaning of Timberwolves could be heard in the distance. It seemed like a normal life for the Forest Unbound and Free.

Suddenly, a strange noise could be heard. It was a mixture of wheezing and groaning as a light start to flicker in one of the forest’s openings. From the light, a big blue call box was appearing as if out of thin air. It blinked in and out as the light above it shown before becoming fully in view.

EERrwWwoooooSHHHhEERrwWwoooooSHHHhEERrwWwoooooSHHHh! Thoom!

The box appeared to sound like it landed of sorts. Shortly after, its door swung open reveal a brown Earth Pony wearing a green tie. This was known as the Doctor, or Time Turner/ Doctor Whooves in Ponyville. He wasn’t alone however.

With him were his two companions. A blonde-maned grey pegasus that appeared wall-eyed while the other appeared to be a ginger unicorn with gears for a cutie mark. This Ditzy Doo/Derpy Hooves and Tick Tock, one a local resident of Ponyville while the other being from a fixed point of time in the past where he was considered “deceased”.

The Doctor looked around his surroundings with a smile as walked out into the forest before taking a whiff of the air. Fresh like always.

“So,” the Doctor spoke up. “What did you two think of Trottingham?”

“It was fine,” Derpy said. “It was neat that it was during the Mareieval times. Though-“Tick Tock then finished her sentence.

“It was hard to enjoy the experience when living shadows tried to melt the flesh from our bones.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor said while rubbing the back of his head with his hoof. “The Vash Nerada tend to do that on various worlds. But in the end we saved Trottingham from becoming a feeding ground.”

“You can’t argue with the results,” Tick Tock simply said. Derpy then looked around their current location with a confused look.

“Um Doctor,” she said. “Why did the TARDIS land us in the Everfree Forest?” The Doctor took notice of that immediately.

“Huh so it did,” he said. “I wonder why—“Suddenly the sound of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver caused him to pull it out and examine it. The sonic appeared to be sensing a foreign but familiar energy source. “Huh, fancy that!”

“What is it, Doctor?” Tick Tock asked.

“The sonic appears to be tracking a large foreign energy signature,” the Time Lord explained. “Funny thing is that the energy appears similar to an energy source back in my universe which was known as radiation.” Derpy raised a brow to that.

“Radiation?” she said. “What’s that?”

“Well,” he started to explain. “Radiation is a form of energy that comes in many forms. There’s ultra-violet, gamma, x-ray and various others. The energy itself is used as a power source but can be toxic if exposed to it long enough. The sonic seems to have picked up a similar source in that direction.” He points the direction of the sonic into the forest, where the signal was the strongest. This made Derpy shiver.

“D-Do we have to go in there?” she asked. The Doctor gave a firm nod. She sighed. “Of course.”

“Let’s not dottle, you two,” he said with determination. “Let’s find the source. Avante!” With that the Doctor galloped in the direction where the signal was. Derpy sighed before following after the Doctor. Tick Tock stood in place for a moment.

“I hypothesize that this will turn bad immediately,” he simply said before trotting after his two friends.

What seemed like an hour or so had passed, the group of three ponies continued to venture into the Everfree Forest. Derpy was nervous as she looked around keeping an eye out for any of the wild animals and monsters that lived in the forest. The Doctor kept focused on his screwdriver while following the energy signal. Whatever it was though, he was sure he had to find out.

They finally came out of the forested area and came to a clearing. It didn’t appear out of the ordinary, but the Doctor was suspicious. Judging by the time most of the creatures in the forest would be out, but they didn’t even encounter one. In fact, the forest in this area seemed to be deathly quiet. He looked to the sonic and saw that the energy was permeating in this area.

“Is this it?” Tick Tock asked as he walked up the Doctor.

“Yes,” he answered. “According to the sonic, it says we’re in the right area but I don’t see anything remotely that would be able produce this energy.”

“Maybe it’s residual?” Tick Tock suggested. The Doctor shrugged.

“Possibly but according to these readings it’s fresh.”

While the two were discussing their theories, Derpy couldn’t help but still feel insecure. Whatever was here she didn’t like it. She may not be a unicorn or Pinkie Pie, but whenever she had a bad feeling she stuck to it. As she backed up a bit she bumped right into something, it felt soft. She turned around and her mismatched eyes widened in fear.

There before her was a colossal body of what appeared to be a form of ursine. Its fur was dark purple and star-like patterns on it similar to the night sky and appeared to be see-through. A large blue star mark was directly on its forehead. Unlike most ursine, this one had saber fangs and a long tail. This creature however wasn’t even moving. Its eyes were open but the light in them was lost. Derpy couldn’t help but give a frightened shriek which caused the two stallions to turn their attention to Derpy.

“Derpy,” the Doctor said as he galloped to her. “What’s—“He looked to see the dead colossal bear. “My word…”

“Doctor,” Tick Tock spoke up. “Is that what I think it is?” The Doctor nodded.

“Indeed, Tick Tock,” he said. “It’s an Ursa Major.”

“While it’s questionable that we didn’t see it till Derpy found it,” Tick Tock said. “But what’s it doing out in the open like this and what could of possibly killed it? I though the Ursa Major had no known predator?”

“That is the question, my little pony,” the Doctor said as he took a scan of the bear with the sonic. “Let’s see, a several cuts and bruises and a few gashed but the cause of death appears to be a severe broken neck. How—“The sonic then picked up a familiar energy signature from the dead Ursa. “Well, fancy that!”

“What?” both Derpy and Tick Tock asked.

“Whatever killed this Ursa appears to have left residue of its energy on it,” the Doctor explained. “Though it begs the question, what killed this creature which is known to have no natural predator?”

Unknown to the group, something massive slowly rose from the forest foliage behind them. It then looked into the direction where the Ursa Major laid and began to make its way towards it. The sound of its footstep caused Derpy to look and squeak a bit in fright.

“U-U-Um,” she stuttered. “D-D-Doctor?” The Doctor looked to Derpy.

“Wha—“

His words were immediately interrupted as a colossal-sized hooked limb impacted the ground before the group. This caused all three to fall on their rumps and look up at the owner of the limb. It was the Femuto, who at the moment was eying the carcass of the magic bear it killed earlier. Ignoring the ponies, it immediately went for it and started consuming the constellation animal, ripping chunks of magic infused meat and flesh and gulping it down.

The Doctor was in awe at the spectacle. How could a creature of this magnitude exist in this world? Given the factor of various magical creatures, none could compare to this one’s size. His thoughts were interrupted as Derpy dragged the stallion away from the Femuto. She then dragged him behind a large log, where Tick Tock was also waiting.

“Doctor,” Derpy spoke up. “What is that thing?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It looks like some sort of advanced form of insectoid. Possibly an ancient species of sorts.”

“If its ancient then what’s it doing here?” Tick Tock asked. The Doctor shrugged.

“No idea,” he said before pointing the sonic at it and received the results. “But what I do know is that fella is the source of the residual energy we were tracking.”

“I don’t think ‘fella’ is the proper term for it, Doctor,” Tick Tock said. This made the Doctor raise a brow.

“Why’s that?” he asked only to see the unicorn point his hoof at monster.

The Doctor looked and his eyes widened at the sight. There at the underside of its abdomen was a swelled area which appeared to be filled with what appeared to be glowing yellow eggs. The shocking part was those eggs were creaking with life.

“Oh,” the Doctor simply said. “That’s not good.”

“What’s not good?” Derpy asked.

“It appears our large friend is a she and she is going to be a mother.” The Doctor answered.

“What does that mean, Doctor?” Derpy asked afraid what the answer might be.

“It means if this big girl here is full grown and one of them is already a problem then a whole brood of them could be catastrophic for Equestria.” He explained. “Or worse the entire planet.”

“Then do we do?” she asked with a slight shout, flinching a bit before covering her mouth with her hooves. Luckily the Femuto didn’t hear her.

“I don’t know,” he said before thinking a bit as he tapped his hoof to his chin. “I’ve never encountered anything like this.”

Suddenly the creaking of the female monster caught their attention. The Femuto was done with its ursine feast, where most of its insides were completely torn apart and chewed on. This made Derpy green in the face as the smell of the dead colossal bear waft its way to her nostrils.

The Femuto gave a creak as its focus was to the northwest. Unknown to the group, the Femuto’s vision showed it an interesting sight. In the distance it could see a rainbow-colored glow, which appeared to be a couple miles away. She knew it was a large source of magic, however, it felt familiar somehow. Like her ancient blood was telling her that she must destroy, snuff out and consume the source of the rainbow aura. With a bellowing howl, she started stomping off in the general direction. Her hunger, as well as her offspring’s, needed to be sated.

The Time Lord and his companions came out from behind the large log with looks of confusion. Why was the monster in such a hurry to head that way? The Doctor didn’t question as he went over to the remains of the Ursa Major. There he took out the sonic and started scanning the carcass to find any clues.

“What are you doing, Doctor?” Derpy asked with curiosity. Tick Tock was also curious about what the Time Lord was doing.

“Trying to figure out what made the Ursa so important to consume,” he answered continuing to scan the bear. “Maybe I can find a clue or—“Suddenly his eyes widened in shock of the results from the screwdriver. “Well, fancy that!”

“What?” both his companions asked.

“This Ursa no longer has a lingering magical signature,” the Time Lord answered. “It’s as if something ripped the magic—“It was there the Doctor had a look of realization. “Oh! Stupid, stupid Doctor! Why didn’t I see before?”

“Figure something out, Doctor?” Tick Tock asked.

“Yes,” The Doctor said. “I believe the creature has the ability to consume magic.” This caused his two companions eyes widen. “That’s why the Ursa has no more lingering magic. The other monster drained it like a mixture of a predator and a parasite. Any magical source would feed her depending on the quantity.”

“If it eats magic then why did leave in a hurry?” Derpy asked. This made the Doctor tap his chin in thought.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Something must have peaked its interest.” He looked in the direction it left in and gotten a good idea where it was heading. His eyes widened in fear and realization. “Oh no!”

“What?” Both his companions asked. Not liking the look on his face.

“I think its heading for Ponyville!” he exclaimed. Causing both the unicorn and pegasus to widen their eyes in shock. Derpy, however, was more worried.

“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “Dinky’s having a slumber party with Nyx at the castle. My little muffin is in danger!” With that the grey pegasus took to the air and flew off into the direction of Ponyville.

“Derpy, come back!” The Doctor shouted as he galloped after the wall-eyed pegasus. Tick Tock wasted no time galloping after both of them.

Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R
Location: Ponyville, Equestria

Nyx was enjoying herself as she and her friend were having a wonderful time having the sleep over at Nyx’s home. Amongst them were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, Twist, Button Mash, Dinky Doo, their changeling friend Flitter, a pudgy zebra colt named Ziggy, a sea pony in a large fishbowl in a wagon by the name of Doubloon, a thestral by the name Willow, and a Windigo/Pony hybrid known as Frosty. At the moment they were asking Nyx, Pip and the CMC about the trip, which Nyx amongst them was the part of the main subject.

“How big were the monsters?” Bright Eyes asked.

“Bigger than a Ursa Major, I think,” Sweetie Belle answered which caused Bright Eye’s eyes to widen.

“How close did you get to the big guy?” Flitter asked Nyx while holding up a newspaper telling of the events that took place at Haywaii. It had a picture of Godzilla duking it out with the Hitomuto, with the ancient dinosaur giving a mighty roar while the Hitomuto was in the air with its hooked limps out ready to stike.

Nyx fidgeted a bit before answering her changeling friend. “Um, he was pretty close. Close enough to pet his nose, I think.”

“Wow!” Flitter exclaimed. “That’s so cool!”

“So you guys met another sea pony in Haywaii?” Doubloon asked her friends.

“She’s actually merpony,” Pip answered. “Well, half merpony and half pony.”

“Man I got to meet her,” Doubloon said before she flicked her fish tail.

“Ah’ll bet ya’ll be good friends anyways,” Apple Bloom said. “Considerin’ both of ya are similar and all.”

“Except Doubloon’s part fish while Coral’s part seal,” Scootaloo interjected. This made Doubloon giggle and grin.

“Now I really wanna meet this pony.”

“So,” Willow spoke up. “Do the princesses have an idea on how to get rid of them?” This got everypony’s attention. “Considering the other two are a threat.”

“What about that big lizard?” Frosty said. “A monster that big can cause major damage.”

“He’s not a threat,” Nyx spoke up, which caused everyone to look at her. She at the moment was looking out the window at the moon. “He’s not a threat. I just know it.”

“How do you know, dear friend Nyx?” Ziggy said. “It’s as if you pulled the answer itself from the abyss.”

“You could say that,” Nyx replied before looking at her friends with a smile. “I know because I saw it in his eyes.”

“His eyes?” they all asked in unison. She nodded before looking back out the window.

“I looked right into them,” she said. “They told me that he was a creature who wanted to protect not destroy. A creature who wanted to preserve life and to make sure it continued forward. Funny considering his way of life reminds me of my cutie mark.” She looked to her friends and jumped a bit at the looks on their faces. Most of them looked like they were going to burst from laughing. “Um, what’s with you guys?”

“Um, Nyx.” Sweetie Belle said. “You do know that little speech kind of sounded like something from one of Rarity’s sappy romance novels right?” That made Nyx jump a bit then cringe causing her friends to laugh at her reaction.

“That’s not funny!” Nyx said while blushing in embarrassment. Scootaloo snickered at that.

“It kind of was,” she said. “Heh! Nyx and Godzilla sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N—“ Her rhyme was stopped immediately as a pillow flew right into her face. The one who threw it was Nyx, who had a winning smirk on her face. “Oh, so it’s a pillow fight, huh?” She then picked up the pillow Nyx threw at her and charged at the alicorn with a smirking war cry.

One thing led to another as most of the colts and fillies were now in a major pillow fight battle. In the background, Button Mash and Dinky was watching, mostly Dinky. Button Mash was caught up in one of his games on his Joyboy. Dinky looked around before she sensed something. It was like a voice in her head that was calling out to her. She looked around and then laid her eyes on a wall on the other side of the room. The presence there was calling out to the young unicorn filly and she obliged.

She then started walking over to the wall as if in a deep trance. As she got closer the feeling got stronger and stronger. She reached it and reached her hoof out to it. Once the hoof touched the wall, the entire room shook causing the others to immediately end their pillow fight, as well as deterring Button Mash from his game, and look in the direction of Dinky. Dinky herself was afraid what was going to happen. Suddenly, the wall before her opened revealing a descending stair case spiraling into the darkness. They all went over to the unicorn filly.

“What happened? Nyx asked.

“I don’t know,” Dinky said. “I felt something call out to me, I walked over to this wall and then it opened up.” Flitter looked down the stairs and gave a whistle.

“Looks like a secret passage,” Flitter said before turning to Nyx. “Did you know about this?”

Nyx shook her head. “No. I don’t think even my mom knows about this.”

“I say we explore it,” Pip said with an adventurous look on his face. “Like Daring Do does in her books.”

“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “We can get our cutie marks through…” Scootaloo paused a bit trying to think what words would be suited for this certain cutie mark.

“Dungeon crawling?” Button Mash spoke up. This made all of them look at the earth pony colt.

“Dungeon crawling?” Bright Eyes repeated Button’s words.

“Yeah,” Button said. “It’s like in the game Dungeons and Dragons where the heroes venture into dungeons to find treasure or glory.” The others gave him an odd look. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“You play Dungeons and Dragons?” Pipsqueak asked.

“I played the video game version,” Button Mash answered. “It’s better because you don’t have to roll dice and stuff.” Everyone sighed at that. It made sense for Button to play a video game than a table top game.

“What are we waiting for?” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Let’s check it out!” With that the group of friends descended down the crystalline steps.

Minutes had passed since they first descended, most of them wondered if these steps go anywhere at all. To their relief, the steps finally ended with the crystalline floor in view. They all looked to see a hallway brightened by what appeared to be magic-powered crystal lights, allowing them to see down the hall. Without a second thought the group trekked down the hall.

Another few minutes passed before they came to an entry that had a blinding light coming from it. This was possibly the end of their trek. Entering the room, the children gasped at the sight they saw. The room was large, large enough to contain a small concert. To their surprise the floor has decorated with a large design. It showed each of the cutie marks of the Mane Six circling what appears to be similar to Twilight’s cutie mark, however, its design has a white star surrounding by what appears to be the branches of a tree.

At the end of the hall was a pedestal which housed what appeared to be a crystalline tree-like structure. Its branches were covered in dangling moss-like leaves where light lavender flowers bloomed from them. The group was in awe of this room, none of them could imagine a place like this in the castle.

“Nyx,” Apple Bloom said. “Did you or your mom know about this?

Nyx shook her head. “No,” she answered. “Neither of us knew about this.”

“Check it out,” Sweetie Belle said pointing her hoof at the crystal tree. “That thing looks like the Tree of Harmony my sister and the others talked about.”

“Hey yeah you’re right!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “What’s it doing in the castle though?”

“Hey guys!” Flitter called out catching everyone’s attention. They looked to see her at one of the walls pointing at it. “You got to check this out!”

The group went over to Flitter and as they placed their sight on the wall their eyes widened in shock. There on the wall were countless etchings in the crystal. To Nyx, the CMC and Pip’s surprise were etchings of Godzilla fighting other monsters. One showed him tangling with what appeared to be a chimera of sorts which looked like a cross between an ankylosaur and a crocodile. This monster however had six-legs giving it somewhat insect qualities. The next one showed him fighting another ankylosaur-like monster but it also looked like a cross between a rhino and an armadillo.

Another etching showed Godzilla fighting against what appeared to be a giant dragonfly. The dragonfly however had two pincers like a lobster and on the end of its tail was a stinger of sorts. Its wings looked more bat-like than an insect. All of their eyes looked upon the wall which held various battles featuring the colossal saurian.

“Wow,” Pipsqueak said. “It’s like a history of monster battles.” Apple Bloom’s eyes then caught one familiar etch in the wall.

“Hey,” she said. “There’s the one for Haywaii’s founding.” The others looked where she pointed her hoof and true enough the founding of Haywaii was featured on the wall.

Nyx’s eyes scanned the wall until her eyes came upon one particular etch. It showed Godzilla however he appeared to be younger, around the age of a newborn. In it showed him with what appeared to be a majestic earth pony. Its stature was similar to Celestia’s and her mane and tail appeared to be made to look similar to plant life. Godzilla appeared to be nuzzling the earth pony, like a child would do with its mother.

“What’s up, Nyx?” Doubloon asked. Nyx turned and saw her friends were looking at her with curiosity.

“It’s this drawing,” she said pointing to the etching. “It’s different than the others.” Her friends looked at it in wonder and seemed to nod in confirmation.

“You’re right,” Sweetie Belle said. “It does appear to be bigger than the others.”

“Must be very important if it stands out more than the others.” Flitter added.

“Quite so, children.” A feminine serene voice spoke, causing the others to tense and look around. “I’ll never forget that wonderful day.”

“W-Who’s there?” Nyx uttered out.

Suddenly a bright light started to shine from the direction of the crystalline tree. The group shielded their eyes from the lights intensity. The light faded and they looked to see an unbelievable sight. There before them standing in front of the tree structure was possibly the most beautiful unicorn they have ever did see. Her stature was similar to Celestia’s, tall and slender. Unlike most unicorns, this one’s horn was similar to that of a Horned Beetle. Her hooves were cloven while her tail was similar to a kirin’s but shorter. Her mane was tied back into a short pony tail with a purple mane band. Her mane and tail were light lavender, both have light lavender flowers blooming in them. Her eyes were sky blue and on her head appeared to be a gold crown. What shocked them was that it was similar to the crown Twilight had when she possessed the Element of Magic. Sure enough, the very jewel was present on the crown along with five other different colored gems. On her flank was the cutie mark symbol in the center from the floor.

The children were in awe of the unicorn mare’s beauty. Nyx was shocked considering this mare had appeared out of nowhere and was in possession of the six Elements of Harmony. Nyx’s thoughts were broken as Twist spoke up.

“Gosth,” she said. “Sthe’s pwetty.” The unicorn couldn’t help but giggle and smile.

“Thank you, little filly.” She said. “I’m surprised to see young ones here. I was expecting the Bearers of Harmony to appear before me.”

“Who are you?” Nyx asked. The unicorn closed her eyes and gave the group a smile.

“I go by another alias,” she said. “But my true name is Harmony.”

Nyx thought a bit before she realized what Harmony was getting at. “You’re the Tree of Harmony.” She said causing her friends to look at her wide-eyed before turning back to the unicorn.

“My, my,” Harmony said. “It seems we have a quick thinker amongst us.” She smiled before continuing. “Yes, I am what you little ponies know to be the Tree of Harmony. However I wasn’t always a tree. What you see before you is my true form.”

“Wait,” Flitter said. “If you’re a pony, how did you end up as a tree?”

“Yeah,” Bright Eyes said. “Couldn’t you change back after all this time?”

“Yes I could have,” she said. “However doing so would possibly put Equestria as well as the entire world at risk.” This shocked the group.

“Why would that happen!?” Willow exclaimed. Harmony closed her eyes in minor thought before answering.

“It’s best to explain from the beginning,” she said. “To the time when the one you call Godzilla was born into this world.”

Date: In the distant past
Location: Pre-Equis

“In the beginning, there was nothingness. Equis was just a barren spherical rock devoid of life. That is until the Maker, Laruen Faust, gave me and my sisters, Gaia and Tempestas, the task of bringing life to the dead world.”

Above the grey, lifeless rock known as Equis, three objects sped towards it. Each was a different color, one purple, one green and one blue. The green light impacted the rock, causing a major shockwave of green energy to spread out across the planet. This caused it to shake and form itself. Continents were created and separated from one another. Plant life then began to form across its surface.
The blue light then appeared next. It flew above the earth, creating clouds and the atmosphere. The clouds themselves began to darken and massive rainstorms occurred. This process went on for days, the water draining into the crevices that separated the continents creating what was known to be the oceans of the planet.

The purple light appeared last and finally. It flew across the world spreading a rainbow-colored aura across the land and sea. As if a miracle happened, life began. First it was fish, then massive reptiles the size of modern day crocodiles or komodo dragons appeared. Some appeared to have sails on their backs while others appeared differently. With that the three lights, circled above as if staring down at their work.

All three stopped glowing to reveal Harmony, Gaia and Tempestas. Gaia appeared to be an earth pony. Her stature was similar to Harmony. Her mane and tail appeared to look similar to plant life. Her mane and tail were forest green with various colored flowers attached to them. Her eyes were jade and her coat was lime green. On her flank was a large tree growing in the sunlight bearing either fruit or flowers.

Tempestas appeared to be a pegasus. Her stature was similar to both Harmony and Gaia. Her mane and tail were white as clouds and her coat was sky blue. Her eyes were blue and on her flank was a cutie mark of a three clouds packed together.

“First, Gaia used her power to cleanse the rock and craft it into soil and various minerals. There her power brought forth the various plant life to the planet. Then, Tempestas used her power to create the sky and weather. She created rainstorms for many days, creating the oceans and various lakes and rivers of Equis. Finally I used my power and spread my magic all over, giving life to not only the planet but to various creatures as well.

Over time, I and my sisters watched over the planet. Tempestas controlled the world’s weather, bringing the natural occurrences of weather during that time. I watched out for any new species to arise and to see if they were magic sensitive. Gaia, like the current Bearer of Kindness, took care of the plants and various creatures that weren’t sapient. The Maker was proud of our work and we continued this routine of ours for a long time.

However, sometimes things never go according to plan. When I spread my life-giving magic across the planet, the world itself then started creating its own, primordial magic at its raw. The substance itself was unpredictable, it could either give creatures new abilities they didn’t have before or it could create something more diabolical.”

A prehistoric insect, similar to a mantis, was crawling on a branch above a pool of primordial magic. Unknown to it, a lizard had its eyes set on it and was set to catch it. Before it could reach it, the branch snapped and the insect fell off. Luckily the lizard held on and looked down. It saw the insect fall into the pool, assuming it either drowned or melted.

Suddenly the ground began shaking, causing the lizard to hastily look around in fear. A scythe-like limb sprang out of the large pool. The lizard, fearing for its life, scurried away before the limb slammed down on the ground. The owner of the limb then emerged from the pool. It was the mantis, however it was far larger. It was around 50 meters in height and 100 meters in length. Its carapace was colored light green and its large compounded eyes were bright yellow. It gave out a screech before its massive wings constantly flapped and the giant mantis took to the air to places unknown.

“Because of this, giant monsters began their appearance. Some were tolerable, while others became a problem. Luckily, most of them didn’t have abilities that counteracted our own. But one day, my sister, Gaia, stumbled upon something extraordinary.”

It was normal day, as usual. Gaia was doing her daily routine, taking care of the plants and wildlife of Equis. She was even taking care of a few giant monsters that were gentle in nature. She remembered one that was a giant moth of sorts, the beautiful thing about it was wings. She couldn’t help but smile whenever she took care of the moth, though strangely the species only appeared as a female. No males of the species were ever seen. Hopefully this one won’t die out.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked at a scene before her. The forest itself was in littered with carnage and various blood stains could be seen. She followed the trail which led her to a horrifying sight. There before her was the carcass of a giant monster, reptilian in origin. Its back was covered in three rows of spikes though not very large. It had gashes all over its body and didn’t appear to be moving. No breathing was heard, which meant this great beast was dead.

She trekked through the carnage until she came across a shocking sight. Before her was a large nest and inside it was an egg around her size if not bigger. Gaia then walked up to the egg before placing her ear on the shell. She could hear movement of yolk, plus she felt vibrations from the shell. Suddenly the sound of a crack could be heard causing Gaia to immediately back away. There before her eyes she witnessed a surprising sight.

The egg began to shake violently, a series of web-like cracks appeared on its surface. Things led to another as a clawed hand burst from part of the egg, causing Gaia to squeak in surprise. Next the occupant’s legs then its tail burst from the confines. Finally the creature’s head burst out of the egg then its whole body fell out of the shell. The sight before her made Gaia inwardly squeal like a little filly.

There before her was Godzilla, however, he was around her height. His spikes weren’t visible as they hadn’t grown out yet. His arms were scrawny and not toned as they would be when he’s older. The one feature about him that made her nearly figuratively melt was his large, yellow infant eyes. He blinked a bit at Gaia before slowly taking his first step towards her. He lost his footing fell forward onto his stomach causing him to squeak in surprise. The little saurian looked up at Gaia with those eyes and she couldn’t help but fall for them. She smiled before leaning over and helped up the infant.

“Don’t worry, Little One,” she said with a motherly voice, which calmed Godzilla down greatly. “I’ll take good care of you.”

“With that, my sister adopted the infant who she dubbed, Little One. Those two were inseparable, considering he imprinted on her during his hatching. Over time, she was surprised by his growth as well as his immunity to the Primordial Magic pools. One instant where he was drinking from the pools, she tried to stop him but it was too late. What surprised her however was that after he had his fill, he gained the ability to heal extraordinarily fast from any injury.

Once he reached the age of adolescence, he had to fight. Gaia didn’t force him to but whenever she was in danger, Little One was always there to protect her. It was the time when he fought a dragonfly monster that another extraordinary thing happened. Their battle took place near a lake of Primordial Magic. The giant dragonfly pushed Little One causing him to fall and sink into the lake of liquid magic. During this time, the dragonfly was going after Gaia, hoping to consume her and her magic.

Suddenly from the lake, Little One burst from the depths and roared at the dragonfly. Before it could react, the back of Little One glowed blue and from his maw he spewed fiery energy which not only burned the insect to cinders but practically obliterated it.

Over time, his strength and size increased and any challenge or danger that reared its head was overpowered by his might. Gaia was proud of her adopted child, considering he handled most of the monster problems by protecting her, me and Tempestas. However, all good times came to an end when he appeared.”

During the night, a blazing object flew over the prehistoric jungle. It crashed into the mountainside causing debris and dust to kick up into the air. The Paleolithic animals looked at the object lodged in the mountain. It was a colossal sized meteor, still singed from entering the planet’s atmosphere. Suddenly, the meteor began to shake and crumble before it fell apart completely. From it, tendrils of fire erupted and shot to the sky merging into a larger circular inferno. Shape began to take form as a flash of light blinded those watching. It dulled to reveal a shocking and horrible sight. Hovering in the air was a colossal-sized dragon, bigger than Godzilla himself. Its scales sheened with golden shine and its eyes were of crimson. It had three heads; all three were sporting horns where the middle’s was more pronounced. Its tail was split in two giving it two tails and its wings were bat-like and twice the size of its body. Its six eyes looked down at the jungle before snarling and let loose a cackling howl to the heavens, as if announcing this planet’s doom.

“We didn’t know how it was possible, but we knew deep down there was life amongst the stars. However this one wanted nothing more to devour everything. The golden dragon, called itself King Ghidorah also known across the stars as the King of Terror. Any planet he ended up on, he devoured anyone or anything, absorbing the life-force of all living things. Now he had come to Equis to devour the still developing world, to consume its inhabitants and also its creators. Tempestas was the first to fall to the dragon’s might.”

Tempestas flew as fast as she could, no matter how hard she flew the dragon was closely behind. Its eyes burned with hunger as its cackling howl was haunting her very soul. Using her power over weather, she sent countless hurricanes, typhoons and large-scale tornadoes at the three headed monster. It cackled in shock as it was caught in the natural disaster combo before was being overwhelmed by the mass of storms.

The Goddess of Weather smiled thinking she won the battle, however, that wasn’t meant to be. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the storms being blasted away from the sheer size of the dragon’s wings. She was frozen in fear as the King of Terror gave out its cackling howl before all three of its maws were giving a golden glow. Before she could flee, King Ghidorah then sent out bolts of what appeared to be lightning but seemed far more destructive. All of them hit Tempestas on the back, searing her wings completely. Letting out a cry in pain, Tempestas fell from the sky into the jungle below.

She didn’t have time to get up as Ghidorah pinned her down with his clawed foot. Tempestas tried to struggle but to no avail. She looked as the King of Terror leaned down his three heads to her level. She shivered in fear as all three maws open wide and began to intake air. Everything then happened so fast, she screamed loud as her very essence was forcibly pulled out of her body. In the process, her body began to wither further and further. Finally, the extraction ended as Tempestas’s life was gone, nothing more than a shrived husk of a mare. Ghidorah stepped off the husk before raising its heads to the heavens and gave a cackling howl for all to hear.

“She didn’t stand a chance. We had never encountered a power such as this one. Before long, his hunger led him to Gaia. Even though she was physically stronger than both of us, she couldn’t stop this alien force.”

Gaia, with her super strength, bucked colossal sized boulders at the golden dragon. The rocks did little to slow the beast down. Even one was blasted to oblivion by its breath. Gaia then concentrated as she used her power over the earth to bend to her whim. The plants came to life as colossal vines sprung from the ground and ensnared the King of Terror. The three-headed dragon cackled in anger as the vines held him in place and started to constrict him. Gaia willed the plants to constrict more, commanding them to cut off the beast’s air. The dragon angry cackled more until light began to envelop its wings. It blinded Gaia a bit but she watched in shock as the wings then began shooting lightning bolts which in the process destroyed the vines ensnaring it.

With another cackle it then flapped its wings causing hurricane winds to blow. Gaia, even with her strength, couldn’t handle the sheer force of the wind and was blown back. Her back hit hard on a rock face and was dazed a bit. She looked up and gasped in fear as King Ghidorah loomed over her. The dragon pinned her down with its clawed foot and all three of its heads loomed down with what appeared to be a malicious grin on its face. All three of its mouths opened and began to slowly drain her essence.

Her loud screams could be heard in the forest. The trees seemed to shutter and the animals watching with fear cringed as their caretaker’s life was being slowly and painfully drained. Forcing her eyes open, she looked up at the dragon. As it slowly drained her, she could see its toothy grin on its faces. It was enjoying her sheer pain. Another jolt of pain caused her to shut her eyes tight before letting loose an ear-splitting scream.

A distance away, Godzilla was sleeping. It was a while since he fought the last monster, luckily his mother wasn’t hurt in the crossfire. He always wondered why he was so massive while his mother was tiny and frail. He didn’t care though, she was his mother and always loved her.

A familiar scream was heard and Godzilla’s eyes snapped open. He quickly rose up and looked into the direction of the scream. He knew this sound, the sound of his mother crying in pain. With a snarl he charged into the direction of his mother’s cries, knowing that the one causing them will feel his wrath.

The King of Terror was inwardly grinning as he was about to drain the last bit of the small mare’s life force. It gave him such pleasure to inflict pain on those beneath him. The mare in question looked older now since most of her life force was slowly being drained. It wasn’t long now.

Unfortunately for Ghidorah, a beam of blue fiery energy suddenly bombarded his middle head. The heat generated from it was enough to burn its scales and the force was pushing the mighty dragon back. The golden dragon shook its middle head and glared on who was foolish enough to attack him. It was Godzilla, standing over Gaia protectively, giving the three headed dragon a glare that could kill. The King of Terror snarled in challenge before issuing a cackling howl. Godzilla responded with his mighty roar before the two charged each other.

“The battle had raged long and hard. Little One fought with all of his might but even the King of Terror was starting to outlast him. I was watching as I took Gaia to a safe distance, watching my adopted nephew battle a beast not of this world. I thought he was about to fall but he then surprised me.”

Godzilla was in trouble. Right now, he was in the clutches of King Ghidorah. The dragon’s middle head was wrapped around his neck like a snake trying to constrict him. The dragon’s other heads were biting on his arms, restraining them. Godzilla’s air supply was getting low and he was seeing spots in his vision. He was about to lose. Then a memory of seeing his mother’s still alive, but shriveled body reignited his spark. He had to make this one pay for what he did to his mother.

With newfound strength, Godzilla began to gather energy within himself. His spines glowed, sparked and slightly pulsed. King Ghidorah witnessed this with confusion but it was too late to act. Godzilla then gave a mighty roar before a pulse of magical energy shot out from the saurian, striking the three headed golden dragon hard.

Ghidorah was knocked onto his back from the pulse. His vision was hazed but cleared when he saw Godzilla looming over him, eyes filled with anger and rage. Those very eyes made the King of Terror feel fear for the first time of his life. How was it possibly that this lowly creature was causing him fear. His thoughts were interrupted when a blast of Godzilla’s Aether Breath hit him at the base of the neck of Ghidorah’s head. Surprisingly, it had enough power and force to sever it completely from his body. This caused the now two headed dragon to shriek loudly in pain. The severed head landed on the ground with a mighty thud, it eyes was dim with no life.

Ghidorah shook with fear as Godzilla came closer. For once in his life this was one battle he couldn’t win. The best to do now was to retreat and recover. Without a second thought Ghidorah got onto his feet and began to take flight. Godzilla snarled as he watched the dragon fly away, his spine gave off a familiar glow before giving a blast of his Aether Breath at Ghidorah. It hit the dragon’s right wing creating a searing hole in it. Thanks to this Ghidorah began to lose altitude. He looked to see that he was plummeting into the ocean. He gave a cackling howl before his being slammed into the cold ocean waters and began to sink into the dark depths.

Godzilla watched as Ghidorah met his doom. It gave him great pride that he conquered a mighty foe. With nothing else, he raised his head to the heavens and gave out a mighty roar which the gods could possibly hear.

“Little One was triumphant. However, the battle was not for its loss. Unfortunately Gaia couldn’t sustain herself with the loss of her life energy. I remember Little One having tears in his eyes as his mother was passing on. Before she passed, she asked her son to continue to protect the purity and balance of nature. She also asked to protect the life of others, even though they fear him. I knew from his gesture that he agreed. With that my sister, Gaia, had passed on. With little life energy left she became part of the planet. Allowing plants to grow and soil to always be fresh.

I, in my moments in mourning, allowed myself to become the mystical and spiritual balance of Equis. I found a cavern where I could continue my spreading of my life giving magic. Thus I transformed myself into what you all know as the Tree of Harmony. From it, the six Elements of Harmony bore fruit.

My nephew, kept to his promise. After the great extinction of the time he was born in, he continued to uphold his promise to his mother. Upholding balance and protecting nature till his last breath.”

After her story, most of the children had tears in their eyes. Nyx, out of them all, couldn’t help but cry. Godzilla was born into a chaotic world to protect all nature stood for. His only award, however, was the loss of a mother that cared for him. She’d probably feel the same if she ever lost Twilight.

“That was so sad,” Sweetie Belle said trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Surprisingly, Scootaloo was also crying though poorly hiding it.

“Geez,” she muttered. “He had it rougher than anypony I know.”

Harmony nodded. “Yes,” she said. “No matter the hardships he always pushed through. Thanks to that event, however, my transformation into the tree caused a chain reaction affecting the planet. If I were to undo the transformation, the planet would not survive without my influence.”

“I think I get it,” Nyx said. “The planet is used to you sharing your energy with it that if you were to detach yourself from it the planet would go into shock.”

“Yes,” Harmony said. “That is one way putting it, little filly.” Nyx couldn’t help but blush.

“But how are you here?” Willow asked.

Harmony smiled before answering. “You see,” she said. “I created this castle for the Princess of Friendship and her friends. Most of these crystals were created from my own harmony magic. The tree in this room acts as a conduit to my main body, thus I can project myself into being here without transforming out of the Tree of Harmony.”

That explanation confused the young Threstral. Considering he wasn’t a unicorn, the study of magic flew by over his head.

Suddenly the room began to shake. This almost made everyone fall over. The children looked around frantically as the muffled sounds of the Ponyville alarm sirens went off.

“What’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom said fearfully.

Everyone then looked and saw that Harmony, who was look up to the direction where the upper floors of the castle with a hardened glare.

“It seems one of the beasts have arrived,” she said.

Chapter 11: Ancient Power vs. Rainbow Power Pt. 2: Battle for Ponyville

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Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R
Location: Canterlot, Equestria

The sound of galloping hooves on the glass floor was heard as Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six were rushing to the throne room. Most of them had disheveled looks considering they were awoken from their nightly sleep. However, Princess Luna requested them to come to the throne room post haste.

Thoughts were rushing through Twilight’s head as she and her friends continued to the throne room. What was so important that Luna had to wake them up for? She wouldn’t do this unless it was important. The six mares noticed they were coming up to the large doors to the throne room. Without a second thought, Twilight’s horn glowed and the doors swung open allowing them entrance. There Luna was waiting for them.

“Luna!” Twilight said. “We got here as soon as we received word that you needed to see us.”

Luna nodded before replying. “I thank thee all for answering my call. I’m sorry I had to wake you up at this hour but unfortunately there’s a crisis.”

“What’s wrong, your highness?” Applejack asked. “Is it them there monster varmints?” Luna gave a nod which made the six mares look with worry.

“Several minutes ago,” Luna said. “One of my Night Guards reported to me that the female MUTO was spotted heading for a nearby residence.”

“Which one?” Fluttershy asked softly.

BOOM!

Luna never got a chance to reply as the sound of a distant explosion rang through the air. This caused the seven ponies to run to the balcony where all of their eyes widened in horrid surprise. In the distance they could see Ponyville, where plumes of smoke and the light of distant fire were seen. A familiar colossal-sized silhouette was seen stomping and thrashing in the town. Its howl could be heard from the distance as Twilight and the others stared wide-eyed at the scene. Twilight could only whisper out a mutter at the horror happening below.

“Oh no…”

Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R
Location: Ponyville, Equestria

The sirens wailed throughout the town, which everypony heard. Another sound occupied it as the crowd of ponies looked to see a horror. Entering the town was the Femuto. She gave out a bellowing howl which caused the residents to scream in fear and gallop away to safety. Everypony thought all at once that they wished Ponyville wasn’t the place where monsters and other dark things attacked once a week or so.

The Twilight Guard galloped into battle as they tried to force back the ancient monstrosity. The unicorns of the guard fired blasts of magic at the beast but it didn’t stop. Catapults flung large boulders, striking the monster’s hide, but it didn’t falter. Cannons were stationed and fired their rounds. This caused the Femuto to bellow in annoyance before swiping her claws downward onto the battalion. Ponies scattered, catapults shattered, cannons were dismantled and the monster continued forward with its assault.

Mayor Mare, along with a few guards, was guiding ponies to the Castle of Friendship to seek shelter. This situation required the residents to seclude into a sturdy structure. Hopefully the castle will be able to stand.

“This way, everypony,” she called out. “Make your way to the castle for safety!”

A few more houses collapsed under the sheer power of the female monster. The guards kept firing at the Femuto but it was hopeless. Their spells kept hitting the monster but they weren’t making a single dent or puncture into its leathery hide. The Femuto however was being annoyed by this bug bites the unicorns were inflicting on her. She raised one of her hooked limbs as it gave a familiar bioluminescent glow, flickering like a heartbeat. One of the guards noticed this and called out to his fellow guards. It was too late, however, when the Femuto slammed her limb onto the ground. The EMP spread throughout Ponyville, causing various ponies to feel its effects.

The Femuto gave out a bellowing howl before continuing forward. In its sight was the Castle of Friendship, the origin of the familiar rainbow aura. Without hesitating it started making its way towards the crystalline structure, hoping to devour and wipe out the aura causing its irritation.

In the lower confines of the castle, the children and Harmony watched the entire event through a large crystal mirror. The children watched in fear as the multi-armed female monster was destroying their home. Nyx could feel anger inside of her as she watched the Femuto destroy everything. She made a promise to herself that she’d protect everypony she cared about with her life and now she was stuck down in the secret level of the castle watching all of this happen.

“That thing is tearing our home to bits,” Flitter said with a frightened expression.

“Not only that it’s heading right for us,” Willow said with fear in his voice. They all looked and sure enough the Femuto was making its way to the castle.

“Why is it coming at us?” Sweetie Belle said.

“It’s after the castle’s magic,” Harmony said causing the children to look at her. “This entire castle is laced with my magic. To that beast its nothing but a ringing dinner bell to it.”

“Plus,” Apple Bloom added. “With everypony occupying tha castle, it’ll be a massacre.”

“Fear not, my little ponies,” Harmony said. “I made sure this castle was more enough prepared in case something like this ever occurred.”

After that, she then raised to her hind hooves before slamming them down. This action causes a pulse to spread out through the room making the children jump in surprise. The room then began to glow with the colors of the rainbow before a rainbow beam shot from the floor to the roof.

“Watch,” Harmony said. “As the she-beast won’t breach this creation of mine.”

Outside, the Femuto got closer and closer to the Castle of Friendship. Guards stationed on the balconies of the castle tried to push back the monster with blasts of magic or cannon fire. Unfortunately that didn’t deter the monster from its course. The guards watching in horror as the Femuto then came upon them. She rose onto her hind legs with all her limbs extended, ready to strike the castle.

Suddenly the crystal star ornament on the castle gave off a rainbow-colored glow and shined bright. The Femuto was caught off guard by this and stood back a few feet and watched the event taking place. A shield of rainbow energy enveloped the castle, causing the guards and the ponies inside to watch in awe. It wasn’t before long the shield of magic covered the entire castle.

The Femuto growled before bellowing out a battle cry. It rose to its hind legs again before bringing down its limbs upon the shield. However, her attack didn’t budge it. Once making contact with the shield caused the female monster to howl in pain before backing off. She growled in frustration as her limbs began to give off their natural bioluminescence, each giving off a slow to quick heart beat noise. She then slammed her limbs into the ground sending out an EMP that spread out through the entire town of Ponyville.

The pulse made its way to the shield, hitting it with full force. It wouldn’t be long before it fails and she then can start consuming the crystal construct. To the beast’s surprise, however, the pulse hit the shield but it didn’t waver. The shield was able to resist the effects of her attack. The ponies saw this before giving out a cheer, they were safe at the moment.

The Femuto was about to charge the shield when something small and slimy hit the side of her cheek. She looked to one side and saw two ponies occupying a medium-sized catapult. It was being loaded with some sort of red fruit.

“Yeehaw!” Granny Smith shouted. “That’ll teach ya not to mess with our town, yah varmint! Right, Big Mac?”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac simply said.

The Femuto growled before turning her attention to the old mare and her grandson. Granny Smith glared at the incoming monster and turned to Big Mac.

“Big Mac,” she said. “Load another pie into tha catapult.” With that command Big Mac loaded a large pie into the catapult. “On mah command.” The monster got closer and closer before Granny Smith swung her hoof down. “FIRE!”

With that Big Mac pulled the lever and the catapult flung the pie at the direction of the Femuto. The pie splattered on the tip of the Femuto’s beak. Silence encompassed the area for a few minutes before the Femuto snarled and let loose a bellowing shriek. The female monster then charged at the two earth ponies. Big Mac wasted no time and grabbed Granny Smith off the catapult and galloped both him and her away from the charging monster. The Femuto smashed through the wooden weapon with ease, much to Granny Smith’s frustration.

“You confounded varmint!” she shouted at the colossal monster. “That catapult’s been in the Apple family since the foundin’ of Ponyville!”

“Granny,” Big Mac said. “I don’t think that thing cares much about our catapult’s history.

The Femuto growled before turning her attention back to the castle. The shield of rainbow energy was still up and made the monster growl in frustration. With a bellowing roar she began to charge at the shield-encased crystalline structure. The guards tensed as they prepared themselves as the monster charged at the castle. Suddenly, before the Femuto reached the castle, a beam of rainbow energy hit the Femuto sending her away from the castle and collapsing onto one of the buildings.

The guards as well as witnesses looked to the direction of the rainbow’s origin and they’re eyes widened. It was Twilight and the others. She and the others were in their Rainbow Power forms as they stared down the Femuto with a hardened glare. The Femuto pulled herself from the rubble and looked at the rainbow empowered ponies with a snarl. The ponies in her vision were surrounded by the same rainbow aura that encompassed the castle. She growled before issuing a bellowing roar of challenge.

“Get ready, girls,” Twilight said. “This will determine the fate of Ponyville.”

The girls all nodded as the Femuto began her charge again. The Mane Six scattered as the monster charged past them. Rainbow Dash then flew in one direction before making a U-turn back at the Femuto, making a flying charge. Thank’s to her Rainbow Power form, her speed increased and she was able to get a few hits on the monster. The Femuto hissed before trying to take a bite at the enhanced pegasus. Unfortunately, her mouth was clamped closed by what appeared to be a rope. The Femuto turned to see Applejack tugging the rope with her mouth trying to keep the monster’s closed. The Femuto snarled trying to pull back but Applejack barely budged, thanks to her Rainbow Power increasing her strength. The Femuto then slammed her claw down on the rope causing Applejack to be jerked in and fall over. The female monster was about to slam her limp down upon the earth pony until she felt her side being hit by a concussive force.

“Excuse me, Ms. MUTO,” a cheery voice called out. “How do you like the party cannon I have?”

The Femuto turned to see Pinkie Pie sitting in a large, pony-operated party cannon, which was aimed at the monster.

“If you like that one then try this!” she said with a cheery tone before blasting at the monster.

The Femuto growled in annoyance as the pink pony blasted her. The blasts didn’t hurt but they were annoying. The Femuto then charged at Pinky Pie, who kept blasting at the Femuto. With a raised limb she slammed down on the pony and her annoying cannon. The cannon was smashed to pieces and hopefully the pony operating it as well.

“Wow,” a voice said. “That was close. Did it look like it crushed me? Huh, huh?”

The Femuto quickly looked to her shoulder, and to her surprise, Pinkie Pie was standing there giving her a big smile. Pinkie waved her hoof at the Femuto casually. The monster snarled before snapping at the pinky earth pony. The Femuto looked again to see if she was there and there wasn’t a sign of her.

“Geez,” Pinkies voice said. “I didn’t think you wouldn’t like a casual hello. Oh! How about a spontaneous hi?”

The Femuto growled in irritation at the pink pony on her head. She bellowed before trying to buck off the equine. Pinkie, however, was having a blast. She adorned a white Stetson while giving whoops and hollers. With one final thrash, the multi-limbed monster was able to fling the annoying pink pony off. Instead of screaming, Pinkie was giving a cheer as she fell. Before she hit the ground a cream-colored blur swooped in and caught her. She looked and smiled as Fluttershy set her down.

“That was fun!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Thanks, Flutters!” Fluttershy smiled a bit with a blush.

The two were brought out of their conversation as the roar of the Femuto drew their attention. They looked and saw the colossal beast charging right at them. Its charge, however, was interrupted as what appeared to be a sturdy uproot of diamond emerged near the monster’s feet, catching it and causing it to tumble over in front of them. They looked and saw Rarity, with her horn glowing, tidy up her mane a bit.

“It pays to fight monsters,” she said. “Especially when a lady like me fights with grace and pizazz.” Her minor gloat of victory was cut short as the Femuto stood up and smashed the uprooted diamond in the process. Rarity’s eye’s widened a bit in fear. “Oh dear…”

The Femuto was about to bite down on Rarity when a blast of magic hit her on the side of her face. The monster growled and turned to the direction to see Twilight, with her horn glowing brightly. Her eyes were glaring at the monster intently.

“You will not destroy the town we call home,” she said. “Not when us six are here to drive you out!”

The Femuto let out a mighty bellowing roar before charging at the purple alicorn. Before she could reach Twilight, Twilight’s horn grew brighter as she disappeared in a flash of purple light. This caused the monster to stop in its tracks before turning around. Twilight appeared again before her friends. Each of them gave a glare at the Femuto, who bellowed at them in anger.

Twilight looked to the others with determined eyes. Each of them smiled and nodded to her with confirmation. With that she looked back at the Femuto with a look of determination.

“You girls ready?” she asked them.

“Ready!” they replied in unison.

A beam of rainbow surrounded all six of them as their final attack began to charge. The Femuto saw the gathering of energy and prepared to launch her attack. The limbs of the monster began to blink in and out with crimson bioluminescence as the sound of a thumping heart beat was heard. Waiting long enough, the rainbow beam shot out from the six ponies at the colossal monster. Wasting no time the Femuto slammed down her limb and sent out an EMP. Both attacks collided with one another, struggling to suppress the other. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw the Femuto raise another glowing limb before slamming it down. Another EMP shot out and supported the first, pushing the beam of rainbow back. The Mane Six struggled with their might but the super-charged EMP hit them all, knocking them back and slamming into the rainbow shield.

Twilight groaned as she and the other stood up. She looked and tensed in fear at what she saw. She and her friend’s reverted back to their original forms. She tried calling out for the Rainbow Power again but it didn’t respond. She then realized the super-charged EMP must have sealed away their power. She shivered as she realized they were in trouble at the moment.

The sound of a large object impacting the ground was heard and all six looked to see the Femuto standing before them. It leaned down at them giving a clicking growl. The Mane Six huddled together holding each other in a tight embrace waiting for their fate.

Within the confines of the castle, Harmony and the children look with fear as they saw the Femuto closing in on the Mane Six. Nyx was starting to shed tears at the sight. Her mother was in danger and there was nothing she could do about it. She looked to the others and most of them had similar expressions. She then looked to Harmony, who had the same but appeared different than the others. She appeared to be sweating a bit and her breathing sounded slightly labored. What was wrong with the embodiment of harmony?

“Miss Harmony,” Nyx said with concern causing her friends to turn their gaze to them. “What’s the matter? You don’t look good.” Harmony gave a weakened smile.

“It seems my time is short.” The children grew confused at that answer.

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“Setting up and maintaining the Rainbow Shield seems to be draining my reserves I placed in this room. In a short time, the shield will not only disperse but my projection will fade to allow me to recover over time.”

“If you’re gone then who’ll save our sisters and friends?” Sweetie Belle nearly screamed with a bit of tears in her eyes. Harmony gave a comforting smile.

“Do not fret,” she said. “There is a way to save the Bearers of Harmony.”

“How?” Pipsqueak asked with a determined look. Harmony then gestured to the floor where the patterns of the Elements of Harmony were in a circle.

“On the floor, the marking will go to those who best represent the elements. Once that happens the castle’s major weapon will activate. I believe the few of you can achieve that.”

“What if it doesn’t work,” Nyx asked. “We’re not like mom and the others. How can we activate the weapon if we aren’t the current bearers?”

Harmony gave a smile before her horn glowed rainbow-hued. Nyx, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Pipsqueak, and Flitter were enveloped by the magical aura and were placed in front of Harmony.

“The Elements of Harmony are not limited to just the Bearers themselves.” She explained. “They are within every living being that is willing to share the strength and magic of friendship.”

She turned to Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom, your family raised you to always be truthful to others. When you accepted Nyx when she showed you three that she was an alicorn, you gave her you’re honest answer at full heart.” Apple Bloom blushed a bit with a small bashful smile.

She then turned her attention to Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, like Apple Bloom you showed loyalty to her as a friend. Whenever she asked for assistance, you were always there to help.” Scootaloo puffed her chest out with pride.

Harmony turned her attention to Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle, whenever Nyx needed something you always had something to give. Like your sister, you shown much of your generosity.” Sweetie gave out a happy smile as she blushed a bit.

The unicorn then turned to Pipsqueak. “Pipsqueak, on the day of Hearts and Hooves Day when Nyx didn’t receive anything from her other classmates, you shown astounding kindness and gave her a card to make her feel better.” Pipsqueak looked to Nyx, who smiled at him, causing him to bashfully blush and rub the back of his neck with his hoof.

“What about me?” Flitter asked with a confused expression. “How am I related to this?” Harmony smiled at the young Changeling.

“Dear Flitter, you gave Nyx and others a great quality of friendship. Through your shape shifting made Nyx and others laugh with your funny impersonations. I admit that’s a more delightful way of using shape shifting.” Flitter gave a fanged grin.

Harmony looked to Nyx, who immediately stood attentive. “Nyx, you, like your mother, represent what brings friends together. You may have started with high levels of magic at first, but over time you’re progression became very steadfast. With your friends there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. That is why you are the Element of Magic.” Nyx couldn’t help but blush from the praise before smiling as she looked to her friends.

“Now there is no time to waste,” Harmony said before gesturing to the circle. “Each of you get onto the circles.”

The six nodded before galloping to the element circle. First Pipsqueak stood over his element, then Sweetie Belle and so on. As each one stood over their element, each symbol glowed brightly. It came time to where it was Nyx’s turn. She took a deep breath before stepping over the symbol of the Element of Magic. It glowed brightly before something amazing happened. All six circles connected with one another through a line of rainbow before the beam of prism surrounded the six. Nyx’s eyes glowed brightly as she felt Harmony’s power flowing through her. The feeling was warm and peaceful, similar to how she felt around her family and friends. Suddenly, the prism beam surrounded them all and shot to the ceiling. The room glowed brightly as a prism of colors surrounded the crystalline room, nearly blinding the spectators.

Outside the castle, the Mane Six held each other close as the Femuto leaned in at their level and growled. Most of them shivered, though Fluttershy had tears rolling down her eyes. They were helpless at the moment and were tired.

“Well girls,” Twilight said. “This looks like this is it. Anypony have any final words?” Applejack turned her attention to Rarity.

“Rarity,” she said. “Ah know we have our different life styles and all, but I want tah say that you’re the best of friends I could ask for.” Rarity tried to keep a strong face up from not crying.

“Darling,” she said. “I feel the same way. I also have this to say. If we all survive this, I’ll find Spikey Wikey and I confess to him my feelings from the depths of my heart.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Girls,” Twilight spoke up. “I just want you all to know that ever since I came to Ponyville, spending time with you all has been the best times of my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Geez,” Rainbow said. “If I knew last words were this sappy I would have brought earplugs. Though, I’ll admit that having fun with you guys are the best times of my life as well.” With that the girls hugged each other tight.

“Applejack, I used your pitchfork to unclog my toilet!” Pinkie randomly shouted out. This caused the girls to look at the pink pony. Applejack, on the other hoof, widened her eyes before glaring at Pinkie.

“Say what now?” she asked.

Her question didn’t get through as the sound of the Femuto’s growl was heard. They looked and saw the she-beast closing in on them. The Mane Six then closed their eyes as they held each other and awaited the embrace of death.

The Femuto was about to chomp on the six ponies when a bright prism-colored glow caught her attention. This caught the Mane Six’s attention as well as they opened their eyes and looked behind them. The Rainbow Shield dissipated before their eyes, exposing the castle. However, the crystalline, star-shape decoration at the top seemed to be glowing with prism patterns. The Mane Six watched in awe while the Femuto to a step back from the castle. The energy from the star grew and grew before finally releasing a large beam of rainbow. The beam hit the Femuto square in the chest and started pushing her away from the castle. The monster cried out in shock and pain as the beam kept pushing her. The beam pushed the monster further out of the town until ending near the confines of the Everfree Forest. The Mane Six gaped in shock from what happened. How in the hay did the castle fire a beam of rainbow energy? The question was overshadowed as the Femuto rose from the forest.

She snarled in the direction of the castle. She wanted to charge it and crush the crystalline structure. However, she looked down at her glowing womb where her brood lied and waited. If she continued this fight she’d be risking her future generation. She looked back to the town before snarling and turned to her right and continued onward in the direction of Manehattan.

Nyx and the others watched as the Femuto left, causing them to cheer with happiness. Thanks to them they helped saved Ponyville as well as their friends and family. Nyx smiled before turning to Harmony but her eyes widened at the sight before her. The majestic unicorn’s form was now becoming transparent and fading more by the second.

“Harmony?” she said with sadness and worry. This caused her friend to look and gain the same expression as Nyx. Harmony smiled at the children.

“It’s all right,” she assured them. “It’s close to my time to leave you all. Don’t worry we will meet again in the future. Nyx, before I go, I have a message for your mother. Can you give it to her?” Nyx nodded in affirmation and Harmony smiled. “Good. Here’s my message. If the Protector of Nature needs assistance, then only through nature and harmony he can overcome all odds.” Her form started to dissipate more, losing her color and appearing as a translucent ghost-like figure. “And remember, my little ponies that I will always be watching over all of you.”

With that final word, Harmony completely faded away.

Chapter 12: Battle for Manehattan Part 1: The Bridge

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Date: May 24th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: ES Saddletoga, trailing Godzilla

The lights of Manehattan could be seen from the Saddletoga, which continued to trail Godzilla at a safe distance. The monster’s immense dorsal fins sliced through the churning waves toward the coast, where a row of Equestrian Navy LCS vessels had formed blockade miles offshore. The Littoral Combat Ships, which were expressly designed for operations close to shore, were somewhat smaller, swifter and shallower than conventional frigates or destroyers, but still packed plenty of punch. Each vessel was armed with both heavy duty war cannons and a full complement of highly explosive surface-to-air magic missiles.

But would that be enough to deter Godzilla?

The warships held their fire as the fins approached. Searchlights lit up the night. In the Saddletoga’s war room, Serizawa and the others watched tensely in anticipation, waiting for Godzilla to rise up and reveal himself. Nopony expected the giant reptile to simply turn around in the face of the blockade, not with the Hitomuto reportedly flying toward the city. The minutes ticked down toward a likely confrontation that Serizawa still had serious reservations about. He understood that Admiral Stall and the Equestrian military could hardly be expected to let such a formidable threat come ashore unopposed, but Serizawa remained unconvinced that challenging Godzilla was a good idea, and not just because of the many valiant lives that might be thrown away in a futile attempt to turn back an unstoppable force of nature. With the MUTOs still abroad, it might be that obstructing Godzilla, if that was even possible, was not in the world’s best interest.

‘We may be making a dreadful mistake,’ he thought.

But then, just when the conflict appeared inevitable, the great fins suddenly descended, sinking beneath the frothing waves until they vanished from view. The Saddletoga pitched as turbulence upset the waters ahead. Serizawa held on to the corner of a workstation to keep his balance. Graphic gasped in relief. Stall frowned, but also looked relieved to a degree. Serizawa guessed that the admiral also had profound mixed feelings about throwing the combat ships up against Godzilla.

Glowing green sonar screens tracked the leviathan until his mammoth form dissolved into a thousand tiny pixels, broken up by static, and eventually disappeared from the screens altogether. Serizawa assumed that Godzilla had simply chosen to dive under the blockade, as he’d done with the fleet two days ago. That he was still heading for Manehattan Bay went without saying.

‘Perhaps it is just as well,’ he thought, although his heart went out to the innocent stallions, mares and children in the city. They had not asked for their home to become a meeting-place for monsters, and Serizawa had no illusions that Godzilla cared anything for the insignificant pony lives between him and his prey. ‘We are all just collateral damage now.’

Captian Hoofton rushed up to Stall, clutching a printout in his teeth. “This report just came in from Ponyville,” he reported urgently. Hoofton then gave the printout to the Admiral who read it with a stern face. Serizawa looked at the Admiral with question before Stall looked to the others in the room.

“Send a Pegasi escort team to Ponyville.” He said. “We’ll need the help of the Bearers now more than ever.”

Date: May 25th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Ponyville, Equestria

Celestia’s sun rose gradually over the town of Ponyville. However, with last night’s visit from the Femuto it looked worse for wear. Buildings were in ruins, debris was everywhere and many ponies spread out helping each other. Many were homeless because of the attack but luckily the citizens of Ponyville were a helping community, helping those in need when they needed it.

Twilight right now was overlooking the damage. She looked to at the other ponies with eyes of sadness. Out of all of the times a monster attacked this wonderful town, nopony couldn’t handle an attack of this scale. Even Tirek’s attack seemed less harmful than what the Femuto accomplished. Luckily though, barely anypony got hurt.

One thing was on Twilight’s mind at the moment. The story that Nyx and her friends told her. She was both amazed and shock of the story they told. An ancient unicorn that not only became the Tree of Harmony, but the creator of the Elements of Harmony themselves. If only she had been there to see it.

She looked over to her left when the voice of a filly was heard. She saw Nyx’s friend, Dinky Doo, running up to her mother Derpy. Both ponies embraced one another as the filly cried with happiness seeing that her mother was safe. Two stallions joined the mother and daughter, who the latter went and hugged the green tie-wearing earth pony. She couldn’t help but smile at that. She was glad no ponies were hurt or killed in this. She could only imaging how many colts or fillies would be orphaned if the situation gotten worse. She could only imagine how Nyx would feel if she had perished by the might of the Femuto.

“Boy howdy look at this mess,” a familiar voice said to her right. Twilight looked and saw it was Applejack. Along beside her were Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “Ah know this town had its shares of monster hoedowns but this here takes the apple pie.”

“I know,” Twilight answered before looking forward again. “I’m just glad it didn’t turn out worse than it did.”

“At least no ponies or animals were hurt,” Fluttershy said. “I’m thankful my cottage wasn’t damaged or worse.”

“I know the feelin’ sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “Sweet Apple Acres was practically untouched in this entire ruckus.”

“While my boutique wasn’t destroyed,” Rarity joined in. “It did, however, suffer severe damage from flung debris. While I am sad at that fact, however, this gives me a chance to refurbish and remodel my entire shop.” The others smiled at the unicorn’s happy mood.

Suddenly the group then saw Rainbow Dash fly in fast and landed in front of them, panting with exhaustion. The girls galloped up to the pegasus with concern and gathered around her.

“Rainbow, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked. Rainbow took in a few breaths before answering.

“The princesses,” she said with a gasp of air. “They’re heading towards Ponyville right now! Whatever it is, it’s probably not good.”

At that moment, the pegasi-drawn chariot carrying the princesses landed in the street. Twilight saw this and galloped over to Celestia, who nuzzled her with affection.

“Twilight,” she said. “Thank the Maker that you and your friends are okay.” She looked around the desolated town. Her heart ached with sadness which nearly brought her to tears. “So much destruction…”

She felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked to see Twilight giving her an assured look. “It’ll be okay, princess. Ponyville will recover from this. It’s not like this is the first time there’s been a monster attack.”

Celestia smiled a bit. “Yes, of course. However the problem is still at hoof.” She then turned to her student and friends with a firm expression. “We’ve received reports that the male MUTO is starting to near Manehattan with the female closing in.”

“But what about Godzilla?” Rainbow Dash brought up. This caused the white alicorn to look away with nervousness.

“We’ve lost track of him,” she said causing the girls to tense.

“How!?” Twilight said. “How could anypony lose track of something that big?”

“Be at ease, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna spoke up calmly. “From the recent report, Godzilla dove deeper into the depths to where our ships sonar could not detect him. We know the estimated time he’ll make landfall but not the location.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Fluttershy timidly asked.

“We all must head for Manehattan,” Celestia said. “Once there we can help continue the evacuation of the city.”

“Princess,” Twilight said. “With all due respect we won’t be able to make it time. The chariots and trains would take hours to get to Manehattan.”

Celestia smiled before nodding. “I realized that, which is why I and my sister will combine our magic to mass teleport us to Manehattan.”

Twilight nodded as she and her friends gathered around the Sun and Moon princesses. Once all gathered, Celestia and Luna nodded to one another and placed their horns together. Both horns glowed their respective colors as the magical energy glowed brighter and brighter. Then with a flash of light, the group of ponies disappeared from sight in Ponyville.

Date: May 25th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Manehattan, Equestria

The sound of thunder echoed as rain fell onto the concrete city of Manehattan. Many ponies within the city would have been going about their normal lives. Unfortunately for the city that wasn’t today. Various ponies could be seen being guided through the streets to evacuation points leading out of the city.

Everypony knew of the news about the monsters heading for Manehattan. Some wanted to flee and not see any sight of the beasts while others were actually crazy enough to want to stay and watch the battle. That wish never came true for them.

Various armored guards ranging from earth, pegasi and unicorn ponies could be seen. There were even griffins, dragons and changelings helping the citizens to the trains to exit the city. Everyone was making an effort to hopefully keep innocents from dying from the impending battle.

Manehattan’s train station was practically packed at the moment. Ponies were being placed onto a train that would pull in to receive them and then pull out to take them out of the city. One pony out of the bunch, a filly in particular, was having thoughts dancing in her head.

Babs Seed was with her older sister, Sunflower, next in the line to board the next train. The thoughts in Babs’ mind raced around the subject of the monsters. What would happen to Manehattan when the monsters fight? Probably be wrecked like she heard about when one of them attacked Applewood. At least this train was heading for Ponyville, which would give her a chance to see Apple Bloom and the others again.

“You have your ticket, Babs?” Sunflower spoke up catching the filly’s attention.

Babs nodded as she pulled out her ticket to show her older sister. “Right ‘ere, sis!” she replied to her sibling. “Yous think cousin Applejack and them will be expectin’ us?”

Sunflower giggled. “Probably not but it’ll be a nice surprise for them.”

Without a word Sunflower and Babs were next in line. Babs gave her ticket to the guard next to the door and he nodded allowing the filly to enter. She entered the train car and looked around a bit and waited for her older sister to enter as well. It was a nice car where various ponies were conversing with one another or doing their own thing. Babs smiled knowing this was going to be a nice trip.

“What do you mean I can’t board!?” the voice of Sunflower caught her ears as she looks outside, seeing her sister being held back by the guard.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “The train can no longer take any more passengers. You’ll have to wait for the next one.”

“You don’t understand,” Sunflower argued. “My little sister is on this train. I need to be with her!”

“I’m sorry ma’am,” the guard replied. “There’s nothing I can do.” Sunflower was about to give a retort until a voice spoke up.

“I can look after her if needed,” the voice said.

The three turned to see the owner of the voice to be an off-white furred earth pony mare with a two-toned blue mane and tail. She wore a white-bordered lavender sailor collar with a scarlet tie and tri-shade mane clip in the back of her mane. Her eyes were light cyan and on her flank was a cutie mark of a lavender floppy hat with a scarlet feather. It was one of Sunflowers friends, Coco Pommel.

This made Sunflower smile with relief. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you, Coco! You wouldn’t mind looking after my little sister, would you?” Coco gave a smile.

“Not a problem,” she replied. “I’ll keep my eyes on her like a hawk.”

“Thank you, Coco!” Sunflower said with a smile before the sound of the locomotive began starting up.

The whistle of the train blew as the doors began to close. Babs quickly made it to one of the windows and quickly opened it to look out. There she saw her sister wave at her, knowing they’d see each other again. Babs couldn’t help but wave back with a ping of sadness in her heart. The filly then felt a hoof on her shoulder as she looked up and saw Coco given her an assured smile. The filly timidly smiled back before both the mare and filly took their seats as the train made its way out of Manehattan.

Date: May 25th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Oatland, Equestria

Located a few miles away from the city laid a small community known as Oatland. It was country-styled community that was near but away from the city life. Ponies could enjoy the sight of nature while the lights of Manehattan shone in the distance.

Right now, however, because of the monster threat, the small town was made a temporary home base. Royal guards of various species were busy doing their assignments getting ready for the impending fight for Equestria. They knew that if their side lost then Equestria, even the entire world, was lost.

Suddenly, a flash of light occurred and left behind were the princesses and the Mane Six. The ponies, except for Twilight and the Celestial Princesses, were a bit disoriented from the teleportation. They were not used to the fact of traveling from one place to the other in an instantaneous flash. After finally getting their senses back, the ponies then made their way to a building which provided communications on the status of the evacuation as well as the locations of the three targets.

Twilight’s eyes caught the sight of Cadence, but unfortunately no Shining Armor, Admiral Stall, Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graphic. The Admiral saw the princesses before bowing a bit before turning back to the ponies on the communications. It was then Celestia spoke up with a firm voice.

“Sitrep, please.” She said. “Location of targets?”

A male earth pony then responded. “Male MUTO was spotted 30 miles off the Marellon Islands.”

“We’re showing signs of seismic activity to the southwest near Fillydelphia,” a pegasus mare spoke up. “Should be the female closing in.”

“Where’s Godzilla?” the Admiral asked. Private Martini was there to give the report.

“Last contact was five hours ago. Maintaining a bearing of 053 degrees, descending below a depth of 10,000 feet. He’ll be here within the hour.”

It was there something on the screen caught Twilight’s eye. On it was a visual of the Manehattan Bridge, which appeared to have a train on standstill. This caused the purple alicorn to think a bit. If Godzilla were to appear in Manehattan Bay, this made her eyes widen with fear which Celestia, Luna and Cadence caught.

“There’s still a train on that bridge.”

Date: May 25th, 1004 D.C.R

Location: Manehattan, Equestria

“Are yous serious?” Babs said to the Earth pony mare. “Yous sayin’ that Applejack an’ her friend Rarity helped you set up that street theater?”

Coco couldn’t but giggle before nodding. “Yes they did. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have brought back the wonders of the street theater that I saw when I was around your age.”

“I always loved that show,” Babs said. “I didn’t even know yous was tha director of it.”

“Well thank you, Babs,” Coco replied with a smile.

At the moment, Coco and Babs were enjoying each other’s company, conversing about their lives and experiences in the past years. They would have been out of the city by now, but unfortunately the train was stalled a bit. The reason was that a few ponies were traveling by hoof across the bridge, causing the train to be held up. They didn’t mind though considering they were enjoying each other’s stories.

“I noticed your Cutie Mark,” Coco stated. “Judging by the scissors I’d say your special talent is mane styling, correct?”

Babs shrugged before answering. “Actually, it mostly represents my interests in making cool haircuts. I even worked at a local stylin’ shop and they loved teh designs I came up with.”

Coco smiled before replying. “If your sister allows it, maybe you could help me with mane styles for future shows.” Babs couldn’t help but smile brightly at that idea.

“Wow! Dat’d be—Whoa! Look at that!”

As she said that, Babs rushed to the window of the train car and looked outside. There, groups of Royal Guards gathered near the side of the Manehattan Bridge. Several Earth ponies of the guard were pulling large catapults up and facing them to the bay. Instead of boulders, they were loaded with large-sized barrels. Their purpose, nopony in the train cars knew. That however wasn’t the only thing catching the train occupant’s eyes.

Below the bridge several military ships began taking up positions across the bay. Their horns blared signaling their arrival and intent to move to their designated location, and the constant chatter of the train’s occupants increased in volume. Babs and Coco tried their best to tune out the noise, but it was no use. The constant noise from both adults and children were too loud. The adults knew of the danger while the fillies, colts and foals were ignorant to it. It was inwardly painful to say the least.

However…

KREEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGG!

The occupants of the train went immediately silent. They had no choice when the sound of this remarkable phenomenon was the sound of Godzilla’s roar echoing across the bay. That low rumbling and guttural call rising in pitch at the end cut through the misty morning air like a knife and caused everypony, including Babs and Coco, to go silent almost immediately. The Earth pony engineer, Steamer, looked out of the train at the bay with a look of nervousness. Whatever made that sound wasn’t good.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence after the roar faded. The ponies all looked about, but none of them dared say a word. Coco and most of the adult ponies on the train were frozen in place, as were the Royal Guards outside. The ponies that were crossing the bridge on hoof with their umbrellas to protect them from the rain also had stopped cold wondering where the sound had come from. Babs continued looking out the window. She saw the ships, one or two of them blaring their horns in the distance, before suddenly a sea gull smashed into the window and cracked the glass. The impact startled everypony, but that was nothing compared to the fact that there were now hundreds of gulls filling the skies and taking off in the opposite direction from the bay.

On one of the destroyers nearest to the ocean at the edge of the bay, Shining Armor stared out at the sea with a hardened look. The sound of the echoing roar from before signified Godzilla was about to arrive. The question is will they be able to repel such a mighty beast? He read from the reports about him and his first appearance from 954. Even the ponies back then had a hard time to push back the behemoth, not even a Mega Spell Bomb back then could stop him. He was Captain of the Royal Guard for a reason, he knew this would be a one-sided conflict.

The guards onboard watched the birds overhead, certain that this was a warning as to what was to come.

“Portside, two hundred meters!” One of the crew yelled.

Shining then walked to the edge and looked out into the fog, and what he witnessed sent a chill down his spine.

Out in the water of the Neighsianic was a mound of water that was fast approaching them. The surface of the water broke revealing a set of long jagged spines, and it was racing towards the boat at great speed.

“Brace for impact!” He yelled.

Everypony on the boat immediately grabbed the edge or whatever else was next to them that was secure to steady themselves against the coming impact, but it didn’t come. The massive form of Godzilla stopped cold in the water about a dozen meters away, but the waves produced by his approach caused the ships to list dangerously to the sides. One destroyer vessel almost capsized due to how large the waves were, and the ships were forced to ride them out until they settled down and regained their positions. All the while, Godzilla had remained still.

“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” Called Shining Armor using a voice amplifying spell, which he canceled immediately after.

Shining and the other guards gathered at the edge of the boat to look at the massive form of Godzilla. His back was fairly round, and had around three or four rows of large spines running down the length of him. They were fairly large towards the middle, but got smaller towards the end. The skin was sort of grayish hue with mild shades of green underneath, and was very rugged and rough.

‘I don’t like this,’ Shining thought to himself as he looked at the still form of the saurian monster.

“He looks a bit smaller than what was mentioned in the reports,” one of the guards said aloud.

“Yeah, I thought he was supposed to be a lot bigger,” another one said.

This made Shining Armor nod. From what his sister said this giant was around 108.2 meters in height. Even in the water something that big couldn’t look like this. A thought immediately hit him like an incoming Magic Missile. What if what they were looking at wasn’t Godzilla’s back? His thoughts were interrupted and his heart sank as a rumbling sound began to fill the air.

Godzilla’s back dipped slightly, and then it began to rise out of the water. What was once a “back” turned out to be nothing but Godzilla’s tail. It crashed out of the water and rose up higher and higher into the air. This section of his tail by itself had to have been at least the length of a hoofball field, if not longer. It rose up until it was nearly vertical before slamming back down into the water. Giant walls of water which rose into the air nearly reached as high as his tail had, and the guards all watched in pure shock and amazement as they felt the ship beneath their hooves begin to rear up. They spun around and saw the Godzilla’s true back and his primary set of dorsal spines were rising up between another set of ships behind theirs.

One ship was caught in-between his spines, and got stuck in them as his back rose out of the water. A few guards on the bridge almost fell to the ground as they felt their legs buckle in shock and horror, and the other guards all pulled out their weapons or aimed their horns and prepared to do what they knew was pointless. Godzilla’s back rose out of the water yet further, and one of the ships began to fall back and away from him into the water. Its stern fell beneath the waves, and the alarms began sounding frantically before the ship managed to level out and float backwards in the wake created by Godzilla’s surfacing.

As the ship fell away, the guards on the deck who braced themselves watched the spines rising up and took note of just how big they were. The largest one had to be at least fifty to sixty feet long, if not a little bit longer. Godzilla’s impossibly large form effortlessly pushed the ships away with the force of his surfacing alone, and despite the ship caught in his spines he managed to push his way forward. On board the ship which had fallen back, the orders from above came through.

“Fire, fire, fire!” They yelled. Shining heard this and looked in the direction of the monster with fear as the other vessels aimed their weapons.

“No wait!” he cried but it was too late.

The first shot was unleashed, and the explosion of the Magic Missile against Godzilla’s spines lit the sky around his body but ultimately failed to do anything at all. Godzilla didn’t even flinch. He continued on his present course forward, dragging the ship caught in his spines with him which was now sending an S.O.S. signal. The guards on the bridge looked out across the water and were horrified at the scale of Godzilla. They’ve seen how big he was in the newspapers and through their briefings, but seeing him up close was a whole different beast on its own. Looking out into the bay, he was easily three times larger than any of the ships sent out against him in terms of girth, and several times longer. His tail whipped out behind him and slammed down in front of the other ships behind him, frightening everypony on board halfway to wetting themselves.

The ships began bombarding the beast with their explosive barrels and a volley of Magic Missiles, and those which failed to make contact flew on a course for the Manehattan Bridge. Racing over the bridge and through the gaps between the cables, the missiles flew overhead and the engineer of the train knew well enough that it was time to move. He pushed the lever forward and the train then began trekking its wheels forward across the bridge in attempts to flee him and his passengers to safety. Before he could, however, he was stopped in his tracks when one of the Magic Missiles struck the cabling and sent a section of it down in a few feet in front of the train. As the breaks were applied this caused the train to lurch, causing the passengers to feel the force of the stop.

The guards began running to the edge of the bridge and attempted desperately to reach the ships.

“Striker, there are civilians on the bridge! Hold your fire! Hold yo—“

They had to duck as more Magic Missiles flew towards them, but they were intercepted by the rising form of Godzilla. The missiles struck his spines and side as he stood up alongside the bridge, the ship which had been caught in his spines having since fallen into the water onto its side spilling the crew and supplies on deck into the water around his legs.

“Open fire!” The guards yelled.

Godzilla’s body finally rose up for all to see as the order was given. His tremendous figure loomed tall over the bridge as he straightened out his head and neck and let out an earth shattering roar. The train passengers covered their ears, as did everypony within range.

The sound of catapults being launched and Magic Missiles flying through the air was heard as Godzilla’s right claw found its way to the cabling of the bridge as a couple more missiles struck his sides. The engineer and passengers watched with fear and awe as Godzilla was bombarded my explosives and magic.

Godzilla at the moment was confused at what was happening right now. He felt small pings of pain in his side and back but that didn’t bother him. However, when a stray Magic Missile or explosive hits one of his gills he gives out a cry in pain.

As he was being continually being pelted by the Royal Guard and Navy, his attention was drawn to the bridge. There he saw ponies fleeing across the bridge along with the standstill train that occupied it. He saw the passengers inside shaking with fear. What shocked him though was the sight of Babs Seed looking out the window along with Coco, shaking with the same fear. Seeing that little filly reminded him of the alicorn filly he saw on the island. That fresh memory seemed to warm his ancient heart.

His thoughts were interrupted as a barrel explodes on the side of his head, causing him to roar in pain. He looks back and sees the ships firing the barrels and launching their spells at him. They were like annoying insects, never stopped pestering you till they got what they wanted. He looked back at the train that Babs occupied and grew a bit fearful for the filly. Without thinking, he trudges in front of the side of the train blocking it from being bombarded by the ships in the bay.

He knew he couldn’t do this forever as the Royal Guards tried to harm him. He looked at the bridge and in front of the train saw the cable blocking its path. Without hesitation, the colossal saurian reached out for the cable. The Royal Guards on the bridge saw this and increased their bombardment thinking the monster was after the train. Godzilla ignored the minor pain has his left claw gripped the cable firmly before lifting it out of the way of the train.

Steamer saw this action with shock but instantly shook it off, disengaged the brake and pressed the lever forward causing the train to accelerate forward. It gain speed before the train finally crossed the bridge while the various ponies galloping behind it crossed over as well. Godzilla gave a snort in satisfaction as he watched the train cross over to safety.

Seeing this action the monster displayed, Shining Armor didn’t hesitate accessing his headset.

“All ships disengage!” He yelled. “Target is showing no hostility. Disengage!”

After a minute, the ships stopped their bombardment and the sound in the air was quiet. Godzilla looked around him at the ships in confusion. He wondered why the ships stopped their attacks. He wasn’t complaining considering he loved the sound of peace at moment. It was quiet infectious.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted on the side of Godzilla’s neck causing him to roar in pain. The onlookers watched in shock as the monster was then pelted more by explosions. Godzilla roared in pain even more as he started to lose his balance. He started falling to his left side towards the bridge. The ponies still on it screamed in fear and panic and tried to gallop out of the way. It wasn’t before long before Godzilla’s body landed on the bridge, smashing through it sending dozens of ponies both Royal Guards and civilians alike into the frigid waters below as he too fell into the water.

This sight shocked Shining Armor and he seethed with anger. He gave a specific order to stop the bombardment. When he finds the one who disobeyed—

“Captain, look to the sky!” One of the guards to his right said point a hoof upward.

Shining looked up and his eyes widened in shock. In the sky was a minor fleet of air ships, several were small but a single one was larger than the others. Each of the ships had a red flag with a gold hammer crossed with a gold sickle placed beneath a gold-bordered star, which was located in the upper left canton of the flag. All their cannons were pointing in the direction of Godzilla, who was rising from the water after the minor assault.

“Just what do they think they’re doing!?” Shining nearly shouted before turning to another guard. “Somepony radio those idiots to hold their fire!”

The guard focused on his head radio trying to contact the main ship. As he did all he heard was silence or static. This meant that their radio was down or turned off.

“It’s no good, Captain,” the guard replied. “They aren’t responding to their radio.”

“Buck!” Shining said seething in anger while gritting his teeth.

On the larger flying vessel, the commander of the ship grinned with pride as his fleet focused on Godzilla. He received his orders by his Grand Duke to make sure to blast the despicable monsters to oblivion. Even the dragons feared the air fleet of the Hooviet Union. The commander pointed a hoof forward, which his subordinates focused on him.

“Keep firing on the beast, comrades!” He ordered with a strong voice. “We will show all the strength that is our motherland!”

The ships began their assault on the saurian monster again. Explosive cannonballs struck the mighty beast’s hide with precision as a volley of explosions erupted on his skin. Godzilla roared in pain as a few of them hit his neck where his sensitive gills were. He opens one of his eyes enough to look in shock what the ships above caused him to do. The bridge was in ruins as ponies that didn’t fall watch in fear as he was bombarded by the Hooviet Fleet. He saw the destruction before him, which awakened something. His brows furrowed and his mouth sneered baring his fangs as he looked at the fleet above with anger.

The ships then momentarily stopped their assault as smoke from the explosions settled around the area where Godzilla was. The Commander, and his fleet, squinted their eyes trying to pierce the smoke to see if they did any remote damage to the monster. The smoke began to clear as the fleet and the onlooker’s eyes widened with shock.

There, Godzilla stood his body unscathed from the assault. His eyes were closed before suddenly opening them as his pupils slit instantly and looked up at the fleet. He glared with anger, snarling a growl before giving a mighty roar as the Commander and his fleet watched in horror what came next.

A low hum was heard as the tip of Godzilla’s tail began to glow blue as it started trailing up his spines on his back to his head. The hum grew more and more as blue light began to shine from within his maw. Before they could react, Godzilla took a deep breath before firing his Aether Breath at the smaller ships of the fleet on the left. The moment the beam of energy hit, they instantly caught fire and exploded, taking the lives of the crew the ship held. He wasn’t done as his spines glowed again and aimed to the right. His attack fired again as it hit the fleet on the right, giving the same results as the left fleet.

The Commander looked left and then right before looking at the monster. He looked into the beasts eyes and saw anger and foretold death. He couldn’t move or speak his voice to order his ship to retreat. Before he could even speak again, it was too late.

Godzilla’s back glowed once more as the energy within gathered before expelling it at the main ship. The beam hit it’s mark, causing the vessel to first catch fire before exploding, taking the lives of the ponies onboard. It then began to descend making contact with the water below before sinking into the murky depths, never to be seen again. The saurian snorted a bit giving a minor roar of victory as the onlookers watched in shock and awe.

After the annoyances were dealt with, he turned his body towards the city. The threat of the MUTO was still at hand. He knew the lives of the ponies were at stake but the MUTO’s threat was greater. He marched onwards, determined to find and destroy the MUTOs once and for all.

As Godzilla marched unopposed through the waters of Manehattan Bay, troops of the Hooviet Union occupied a smaller vessel nearby, who all started gathering on its deck.

Gold Sickle looked as Godzilla made his way to Manehattan with a look of fear. The very beast was able to take on the Hooviet Fleet with no problem and wiped them out entirely. He looked to his leader as he too watched the saurian continue to trudge forward. His expression was hardened instead of laced with fear. It was before long the Grand Duke’s attention was drawn to the large magical device onboard.
“Comrades, prepare to arm the device!” he called out.

The troops all gathered around the warhead, removing the metallic shielding from the device’s inner workings. Gold Sickle watched as they worked. He felt horrible at the sight of this. What Red Star was planning was completely unthinkable. This will place a bad mark on his home’s name. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw two unicorns stand side by side in front of the warhead’s inner workings.

“Arming horns!”

The two unicorns then each placed their horns in specific designed slots for the manual analog start up.

“Three, two, one!”

The magic in their horns flared to life precisely at the same time, and the device then came to life. The gears started turning, and the countdown began. One hour and thirty minutes was all they had now until detonation. The sun was fading fast on the horizon, but it wouldn’t last long now.

However, at that moment, a strange sound echoed through the skies above them and a large pulse wave of some kind tore through the air. The lights in the city nearby all shut off, and the engines of the vessels in the water all shut down as well leaving them all dead in the water.

“What in Tartarus was that?” Red Star said turning to one of his troops.

“EMP,” One of them answered.

“Engine’s stopped, we lost power!”

Back in the city streets, everything from street lamps to lights in the building started shutting down. The building where Sunflower was occupying went immediately dark, and she looked outside to observe what was going on. It was all quiet in the city, but it didn’t stay that way for long. A guard in a parachute could be seen cutting through the haze, and it wasn’t long after that a flying ship crashed into one of the neighboring buildings exploding on contact as it caught fire.

Back on the waters of the Bay, Red Star and his troops on board the warhead vessel watched as the ships which had been summoned to help against Godzilla all started falling from the sky. Most of them were seen without their crew as they saw various parachutes descend to the waters below. A ship splashed down directly in front of the vessel, making everypony duck for cover against the resulting wall of water.

Then, a horrible scream came from above. Red Star, Gold Sickle and the troops looked up at the sky with widened eyes, seeing the Hitomuto descending fast on their position in a straight dive bomb. Red Star felt fear immediately as his troops fired upon the beast, unfortunately not pushing it back. He could help but scream in terror as the winged monster made contact with the vessel. Its jaws opened wide, its wings folded back as it slammed down on top of the vessel and dragged everypony aboard to a watery death. The waters were silent for but a moment before the Hitomuto reappeared closer to shore. It scrambled out of the water, warhead in its mouth as it clung to the ship. The winged monster pushed it to the ground and used its forearms to wretch the warhead free, tucking it into one of its smaller underarms as it then took wing and flew off into the city.

Landing on a building in the Little Trotkyo district, it peered out across the city. There was a massive wall of dust approaching, but the male knew exactly what it was that was coming. He released three calls in total. Two short barks and one longer groan. The calls were echoed by something much larger, ensuring the warhead was safe in hand and glided down off his building rooftop landing in front of the mass of dust. From out of the cloud appeared the face of the Femuto, standing over twice as the male. Had she wanted to, she could easily have killed him, but she did nothing of the sort.

Instead, the two shared an intimate moment. The Hitomuto presented the warhead to her in his mouth, and she leaned forward to nuzzle against him. The two locked snouts for an instant, their red flashing eyes synchronizing as she took the warhead and used her smaller underarms to hold it close to her egg sac. The eggs began glowing in response to the warhead, and the female knew that this was a good place as any to begin building her nest. The Hitomuto climbed to the top of a nearby building and flew away as the Femuto began to carve away the ground beneath her feet, intent on building a nest for her beloved young safe from the dangers of the world above.