> Equestria: Singular Point
>  by lazejovanov
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Different times, similar lives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria; Present time

The sun slowly rose over the land of Equestria to start a new day. But it wasn't Celestia who raised it, it was a pony that was once her faithful student: Twilight Sparkle. It has been a good long month since the defeat of the Legion of Doom: Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek. Following their petrification, Twilight Sparkle has been exalted in becoming the new ruler of Equestria after Celestia and Luna willingly stepped down to retire. Of course, with Twilight becoming the new ruler, came a list of royal duties and other tasks that she and Spike (her adopted dragon brother) had to preform on a daily basis. Many of these duties involved public appearances and smiling uncomfortably to their subjects. Other activities included addressing disputes between the leaders of different towns and lands, helping with diplomacies that involve the leaders of the other non-pony races, judging contests, and taking photographs during photo-ops at the School for Gifted Unicorns fundraiser.

When it came to the night, Spike was tasked with filling Luna's job in traveling to the dream realm to observe ponies' dreams and relieving them of their nightmares. Using a magical amulet that contains the power of the former Princess of the Night, the little dragon did his fair share of royal duties when his adopted sister was resting and sleeping for the night.

Needless to say, it was exhausting work. Twilight felt her cheeks hurt due to being forced to smile all day when making public appearances. Spike had to sleep throughout most of the day after being exhausted relieving ponies and other creatures of their nightmares.

.

"Ugh. I'm tired." Twilight muttered as she collapsed on her comfy bed, face first.

"Well, nopony said that being the ruler of Equestria was gonna be easy." Spike mused, opening a nearby drawer to take out the magical amulet containing Luna's magic. "Anyway, I'm gonna start my nightly dream patrol that Luna used to do." With that, the little drake began heading for the balcony.

"Maybe you should rest, Spike." Twilight got off from her bed and walked up to him. "I know today was hard, but I think can handle the dream realm just this once." She said, giving him a comforting smile.

"Thanks, Twilight. But I can handle things from here." Spike gave her a smile of his own. "I mean, I've been asleep all day while you were busy keeping your cheeks together. Only seems fair I do this."

The current ruler of Equestria couldn't help but smile back. Just like Celestia, she had her own sibling to do half of the royal duties — even if hers was a dragon. "Yeah, you're right." She playfully rubbed Spike on the head before moving back to bed. "Well, good luck in the dream realm, Spike."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." A playful smile appeared on the drake's face. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna suddenly turn evil and you're gonna have to banish me to the moon for a thousand years."

With a mischievous smile of her own, Twilight's horn ignited and Spike found himself levitating off the ground, heading towards the waiting alicorn. "Oh, I'm gonna banish you to the moon right now, you naughty little dragon!" She said, playfully wrapping her front hooves around Spike.

"Oh, I don't think so! I will take over Equestria and rule it in an eternal night! Raar!" The young drake playfully roared and tackled Twilight to the ground, playfully tickling her with his claws.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Twilight and Spike play-wrestled for a couple of minutes before both fell to the floor, still laughing. Even though they've grown and matured, it didn't hurt to have a little play fight every now and then, as a way of looking back at the many adventures they had with their friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. It filled them both with nostalgia.

Finally, after the two shared several more laughs, Twilight and Spike got up. "Good night, Spike." The alicorn softly said before heading to bed. Comfortably tucking in, she yawned before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

"Good night, Twilight." Spike said before heading for the balcony, amulet in claw. Having that little play fight fired him up, and made him all the more eager to preforming his won royal duty.





Equestria; 4,000 Years in the future

In a small seaside town called Maretime Bay, resided a bright and optimistic young Earth pony named Sunny Starscout. The town in which she lived was filled with low-rise buildings and non-vehicular streets, and was even serviced by a short streetcar line. It had many locations, including a town square, a police department, a barber shop, and even a movie theater. Just a week ago, Maretime Bay was only inhabited by Earth ponies, who lived in fear and paranoia of the other pony races. But not anymore. Many unicorns from Bridlewood were visiting the small town, and just as many Pegasi from Zephyr Heights were walking the streets and soaring through the air. All of the ponies talked and laughed together, while foals and fillies ran around and played.

Prior to this, the Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns used to live in separation, blinded by fear and mistrust for one another, and thinking ill of the other pony tribes. But thanks to the valiant efforts of five brave ponies, Sunny Starscout herself, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals uniting three magical artifacts and bringing the three pony tribes together, magic and harmony were restored.

Standing atop a grassy hill, and with a bright smile on her face, Sunny looked around the thoroughfare of Maretime Bay. Her greatest dream in life was now an every day reality, and she wouldn't have it any other way. "If only you were here to see this, dad." She sighed softly, thinking back to her father and his passing. He would have been so proud of her and her friends' accomplishment. He would have gotten along so well with Queen Haven and Alphabittle. Still, she knew it wasn't healthy for her psyche to dwell into the past for too long.

Putting the uncomfortable memories aside, Sunny walked down and headed for the town to meet up with her friends.

.

"What is up, everypony? This is Pipp Petals streaming live from another amazing day here in Maretime Bay with my friends!" The pink pegasus happily said, holding her mobile phone in her right hoof and facing the camera to herself. "Today, we are going to the movie theater! To watch a movie called 50 Shades of Purple! This is the newest and latest film to be released since us, the unicorns, and Earth ponies became friends!"

"Hi, Pipp!" Izzy suddenly popped up from behind the pegasus, giving Pipp quite the fright.

"Ah!" The Pegasi princess yelped and jolted in surprise. "Izzy, don't sneak up on me like that!" She scolded before recomposing herself and turning back to the viewers on her phone. "Sorry about that. My friend here, Izzy, is just so excitable. Izzy, say hi to our wonderful viewers!"

"Hi, everypony!" The lilac unicorn happily waved to the camera.

A chain of smiley faces, hearts, and other friendly emojis flooded the bottom-right corner of the phone's screen.

"Hey, guys!" Pipp and Izzy turned to see Hitch and Zipp approaching them, accompanied by two seagulls and a crab that have been following Hitch around as usual.

"Where have you two been? We're gonna be late for the movie!" Pipp scolded.

"Sorry abut that, Pipp. Sheriff over here just got some... company." Zipp smiled playfully, gesturing to the little critters near Hitch.

"Frankly, I'm surprised my cutie mark isn't that of butterflies or something." The sheriff of Maretime Bay rolled his eyes.

"Maybe your ancestor was an expert on animals." Izzy happily inquired. "That's what my parents used to tell me."

"It's a possibility." Hitch shrugged.

"Hey, guys!" The unmistakable voice of Sunny caught their attention, prompting the four ponies to look up ahead to see said Earth pony racing to meet them. "Sorry I'm late. I was just thinking about... something." She delayed the last part of her sentence. While Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were a little confused, Hitch looked at her sympathetically.

"You were thinking about your father, weren't you?" He asked gently as he walked up to her.

"Yeah..." Sunny looked down sadly. "I just wish he was here so he could see what we did. He would have been so proud."

"He definitely would have." Hitch gently wrapped his hoof around Sunny's neck before giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry for not believing in those ancient tales that your father researched."

"It's alright, Hitch." Sunny said with a light chuckle. "And at least you didn't do what Sprout did."

"Yeah." Hitch agreed. "Honestly, I never knew he was capable of such madness."

"Where is he right now, anyway?" Zipp asked curiously.

"Well, I was planning on arresting him and putting him behind bars, but Phyllis convinced me to let him go. He's now grounded and living in his mom's basement." Hitch explained.

"Come on, everypony! We don't wanna miss the movie!" Izzy suddenly exclaimed, catching their attention and reminding them of their original goal.

"Oh, right! The movie! I completely forgot about that." Sunny laughed lightly.

With that, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy began racing for the movie theater, eager to get there as quickly as possible. Once they left, Hitch turned to Sunny. "If you ever need to talk, me and our friends will always be here for you." He gave her an another encouraging smile.

"I know." Sunny smiled back before hugging him. "But thanks anyway."

Smiling, Hitch hugged her back. After finishing their hug, the two ponies turned and went to catch up with their friends to the movie theater.





Equestria; Present time

"Twilight. Pst. Hey, Twilight." Spike gently poked at the alicorn's face with his claw.

The Princess of Friendship groaned and rolled over, covering her head with her blanket. "Five more minutes." She said, half-asleep.

"Twilight, wake up! You're suppose to rise the sun!"

In an instant, the alicorn shot upwards, inadvertently knocking the little dragon to the side. Without missing a beat, she leapt from her bed and raced towards the balcony. Once there, she quickly activated her magic, and watched as the moon slowly descended and disappeared over the horizon, allowing for the sun to rise and turn night into day.

"Whew. Thanks for that, Spike." The princess breathed a sigh of relief.

Spike, still a little dazed from the impact, got up on his feet. "Okay, we definitely need to do something about you being late to rise the sun." After dusting himself off, the dragon pulled the 4-meter long checklist. "Anyway, you're first royal duty for today. You have a meeting with—" He suddenly stopped and almost fell over as he continued to read further. "No way..." He said with a tone that was mix of surprise and excitement.

"What? What is it?" Twilight asked as she approached the drake, hoping it's not something too serious. "Did a dangerous creature escape from Tartarus? A friendship problem, maybe?" Even with all these various possibilities running through her head, nothing could prepare the princess for what her adopted brother said next.

"You have a meeting... with Fluttershy!"

In an instant, all nervousness and tension in Twilight's body washed away, replaced at first by utter shock, and then by sheer joy and excitement. Spike found himself facing his adopted sister's now-excited face, his snout inches from her muzzle. "Did you say Fluttershy?!" She practically screamed.

"Yup." He confirmed, showing her the checklist. "You have a meeting with Fluttershy. I'm not sure what the meeting is about, but knowing Fluttershy, it's probably something involving animals." He surmised.

It has been quite a while since Twilight felt this happy. After such a long time, she's finally meeting one of her beloved friends. It was almost too good to be true. Granted, she was probably not here just to catch up on their past adventures and the time they spent together, but the mere fact that one of her beloved friends wished for an audience with her was beyond exciting.

"Oh, my Celestia! Or should I say... Oh, my me?" Twilight chuckled. "Anyway, I better get ready."

In what could only be described as 10 seconds, the Princess of Friendship raced to the bathroom with blinding speed to brush her teeth, brush her mane and tail, spray herself with perfume, and anything else that she thought would make her look more presentable.

"What do you think, Spike? Do I look good?" The only response she got was a loud snore. Looking back, Twilight saw the little dragon laying on the ground and sleeping soundly. Having to keep everypony safe from nightmares was hard work. Smiling, the alicorn gently levitated the little dragon on his bed so he can have his rest. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She smiled before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

.

Sitting on her throne, Twilight made sure to remain clam and composed. After a little while, a Royal guard opened one of the doors and entered. With a respectful bow, he said "Your Majesty, she is here."

"Send her in." The princess ordered.

With another humble bow, the guard turned and ushered her in. Not long after, the yellow pegasus entered the throne room before the Royal guard closed the door. Once the two ponies were alone in the throne room, Twilight wasted no time spreading her wings and flying down from her throne, landing right in front of Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, it's so good to see you again!" The two ponies embraced each other.

"It's nice to see you, too, Twilight. Oh, I mean... Princess Twilight Sparkle." Fluttershy quickly bowed her head in respect.

"Fluttershy, I may be the ruler of Equestria now, but I'm still just your friend. Feel free to just call me Twilight." The alicorn assured her with a soft giggle.

"If that's what you like." The pegasus smiled brightly.

"Sorry Spike couldn't make it. He was busy last night protecting ponies and other creatures from their nightmares." Twilight informed her. "He's sleeping in our room."

"Ahhh, he's such a sweetie!" Fluttershy cooed. "In fact, you should thank him when he wakes up. He did such a great job giving me and my animal friends a goodnight sleep, without any nightmares!"

"Oh, I definitely will." Twilight smiled and nodded. "Anyway, what brings you today? Do you need help with something? I won't even mind if you just came here to spend some time together."

"Actually, there is something that I could use your help for. If you don't mind, of course." Fluttershy bright expression turned into a concerned one, matching the uncertainty of her tone.

"What is it?" The princess asked eagerly.

"Well, yesterday when I was working at my animal sanctuary, something happened to the stream that the animals drink from." She said, not quite sure how to put it.

"What happened? Are your animals okay?" Twilight asked, getting a little concerned.

"Oh, they're fine." The shy pegasus quickly assured her. "But I think you should come with me to see for yourself. Again, if you're not too busy, that is."

"Well, I don't have as much royal duties for today as I usually do, so why not!" The ruler of Equestria happily said.

"Great!" Fluttershy's expression immediately brightened.

.

After a little while, Twilight and Fluttershy friend arrived at her friend's animal sanctuary. There, Twilight saw all kinds of animals that would normally be hostile to one another living in harmony. Everything from koalas, squirrels, and rabbits, to bears, wolves, and snakes were present. And that's not even getting started on the countless species of birds and insects present. For the most part, everything seemed alright. That is, until Twilight's eyes landed on the small waterfall that was continuously pumping water throughout the entire sanctuary. Instead of being crystal clear and enticing, the water that was flowing from the waterfall and throughout the entire sanctuary was crimson-red and almost resembled kool-aid.

"The water was like this when I came here yesterday." Fluttershy explained, looking at the unusual phenomenon with concern. "I was worried, so I told my animal friends to keep away from the water. Do you think pollution caused this?" The shy pegasus asked in concern.

Twilight said nothing as she walked up to the water's edge. She levitated a nearby stick and submerged half of it in the crimson water. After some time, she lifted the stick and examined it carefully.

"Do you think it's poisonous?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

"Well, it's not acidic. Otherwise this stick would have disintegrated." Twilight concluded. Putting the stick away, the princess summoned a small test tube. She submerged the tube and took a sample of the water. "I need to figure out what this is. Unfortunately, I have too many royal duties and not enough time to study this. But fortunately, I know a friend who lives in Canterlot who does have the time to study and figure out what this is." She then turned to face Fluttershy. "Until we know for sure if this stuff is harmful or not, you should keep your animal friends away from the water for the time being. But don't worry, I'll have my Royal guards bring you fresh, clean water from Canterlot to your sanctuary every week!"

"Oh, thank you so much, Twilight! I don't know how I can ever repay you!" Fluttershy smiled happily and hugged her friend tightly.

"Your company and happiness is all the payment I need." Twilight assured her, hugging her back. "After all, what are friends for?"

.

After making sure to inform the Royal guards to bring clean water to Fluttershy's animal sanctuary, Twilight headed to a house where an old friend of hers still lives. After a gentle knock with her hoof, the door opened and out came...

"Moon Dancer!"

"Twilight!"

Wasting no time, the two ponies hugged each other with affection and nostalgia.

"Oh, Twilight. It's so good to see you again." Moon Dancer happily said. "Do you want me to still call you Twilight or Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"You can call me however you like, Moon Dancer." Twilight assured her with a bright smile.

"With you now being the ruler of Equestria, I didn't think you had time to visit me." The unicorn couldn't help but note.

"True. In fact, you could say that me visiting you was kind of connected with one of my royal duties." The princess said before revealing the test tube containing the sample of the red water.

"What's that?" Moon Dancer asked curiously.

"Yesterday, the water in Fluttershy's animal sanctuary turned red for some unknown reason. I've determined that it's not acidic, but I'm not sure if it's a natural phenomenon or something serious." The princess explained, handing the tube over to Moon Dancer who telekinetically held it. "So I was hoping you could do some research on it to figure out what it is. I wish I could join you, but being ruler of Equestria means I don't have a lot of free time. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Moon Dancer assured her, gently placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I've pretty much learned all there is to learn about magic. If this is something new, something that we've never seen before, it would sure make my day."

"Thanks, Moon Dancer." Twilight smiled happily. "I really want to spend a little more time with you, but I have many other royal duties to attend to."

"I don't mind. Good luck with your rule, princess!" Moon Dancer smiled to her friend.

"You can just call me, Twilight. I really don't mind." The alicorn smiled back.

"Exactly." Moon Dancer replied. "Nicknames are one of the best things about having friends, and 'princess' suits you."

"Alright. That's a pretty good nickname." The alicorn playfully rolled her eyes and giggled. With that, Twilight waved her friend goodbye before flapping her wings and taking off. Once the princess left, Moon Dancer looked at the sample her friend collected with curiosity before heading back to her house and closing the door.





Equestria; 4,000 Years in the future

After a little over an hour and 45 minutes, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy came out of the movie theater after they finished watching 50 Shades of Purple, a movie about a female unicorn filling in for her journalist friend and interviewing a purple Pegasi stallion, who is a businesspony. As they begin a relationship, she discovers that his life was influenced by his dark past. Thankfully, all the previous not-so-unicorn-and-pegasus-friendly posters were removed by the time this new movie came out.

"Oh, wow. That movie was just beautiful~!" Pipp sang to herself as she flapped her wings lightly.

"I know, right!" Izzy chimed in. "It was a true love story! Ah! So romantic."

"I hope you're ready for more, 'cause I have a feeling we'll be seeing more movies like that as time goes by." Sunny happily stated.

"I've never really been into romance stories, but this one definitely took the cake." Zipp agreed with a smile.

"Is that a bird?"

"Looks like a pretty big bird."

The five friends abruptly stopped when they heard two nearby ponies talking out loud about something whilst looking up at the sky. Curiously, the Mane 5 turned to see what the two ponies were looking at. In the distance, at an altitude of roughly 200 meters, the five ponies spotted something flying in the sky. At first, they assumed it was a pegasus or a bird flying around, or even a kite. But when the thing started flying in their direction and began approaching Maretime Bay, it quickly became clear that it was neither a pony nor a bird, and most definitely not a kite. As the thing drew closer and began flying lower, the ponies could finally make out what it looked like.

It was a creature that somewhat resembled an avian; possessing two wings and two hind legs, as well as a long beak and tail, but that was where its bird-like traits ended. The creature's head was roughly the same size as its body (barring the wings and tail), and its wings were membranous and looked more like those of a bat rather than a bird, with three claws located on each one. It had a long upward-curved beak and a blue-colored crest atop its snout, with sharp teeth visible on the upper mandible of its beak. In between the top and bottom of the upper mandible was a row of blue scales starting a quarter of the way from the tip of the beak and ending at the eyes. A single, backward-facing crest was present on the back of its head, covered in a yellow and white pattern which ran along its back and to the end of its long tail. Underneath the creature's long neck was a blue dewlap, where the color spread along the lower mandible. Its long tail terminated in a blue-colored tail fin, similar to the crest atop its snout. A row of spikes were present along the creature's chest, coming to an end at its stomach. The creature was primarily light red in color, with a few blue highlights and white and yellow back patterning.

By now, almost every pony in Maretime Bay stopped their daily activities and fixated their eyes on the sky as the flying reptile continued descending towards them. Within fifteen minutes or less, the creature was soon soaring 25 meters over Maretime Bay, looking down and observing its surroundings. After soaring for several more minutes, it decided to perch on a nearby billboard advertising Phyllis Cloverleaf's newest unicorn-and-pegasus-friendly products.

"That's... definitely not a bird." Zipp deadpanned, gazing at the flying reptile that was now perched on the billboard with astonishment and wonder.

"I've never seen anything like it." Hitch muttered before turning to Izzy. "Have you?"

"Nope. If I did, I'm pretty sure I'd know." The unicorn innocently stated, but was nevertheless fascinated by the presence of the flying reptile.

Pipp quickly pulled out her mobile phone and pressed a few of the buttons on the screen while the camera was turned to herself. When her phone turned on, she spoke with excitement. "Hey pippsqueaks! This is Pipp streaming live from Maretime Bay! You. Will not. Believe what me and my friends a looking at right now!" She then turned the camera so that the pterosaur (still on its perch and observing its surroundings) was visible on-screen instead. "Yup! That's a real creature perched on that billboard!"

A chain of astonished, gasping, and fearful face emojis appeared on the screen of Pipp's phone.

The monster — still busy observing and studying the town, and the countless equines who were gazing at it in astonishment — didn't notice the billboard's column cracking under its own weight until it collapsed, sending the kaiju falling to the ground. When the creature landed, it kicked up a small dust cloud, and caused the nearby ponies to flee from the area where it landed. As the ponies fled, a young, cream-colored unicorn filly accidentally tripped and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Zipp Storm immediately spread her wings and rushed in to help the little filly. As soon as she got there, she gently wrapped her forelimb around the filly and helped the little unicorn up. Just then, however, both ponies heard a deep growl, prompting them to look ahead and see the flying reptile standing only 3 meters from them, looking down at the two ponies. Much like a bat, the creature folded its wings and stood on all fours as it turned its head to the side, curiously studying the equines that were before it. Seeing the pterosaur up close and personal, Zipp realized that this creature was big enough to swallow a pony like her in one bite, let alone the small filly that she now protectively pressed against her chest.

"Zipp!" Pipp cried out, while Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch silently looked on in horror and anxiety. Just like that, what was supposed to be a beautiful day had turned into a horror film in the blink of an eye.

Zipp Storm was face-to-face with Rodan.
> Trouble in Maretime Bay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria; 4,000 Years in the future

To say that this day was unusual for the ponies of Maretime Bay would be a massive understatement. A creature that could only be described as a flying reptilian bird appeared out of nowhere and descended on the small town. After accidentally collapsing a billboard on which it decided to perch and landing on the ground, Zipp Storm moved in to save a vulnerable unicorn filly that was dangerously close to the large pterosaur. The two ponies were now staring directly at the Rodan with widened eyes; they were frozen with fear and barely able to move a muscle. The terrified filly wanted to scream but Zipp gently shushed her by covering her mouth with her hoof, concerned that the young unicorn's cries might startle or enrage the creature. The elder princess of Zephyr Heights gulped in fear when the beast approached them to inspect them further. The tip of its long beak was an inch from Zipp's muzzle as the pterosaur continued to study and observe the two terrified equines. Rodan opened its huge beak to let out a deep growl, revealing the inside of its mouth to be completely covered in sharp teeth.

*Bzzz**Bzzz*

Suddenly, a strange buzzing noise prompted the kaiju to lift its head and look over Zipp, where it spotted Pipp Petals in the distance, holding and texting on her buzzing mobile phone. Upon seeing the device and sensing the electromagnetic waves that were being emitted by it, in an instant, something clicked in Rodan's mind. Switching from curiosity to hunting mode, the beast lifted its head and let out a loud ear-splitting roar as its only warning before it suddenly turned and started charging at the younger pegasus princess on all fours like a hungry lion. Zipp quickly jumped out of the way with the filly tightly in her hooves to avoid being trampled by the kaiju.

Pipp, meanwhile, was busy texting on her phone to notice the imminent danger coming her way. It was only after hearing the loud thumps did she lower her phone... and saw the raging Rodan charging at her, jaws wide open. Her ears instantly flattened against her head and her pupils shrunk in sheer terror.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The young princess gave a loud cry of fright before she turned tail and galloped away. Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch barely had time to leap out of the way as the roaring pterosaur thundered past them. Sunny and her friends looked in the direction Rodan had ran; it was hot on Pipp's tail, and both were heading deeper into town.

"We gotta go save Pipp!" Sunny exclaimed, turning to her friends.

"Right!" Izzy nodded.

"On it!" Hitch nodded in determination.

With that, the three ponies turned to where the pterosaur ran and immediately went after it. Zipp took a moment to place the filly on the back of a nearby light-green unicorn stallion with a goatee.

"Your daughter is safe now, sir." Giving the stallion a friendly smile, Zipp flapped her wings and took to the air.

"This isn't my kid!" The stallion yelled out, but his yell fell on deaf ears.

"You're welcome!"

.

Pipp Petals was galloping as fast as she could. She hasn't galloped like this since shortly after she was discovered to be unable to fly back when she met Sunny and Izzy for the first time, in order to escape the authorities. A loud shriek from behind prompted the princess to look over her shoulder as she ran. Rodan was close behind her, and, much to her dread, was dangerously close to catching her by the tail with its long beak.

Rodan was knocking over lampposts, crushing public trash cans and plant pots underfoot, and destroying whatever other obstacles were in its way. Due to the narrow streets through which it had to pursue its prey, the beast was causing a lot of property damage along the way. Ponies of all kinds screamed and fled to safety the moment they saw the rampaging pterosaur.

Spotting an alleyway nearby, Pipp quickly made a sharp turn to the left and jumped in the narrow lane, just in time to avoid the monster's beak nearly snapping on her. Sensing she was safe for the time being, Pipp turned around to see Rodan clawing and smashing its large head against the alleyway in a futile effort to break through and reach her. Realizing that the alleyway was too narrow for the beast to enter, the pegasus moved deeper while facing the raging reptile with a terrified look on her face. After a minute of futile attempts to break through, Rodan suddenly ceased its attack and leaped atop the roofs of the two small houses that comprised the alleyway. Once it was up there, the kaiju slipped its long beak into the narrow lane and started probing like a stork would probe for fish in murky water. Pipp yelped and jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding being fished out by the pterosaur.

As the monster was busy probing for its prey, several small stones came flying out of nowhere and struck the side of its head, prompting the beast to remove its beak from the narrow gap and turn its attention to the ground, where it spotted four ponies; two Earth ponies, a lilac unicorn, and a white pegasus.

"Leave my sister alone! You giant bird...uh.. lizard-thing." Zipp growled after managing to find the right insult words.

"Yeah, what she said!" Izzy, who was levitating several rocks around herself with her magic, backed her up.

Rodan took a deep breath and unleashed a loud roar at the four ponies, enough to blow their manes and tails back. Their bravado quickly disappeared and gave way to panic as the monster prepared to pounce.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Hitch gulped.

"Scatter!" Sunny yelled, prompting everypony to split up and flee in different directions as the pterosaur jumped down, landing on the ground with another fierce roar. Immediately after landing, Rodan turned towards Izzy and began pursuing her, likely because it acknowledges her as the pony who hit it with the rocks.

"Pipp, are you okay?" Zipp asked worriedly as she quickly flew down to meet her sister when she emerged from the alleyway.

"No! I am not okay!" Pipp, understandably traumatized from the sudden attack, cried out. "I nearly got eaten by that thing! Why did it even attack me in the first place?"

That was a good question. Why indeed did the pterosaur suddenly attack Pipp out of the blue? That was when Sunny recalled something.

"Pipp, didn't your phone ring just before that creature attacked you?" She asked, turning to face her friend.

"Yeah, why? You're not saying my phone caused that thing to attack me, are you?" Pipp asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pipp, we don't have the slightest idea what that thing is, where it came from, or what it wants." Zipp inquired. "For all we know, that creature might be hostile to technology."

It was certainly a plausible and frightening possibility. With Equestria being devoid of magic for thousands of years, ponies have had to adapt and looked towards technology to aid them in their everyday lives. But if this creature truly is hostile around technology, and worse, if there are more like it out there, then they will have a whole new problem on their hooves.

"Let's worry about that later. Right now, we have to help Izzy before that thing hurts her!" Sunny exclaimed before galloping in the direction where the beast went, followed by her friends close behind.

"How do we stop that thing, by the way?" Hitch asked, galloping next to Sunny while Zipp was flying over them.

"Well, if Zipp's theory is right, and that thing really is hostile to advanced technology..." Sunny trailed off as she turned to Pipp, who was flying by her other side. A sly smile appeared on Sunny's face, as did one on Zipp and Hitch.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Pipp asked nervously. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no! You are not using my mobile phone as bait! It costs, like, a billion bits!"

.

Izzy is not a pony who usually takes dangerous situations seriously — except for that time when Sprout tried to stop them from uniting the three crystals and bringing back magic. But right now, as she was being chased by the raging pterosaur through the streets of Maretime Bay, Sprout's war machine might be preferable over this. Just like with Pipp before, Rodan was ruthless in its pursuit of prey; crushing and smashing every obstacle that happened to be in its way.

Eventually, Izzy led the pterosaur to the town square, a much clearer area for both her and her pursuer to move. Once she was there, she spotted Sunny's trailer-like cart where her friend sells smoothies not too far away. Wasting no time, Izzy started racing for the Smoothie cart as fast as she could, with the roaring Rodan close behind. She jumped into the side opening of the cart where Sunny offers the smoothies, and as soon as she was inside, Izzy quickly closed the side door behind her. Although this did little to help, for as soon as she closed it, Rodan's long beak effortlessly pierced through the metal door, missing her head by a few inches. Pressing its forelimbs against the side of the cart, Rodan overturns the food cart over on its side with little effort. Inside, Izzy felt her entire world turn over as she found herself laying on the inner wall of the cart.

Standing atop the overturned cart, the pterosaur tears off the side door with its beak with surprising precision before tossing it aside. Now, with her last remaining defense gone, Izzy could only stare up in fear as Rodan's stork-like beak slips into the cart via the opening. After probing around for a bit, the beast lifts its head up, holding the dangling unicorn by her tail in its beak like a stork holding a frog after catching it.

"I don't suppose you wanna talk this out?" Izzy asked with a sheepish grin.

Before Rodan could swallow her whole, a digital trumpet fanfare prompted it to turn its head to the side, inadvertently spinning Izzy around and dazing her. The kaiju spotted Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp, the latter of whom was holding out her sister's mobile phone as it was playing the digital trumpet sound. Once again, when its eyes landed on the phone, the pterosaur dropped Izzy and jumped down from the cart. Its long tail began wagging back and forth like a cat preparing to pounce.

"You hate that sound, huh?" Zipp asked, half-taunting and half-intrigued. "Try to keep up!" With that, the princess of Zephyr Heights flapped her wings and took to the air. Unleashing another loud shriek, the pterosaur unfolded its leathery wings and took to the sky after her.

"If I lose my phone, your buying me a new one! Got it!?" Pipp angrily yelled out.

"You okay, Izzy?" Sunny asked worriedly as she helped her friend up.

"Aside from knowing how frogs feel when they're about to be eaten by a stork or a heron, I'm fine! Thanks for asking!" Izzy replied cheerfully.

Once both were high in the air, Zipp flapped her wings faster and harder, and eventually emerged over the clouds. In no time, Rodan bursted through the clouds as well, screeching loudly as it got close to its target. "Huh. I guess you can keep up." Zipp muttered in surprise. With that, she turned farther south and started flying even faster, not needing to look back to know that the pterosaur was close behind, eager to snap its beak on her body. When the beast got closer and was within biting distance, Zipp quickly veered to the left, narrowly avoiding a snap from its tooth-filled beak. After that close call, she folded her wings and began falling into a nose dive into the sea of clouds, followed by Rodan doing the same. Like a peregrine falcon, both Zipp and Rodan gained speed as they plummeted downwards, with the latter slowly opening its jaws as it gained on its prey. When Zipp and Rodan emerged from the clouds, both surrounded by a growing cone of air, it's revealed that they were plummeting straight into the ocean at alarming speed, and neither was showing any signs of slowing down.

"I hope this works." Zipp said to herself as she continued to plummet.

As soon as she was no more than ten meters or so from the surface of the water, the white pegasus opened her wings, and, with the strongest flap she could muster, shot upwards into the air, creating a sonic-boom in the process. Rodan, seeing this, opens its own wings to do the same, but the sudden shockwave from Zipp's sonic-boom blows the pterosaur away and sends it falling into the ocean, where it made a large splash upon impact.

Zipp, now breathing heavily in exhaustion, hovered over the water and looked down to see if the monster will emerge for another round. After two minutes or more, there was no sign of the creature anywhere. Despite not being completely certain of the creature's fate, the white pegasus turned and flew towards Maretime Bay.

.

When the elder princess of Zephyr Heights returned and landed on the sidewalk, she was greeted with applauds and cheers from the surrounding ponies.

"Way to go, Zipp!"

"You're were awesome, princess!"

"That was so cool."

Instead of boasting or bragging about her feat, Zipp merely smiled shyly at the crowd. "No need to cheer, guys. I only did what any other pony would have done in the situation." She said humbly.

At this point, Pipp, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy arrived on the scene to greet their friend with enthusiastic smiles on their faces.

"Wow! That was amazing! When you did that awesome move, your sparkle shined brighter than I've ever seen it shine!" Izzy complemented her excitedly.

"Honestly, if you didn't do what you did, I would have thought that monster was the strangest thing we've seen this day." Hitch gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you, Zipp. Thank you for saving us." Sunny said calmly, but no less sincerely.

"Is my phone alright?" Pipp asked anxiously. "Did that monster eat it?!"

"Oh..." Zipp's face turned to that of guilt. "Yeah~... See, when I preformed that last move, your phone kinda, sorta... fell into the water."

"WHAT!?" Pipp screamed out loud in horror.

"But it's okay, we can always buy you a new one if you like." Zipp assured her, giving her sister an uneasy smile.

"A new one!? That phone was one of a kind, Zipp! What part of 'one of a kind' don't you understand!?" Pipp growled in frustration and turned around. After taking a deep breath to compose herself, Pipp spoke again, this time much more calmly. "But, in all fairness, you did use it to save our friend's lives, which are far more important than a phone." The pink pegasus turned around to face her sister, giving a her an approving smile. "Thank you for that."

"Then I guess you won't be needing this." With a mischievous smile, Zipp suddenly pulled out her sister's mobile phone from under her wing.

"My phone!" Pipp greedily snatched it back, and gave her sister a good-natured sly smile. "Well played, Zipp. Well played."

With that, the five friends grouped together and embraced each other in a group hug as they shared a playful laugh. However, this peaceful moment did not last long as the sound of water splashing was followed by the very familiar roar that rang in everypony's ears. Turning to look out to the sea, the horrified ponies saw Rodan hovering over the blue water and glaring directly at them with sheer hatred in its eyes.

"You've 'gotta be kidding me!" Hitch cried out as the friends broke up.

"Think you can do that move again, Zipp?" A fearful Sunny asked, turning to her friend.

"I don't think I can." The white pegasus responded remorsefully. "That last move took everything I got."

"Well, we better think of a new plan 'cause that thing's heading right for us!" Hitch cried out, pointing a hoof at the fast-approaching pterosaur.

Rodan was flying towards Maretime Bay with murderous determination, its primal rage focused primarily on the five ponies that were responsible for its initial defeat. Most of the ponies started screaming and ran away at the sight of the approaching kaiju, while Sunny and her friends stood their ground, determined to somehow fight off this monster. However, none of them were prepared for what happened next: Rodan suddenly ceased its incoming approach and hovered in mid-air as it begins letting out screeches and roars. The initial looks of terror turned to those of confusion as the five ponies watched the creature that, just a second ago was ready to attack them, was now roaring with agony and screeching loudly, as if it was in pain. Their confusion turned to shock when the pterosaur ceased moving altogether and plummeted into the sea below, creating another huge splash.

After waiting for two more minutes, the creature didn't resurface.

"Do you think it's dead?" Pipp asked, slowly approaching the edge and looking over.

"I don't know. It resurfaced the first time, so maybe it'll do it again." Zipp said, watching the water in anticipation.

"I don't think it's gonna resurface again." Sunny suddenly said. "Didn't you see the way it acted before it fell into the water? It looked like it was in pain."

"Huh. I guess I must have hit it harder than I thought." Zipp mused, smirking to herself a bit.

"I don't think it was you who did that." Izzy suddenly inquired. "It looked like... it suffocated."

"Suffocated? How? It was literally out of the water." Pipp pointed out.

"Well, whatever the reason, we better head back and assess the damage that thing caused." Hitch said. "I'm gonna have a lot of paperwork on my hooves."

With that, the five friends turned and began heading toward the town. As they left, Sunny couldn't help but stop and look back at the now silent sea, as if expecting the beast to jump out of the water one more time. Her mind was still racing with questions and possibilities at what had just happened. Well, regardless, this incident will no doubt spark a series of questions, news outlets, and more. And who's to say that this is only a once in a lifetime phenomenon? What's stopping another creature like that from appearing somewhere else? With those uncomfortable thoughts, Sunny continued walking onward with her friends.





Equestria; Present time

"Are you sure this is safe?" Rarity asked.

"For crying out loud, Rarity! Of course it's safe." Applejack grumbled.

Cheerilee had decided to take her class of foals, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, on a nature hike through the Everfree Forest. Applejack and Rarity were the chaperoning, making sure to supervise and look after the foals in case a dangerous creatures suddenly attacks them. While Applejack had no problem with the field trip, Rarity was not quite as enthusiastic as her friend or her sister. When the farm pony signed up on the field trip so she can look after Apple Bloom, Rarity felt guilty to leave her sister, so she signed up as well — a decision she was now beginning to regret.

"It's been so long since we went on a field trip!" Sweetie Belle happily said.

"Yeah! I wish mom and dad were here. They would have explained to us every plant and animal in the Everfree Forest up to the most minute detail!" Scootaloo exclaimed before looking down in sadness, knowing how much Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood would have enjoyed this trip.

"I'm sorry about your mom and dad. But we all know they have their own dangerous jobs." Apple Bloom said, gently placing her hoof on her friend's shoulder, which earned the Earth pony a smile from her pegasus friend. "Why, I bet they're wrestling with some mountain-sized dragon on the other side of the world!"

"Yeah, that's mom and dad for you." Scootaloo laughed.

"Hold on, class!" Cheerilee suddenly said and abruptly halted, making everypony behind her freeze in place.

"What is it, Ms. Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked curiously as she and her friends walked up to their teacher, Applejack, and Rarity.

"Is it Timberwolves? A Hydra?" Scootaloo asked, cautiously glancing around her surroundings.

Instead of answering with words, Cheerilee pointed up ahead with her hoof. Looking in the direction she pointed, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the other foals saw a large tree uprooted and blocking their forest pathway. Judging by its state, this tree appeared to be uprooted and knocked over rather recently, perhaps even an hour ago. Normally, a sight like this would have made the ponies shrug and continue walking, dismissing this to be the work of a powerful wind. But that did not appear to be the case here. The ponies, including the three adult mares, were looking at the fallen tree with shock and even anxiety — and with good reason. Large claw marks, no doubt belonging to a large creature of some kind, were present all over the trunk of the fallen tree.

"What could have done this?" Rarity asked, glancing around her surroundings.

"Timberwolves, maybe?" Applejack asked with equal-uneasiness. "Than again, I ain't seen claw marks that big before. Nor seen a timberwolf that can bring down a whole tree."

"M-Maybe it was a manticore or a chimera?" Scootaloo suggested, feeling nervousness at the sight.

"Maybe," Apple Bloom said uneasily, silently recalling her near-death experience with a hungry chimera that wanted to eat her along with her apple pies. "But those claw marks look a bit too big, even fore a chimera. Having seen one and lived to tell the tale, I would know."

"Are you saying that whatever did this is even bigger than a chimera?" Scootaloo asked, getting more unnerved by the second.

The atmosphere began to grow uncomfortably quiet and foreboding as the frightening possibility sank in.

"W-Well, class. This forest is a fragile ecosystem. Perhaps it's best if we don't disturb the native wildlife too much." Cheerilee finally spoke after taking a deep breath and exhaling. Her class and the chaperoning could not agree more.

"Y-Yes. That's wonderful idea, Miss Cheerilee!" Rairty quickly agreed. The colts behind the mares quickly nodded in agreement.

As the ponies turned around and started leaving the Everfree Forest via the forest path they arrived, out of the corner of her eye, a slight movement caught Sweetie Belle's attention, prompting her to turn her head to the right. Looking through the thick foliage, the first thing the filly saw were a pair of amber-colored eyes looking back at her, which sent a shiver down her spine. Her fear only grew as she slowly made out the massive shape of a quadrupedal creature concealed within the thick foliage and dappled light. Large spikes covered the majority of an armored body, a single horn was located on the tip of an elongated snout, and several inwardly curved horns protruded from the top of a crocodile-like head. The mere sight of the concealed creature, which was probably no more than 7 meters from her, was so terrifying that Sweetie Belle couldn't even make a sound or move from the spot; she was frozen with fear. It's only when one of the foals accidentally pumps into her did she snap out of her trance.

"Watch it, will ya'?" The colt, a male earth pony with light brown fur and mane, scolded.

Had Sweetie Belle been in her right mind, she would have defended herself and shot back at him. Instead, the awareness of the creature made the unicorn point in the direction she saw it and give a loud cry. "Look over there!"

"What?" He turned to where she was pointing, but saw nothing.

"Huh?" Sweetie turned to where she saw the creature standing, only to find nothing but an empty space of forest. "But it was right there!"

"What was there, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked as she and Scootaloo approached their friend, having overheard her exclaim.

"A monster! I saw a huge monster with spikes all over its body looking at me!" The unicorn frantically yelled.

Her friends looked at one another for a moment before turning to the area where Sweetie Belle said she saw the supposed monster. Sure enough, they didn't see anything there. "If you saw a monster, it's nor there anymore." Apple Bloom stated.

"I did see it! It was big, and spiky, and really scary!" Sweetie angrily said before gasping. "You think the creature I saw just now might be responsible for uprooting that tree back there?"

"Hmm. It's definitely possible." Scootaloo mused, placing a hoof on her lips.

"Sweetie Belle, hurry up or you'll get lost in the forest!" Rarity, who was already 10 meters from the fillies, angrily called out to them.

"Coming, Rarity!" Sweetie apologized and quickly trotted after her elder sister, alongside Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

With a sigh, the seamstress turned and continued walking forward, joined by Applejack. "Ah think yer' sister said she saw somethin'." the farm pony noted, having overheard the Cutie Mark Crusader's conversation. "Said it might be whatever took down that tree."

"Well, so long as 'whatever' that is doesn't come after us, I believe we'll be quite safe." Rarity said confidently.

On a nearby tree, a blue jay was perched on the edge of a branch, looking around its surroundings for anything that might catch its interest. When it spotted the group of foals lead by the mares, the bird noticed a particularly shiny object that immediately caught its eye. A toned violet colored tiara resting on the head of a pony with light pink fur, a mane and tail that were a moderate violet with white streaks, and sky blue eyes. Mesmerized by the the light reflected by the tiara, the bird spread its wings and swooped down to claim its prize. The pony that was wearing said tiara was none other than Diamond Tiara, the former bully and enemy of the CMC.

Although reformed, Diamond still treasured her prized tiara, for it was also the symbol of her cutie mark. And so one could imagine her distress when the blue jay suddenly snatched her tiara with its talons and flew off.

"What the? Hey!" She cried out when she saw the blue bird fly off deeper into the Everfree Forest with her precious tiara. "Get back here with my tiara, you feathered fiend!" Without a second thought, the filly angrily sprinted after the thieving bird.

In her pursuit to catch the blue jay, she ran past the Cutie Mark Crusaders, startling them. "Diamond Tiara, where are you going?" Apple Bloom called out.

"That stupid bird stole my tiara!" Diamond responded without so much as glancing back as she continued galloping deeper into the Everfree Forest.

"No! Don't go there! There's a monster in the forest!" Sweetie Belle cried out before galloping after Diamond Tiara.

"Sweetie Belle, wait!" Apple Bloom exclaimed as she and Scootaloo ran after them.

"Apple Bloom, where do ya' think your goin'?" Applejack called out sternly after having caught sight of her sister galloping into the thick foliage of the Everfree Forest. But her shout fell on deaf ears as the three fillies ran after Diamond Tiara without responding or looking back. "Apple Bloom! Ugh!" The farm pony rubbed her forehead with her hoof before turning to her friend. "Rarity, we have a problem. Our sisters just ran into the Everfree Forest."

"They what?!" Rarity cried out and looked back, and, sure enough, saw that her sister and her friends were gone. "Oh, for the love of Celest- I mean, Twilight!" Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the fashionista turned to Cheerilee. "Ms. Cheerilee, dear, would you be so kind as to lead your students back to Ponyville? Applejack and I need to take care of something."

"No problem, Rarity! Go right ahead!" Cheerilee said with a warm smile.

"Thank you very much." With a respectful bow, Rarity and Applejack turned and started galloping into the Everfree Forest, hoping to catch up to their sisters as soon as possible, while Cheerilee and her students continued on their path back to Ponyville.

"When I find Sweetie Belle, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" Rarity growled.

"Ah hear ya', partner." Applejack nodded, galloping next to her friend. "Apple Bloom is in so much trouble when we get home!"

.

Centarlot

In Canterlot's throne room, Twilight was sitting comfortably on her throne and has just finished fulfilling some royal documents. After finishing the last of the documents, she teleported them to their destination. Shortly after she was finished with her work, a gentle knock was heard on one of the entrance doors.

"Come in."

Hearing the princess' permission, the door on the right opened and Moon Dancer entered the throne room, carrying with her a brown-colored saddlebag.

"Moon Dancer!" The alicorn happily exclaimed as she spread her wings and flew down to share a hug with her childhood friend. "So how's your research been going?" Twilight asked rather eagerly.

At this point, Moon Dancer's face turned to a mix of uncertainty and a bit of concern. "Well, about that," Igniting her horn, the unicorn opened her bag and took out several papers. "I spent all night researching and studying the sample you gave me. I managed to confirm that it's not poison or pollution. It's... something else." She said somewhat cryptically before she handed the papers over to Twilight.

The princess levitated the papers in front of her face and began reading. After a minute of reading, the Ruler of Equestria's face was filled with astonishment and awe once she finished reading the last of the papers. "Is this true?" She asked, looking back at her friend, who nodded.

"Yes." Moon Dancer confirmed. "The red substance that's in the water is a completely new material that's composed of multi-structured molecules, and possesses active and inactive states. This is unlike anything I've ever seen."

Twilight grinned almost ear to ear with excitement at this discovery. "This is amazing, Moon Dancer! We've discovered a new molecule! Imagine the scientific breakthrough of this discovery! I better publish this at once!"

The princess was about to do just that when Moon Dancer suddenly stopped her by gently placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Hold on, Twilight. There's something else you need to know about this material."

"What is it?" Twilight asked curiously, eager to hear more.

"Well, I decided to do some tests on it, and see what kind of results I would get." Moon Dancer's face grew grim as she continued. "I've discovered that this material can actually absorb outside magic, similar to the ancient dark stone from which Chrysalis' throne was carved from."

"Wait, what?!" Just like that, all the euphoria and excitement drained from Twilight's body, replaced by shock and even dread. "How is that possible?"

"Think of each molecule as a microscopic sponge that soaks up magic. One or a few of these molecules naturally wouldn't pose a threat, but imagine if this stuff were to spread all over Equestria in unimaginable quantities." Moon Dancer said with emphasis on the last few words of her sentence.

The princess of Friendship was at a loss for words upon hearing this. A material that can absorb magic just like Chrysalis' throne? And worse yet, it has the potential to spread like a plague all over Equestria? She imagined a scenario similar to the loss of magic crisis caused by Cozy Glow. She imagined ponies and other magical creatures suddenly losing their magic after drinking the contaminated water. The mere possibility of such a scenario occurring again was nerve-wracking and absolutely terrifying. As ruler of Equstria, she mustn't allow that to happen again.

"I have to quarantine the area! I have to find out where this stuff is coming from and where it's going!" Igniting her horn, Twilight summoned a paper and a quill, and began writing profusely. "We need to know everything about this, Moon Dancer. And hopefully develop a cure if the worst case scenario were to happen!"

"There's still a lot more we can learn from this material, Twilight. I think what we know so far is only the beginning." Moon Dancer inquired. "By the way, I've decided to call this new material Archetype."

"Archetype?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well, you figured out it's properties and what it can do, so you have the right to name it."
> Beast in the woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria; Present Time

Diamond Tiara continued pursuing the bird that stole her tiara deeper into the Everfree Forest. The concern of getting lost in the forest was secondary in her mind, for retrieving her prized tiara was the prime goal for the filly at the moment. Veering around any trees or rocks in her path, Diamond Tiara kept her focus on the thieving bird that was carrying her tiara tightly in its claws. So focused was she on the flying thief that she didn't even notice the Cutie Mark Crusaders galloping only a few feet behind her, calling out her name and asking her to stop or at least slow down, both of which fell on deaf ears.

"Diamond Tiara! Slow down!" Apple Bloom called out, trying to keep up with the pink filly along with her friends.

"It's no use. She's too focused on that bird." Scootaloo said, noting the blue jay the filly was chasing.

After a while, the blue jay eventually came to a stop and perched itself on a branch with the tiara. Diamond came to a stop at the foot of the tree, glaring up at the bird that had her tiara. "Give me back my tiara, you stupid bird!" She angrily called out to the bird.

Almost as if mocking her, the blue jay gave her an indifferent glance before continuing to admire its prize. This infuriated Diamond Tiara even more as she attempted to climb the tree in order to reach the bird, but to no avail. "Ugh! Curse these hooves! Why couldn't I have been born a pegasus?" She growled, throwing her tiny hooves in the air.

At this point, the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally arrived, stopping to catch their breaths from all the galloping.

"Calm down, Diamond." Apple Bloom said gently, approaching the still-angry filly.

"How can I possibly be calm when that stupid bird up there stole my tiara?!" Diamond angrily retorted, pointing a hoof up at the blue jay.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up at the bird, who was still admiring the tiara it stole and not paying any attention to them whatsoever.

"It's a blue jay!" Sweetie Belle happily said.

"A what?" Diamond couldn't help but ask.

"A blue jay. It's a bird that likes shiny objects, and has been known to steal shiny things that catch its interest." The unicorn explained, looking up at the bird in fascination.

"Well, tell it that my tiara is mine, and not its!" Diamond retorted.

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. She could use her magic to telekinetically take the tiara from the bird, but she didn't feel comfortable doing such a thing, especially since the bird appeared to be so fond of it. But at the same time, she knew that her friend needed it back. Suddenly, a solution caught the filly's eye in the form of a small worm crawling in the leaf litter. A smile formed on Sweetie Belle's face as she used her magic to lift the worm and turn to the blue jay.

"Oh, Mr. Blue Jay! Look what I got for you!" Responding to her call, the bird looked at the fillies and immediately saw the juicy earthworm squirming in the unicorn's telekinetic grasp. "I'll trade you this worm for that tiara you have. What do you say?"

The blue jay looked at the tiara and then at the worm. It was a tough decision; it really liked this tiara, but that succulent worm looked equally as appealing. Finally, the little bird sighed and dropped the tiara to the ground, where Diamond immediately swooped it in her hoof and kissed it porously, ignoring the odd looks the other fillies were giving her. With its end of the bargain fulfilled, the bird flew down as Sweetie levitated the worm higher to allow the bird to grab it in its beak, before flying back to the tree to enjoy its meal.

"See? Any problem can be solved with a peaceful solution." Sweetie Belle happily said.

"Ain't that the truth!" Apple Bloom couldn't agree more.

"Well, it did help getting my tiara back, so I suppose it has it's advantages." Diamond huffed, still not liking that her tiara was stolen.

"Uhh... guys, you might wanna look down." Scootaloo, having noticed something, alerted her friends and pointed to the ground

The other fillies did as she asked before all four ponies gasped in shock at what they saw. The ground on which they were standing was riddled with footprints everywhere. Had these been the tracks of any other creature, like a wolf or a bear, they wouldn't have been too startled by them. But these footprints were positively massive; each one was large enough for a filly to fit inside perfectly. By looking at the footprints, the fillies could also tell that whatever made these also possessed large claws.

"What in Equestria made these?" Diamond Tiara asked, measuring one of the footprints and realizing it was almost bigger then her entire body.

The realization immediately came to Sweetie Belle's mind. "It must be the monster I saw!" She exclaimed as she recalled what she saw before Button Mash bumped into her.

"What monster?" Diamond asked, turning to her in confusion.

"Before the bird stole your tiara and you ran into the Everfree Forest, I saw a huge creature hidden in the foliage, and it was looking right at me." Sweetie explained, recalling what she saw. "I didn't get a good look of it because it was so well hidden, but it was definitely big, had spikes all over its body and I think its head looked kind of like a crocodile!"

"If that's true, it looks like that thing must have passed through here." Scootaloo said, noticing that the footprints seemed to be going deeper into the forest. "I wonder what this creature looks like." She said as an inquisitive smiled spread on her face; something that did not go unnoticed by her friends.

"Oh, no! I know that look, Scootaloo. We are not going after that thing!" Sweetie Belle said.

"I agree." Diamond Tiara stepped up. "It's bad enough that a bird stole my tiara, and now I'm going monster hunting? No thank you!"

"Come on, guys! Just a peek, and we go back! In fact..." The pegasus pointed at some vines that was hanging from a nearby tree. "We'll tie these vines to this tree, and follow the tracks. And when we find the creature and see what it looks like, we'll use the vines to backtrack to where we started!"

Her friends looked at her uneasily. Even though they mentally admitted that using vines as a trail to make sure they don't get lost in the forest was a brilliant idea, it was still a risky thing to do. Not to mention their sisters and families will no doubt scold and punish them for this.

"Well, I'm in!" Apple Bloom suddenly declared.

"What?!" Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara exclaimed simultaneously,

"What? It's not like this is the first time we've disobeyed our sisters. Besides, this might be a creature that we've never seen before. It could be the discovery of the century!" The farm pony happily said.

"Yeah! And my parents would be so proud of me for discovering a new species!" Scootaloo added dreamily.

Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara were not as enthusiastic as their friends. On the contrary, they'd much rather get out of here as soon as possible. Knowing this, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at them and gave them the puppy-dog eyes in the most pleading way possible while clasping their front hooves together as they silently begged. Sweetie and Diamond tried to resist with all their might before finally giving in.

"Ugh! Fine!" Sweetie groaned and rolled her eyes. "But just so you know: when our sisters find out about this, we're gonna be in big trouble!"

"Pff! We'll be done by the time they find anything!" Scootaloo scoffed and casually waved her hoof.

With that, Sweetie Belle used her magic to tear off some of the longer vines from the tree and began tying them together.





Equestria; 4,000 Years into the Future

Sunny knew that Maretime Bay and the other pony cities will never be the same again. Not after the shocking incident where a mysterious flying creature came out of nowhere, attacked several ponies, caused severe property damage, and suddenly died without any explanation. The news of this incident had already spread to Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood. Many phone cameras caught the rampaging Rodan in the act, including Pipp (who was the first to record the kaiju when it arrived at Maretime Bay). After the monster mysteriously died, it naturally sparked a lot of questions among the pony community. What was this creature? Where did it come from? Are there more like it? And perhaps most importantly, did the return of magic have anything to do with it?

"Oh, my fillies! I'm so glad you're alright!" Queen Haven said as she happily hugged Zipp and Pipp before turning to Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch with a thankful smile. "I can't thank you enough for saving my little fillies!"

"No problem, you're majesty." Sunny smiled.

"Just doing our jobs, Ma'am." Hitch smirked.

"What are friends for, right?" Izzy smiled happily.

"When I heard about this, I rushed to Maretime Bay as fast as I could!" Haven took a deep breath to calm herself down. "What was that thing, anyway?"

"We wish we knew the answer to that, your majesty." Sunny said as she looked down, her ears flattening against her head. "This is just a theory, but I think the return of magic might have caused this creature to appear."

"You honestly think it's the return of magic?" The Pegasi queen asked, scared at the idea that the gift she and her subjects now had might be a double-edged sword.

"Again, this is just a theory at the moment." Sunny clarified. "But considering this creature appeared only a few weeks after we helped bring magic back to Equestria, it's the best hypothesis we have so far."

"It apparently also reaaaaaally hates technology for some reason." Izzy chimed in.

"It's true." Zipp nodded. "It attacked Pipp, and later me, the moment it saw her phone. Something about the phone seemed to tick it off."

Queen Haven grew more nervous as she heard this; her breathing was fast and uneasy. If there are more creatures like this out there, reawakened by the return of magic, and if they are indeed hostile to advanced technology like her daughter claims, then Zephyr Heights, the most technologically-advanced of all the pony kingdoms, would surely be a prime target for these flying monstrosities.

"If that's true, I have to warn my kingdom!" Queen Haven said as she pulled out her own mobile phone to contact her guards.

"Izzy Moonbow!" Everypony turned to see Alphabittle galloping towards them as fast as he could, with a worried look on his face. He stopped and took a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar faces of his friends. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all alright. We were so worried when we heard what happened yesterday."

"Rest assure, Alphabittle. Everything's under control now." Hitch said confidently.

The large unicorn turned to Zipp Storm, and gave her an approving smile. "Thank you for saving Lilly Cornfield."

Deducing that that was the name of the unicorn filly she saved from Rodan, Zipp smiled back at him. "Heh. No problem. I just did what any sensible pony would have done in that situation."

"So, what do we do now?" Alphabittle asked, turning to Sunny and Queen Haven, hoping they have some kind of solution.

"Well, now that we know creatures like that exist and will attack us if given the chance, we should be more prepared for whatever comes next." Sunny stated. "There's no telling what else could happen."

"Well, the sea could turn red like cherry juice, with giant sea monsters swimming in it." Izzy said, her voice sounding rather fearful and uneasy as she stared farther south and out at sea with a fearful look.

"Izzy, that's oddly specific." Pipp noted, quirking an eyebrow.

Rather than replying with words, the lilac unicorn simply pointed farther south, prompting her friends to turn and look out at the sea in disbelief and shock. Just as she said, in the visible sea horizon, the usually crystal clear, blue seawater was in the process of rapidly turning blood-red. Sunny, Hitch, and the other ponies raced to the edge of the cliffside coast to observe this sudden and unusual phenomenon in disbelief. They watched as the crimson substance spread far and wide, transforming a once beautiful scenery into something straight out of a nightmare. Even more astonishing, a large mass briefly breached the surface of the blood-red sea before submerging. Before anypony could question what that was, the surface once again breaks, and a creature of titanic proportions rises from the crimson water like a giant cobra rearing up before letting out a loud roar.

Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, Hitch, and Zipp, along with Haven, Alphabittle, and all the other nearby ponies watched in complete silence as the sea monster finished its roar before it turned and submerged under the red sea. As the beast submerged head-first, the rest of its long body followed, thus giving the ponies a very good look of how it looked like.

In terms of appearance, the creature had an extremely long, serpentine body, with a head resembling that of a shark crossed with a viper snake. Dozens of fins ran along both sides of its serpentine body, mirroring a centipede's legs, while also sporting whiskers resembling antenna on its snout. Finally, the creature had a pair of mantis-like forelimbs close to its head, while a pair of frog-like hind limbs were located father down its long body. A tail-fin in the shape of a maple leaf was present on the tip of its tail. Although it was too far away to tell for certain, Sunny and all of her friends knew that this aquatic creature was far bigger than Rodan; in fact, this sea serpent could be big enough to eat the flying reptile in one bite.

"What in the world is happening?" Queen Haven asked, her voice trembling with dread at the sight of this.

"I think we're in trouble." Hitch gulped.

"And I think that might be the understatement of the century, sheriff." Zipp muttered.

Sunny said nothing and watched as more of these giant sea serpents started surfacing all over the transformed sea. The Rodan attack, while terrifying, was at least within the realm of countering should another appear. But this... she honestly did not know what to make of it. Was this another phenomenon that was sparked by the return of magic? Did the return of magic go wrong somehow? She could not say. All she could do right now is watch helplessly as the red color in the sea continued to expand and grow nonstop, followed by the arrival of more of these sea serpents as other ponies came to watch this nightmarish phenomenon play out.





Equestria; Present Time

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Diamond Tiara have been following the footprints of the mysterious creature for quite a while now. They had tied multiple vines together, with one end tied to the tree that was closest to the trail that lead home, as they carried the other end with them as a safety precaution so that they don't get lost. So far, the journey through the Everfree Forest had not been as dangerous as they had been expecting; it was rather uneventful. Still, they new better than to let their guard down.

The footprints eventually lead up the top of a slope. Seeing this, Scootaloo turned to her friends, "Shh. I think it's on the other side of that slope, so be careful." Giving the pegasus silent nods, the four ponies began climbing up the steep slope with moderate difficulty. Once the fillies reached the top of the slope, they realized that the slope was part of a ravine with a stream running at the bottom. And at the bottom, the little ponies finally saw the thing they have been tracking for the last 28 minutes. Words could not begin to describe at the peculiar creature that was drinking from the stream, the dappled light from the forest canopy shining down on its form.

The creature in question was quadrupedal with brown skin, a red underbelly, and scaly armor plating that covered the majority of its body. Its back was covered in a thick carapace that hung off of its body as it came to a split where it reached the tail. Its armored back was completely covered in sharp spikes that were curved inward, while five rows of smaller spines ran down the beast's long tail towards a spiked club located on its tip. The monster's front legs were plantigrade while its hind legs were digitigrade. The hind legs also had large spikes protruding from their knee joints. Its head was similar to that of a crocodile, with several inwardly curved horns at the top of its head and a single horn residing on its elongated snout, while a row of three spikes ran down each side of the beast's neck. It's crocodilian mouth was filled with sharp teeth, with two on its upper jaw longer than the rest.

In terms of size, this creature was almost twice the size of the chimera that Apple Bloom encountered 2 years ago. So far, it seemed oblivious to their presence as it continued to drink from the stream.

"What is that creature?" Diamond Tiara whispered, feeling scared at seeing this wild and potentially dangerous animal.

"That's the creature I saw!" Sweetie Belle whispered slightly more loudly, but not enough for the creature to hear her. There was no mistaking those spikes and that face, this was definitely the same monster she saw not too long ago.

"I've never seen any creature like this." Scootaloo said. "And I don't think mom and dad have, either. Oh, I can't wait to tell them about this!" She said giddily.

"Great. We saw what it looks like. Can we just go now, please?" Diamond Tiara asked eagerly.

Before the Cutie Mark Crusaders could replay, the edge of the slope beneath Apple Bloom suddenly breaks, causing the young filly to slide down the steep slope. "Apple Bloom!" The other ponies cried out as they watch their friend slide down the steep slope screaming. When Apple Bloom finally landed on the ground on her behind, she rubbed her flank to ease the pain. The mild pain instantly disappeared when the filly heard a low growl. Her ears flattened against her head and she gasped when she saw the creature lift its head up and turn to look at her. So paralyzed with fear was Apple Bloom that even the shouts of her friends above failed to snap her out of it. It is only when the armored creature started moving towards her did the filly regain the will to move. Apple Bloom looked up and quickly tried to clime back up the slope, but due to the steepness of said slope, she slided right back down.

She watched as the crocodilian-like creature closed in on her, its long tail swinging back and forth almost like a cat before pouncing on its prey. When the monster's snout was only inches from the little filly, Apple Bloom clenched her eyes tightly and waited for the attack. However, instead feeling of sharp pain, she only felt breathing. Opening one eye ever so slightly, Apple Bloom met the amber-colored eyes of the creature as it stared back at her. Slowly opening both eyes, the little filly saw that the creature was standing in place and staring at her, showing no signs of aggression or hunger. Fear slowly faded away, replaced by curiosity and fascination.

"Y-You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" Apple Bloom hesitantly asked.

Seemingly responding to her question, the creature tilted its head to the side.

"Apple Bloom!"

The all too familiar voice of her older sister broke Apple Bloom's gaze from the creature's eyes, and looked up the slope to see Applejack and Rarity standing beside the fillies. The sudden shout and appearance of the two mares subsequently startled the kaiju, who let out a loud roar that sounded similar to a train. The inwardly curved spikes on the monster's back begin vibrating rapidly, appearing to produce an asymmetrical force-field that surrounded its body. Not wanting to see what the beast was planning to do, Applejack quickly slides down the slope and lands in-between her little sister and the creature.

"Get away from my sister!" The farm pony yelled before she turned around to introduce her hind legs, Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee, to the monster's face. Seconds before Applejack could thrust her hind hooves forward, the armored giant suddenly jumped several feet backwards, making the farm pony completely miss her target. "What the-!?" Applejack looked back in surprise when the creature managed to evade her kicks. She didn't have too long to contemplate this as the beast spun its body around to introduce the farm pony to its own weapon located on its hind end. The monster turned its whole body a full 180 degrees, and Applejack saw the spiked club on the tip of its long tail racing for her head.

The orange pony instinctively ducked her head down, leaving her hat suspended mid-air, which was the only casualty of the beast's tail attack.

"Whew. That was close." Applejack sighed in relief.

"Applejack, stop! He wasn't gonna hurt me!" Apple Bloom cried out to her sister, half-annoyed and half-concerned.

"You're in big trouble, missy!" Her sister looked at her with a fierce scowl. "What in tarnation were ya' thinkin' running off on you're own like that?!"

"We were tracking that creat...ure..." The filly trailed off as she looked back to the beast... only to see that it was now gone. Somehow, it must have fled when the two sisters were busy arguing without making any noise whatsoever. "Where'd he go?"

"Never mind that, Apple Bloom." The scowl on Applejack's face remained unchanged. "You have a lot of explaining to do when we get home!"

"The same goes for you as well, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said to her little sister, having an equally-stern look on her face. "You have no idea how worried I was!"

"Sorry, Rarity." Sweetie Belle apologetically looked down, her ears flattening against her head.

"Alright, gals. Let's get goin' befo-" Applejack stopped mid-sentence when she realized something: Her hat was missing. "Mah hat! Where's my-!" Once again she stopped as she remembered something; when she narrowly avoided the monster's incoming tail, her Stetson hat was hit by the spiked club, and must have gotten stuck on the creature's tail. "Oh, ya' gotta be kiddin' me." The farm pony rolled her eyes.

.

Elsewhere, Fluttershy's animal sanctuary was not the same it was a few days ago. Long, yellow tapes that read 'Caution! Keep out!' were wrapped all over the sanctuary as a barrier to keep both ponies and animals out of the now-health hazardous area. It was not an easy decision to make, but Twilight Sparkle had no other choice but to quarantine the animal sanctuary after learning from her friend, Moon Dancer, that the substance that she now calls Archetype is capable of robbing magical creatures, including ponies, of their magic. It's effect has not yet been understood on living, non-magical creatures. Royal guards patrolled the area, making sure every creature was at a safe distance away from the contaminated water.

"I'm so, so sorry I had to resort to this, Fluttershy." Twilight said to her friend, her voice filled with regret and remorse. "I wish there was something else I could do about this."

"It's alright, Twilight." The yellow pegasus gave her a reassuring smile. "In fact, I'm glad that Moon Dancer was able to learn the properties of this 'Archetype'. Now I know for sure to keep my animal friends and other magical creatures away from it."

"Thanks, Fluttershy." Twilight smiled back. "Still, I'm not sure where the Archetype is coming from, or how to get rid of it. Anyway, since your animal sanctuary is gonna be quarantined for quite a while, I'm happy to let your animal friends stay in Canterlot's private gardens."

"Oh, Twilight. I can't thank you enough! I just can't!" Fluttershy happily exclaimed.

"There's no need to thank me, Fluttershy. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do something to help you while we deal with this problem?" The princess gave her a sweet smile.

All of the sudden, Pinkie Pie appeared beside the two ponies, her body vibrating like crazy like a jackhammer. "G-G-G-Guys... I'm-m-m-m-m fe-e-e-e-e-e-eling s-s-s-s-s-s-s-omething." Pinkie said with broken words due to the intense vibrating state her body is going through.

"What is it, Pinkie?" Twilight asked, concerned at the sight of her friend vibrating like that.

After several more seconds of intense vibrating, Pinkie Pie's body eventually stopped moving. "Wow! I thought would never stop! Anyway, my Pinkie Sense has been acting up all day yesterday. Ever since I woke up from bed, my body's been shaking nonstop!"

"Oh, dear. What does that mean, Pinkie?" Fluttershy gently asked as she and Twilight approached the pink pony, looking at her in concern.

"I'm not sure." Pinkie admitted. "I haven't felt this type of Pinkie Sense since the doozy incident when Twilight finally accepted my Pinkie Sense is real." A loud gasp came out of the party-planning pony's mouth. "Oh, no! If that's the case, that means a super-duper-mega-ultra-unbelievable doozy is gonna happen!"

Had this been Twilight 5 or 6 years ago, she would have dismissed this as nonsense and not believed a word Pinkie said. But thanks to experiencing the Pinkie Sense the hard way via numerous failures to understand it, Twilight finally gave up and accepted that this gift of her friend is as real as her own magic.

"Is it serious or just something harmless like a pony admitting they were wrong about something?" Twilight asked.

"No, no, no, no! This is super serious! This is gonna be a type of doozy that neither you or I, or even the whole world has ever seen!" Pinkie shouted as she stood up on her hind legs and stretched out her forelimbs to emphasize what her Pinkie Sense is telling her.

Hearing this, Twilight and Fluttershy felt dread and extreme anxiety grip them. They looked at one another for a moment as if silently conversing, knowing the same thing was on their minds, before turning their attention to their friend. "Pinkie, about a day ago, Moon Dancer and I discovered a new substance called Archetype. We discovered that it can absorb outside magic, effectively stealing a creature's powers. Do you think your Pinkie Sense might have any connection to that?" Twilight asked. If Pinkie's was saying her Pinkie Sense is predicting that something doozy was on it's way, and that it was serious, she could only wonder if it is connected to the Archetype or not.

"Hmmmm. I'm not really sure." Pinkie tilted her head in contemplation. Suddenly, a shudder ran through her body. "Oh, wow!"

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, already fearing the worst.

"My Pinkie Sense is telling me that something big is gonna happen in Ponyville... right now." As if on cue, a loud feminine cry echoed from the place Pinkie predicted, followed by a loud roar that sounded almost like a train horn.

"Oh, my. What was that?" Fluttershy asked, startled by what she hard.

"I don't know, but we have to get there and see what's the problem. Come on, girls!" Twilight said before she, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie began galloping towards the small town where the scream and roar came from.

.

Moments earlier...

Inside Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake have just finished baking four stunning and mouth-watering cakes. The first was a mix of yellow and blue colors, and filled with all kinds of dessert toppings; The second was chocolate-brown, with several freshly-peeled bananas sticking out of it; the third was light yellow and pink in color, and filled with strawberries and cherries on the bottom and apples at the top; and finally, the fourth cake was dark-red in color with white stripes running from the top to the bottom, complete with several small cupcakes surrounding the bottom.

"We just keep outdoing ourselves, don't we, honey." Mr. Cake asked, looking at their cakes with pride.

"We sure did." His wife agreed.

All of the sudden, both heard a loud crying of their twin foals, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, from upstairs.

"I'll go check on the twins, dear. You can finish the other desserts without me." Mr. Cake said before he went upstairs to check on his son and daughter. After he left, Mrs. Cake turned, took her rolling pin, and started making preparations for more desserts. Mrs. Cup Cake was aware that their precious cakes happen to be very close to the open window, but she honestly doubted anypony would steal their cakes. Besides, considering their boss, Pinkie Pie, is best friends with the ruler of Equestria, she honestly doubted anypony in the right mind would attempt to steal them.

That is until she suddenly heard a loud chomp, followed by chewing noises. Did somepony actually take a bite out of one of their cake just now? A disapproving frown appeared on the otherwise gentle mare's face as she turned around to face the interloper.

"Have you no shame? Who do you think you are-" Mrs. Cake stopped mid-sentence when she turned around and saw the being responsible for rudely taking a bite out of their cake. A creature that she could only describe as something straight out of a Nightmare Night story was poking its crocodile-like head through the window. With one bite, half of the yellow-and-blue-colored cake was absent, and with another bite, the whole cake was gone. Having eaten the first cake, Anguirus turned his head and took another huge bite from the chocolate-covered, banana-filled cake that not too far away.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Mrs. Cake lets out a loud, frightened yell that could be heard throughout Ponyville. In her panic-induced state, she grabbed a nearby pepper shaker and threw it at the monster. "Back, you beast!"

The shaker flew clear across the room and smashed against Anguirus' snout, releasing the pepper on the kaiju's nostrils. The armored creature felt an irritating sensation on his snout before he made a sudden expulsion of air from the nose and mouth. After snorting a little to clear out what little remained of the pepper, the kaiju turned to Mrs. Cake and let out a deep growl of irritation.

"Oh, dear..." The Earth pony's ears flattened against her head, realizing the mistake she did.

Taking a deep breath, Anguirus' lunged forward with his jaws wide open, unleashing a sound that shook the citizen of Ponyville to her core.

*GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*
> The precognitive monster
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria; Present time

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie arrived in Ponyville as quickly as they could. Already, they saw several ponies screaming in terror and fleeing from a certain direction, which gave them a clue of where the trouble was currently at. After galloping deeper into town, the three ponies finally came face-to-face with the terrifying scene: Anguirus , having just smashed though the wall of Sugarcube Corner, emerged from the building and was holding a terrified Mrs. Cake by her tail in his jaws, as she was dangled helplessly and screaming in terror.

"What in Equestria is that thing?" Twilight asked, looking at the armored kaiju in a mixture of shock and fascination despite the terrifying circumstances. She turned to the yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy, have you seen anything like this?"

"N-No." Came the frightened reply of Fluttershy as she stared at the beast in awe. "I've never seen a creature quite like this before."

"Well, whatever it is, we need to stop it before-" Twilight stopped mid-sentence when she spotted something on the kaiju's body. At the tip of his long tail, she spotted a familiar Stetson hat embedded on one of the spikes protruding from the creature's tail club. Upon closer observation, the princess recognized it as Applejack's hat. "That's Applejack's hat!" She exclaimed.

Indeed, both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also noticed it, and immediately became alarmed upon seeing said hat. At that moment, the three ponies remembered that Applejack and Rarity signed up to chaperone Cheerilee and her class when they went on a nature hike through the Everfree Forest. A horrifying possibility came to mind. Applejack would never intentionally leave her hat behind, and if this creature has her hat, then that could mean either a wind blew it, an animal stole it, or it could mean...

Twilight immediately banished the horrifying possibility from her mind and wasted no time in firing a purple beam of magic, striking the kaiju squarely in the face and prompting him to drop Mrs. Cake, who immediately ran off in terror. Irritated by the attack, Anguirus growled and glared at the purple alicorn, who shot back a fierce glare of her own.

"What have you done to our friend, Applejack?!" Twilight demanded, her horn lightning up as she prepared another spell. It was unusual to see the alicorn princess fly into a rage so suddenly; but if the worst possible scenario happened, and if this creature did indeed hurt their friend, or possibly worse, then Twilight will not hesitate to use her full power on the beast.

Anguirus responded with a loud roar that sounded similar to the horn of a train, which was followed by the spikes on the monster's back vibrating rapidly, seemingly producing a transparent, asymmetrical force-field around his body. Twilight and her friends watched the kaiju preform this unusual move in puzzlement, unsure of what it was doing. Then, with another angry roar, Anguirus suddenly begins charging at the three ponies with speed that belies his large size. Responding to this, Twilight aimed her horn at the charging kaiju and fired three blasts of magic, only for the creature to dodge each and every one them by suddenly jumping to the right, then to the left, and even jumping over the last purple beam. The princess' anger gave way to astonishment as she and her friends watched the beast flawless dodged all of her spells without any visible effort. The trio did not have much time to contemplate this as Anguirus was closing in on them fast.

"Scatter!" Twilight cried out before she and her friends dispersed in different directions; with the princess herself taking to the air, Fluttershy jumping to the left, and Pinkie Pie to the right. His spikes still vibrating, Anguirus quickly jumped to the side to avoid another stray blast from Twilight who now hovering in the air. "How is this creature able to predict my attacks?" She asked herself, baffled by how the armored kaiju continues to flawlessly evade her spells.

Figuring that blasting the beast with offensive spells won't work, Twilight decides to use her magic to instead telekinetically restrain the creature. However, just as she was about to do that, she noticed that the kaiju's spikes have started vibrating again. As she watched this, the princess' eyes widened as a possible realization came to mind. Could the vibration of those spikes somehow allow this creature to predict the future? She didn't have too long to think as Anguirus, having spotted a nearby barrel, swung his tail at the object and flung it in the air like a football. straight at the hovering pony. The princess was completely caught off-guard and subsequently struck by the full-force of the flying barrel, which shattered to pieces upon impacting the alicorn. The object hit her with such force that it knocked Twilight out cold in an instant. Now unconscious, the alicorn began plummeting to the ground.

"Twilight!" Pinkie cried out and started galloping as fast as she could towards her falling friend. Pulling out a blue-colored balloon from her mane, Pinkie quickly blew the balloon up and contorted it to make a trampoline out of said balloon, a trick she learned from Party Favor. She quickly placed the balloon-trampoline on the spot where she predicted Twilight will land, thanks to her tail twitching due to her Pinkie Sense. Sure enough, the princess fell directly on the balloon-made trampoline, and bounced back up before landing in Pinkie's hooves. "I got you, Twilight!" The pink pony exclaimed happily.

At that moment, a large shadow was cast over them, prompting the party-planner to look up and see the still-infuriated Anguirus looming over them, glaring daggers at the two ponies; mostly at the unconscious alicorn.

"Oh, dear." Pinkie gulped in fright as her ears flattened against her head.

.

Manehattan

Farther away from Ponyville, located on a northeastern island outside the borders of the Equestrian mainland, resides a metropolitan city known as Manehattan; one of the most populated places in the land. It was a relatively normal and peaceful day in Manehattan, with ponies casually roaming the streets, going about their daily business, as the day was sunny and clear with not a cloud to be seen anywhere. It would be hard to imagine for this beautiful day to suddenly turn for the worst... but little did the ponies who resided in the city knew, that was exactly what was about to happen.

.

An Earth pony mare who went by the name Coco Pommel was now the manager of her own boutique. At the moment, Coco was busy sewing fashionable dresses with her sewing machine. It was mostly a uneventful day, and Coco was considering on visiting Ponyville to meet up with Rarity after her work was done here. Sitting next to a window that gave her clear view of the outside city, she continued her work... until a quick blur suddenly passes by the window, startling her slightly. Coco looked out the window, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hm. Must have been a bird." Coco shrugged and resumed her work.

Less than a minute later, two more blurs passed, and again, the Earth pony saw nothing outside. She was honestly beginning to think that her mind was starting to play tricks on her due to having so much work on her hooves. "Maybe I should start taking longer breaks." She said to herself and tried to ignore the 'mind tricks' as she again resumed her work.

Eventually, after nearly another minute, instead of seemingly seeing something that may or may not be there, Coco heard the unmistakable sound of... something coming from outside. Looking out the window, Coco's eyes widened when she saw something she never expected to see. A strange bird-like creature with a long, stork-like beak, membranous wings, and two backward-facing horns on its head was perched on the roof of a slightly smaller building, right next to the one she was in. Coco Pommel was no animal expert, but she did know a good deal of creature like phoenixes, dragons, griffons, hippogriffs, and manticores. But this didn't resemble like any creature she knows or has heard of.

"I should ask Rarity's friend, Fluttershy, about this." Coco noted to herself as she observed the bird-like creature in curiosity.

Just then, another creature of the same species flew past the window, quickly making the Earth pony realize that her mind was not playing tricks on her, and that she was indeed seeing something — and she now knew what. However, this odd and interesting sight soon turned into a slightly concerning one as Coco saw more and more of these strange reptilian birds flying in the skies over Manehattan. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of these flying creatures that now occupied the blue skies of the metropolitan city. What was perhaps even more strange was the fact that these flying reptiles also appeared to be leaving behind trails of some kind red dust as they were flew. Ponies all over Manehattan ceased their daily activities and turned their attention to the sky to observe the unusual phenomenon in shock and disbelief; cab drivers stopped on the spot, shopkeepers emerged from their shops, and tourists started taking pictures of the mysterious creatures.

As unusual and terrifying as this phenomenon was, the ponies who had the unfortunate view of seeing the entirety of Manehattan — whether they were on top of the Statue of Liberty, riding on an air ship or happen to be a pegasus, sailing the sea on a boat, or simply had a good view of the horizon due to living in some of the taller buildings — were in the process of witnessing a far more terrifying sight. The seawater that surrounded the entirety of Manehattan was crimson red, and even worse, the changed water also appeared to be emitting some kind of crimson mist or dust, which grew and expanded perpetually. A few ponies even went as far as to deliberately cause minor physical pain to themselves, hoping that this is a dream and that the pain will release them from it, only to be proven wrong when nothing changed, showing beyond any form of doubt that this is in fact reality, and that this is indeed happening.

.

Mount Aris/Seaquestria

In the opposite direction of Manehattan, located southeast outside the borders of Equestria altogether, resides the Kingdom of the hippogriffs, known as Mount Aris. Here, the hippogriffs were living a life of peace and prosperity. Thanks to the defeat of the Storm King at the hands of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Queen Novo split up the Pearl of Transformation into hundreds of fragments and distributed them among her subjects. This allowed them to transform between hippogriffs and seaponies at will, thus allowing them to live in both Mount Aris and the underwater kingdom, Seaquestria.

.

"I'm off to go see the whales, mom." Terramar told his mother.

"Alright, but just remember not to be late for dinner. Okay?" His mother, Ocean Flow, said as she set the dishes on the table.

"I'll keep that in mind." Terramar said before he exited the house.

Following the Storm King's defeat, the Mount Aris capital city of Hippogriffia was restored to its former glory, and so, half of the population decided to live there, including Terramar's father, Sky Beak, while the other half continued to live in Seaquestria, which is where Terramar currently was. For the longest time, Terramar wasn't sure whether to live with his father on Mount Aris or with his mother in Seaquestria. This indecisiveness almost lead him to abandoning both Mount Aris and Seaquestria in fear of disappointing on parent or the other should he choose to live with one of them in one place. But thanks to the efforts of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and some pep talk from his parents, Terramar ultimately decided to live with both parents by continuing to go back and forth between Mount Aris and Seaquestria as he pleases.

Having transformed himself into a seapony, Terramar swam farther away from the Seaquestria due to the water there being too shallow for large whales to swim in. He remembered an incident that happened about 2 years ago, when a young whale ventured a little too close to Seaquestria, and accidentally stranded herself in the shallow water. Thankfully, with the  assistance from Twilight and her magic, the seaponies were able to push the whale back into deeper water, where she reunited with her pod. Arriving at the drop-off that chasms down into deeper and darker water, Terramar stopped near the edge of the underwater cliff and watched intently at the pelagic zone, knowing that this is where whales usually gather. But after waiting nearly 4 minutes, nothing seemed to come. In fact, come to think of it, the seapony didn't see any marine creatures in this area. No crustaceans, no fish, no jellyfish, no shellfish, no cephalopods, no dolphins or sharks; nothing.

"That's odd. This area is usually full of sea creatures." Terramar said to himself. This whole area just seemed... empty and silent.

Then, out of the (literal) blue, the seapony spotted movement within the open ocean area. Swimming a little closer to get a better look, Terramar's eyes widened when he saw something massive appear before his very eyes — and it wasn't a whale. What emerged from the vastness of the open ocean was a gigantic creature that resembled a cross between a whale and a lizard. Possessing an elongated body with red skin and a beige underbelly, the creature had two pairs of whale-like flippers that were adorned with several claws; the first pair appeared to be its forelimbs and the second pair were its hind limbs. It's head looked similar to that of a crocodile, with two antenna located on the top, orange-colored fins protruding from either cheek, and a single larger fin sitting atop the head between the antenna. The creature also possessed many dorsal spikes shaped like maple leaves protruding from its back, and a very long tail which terminated in a whale-like tail fluke that it used to swim in a manner similar to a cetacean.

Terramar was at a loss for words, not just at the presence of the creature, but also its size. This thing, whatever it was, was positively enormous. Its head alone was nearly the size of the some of the biggest whales he's seen. Yet, as awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping as the beast's size was, what was even more bizarre and frightening was the substance its body appeared to be producing. A dense cloud of red dust was being expelled in large amounts from the creature's skin as it swam, leaving a behind a trail of redness in its wake. Terramar compared it to an octopus or squid squirting ink — if the ink in question was red instead of black, and the cephalopod was able to produce it perpetually without ever stopping. The seapony was so distracted by his mind processing what he was seeing that he didn't even notice that the sea monster had turned its head in his direction and was looking directly at him. His body tensed up and he instinctively swam back a couple of feet. He didn't need to be a genius to know that this creature was far too big to enter the shallow waters, let alone Seaquestria. Still, that didn't make him feel any less easy. And the way the beast was staring at him certainly didn't help. Terramar couldn't help but wonder what was on the sea monster's mind. Was it considering on attacking him?

The sea monster continued to stare at him for roughly a minute or two before ultimate shifting its attention away from the seapony, and turned north. Flexing its enormous tail up and down, the Mosasaur-like creature began swimming toward its chosen direction, leaving behind a trail of the crimson cloud in its wake. Terramar continued to watch as the beast slowly disappeared into the redness that it created, his mind racing with questions of what he just witnessed.

.

Ponyville

"What is going on out here?" Mr. Cake cried out as he exited Sugarcube Corner qia the large hole Anguirus made, with Pound and Pumpkin on his back. That was when they saw the colossal quadruped standing not too far from their building. "What in the name of Equestria is that?!" Mr. Cake asked out loud, which prompted the beast to turn its head and look at him. The sight of this frightening monster gazing at him prompted the stallion to turn and gallop away from it as fast as he could.

Seeing the yellow stallion fleeing from him, the armored kaiju shifted his attention back at the two ponies that were before him.

Having knocked his attacker unconscious and now at his mercy, Anguirus raised himself onto his hind legs and prepared to bring his front legs down upon the two ponies before him. Pinkie, refusing to leave Twilight to perish, placed herself in front of her unconscious friend protectively and shut her eyes tightly. In the distance, Fluttershy could only scream out at the monster "Stop! Don't hurt them!" but her cries fell on deaf ears as the kaiju brought his front legs down. Suddenly, right before Anguirus' clawed feet could smash down on Twilight and Pinkie Pie, a rainbow-colored streak flashed by, temporarily blocking the two ponies from view — but that didn't stop the armored kaiju from thrusting his front legs through it and stomping down with the full weight of his body. However, when the multicolored streak faded, Anguirus was surprised to discover that his targets had disappeared, and his legs simply sank into the dirt harmlessly.

"You guys okay?"

Anguirus heard an unfamiliar voice, prompting him to turn to the source and see a cyan pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane and tail, hovering in midair several meters away. What's more, Pinkie and the still-unconscious Twilight were also present with her. Somehow, they had disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye. The kaiju's amber eyes widened as he distinctly remembered seeing a rainbow-colored blur before his helpless prey disappeared. That flying pony must have been the one who saved them.

Pinkie opened one eye and stirred around before opening both. Realizing that she and Twilight were still alive and safely out of harm's way for the moment, she quickly jumped up and hugged the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash! You're a life-saver! We could have ended up flattened like pancakes, but luckily we didn't!"

"Yup. That's what I do!" Rainbow proudly boasted, puffing up her chest.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" Both ponies turned to see Fluttershy galloping towards them before coming to a halt, breathing a sigh of relief. The three ponies were then startled by a loud growl, and turned to see Anguirus glaring at them menacingly, pawing at the ground.

Rainbow Dash immediately got into fighting position. "What is that thing? And why's it attacking you?" She asked while not taking her eyes off the armored kaiju.

"We don't know. Twilight, Pinkie, and me heard a loud cry from Ponyville and got here as fast as we could. When we arrived, we saw that creature attacking Sugarcube Corner. Twilight tried to stop it with her magic, but... it seemed to be able to predict her moves." Fluttershy quickly explained.

" 'Predict her moves'?" Rainbow repeated, rising an eyebrow of confusion by what her friend meant by that.

The ponies shifted their attention back at the armored kaiju as it let out another loud, train-like roar.

"What's it saying, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, hoping her animal-expert friend can tame the creature like she did with the Manticore and Cerberus.

"I... I don't know." Came the meek response from their friend who stared at the angry kaiju with a mixture of fear and curiosity. "I've never seen a creature like this before, so I honestly don't know what he's saying."

"Well, maybe if we beat some sense into him, he'll calm down!" Rainbow exclaimed, smashing her front hooves together.

"We also think he might've hurt Applejack." Pinkie Pie worriedly added.

"Applejack?" In an instant, the pegasus' eyes widened as she examined the kaiju more closely, before she spotted their friend's unmistakable hat stuck on Anguirus' spiked tail club, at which point her eyes widened even more while her pupils shrunk. "Did that thing...?" Rainbow was unable to even finish her sentence due to her mind struggling to deny the horrifying possibility.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Fluttershy quickly chimed in, trying to remain positive. "We don't know for sure if that's Applejack's hat. They're many hats like it all over Ponyville."

"I recognize Applejack's hat anywhere. And that's definitely it." Pinkie assured her without a shred of doubt in her voice.

The three friends now began fearing the worst and even almost felt like giving into despair. Rainbow Dash, however, narrowed her eyes at the armored kaiju, anger overcoming her initial thoughts of horror. If this monster truly had hurt their beloved friend, she will make sure that it pays, one way or another. Anguirus once again began vibrating his spikes, causing a bright aura to appear and seemingly envelop his large body. Having seen the monster do this several times by now, Pinkie and Fluttershy tensed up and got a bad feeling, but Rainbow, due to her rage-induced state, shot straight at the imposing kaiju like a rocket.

"Rainbow, don't!" Fluttershy cried out in vain.

Anguirus, meanwhile, simply stood his ground and watched calmly as the speeding pegasus covered the distance between them in an instant, before she spun her body around to deliver a flying kick to his face. But right before her hoof could connect, Anguirus suddenly jumped seven feet up in the air. Time seemed to slow down as Rainbow Dash found herself looking up in shock and disbelief by the fact that not only did the kaiju evade her kick but was now also in a perfect position to counterattack as gravity started pulling the massive beast back to the ground, directly on the cyan pony.

Rainbow didn't have time to steer herself to safety, to move to the side or even slightly forward before the monster's massive foreleg could come down and crush her into pulp. The usually proud pegasus could only stare in shock and desperation as she watched Anguirus' foot coming at her faster than she had time to flap her wings. However, as the kaiju's foot was inches from her muzzle, Rainbow's entire body became engulfed in a light-purple aura before the cyan pegasus seemingly popped out of existence. Time returned to normal, and Anguirus landed on the ground, producing a shockwave when his massive body slammed against the ground with incredible force, kicking up a large dust cloud in the process. When the dust settled, the kaiju lifted his foreleg to find nothing but a large hole.

"Thanks, Twilight."

The beast turned to the source of the voice and saw the purple alicorn now conscious and back on her hooves, with the rainbow-colored pegasus by her side.

"Don't mention it." Twilight gave her friend a brief smile before said smile shifted to a frown as she turned to the armored kaiju, who narrowed his eyes at her.

"That thing almost squashed me like a bug." Rainbow said, still shaken from nearly being crushed. "And he knew exactly how to react when I tried to kick him."

"It's almost like he can predict the future." Fluttershy said, having seen the kaiju in action for long enough to come to this reasonable assumption.

"Or maybe he can directly see it." Twilight suddenly said, prompting her friends to look at her in surprise. "Have you noticed that every time we try to attack him, the spikes on his back vibrate, and when we attack, he manages to counter our attacks. What if vibrating those spikes somehow allow this creature to see the future?"

"You mean kind of like my Pinkie Sense?" The pink Earth pony asked in fascination.

"Yes. Except this creature seems to be able to activate its ability at will, similar to how I use my magic." Twilight concluded.

The ability to peer into the future is something that is surprisingly rare in Equestria. Sure, there are many weird and crazy powers that Twilight and her friends have seen and experienced during their many adventures, like a cockatrice's ability to turn creatures into stone via eye-contact. But a living creature possessing the capability to directly see the future whenever it wants that allows it to counter any and all threats was something even Twilight's didn't thought possible (excluding Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense, which she learned not to question).

"How do we fight something that knows everything we're going to do before we do it?" Rainbow asked.

"Um, we could always try peacefully reasoning with him." Fluttershy meekly suggests.

"No way! That monster hurt Applejack! And-"

"What in d' hay is goin' on 'round here?"

The cyan pegasus' sentence was cut short when she and her friends heard the all-too familiar voice of their friend call out.

The owner of said voice and her friend emerged from behind a house, twenty meters from where Anguirus was. Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow felt relief wash over them as the sight of the unharmed Applejack (barring her hat) and Rarity caused the tension that was in their bodies to finally release. "Applejack! You're okay!" The pink Earth pony shouted in excitement and relief.

"Of course she is, darling. Why wouldn't-" Rarity stopped mid-sentence once she and Applejack spotted the same armored kaiju they encountered in the Everfree Forest, now in the middle of Ponyville. Anguirus looked over his shoulder and saw the two ponies he encountered not too long ago. "It's that beast again!" The white unicorn cried out.

"And it's got mah' hat!" Applejack added, quickly spotting her beloved hat on the monster's spiked tail club.

Anguirus roared loudly and began vibrating his spikes again. Rarity's horn lightened up and Applejack prepared to go on the defensive should the beast try to attack them or their friends, but both immediately halted when Twilight Sparkle shouted "Stop!", prompting them to immediately cease. The kaiju, meanwhile, continued vibrating his spikes and looking at the ponies cautiously before his eyes landed on Fluttershy, who began to cautiously approach him. The pegasus had a calm yet sympathetic look on her face as she approached the wary kaiju. Eventually, Anguirus ceased vibrating his spikes altogether and his eyes widened, seemingly in surprise. Once she walked up to the towering kaiju, Fluttershy gently nuzzled his snout, which seemed to calm the creature even more.

"Way to go, Fluttershy!" Applejack cheered, happy to see her friend managing to tame yet another beast. Anguirus then gently lowered his tail to the ground, and wagged it a little, signalling to the farm pony behind him to come and take her hat. After a bit of hesitation, Applejack cautiously approached the kaiju and quickly snatched her Stetson hat before placing it on her head.

With the whole situation now resoled, the six ponies came together and embraced each other in a group hug, not only because of the fact that their friend was safe and sound, but being together right now after spending so much time apart due to tending to their different lives filled the six friends with nostalgia. Some may call it a coincidence, but Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy believe this reunion to be the result of fate. Regardless of the reason, the Mane Six were all filled with euphoria to be reunited once again.

"Oh, it's so good to see you all again!" Twilight exclaimed happily as she and her friends finished their group hug.

"Heh! I'll say!" Applejack smiled.

"I've always dreamed of a moment like this." Rarity said.

"So have I." Fluttershy nodded.

"I think we all have." Rainbow Dash smirked.

"And how!?" Pinkie added cheerfully.

"Well, you did say that a doozy was gonna happen, Pinkie, and, well, this day has been quite the doozy one." Twilight smiled. Encountering a creature that can see the future that subsequently lead to her, Pinkie, and Fluttershy reuniting with their friends was definitely a day and experience that they will not soon forget. As she thought of this, Twilight turned to Applejack. "Say, Applejack, why was your hat stuck on that creature's tail in the first place?" She asked, pointing at Anguirus, who hasn't moved from the spot and only stared at the six ponies curiously, all anger and aggression having disappeared.

"Ya'll remember how Rarity and I agreed to go on a hike to watch over Cheerilee's class?" She asked, to which her friends (except Rarity) nodded. "Well, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran off into the Everfree Forest, so Rarity told Cheerilee to return to Ponyille while we go find them. But when we found 'em, Apple Bloom was literally fact-to-face with the creature. I got scared, and thought it was gonna to hurt her... so I attacked it first." The farm pony explained, guilt swelling up inside her as she recalled this. "After it managed to dodge my kick, it tried to attack me with its tail, but I managed to dodge it. I' didn't realize the tail hit mah' hat before it ran off and disappeared."

"You're hat must have gotten stuck on his tail, and when we saw it, we thought he hurt you, or worse." Twilight's ears flattened against her head in remorse, realizing that she unjustly attacked a creature that meant them no harm. The same want for Rainbow Dash, who also felt guilty about recklessly attacking the kaiju under the assumption that he hurt Applejack.

"I think he was trying to tell use that he didn't hurt anypony, but I couldn't understand his language." Fluttershy lowered her head in remorse.

"Although, he did attack Mrs. Cake when you, Twilight, and me arrived." Pinkie pointed out.

"Well, actually, deary, I sort of threw a pepper shaker at him when I saw him eating my cakes before you arrived." Mrs. Cake, who was hiding behind a nearby barrel, suddenly explained.

All of the sudden, a puff of smoke appeared before Twilight's face before it condensed, and in a flash of light, transformed into letter. Using her magic, the princess began reading said letter. After reading it, Twilight's face turned into a mix of shock, dread, and horror as a loud gasp escaped her lips.

"What is it, Twilight?" Applejack asked, getting an uneasy feeling when she saw her friend like this.

"The water around Manehattan and Mount Aris, as well as Seaquestria, has mysteriously started chaining color and becoming red! Also, there are apparently some kind of bird-like creatures flying around in Manehattan, and a giant sea monster was allegedly spotted swimming near Seaquestria!" The princess quickly explained, earning shocked gasps from her friends. "In fact, reports are saying that the Celestial Sea as a whole is slowly turning red in color!"

"No! Not red! Why does it have to be the color red~!" Pinkie exclaimed dramatically.

"This could only mean one thing:" The Princess of Friendship gulped with dread as she realized that the worst case scenario was already happening as she speaks. "The Archetype is spreading!"





Equestria; 4,000 Years into the Future

Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp, along with Queen Haven and Alphabittle, as well as the other ponies were standing by the cliffed coast of Maretime Bay, watching with horror and disbelief as the nightmarish scenario was unfolding before their eyes. Everything had happened so suddenly and without warning; a strange, bird-like creature arrived in Maretime Bay, attacked several ponies, and, after being temporarily defeated, suddenly died. Nearly an hour after the creature's demise, the once beautiful seaside view changed into an eldritch environment as the seawater around the coast of Maretime Bay turned crimson with no explanation. What's more, as the ponies were staring at the frothing red sea, giant sea serpents, the likes of which no pony had ever seen before, started rearing up out of the scarlet surface every now and then. The atmosphere had gone deathly silent, with only the waves below making any noise; the air itself was windless and still.

The silence was finally broken when froths started forming on red surface of the transformed sea. Sunny and her friends immediately thought it was gonna be one of those huge sea serpents that recently started appearing rise up. However, instead of a Manda, what emerged from the red water was a winged, bird-like creature that quickly flew out of the crimson sea and towards the sky. Almost all the ponies instantly recognized it as the same species as creature that attacked them an hour ago.

"Look! It's another flying bird monster!" Pipp cried out, watching as red water rained down from the Pterosaur who flew higher and higher.

"Looks a little different, though." Izzy suddenly inquired, prompting her friends to look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean, Izzy?" Hitch asked curiously.

"Well, doesn't it seem a little smaller than the first one that attacked us?" She asked, prompting the ponies around her to look at the Rodan more closely, and, sure enough, they also spotted the difference.

"You're right. It is different from the last one that attacked us." Sunny said.

In addition to being smaller than the previous one, this Rodan's body was dark brown in color, with beige-white blotch patterns on its back and a red dewlap underneath its neck. As oppose to the previous Rodan's upward-curved beak, this Rodan's beak was straight like that of a stork, with no visible teeth. The scaly parts on the upper mandible were narrow and red-colored, running towards the creature's eyes. Another dissimilarity from the previous specimen was the fact that this Rodan's tail was extremely short. Finally, instead of the single, backward-facing crest that was present on its counterpart's head, this Rodan had two backward-facing horns. The only feature it shared with its counterpart were the spikes located on the chest.

"Oh, relax." Hitch suddenly said. "There's just one of it and countless of us. We're totally prepared to take it on this time!"

While a statement like this would normally inspire confidence in the ponies, this wasn't the case. And it got worse when Zipp saw something that made her face change to silent horror. "I think you might wanna a count again, sheriff." She gulped and pointed towards the crimson sea.

The anxiety the ponies were experiencing grew and intensified as countless more Rodans like this one suddenly started rising from the crimson sea and taking to the air. Likely numbering in the hundreds, and still growing, the flock of Rodans turned and began flying towards the mainland — towards Maretime Bay. Sunny and her friends watched in horror as the flying reptiles headed in their direction, letting out loud screeches and shrieks. In her mind, Sunny silently began praying to the Guardians of Friendship, hoping that they will get out of this nightmare alive.
> To another time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was any word Sunny would use to describe the scene that was playing out before her right now, it would be 'terrifying'. This day started out just prefect; with Earth ponies, unicorns, and Pegasi living together in peace and harmony, just as they did thousands of years ago. But apparently, fate has a tendency to balance out the good with something equally-bad as Sunny, her friends, and all the other ponies that stood by the coast watched in shock and horror as hundreds of Rodans headed their way, spewing red dust from their bodies that created a large crimson cloud behind them as they traveled.

"Oh, that can't be good." Hitch gulped.

"We should probably run. NOW!" Zipp shouted.

Not needing to be told twice (or at all, for that matter), her friends and all the other ponies that were standing by the cliffed coast quickly scattered and began running for safety whilst screaming in terror. Vendors abandoned their ice-cream stands, barbers closed their shops, and some ponies even went as far as jumping in the sewers to hide. It was a similar scenario to how the Earth ponies were sent in a panicked frenzy when Izzy Moonbow arrived in Maretime Bay, only this time they had a far more legitimate reason to be alarmed as the entire town became covered in the endless shadows of the countless Rodans that were now soaring over it. One of the Rodans landed on the street amid the panicked pony crowd, and let out a loud roar. In no time, the other Rodans began swooping down and attacking whatever caught their attention, which was mostly inanimate objects that were producing electromagnetic waves, such as the streetcar that was serviced by a short line, and mobile phones that most of the ponies were carrying.

"We have to help them!" Sunny cried out to her friends, while watching the disarray before them unfold.

"But how? There's so many of them!" Zipp exclaimed.

Just then, a Rodan landed right in front of the them, Queen Haven, and Alphabittle, letting out its iconic roar. Alphabittle frowned and prepared to engage the beast, only for Hitch to step in-between him and the pterosaur. "Wait, hold on!" He exclaimed.

"Hitch, what are you doing? Get out of there!" Pipp cried out in panic.

"It's okay, Pipp. I have a way with animals." Hitch said with a confident smile as he turned to face the Rodan, which was growling and staring at him ferally. "It's okay, big guy. Nopony's gonna hurt you."He said soothingly, and the pterosaur appears to calm down, seemingly making a connection with the Earth pony. Maintaining his confident smile, Hitch reached out with his hoof to pet the reptile. But then, when his hoof was no more than 15 inches from the tip of the pterosaur's beak, Rodan suddenly lunged forwarded, its beak agape. Instinct taking over his mind, the stallion instantly retracted his hoof and narrowly avoided having his leg bitten off. "On second thought, maybe I'm not the animal expert I thought I was." He muttered to himself before quickly ducking down when the Rodan lunged for his head, once again narrowly missing him. "Run!"

With that, the party turned and began running away from the petrosaur, and through the chaos.

.

Located on a tall hill behind the town center was a company known as Canterlogic, owned by Phyllis Cloverleaf. Originally selling products to keep Earth ponies safe and stylish for many years due to the misguided belief that Pegasi and unicorns are dangerous and evil, thanks to Sunny and her friends revealing the truth that they are harmless, and subsequently restoring magic to Equestria by uniting the three pony tribes, the company has since changed to sell products that benefit Pegasi and unicorns, as well as Earth ponies.

"Okay, so what have you come up with today?" Phyllis asked, approaching her two employees: Toots, a light-teal stallion with amber-colored tail and mane, and Sweets, a taffy pink mare with a raspberry-pink mane and tail.

"Check it out!" Sweets excitedly said as she and Toots stepped aside to reveal a propeller pack with four rotors.

"It's a propeller pack that would allow Pegasi fly." Toots stated. "If there's ever a case where a Pegasi is born with abnormally small wings that renders them unable to fly properly, or gets their wing injured in a crash, they can use this pack to allow them to fly!"

"That's ingenious! This will definitely help to our Pegasi friends." Phyllis smiled happily.

"That's not all, ma'am." Sweets said before steeping aside and showing a cone-shaped metal device in the shape of a unicorn horn. "If a unicorn ever gets their horn broken, whether by accident or an animal attack, wearing this device will help stabilize their magic."

"Oh, these are prefect!" Phyllis exclaimed with excitement.

Just then, the entrance doors could be hard quickly opening and then shutting loudly, prompting everypony in the factory to turn around and see a terrified, brown-colored Earth pony stallion pressed against the entrance doors to keep them from opening. He was breathing heavily and with a look on his face that could only be interpreted as near-death experience.

"What's going on outside?" A curious Phyllis asked as she and her employees approached the terrified stallion.

"Maretime Bay is under attack!" He cried out at the top of his lungs while still keeping the doors shut.

"By what?!" Phyllis asked, her voice now filled with concern and dread, which was also present the faces of Toots and Sweets. For a brief moment, the thought of the unicorns or Pegasi suddenly betraying them came to mind, but they quickly dismissed it.

Before the stallion could explain anything else, a sharp, stork-like beak suddenly pierced through the door on the right. With a terrified yelp, the stallion instantly backed away from the doors, which were soon broken apart to make room for a Rodan to enter the factory, letting out a loud screech as it did so.

"What in the world...?!" The owner of Canterlogic cried out in shock as she started backing away from the roaring pterosaur, as did Toots and Sweets. "Wait, didn't Maretime Bay get attacked by some flying creature 5 hours ago?" She asked, recalling the incident that happened with the previous Rodan. She was not in the city at that time of the attack to see the creature for herself, but thanks to multiple mobile phones recording the incident, she knew of the creature's existence and what it looked like.

"Those are the things that are attacking Maretime Bay!" The stallion cried out.

"Wait, 'things'?" Phyllis asked in surprise and horror.

Sure enough, more loud screeches prompted the owner of Canterlogic to shift her attention back at the entrance, and witness five more Rodans enter the factory to join the first. Naturally, presence of the pterosaurs sent everypony in the factory screaming and galloping in fear, Phyllis included. Letting out a screech, a Rodan spread its wings and began flying inside the factory, attacking anything and everything due to the electromagnetic waves that were being produced almost everywhere, with the others Rodans starting to do the same. Meanwhile, Phyllis lead her terrified employees and workers to the archive room before quickly closing the door behind them.

"Okay, is everypony here? Did I forgot anypony?" Phyllis asked, looking around the relatively small room and seeing that all her employees and workers were safe and sound with her in the room. She allowed herself to sigh in relief — only for said relief to immediately disappear and be replaced by panic when she realized that one pony wasn't in the group. "Wait, where's Sprout?!"

Opening a door that lead to another room, Sprout entered main room of the factory. "Mommy, I've been thinking about having one of those... what do you call them again? Oh, it doesn't matter. I just think that—" The words caught in his throat as Sprout froze in place the moment his eyes landed on the terrifying scene of seeing his mother's factory being ravaged and destroyed by the flying reptiles. For a moment, the red Earth pony stood on the spot, fear and disbelief freezing up his body and rendering him unable to move. Said fear intensified greatly as a Rodan flew down and landed right in front of him, easily towering over Sprout by about a foot or two. It was only when the pterosaur let out its loud roar right at his face did the Earth pony finally regain the will to move his body — and the first movement he did was to let out a loud, almost girly scream.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

.

Outside, Sunny and her friends were doing their best to help the ponies amidst the chaos, but with little-to-no progress or success. Since becoming friends with the other pony tribes, the unicorn traps and splat-a-pults that were once common (but hidden) all over the town were all but removed from Maretime Bay. And even then, it was questionable if whether those devices would have helped against the flying reptiles. Fortunately, the Rodans were more interested in attacking the devices the ponies were carrying rather than the equines themselves, thus forcing ponies to drop their mobile phones and abandon electricity-powered transportation vehicles, such as the cable car which was now being swarmed by seven or eight Rodans, whilst other Rodans were busy tearing apart the line of the streetcar.

"Out of all the animals in the world, why is it that these things wanna eat me instead of adore me like all the other critters?!" Hitch cried out at the irony before ducking down to avoid a Rodan swooping down and narrowly missing him.

"Well, not every animal has to like you, ya'know." Zipp comments, quickly spinning her body around to kick an attacking Rodan in the face with her hind hooves. "There're exceptions everywhere."

At that moment, Hitch realized something he hadn't noticed since the Rodan attack began. "Wait, where are the critters that keep following me around?" He asked, looking around for the two seagulls and crab that have become associated with him and followed him almost anywhere he goes. To his horror, about ten meters from where he was standing, he spotted his three animal friends cornered against a wall by a Rodan, who was looking down at them with hungry eyes, while the seagulls and crab were looking up at the pterosaur with terrified looks. "No! Leave them alone!" He cried out and was about go charge the reptile until Izzy stepped in front of him.

"Don't worry, Hitch! I've got this!" Izzy said with confident smile. The lilac unicorn closed her eyes in concentration and her horn ignited with a purple-colored aura before an energy beam of the same color shot from her horn and straight at the Rodan, who was about to snatch and eat the small animals. The magic beam smashed into the side of the pterosaur's body, sending it flying across the ground like a football. "Ha! I was hoping for an opportunity to try that out! I've been practicing my magic!" Izzy happily stated.

"Wow! Izzy, that was amazing!" Sunny complimented in awe. It wasn't exactly like false rumors of unicorns zapping pony brains with a single horn blast, but it was nonetheless an incredible feat to see her friend use magic to blast a feral beast in defense of Hitch's animal friends.

"I know, right? And that's not the only new trick I learned to do." Izzy said, giving her friend a cheerful smile.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Hitch sighed in relief and bent down to greet his small animal friends as they ran towards him for safety.

"Sunny, if these things are going after technology, then what's the most technologically-advanced place in Maretime Bay?" Zipp asked, hovering next to Sunny.

"Well, that would be..." The last few words didn't emerge from Sunny's mouth as her eyes winded upon realizing which place in Maretime Bay had the most advanced technology.

As if on cue, amidst the panicked screams of the citizens of Maretime Bay and the loud roars of the Rodans, a loud, almost girlish scream was heard coming from the Canterlogic building farther away, followed by the sound of glass shattering. Turning around to look behind them, atop the tall hill in the far distance, Sunny and her friends saw a Rodan flying out of the Canterlogic factory building via smashing through a window, with a visible Sprout — who could be heard crying "Mommy!" — being carried in its beak.

"That one's got Sprout!" Hitch cried out.

Without saying a word, Zipp suddenly rocketed upwards towards the Rodan with incredible speed. Despite the enormous distance between them, she instantly caught up to the flying reptile. Like a shark ambushing a seal from below, upon reaching her target, the elder princess of Zypher Heights smashed her front hooves into the abdomen of the Rodan, causing it to screech in pain and drop the red Earth pony. Sprout screamed even louder when he found himself plummeting to the ground. With her blow having disorientated the pterosaur enough that it won't come after her, Zipp turned and began flying downwards even faster to reach the plummeting red stallion before he hits the ground. In just two seconds or less, Zipp easily caught up to Sprout and wrapped her forelimbs around him. She then began flapping upwards as hard as she could to slow their descent before coming to a full stop. Zipp then gently descended to the ground and set Sprout down.

"You... You saved me..." The red stallion slowly said as he looked at the white Pegasi in a mixture of awe and surprise.

"It's what I do." Zipp said, giving him a friendly smirk.

"Even after everything I did?" He asked, recalling how he was willing to endanger the lives of her friends just to stop them from returning magic to the Pegasi and unicorns.

"If there's anything my time with my friends thought me, it's to forgive but never forget." Zipp said, giving the Earth pony a serious but forgiving look.

Sprout felt guilt swelling up inside him. After the stunt he pulled with his war machine that cost Sunny her home, Zipp had the right to at least speak to him with scorn and disdain. Yet, she didn't even do that. How could anypony forgive him for that? He certainly wouldn't have forgiven himself if he was somepony else. Looking at Zipp again, Sprout allowed himself to smile as silent way of saying 'Thank you'.

Seeing that Sprout was safe and sound, Sunny and Hitch allowed themselves to sigh in relief and exchange smiles. But this moment of relief would not last for very long because unbeknownst to them, high in the air behind them, a Rodan has set it sights on Sunny, and begins flying downwards towards her like a hungry bird of prey. Out of the corner of her eye, Izzy saw the incoming pterosaur, and, in a moment of desperation and quick thinking, shoved her friend out of the way, causing the Rodan to instead snatch her with its long beak as it swooped down like an albatross catching a fish from the water's surface before flying back up into the sky with Izzy.

"Izzy!" Sunny cried out in horror, prompting the others to look up and see the lilac unicorn being carried away by the pterosaur, who turned and began flying towards the sea with its prey.

"We gotta go saver her!" Pipp exclaimed before taking to the air and flying after the Rodan.

Queen Haven was about to do the same, only for two Rodans to appear and block her flight path. As Alphabittle stepped in to fight off the pterosaurs by Haven's side, Hitch, Sunny, and Zipp (who saw this happening) quickly took off galloping/flying after their friend. From Izzy's point of view, Maretime Bay was growing smaller and smaller by the second on the ground below, courtesy of the Rodan that was carrying her flying higher into the sky. She saw Pipp and Zipp flying after her, with the latter speeding past the former, while Sunny and Hitch could be seen stopping at the edge of the cliffed coast, watching in horror. Zipp flapped her wings furiously, determined to save their unicorn friend as quickly as possible. But just as it seemed like the elder princess was about to catch up to the pterosaur carrying her friend and save her like she did Sprout, the Rodan, having spotted Zipp and determining that its prey is weighing it down, opts to drop Izzy, sending the lilac unicorn plummeting to the crimson water below.

"Izzy!" Zipp cried out before immediately changing course and speeding downwards.

Sunny and Hitch gasped in horror when they saw the flying reptile drop Izzy, and held their breaths as Zipp started racing downwards to save their friend. Unfortunately, so distracted they were by what was happening before them, they didn't notice that another Rodan was coming at them from behind. Before Sunny knew what hit her, the pterosaur snatched her with its long beak much like how the previous one snatched Izzy, before turning to fly upwards.

"Sunny!" With a loud cry, Hitch leaped forward and over the rail before the beast could fly any higher or further, and managed to grab onto the Rodan's hind legs with his hooves. Upon doing so, the Rodan roared in surprise and jolted backwards, causing it to drop Sunny, and Hitch promptly released the creature to fall with his childhood friend.

"Hitch! Sunny!" Pipp cried out, causing her sister — who overheard her cry — to look and see their other friends were also falling into the scarlet sea. The combination of shock and distress made her unintentionally slow down her downward flight, which gave gravity enough time to pull Izzy into the red water, where she promptly splashed.

"Oh, no! Izzy!" Zipp screamed out in horror as she completely halted her descent and hovered several feet over the water surface. Fortunately, after a couple of seconds, the lilac unicorn surfaced, spitting out water from her mouth.

"I'm okay!" Izzy happily declared, waving a hoof at her friend, which made Zipp smile with relief. Then, two distinct splashes prompted them to turn their heads, and see that Sunny and Hitch have also splashed into the transformed seawater, no worse for wear.

"And they're okay, too." Zipp added before turning to the lilac unicorn with a serious look. "But we gotta get you out of there!"

Pipp flew down to meet Sunny and Hitch floating in the water, stopping and hovering just above the scarlet surface. "You guys alright?" She asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Pipp. We're fine." Sunny assured her with a smile.

"All things considered, we've had worse." Hitch muttered before stopping to think for a moment. "On second thought, no, we have not had worse than being grabbed and thrown into the sea by a bunch of flying monstrosities!"

"Don't worry, guys. I think I can—" The princess' sentence was cut short when Sunny suddenly spotted something behind the hovering pegasus, and immediately cried out:

"Pipp, look out behind you!"

The pegasus princess had but a second to turn her head and see a Rodan flying towards her. Instead of attacking her with its beak, the pterosaur instead struck her in the head with its left wing as it flew by, sending Pipp falling into the red water, splashing near Sunny and Hitch. The two Earth ponies immediately dived under, and, after a few seconds, resurfaced with the dazed, but still conscious, Pegasi.

"Pipp? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" Hitch asked worriedly, helping to keep Pipp's head above the surface.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little dazed." Pipp assured him, putting a hoof on her forehead.

"Pipp, are you okay?" Zipp asked as she came over to them.

"I'm okay, Zipp. But my wings are wet, which means I can't fly." Her sister stated, lifting one of her wings to show.

"Hold on. I'm gonna go get a rope or a chain to help you get out of there." Zipp said. But before she could do just that, the elder princess of Zephyr Heights noticed the reflections of four Rodans on the surface of the scarlet water. Sure enough, upon looking up, she saw the four reptiles flying downwards towards her, all of them solely targeting her. "You've gotta be kidding me." She muttered under her breath. With a powerful beat of her wings, Zipp shot upwards into the sky, where she immediately made a beeline for the fast approaching pterosaurs, intending to fly past the four Rodans and evade them in a daredevil maneuver.

As soon as Zipp was roughly 18 meters above the surface, and the Rodans were 22 meters — with the distance between them and the pony closing fast — the water beneath Zipp suddenly erupted as a giant sea serpent, a Manda, columned upward from the water like a rocket! Hearing the sudden loud splashing noise, Zipp looked over her shoulder, and her eyes promptly widened in horror as she saw the inside of Manda's open mouth closing in on her. On instinct, she abandoned whatever daredevil maneuver she had planned and began flying up even faster, quickly speeding past the four Rodans, who immediately did the same upon seeing the fast approaching jaws of the leviathan. With its incredibly long, snake-like body continuing to rise upwards from the crimson water like a column with no end in sight, Manda's head eventually caught up to its fleeing, airborne prey, and snatching one unfortunate Rodan that couldn't keep up in its shark-like jaws. And how fortunate for Zipp, because she was not too far from the particular pterosaur that has just met a grisly end.

Despite attacking her friends and her sister, as well as herself, Zipp couldn't help but cringe when the Rodan cried out in pain the moment Manda's powerful jaws and sharp teeth snapped shut on its body. But the white pegasus was completely unprepared when the sea serpent suddenly bent its extremely long body in the opposite direction. The sudden, sharp turn of its head caused Zipp (who was dangerously close to the Manda's head) to get struck by one of the beast's long whiskers, sending her flying straight into the crimson sea. Disorientated and in a lot of pain, Zipp was unable to prevent herself from crashing into the water at breakneck speed, producing a massive splash in the process.

"Zipp!" Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, and Pipp all cried out in unison.

Zipp's splash was only surpassed by Manda's as the gigantic sea serpent fell on its side, its extremely long body (which was well over 200 meters long) sending tons of gallons of red seawater flying when it splashed.

Despite having just witnessed a giant aquatic kaiju emerge from the sea to snatch and eat one of the pterosaurs, Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Izzy began swimming in the direction where Zipp splashed as quickly as they could. After a bit of effort, they finally arrived and saw the white pegasus floating unconsciously on the water surface; thankfully, she was laying on her back, with her face well above the surface, thus allowing her to breathe.

"Zipp! Zipp! Can you hear me!?" A distressed Pipp asked profusely, holding her sister's head above the water as she gently shook her in an effort to wake her up, with her friends watching in worried anticipation. For a moment, the four friends feared the worst, but a few coughs followed by the expelling of water from Zipp's mouth reaffirmed their hope, and made them sigh in relief.

"Ow!" Zipp hissed in pain, placing a hoof on her head. "Darn, that hurt!"

"You can say that again." Her sister smiled. Having been hit by a Rodan herself, she guessed how Zipp must have felt.

"I don't wanna downplay that we're all safe and sound, but we should really focus on getting back on land." Hitch reminded the girls as he pointed up at Maretime Bay.

"But how are we gonna get back? Zipp's wings and mine are now wet, which means we can't fly." Pipp pointed out, flapping her wings in futility to emphasize her point.

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Sunny cried out, refusing give up hope. Then, an idea clicked in her mind "Izzy, do you think you can levitate us with your magic?"

"I can try." The lilac unicorn said before closing her eyes and concentrating to do just that. However, Hitch placed a hoof on Izzy's shoulder to stop her.

"But even if you can levitate us up there, those flying monsters are gonna try to attack us the moment we're in the air." The stallion stated, pointing up at the countless Rodans that still patrolled the sky. "We'd be sitting ducks like that!" 

"Darn it! I didn't think about that." Sunny cursed.

"But one of those sea monsters might show up and gobble us up sooner or later. We're already sitting ducks!" Zipp exclaimed, reminding her friends of the Manda they had all just witnessed.

As the five friends were pondering on how they will get out of this situation, a large whirlpool suddenly began forming not too far from them. Izzy, who was closest to the rotating mass of red water, was the first to be pulled in. "Izzy!" Having noticed this, Sunny cried out and immediately grabbed hold of her friend's front hoof with her own hooves, before trying to pull her to safety. The others quickly followed suit, with Hitch grabbing Sunny by her hind hooves, Zipp grabbing Hitch by his tail, and Pipp wrapping her front hooves around her sister's torso. Despite their best effort and their combined strength to resist the pull, the whirlpool was proving to be too strong for them, and soon, all five ponies were sucked into the spinning vortex. Spun around rapidly, they screamed and cried out as they sunk deeper into the whirlpool. Eventually, Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp all completely vanished into the swirling mass of seawater, which it itself soon closed up and disappeared.

Queen Haven raced to the edge of the cliffed coast as fast as she could, but arrived just in time witness her daughters vanish into the maelstrom. Dropping to her knees, and with a voice filled with motherly grief and pain, she screamed at the top of her lungs: "Pipp! Zipp!" The only response she got was the sound of the waves splashing against the rocky coast. Tears streamed from her clenched eyes as she began to sob softly. She soon felt a hoof being placed on her shoulder, prompting her to look up and see Alphabittle looking down at her with a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry." It was all the large stallion could say to the grieving mother.

Without saying a word, Haven got up and wrapped her front legs around the tall unicorn before burying her face in his shoulder, where she continued to cry. Alphabittle gently wrapped his front legs around her in a soft, comforting embrace, understanding what she was feeling. There was nothing more heart-breaking and tragic than a parent losing their children.

While he didn't like do admit it, Izzy Moonbow was almost like a daughter to him. Before she and her friends restored magic to Bridlewood, she was the only unicorn in the village to see the brightness in everything, despite everpony else having given up hope. He didn't know how or why, but that mare somehow saw the best in all ponies, even him. And now, she was gone.

"Izzy..." Alphabittle softly whispered her name as a tear slid from the corner of his eye.





Sunny and her friends held their breaths as they descended deep beneath the surface of the crimson sea, descending deeper and deeper into the crimson darkness below as the few remaining rays of light from the above slowly faded away. Throughout this terrifying ordeal, the five friends continued holding onto each other as if their lives dependent on it, which, ironically, they did. The muffled roars of the Rodans all but disappeared, allowing silence and darkness to be the only companions to the five ponies. Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Izzy, and Pipp stared at their surroundings; they were floating in a dark-crimson void that was likely the pelagic zone, but with no signs of life anywhere. It wasn't long before the Mane 5 realized that their oxygen was running low, and if a Manda doesn't arrive to devour them, then they will surely drown. After uniting the three pony tribes together and bringing magic back to Equestria, this is how they will perish? Drowning in the depths of the sea?

Pipp was on the verge of crying, prompting Zipp to try and comfort her. Izzy looked at Sunny and Hitch, and gave them a soft smile through her clenched lips. Despite their predicament and the fact there is a good chance they may not survive, she still enjoyed the time she spent with her friends.

Suddenly, as all hope seemed lost, a visible ray of light shined from above, prompting the five ponies to look up and see the unmistakable ball of light that was the sun shining through the crimson water like a beacon of hope. Without wasting a second, the five friends immediately began swimming up as fast as they possibly could while their oxygen supply continued to plummet further. It was race against time as the ponies desperately swam to reach the surface before their air runs out. Swimming like they've never swam before, and with the willpower to keep pushing forward no matter the odds, the five ponies finally breached the surface.

As soon as their heads were out of the water, they took a deep breaths to refill their lungs with fresh oxygen.

"Oh, I've never been more happy to breathe in my whole life." Hitch said, panting in exhaustion.

"I'll never take oxygen for granted again." Pipp muttered, being equally-exhausted like the rest of her friends.

"We're alive, and that's all that matters." Sunny said, trying to stay optimistic.

"But we're no closer to getting back to Maretime Bay." Zipp reminded her friend.

"Um... maybe we don't have to...?" Izzy innocently suggested, gazing at something that her friends didn't notice for they were too tired to even look straight.

"What are you talking abo—" Hitch's sentence was cut short once his eyes fully opened, and he saw were they were.

Instead of floating in the sea not too far from Maretime Bay, with thousands of pterosaurs occupying the sky like seagulls, the five ponies found themselves floating in the middle of a medium-sized lake, surrounded by thousands of acres of woodland forest. What's more, there was not a single Rodan present in the sky above, and the only sound the group could hear were the chirps of songbirds. The one thing that remained the same was water; just like the seawater around Maretime Bay, the water that composed this entire lake was blood red in color.

"What... just happened?" Pipp could barely form words due to the sheer bafflement of were they were. "We... We were in the sea a minute ago. Not far from Maretime Bay. How are we in a lake, and in the middle of a forest, no less?"

"I think it's safe to say that all of us are wondering that right now." Hitch spoke out everypony's thoughts.

"Oh. My. Gosh! We're dead! We drowned in the sea, and now we're in the afterlife!" Pipp cried out in horror.

While it was an interesting, if frightening, possibility, Sunny wasn't convinced. Turning to her unicorn friend, she asked, "Izzy, could you please hit me?" After a little hesitation, Izzy lightly punched Sunny in the shoulder with her hoof, just enough for her friend to feel some pain. "Ouch! Yup. We're definitely still alive." Sunny declared.

"Whew. That's a relief." Hitch sighed with smiled.

"If we're not dead, then where are we?" Zipp asked curiously, glancing at their new surroundings.

"From what I can tell, I think we might have somehow teleported somewhere far away." Sunny stated. "Look at the water. It's red, just like the sea around Maretime Bay. It's possible that whatever this substance is that's turning the water red, is also somehow capable of making things that fall into it teleport a great distance."

"Well, it's the best explanation we have so far." Hitch nodded in agreement.

"But how are we gonna get back? We could be miles away from home!" Pipp exclaimed with anxiety. "Or even on the other side of the world!"

"Well, looks like we're gonna have to do this the old-fashion way!" Izzy happily exclaimed and began swimming toward the shore.

"Izzy's right." Zipp declared. "We have no other choice but to walk back home. No matter how far it is."

Seeing that there are no other options available, the rest of the ponies reluctantly nodded in agreement and began following the lilac unicorn to shore.

"Ugh. Sometimes, I hate epic adventures." Pipp muttered under her breath as she followed her friends.
> Rise of Godzilla
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood atop a tall hill near a coast that gave them a clear, good view of Manehattan in the distance, as well as the surrounding sea — and what they were seeing right now could be described as something straight out of a nightmare. The seawater surrounding the metropolitan city, and as far as the eye can see, was crimson-red in color, whilst also appearing to be releasing red dust particles into the air. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, countless flocks of Rodans could be seen swarming the city, with some patrolling the streets while many others were perched on top of the buildings, occasionally letting out loud roars and shrieks. Fortunately, the pterosaurs thus far appeared to be content with observing and exploring their surroundings without attacking the ponies. Still, it didn't make the situation any less nerve-wrecking for said ponies that inhabited the city.

"Oh, my goodness..." Rarity murmured, unable to believe her eyes.

"I hoped it was an isolated incident, but this is far worse than I could have imagined." Twilight said with dread. "What's more, the Archetype isn't limited to water; it can also spread through the air!"

The Princess of Friendship had already informed the rest of her friends about the new discovery of the material now known as Archetype, and its magic-nullifying properties. Suffice to say, her friends were both astounded and horrified that such a material could exist, and that it was in the process of spreading! Just like Twilight, they imagined a scenario similar to the magic-disappearing crisis that Cozy Glow carried out in secret, only this time it was an anomalous molecule that directly absorbs magic rather than a secret ritual.

"But what are those creatures?" Fluttershy asked, curious about the Rodans that now seemed to call Manehattan their home. "I've never seen anything like them."

"They don't look too much like birds. And they're definitely not bats." Rainbow Dash stated the obvious, hovering next to the yellow pegasus.

"Whatever they are, they seem to be connected to the Archetype in some way." Twilight subtly noted as she carefully studied the pterosaurs. Then, a realization came to mind. "Come to think of it, we don't know what that other creature is, either."

"You mean Anguirus?" Pinkie innocently asked, earning some odd looks from her friends.

"You named him 'Anguirus'?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! I think it sounds like a fitting name!" The pink pony exclaimed happily with a bright smile, to which Rainbow simply shrugged.

"Yes, him." Twilight nodded. "We really don't know what he is or where he came from. And I can't help but wonder if he's connected to the Archetype, as well."

"There's also the supposed sea monster that's been spotted near Sequestria." Applejack added. "Maybe all these critters are connected to the Archetype."

The six friends mentally agreed that there is no way this could be a coincidence. Three mysterious species of creatures that have never been seen in Equestria, and who's existence is not mentioned in any historic books or encyclopedias, suddenly appearing as soon as the anomalous material was discovered and subsequently began spreading? Suddenly, as if a mental light bulb turned on inside her mind, the alicorn's eyes widened as she realized something she hadn't noticed before.

"Could it be...?" She asked slowly, prompting her friends to look at her in confusion and concern.

"What is it, Twilight?" Applejack quickly asked.

"In some way, I think I've seen these creatures before." The princess stated while looking intently at the flying reptiles.

"You have? Where?" Fluttershy, being the animal-lover that she is, was immediately piqued by the princess' statement.

"There was this one time when I went to that alternate world that Sunset Shimmer lives in," Twilight began as she turned to look at her friends. "And she told me about a race of creatures called 'dinosaurs'."

"Dinosaurs?" They asked in unison.

"Yes," The princess nodded. "They, along with pterosaurs and marine reptiles, were ancient creatures that once lived in that other world, but went extinct millions of years ago."

"Millions of years ago?!" Her friends exclaimed in shock and disbelief, not expecting to hear such an explanation.

"That's right. One time, Sunset and I visited a museum that had skeletal remains of all kinds of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles on display." She smiled with nostalgia, remembering the various fossils she saw and learned about in the human world. Turning her attention back to the Rodans, she continued. "And, from what I can tell, it seems that the creatures we're looking at right now are pterosaurs. While that other creature, the one we now call Anguirus, is a type of dinosaur called an 'Ankylosaurus'."

"That's incredible!" Fluttershy said in awe, fascinated to learn that what they were looking at right now are other-worldly creatures that supposedly disappeared millions of years ago.

"Now hang on a minute. If that's the case, how in tarnation are these 'pterosaurs' still here? And why are they in Equestria, for that matter?" Applejack asked intently.

"That's the question I'm still trying to figure out." The princess admitted sadly.

As the two friends were conversing, Pinkie Pie spotted something from the corner of her eye, prompting her to turn her head to the right and spot something farther away in the distance, across the crimson sea and roughly 670 meters away from their shore. "Huh? What's that?" She asked and pointed a hoof at the horizon in the far distance. Her question and gesture prompted her friends to turn their attention to the direction she was pointing at — and that was when their eyes widened in shock and astonishment at what they saw. At least nine large masses could be seen smoothly rising and falling across the scarlet surface as they rapidly moved towards Manehattan at incredible speeds.

"Are those whales?" Rarity asked, placing a hoof slightly above her eyes to get a better look.

"I'm not sure, but they're swimming awfully fast." Fluttershy noted.

Indeed, whatever these creatures were, they were swimming at speeds of over 80 knots — and with such speed, they were getting closer and closer to the city by the second. At the same time, as these mysterious creatures came nearer, Twilight and her friends eventually got a better look of them, and realized that what they were looking at was not a pod of whales... it was a group of gigantic sea serpents swimming via undulating their long bodies up and down. Furthermore, they also noticed that these sea serpents possessed a greenish armored carapace that covered their backs, with spikes running along their bodies.

What the Mane 6 were looking at was a group of nine Mandas that were swimming toward Manehattan.

"Are those... sea serpents?" Applejack asked, not quite sure what to make of this.

"They're huge!" Pinkie exclaimed.

The more the ponies observed the Mandas, the more they realized just how different they were from another sea serpent that they personally knew: Steven Magnet. Compared to Steven, each Manda was much bigger and much longer than him. But in addition to size, they also possessed several noticeable arthropod-like traits, such as a carapace, centipede-like antenna on their snouts, and mantis-like forelimbs.

"I've never seen sea serpents like these before." Fluttershy said in fascination before turning to the alicorn princess. "Twilight, do you think these are those 'marine reptiles' you mentioned?"

"I... I'm not sure." Twilight hesitantly answered as she observed the sea serpents in equal-astonishment. "I don't know any dinosaurs or marine reptiles that looked quite like that."

"We should probably figure out what they are later, 'cause right now, they're headin' for Manehattan!" Applejack exclaimed, pointing out that the Mandas were still on a course with the metropolitan city, and will surely cause some serious damage when they arrive.

"Applejack's right. We have to do something before those sea serpents hurt somepony!" Twilight stated as she spread her wings, ready to take action.

"Wait! There's something else in the water." Rainbow suddenly said, stopping Twilight and prompting the other ponies to notice something rising from the red seawater, roughly 100 meters away from the speeding Mandas.

Once again, the six ponies found themselves astounded upon seeing a row of five maple leaf-shaped spikes knifing through the scarlet surface like a shark with incredible speed, and chasing after the sea serpents. Despite how fast the Mandas were swimming, the spikes — or rather, the creature they were attached to — was swimming much faster, with speeds of up to 90 knots. In no time, this new creature soon began closing the 100 meter-distance and was gaining on the fleeing sea serpents, who appeared to start panicking and swimming even faster in desperation to escape, but to no avail.

"What in Equestria is that thing?" Rarity asked in shock as she gazed at the speeding row of spikes pursuing the Mandas.

"I don't know, but it looks like it's chasing the sea serpents." Fluttershy noted, noticing how the Mandas appeared desperate to evade their mysterious pursuer. At that moment, another realization came to her mind. "The sea serpents weren't going to attack Manehattan, they're just trying to get away from whatever is chasing them!"

"It looks like it's gonna catch up to them, though." Rainbow commented, observing the hunt in fascination. Part of her wanted to see how this hunt will conclude, but another part felt pity for the Mandas that were being chased.

Sensing that the pursuer was nearing its tail, one of the Mandas opted to break off from the group, turn, and start swimming west, hoping its sudden and unexpected action would confuse its would-be predator and allow it to escape. Unfortunately for that particular Manda, however, the row of spikes quickly changed course and started chasing it. It was clear that this mysterious aquatic predator will not give up this hunt so easily.

"They're heading our way!" Twilight cried out as she realized that both the Manda and the thing chasing it were now swimming in their direction. The tall hill on which Twilight and her friends were standing was not too far from the shore. Still, the two sea monsters were at least 640 meters away from their shore, which meant that, despite their speed, it would still be some time before they reach the shore — if they do at all, for that matter.

"Relax, Twilight. They're still a long way from the shore. By the time the get here, we'll be far away from them." Rainbow Dash replied confidently.

"I hope your right, Rainbow." Twilight gulped. With all the crazy things they've seen yesterday (especially Anguirus' precognitive ability), she wouldn't be surprised if the Manda or the thing chasing it suddenly teleported right in front of them.

Try as it might, the Manda couldn't outswim its persistent would-be attacker, who was gaining on it with each passing second, its dorsal spines slicing through the water with ferocious speed. As the aquatic hunter started nearing its prey, the row of spines suddenly dove under the scarlet surface and disappeared from view. At first, it seemed like the predator had given up the hunt all of the sudden. But those who made that hasty assumption were quickly proven wrong when the water central to the Manda's long body erupted upwards as something massive clamped its crocodile-like jaws on the sea serpent's body and leapt forth like a dolphin into the air, and into visual range.

Twilight and her friends were flabbergasted and their mouths were left hanging open in awe at the majestic, yet terrifying sight. Holding the Manda in its jaws, a huge, crimson Mosasaur-like creature with four clawed flippers and a gigantic tail ending with a fluke-like fin, soared powerfully through the air, water trailing behind its red body like a comet in a moment that almost seemed like time itself had slowed down. On its back, the ponies saw a row of maple leaf-shaped spines, thus finally answering the question of what said spines were attached to. Like a Great White shark breaching the water and catching a seal, Godzilla Aquatilis held the comparatively-longer Manda tightly in his powerful, vice-like jaws as gravity pulled both him and his prey back into the water, where they made an absolutely massive splash.

"Holy mackerel!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "And it's not even a mackerel!"

"Incredible!" Rarity breathed in awe.

"What in tarnation!" Applejack cried out.

"So awesome!" Rainbow yelled in excitement at the spectacular display of power.

"Oh, my..." Fluttershy was at a loss for words, both from shock and astonishment.

Twilight, meanwhile, couldn't say a word because her mind was still processing what she and her friends just witnessed. Upon seeing Godzilla Aquatilis erupt from the water and seize the Manda in his jaws, she almost immediately noticed his resemblance to a certain marine reptile she learned about in the human world.

"Was that... a Mosasaur?" She asked in astonishment and disbelief.

Hearing this, her friends immediately turned to look at her in confusion.

"A Mosasaur?" Fluttershy asked. "Is that what that creature we saw is called?"

"Yes." Twilight nodded. "Or at least, that's what it supposedly looked like. Truth be told, I don't really know if Mosasaurs looked like that for sure, as all that's left of them are their bones. There were also different types of Mosasaurs, such as Tylosaurus and Prognathodon. So I'm guessing this must be a type of Mosasaur, too."

As the six friends were discussing what they saw, the Manda suddenly bursted from the water and let out a loud roar of pain before it was promptly pulled back under the red sea.





Elsewhere, Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals were walking through and navigating the woodland forest. It has been almost ten minutes since the ponies arrived in this forest that is likely many miles away from home. Thankfully, they so far haven't come across any Rodans or other hostile creatures, and the only animals they've seen so far are small songbirds, squirrels, and other animals that are typically found in forests.

"Well, so far, so good." Hitch commented, giving the surrounding forest a cautionary glance.

"I can't believe we're going on another journey to who-knows-where. Again!" Pipp complained before she took out her mobile phone to check on it, which did not respond. "And my phone short-circuited because of the water. Not to mention our home is still being attacked by those bird things! Ugh! This is the worst day ever!"

"On the bright side, we still have each other!" Izzy cheerfully pointed out.

"Izzy's right, Pipp." Sunny stated. "We still have each other. And as long as we're together, we will find our way back home, one way or another."

"There's still the matter of saving our home from those bird monsters." Zipp pointed out. "Not to mention the sea turning red, and giant sea monsters inhabiting it."

"She's right." Hitch nodded. "How exactly are we gonna deal with those monsters? Especially seeing as how they're not fond of me like most of the other animals."

Sunny bit her lower lip and looked down at the ground as she walked. She hadn't thought about that, but fortunately, Izzy decided to speak for her.

"Well, it is a long way home. I'm sure we'll think of something when we get there!" The ever-cheerful unicorn once again said.

These words were enough to lift Sunny's spirit as she also remembered something important during their fight against the pterosaurs. "Yeah! Did you see that awesome beam Izzy shot from her horn, or that incredible daredevil move Zipp did? If we can do that, we can take on those monsters!" Sunny exclaimed happily.

These encouraging words prompted her friends to gain confident looks on their faces just like herself. Indeed, those feats Zipp and Izzy preformed were nothing to sneeze at. And if two ponies can do that individually, imagine what Earth ponies with their advanced technology, unicorns with their magic, and Pegasi with their power of flight could do by working together against this common enemy.

"You're right, Sunny! With everything we have, technology plus magic, we can beat those monsters, and send them back wherever they came from!" Zipp pumped her hoof.

"Yeah! And we might even somehow reverse whatever's happening to the sea!" Hitch added.

"We did bring magic back to Equestria, after all." Pipp said, smiling to her friends. "If we can do that, we can handle this!"

"Yeah! Go, Team Super Five!" Izzy cried out enthusiastically, prompting her friends to suddenly stop in place and give her odd looks.

" 'Team Super Five'?" Hitch quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah! It's a superhero team name I came up with just now!" The lilac unicorn grinned ear to ear.

The four ponies looked at their enthusiastic friend for a moment, then at one another, before they all bursted into a playful laughter together. Even when they're far away from home and stranded in a forest, so long as they were together, the five ponies still found joy and hope in spite of their predicament. As the five friends were laughing, however, a rustling noise came from some nearby tall bushes. In an instant, the Mane 5 stopped their laughing, froze on the spot and turned towards the bushes.

"What was that?" Pipp asked, already in panic mode.

"It might be one of those bird monsters. Be careful." Zipp said as she instantly spread her wings and adopted a defensive posture.

"Speaking of which, we should probably start calling them something else. 'Bird monsters' just seems a little too... generic." Hitch said matter-of-factly.

"Oh! How about we call them Rodans?" Izzy suggested.

" 'Rodans'?" Sunny couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Why Rodans?"

"I dunno. The name just popped in my head for some reason." Izzy shrugged.

The others looked at one another for a moment before also shrugging. Another loud rustle prompted the ponies to return their attention on the matter at hoof. They tensed up and prepared for whatever was lurking behind those bushes, be it a Rodan (as they now called them) or something else. Zipp and Pipp were ready to get airborne, Izzy was preparing to summon her magic, while Sunny and Hitch were wondering what they should do should the possible would-be attacker go after them first. After a minute or two of intense waiting, the thing that was making the noise finally emerged from the tall bushes and showed itself to the five ponies.

What emerged from the thick foliage was something that took the five ponies completely by surprise. Stepping out of the vegetation, the Mane Five looked up and gasped as a very tall machine of some kind in the shape of a bipedal thing stood before them! Coming from a place where advanced technology is the norm, the presence of the robot itself wasn't too surprising; it was the fact that it was in a woodland forest with no sign of civilization or urbanization, and how it was shaped that was truly surprising. Rather than the shape of a pony (like Sprout's war machine), the body of this robot was bipedal, with two tall metallic legs for standing and walking, and two arms located on the sides of its rotund torso. Its body was primarily silver, with red and yellow painted on certain parts of its body, while its head was pyramid-shaped with a large 'grin' plastered on its face and two eyes that glowed blue. It had ribbed rubber connectors protecting its shoulder joints and neck, and three-clawed hands similar to those of industrial robots used for making Canterlogic products. Its size was also another thing that caught the equines' eyes; although not quite as big as Sprout's war machine, this bipedal robot was still quite large — at least seventeen feet tall.

"What in Equestria...?!" Pipp cried out, gawking at the intimidating mech as it turned its head and stared down at the ponies.

"It's machine of some kind!" Hitch exclaimed. "Which means there's probably a town nearby that can help us get back!"

"Are you sure about that, Hitch?" Sunny asked, looking at the robot in uncertainty, and then at her friend.

"Yeah. I mean, how else can a machine end up in the middle of a forest?" The stallion asked.

"Wow. It's sparkle is so cool!" Izzy suddenly said as she stared at the tall robot with widened eyes of excitement. "It's sparkle is... citrine!"

"Wait, what?" Hitch asked as he and the others turned to their unicorn friend, looking at her in confusion and surprise. "Izzy, it's a machine. It's not a living creature. How can it possibly have a sparkle?"

"But I can see it with my own eyes! It's super cool!" The lilac unicorn said giddily.

Again, her friends looked at each other in confusion and bewilderment. How can a machine — a non-living object made of metal — have a sparkle? Unless...

"There must be somepony inside the robot!" Pipp exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah! That would explain why Izzy can see a sparkle!" Hitch nodded. With that, the sheriff took a deep breath and began approaching the tall mech, who stood on the spot without moving and simply stared down as it watched the stallion approach it. "Ahem. Hello, there!" Hitch waved a hoof up at the tall robot and gave it a friendly smile. "We don't mean to be a bother to you, sir - or ma'am - but could you please help us out here? You see, we're kind of lost, and we would be really grateful if you could help show us the way back home?"

Hitch asked politely and sincerely, hoping to get a response in kind. But the only response he got from the mech was a slight tilt of its head, seemingly in confusion.

"Uh... Hello? Anypony in there?" He asked again. And again, no vocal response. The tall robot simply stood there without moving or making any kind of sound, only staring down at the sheriff of Maretime Bay.

"I don't think anypony's inside that thing, Hitch." Zipp said as she also approached the mech.

"But how can Izzy see its sparkle?" Pipp asked.

For some reason, Sunny couldn't help but feel a strong positive energy from the robot. It didn't feel like there was a living being inside it... it was more like the machine itself was alive and conscious. But... that couldn't be, right? Then again, with all the crazy thing she and her friends went through recently, maybe this wasn't that far off. After a bit of contemplation, Sunny walked up to and stood before the tall robot, who now fixed its attention on her.

"Hello? Can you understand what we're saying?" She called out to the robot. Then, to everypony's surprise, the robot actually nodded its head.

"Did it just... nod?" Hitch asked, surprised that the mech respond to his friend's question.

"Maybe it really is alive..." Zipp said, equally-astounded.

"Do you have a name?" Again, Sunny asked, and this time, the robot did more than a simple head movement. The robot actually knelt down on one knee and started writing something on the ground with its finger, which surprised the ponies even more. Once the mech finished writing, the ponies saw what it wrote. " 'Jet Jaguar'." Sunny read the words the robot wrote out loud. "Is that your name?" The apricot pony asked, to which the robot — now known as Jet Jaguar — nodded once again.

"Okay, I stand corrected. That machine is definitely sentient." Hitch admitted, but no less astonished.

"Okay, then. Can you tell use who made you, Jet Jaguar?" Pipp asked. The robot responded by raising his shoulders slightly, signifying that he does not know, or at least does not remember who, or what, created him.

"Do you know of any ponies that live anywhere near here, or the closest civilization?" Hitch asked, prompting Jet Jaguar to repeat his response.

"I guess we're back to square one, then." Zipp muttered in disappointment.

"Well, it was worth the try." Izzy shrugged and turned toward the tall robot. "Thanks anyway, Jet Jaguar!"

As the ponies prepared to leave, Jet Jaguar suddenly stood up to his full height and stepped in front of them, blocking their path. "Huh? What is it?" Sunny asked, surprised by the robot's sudden action. Jet Jaguar pointed a finger at himself, and then at the direction they were planning to go. "You want to come with us?" The apricot Earth pony asked, to which the robot nodded.

"I don't see why not. The more the merrier!" Zipp said with a smile.

"I'm with you, Zipp." Pipp agreed. "A 17 foot-tall bodyguard is just what we need."

"Oh, come on, Pipp. You're not saying we can't take care of ourselves, are you?" Zipp asked playfully, prompting her sister to scoff at her.

"No." Pipp quickly said. "I'm just saying that having an extra pair of hooves — or metal limbs, in this case — wouldn't hurt."

"Normally, I'd question this decision and not be fully onboard with it, but in this case," Hitch looked at Jet Jaguar and smiled. "Welcome to the team, big guy!"

"Yay! Jet Jaguar has joined Team Super Five!" Izzy exclaimed happily. "By the way, should we call ourselves 'Team Super Six', now that he's joining us?"

"Heh. We might as well." Zipp laughed.

With that, the Mane Five resumed their journey to find their way back home — and with Jet Jaguar now accompanying them, they felt even more confident and more prepared for whatever dangers that may lay ahead of them. But of course, only time will tell how ready they truly are... when they discover not only where they are, but also when they are.





Back near the shore where the Mane 6 were standing, the six ponies were looking out to the crimson sea, which had now become deathly silent. Just five minutes ago, they witnessed a hunt unlike any other — they witnessed a huge aquatic creature (which Twilight presumed to be a Mosasaur) capture a sea serpent with arthropod-like features after a prolonged chase. Thanks to Godzilla Aquatilis going after and catching the Manda that broke off from the group, the other Mandas that were previously on a collision course with Manehattan turned away from the island, and began swimming away from the metropolitan city. Thus it was one less problem Twilight and her friends had to worry about.

After Godzilla Aquatilis pulled his struggling prey under the water and both disappeared, neither kaiju was seen since, leaving Twilight and her friends guessing as to what will happen next.

"Ya think it's over?" Applejack hesitantly asked Twilight, who was standing next to her.

Before the princess could reply, Pinkie Pie's body suddenly began vibrating like a jackhammer, even more than when she vibrated prior to Anguirus' appearance in Ponyville. It was a sure sign that her Pinkie Sense is warning that something is about to happen soon.

"What's your Pinkie Sense telling you this time, Pinkie?" Rainbow immediately and eagerly asked.

"I'v-v-v-v-v-ve nev-v-v-v-v-v-v-er f-f-f-f-f-f-felt anyt-t-t-t-hin-n-n-n-n-g like t-t-t-t-t-this b-b-b-b-b-b-befo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ore-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!" The pink pony replied through broken words as her body continued to vibrate like crazy. "B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-ut w-w-w-w-w-w-w-hat-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tever it is-s-s-s-s-s-s-s, it's gon-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-na be un-n-n-n-n-n-n-lik-k-k-k-k-k-k-e any do-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ozey I'v-v-v-v-v-v-v-ve ev-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-er se-e-e-e-e-e-e-n!"

As if on cue, a sudden splash prompted the ponies to shift their attention back toward the crimson sea, where they spotted Godzilla's iconic dorsal plates breaching the surface like knives in the water. They gasped when they noticed that the sea monster was now much closer to shore than he was previously; Godzilla was now only 200 meters from the beach that Twilight and her friends were not too away from.

As the upper surface of Godzilla's back, head, and tail also breached the surface, a massive plume of crimson clouds was expelled from his body and into the air. Like a half-submerged crocodile, Godzilla Aquatilis silently rested on the surface. Having just finished eating the Manda he caught required some rest — after all, it was a rather large meal. But consuming the sea serpent did more than simply satisfy Godzilla's hunger — it granted him energy and power, which was quite evident as his massive body continued filling the atmosphere around him with excess amounts of red dust as opposed to only expelling it in the water. As more and more Archetype was released into the air, a growing dense cloud of crimson dust gradually began to obscure the half-submerged kaiju from the ponies' view.

"Well, looks like the Mosasaur finished his lunch." Rainbow Dash mused.

Fluttershy felt disgusted and pitied the unfortunate Manda that was eaten. But at the same time, she knew that this was just how nature worked; No good guys or bad guys, just prey and predator doing what nature created them to do.

"It's producing Archetype directly from its body!" Twilight said in a mix of anxiety and astonishment. She may not know much about Mosasaurs, but she was pretty certain that they couldn't produce red dust from their bodies like the one before them was doing right now.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-teverr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r it's do-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oing, I thi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ink we-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e're get-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-ting clo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ose-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-er to-o-o-o-o-o the do-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ozey!" Pinkie Pie, who's body hasn't ceased vibrating one bit throughout this entire event, said. The fact that this 'Mosasaur' was now producing Archetype directly from its body, and in large quantities into the air, was not a good sign for Twilight and her friends.

"Heads up, y'all. That thing's comin' toward' us! And it's comin' in fast!" Applejack cried out, prompting her friends to shift their attention toward the ever-growing cloud of red dust. Sure enough, Godzilla Aquatilis' dorsal spines could be seen weaving through the crimson clouds, and heading towards the shore! Even more worrisome, the beast appeared to be swimming even faster than it did when it was chasing the Manda.

"Twilight, darling, did Mosasaurs come out of the water and onto land to attack prey, by chance?" Rarity, understandably worried, asked her friend as she and her friends watched Godzilla was fast approaching their shore.

"I'm not sure." Twilight regretfully admitted. "But, from what I've learned about them, Mosasaurs were strictly aquatic creatures, and couldn't come ashore like crocodiles or sea turtles."

"I think we're about to find out!" Rainbow gulped in fear, watching the supposedly strictly-aquatic monster coming nearer to land.

With the aquatic leviathan coming closer to the shore, the water soon became shallower by the second, but that didn't seem to stop Godzilla from persisting. Eventually, however, Godzilla Aquatilis came to an abrupt halt as puffing plumes of the scarlet material puffed upwards to obscure the beast from the ponies' view once again.

"Did he stop?" Rarity asked, hopeful for the answer to be a definitive 'yes'.

"I...I think so." Fluttershy said, but she too was hesitant to say for certain.

"Don't worry! Even if he does try to attack us, we're still a long way from the shore." Rainbow Dash boasted confidently. "There's no way he'll be able to catch us!" Indeed, the Mane 6 were still a considerable distance away from the water's age. Not to mention it was highly unlikely that a massive creature like that would be fast on land as it is in the water.

"That may be so, Rainbow, but the Archetype he's producing is definitely something to worry about." Twilight pointed out.

All of the sudden, a bellowing roar echoed from the ever-growing cloud of Archetype that engulfed the sea monster, prompting some of the ponies to rethink their statements about the creature not being able to come ashore. Amidst the clouds of red dust that were now thicker than ever, Godzilla Aquatilis could barely be seen at all; only the outline of his dorsal plates could be properly made out. Regardless, the Mane Six felt his massive weight dragging along the sandy beach. Just by feeling it, the six ponies knew exactly what was happening. The question of whether or not this supposed 'Mosasaur' could come ashore and venture onto land was already being answered.

Godzilla was dragging himself along the ground and coming onto land.

"What do you know? He can come ashore." Rarity deadpanned.

"I honestly didn't know Mosasaurs could do that!" Twilight admitted in a mixture of fascination and fear. "I better inform Sunset about this discovery when I get the chance!"

Plumes of the red dust pillared upwards as the leviathan moved forward, prompting the ponies to take several steps backwards in anxiety an concern. Through the haze of crimson particles, a giant clawed reptilian paw emerged and slammed down on the sandy ground with a thunderous 'boom'! The claws of the flipper-like paw sank into the soft sand, and through the spreading cloud of red dust, a massive silhouette began to loom. A deep, menacing growl came from within the scarlet fog, and the huge silhouette of the formerly aquatic monster continued to rise into view, his other limb colliding with the ground with yet another powerful quake. The ponies could feel the ground beneath them tremble as the colossal reptile continued to drag his huge body forward, the ground continuing to rattle as the beast lumbered forth.

Eventually, the walking mountain came to a halt, and reared his head out of the crimson haze... except it wasn't its head — at least, not what it used to look like a minute ago.

What the six ponies saw left them speechless and unable to believe their eyes.

As the red dust cleared away to reveal the kaiju's form, the Mane 6 were left even more dumbfounded and astonished at seeing what was otherwise an unseen transformation. Godzilla's body had underwent a sort of metamorphosis the moment he started dragging himself onto land. The once crimson and elongated body was now a bulky, four-legged one that was also covered in black stripes and bumpy orange scales, almost like the coat of a tiger. Godzilla's long tail that flexed in the air now had three barbs at the end instead of a splayed fluke-like fin, while his clawed flippers had transformed into functional legs with extended 'fingers' tipped with claws, repurposed for the task of terrestrial locomotion; with the hind legs being smaller than the forelegs. The two antenna from his previous form had transformed into small, horn-like spikes, and the two fins that were located on the sides of his face had transformed into a pair of spiky structures. The larger fin atop his head was modified into a single row of large spines that ran down from the top of his equally-transformed head. Godzilla's back was covered in a knobby-scaled carapace, with the same scales also running along his limbs, and his underbelly being smoothly textured. The only thing that remained unchanged from his previous form were the maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates on his back.

The once Mosasaur-like creature had transformed into a form that was more suitable for life on land, resembling a cross between a reptilian sea lion and a monstrous iguana.

He was now... Godzilla Amphibia!
> Godzilla's attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and her friends stared in awe and disbelief at the unbelievable and nightmarish creature that was now crawling along the sandy beach like a giant reptilian version of a seal. Just five minutes ago, this gigantic, semi-terrestrial creature that was standing before them was restricted to the water and resembled something that Twilight referred to as a 'Mosasaur' — a marine reptile native to the human world that supposedly went extinct millions of years ago. The Princess of Friendship may not be an expert on Mosasaurs, but she was 100% certain that they did not metamorphose into terrestrial forms in order to venture onto land like frogs and salamanders.

So then what was this abomination that was standing before them, expelling massive plumes of red dust from its body?

"I don't suppose Mosasaurs could do that, too. Could they, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, more curious than scared as she turned to look at her friend.

"No. I'm certain that Mosasaurs were incapable of metamorphosing." The princess answered without hesitation, starring at the colossal reptile in awe. "I... I have no idea what this creature is."

At this point, Pinkie Pie's body finally ceased vibrating like a jackhammer. "Huh. My body stopped moving. That means the doozy's over!" The pink pony cheerfully declared. Unfortunately, her cheerful demeanor quickly changed to that of horror when Godzilla Amphibia suddenly turned his head towards the Mane Six's direction and stared directly at them. The beast opened his mouth, revealing countless sharp teeth as he let out a bellowing roar, the force of which partially blew away some of the red dust, revealing more of his transformed body to the ponies.

"And by the looks of it, it doesn't look like a pretty good doozy." The pink Earth pony quietly said to herself as her ears flattened against her head.

"Fluttershy, you're the animal expert. Can't you talk to him?" Rainbow Dash asked in concern.

"Um... I could try." The yellow pegasus meekly replied as she prepared to fly over to the behemoth reptile, only to be stopped by Twilight who extended her right wing to prevent her friend from going any further.

"I don't think it's a good idea to get any closer to him, Fluttershy." Twilight stated firmly. "Not with the massive cloud of Archetype surrounding the creature." The princess pointed towards the ever-growing plumes of red dust that once again began to partially obscure Godzilla's massive body. "You'll have to communicate with him from here."

"Okay, I'll try." The yellow pegasus nodded before turning her head towards the massive kaiju — who was still silently staring at the ponies — and taking a few steps forward. "Excuse me, Mr. Monster?" She called out a little louder than normal due to the significant distance between herself and the kaiju, but her tone was filled with her usual soft-spokenness. Responding to her call, Godzilla fixated his attention solely on the yellow pegasus now. "Um, hi. My name is Fluttershy, and I'd like to kindly ask if you can stop spreading this red dust everywhere? You see, its very harmful to magical creatures, as it causes them to lose their magic. And overall, it's really harmful to the environment, too. You understand, don't you?"

After Fluttershy finished her explanation and gave him a pleading smile, Godzilla Amphibia remained unmoving, sans the swinging of his massive tail, but his yellow-colored eyes held their chilling gaze on the shy Pegasi, which unnerved her more than a little. After nearly two minutes of non-response, the quadrupedal colossus eventually made a move; lifting one of his massive flipper-like forelegs, the kaiju took a step forward, shaking the ground beneath the ponies. He took another step, followed by another short tremor. Slowly but surely, Godzilla was dragging his huge body forward and slowly advancing towards the Mane Six's direction. His incredibly long tail was waving back and forth in the air like a faceless serpent as the colossal reptile headed inland. Whats more, the thick cloud of Archetype surrounding Godzilla rapidly began spreading in all directions the moment the kaiju started moving.

"Well, so much for communicating with him." Applejack muttered at the lack of progress from the kaiju.

"We have to get out of the way. That red dust is coming in fast!" Twilight warned.

Heeding their wise friend's warning, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack nodded at the princess before galloping away from the fast-approaching tsunami of crimson fog. Twilight herself, however, stood her ground and looked at the advancing kaiju with a look of determination on her face. Lighting up her horn, she aimed it at Godzilla's face and fired a purple beam of magic at him. As soon as the beam came in contact with the red cloud, however, it instantly frittered into dozens of tiny glowing particles before disappearing completely. Her beam didn't even come within 30 meters of Godzilla Amphibia before it dissipated.

"Just as I thought. The Archetype instantly absorbed and nullified my magic." Twilight said to herself as she studied the phenomenon. "If we're going to stop this creature, we're going to have to think outside the box."

All of the sudden, Godzilla Amphibia halted his advance and stared directly at the alicorn princess, seemingly in surprise. It was difficult for Twilight to tell what the kaiju was thinking of. Was he perhaps surprised at her magical ability? Did he assume she was going to do something else or retreat like her friends? Regardless of the reason behind the beast's unexpected halt, the Princess of Friendship flapped her wings and took to the sky to avoid the fast-approaching crimson fog. Godzilla's attention was still fixated on the alicorn princess as she flew upwards, seemingly studying the equine.

Then, the kaiju began to undertake a new action — something that Twilight was completely unprepared for. Godzilla aimed his head down at the ground and opened his jaws as wide as possible; this was followed by a strange hissing sound emanating from inside the kaiju's open mouth. At first, Twilight had no clue as to what he was doing, only hearing the strange noise. But then, she suddenly felt a sharp change in the very air around her — she felt the temperature of the area dropping rapidly. Within seconds, the air became hostile and downright frigid, and it wasn't due to the red dust (which she was safely away from). The princess' eyes widened in shock when she noticed that Godzilla Amphibia was spewing some kind of transparent vapor from his mouth and on the ground, allowing it to spread rapidly like the waves of a tsunami.

"What is he doing now?" Twilight thought out loud, her breath visible due to the increasingly low temperature as her mind raced with questions.





Elsewhere, high up in the clear, blue sky, the three famous Wonderbolts, Spitfire, Soarin, and Misty Fly were soaring through a sea of clouds, leaving long trails of colorful thunderclouds behind them as they flew. By now, they had been flying for nearly an hour, but they were not doing this to have some free time after a hard day's work — they were sent on a mission by princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Alright," Spitfire spoke up. "According to witnesses, there have been sightings of strange, bird-like creatures flying in the skies all over Equestria. And according to the latest report, some of these creature have been spotted flying somewhere near here. So keep your eyes open!" She said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am!" Soarin and Misty Fly both said in unison.

An hour ago, the Wonderbolts have been hearing increasing reports of unidentified flying creatures occupying the skies in Equestria. These creatures were allegedly first spotted emerging from the sea around Manehattan, but their presence quickly spread to other locations such as Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Las Pegasus, Seaward Shoals, and very recently, they were even seen further inland in places such as Appleloosa. Normally, the presence of animals wouldn't warrant an investigation from the Wonderbolts, but the fact that no animal expert could identify what these creatures combined with their ever-growing presence in the land was starting to get many ponies to feel more a little uncomfortable, prompting Twilight to contact them and ask if they can look further into this recent phenomenon.

"Are you sure this is where these creatures were spotted?" Misty Fly asked as she glanced at her surroundings, and seeing nothing but clouds, mountain peaks, and the occasional towns. " 'Cause I don't see anything."

"Keep looking." Spitfire replied nonchalantly. "They're around here somewhere."

Soarin was scanning his surroundings, but so far saw nothing out of the ordinary. He was considering to ask Spitfire to call off the investigation... until his spotted movement on his right from the corner of his eye. Turning his head to his right, Soarin's eyes widened behind his goggles when he saw a dark-brown bird-like creature with backward-facing horns and a long beak emerge from a nearby cloud, its membranous wings were spread wide as it glided on the air currents not too far from them.

Before he could alert their leader, a sudden exclaim from Misty Fly caused his words to get caught in his throat.

"Ma'am, I think I found our culprit!" Misty shouted, prompting Soarin turn his head to his left, and see another Rodan flying not too far from Misty Fly on the other side.

"What in Equestria is that thing?" Spitfire asked, equally-puzzled as her two colleagues at what they were seeing.

A sudden loud screech from below prompted the three Pegasi to shift their attention beneath them, where the sea of clouds had become thin enough that the ground was visible — or lack thereof; because, instead of seeing the actual ground, what the Wonderbolts saw sent a chill down their spines and made their eye widen in horror and astonishment. Flying roughly a mile below the Wonderbolts was massive flock that consisted of hundreds or perhaps even thousands of Rodans, most of which were leaving faint trails of red dust in their wake.

"I think we should probably alert Princess Twilight about this." Soarin softly suggested, gazing at the sea of pterosaurs in shock and disbelief.

"That definitely goes without saying." Spitfire nodded, still unable to believe what she and her fellow Wonderbolts were seeing.





Twilight was hovering high in the air, watching in astonishment at the scene that was happening on the ground below her. The ever-expanding thick cloud of crimson haze was being expelled and blown away from Godzilla Amphibia's body like gusts of wind, leaving the kaiju completely exposed to the outside environment. Regardless, Godzilla didn't seem to acknowledge this as he was still busy vomiting his ice vapor from his fanged maw, which was continuing to spread further and further, with the ground beneath the kaiju having already become coated in a layer of ice particles. Watching this, the princess could only assume that the freezing vapor was blowing away the red dust, but she still wondered what Godzilla was doing. Her question was soon answered when the kaiju suddenly jutted his head up at the sky and breathed forth his ice vapor at her, directly washing it over the hovering alicorn to bathe her in a continuous, sub-zero breeze.

Twilight screamed in distress and pain as the extreme cold engulfed her completely. The second the frigid ice vapor struck her, she could feel her entire body being chilled to the bone. Quickly, the alicorn princess flapped her wings before her muscles fail her, and flew out of the freezing assault. Unfortunately for her, Godzilla seemed to have every intent on freezing the equine as he turned his head to follow her flight path. Twilight found it hard to fly fast enough to evade the freezing vapor due to already taking serious damage from the kaiju's first assault. In moment of a mixture between desperation and frustration, the princess aimed her horn at the attacking beast.

"Stop it!" She yelled before firing three consecutive powerful blasts of magic at Godzilla Amphibia.

Her blasts struck Godzilla in the head and shoulders, but did no noticeable damage to the kaiju. Growling in frustration, Twilight summoned even more magic and condensed it at the tip of her horn, where it manifested as purple sphere of condensed energy about the size of a basketball. Thinking it was enough, the princess aimed at the inside of the kaiju's mouth and launching the powerful energy sphere at Godzilla.

The magical attacked raced towards the quadrupedal colossus and struck the inside of his gaping maw as he was spewing out his vapor. When the sphere impacted, it exploded with enough power and force to make the beast flinch in pain and even cry out a little. For a moment, Twilight allowed herself to smile, thinking she had finally halted the monster's rampage... only for her eyes to widen in shock when the resulting explosion of her attack was absorbed into Godzilla's vapor. A brief but very bright flash of light formed inside Godzilla's mouth before another, more powerful explosion consumed his head. The resulting shockwave of this second explosion was so powerful that it completely dispersed the entire haze of crimson particles, allowing the entire area to once again be visible. But only for a moment, for Twilight soon saw (and felt) the Archetype particles surging upwards into the air around Godzilla's body with incredible speed like a powerful gush of wind. As the particles continued to rapidly accelerate upwards into the sky, forming gigantic a column, they were also glowing bright orange in color.

The princess' eyes widened in horror as she realized what was about to happen. Acting on instinct, her horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of light.

...

Elsewhere, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were at least 100 meters away from Godzilla and the ever expanding crimson fog he was producing. Hovering high in the air, Rainbow and Fluttershy had a much better view of the situation. A minute ago, they saw the beast unleash some kind of ice vapor from its mouth that it used to freeze the ground beneath it and later unleashed it on their friend. Rainbow initially wanted to fly over there and help Twilight, but stopped when she saw the princess fire several energy beams at Godzilla, before launching a particularly powerful energy sphere at him, which struck the kaiju in the mouth. Rainbow and the others initially cheered for Twilight, thinking she had won, but their cheer was cut-short when they saw another explosion suddenly occur from inside Godzilla's mouth. That is when the crimson fog monetarily dispersed and cleared away before the particles that comprised said crimson fog suddenly began accelerating upwards into the air and glowing an orange color.

"We have to get out of here! NOW!" In a flash of light, a desperate and terrified Twilight Sparkle appeared before the five ponies, startling them by her sudden appearance.

"Wait, what?" The cyan pegasus barely got a few words out.

"No time to explain!"

Not giving her friends time to ask anything else, Twilight ignited her horn, causing herself and her five friends disappear in less than a second. Just in time before...


*KABOOOOM!*


A bright flash of white light filled the area where Godzilla was, followed by an incredibly powerful shockwave and a very loud booming sound from said light. After the light died down and disappeared, a gigantic mushroom cloud that reached a height of 500 meters was present where the light was. Fiery sparks rained down from the top of the cloud, while the column below was composed of dark smoke mixed with orange flames, complete with a very wide ring of black smoke around its middle. This powerful explosion was followed by a loud, resonating sound that could be heard from a mile away!





Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and their newest companion, Jet Jaguar, were still navigating the thick foliage of the forest they have grown accustomed with. It has been nearly an hour since the five ponies encountered Jet Jaguar, and since then, they still had no luck in finding any civilization or other ponies that could help them. Jet Jaguar opted to walk in front of the group to protect them in case they run into trouble. While Sunny, Pipp, and Izzy appreciated this, Hitch and Zipp were somewhat bothered as they didn't want to be seen as helpless.

"What is wrong with me? I'm still not able to fly." Zipp complained as she flapped her wings and jumped forward to try and get airborne, only to fall back to the ground. "It's been almost an hour. Our wings should be dry enough to fly by now."

"I know. My magic's not working, either." Izzy commented, trying to activate her magic, to make her horn glow and levitate something, only for nothing to happen.

"You think that red stuff in the water might have something to do with them not being able to use magic?" Hitch asked Sunny curiously.

"Well, it did somehow transport us in a forest we've never seen before, so that's definitely another possibility." Sunny replied.

"This sucks!" Pipp cried out. "Not only are we in the middle of nowhere, not knowing where we're going, but we also lost our magic. Again!" She said, hanging her head in despair.

The others looked at her sympathetically, understanding what she is going through. They've had their home attacked by flying reptiles, which sent them splashing into the sea where they were subsequently sucked into a maelstrom, and arrived here. And now, they have learned that they don't even have magic anymore. Honestly, it was surprising that the others weren't as distraught as Pipp was.

"Hey, sis." Zipp gently placed her hoof underneath Pipp's chin to lifted her head up slightly and look her in the eyes. "We're gonna get through this, okay? Somehow, someway, we're gonna get through all this and get back home, safe and sound."

"Even if we're on the other side of the world?" Pipp sarcastically asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Zipp answered without hesitation. "Even if we're on the other side of the world."

Pipp couldn't help but smile as she shook her head. "Sometimes, you say the craziest things. When you do, I usually scoff at you. But right now, I'm grateful for it."

Zipp returned the smile.

The tender moment between the two sisters was interrupted when a very loud booming sound suddenly filled the forest. The ground and the air seemed to shake from the force of the loud sound. All the birds and other forest-dwelling creatures immediately fled for their lives. That was when Sunny and her friends spotted the massive mushroom cloud farther northeast in the distance, easily towering over the surrounding forest.

"Wow! What in Equestria was that?!" Hitch cried out.

"Whatever it is, it's huge!" Izzy stated the obvious.

"Do you know what that is, Jet Jaguar?" Sunny asked the tall robot, who responded by shaking his head back and forth to indicate that he does not know what that is.

"Looks like something big's happening over there." Zipp mused as she studied the explosion.

"It could be a civilization!" Pipp exclaimed with hope. "Maybe we finally found the help we need!"

"If that's the case, why would they be making explosions like that?" Hitch asked worriedly.

"Maybe they're just testing something out." Pipp shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm worried about this." Hitch said nervously. "For all we know, it could be another, more powerful monster that made that explosion."

Both were equally-possible scenarios and it was impossible to tell which was the true one. Therefore, there was only one option.

"I think we should check it out." Sunny suddenly said, prompting her friends to turn and look at her.

"Sunny, you can't be serious!" Hitch was quick to protest.

"Hear me out, Hitch." His apricot friend raised a hoof. "We won't know for sure what that explosion came from unless we go over there and check it out ourselves. We'll approach quietly and cautiously, and if it is a monster like you said, we'll turn tail and leave. But if this is something that can help us get back home, we can't pass up the opportunity."

The stallion saw the reasoning in Sunny's words and couldn't see himself disagreeing. If there truly is a pony civilization where the explosion came from, and said explosion was merely some kind side-effect of a possible test they may have been conducting, then it would only be logical to go over there and ask them for help.

Finally sighing in defeat, Hitch said "Fine. Let's go. But quietly!" He said, adding emphases on the last word.

"Thanks, Hitch." Sunny smiled at her friend.

"Finally! Civilization, here we come!" Pipp cheered.

"Yay! We're going back home!" Izzy cheered alongside her pegasus friend.

"Hey, what did I just say?!" An annoyed Hitch hissed.

"Sorry!" Izzy and Pipp apologized in unison.

With that, the five ponies and Jet Jaguar turned away from their initial pathway and began heading towards the still-looming mushroom cloud.





After gigantic explosion that Godzilla Amphibia produced died down and disappeared, Twilight and her friends reappeared somewhere around at the edge of the explosion's destructive reach. The ground in the area of where the explosion occurred was covered in a red, sand-like substance. The nearest trees that were caught in Godzilla's explosion were little more than bare skeletons covered in the same red sand. On the bright side, the thick fog of red dust that the kaiju was producing had seemingly evaporated and disappeared completely.

"What just happened...?" A confused and somewhat startled Rainbow Dash asked.

"Twilight here saved us from being turned into dust, that's what happened." Applejack said, smiling at her friend, who returned the smile.

"The creature unleashed some kind of ice vapor that freezes things." Twilight explained, recalling what happened. "But the vapor was also flammable. And when I blasted him with my magic, the creature's vapor seemed absorb it and then created an even more powerful explosion. I don't know any creature that could do something like that."

"So, I assume the beast is destroyed, then?" Rarity asked hopefully.

"Possibly." The alicorn replied with uncertainty. "I'll go and have look just in case."

"I'll come with you!" Rainbow immediately insisted.

"Me too. Um... If you don't mind." Fluttershy said shyly.

"Alright." The princess nodded before the three ponies flapped their wings and took to the air.

However, Twilight and her friends didn't need to go very far, for as soon as they were high up in the air, they almost immediately spotted something in the distance. Curious, they flew closer to inspect the object, but soon halted and hovered in place upon realizing what they were seeing. In the center of the red dune was what appeared to be the form of the kaiju. Upon taking a closer look, the ponies realized that the quadrupedal creature's entire form was covered in a glimmering, seemingly crystalline layer of charcoal-black rock and minerals, still in the same place where the explosion occurred. Godzilla was frozen in place entirely, as if he had been turned into a giant black mineral statue vaguely resembling his former self, not dissimilar to what happened to Celestia, Luna, and Cadance when Tempest turned them into obsidian statues during the Storm King's invasion.

"What happened to him?" The cyan pegasus voiced her confusion as she stared down at odd sight.

"Did he turn into stone somehow?" Fluttershy asked, half in confusion and half in horror.

"I'm not sure how this happened." Twilight said, equally-baffled as her friends. But then again, considering this creature was able to produce an ice vapor that was both -20 degree Celsius and flammable, it was anypony's guess as to what else it was capable of.

"So then, problem solved, right?" Rainbow asked, hoping this was the last they've heard of this monster. "I mean, that thing basically destroyed itself."

"As much as I want this to be over, we still have a lot of other problems to deal with." The alicorn said, eyeing the crystalline form of Godzilla with suspicion and worry. "The Archetype is still spreading across Equestria, and there are still those pterosaurs we have to deal with."

"Of course..." Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Come on. Let's head back." Twilight said as she and her friends turned and started flying back to their waiting friends.

As soon as they returned, they were greeted by their friends who began asking questions about the creature's fate. "So, is that monster still in one piece?" Asked Applejack.

"You could say that..." Rainbow responded cryptically.

"The creature seems to have somehow turned to stone. I think." Fluttershy answered, the confusion in her tone matching the surprised looks on their faces.

"Turned to stone?" Rarity repeated with a raised eyebrow. "It did that to itself? Why would it do that?"

"Believe me, I wish I knew." Twilight answered. "Maybe my magic mixing with its vapor caused that, for all I know."

All of the sudden, Pinkie Pie's body once again begins vibrating uncontrollably before stopping temporarily. "Oh, wow! My Pinkie Sense just started acting up again!"

"What does that mean?!" Rarity asked worriedly.

"It means that that monster was not the doozy!" The pink pony's answer took all of her friends by surprise. This creature just now that was able to seemingly shape-shift into a terrestrial form and then create an incredibly powerful explosion with a flammable ice vapor was not the doozy?

"Then, what is—?" Applejack's sentence was cut short when all the ponies heard a loud roar they've come to be familiar with.

*GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*

Turning around, the Mane Six saw the armored kaiju that they now call Anguirus emerge from the forest behind them, stopping right in front of them.

"Anguirus? What is it?" Twilight asked, noticing that the quadrupedal dinosaur appeared distressed by something. Anguirus began letting out a series of low growls and grunts, before turning his head in the direction of where he arrived.

"I think he wants us to follow him." Fluttershy said, still not quite certain what the Ankylosaur was saying.

"We probably should." Rainbow said. "He might lead us to the doozy Pinkie's been sensing."

"Then there's no time to waste!" The purple alicorn said before turning to the Ankylosaurus. "Lead the way, Anguirus!"

Nodding in response, the quadrupedal dinosaur turned around and took off running into the forest, prompting the Mane Six to follow after him close behind.





As they continued to walk toward their destination, some of the Mane 5 occasionally tried to start a conversation with Jet Jaguar, but understandably, this turned out to be futile due to the robot's inability to speak, and so he could only communicate via sign language. Still, it was nice to have another sapient being alongside them as they made their journey towards the unknown. 

Suddenly, Jet Jaguar's eyes flashed blue several times followed by a beeping sound that came from his 'grin', prompting both the robot and the five ponies to stop.

"What is it, Jet Jaguar?" Sunny asked, slightly worried.

The robot did not respond to her question and simply stared at the thick foliage in front of them as if silently anticipating something. The atmosphere grew chillingly quiet as the ponies stood their ground, silently looking in the direction Jet Jaguar was staring at. There was little doubt that something was lurking behind those thick bushes and trees, possibly staring back at them.

Jet Jaguar took his right hand and tapped it on top of his left hand to make the sign for 'be careful' to the ponies.

After another minute of intense waiting, whatever was lurking behind the thick vegetation finally stepped forward and allowed itself to be seen by the Mane Five and the robot. The five ponies gasped as a quadrupedal creature who's body was covered in scaly armor plating emerged from the thick foliage and stared directly at them. They could see that its armored back was covered in large, sharp spikes that curved inward, and also saw that it possessed a long tail that terminated in a spiked club. In terms of size, this beast was slightly bigger than even Jet Jaguar and nearly the size as Sprout's War Machine. Narrowing its amber eyes, the armored giant let out deep growl at the intruders.

"Wow! What is that thing?!" Pipp cried out, instinctively taking a few steps back from the imposing beast, as did Sunny and Izzy.

Hitch, in particular, felt a sense of satisfaction of being proven correct that there indeed was a dangerous monster, after all. "Well, Sunny, I hate to say I told you so, but... I told-"

"Anguirus, wait up!" The stallion's would-be boast was cut off when a feminine voice was suddenly heard from behind the quadrupedal beast.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity soon emerged from the thick foliage, and stood next to the large Ankylosaurus.

"Geez, you sure took off in a hurry." Rainbow muttered at the dinosaur. "What was your hurry, anyway?"

"Um... I think the answer is right in front of us, darling." Rarity said offhandedly.

Along with her friends, the cyan pegsus turned her attention to where her friends were gazing at, and just ten meters away from them, they saw five ponies - four mares and one stallion - standing before them, silently staring at the Mane Six with looks that could only be described as if they saw something out of this world.

One was an Earth pony mare with apricot-orange fur and maroon hooves. Her mane was magenta-purple and tied back in a braid with aquamarine elastics. Her tail had no braiding, her eyes were emerald green, and her cutie mark was of a pink star with a blue trail, with two smaller stars on the anterior side of the large one.

Standing next to her was an Earth pony stallion with light amber fur and brown hooves. He had a white underbelly, and a white blaze. His mane was short and aqua-green in color, as was his a tail, and his eyes were of amber eyes. His cutie mark was of a gold shield with a teal horseshoe in the center, and two teal hearts on the bottom of either side of said shield.

The next was a unicorn mare with lilac fur and navy-blue hooves. She had a wavy, cerulean blue mane and tail with an indigo ombre. She had magenta eyes and a long powder-blue horn with white swirls. She also wore a headband around her head and a bracelet on her left hoof made of chunky blue, pink, and purple beads. Her cutie mark was a purple heart with a blue button in the center. The anterior side of said heart had three sewing pins: two pink and one purple.

The next two mares were both Pegasi that were quite distinct. One of them had light pink fur with golden hooves, and her wings had a slight gradation into lighter pink feathering. Her mane was violet, wavy and swept to her right side. Her eyes were kiwi-green, and her cutie mark was a deep magenta music note with white bulbs. She also wore a gold headdress (or tiara) with a green jewel and golden wheat. She was also noticably shorter than the other ponies.

The other pegasus that stood next to her had white fur and silver hooves. Her wings had light blue and lavender feathers. Her mane was pink with aqua and pink streaks, and her tail being similarly colored. She had turquoise-blue eyes, and her cutie mark was a pink-and-blue lightning bolt with a yellow crown on top.

Of course, the thing that caught most of the Mane Six's attention was the presence of 17 foot-tall bipedal robot that stood next to these five ponies, and it appeared to be in a fighting posture as it held its three-finger hands up and stared at Anguirus. On the other hand, the five ponies were staring directly at the Mane Six without saying word, their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates, seemingly in a loss for words and awestruck by what they were seeing. Twilight could easily tell that it wasn't their dinosaur friend they were staring at, but them — specifically her.

"Um, hi. Can I help you...?" The princess asked, feeling a bit awkward by the silent yet astonished looks these ponies were giving her and her friends — especially the apricot Earth pony.

There was another moment of silence between the two parties, with Twilight and her friends looking confused and even a bit unsettled by the uncomfortable silence of these ponies. Anguirus and Jet Jaguar, on the other hand, stared fiercely at one another, ready to go into full-battle mode even at the slightest indication of a threat. Eventually, the apricot Earth pony finally said something — and what came out of her mouth could only be described as the excited yell of a fan girl.

"IT'S THE GUARDIANS OF HARMONY!" Sunny shouted at the top of her lungs, breaking the awkward silence, and also slightly startling Twilight and her friends.
> A Meeting of Present and Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since she was a young filly, Sunny Starscout had heard countless stories from her father about how Equestria used to be thousands of years ago, and who ruled it in those old times. They were six ponies known in her time as the Guardians of Harmony. They consisted of a pink-colored Earth pony named Pinkie Pie, a yellow pegasus known as Fluttershy, a white unicorn called Rarity, a cyan and rainbow-maned pegasus known as Rainbow Dash, an orange Earth pony who went by the name Applejack, and a purple unicorn, who, through fulfilling a special, royal duty, became an alicorn... and her name was Twilight Sparkle. According to her father, they had protected Equestria from countless evils and dangers by uniting the three pony tribes through friendship and love — a power that came to be known as the magic of friendship. Most ponies in her time considered this to be nonsense and fantasy, nothing but a children's bedtime story. But Argyle was certain that there was solid truth behind these seemingly outlandish stories.

Sunny had longed to follow in their hoofsteps and make the world like that of Equestria's past. And through forming her own friendships with four friends and facing some challenges of their own, she eventually got her wish; magic returned and the ponies were united by the magic of friendship.

But, as incredible as uniting the three pony tribes and restoring magic to Equestria was, nothing could have prepared Sunny for this moment — for this special encounter she thought she would never get the opportunity of having in her entire lifetime. Sunny Starscout and her friends were literally standing face-to-face with the legendary Guardians of Harmony — the very same ones her father told her stories of ever since she was a filly, and they looked exactly like the toys she had of them, down to the most minute detail such as their eye color. Even in her wildest and most implausible dreams, Sunny never imagined that she would be blessed with such a miracle and actually meet the original heroes of Equestria in the actual flesh. The same could be said about her friends; despite not being quite as interested in Equestria's past or its history as Sunny was, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were nonetheless familiar with the old stories about the Guardians of Harmony, though they didn't pay as much mind to them as the apricot Earth pony. Yet, even they were astonished and in complete disbelief to see the heroes from those tales standing before them, as real as the very ground they were standing on.

Sunny was so filled with astonishment, disbelief and growing excitement that she didn't even register Twilight's awkward greeting and asking if they needed help. After her mind finished processing everything she was seeing and confirming that this is indeed reality (thanks to Izzy lightly punching her earlier at her request), a loud squeal of excitement escaped the Earth pony's mouth.

"IT'S THE GUARDIANS OF HARMONY!" She cried out at the top of her lungs. Her excited yell broke the awkward silence between the Mane 6 and Mane 5, slightly startling both parties in the process.

"Uh... the Guardians of what, now?" Rainbow, understandably confused by the sudden yell, couldn't help but ask.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! One of them talked to me!" Sunny was rapidly breathing in and out, unable to describe the sheer euphoria she was experiencing right now. This only made Rainbow and the others feel more uncomfortable, however.

"Sunny, take it easy." Hitch gently said as he tried to calm his friend down, despite being pretty shocked himself. "You're gonna pass out if you keep breathing like that."

"So, I presume your name is Sunny, then?" Twilight asked as she stepped closer to them, still not quite sure what to make of this. At the same time, she and her friends were also looking at the tall robot that was standing in front of these ponies protectively, staring directly at the quadrupedal dinosaur with its body in a defensive fighting stance.

The two Earth ponies looked back at the ruler of Equestria, who was looking at them with concern and confusion. This prompted Sunny to heed her friend's advice and take a deep breath before exhaling softly too calm herself down.

"Yes, um... princess. My name is Sunny Starscout and these are my friends: Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, Pipp Petals, and Izzy Moonbow." The orange Earth pony politely introduced herself and her friends, all while barely being able to suppress her excitement. "And I just wanna say... I'm a really, really big fan of your work! So meeting you all here and now is literally a dream come true for me!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Thank you. Although, if you wanted to meet us, you could have simply asked or sent me a letter. I may be the ruler of Equestria now, but I do have some free time on occasion."

As the two pony groups were conversing, Anguirus and Jet Jaguar, both standing by the side of their respective pony group — the former with the Mane 6 and the latter with the Mane 5 — were staring at each other like two gunmen in a Mexican stand off, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Both of them were on the defensive, both ready to strike at the slightest indication of a threat from the other.

"Um... just to be clear, can I ask what year is it... um, princess?" Zipp asked hesitantly. She had a creeping feeling that this may not be the world they knew.

"Oh, it's the year 01 AT." The alicorn responded matter-of-factly, a little confused why these ponies would not know the year. "Why do you ask?"

Another wave of awkward silence fell upon the group of five ponies as they stared at the Mane 6 with shrunken pupils that were the size of pinpricks and wide gaping mouths, as if shocked by what the princess had told them. It was at this moment Sunny and her friends silently realized that when they fell into the sea and somehow emerged from a lake in the middle of the woods, they didn't simply relocate to another location... they had somehow relocated to another time: The time of the Guardians of Harmony!

At this point, Rainbow Dash moved to hover next to the princess and whispered, "No offense, Twilight, but I think these ponies need some help. I mean, I know we're famous and all, but they don't even know what year it is, and they're acting like they're not from around here."

Twilight herself also wondered that; these five ponies did not seem to know much about the current timeline, judging by their surprised reactions when she informed them about the year, it was almost as if they had been living under a rock and missed out her coronation and ascension to the throne of Equestria.

"Princess... We have a confession to make." Hitch suddenly said, piquing the Mane 6's interest.

"I know this is gonna sound really crazy — and I mean really crazy — but hear us out." Pipp said as she allowed Sunny to step forward.

"Guardians of Harmony... my friends and I are from the future." Sunny declared calmly and firmly.

Now it was the Mane 6's turn to be filled with shock and astonishment as they gasped out loud in disbelief. As soon as Sunny said this, however, Pinkie Pie's body suddenly started vibrating like a jackhammer yet again.

"Pinkie, what is it?" Fluttershy asked.

The pink Earth pony's body begins undergoing rapid and swift changes such as her head growing larger than her body for a split second before shrinking, followed by her mane and tail puffing up before her entire body inflates like a balloon and then deflates in a similar manner, returning the Pinkie Pie to normal. Once her body stopped undergoing these bizarre rapid changes, Pinkie stood still for a moment and then spoke. "That's it! That was the doozey!"

"You mean them being from the future?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the Mane 5, who were now staring at the pink Earth pony with shocked and even a bit disturbed expressions on their faces — minus Izzy, who was looking at her with childlike fascination.

"Yup!" Came the cheerful response of the pink pony.

"Wooow! You predicted that we were gonna meet today?" Izzy asked Pinkie in amazement.

"Double yup!" Pinkie happily declared. "I get different, little, niggly feelings and they mean different things. Like if my tail is twitching, it means to watch out for falling objects. And when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary's about to happen."

"Oooo..." Izzy awed in fascination. "I wish I had my own little, niggly feelings that tell me what's gonna happen. But, oh well, you can't have everything." She shrugged. "Do all Earth ponies have the power to predict the future in this time?"

"Nope! Just me!" Pinkie cheerfully replied.

"Neat!" Izzy smiled.

"I know, right?"

"Umm... should we be worried about your friend or something?" Zipp, who was more than a little freaked out by Pinkie undergoing these bizarre transformations, couldn't help but ask. Pipp, Hitch, and Sunny were still somewhat disturbed by this, except Izzy was growing more excited.

Rarity turned to the white pegasus and smiled. "Don't worry about it, darling. Pinkie is just being herself."

"Hold on a second. If ya'll are from the future, how did ya get here and how far in the future did ya came from?" Applejack asked curiously.

Sunny bit her lower lip and looked down, unsure how the Guardians of Harmony will react to what she is about to tell them. "Well, to answer your first question — and to make a long story short — our town was attacked by flying creatures that we now call Rodans, and the water of the sea around our town started turning red. The Rodans attacked us and threw us into the water, where we were sucked into a whirlpool... and then, when we resurfaced, we found ourselves in a lake, in the middle of the woods. After walking through the woods for a little while, we met him." She pointed at the towering Jet Jaguar, who was silently staring at the Ankylosaurus and keeping his defensive posture. "His name is Jet Jaguar, and before you ask, we have no idea where he comes from or who made him. And also, he can't talk."

"Wait. You said the sea around your town turned red?" Twilight suddenly asked in a concerned tone, something that did not go unnoticed by Sunny and her friends.

"Yes..." Hitch hesitantly answered. "Do you know what's causing that?"

A growing sense of dread began filling the princess' body. At the time, another important piece of information from Sunny's story came to mind. "And these 'Rodans'... What do they look like, exactly?" The alicorn asked.

"Well, the look like giant lizard-birds. They don't have feathers, have membranous wings and long beaks. Oh, and they're also red in color." Zipp answered. "There's actually two species of Rodans; the first one was bigger but died for some unknown reason. The second ones are much smaller, but are a lot more numerous and more aggressive. Trust me when I say these things mean business." She shuddered as she recalled how she and her friends were attacked by the pterosaurs.

Judging by the seriousness and anxiety that was barely concealed in the princess' voice, Sunny and her friends could tell that this sudden phenomenon may not exclusive to their time. "Don't tell me these things are here, too." Hitch said in dread.

"Tell me, when did the water start turning red and when did the 'Rodans' start appearing?" Twilight asked, her voice filling with more worry and anxiety by the second, something Zipp mentally took note of.

"The first Rodan appeared around 11:45 PM just this morning. The sea started turning red almost an hour later, though." Sunny answered.

"That's about same time the water in my animal sanctuary also became red in color!" Fluttershy gasped in shock at the seeming coincidence.

"You have an animal sanctuary?" Hitch asked with interest.

"Hmmm... the water here turned red and the Rodan appeared in Maretime Bay around the same time..." Zipp whispered to herself in deep contemplation. "Interesting."

"One more question: did you happen to see giant sea serpents in the sea, or a giant red sea creature with spikes on its back hunting them?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, right! I completely forgot to mention the sea serpents!" Sunny slapped her hoof on her forehead at her forgetfulness and filing to mention that important phenomenon. "But we haven't seen any giant red monster with spikes on its back. Much less one that hunts the sea serpents."

"But we did see one of those giant sea serpents eat a Rodan!" Izzy exclaimed enthusiastically. "It was both scary and kind of cool at the same time."

"I almost got eaten by that same sea serpent, so for me, it was 100% on the scary side." Zipp muttered as she recalled her near-death experience before turning to the Mane 6, looking specifically at Twilight. "All of this tells me that you know what's going on."

With a heavy sigh, Twilight's ears flattened against her head as she looked at the five ponies sympathetically. "Unfortunately, yes. The water is becoming red due to the spreading of an anomalous substance that we discovered just recently. We call it Archetype, and the particles that comprise it are able to soak up magic, effectively robbing magical creatures of their abilities."

The Mane 5 gasped in shock and horror upon hearing this. At first, they merely thought of the substance turning the water red as an odd phenomenon that occurs naturally, if very rarely. But now hearing what this mysterious substance was truly capable of, they felt a sense of dread as an even bigger realization hit them.

"That explains why we can't use our magic after getting out of the lake." Zipp muttered, flapping her wings to try to get airborne to no avail. "We were exposed to the Archetype."

"But this still doesn't explain how you traveled back in time, or what connection the Rodans, the sea serpents, and that other creature have to the Archetype." Twilight pondered out loud.

"Wait. If this is the past, and if this substance is capable of doing such a thing, does this mean this is how magic in Equestria was lost in the first place?" Sunny asked curiously.

Sunny's question piqued Twilight and all of her friend's interest as they looked at her in surprise and confusion. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

Now it was Sunny's turn to flatten her ears against her head and take a deep breath. "I guess I should start from the beginning..."





Canterlot; catacombs

Deep beneath Canterlot Castle, there exists a forgotten labyrinth of caverns that were filled with dark crystals. Long ago, these caverns were once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside for themselves. But thanks to Princess Celestia and Luna's intervention, the greedy unicorns were arrested, the location was sealed off from the outside world, and its existence was kept a secret in order to prevent more thieves from trying to enter. However, four years ago, these forgotten caverns became the prison of Princess Cadance, who was imprisoned there by Queen Chrysalis, who took her place in order to feed off of Shining Armor's love and gradually weaken his spell in order to take over Canterlot, as well as Equestria. When Twilight Sparkle became suspicious of her 'foalsitter's' rude and demanding behavior, she, too, was imprisoned in the crystal caverns to prevent her from interfering with the changeling's plans.

Thankfully, Twilight and Cadance managed to escape the caverns, and confront Chrysalis. But thanks to feeding on Shining Armor's love, the evil changeling was powerful enough to initially defeat Celestia and capture the Mane Six. However, Cadance breaks the spell that Chrysalis placed on Shining Armor and strengthens his magic with her love. Their combined magical power and love repelled and threw Chrysalis and her minions out of Canterlot, and far away from Equestria.

About an year later, these catacombs were once again used as a prison by Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek to imprison Twilight's friends, Discord, the former Princesses, and the Pillars. But once again, the heroes managed to find a way to escape and defeat their adversaries, this time for good.

Today, these catacombs remain hidden from the public eye and were once again sealed off from the outside worlds. There was not a single living creature that inhabited these forgotten caverns.

Which would soon turn out to be for the better.

With no logical explanation, and with nopony to witness it, a growing dense cloud of crimson dust suddenly manifested seemingly out of nothing and began spreading through the dark, crystal-filled tunnels of the catacombs. Engulfing everything in its path, the red dust spread far and wide, filling every corner that there was. Then, a deep, guttural growl came from inside the red haze and echoed through the empty cavern with no creature to hear it. From within the thick cloud of Archetype, a pair of white, pupiless eyes appeared, joined by an upward-curved horn that was poking out of the dust, just between the two eyes.

Whatever this mysterious creature was, it had only one thing on its mind: To breach the surface and spread the red dust outside.





Back in the woods, Twilight and her friends stood on the spot, staring at Sunny and her friends with looks of utter shock and horrid disbelief. They were completely silent, barely able to believe everything that Sunny and her friends had just told them. The apricot pony had a feeling that this would be their reaction. And how could it not? They had just learned that, in the future, not only will Equestria lose its magic, but the three pony tribes will once again become divided and blinded by fear and mistrust of each other, just like they were prior to the founding of Equestria. At one point, Twilight could have sworn she felt her heart skip a few beats as Sunny and her friends explained everything about their past lives and what had been happening in their time before they restored magic and united the three pony tribes.

"N-No. This... This can't be right! How could this have happened after everything we did for Equestria?" The princess asked, her mind racing with questions as to what kind of tragedy could have occurred to undo so much of her and her friends' hard work.

"Believe me, we wish we knew, Princess." Sunny said sadly. "Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies have been divided for as long as I can remember."

"But don't forget; we did unite the three pony tribes and have them be friends again, and brought back magic to Equestria!" Hitch said with a grin, hoping to ease uneasiness.

"Yes. And we're very happy that you did that." Twilight said with a smile. Of course, the Mane 5 wouldn't leave behind the fact that they also helped unite the three pony tribes, and by bringing three crystals together, restored magic back to Equestria. "However, I've never heard about these three magical crystals you brought together to help return magic." The alicorn pondered out loud.

"Maybe ya made 'em — or, will make 'em — at some point during your rule, Twilight." Applejack suggested.

"Hmmm. That's definitely a possibility." The princess acknowledged, rubbing her hoof against her chin in contemplation.

"But what about the Windigos?" Rainbow Dash suddenly asked.

In response to her question, Sunny and her friends gave the cyan pegasus puzzled looks. "...Windigos?" Zipp quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know. If ponies were, or will be, divided — Gosh. This time travel thing is so confusing — then the Windigos should have turned Equestria into a frozen wasteland."

Again, the Mane 5 looked at the cyan pegasus and her friends with even more confused looks.

"Umm... sorry to say, but none of us have the slightest clue of what a 'Windigo' is." Pipp said innocently.

This casual response surprised the Rainbow and her friends even more. The Windigos are the fierce winter spirits that feed off of the infighting and hatred between ponies to create blizzards and freezing weather. And if ponies will become separated by hatred and mistrust again, then surely they would manifest to transform Equestria into a frozen wasteland as they tried to do prior to the founding of Equestria and when the Legion of Doom (Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis) once again turned the ponies against each other through their rumors and lies. But, at the same time, the Windigos were also responsible for inadvertently uniting the pony tribes in harmony in the first place, so why hadn't they manifested in Sunny's time when the ponies were again divided?

That was when a realization hit Twilight as she gasped: "It's probably because there was no magic." She said out loud, prompting both her friends and the Mane 5 to look at her in surprise. "The Windigos are made out of ancient magic, and if all magic somehow disappeared from Equestria like Sunny said, that would include them, as well. With the Windigos incapable of posing a threat anymore, overtime, the ponies likely saw no reason to stay united, and regressed to what they were like prior to the founding of Equestria: divided by hatred."

For Twilight and her friends, it was a truly terrifying thing to imagine, made worse by the fact that this scenario did/will in fact happen/happened. At the same time, it was also rather ironic to think that the absence of the Windigos would contribute to the three pony races becoming divided once again.

"I don't mean to sound rude..." Twilight and her friends turned back to Sunny and her friends. "But do you mind telling us what these 'Windigos' are?"

"We will. But let's head back to Ponyville, we'll talk about it there." Twilight said with a smile. "I'm sure you have as much questions for me as I have for you."

"Believe me, I do." Sunny said giddily, barely able to contain her excitement.

As the Mane 5 began approaching the Mane 6 to join them on their way to Ponyville, Anguirus suddenly began vibrating his spikes, causing his body to be engulfed in a bright aura. Sunny and her friends immediately stopped when the kaiju did this, and stared at him in surprise and confusion. But before anypony could utter a word or explain what was happening, Jet Jaguar suddenly ran past the Mane 5 and tackled Anguirus, wrapping his long arms around the Ankylosaurus' head. With a loud roar, the armored dinosaur thrashed his head around violently and forced the robot off of him, sending him flying and then crashing on the ground.

"Jet Jaguar, stop!" Sunny cried out.

As Jet Jaguar got up, he saw the now-enraged Anguirus charging at him with his jaws wide open. When the dinosaur came close enough and prepared to clamp his powerful jaws on the robot, Jet Jaguar threw a right hook punch, striking the side of the kaiju's head, followed by a left hook to the other side. Although painful, the punches mostly enraged Anguirus further, who responded by spinning his body around and sending the robot flying with a powerful swing from his clubbed tail. Jet Jaguar bounced across the ground several times before coming to an abrupt stop, landing on his back. As he attempted to get up, Anguirus quickly raced over to him and pinned the robot on the ground by placing his right foreleg on his chest. Jet Jaguar responded by immediately grabbing Anguirus' throat with his right arm and began to squeeze hard. The Ankylosaurus couldn't roar in pain due to his larynx being tightly compressed, so he instead responded by putting more pressure on the robot's chest via his leg.

Now it was a question if Jet Jaguar's chest will break first or if Anguirus will pass out from being choked. However, before either of them could expire...

"Stop!"

Two feminine voices prompted both Jet Jaguar and Anguirus to cease their struggle, and turn to see the Mane 6 and Mane 5 looking at them in anger, shock and concern.

"Anguirus! Get off of him this instant!" Fluttershy scolded harshly, which was extremely rare for her to do. Complying with her demand, Anguirus removed his leg from Jet Jaguar (who, in turn, released his grip from the former's throat), and stepped away from the robot, allowing Jet Jaguar to get up.

"You, too, Jet Jaguar!" Now was Sunny's turn to scold their robot companion. "What were you thinking attacking him like that?"

Jet Jaguar tried to respond with a series of hand movements, which didn't help explain his reason for suddenly attacking the kaiju, and only made the ponies more confused.

"I think I know what he's trying to tell us." Twilight suddenly said as she stepped towards the tall robot and looked up at him, "You thought Anguirus was going to attack your friends, didn't you?"

Jet Jaguar nodded.

"Oh..." Sunny flattened her ears against her head in guilt and shame. She just scolded him for trying to defend them.

"Don't worry. Anguirus wasn't going to hurt anypony." The Princess assured him with a soft smile. "In fact, he was making sure that you and your friends weren't a threat."

"No offense, but how's moving those spikes on his back making sure we're not a threat?" Zipp asked in genuine confusion. "Not that we are, mind you."

"Well, 'bout 'n hour ago, we found out the hard way that the big fella here can somehow see the future by vibratin' those spikes." Applejack explained.

"Kind of like my Pinkie Sense! But he can activate his power whenever he wants!" Pinkie chimed in.

Sunny and her friends were amazed and awed upon hearing this as they looked at the Ankylosaur in astonishment, fascinated that this creature was capable of such a feat. That also begged the question: Just what kind of creature was Anguirus? Even Argyle, who was an expert researcher on Equestria's forgotten past, never mentioned a creature like this. So many questions that need answering — but said answering will have to wait.

"Jet Jaguar, I think you owe Anguirus an apology." Sunny said to the tall robot while gesturing with her hoof to go and apologize.

Jet Jaguar looked at Sunny and then at the Ankylosaur, who maintained his defensive posture. Although hesitant, the robot complied with the pony's request and slowly approached the dinosaur. Once he was close enough, Jet Jaguar extended his right arm to the armored kaiju. Confused by this, Anguirus turned to Fluttershy, who nodded at him to accept the robot's apology. Reluctantly, the Ankylosaurus approached and sniffed the robot's extended hand before placing his head underneath said hand, allowing Jet Jaguar to gently pet him.

The Mane 6 and Mane 5 smiled at the surprisingly adorable scene. Who knew that seeing a tall robot petting a scary-looking dinosaur would be so touching?

"Okay, that's pretty cute." Zipp Storm admitted with a smile.

"I wish my phone was still working so I can take a picture of this." Pipp muttered in disappointment.

"Wait. Did you say 'phone'?" Twilight suddenly looked at the pegasus princess in surprise the moment she mentioned said device.

"Well, yeah." Pipp said matter-of-factly, pulling out and showing her mobile phone to the alicorn princess. "Unfortunately, it short-circuited when we fell into the water. Don't tell me you still haven't invented phones yet?"

Twilight stared at the mobile phone in awe and fascination. She was already aware of these devices and how they worked thanks to her time in the human world, where they were an every-day norm along with other advanced technologies that, for the most part, Equestria lacked. Now hearing that ponies will invent such advanced technology in the future filled her with amazement and pride.

"So that's what a phone looks like?" Pinkie chimed in, observing Pipp's mobile phone curiously.

"Huh. So ponies really haven't invented phones around this time." Hitch raised an eyebrow of surprise.

"Twilight did tell use about them when she was in the human world, but we've never actually seen what they look like in real life." Rarity explained, equally-curious about the device Pipp held.

" 'The human world'?" Zipp quirked another eyebrow of curiosity.

"It's a long story. We both have a lot of questions for each other," Twilight chuckled. "But let's save them for when we get to Ponyville."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie and Izzy happily said in unison.

Now that the misunderstanding between Jet Jaguar and Anguirus has been settled, the two pony groups and their giant companions began heading for Ponyville.





School of Friendship

Starlight Glimmer was currently in the Teachers' Lounge. She was busy writing down some important documents when she heard a sudden knock on the doors, she said "Come in." Opening one of the doors, Smolder, Yona, Silverstream, Sandbar, Gallus, and Ocellus entered the room.

"Oh, hey guys!" Starlight smiled. "What brings you here?"

"We just want to inform you that school's almost over." Sandbar said.

"So we're planning on heading to our treehouse to do our homework." Ocellus said.

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," Starlight said worriedly. "Twilight said that there's a substance in the water called Archetype that's capable of stealing the magic from creatures, and that it's apparently spreading. Not to mention the recent occurrence of mysterious flying creatures that have been spotted across most of Equestria."

"Yeah, we know about that," Gallus assured her. "But we're not gonna go anywhere near the water."

"Plus, there's nothing that indicates that those creatures are dangerous." Silverstream added.

The unicorn pondered this; the students certainly made some pretty valid points. "Well, as long as you don't touch the water and don't provoke the creatures, I suppose it'd be safe for you to do your homework in your treehouse." Starlight said hesitantly. "But on the off chance you get attacked or hurt, immediately return to your respective kingdom and tell them to be on-guard."

"Got it." Smolder nodded. "Tough, I doubt we'll be in any danger." She said confidently.

"Yona not scared of red water, because Yona has no magic!" Yona exclaimed happily and proudly.

"That's convenient." Gallus couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Well, have fun, then." With that, Starlight smiled and waved her students goodbye as they turned and left the Teachers' Lounge, closing the door behind them. "I hope you'll be alright." She murmured to herself after the students left. She could only hope that Twilight and her friends have already found a solution to this new problem, and stop the Archetype before it is too late.
> A day in present Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we are, ponies!" Twilight happily declared as she, her friends, and the Mane 5, along with Jet Jaguar and Anguirus, finally exited the Everfree Forest. Upon exiting the forest, the ponies were met with a clear and breathtaking view of a small, rural town that was only about a kilometre away.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" Pinkie exclaimed happily.

To Sunny and her friends, Ponyville seemed primitive compared to Maretime Bay, but more advanced than Bridlewood in terms of development. The town consisted mostly of medieval village-style architecture, filled with timber-framed cottages that had distinct thatched roofs and overhanging upper floors. Although lacking more advanced technologies that Maretime Bay had such as streetcar lines, Sunny and her friends were nevertheless awed at the sight of Ponyville. Their astonishment only grew when they spotted a towing large castle that appeared to be made of crystals residing further away from the small town. So astonished were Sunny and her friends by the sight of the town that they didn't even notice the various types of ponies roaming it.

The town was filled with Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns who were interacting with each other happily and peacefully, with no animosity or bigotry between them. They saw a cream-colored Earth pony, who had a mix of dark blue and pink in her mane and tail, walking closely with a unicorn mare who had mint-green fur and white haired mane and tail; the two ponies appeared to be a couple. Above them, a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane could be seen delivering mail to a nearby cottage. And finally, various ponies of all races, genders and ages were purchasing food and other items from various stands in a market place.

Sunny felt pride and excitement swelling up inside her at seeing how ponies were living together with each other peacefully.

"Come on. Let's get going." Twilight said as she resumed heading toward the town, joined by her friends. The Mane 5, stared at the town for a little longer before following after the Mane 6, with Jet Jaguar and Anguirus close behind.

.

The Mane 6, Mane 5, and their kaiju companions soon entered Ponyville — and as soon as they entered the town, all activity came to a halt when the resident ponies spotted Jet Jaguar and Anguirus walking down the street, alongside the Princess of Friendship and her friends.

"Wow. We really make an entrance, don't we?" Izzy asked, noticing all the attention in the town was focused on them.

"I think they're staring at Anguirus and Jet Jaguar." Hitch noticed, pointing at how the ponies were indeed looking at the humanoid robot and quadrupedal dinosaur in curiosity and awe.

"Yeah~..." Rainbow awkwardly spoke. "Before we met, there was sort of an... incident involving Anguirus. Namely, we kinda provoked him and nearly got ourselves killed because of it."

"Wait, what!?" Sunny exclaimed.

"But it's okay!" Pinkie chimed in. "We cleared up the misunderstanding and we're friends now!"

Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp stared at the pink pony awkwardly. "Whew. Glad it worked out!" While Izzy smiled happily. "I sure wouldn't wanna make him angry." She laughed playfully while pointing at the huge ankylosaur.

"Believe me, you wouldn't." Pinkie grinned.

At that moment, Twilight suddenly stopped and turned to look at them all. "You know, how about we split up? I'm sure our new friends would want to learn a lot from the past, so how about we split up for now and meet back at the Castle of Friendship later?"

Hearing this, both the Mane 6 and Mane 5 smiled enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea!" Sunny exclaimed eagerly. "I'll go with you, Twilight. I'm super eager to learn all about friendship and what else the ponies of my time never knew!"

"I'll go with Zipp." Rainbow said, landing next to the white pegasus. "I wanna know if the Wonderbolts still exist in the future." She said, causing Zipp to look over to the side and cringed uncomfortably.

"Ah'll go with ya', too." Applejack volunteered. "Ya' don't mind, do ya?"

"Sure. The more the merrier." Zipp smiled.

"If they're from the future, then it'd be my pleasure to show them around the past and what they missed out on!" Pinkie Pie yelled excitedly while wrapping a hoof around Izzy.

"Aww, you didn't have to." The lilac unicorn smiled.

"Well, I'm doing it anyway!" Pinkie said proudly.

"If you don't mind, might I ask how you did your mane, darling?" Rarity asked Pipp, marveling at princess' mane. "It looks absolutely fabulous!"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but my mane and tail have always been exceptionally eye-catching in Zephyr Heights." Pipp said somewhat egotistically, making her sister roll her eyes.

"Oh, you must tell me all about it!" Rarity squealed.

"Say, you mentioned you have an animal sanctuary, right?" Hitch asked Fluttershy.

"Why, yes. I do." The yellow pegasus answered. "Unfortunately, it's under quarantine because the water in the sanctuary is contaminated with Archetype."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Hitch said sympathetically.

"It's okay." Fluttershy smiled. "You can come to my cottage, if you like."

"Sure, sounds good to me." The stallion smiled.

A low growl prompts Hitch and Fluttershy to turn and see Anguirus approaching them. "You want to come too, Anguirus?" Fluttershy asked, to which the dinosaur nodded. "Okay then." The ankylosaur to let out a light roar of satisfaction to express his happiness.

"Jet Jaguar, you can come with me and Twilight, if you want." Sunny said to the tall robot, who promptly nodded.

"Then it's settled." The Princess of Friendship declared. "We'll meet up at the Castle of Friendship when you're all done."

With affirmative nods from everypony, the Mane 6 and Mane 5 split up to go in their different directions, with Anguirus joining Hitch and Fluttershy while Jet Jaguar accompanied Twilight and Sunny to the Castle of Friendship.





Rainbow Dash, Zipp Storm and Applejack arrived at Saddle Lake, a small remote lake located in the wilderness further away from Ponyville,  surrounded by trees and hills. The only thing that was different from usual was that the lake itself was crimson in color, as was the case with nearly all the water in Equestria by now.

"So, how's the world like where you come from, Zipp?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. The cyan pegasus decided not to hover in the air like she usually does out of respect and sympathy for Zipp's recently losing her ability to fly due to the Archetype.

"Well, as we already told you, we didn't have magic for most of our lives. Which means unicorns couldn't levitate stuff with their horns and Pegasi couldn't fly." Zipp said. "That is until me, Pipp, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy reunited the three crystals we told you about and got out powers back... only to lose them again when we fell into the sea." She sighed softly as her ears flattened against her head in disappointment.

Rainbow Dash looked at Zipp sympathetically; she knew how miserable it was for a pegasus to be unable to fly. She remembered the few times she was forced to be grounded, such as when she broke her wing and had to stay in the hospital for a few days, or when Discord temporarily removed her wings back before he was reformed. In both those cases, she could barely tolerate her flightless condition, and so she could empathize with Scootaloo and Zipp for their unfortunate predicaments.

"Ah'm sorry to hear that, partner." Applejack said sympathetically.

"It's alright." Zipp smiled. "Besides, I learned that wings have lots of good uses aside from flying: I can use them to balance myself when climbing steep mountains, use them like a parachute to slow my descent when I jump from a tall perch, and I can use them to glide on air currents thanks to a large fan I have."

"That's pretty cool." Rainbow said, genuinely impressed. "Scootaloo can't fly either, but she still uses her wings for propulsion when she's riding her scooter."

"Heh. I guess not being able to fly for most of our lives made us more creative with how we use our wings." Zipp chuckled to herself. "Well, that and the fact that I'm also a pretty big fan of science."

"Really? Then maybe you should've went with Twilight, instead. She's all about about the science." Rainbow joked.

"She and I have more in common than our love for science — namely that we're both princesses." Grinned the white pegasus.

"WHAT?!" Rainbow and Applejack cried out in unison.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a moment. You're a princess?" Applejack asked, barely able to wrap her head around Zipp's statement.

"Yup." The white pegasus casually replied, amused by the astonished reactions they were giving her. "My mother, Haven, is the queen of Zephyr Heights and Pipp is my younger sister."

The two ponies continued to stare at Zipp Storm in astonishment and bewilderment, barely able to believe what they just heard. "But... I thought only alicorns can become princesses," Rainbow said. "And to become an alicorn, you need to preform a special royal-worthy duty, like what Twilight did."

"Funny you mentioned that, because Sunny became an alicorn when we reunited the three crystals and brought the ponies together." Zipp revealed. Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other for a moment and then back at the white pegasus.

"But we didn't see any wings or a horn on her." The farm pony pointed out, understandably confused.

"Well, they don't seem to be permanent." The white pegasus explained. "They just kind of appear whenever Sunny wants them to. Even Sunny doesn't really know how that works."

"Huh," Rainbow muttered.

"By the way, you said something about the Wonderbolts, right?"

"Oh, yeah! They're the best, most awesomest squad of pegasus in the whole of Equestria! And I'm part of that awesome squad!" The cyan pegasus exclaimed proudly. "So I'm curious if they're still around in your time."

"When I was a filly, I loved hearing stories about the Wonderbolts. I researched and studied everything I could find about them from Equestria's past." Zipp smiled, only for her smile to turn into a sad frown. "Unfortunately, the Wonderbolts don't exist in my time. My guess would be that they've been disbanded since the disappearance of magic." Rainbow cringed in horror upon hearing this, as if she had heard the worst thing in her life, prompting Applejack to pat her on the back for comfort. "And to make things worse, my Mom got the 'brilliant' idea to lie to her subjects by pretending she, Pipp, and myself can still fly using wires and good lighting."

"What? That ain't right." Being the Element of Honesty, Applejack frowned in disapproval upon hearing this.

"Yeah. If I lost my ability to fly, I'd much rather let the world know I can't fly than pretend that I can." Rainbow Dash agreed with her friend.

"Me, too. I was so tired of living that ridiculous lie." Zipp sighed. "Mom also got arrested when the truth came out that we couldn't fly."

"Ah'm sorry to hear that." Applejack said softly.

"Don't worry, she got back to being queen when me and my friends returned magic to Equestria."

"That's nice... I guess." Rainbow said hesitantly, not quite sure how to feel about this. Suddenly, an idea came to the cyan pegasus' mind. "Hey! Since Pegasi can fly again, you could re-assemble the Wonderbolts in your time! I'll help you teach the Pegasi of your time how to be super cool, awesome, death-defying flyers like the Wonderbolts are today!"

"That's a great idea!" Zipp smiled in excitement. "Thanks, Rainbow!"

"Don't forget, we still have the current problem of dealin' with the Archetype." Applejack reminded them of the current situation. "If it continues spreadin', Pegasi won't be able to fly again. Both here and in Zipp's time."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." Zipp slapped her forehead before remembering something equally-important. "And I can't imagine how devastated Mom must be right now. She probably thinks we're dead." The white pegasus looked down at the ground sadly, her ears flattening against her head, and could only think about the grief and pain Haven must be experiencing at the moment. She and her mother may not always have seen eye-to-eye, but she still loved her dearly like any child should love their parent.

The princess of Zephyr Heights felt a hoof gently wrap around her shoulder, prompting her to turn her head to the right and see Rainbow Dash standing next to her, giving her an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Zipp. We'll get you back in your own time."

"Like Twilight once said: When there's a will, there's a way." Applejack said, wrapping her own foreleg around Zipp's other shoulder.

Seeing the support and encouragement they were giving her, the elder princess of Zephyr Heights couldn't help but smile softly. "Thanks, guys." The cyan pegasus and farm pony removed her forelegs from her. "Now then, can you tell me anything about the human world Twilight mentioned earlier? I'm curious to know what it's like."

"Only Twilight and Spike have been to the human world." Rainbow revealed. "But from what they told us, that world is dominated by humans; creatures that walk on two legs, wear clothes, and have hands. And they're apparently more technologically-advanced than Equestria is right now but don't have magic."

"Huh. They sound like an interesting race." Zipp said, intrigued by the description of these creatures and wondered if she could ask the Princess of Friendship to visit the human world. "Also, who's Spike?"

"Oh, Spike's a dragon that Twilight hatched and raised. He's basically her adopted brother." Applejack explained with a smile.

"Wait. He's a dragon!?" Now was Zipp's turn to be surprised. "You mean there are real dragons here?"

"Well, yeah." Rainbow answered matter-of-factly. "Aren't there dragons in the future?"

"No. At least, not any that I'm aware of. As far as I know, dragons haven't been seen in Equestria for thousands of years." The white pegasus explained, still unable to believe that there are actually dragons in this time.

"Thousands of years?!" Rainbow and Applejack cried out in shock and disbelief.

"But... how's that possible? Even if ponies have been separated, how can dragons not be seen for such a long time?" Applejack was now extremely baffled, her mind racing with countless questions as what could have occurred to cause not only ponies to be divided, but also for dragons to not be seen for thousands of years.

"You at least gotta know about griffins, changelings, kirins, yaks, or seaponies?" The cyan pegasus said.

"I have heard of some of those creatures, like yaks and griffins. But, like with the dragons, we've never seen them for who-knows how long." Zipp stated.

"Just what happened between Twilight's rule and your time...?" Applejack couldn't help but ask, even though she knew she would not get an answer immediately.

"Believe me, I wish I knew..." The white pegasus said solemnly. "Your guess is as good as mine."





"Oh. My. Gosh!" Pipp gasped in amazement as she entered Rarity's boutique. Almost immediately upon entering it, the young princess of Zephyr Heights was mesmerized and awed by the room that was stocked full with materials and supplies for fashion such as mirrors with movable screens, mannequins and even a small display stage. But above all else, she was especially amazed by all the beautiful dresses that would make even the best fashion designers in Zephyr Heights envious.

"Do you like it, darling?" Rarity asked curiously, standing next to Pipp.

"Like it? I love it~!" The pink pegasus sang and jumped forward in excitement. "I've never seen dresses so beautiful in my entire life! And coming from me, who's been to every single boutique in Zephyr Heights, Maretime Bay, and Bridlewood, that's saying something."

"Oh, I'm so delighted to hear that!" The white unicorn squealed excitedly.

"I wish my phone was still working..." Pipp sighed solemnly, disappointed that she couldn't take pictures or record this dream-come-true with her mobile phone and share it with her pippsqueaks on social media.

"I'm not familiar enough with phones to know how to feel, but I am more than happy to let you have some of my dresses and take them back home!" Rarity offered with a bright smile.

"Really?" Pipp perked up in excitement. "Thanks so much! Uhh... How much do they cost, by the way?"

"Normally, 6 or 7 dresses would cost around 7-10 bits, but for this special time-traveling occasion, I'll allow you to take them for free!"

"Oh, my gosh! I can't thank you enough!" Pipp zipped forward and hugged the white unicorn in a soft embrace. "I just can't! These dresses will go perfectly when I sing for my next performance!"

"You're most welcome, darling." Rarity smiled as Pipp let go of her. "Also, you mentioned that you sing?"

"Of course! I'm both a pop singer and a princess!" The pink pegasus declared proudly.

"You're a princess?!" Much like Rainbow and Applejack, Rarity found herself shocked and dumbfounded to hear that the pegasus was a princess.

"Yup! I'm the younger princess of Zephyr Heights; Zipp's my older sister!" Pipp explained.

"If that's the case, then these dresses will never do!" Before Pipp could ask what she meant by that, Rarity zipped past her. Turning around, the pegasus saw the white unicorn on a nearby table, already in the process of sewing another dresses with her sewing machine. "You must be at your absolute best if you are to preform, darling! For that, I will make a dress that will be just for you!"

"Rarity... I... I can't thank you enough!" Pipp felt like she could almost cry out in joy. Not only was this pony willing to offer her some of her dresses for free, but she even went as far as to start making a very special, princess-worthy dress just for her, and asking nothing in return. Pipp had never met a pony so generous and so thoughtful of others. "You a really are the Element of Generosity, like Sunny said."

"That I am, darling." Rarity simply smiled back at her as she continued sewing.

A light purring sound caught Pipp's attention, prompting the pegasus to turn and spot a cat with white fluffy fur, wearing a purple opal-studded collar around its neck and a purple ribbon on the top of the head, sleeping soundly on the back of one of Rarity's mannequins.

"Ahh~... What a cute kitty!" Pipp cooed and walked over to the sleeping feline. Just as she raised her hoof to pet the cat, Rarity spotted this and immediately became alarmed.

"Oh, darling, be careful! Opalescence can be—" Before she could finish her warning, the cat woke up and — upon seeing Pipp's hoof over her head — hissed and swiped at the pegasus' hoof with her paw. "Feisty..." Rarity finished with a wince.

Pipp quickly retraced her hoof from the hissing feline, surprised by the cat's aggressive response. "What's her problem? I was only trying to pet her." She said in confusion, watching as the cat leaped off the mannequin and walked away from her.

"Don't take it personally, darling." Rarity assured her, resuming her work. "Opalescence doesn't really like anypony, not even me. Well, except Fluttershy."

"Meh. I've always been more of a dog pony, anyway. Cloudpuff usually loves it when I pet him on the head." Pipp commented, already missing her beloved pet.

"I assume this 'Cloudpuff' is your pet dog, then?" Rarity surmised, her eyes still focused on her work.

"Yeah! He's a flying Pomeranian." Pipp said happily.

"Wait. A flying Pomeranian?" This time, Rarity looked over at the princess in surprise and confusion.

"Basically, a Pomeranian with wings."

"I've never heard of such a creature. Much less a pet." The fashion designer admitted. "Come to think of it, I don't think even Fluttershy has such an animal in her care."

"Really?" Pipp looked at Rarity in equal-surprise. "Well, maybe something happened in the time between Twilight's rule and our time to make them appear."

"It's certainly a possibility, darling." Rarity shrugged and resumed her work. "After I finish your dress, would you like to go shopping with me? Canterlot has some of the finest boutiques in Equestria."

"Do I?!" Pipp practically squealed in excitement at the offer. "I would love to~!"





"And this is called the School of Friendship!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she and Izzy Moonbow stood before a massive, castle-like school campus that was built into a mountainside, complete with a waterfall parting past its doors (with the water being red due to the Archetype). They saw ponies of all different races chatting, playing, and rushing into the school. For the last 34 minutes, Pinkie had been enthusiastically taking Izzy to different locations in Ponyville, including the Day Spa, the Schoolhouse, Sweet Apple Acres, the town square and town hall, and many other places. Each place they visited was more fascinating and intriguing than the last for the lilac unicorn.

"Wooow..." Izzy gazed in awe at the School of Friendship. "This place has everything! Except for the things Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights have. No offense, Pinkie."

"None taken, Izzy!" The pink pony cheerfully replied.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you this before, but you have the brightest luminescence I've ever seen in my life!" Izzy said as she stared at Pinkie with starry eyes and a bright smile.

"My luminescence?" Pinkie tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah, every creature has one. And the happier they are, the brighter it shines." Izzy explained. "And your's is totally glittering right now, like a super shiny rainbow!"

"Thanks! In fact, seeing a rainbow is what made me smile for the first time and changed my life! Ever since seeing that particular rainbow, I wanted to spread happiness to all ponies in Equestria." The pink Earth pony explained. "And see? You do have something that I don't. Now I wish I could see other ponies' luminescence, that way I'd know how to make them happier!"

"Haha! I guess we both have something that we don't have." Both ponies laughed at the irony.

"I gotta tell you, Pinkie. I haven't had this much fun since I arrived in Maretime Bay and when I met Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch." Izzy said after calming down.

"Well, you and your friends are welcome in Ponyville at anytime!" The party planner declared. "And after we're done here, I'll take you and your friends to Manehattan, then Yakyakistan, then Seaquestria, the Dragon Lands, and lots of other places!"

"Wow~! Those places sound amazing!" The lilac unicorn felt giddy from hearing the names of the aforementioned locations, and she knew for a fact that her friends, especially Sunny, would be more than excited to see them, as well.

"They are! My personal favorite is Yakyakistan, home to the yaks!" Pinkie explained. "Seaquestria is an underwater kingdom, home to seaponies, who can also turn into hippogriffs! Long story short: they were hiding from a villain called the Storm King as seaponies, but when me and my friends beat the Storm King, they became hippogriffs and started living both in the sea and on land! The Dragon Lands are pretty self-explanatory — but just in case — they're home to fire-breathing dragons, and ruled by Dragon Lord Ember!"

Izzy's eyes widened with overwhelming awe and curiosity, growing excited about the prospect of visiting these places each passing second, especially now that Pinkie had told her what creatures were living in them. She had heard about dragons, but they haven't been seen in Equestria for thousands of years, according to Sunny. Yaks were another species that she had also heard of, but never met. And the seaponies/hippogriffs were something she had never in her life heard about until now. The lilac unicorn hasn't felt this giddy in a long time, and was looking forward to meeting all of these potential new friends.

"I can't wait to go to those places!" Izzy declared. "Thanks for telling me this, Pinkie!"

"You're welcome again, Izzy!" The pink Earth pony happily said. "Say, did you make that bracelet?" She suddenly asked, noticing Izzy's multi-colored bead-bracelet.

"Yeah. You like it?" The lilac unicorn asked, holding up her left hoof.

"Do I?!" Pinkie exclaimed in enthusiasm. "Can you make one for me and my friends? Personally, I'd like mine to be made out of candy."

"Can do!" Izzy nodded.

"Awesome! Just follow me to Sugarcube Corner." With that, the pink pony turned around and began playfully bouncing up-and-down to her destination. Izzy followed suit, mimicking Pinkie in her movement and staying close behind the pink pony's trail. "Oh, and if you see a big hole on the side, Anguirus made it when we were having our misunderstanding."

"Okay." The lilac unicorn cheerfully replied without missing a beat.





Speaking of the armored kaiju, Anguirus was currently following Fluttershy and Hitch to the former's cottage, which was located just outside of Ponyville. The interaction between the two ponies was very peaceful as they had friendly conversations about different creatures, which was more than enough to convince the quadrupedal dinosaur that Hitch was a sincere pony with no ill will towards him or Fluttershy. Honestly, for some reason, whether it'd be his charismatic personality or non-threatening appearance, the Ankylosaurus was starting to like the sheriff as well. Of course, Anguirus had to make sure that they weren't any threats nearby by periodically peering into the future with his special ability.

"I gotta say, that's one impressive and loyal friend you have there, Fluttershy." Hitch complimented the pegasus as he walked by her side, glancing back at their massive bodyguard that was following them close behind.

"Why, thank you." Fluttershy smiled. "My friends and I met him just 4 hours ago."

"I still can't believe that he can actually see the future, though." Hitch said, in awe that the creature behind them was capable of such a feat.

"So, what do you do in your time?" Fluttershy asked curiously, changing the subject.

"Well, I'm the sheriff of Maretime Bay. I enforce the rules and keep everypony, and critter, safe." The Earth pony declared proudly.

"That sounds like a very important job you have." The yellow pegasus softly replied.

"It is." The sheriff nodded affirmatively. "Because nothing escapes my radar. Especially not litter!" He exclaimed melodramatically, which earned a soft chuckle from Fluttershy.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Fluttershy's home; it was a small, woodland cottage with a multitude of animal burrows and birdhouses located all around the cottage, filling the air with the chirps, squeaks, chitters, and whistles of the animals that called this place their home. A small bridge was present over a stream that flowed.

"Welcome to my ho-" The words caught in Fluttershy's throat when she and her friends saw something unsettling: the stream that Fluttershy knew for most of her life was now crimson red, just like the water in her animal sanctuary and all over Equestria. "Oh, my!"

"The water! It's red just like in Maretime Bay and that lake we emerged from!" Hitch exclaimed, recognizing this as the identical phenomena that happened to the sea in Maretime Bay, as well as the lake he and his friends emerged from.

A small white rabbit hooped his way over to Fluttershy and hugged her right foreleg tightly. "Angel!" The yellow pegasus smiled and picked up the small animal. "Don't tell me the Archetype already spread here, too." She said worriedly, to which the rabbit nodded in response. Angel then pointed up ahead, showing many of the other animals looking wary and frightened of the contaminated stream, trying their best to keep their distance from it. They were behaving as if they had seen something very scary in the water.

"They look scared of the water." Hitch noted, also concerned about the animals' behavior.

"Let's ask them what's wrong." Fluttershy said as she and Hitch walked up to the frightened animals.

While he trusted Fluttershy's judgment, Anguirus still made sure to peer into the future, just to be safe. Thankfully, he did not see anything that would warrant his immediate protection, thus he allowed the two ponies to interact with the animals.

"What's wrong?" The yellow pegasus softly asked her quivering animal friends. Harry the bear growled softly and pointed at the stream with his claw behind her. "Something came out of the stream and flew off?" Fluttershy asked as she turned to look at the stream, to which the bear nodded.

"Did the 'something' that came out of the water happen to have wings and a long beak? And look kind of like a reptilian bird?" Hitch asked the bear, getting a bad feeling about what the animals here saw.

When Harry nodded in affirmation, Fluttershy was surprised by this and turned towards the sheriff. "You know what they saw?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. Remember the Rodans we mentioned?" Fluttershy nodded. "Well, what we forgot to mention is that we also saw them emerging from the red water."

The yellow pegasus gasped in surprise and a bit of fright upon learning this. "Really?" She softly asked. "That sounds scary."

"Yeah." Hitch nodded. "And worst of all, they didn't listen to me when I tried to communicate with them. Heck, they were looking forward to eating me!" He shouted at the last part of his sentence for emphasis.

"Well, not every creature listens to reason. Even an animal-lover like me knows there are some creatures you just can't be friends with, no matter how much you want to or try." Fluttershy said with a humble smile. "I know several creatures that attacked me, like a hydra, flash bees, and a bugbear. But I'm not angry at them, because I know that's just their nature."

"I don't know about the last two animals you just mentioned, but I get your point." Hitch said, and then smiled back at her. "I guess it's because this is the first time this has happened to me, I'm still processing it."

"It's okay. You'll get used to it, sheriff." Fluttershy smiled and wrapped a hoof around Hitch's shoulder to comfort him. "Knowing there are animals you can't befriend and accepting that is what makes us better ponies." As she said this, she also recalled the first time she went to the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot with her friends, hoping to befriend the animals that live in Canterlot's gardens, only for them to avoid her whenever she approached them. This resulted in her slowly losing her temper, which eventually lead to her trying to trap them against their will. As much as Fluttershy dislikes to bring those unpleasant memories to mind, they still served as a valuable lesson that not all creatures can be befriended or tamed, even if you are an animal expert with high patience.

"Yeah. I guess sometimes, you gotta let nature be nature." The stallion smiled in acknowledgment. "And please, just call me Hitch."

"Okay, Hitch." The yellow pegasus chuckled lightly.





Sunny was doing her best to not go all fan girl again, as she tried to keep her excitement under control. But considering her current exuberance stems from being in the presence of her life-long idol, whom, up until just an hour ago, she thought it was an impossibility for them to ever meet in real life, keeping herself from going all motormouth with questions on the Princess was easier said than done.

Jet Jaguar followed close behind the two ponies as they all entered the Castle of Friendship, with the former needing to kneel down in order to fit through the entrance doors. Even before entering the castle, the apricot Earth pony awed and marveled in amazement at the castle's stunning outward appearance, and as soon as they were inside, her eyes widened even more and she felt like her heart skipped a few bits.

The inside of the castle was even more visually-stunning and awe-inspiring, with several rows of tall crystal pillars located close to the long walls of the entrance hallway, while smaller crystals attached to vines hung from the ceiling like chandeliers.

"Is.. is this where you live, Princess?" Sunny couldn't help but ask as she and Twilight headed further down the hallway.

"This is where I used to live. After Princess Celestia and Luna's retirement and me becoming ruler of Equestria, I now live in Canterlot." Twilight explained. "My castle, along with the School of Friendship, are managed by Starlight Glimmer. She's currently at the school, in case you're wondering."

"Woow~..." Sunny breathed in awe upon hearing that Twilight even established a school for friendship.

After a while, the two ponies and the robot entered a room which had seven crystal thrones encircling a small but wide table. Each of the thrones had a symbol of one of the Mane Six's cutie marks, with the exception of the relatively small throne that was next to (what Sunny accurately guessed to be) Twilight's. Like a sponge soaking water, Sunny's eyes absorbed the beauty and majesty of this room, and thanks to the countless stories she had heard and read about the Guardians of Harmony, she quickly deduced that this must be their throne room where they oversee Equestria via a magical map.

If she was being honest with herself, Sunny thought she deserved a gold medal for resisting the urge to start jumping off the walls in excitement and curiosity, as tempting as that was.

"This is — or, was — the throne room where my friends and I used to—"

"Oversee Equestria through that map, detecting any friendship problems that might arise, and then going to those locations to solve them." Sunny finished, much to Twilight's pleasant surprise.

"Wow! You sure know a lot about us, don't you?" The princess smiled.

"I'm only the biggest fan of you that's ever lived in my time." Sunny proudly declared.

"Have a seat." Twilight offered before turning to look at Jet Jaguar, who had been silently standing behind them. "Sorry, Jet Jaguar, but I'm afraid there aren't any seats here big enough for you. But don't worry, I'll make you one." With those words, Twilight's horn ignited, and a bean bag sofa suddenly appeared before the tall robot via a purple flash of light. Sunny awed at the impressive magical feat the alicorn just demonstrated. Even though this wouldn't be considered anything special by present Equestria standards, it might as well be something out of a fantasy movie to the apricot pony, given that magic is a relatively new and recent phenomenon in her time.

Jet Jaguar examined the sofa by lightly pressing it with his arm; it was soft like a marshmallow. With that, the robot sat down on the sofa and made himself comfortable. Seeing that their robotic friend was content with his seat, Twilight smiled before she went and sat on her throne while Sunny sat on Rainbow's throne.

"Now then, Sunny, since we both have a lot of questions for each other, we'll take turns asking each other questions. Does that sound good to you?" The princess asked.

"U-huh!" Sunny nodded, eager to start.

"Alright. I'll let you go first. Ask me anything you want."

As soon as Twilight said those words, Sunny took a very deep breath, filling her lungs to their absolute limit, before softly exhaling, all in an effort to keep herself calm and prevent herself from exploding with a plethora of questions that she so eagerly wanted to ask the princess. After calming herself down, and keeping the fact that she had plenty of time to ask Twilight many of her questions in mind, Sunny found herself unable to decide on which question to ask the princess first, oddly enough. After a little more time of pondering, the first question finally came to the apricot Earth pony's mind.

"Princess, what was it like for you to make friends for the first time?"

This question somewhat surprised Twilight; whether it was due to being such a long time since anypony asked her about that particular feeling or perhaps because it came from a pony who had already made many friends, therefore knowing the feeling herself, she could not quite tell. Either way, the princess was more than happy to answer the young Earth pony's question.

"Well, before I was sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia, I considered friendship as nothing but a waste of time, distracting me from my studies. I didn't have an easy time making friends, either. It was only when Nightmare Moon returned and we had to find the Elements of Harmony to stop her did I learn the true meaning and value of friendship. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be here, having this conversation with you, if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of my friends. Each one of my friends has taught me something about friendship that I otherwise would never have known had I dismissed them and continued on my lone path. So, to answer your question Sunny, making friends for the first time was the best moment of my entire life, and it will probably stay that way long after I retire."

Sunny listened to every word the Princess of Friendship spoke and was deeply entranced by what she heard. She always knew that the Princess of Friendship was a pro at making friends (it was in her title, after all) but she was surprised to learn from the actual princess herself that she initially didn't regard friendship as anything valuable, instead viewing it as a waste of time. Especially in contrast to herself, who was eager to make friends with the other pony races since she was born. Of course, Sunny knew that she herself wasn't perfect, either: she was quick to give up on the idea that the three pony tribes can be reunited when bringing the three crystals together initially failed to bring back magic.

"Now that I've answered your question, it's my turn." Twilight said.

"Go ahead, princess. Ask me anything you want!"

"Also, please just call me Twilight. The whole 'Princess Twilight' is getting pretty old, even if I am technically the ruler of Equestria." The alicorn said with a light-hearted chuckle.

"Okay, Twilight." Sunny chuckled herself.

But before Twilight had a chance to ask her own question, a loud beeping sound came from Jet Jaguar's 'mouth', which went in sync by a blinking light flashing inside the robot's blue eyes.

"Huh? What is it, Jet Jaguar?" While Twilight was understandably confused by this, if a bit startled, Sunny became alarmed as she now realized that this was probably some kind of built-in alarm system to alert them of any dangers or threats nearby, as Sunny and her friends discovered when their robot friend detected the approaching Anguirus seconds before he appeared before them.

Before either pony could say another word, Jet Jaguar suddenly got up from the bean bag sofa he was sitting on and began racing for the exit doors.

"We have to follow him, Twilight! I think he detected something coming outside!" Sunny exclaimed before sprinting after Jet Jaguar to the exit doors. The princess of Friendship could instantly tell that this was serious and urgent, so she also got off her throne and ran after them without questioning it.

.

As soon as all three of them were outside the Castle of Friendship, initially nothing appeared to be amiss as all the ponies around stared at them awkwardly. For a moment, Sunny thought about scowling Jet Jaguar again, but both she and Twilight fell silent when the robot turned west and pointed a finger up at Canterlot castle that was atop the huge mounting in the far distance. Much to Twilight and Sunny's horror — and the confusion of the ponies around them — they saw a crimson cloud of Archetype slowly growing within Canterlot, partially obscuring some of the towers as it expanded. The fact they the could see this growing cloud all the way from near Ponyville with the naked eye only raised their concerns even more, because it was an indicator of how big, and therefore, how serious this unusual anomaly is becoming.

In an instant, Twilight also remembered that Spike was still sleeping in the castle and Moon Dancer was working in her home, not to mention all the other unsuspecting ponies who are likely about to experience the surprise of their lives.

"We have to alert our friends and help the ponies in Canterlot!" Twilight exclaimed, earning a nod from both Sunny and Jet Jaguar.

With that, the two ponies and the robot quickly raced off to find their friends and head to Canterlot to help the citizens there before things get even worse for all of them.





Elsewhere, the petrified form of Godzilla Amphibia stood like a statue amidst the crimson dune that covered the beach of where he made landfall and battled the Princess of Friendship. Believing that the giant monster was defeated (even if they didn't know exactly how), the Mane 6 left, leaving Godzilla to remain as the petrified obsidian statue he now was. Unfortunately, what Twilight and her friends didn't realize was that this was in fact all part of the Monster King's plan to help him reach the next stage of his life cycle. Upon seeing the magical power the alicorn displayed, Godzilla very deliberately cleared away the cloud of Archetype that surrounded him, making himself open to her magical attacks, before attacking her with his freezing vapor in order to provoke the pony into striking him with her magic, knowing full well what will happen when the powerful magic ignites his flammable vapor.

While it seemed like he had unintentionally turned himself into an obsidian statue, this was actually a development stage, akin to a caterpillar becoming a chrysalis before emerging as a butterfly after some time. And the time for this 'chrysalis' was just about over as a tiny chunk of Godzilla's crystal encasing broke off and fell to the ground. This was followed by another piece of mineral that broke off and tumbled down the quadruped's crystal-covered bulk. And then another, and another. More and more pieces of black, reflective material started to break off and fall down as Godzilla's crystalline cocoon gradually began to crumble away, filling the air with echoes of loud cracks from within the layers of breaking crystal-like minerals.

As the cocoon was crumbling away, the once frozen Godzilla started moving.

The Monster King slowly began rearing up off the ground, rising taller and taller as even more and larger crystal-like chunks of black mineral fell off of his body and landed on the ground around him, giving way to reveal the transformed monster underneath.

What was previously a horrifying demonic quadruped, vaguely resembling an iguana, now looked more like a bipedal crocodile with a very long tail and maple leaf-shaped spines protruding from its back.

In his new form, most of Godzilla's body was covered in jade-green scales while his underbelly was a yellowish color. Whereas his previous form was a quadruped that walked on all four legs, now he stood only on his digitigrade hind legs, which were lithe and strong, with three-toed claws on each foot. By contrast, Godzilla's forelegs had transformed into long, but significantly smaller arms with four curled fingers at the ends that were tipped with sharp claws. His long tailed had lost its three-barbed tip and was now more akin to that of an ordinary lizard. But it was Godzilla's head that had undergone the most drastic change of all; the kaiju's head now resembled that of a crocodile, with elongated and powerful-looking jaws that were filled with conical teeth, with a pair of abnormally long fangs located on the upper jaw directly beneath the nostrils. What's more, his eyes were now set very forward on his skull, close to his nostrils, and the eyes themselves were tightly close to one another. All the facial spikes from his previous form had completely disappeared.

The only thing that kept Godzilla still recognizable from his previous two forms were the unmistakable dorsal spines along his back. However, instead of just one row, there were now three rows of maple leaf-shaped spines running along the back of the transformed beast. What was once a quadrupedal, semi-terrestrial creature had now transformed into a bipedal, fully-terrestrial monster resembling a theropod dinosaur.

He was now... Godzilla Terrestris!

At the same time the kaiju finished his transformation, the reflective pieces of black mineral that were his former cocoon, as well as the crimson sand on the ground, reverted back into plumes of red dust expelling into the air like gusts of wind. The transformed Monster king stood to his full mighty height and let out a mighty mountain-quacking roar.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONGK!"
> Monster mayhem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Young Six were currently inside the Treehouse of Harmony, but they weren't doing their homework as they said. Instead, they closed all the windows shut, as well as locking the front doors, sealing themselves inside their treehouse. The six students were in a state of panic of what was happening outside. Just 10 minutes ago, everything was fine and normal, they were working on their homework and generally having a good time... until they spotted something they could only describe as a crimson sandstorm - something they would normally see in a desert - appearing out of nowhere and coming their way before sweeping over the entire area where their treehouse was located, along with them inside and everything turned red. The students realized far too late that the 'sandstorm' was in fact Archetype, now in a different state of matter and no longer bound to the water. They discovered this when Ocellus found herself unable of transforming and Silverstream's pearl piece wouldn't work as soon as they were exposed to the red mist.

Their situation only got worse when they spotted several large figures emerging from the redness through the window, coming their way. At first, they assumed it was Twilight and her friends coming to rescue them, but their hopes immediately disappeared when one of the figures fully-revealed itself. To the shock of the six students, it was a giant spider-like creature nearly twice the size of Celestia. The giant arachnid's body was dark green in color with yellow stripes, and its first pair of legs were tipped with metallic spurs that resembled drills. Four small blue eyes were present on the creature's head, along with two larger yellow eyes located on the sides of the head, with two small antennae located on top.

What the Young Six were looking at was a Kumonga.

Soon, more of its kind began emerging from the red mist alongside it as they started approaching the Treehouse. Yona felt her arachnophobia subtly creeping in at the sight of the approaching Kumongas; she may have gotten over her fear of regular-sized spiders, but giant spiders were quite another thing. Ocellus initially wondered (and hoped) if these creatures were friendly, but was quickly proven wrong when one of them suddenly leaped towards the treehouse, instantly covering 20 meters in a single bound, and landed right where the open window from which the Young Six were viewing them was located. The Kumonga screeched loudly as it tried to enter the treehouse through the window, or even grab one of the students to pull them out the window. Fortunately for the students, the window was too small for the monstrous arachnid to fit through. Naturally, the terrified students shut the window after managing to push the creature out, before proceeding to spread out and do the same to every window in their treehouse. The giant arachnids outside were not willing to give up their hunt so easily as dozens of them started leaping onto the treehouse from all directions.

"How did things go so wrong?" Ocellus whimpered. The young changeling and her friends were huddled together in a corner, watching the windows with anxiety and horror as the Kumongas were crawling around the treehouse outside, looking for a way in.

"I should've kept my big mouth shut." Smolder sighed, regretting her earlier statement of doubting they will be in any danger to Starlight Glimmer.

"Yona though Yona overcame fear of spiders. But Yona wrong!" The yak exclaimed.

"Not only that, we're magicless and vulnerable!" Silverstream added. With the Archetype having taken their magic away, they were basically defenseless against these creatures.

"Our only chance is to somehow escape and warn our kingdoms, like Starlight said." Sandbar stated.

"Well, that's gonna be a bit difficult with those monsters roaming outside." Gallus pointed out.

"So then, I guess we'll have to stay here until they give up and leave." Silverstream said.

But just then, a Kumonga smashes one of the glass windows with its front legs and attempts to enter, even though the window was too narrow for its bulky exoskeleton to fit through. Unfortunately, this action caused its brethren to realize that these transparent surfaces on the tree were extremely fragile, and thus prompted them to go around and break every single window they could find, all in an effort to reach the trapped students inside.

"AHHHH!" The Young Six screamed in terror as the monstrous arachnids tried to enter. Not relenting, the Kumongas continued pushing as hard as they could against the relatively narrow openings that were the now-broken widows. And it wasn't long before one of said opening started giving in to the pressure and cracking, allowing one of the Kumongas to fit half of its body inside. The six students could only watch in abject horror as the giant arachnid stared at them with its six eyes, saliva drooling from its mandibles.

It was over. One of the monsters was nearly inside, and the others were likely to break in, as well. And thanks to their exposure to the Archetype, they couldn't even use their abilities to defend themselves. They were goners.

At least, that is what the Young Six initially thought...

The Kumonga that was already half-way in was suddenly and abruptly pulled out through the cracked opening by something outside. This was followed by its screeches, a loud crunching sound, and then silence. The Young Six stared at the broken opening where the giant spider had previously been in stunned silence, various questions running through their minds as to what had just happened. Then, to their even greater surprise, the other Kumongas that had been trying their absolute hardest to break through and enter their treehouse a second ago all immediately stopped their assault and retreated. The sounds of their screeches, along with sounds of snapping, crunching and thumping, could be heard from outside.

"Uhh... what just happened?" A confused Smolder asked.

"I... I think we just got saved." Ocellus said slowly, relief washing over her body.

"But by who or what?" Sandbar wondered out loud.

"Well, guess there's only one way to figure that out." Gallus stated and pointed to one of the broken windows.

The others gulped, knowing what they were about to do is extremely risky considering what was happening less than a minute ago. Still, their curiosity was piqued, and besides, this could also be their chance to escape to safety. Slowly and cautiously, the six students made their way to the nearest broken window, and ever so slightly, peeked their heads from the edge of the broken window.

As soon as they did that, their eyes were met with a sight unlike any other; standing perhaps only 15 meters from their treehouse was a gigantic winged creature that vaguely resembled a cross between a bat and a stork. Its massive wings were folded backward as the creature stood on all four legs like a bat. Its long neck was held up high in the air, where its large head was located. This strange new creature had a long, straight beak like that of a stork, and a pair of backward-facing horns atop its head. But perhaps most striking of all was the beast's skin, which had a pitch black monochrome coloration with red speckles, while the narrow cavity on its upper mandible was pale gray. Additionally, its gigantic body appeared to be emitting smoke with small bright flints crackling around it.

"Wow~! That is one big bird!" Silverstream exclaimed, gawking at the huge beast.

"Wait... doesn't this thing look like those bird-like creatures that have been spotted in the skies all over Equestria recently?" Sandbar asked, realizing the striking resemblance between the Rodans they've heard about and this gigantic black Rodan that stood before them.

"I think so," Ocellus hesitantly said, a bit unsure. "But those creatures are only as big as ponies. This one's huge! It's twice the size of a roc!"

"Which means one of two things. Either A), this is a different species that's closely related to those other creatures, or B), it's an adult and the other bird-like creatures are just babies." Gallus surmised.

"I really hope it's the former. I don't think we need those things turning into giant monsters like this one." Smolder gulped in anxiety.

"Look!" Yona suddenly pointed at the ground, "Giant spider on the ground!"

Sure enough, the other students also spotted a lone Kumonga that was on the ground, near the giant Rodan's front legs. It looked like it was trying to sneak away from the flying giant without being noticed. Unfortunately for it, however, its bright coloration didn't exactly make it inconspicuous as the giant pterosaur almost immediately spotted it. Using its long beak like a giant pair of chopsticks, the Rodan bent down and snatched the Kumonga. The winged beast then lifted its head up and gulped down its arachnid prey in one bite. The students were as amazed as they were horrified as they watched this happen, with some feeling a little nauseous.

"Well, that's one way to take care of a pest problem." Gallus couldn't help but crack a joke, though none of his friends shared in his humor, which was understandable as they were still not out of the woods.

"We should probably wait a little longer until this creature leaves." Ocellus suggested, to which her friends agreed. Even though the Rodan had just saved them from the Kumongas, they knew that it was completely unintentional on the giant pterosaur's part — it was merely a predator looking for prey, and the Kumongas, in their reckless attempt to break into the treehouse and devour the students inside, had inadvertently drawn its attention and became prey themselves.

Suddenly, the giant Rodan turned its head to the right and looked down, where it spotted the six students hiding inside the nearby treehouse. It had somehow failed to notice them earlier, and subsequently realized that the giant spiders it just ate were probably after these six small creatures hiding in that tree. Although the Kumongas were a decent meal for the Rodan, it still had room for dessert. The Young Sax gasped as the giant pterosaur turned and started approaching their treehouse, evidently having spotted them and was now intending to make them its next meal.

"Uh oh. Looks like we're the next course!" Sandbar gulped.

"Let's get out of here!" Silverstream exclaimed

Knowing that their situation had just gotten much worse than before, the six students quickly raced away from the window and to the farthest corner of the room, hoping that their treehouse will be sturdy enough to protect them from the approaching giant monster, for it was the only thing that could keep them safe right now. But fortunately for the Young Six, they wouldn't get the chance to see if their treehouse could hold up against the kaiju — because, just as it was nearing said treehouse, the giant Rodan suddenly stopped in its tracks and shifted its attention away from the students. Sensing the sudden cease of thee loud thuds that were the footsteps of the gigantic Rodan, the Young Six assumed that the beast was now close enough to attack their treehouse, but nothing came.

"Um... are we safe?" A nervous Silverstream hesitantly asked.

"Hey, maybe Twilight and her friends found us!" Smolder suddenly said with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah! That must be it!" Ocellus was quick to agree with her friend. "I bet Professor Fluttershy is taming that monster right now."

As soon as the changeling suggested this, a loud, bellowing roar was suddenly heard from outside, enough to make Yona's fur stand on end.

"Y-Yona not think that pony friends..." The young yak suggested with a frightened gulp. The roar was followed by another series of loud thuds, these ones much louder than the footsteps of the Rodan. Subsequently, the comparably-lighter thuds of the Rodan could be heard moving away from their treehouse, no doubt having reacted to the roar of the much bigger creature that was likely headed this way. Once again, the Young Six found themselves saved from yet another predator, and again, they became curious of what was coming. They again made their way to the same broken window they were at before, despite knowing the huge risk they were taking.

Like before, they peeked their heads from the edge of the window, and the first thing they saw was the giant dark Rodan now in the distance, having moved away from their treehouse and was now staring at something farther east. Readjusting their position slightly to see what it was staring at, the young students found themselves staring in awe and shock as another, even larger creature was slowly emerging from the thick, crimson haze that was the Archetype mist.

A three-clawed foot stomped down on the ground with a booming thud as the theropod-like kaiju fully emerged from the red mist and stood before the giant pterosaur, locking eyes with it. This new creature was covered with jade-green scales and somewhat resembled a dragon, but without wings - instead having three rows of maple leaf-shaped spines running along its back. It stood on its hind legs while its clawed arms dangled over the ground. The giant reptile's long tail swung back and forth, and its elongated, crocodile-like jaws dripped with saliva as it stared down the Rodan with hunger in its own eyes. Once again, another predator had found itself becoming prey as Godzilla Terrestris opened his fanged jaws wide and let out his mighty roar at the pterosaur.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The giant Rodan responded to this by standing upright on its hind legs, spreading its huge wings wide to make itself appear as large as possible, and let out a loud screech of its own. Naturally, this did not intimidate Godzilla in the slightest as the transformed beast began charging towards the giant pterosaur, jaws wide open. Seeing this, Rodan decides to change tactics; with a flap of its huge wings, it takes to the air, but instead of flying away as most creatures naturally would in a situation like this, the pterosaur instead chooses to fly directly towards the incoming Godzilla. To the Young Six watching this, it seemed suicidal, thinking the Rodan was either extremely brave or extremely foolish to do what it was doing. Once the two kaiju were close to each other, Godzilla Terrestris lunged forward and snapped with his jaws, which Rodan nimbly avoided. The pterosaur managed to bypass the Monster King's jaws and land on his back, where it reared its head back slightly before plunging its long beak into the reptile's body. Godzilla roared in pain and began violently thrashing his body around in an effort to get the pterosaur off of himself, seeing as he couldn't reach the winged foe with his jaws or claws. At first, it seemed to work as the Rodan spread its wings and took to the air, hovering above the now-enraged Godzilla Terrestris who was snarling up at it.

The Young Six were watching this in awe and amazement, the Rodan was certainly pushing its luck with this new creature.

"Do you think its gonna fly away?" Ocellus asked curiously.

"Somehow I doubt that." Gallus muttered.

True to the griffin's statement, the giant Rodan indeed had no intention of backing down from this fight. On the contrary, the flying reptile had devised a new way of fighting its grounded opponent: opening its mouth as widely as it could, an orange glow began emitting from within the giant Rodan's throat. Seconds later, a fiery sphere that appeared to be composed of hardened magma and engulfed in flames was shot from Rodan's mouth, and struck the fresh wound on Godzilla's back. The Monster King cried out in pain as the fireball exploded with incredible force upon impact with his body, worsening the wound and causing him even greater pain. Sensing an advantage, Rodan began firing more of the same attack, relentlessly peppering Godzilla with fireball after fireball, resulting in the Monster King's entire body being consumed by a series of explosions and the resulting smoke produced by said explosions, all while his attacker was staying at a safe distance in the air.

"Holy cow! Is that thing part phoenix!?" Silverstram asked in bewilderment.

"At this point, I don't even care what it is..." Smolder responded nervously.

Finally, Rodan ceased its attack and waited for the smoke to clear to see the damage it dealt to its grounded opponent. But to its surprise, once the smoke cleared away, Godzilla Terrestris was still standing, albeit with one major difference; the area where Rodan inflicted the first wound, and subsequently aimed its fireballs at, was covered with a thick, gelatinous substance that was pinkish in colour. It certainly wasn't blood, as the pterosaur had already seen and tasted that when it stabbed Godzilla with its beak. Regardless of whatever this stuff was, all Rodan knew was that its opponent was still alive and that it needed to resume its attack to finish him off. Opening its mouth, the pterosaur fired another fireball down at Godzilla. But before the fiery sphere could reach its target, the mysterious substance that was coating the Monster King's back suddenly extended upwards and formed three amorphous tentacle-like formations that caught the fireball mid-air, smothering both it and the following explosion that came after. As a result, the damage output of the explosion was significantly reduced than what it would otherwise had been.

This shocked not only Rodan, but the Young Six who were watching the battle.

"Did that thing just grow tentacles from its back..." Smolder was at loss for words, much like all of her friends.

"It looks like it." Sandbar gulped.

Undeterred, the Rodan continued firing more fireballs at Godzilla, but just like before, the amorphous substance continued forming more tentacles in order to catch, smother, or even outright swat the incoming fireballs away from Godzilla Terrestris. It was now clear to the Young Six what Godzilla was doing,

"I think those tentacles are a defense mechanism against the bird monster's fireballs." Ocellus thought out loud as she studied the battle.

After another unsuccessful attempt to damage the dinosaur-like kaiju with the fireballs thanks to the Monster King's newly-formed amorphous appendages, the tentacles that Godzilla was producing suddenly shot upwards into the air with frightening speed, intending to catch the hovering pterosaur in the air. Seeing this, Rodan quickly took evasive action and flew higher before the tentacles could reach it. Perhaps realizing that it was outmatched, the gigantic pterosaur turned and began flying away from Godzilla, seemingly heading west. The tentacles, along with the gelatinous substance that Godzilla produced, began shrinking and reducing in size until it was completely absorbed into the Monster King's body. As soon as the substance was gone, the wound that Rodan inflicted on Godzilla had completely healed and disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with.

"Wow. That thing's wounds are completely healed." Gallus commented in surprise.

"It's like this creature can do anything." Ocellus stated in amazement.

Suddenly, a loud screech prompted the Young Six to shift their attention west, and were surprised at what they saw: Instead of fleeing like they thought it would, the giant Rodan instead made a U turn and circled back around, flying directly towards Godzilla Terrestris while opening its mouth and preparing to shoot a fireball at him.

"That thing just does not know when to quit." Smolder muttered, now feeling more annoyed at the Rodan's stubborn refusal to retreat - and little did she know, Godzilla thought the exact same thing. Rodan had missed its chance to get away, and now Godzilla was going to make sure that it will be the last mistake it ever does.

Godzilla Terrestris roared and opened his fanged jaws wide, that was when the dorsal plates on his back began glowing with a bright, neon-blue colour and a ring of energy of the same colour began forming directly in front of his mouth. The Monster King narrowed his eyes, lining the incoming pterosaur up in his target zone and locking it in his line of sight so his ranged attack would hit it with precise accuracy. The glowing ring grew gradually in size as it continued to hover in front of Godzilla's gaping jaws, the theropod-like kaiju arched his neck back slightly as he slowly prepared to fire. Rodan seemed completely oblivious at what Godzilla was doing, for it was preparing its own ranged attack as it steadily flew closer to its grounded opponent.

With his target now within his striking range and getting steadily closer to him, the dorsal-plated reptilian launched the glowing halo that was in front of his mouth directly at Rodan, sending it speeding towards the flying reptile like a rocket. The pterosaur could only stare in shock as the halo came directly at it and collided with its body.

When the energy ring collided with Rodan, it produced a sound akin to a bell chiming and dissipated in a burst of shimmering blue particles. A blow of pure unequaled power rippled through the giant pterosaur's body, shutting down the attack it was charging and sending it spinning wildly as it plummeted to the ground below. When the Rodan fell to the ground, the impact produced a loud thud and kicked up a large crimson dust cloud.

The Young Six could only stare in wide-eyed disbelief at what they just witnessed, their minds racing with various different questions.

"Did you just see that...?" A bewildered Sandbar asked.

"Yup." Gallus replied, no less amazed.

"Honestly, that was kind of awesome." Smolder admitted. This creature may not be a dragon, but the abilities it just displayed were nothing to sneeze at.

"No kidding! I mean, how did it even do that? What did it just fire?!" Silverstream exclaimed, asking various questions.

"Yona rather not know answer." The young yak said in fright.

"You know, I've noticed something odd," Ocellus suddenly said, prompting her friends to look at her. "There is no record of a creature like this, the giant spiders, or those bird-like creatures existing anywhere in Equestria until now. It's only when the Archetype appeared and started spreading that these creatures also began appearing in Equestria."

"Yeah, you're right." Gallus nodded. "We don't know what these creatures are or where they came from, but they're definitely connected to that stuff."

"Heads up, guys! That giant monster's coming!" Sandbar exclaimed and pointed at Godzilla Terrestris, who was now approaching the spot where the Rodan fell, which meant he will have to pass by their treehouse.

The Young Six stayed as silent as they possibly could as they watched the enormous beast walk past their treehouse, easily dwarfing it, without seeming to notice them inside. Once he reached the location of where the giant pterosaur was laying, Godzilla Terrestris bent down and scooped up the lifeless body of the Rodan in his jaws. Suddenly, Godzilla turned his head around and stared directly at the Young Six, who immediately tensed up and prepared to run for their lives the moment the kaiju decides to attack them. Fortunately, the Monster King ultimately shifted his attention away from them, and with his prize still in his jaws, the dorsal-plated reptilian began heading east to enjoy his earned meal, as he preferred to feed in seclusion.

The Young Six continued to watch as Godzilla slowly disappeared into the thick red mist of Archetype, waiting until the loud thuds of his heavy footsteps to also disappear before deciding to leave.

"I think that's our cue to leave." Smolder stated, and her friends nodded.

Without wasting any more time, the Young Six exited their treehouse and went in the opposite direction of where Godzilla was going. Armed with the knowledge of everything they had just witnessed and experienced, the students knew they needed to warn their respective kingdoms. They could only hope that they are not too late.





Canterlot

Twilight Sparkle and Sunny Starscout could barely catch their breaths as they were racing towards Canterlot castle alongside their respective friends, including Anguirus and Jet Jaguar. As soon as they spotted the ominous thick cloud of Archetype having manifested from and spreading across Canterlot, Twilight, Sunny, and Jet Jaguar immediately raced to find their friends, inform them of what is happening, and then race towards Canterlot as quickly as they possibly could. Hitch and Fluttershy were the first to meet up with them, even before they could reach the latter's cottage — which was mainly thanks to Anguirus' precognitive ability foreseeing their arrival. Neither Hitch nor Sunny could still get over how impressive that ability was. Once the rest of their friends were gathered, all of them quickly began racing for Canterlot. Rainbow Dash initially was a little hesitant to go due to the presence of the Archetype, knowing it will remove her ability to fly the moment she comes in contact with it. Of course, there was no room for arguing, not when Spike and many other ponies were still in the Canterlot as this was happening, not to mention Moon Dancer who was in the process of researching how to reverse the effects of the Archetype.

As they neared the gates of Canterlot, they had no other choice but to plow directly into the ever-expanding thick haze of Archetype. And just like that, all of their magical abilities were gone in an instant; Twilight and Rarity felt their inner magic disappear, a feeling they likened to a fire inside them getting doused by water, extinguishing the source of their magical fuel. Rainbow and Fluttershy dropped to the ground, the magic that kept them airborne gone and leaving them grounded, much to the former's chagrin and frustration. Sunny and her friends were relatively unaffected, as they already had their magic stolen when they splashed into the Archetype-infested sea before arriving in Equestria's past. Once the eleven ponies and their two kaiju companions passed the gate, they were greeted with a scene straight out of a nightmare story; everything was crimson-red and visibility in the area has decreased by about 50% thanks to Canterlot being consumed by the cloud of crimson mist.

The heroes stopped as they watched many ponies screaming and running around in sheer terror. To Sunny and her friends, the chaos they were seeing before them very much mirrored the panicked frenzy the ponies of Maretime Bay were in when the Rodans invaded their town. Only this time, there weren't any Rodans present — or any immediate monsters, for that matter (excluding Jet Jaguar and Anguirus, who were with them the entire time).

"What's happening!?" Twilight asked a nearby unicorn mare who was hiding behind a wooden cart.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here, Princess! We're under attack!" The mare cried out.

"Under attack?!" Sunny exclaimed in shock.

"By what?" Rainbow asked.

The cyan pegasus got her answer when all of them suddenly heard a deep, guttural roar! Looking up, the shocked ponies saw a very large creature climbing up the top of the one of the many towers present all over Canterlot, and holding in its hand was one of the giant fans that Shining Armor installed as Canterlot's new defense system to prevent any flying threats from breaching the castle via the sky. But it was the creature's overall appearance that truly caught the ponies' attention; The creature mostly resembled a scaly, reptilian baboon that was slightly larger than Anguirus. Its arms were muscular and longer than its hind legs, with sharp claws on both the fingers and toes. The creature also had a prominently hunched back and a long tail, while its body was covered in warty green skin, with a beige underbelly and a row of spikes running along its back. It also had a long upward-facing horn located on its forehead, and a paired row of yellowish plate-like scales running down the length of its back. Its head and jaws resembled those of a baboon, with a cat-like muzzle and a pair of rhino-like ears located on both sides of the head.

To add even more fuel to this beast's terrifying appearance, its eyes were white and lacked any sort of pupils.

This creature's name was Salunga!

"Not another monster!" Rarity exclaimed in dismay.

"Where did this thing come from?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"This creature just suddenly appeared in Canterlot out of nowhere! According to witnesses, it came from one of the entrances that lead to the underground tunnels by smashing through it." The unicorn explained. "That's also when this strange red mist also started appearing and spreading all over Canterlot and everypony started losing their magic!"

Twilight, Sunny, and all of their friends were shocked and horrified to learn this. Somehow, not only has the Archetype made its way to Canterlot, but yet another mysterious creature that was connected to it also appeared. It seems that nowhere is safe from the Archetype and the monsters it was bringing with it. At that moment, Salunga looked down and spotted the twelve ponies and their two kaiju friends — and upon seeing them, the reptilian primate let out a primal roar before he threw the fan he was holding at the heroes. Seeing this, Twilight initially tried to put up a force-field but found herself unable as she realized she was now magicless. She and everyone screamed as the fan came hurling their way at an alarming speed, and without any magic to defend themselves with or ability to quickly fly away, they were goners. Fortunately, Jet Jaguar jumped over his pony friends and landed in front of them, where he holds out his arms in an X shape and awaited the incoming object. The fan struck him but ricochet off his durable body with a metallic cling before falling to the ground.

"Thanks, Jet Jaguar!" Sunny smiled up at the robot, who turned his head slightly to look at her and nod. Just then, Salunga leaped off of the tall tower and landed right in front of the heroes with a loud 'thud', creating several cracks on the floor underneath him, before letting out a guttural roar. Anguirus jumped over the ponies and landed next to Jet Jaguar, as both prepared to battle the monkey-like reptilian. The ankylosaur-like kaiju wastes no time in shaking his spikes and attempting to peer into the future in order to get a better understanding and prepare for whatever was coming — only to see nothing at all. Shocked, Anguirus tried again, and again, he saw nothing whatsoever. What was going on? Why was he unable to see into the future like he normally does? But he had no time to dwell on this for too long, Salunga stood up on his hind legs and let out a bellowing roar at them before dropping on all fours and charging at him and Jet Jaguar like a crazed chimpanzee. Seeing this, Anguirus and Jet Jaguar had no choice but to return the favor and charge at the incoming beast! The gap between them instantly closed as Jet Jaguar and Anguirus smashed into the larger Salunga with their combined weight and strength, resulting in a small shockwave.

Jet Jaguar threw a left-hook punch across Salunga's face, stunning him long enough for Anguirus to deliver an equally-devastating blow to the monster's head with his tail club. In retaliation, Salunga swung his right arm at Jet Jaguar, hitting him with the back of his hand and sending the robot flying and crashing into the wall of a nearby building. Salunga then grabbed Anguirus by the head wit his other hand, wrapping his fingers around the jaws to prevent the ankylosaur from biting him, and smashing his head against the ground with all the force he could muster.

"We have to help them!" Sunny exclaimed.

"But how? We just lost all of our magic the moment we got here!" Pipp pointed out. The pegasus princess has never been one to participate in fights with monsters, even with her ability to fly.

"We don't need magic of any kind to stop that monster." Twilight declared, prompting Sunny and her friends to look at her in surprise. "All we need is teamwork and trust in one another."

"This ain't the first time we've had to fight threats to Equestria without our magic." Applejack stated. "On time, Starlight, Thorax, Discord, and Trixie rescued us from Chrysalis 'nd the changelings while being robbed of their magic."

"Wait... seriously?!" Zipp gawked in surprise, as did her friends.

"It's a long story, we'll tell you later." Twilight insisted before turning her attention at the situation at hoof. "Right now, we need a plan to stop this monster, and I have just the plan."

Again, Sunny found herself shocked by Twilight's statement and confidence. Not only did the Princess of Friendship demonstrate magical feats far beyond anything anypony in her time can do, but even without magic, the Guardians of Harmony had faced and defeated powerful foes and monsters in the past? Such a feat would be considered impossible by most ponies in her time.

"Okay, we're all ears!" Rainbow stated, eager to end this as soon as possible.

Salunga stood upright on his hind legs while lifting the struggling Anguirus over his head with his hands. The monkey-like reptilian roared before he tossed the ankylosaur at Jet Jaguar, knocking them both to the ground.

"Hey, ugly!"

A small rock struck the side of Salunga's head, prompting the beast to turn around and see two ponies, Rainbow Dash and Zipp Storm, the former of whom was blowing a raspberry at him. "Come and get us if you can!" Rainbow tauntingly called out before the two turned tails and galloped away. Their stunt produced the reaction they wanted as Salunga roared in anger and gave chase after them.

The two ponies lead the kaiju deeper into Canterlot, among the many low-raise buildings where they could maneuver much more easily in order to gain some distance and impede their pursuer. While the former intention was going smoothly, it didn't go as much with their latter intention a Salunga leaped atop one of the buildings and resumed chasing them by leaping from building to building. For such a large creature, this thing was surprisingly agile and nimble, Zipp had to admit. Then, an idea popped into the pegasus princess' head as she was galloping for her life.

"Rainbow, I have an idea to get that monster quicker to our destination." Zipp stated. "But I'm gonna have to get him to chase just me."

The cyan pegasus was unsure, and a bit worried, but she nevertheless trusted her fellow daredevil pony. "Alright. Do what you have to!"

Nodding, Zipp took advantage of an empty bucket that was in their path by kicking it upwards with her hind hoof directly at Salunga's face, irritating him even more and prompting the monster to focus his primal rage entirely on her. With the first step in her plan complete, the two ponies went their separate ways, with Zipp heading towards a particularly tall conical-shaped building that was empty, with Salunga still close on her tail.

Fortunately, Zipp was able to enter the building before the monster could get her, and as soon as she was inside, she began racing up the spiral-shaped staircase that reached all the way to the top of the building. Almost mid-way up, she felt a tremor shaking the building from the outside, and a quick glance into one of windows she passed showed her the reason: with his sharp claws digging into the concrete, Salunga was climbing up the building at the same speed she was galloping from inside. Eventually, Zipp reached the end of the staircase and exited the building via a nearby window at the top. She stood atop the tall building, overlooking most of the landscape of Canterlot. But she didn't have much time to enjoy this scenery as Salunga also reached the pointed top of the tower, and was snarling at her. Zipp gulped and looked down,

"Well, here goes nothing." With that, she leaped off of the building just in time to evade Salunga's hand narrowly grabbing her. Spreading her wings as wide as possible, and thanks to a fan that was conveniently located on a shorter building just below her, providing her with extra lift, Zipp was able to glide horizontally like a flying squirrel whilst also gently descending to the ground thanks to her wings doubling as a parachute. Finally, Zipp landed on the ground with a few steps, catching her breath from the daredevil experience. "Okay, that was a bit close even for me." The white pegasus self-noted. She then looked up to see Salunga angrily roaring down at her before he jumped off the building. Because the kaiju was much larger and heavier, not to mention lacking any features for gliding or flying, he plummeted straight to the ground below and landed with a heavy thud, receiving no physical damage from the impact.

Seeing this, Zipp quickly turned and started galloping away, with the primate-like reptilian giving chase once again. This whole chase reminded the pegasus of when her sister was being chased by the Rodan in Maretime Bay not that long ago, but unlike that, Zipp wasn't simply running for her life to get away from the beast chasing her, she was luring him...

She passed between two large buildings where a folded up tapestry banner was located above between them. As soon as she passed the two buildings, the large banner suddenly unfolded downwards right in front of Salunga's path, giving the monster no time to properly react or evade it in time as he crashed directly into it. Pipp and Rarity, who were on the tops of the respective buildings and being responsible for unfolding the banner right in front of the charging kaiju, watched as Salunga came to a full stop, his horn having pierced through the tapestry and lodged the banner around his face, blocking his vision completely. As soon as the kaiju removes the banner from his face, he is greeted by an attacking swarm of geese flying around his face, packing at him with their beaks. Of course, their attacks didn't harm Salunga in the slightest, they were the equivalent to harmless house flies to a pony — but even a full-grown stallion can get annoyed and distracted by a persistent swarm of flies buzzing around his face constantly, which is exactly what was happening to Salunga. The kaiju growled and swatted at the annoying birds with his clawed hands, only to grow more irritated by their refusal to retreat. This escalates to the point where Salunga rears up on his hind legs and continues swatting at the pesky geese with both his arms... leaving him open for Hitch and Applejack as they came at him, carrying the latter's extended rope with them; Hitch holding one end of the rope while Applejack holds the other end in their mouths. They wrapped the long rope around the beast's feet by repeatedly running in circles in opposite directions from each other. Once that was complete, Hitch and Applejack pull on the opposite sides of the rope, pressing the monster's feet tightly to one another.

Their plan worked flawlessly as the kaiju roared in surprise upon losing his balance and topped to the ground on his stomach. As soon as Salunga was down, Fluttershy emerged from behind a nearby building and cried out,

"Anguirus, now!"

On her command, and with a loud roar, the ankylosaur jumped out of nowhere, soaring high in the air before landing right on top of the downed Salunga's back with all of his weight. The monkey-like reptilian roared in pain and tried to get him off, but found his attempt futile as Jet Jaguar also jumped onto his back with his own body-slam, causing him even more pain. Salunga tried to get up and free himself, but the combined weight of both Jet Jaguar and Anguirus on top of him was proving too much, not to mention his legs were still tied up. Salunga could do nothing but roar and snarl in frustration. With the rampaging monster now pinned to the ground and trapped, the ponies slowly approached the scene.

"That was your plan, to dog-pile him?" Rainbow asked her friend in surprise.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Izzy chimed in.

"It sure did!" Pinkie crowed.

"I still can't believe this plan actually worked." Hitch said in genuine surprise, looking at the trapped beast.

"You and me both." Pipp nodded in agreement.

"Well, I for one, would have preferred if we didn't have to use that magnificent banner in our plan." Rarity huffed. "Now it's ruined."

"I'm more curious why Anguirus' ability to see into the future didn't work on that thing." Zipp suddenly pointed out, prompting the others to realize the same. If the ankylosaur's precognitive ability is magical in nature, then that would explain why it didn't work. Still, Zipp felt that something about Anguirus' ability in relation to the Archetype was unusual. Specifically, she wondered if the ankylosaur's special ability was even magical in nature, considering there has never been any mention of him or any of the other strange creatures in any historical records, both here and in her timeline.

As if Anguirus, Jet Jaguar, and all of these other creatures suddenly came here from another world. Zipp's eyes widened as the possibility came to her mind. Could this be the case? Are these creatures and the Archetype pouring into their world from another dimension? Considering Twilight and Spike have been to a parallel world inhabited by bipedal creatures called humans, it was almost a guarantee that this is indeed what is happening right now.

Even stranger: what if these creatures had time-traveled here from Equestria's long forgotten past, or possibly even its far future? She and her friends just traveled 4,000 years into the past, after all.

But before Zipp could voice her theories to the others...

"Twilight!"

A voice from behind suddenly called out, causing the Mane 6 and Mane 5 to turn around and spot a small purple dragon flying over towards them. Sunny and her friends stared at him with widened eyes and their mouths were agape as the little dragon landed in front of them.

"Spike!"

Twilight smiled and quickly raced over to hug him, happy and relieved that he is okay.

"What in Equestria happened here?" Spike asked, understandably confused by the suddenly changed Canterlot he had found himself in upon waking up. He then shifted his attention to Jet Jaguar and Anguirus, who were still keeping Salunga down and preventing him from getting up or moving much, as much as the latter tried. "And what are those creatures?"

"It's a very, very long story." Rainbow Dash replied with an exhausted sigh, not feeling particularly keen to explain everything that's been happening.

"Okay~..." Spike said slowly, sensing the tiredness and disinterest in the cyan pegasus' voice. He could tell that all of his friends had just gone through a lot, and the presence of those three strange creatures behind them, as well as this mysterious crimson mist were definitely contributors. Finally, the young dragon turned his attention to Sunny and her friends, who were all staring at him with astonishment and awe, as if they had never seen a dragon before. "Can you at least tell me who these ponies are?"

"Oh, they're from the future! Specifically 4,000 years into the future!" Pinkie answered ever so casually, as if informing him what day it is.

"Wait, what?" Spike nearly shouted in surprise, not expecting such an answer.

"It's true. We don't know how, but we've been transported to your time." Hitch answered as he approached the little dragon with a warm smile. During their time together, Fluttershy informed him about dragons, including Spike, and other races in the timeline they were currently in. He still couldn't believe that he was in the presence of a real life dragon, a creature that hasn't been seen in his timeline for thousands of years. Not to mention this dragon in particular was a cute juvenile one. "I'm Hitch, by the way. Hitch Trailblazer."

"Huh. I'm guessing I missed out a lot." Spike replied rather casually.

"You don't seem that shocked that we're from the future." Zipp idly noted.

"Meh. This isn't the first time we've had to deal with time-travel." The little dragon replied nonchalantly. "One time, Twilight and I had to go back in time to stop Starlight Glimmer from altering the timeline, resulting in several different futures where Equestria was ruled by evil villains. But we were able to fix it."

Sunny and her friends stared at Spike in complete and utter bewilderment and disbelief, unable to wrap their minds around the incomprehensibleness of what the little dragon just said. Sunny was especially shocked by this, as there was never any mention of Twilight, or anypony else, ever traveling back in time to stop a pressing threat. She wondered if the Guardians of Harmony deliberately left this out in order to prevent possible future threats from finding a way to time-travel and undo their work. It also just occurred to her: when she and her friends return to their own timeline, would Twilight have to erase their memories of their time here, as well as their own, in order to prevent any disruptions in the timestream? The Earth pony felt uneasy at the thought of her memories having to be erased after everything she and her friends just learned and experienced here. Still, she knew that for the greater good of Equestria, and possibly reality, they may not have any other choice. Regardless, Sunny decided not to speak out her thoughts at the moment, as this wasn't the appropriate time for that kind of discussion.

As the ponies were conversing with the young drake, they didn't notice Salunga's horn begin glowing like a light-bulb. That was when the monster's body started emitting extremely high levels of electricity, which was visibly surging outwards around his body. Anguirus roared in pain as the massive voltage coursed through his and Jet Jaguar's bodies, causing them both immense pain and distress. The robot's eyes rapidly flickered on and off as a result of this, forcing him to get off of Salunga to avoid possibly his system short-circuiting. Anguirus followed soon after, unable to bear the pain any longer. Salunga wastes no time in quickly getting up and delivering powerful blows to both Jet Jaguar and Anguirus with his muscular arms.

"Look out!" Spike cried out as the ponies turned around and saw the enraged Salunga charging at them. The ponies immediately took off in different directions in hopes of getting away in time, but the monkey-like reptilian had already set his sights on a particular pony: Sunny Starscout. Try as she might, she couldn't outrun the fast-approaching beast, and quickly found herself snatched up as she felt the monster's fingers wrap around her body and lift her off the ground.

"Sunny!" Hitch, Izzy, Pipp and Zipp cried out in horror.

Holding his prey in one hand, Salunga turned around and jumped atop the roof of a nearby small building. The monkey-like reptilian quickly moved on to the house next to it, and continued to sprint across the roofs of the small buildings that were close around him until he reached a slightly taller and more colorful building with a spire atop, which also happened to be connected to another building of identical size and shape via a large, concrete bridge that was about 40 feet off the ground. Salunga wasted no time jumping directly on top of the bridge, creating several deep cracks from the impact, before jumping onto the tower on the other side. Throughout this whole event, Sunny was completely dazed and felt her stomach turn due to the stress of being carried by a monster that also happened to be an acrobatic climber. Salunga then saw an even bigger building, 100 feet tall or more, with a colorful spire on the top located 80 feet away from the tower he was on. Not bothering to think twice, the monkey-like reptilian bent his knees and free arm before jumping forward with as much force as he could muster. Sunny's adrenaline promptly skyrocketed as she and her captor soared through the air, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. And just like that, Salunga cleared the 80 feet distance in an instant. He landed right on the midsection area of the tower, digging his sharp claws into the smooth concrete surface in order to latch onto the large building. With this amazing feat of acrobatics, Salunga began climbing up the top of the tower, albeit more slowly than normal due to carrying his prey in one hand.

Meanwhile, Twilight and her friends, as well as Sunny's friends, along with Jet Jaguar and Anguirus were racing after Salunga on ground level as fast as they could. If they weren't in a race to save their friend's life, they would be amazed at what an acrobatic and nimble climber Salunga was, as he easily cleared such a large distance in a short amount of time by leaping to one tall building, climbing up the top, and then jumping over to the next building that was closest; all the while they had to follow him via hoof. This was especially frustrating for Rainbow Dash and Zipp Storm, who couldn't currently fly. The only exception was Spike, because unlike ponies, a dragon's ability to fly is non-magical.

"It looks like he's heading for the castle!" Twilight exclaimed, watching in horror as the monkey-like reptilian approached ever closer to the castle by leaping to higher and higher buildings like a giant tarsier.

"We'll never catch up to them at this point!" Pipp exclaimed in despair.

"I can, but I'm not sure what good I can do against that thing. Not to mention even if I could fly up there, those fans Shining Armor installed will blow me away," Spike inquired while flying beside Twilight.

The Princess of Friendship thought hard to come up with the best possible scenario where they could save Sunny Starscout from Salunga without endangering her life in the process. Yet, all of the possible calculations in her mind are doomed to fail; trying to create a makeshift balloon for all of them to fly up there would waste too much time, not to mention they would also be getting blown away by the fans. Trying to use Pinkie's party canon to launch themselves at the monster like they did against the Storm King could work, but it is more likely to fail as the beast and its hostage were a very fast target, thus the chance of making a bullseye was extremely slim, not to mention that a miss would be fatal for them. The idea of firing a cannonball at the beast was also out of the question, due to the risk to Sunny.

Sometimes, even the most brilliant of minds faces a circumstance where there is no safe option to stop it, and it frustrated Twilight to no end. So was that it? Is there truly no way to save Sunny from that monster? Could she live with herself knowing she couldn't save Sunny's life? What kind of ruler would that make her? Twilight's thoughts were interrupted when Jet Jaguar suddenly ran past her, his heavy footsteps making small cracks on the ground as he ran past all the ponies and Anguirus with speed none of them could keep up with (at least not on foot/hoof).

"Wow! Jet Jaguar's moving fast!" Pinkie exclaimed in amazement.

"He's desperate to save Sunny just as we all are!" Zipp replied, galloping next to her.

The adrenaline in Sunny's body had practically reached its limit at this point; the monster that was holding her was now at the top of the second tallest tower of Canterlot castle, one which was visible all the way from Ponyville. Salunga was holding onto the tip of the spire of the tower — which had an emblem in the shape of the sun — with one hand, while holding the pony with his other. Still, despite the terrifying view and her being in mortal danger, a small part of Sunny couldn't help but feel awe at the breath-taking sight; the thick haze of crimson dust had not yet reached the towers, thus she could see all of Canterlot from up here, as well as the lands and mountains beyond, including Ponyville. That was when she spotted Jet Jaguar, looking tiny due to how high she was, racing towards the base of the tower Salunga was currently atop. She also spotted her friends, Twilight and the Guardians of Harmony, as well as Anguirus, racing after him, though it didn't seem like they were able to keep up with the colorful robot.

However, she wasn't the only one who noticed this; Salunga, having also spotted them, glared down at them and shifted his attention to the tower that was now closest, which also happened to be the tallest tower in Canterlot and located dangerously close to the edge of the castle. Sunny quickly realized what her captor was planning, and braced herself for yet another terrifying ride. As she expected, Salunga once again bent his knees and leaped over to the tallest tower in Canterlot, landing right where a window was located.

Seeing this, Jet Jaguar quickly changed course and started racing towards the base of the tallest tower. And by the speed he was running, he should be able to reach it in about a few minutes... which isn't fast enough. Looking up, Jet Jaguar saw that Salunga was preparing to devour Sunny as he opened his huge jaws wide and was bringing the terrified pony in. He had to save her! He had to save her now! That was when Jet Jaguar's eyes began glowing a bright white light... followed by another, much brighter light of the same color illuminating in his chest and shining brightly among the thick haze of Archetype.

That was when something extraordinary happened...

The crimson mist around him suddenly disappears, being replaced by many long and sharp crystals of the same color and of various sizes that rapidly grew outwards and jutted in all directions at an incredible speed, impaling anything and everything unfortunate enough to get caught in their path in the process, including all the buildings around Jet Jaguar. This affect didn't stop here, but continues to spread all over Canterlot, as the thick cloud of red dust that had nearly engulfed all of Canterlot was now rapidly disappearing and replaced by a gigantic tangle of red crystals, many as large as some of the tallest buildings.

"Wow!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise as one of the massive crystals sprouted sideways in-between herself and some of her friends, thankfully missing all of them. The ponies and Anguirus subsequently halted in their tracks, shocked by the sudden appearance of these giant crystals. One moment they were galloping through a thick red mist to save their friend, the second the world around was reverting mostly to normal, with the exception of the building-sized red crystals that were now sprouting and jutting everywhere around them. Everypony was in a loss for words at this sudden change as it raised many more questions — questions that will have to wait until Sunny is rescued. With that, the ten ponies, Spike, and Anguirus resumed running to reach the tower as soon as possible.

Sunny Starscout was practically staring death in the face; certain that none of those other bothersome creatures will reach him up here, Salunga opened his jaws to devour his prey whole. The apricot pony could do nothing but stare in silent horror at her waiting death. She was about to get eaten, and her life, along with all he dreams and hopes, will come to an end. What a cruel twist of fate.

But before Salunga could chomp down on her, several of the red crystals that were still growing extremely quickly raced up the tallest tower with blinding speed, and impaled Salunga's body in multiple directions; with four going straight through his torso and one through the arm that was holding Sunny. The monkey-like reptilian cried out in pain, as one would expect, and immediately released the pony from his grip. Instead of falling directly down, Sunny landed on one of the giant crystals that were impaling Salunga, before sliding down it. Sunny screamed as she slided down the gigantic crystal, almost like a roller-coaster but with no safety features should she slide off it. Thankfully, thanks to the crystal being intertwined with other crystals of comparable size, she was able to grab hold of another massive crystal that happened to be in her slide path. With effort, Sunny managed to climb up the side of the crystal before jumping onto the parapet walk that was located at the midsection of the tower, and entering the door.

Jet Jaguar was nearing the base of the tallest tower, jumping over any red crystals that were in his way. But as he neared the base...

"Jet Jaguar?" A soft voice sounded up ahead, prompting the robot to stop and look in the direction. There, opening a nearby door and emerging was Sunny Starscout, alive and unharmed. Without saying a word, the pony immediately galloped towards the colorful robot and hugged his metallic leg tightly. "I'm so glad you came to save me." She said with a tearful smile. Jet Jaguar responded by bending down on one knee and gently wrapping his metallic arms around the pony, returning the hug.

A loud cracking sound was heard from above, prompting the pony and robot to look up at the tower. Large and deep cracks were spreading through the midsection area of the tower on which Salunga was still atop, likely due to not being able to handle the combined weight of the monster on the top and the gigantic crystals impaling him. As the cracks continued to spread, the tower finally began to crumble until it toppled over like a tree. Sunny and Jet Jaguar watched as the tower fell off of Canterlot and the mountain on which the castle was located, sending the still-living Salunga, who was now trapped on the tower, plummeting straight down and out of sight.

"Sunny!"

Sunny and Jet Jaguar turned around to see Twilight and  their friends finally arriving at the scene. Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp ran past the Mane Six and galloped towards their friend, as did she towards them. The five ponies came together and embraced each other in a group hug, all of them happy and relieved that their friend was safe and sound after that harrowing experience.

"I thought we'd never see you again, Sunny." Hitch softly said.

"Neither did I," His friend softly replied. "But I'm glad we did."

Twilight and her friends smiled warmly at this; the bond these ponies shared matched their own in every way, and it just goes to show that even after 4,000 years, the Magic of Friendship is still very much alive and strong.

"Twilight!" A new voice suddenly called out, prompting all the ponies, Spike and the kaiju to turn around and see Moon Dancer galloping towards them as fast as she could, and with a look of alarmed panic on her face. "Oh, thank goodness you're all here!" She sighed in relief as she came to a full stop in front of the Mane Six, barely able to catch her breath.

"Calm down, Moon Dancer!" Twilight said, placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I... I was doing research on the Archetype, as usual, and I found something terrifying about it." Moon Dancer explained through heavy pants.

"Yeah, we noticed that, too. In addition to absorbing magic, it's also somehow making these monsters appear all over Equerstria." Rainbow Dash said. The cyan pegasus heard a deep growl and looked around to see Anguirus glaring at her, offended by her implication of him being a monster like the hostile creatures that have been attacking them without provocation. "Hehe. Not you, Anguirus. You're cool."

"No, it's not just that. I've been researching the Archetype all day to find out what else it can do... and I discovered that if it continues spreading without being stopped..." Moon Dancer paused for a moment, not knowing how Twilight and the rest will react to what she is about to say, but they could all tell that what she was about to say will be of the of most importance.

"It will end the world."

Both the Mane Six and Mane Five felt their blood run cold, along with a cold chill running down their spine as the unicorn said this.