Chapter 1 – Hooves First into Hell

Black Skull Island

T.I.T.A.N. Airship Tigerhawk

Three Minutes Fifteen Seconds to Drop

All it would take was one minute. One minute to drop, to fall, to land and break out. Everything after that was unknown. What they could control—what they thought they could—was the drop in that single minute. But anything could happen in that minute.

That was the truth. That was the reality Bon Bon had to convince herself of.

Nothing was written. Whatever could happen could very well just happen. Having served her country and her species for eleven years now had proven to Bon Bon that she had to expect anything. When it came to the potential enemy they faced, it was an unpredictable world of chaos. They, as what they liked to believe to be the most dominant species on the planet, also wanted to believe they could control such chaos, to will it into order. That was what some wanted to believe the mission was all about. Bon Bon almost believed that same ideal a long time ago, but she knew better.

She had enough experience to know they were not the most dominant species. There were others, other kings and other gods who ruled their world long before they claimed such a crown. Bon Bon was not ignorant; she knew of these gods. She knew of their power. She didn’t fight in a false belief, thinking that she and her people could control such chaos. She fought only to better their chances in surviving the Titans’ world.

It was that mindset that cleared her of any other potential hubris. That was what made her a special agent, one of the best of the best. That was why she was called for such a mission, to help lead the flaming torch of hope for all of T.I.T.A.N. into dangerous, uncharted realms.

That was what led her to Black Skull Island.

She and her wife Lyra.

She turned to eye her, and Bon Bon sincerely asked, “You all right?”

Together, the two of them sat in the launch bay of the Tigerhawk, one of their strongest and most well-fortified flying fortresses. It was rather dark and dreary within the interior, towering steel walls coated in red warning lights. The cold metal of the bench they sat on didn’t help the cold trying to creep into their lungs, into their hearts. But they remained strong, letting the warmth of one another keep them relatively at ease. The Tigerhawk airship bumped and rattled nearly every second, the deep, thundering booms echoing just outside the walls of the launch bay.

They were both wearing black jumpsuits, militaristic gauntlets attached to their forelegs. Only the best and most advanced weaponry courtesy of T.I.T.A.N., or the Tactical Investigative Titan Assimilation Nexus. So many others mirrored their attire, from special agents to elite soldiers of the organization almost crowding the launch bay. Ponies from all three races were present and mixed about, alongside griffons, Hippogriffs, younger dragons, and even a changeling or two. It was a global organization for a reason. The best of the best were called from every nation to lead the mission.

Though the aquamarine unicorn would have never considered herself a part of that demographic. She was nowhere near the best, and was willing to admit that. Although, Lyra wasn’t much of a rookie when it came to T.I.T.A.N. She had been training and serving the organization for a little over a year now, but this was still technically her first major outing. Her first mission. T.I.T.A.N.’s first military campaign since the Battle of the Three Kings.

So when she quivered lightly against the bench they sat on, flinching to almost every sound outside the airship, Bon Bon didn’t blame her. A little showing of nerves was nothing to be ashamed of. Bon Bon almost anticipated it from her, despite the glowing excitement Lyra had shown back in Ponyville. Just the prospects of traveling to unknown lands was enough for Lyra to let her excitable attitude get the better of her common sense. And now, reality was starting to set in. Even the special agent wasn’t numb to the nerves herself, feeling them washing over her shivering hooves. But she did well to hide them, though she couldn’t say the same for Lyra.

“Huh?” Lyra mumbled mindlessly, staring wide-eyed dead ahead and to no particular soul. It was only until she finally turned to meet Bon Bon’s eyes did she snap out of it. “O-oh, yeah, yeah! Yeah, no sweat, just… just a little bit of the jitters, you know? Not every day you fall straight from a perfectly good airship, but here we are.”

“What, I thought you loved jumping?”

Lyra playfully punched Bon Bon’s shoulder, no mistaking the smirk she saw on her lips as well. “Shut up…” she chuckled.

Bon Bon’s smirk fell, and she pursed her lips, building a withering smile to hopefully help Lyra. “Quite a big leap from training sessions back home, huh?”

Lyra nodded rapidly, taking in several deep and controlled breaths. She pressed a hoof to her abdomen, weakly grinning. “I feel like my stomach is already down there just… waiting for the rest of me to meet it,” Lyra said with humor, with a forced chuckle. The anxious gulp was quick to follow.

Though she tried her best to excel in her confidence, it just simply wasn’t possible. Not entirely. Not yet. Bon Bon pulled out her necklace, to where her wedding ring hung snuggly from the silver chain. She made sure Lyra’s eyes were lifted her way when she said it.

When she promised, “I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment, no sound and no chaos in the outside world could have deterred the two from one another. It was only their eyes that mattered, the look they both shared and relished within. Lyra did the same, pulling out the same ring concealed under her jumpsuit. The rings of promise dangled in front of them, and Lyra couldn’t help but flick her gaze to each.

Eventually always turning her eyes back to her. “Don’t leave my side. Not a second, you hear?” Lyra asked, with lingering fear and hopeful ambition.

Finding enough hope to see that smile she loved grace Bon Bon’s lips. Followed by one heck of a fierce nod. “Count it,” Bon Bon told her.

That seemed to calm Lyra’s nerves considerably. It was no minimal comfort. It was a bond the two had formed and promised to uphold. It would never waiver, never shatter. Not even when the launch bay doors opened and the Crystal Prince announced his presence loud to all within the bay.

The moment Shining Armor stomped into the launch bay was the same moment Lyra and Bon Bon stuffed their wedding rings back into the safety of their jumpsuits. Every creature, everyone at once turned accordingly to their leader. To one of the two heads helming the T.I.T.A.N. operation to Black Skull Island. He wore their same fatigues, dark armor and gauntlets gripping his body while a sword was tucked tightly in its sheath around his flank.

With his eyes set on the elite soldiers, newcomers and volunteers alike, Shining nodded with a powerful bellow, “All right, everyone pile in to the dropships! We’re one minute to drop!”

One minute to drop. And then one more minute to fall, Bon Bon thought. A tiny gasp left her lips, followed by several heavy breaths exhaled from her nostrils.

It was a clustering madhouse that followed Shining’s order. Creatures moved back and forth rapidly, gathering their remaining gear, saying their final goodbyes to one another, or uttering one last prayer. For protection. For each other. The steel doors on the walls of the launch bay slid open, and the teams piled into the dropships awaiting them on the other side.

The lighting was not any better in the dropships than in the launch bay. Darkness dangled above, several harnesses available for everypony and every creature to tighten themselves down. Armor, swords, and even the experimental firearms were locked in place against the hardened shells of the dropships’ walls, each creature doing what was necessary to ensure they were strapped in for the drop.

Thirty seconds. Bon Bon counted every last one. Her eyes darted quickly to Shining Armor, the stallion ensuring everyone was safely inside the dropships. She listened to every word he roared.

Lowering his hoof from his communications device in his ear, Shining declared, “Got word from our pilots! We’re zeroing in over the landing site! Keep your radios blazing and keep your dropships steady! Pilots, you know what to do on my word! When we land, we’re going to regroup immediately! Target is a few klicks from the site… but a Skullcrawler nest was confirmed near the target! Can’t risk a bombardment without damaging or destroying the target, and too dangerous to land straight in that mess, so we’ll need heavy armor support to clear it! We drop outside, fight our way through, wait for reinforcements to drop in after us!”

He hopped in his own pod, in his own dropship with his own elite squad already strapped in and waiting for their captain. Gazing out the open door, his eyes lingered with the others gazing right on back at him. He stared straight ahead and met Bon Bon’s eyes. Saw Lyra just the same. A brief moment of chilling worry washed through Shining’s heart, that he just as quickly exhaled out.

“Remember your training… Follow my lead, and you’ll make it through this!”

“Yes, sir!” they all unanimously called back. Special Agent Bon Bon nodded to him. Lyra nodded, too.

Shining Armor nodded as well. “Good luck… all of you!”

The doors closed, and darkness enveloped their world. The beeping sounds of what seemed like a final countdown ringed in their ears, and Lyra trembled. Bon Bon’s hoof slowly snaked around hers. “You ready for this?” Bon Bon asked to the darkness.

She felt her hoof tighten against Bon Bon’s. The red lights burst to life inside, unveiling Lyra’s confidence brimming on her expression. On her smirk. In her bright, narrowed eyes. “Ready.”

The alarms sounded when the countdown had ended, and the hatches were open. The locks were released. The dropships fell.

One final gasp was sounded from each mare before they felt their worlds plummet at increasing speeds. Every single second, they only fell faster. The others with them, an entire squadron of equine T.I.T.A.N. soldiers, bumped and bounced in their harnesses, hooves gripping their chairs and straps as tight as ever. Lyra and Bon Bon’s hooves grasped each other’s ever so tighter.

The wind howled—or perhaps something else did—just outside the hull of their dropship. They were thrashed about in their freefall, but otherwise maintained structural integrity. T.I.T.A.N. technology was the best of the best. It was tried and tested to keep them safe from most natural intervention. While in the midst of their descent, Bon Bon whispering the countdown to herself, she popped open one eye when a burly stallion further on the other end of the dropship started to shout.

“Sure seems a lot faster than basic training, doesn’t it?!” he called out.

Bon Bon shut her eye, responding with a shake of her head, “Keep your breath, soldier! Don’t wanna lose it up at this altitude!” She could feel Lyra’s hoof tighten against hers, a sharp inhale filling the unicorn’s lungs. Possibly as a precaution to Bon Bon’s warning.

“Just trying to soothe our spirits, Special Agent!” the stallion retorted with a smile, bouncing up and down in his seat.

He didn’t have much else to say. None of them did when a fresh, natural light began to pour into the near-darkness of the dropship interior. The steel plating outside slid open, a hardened glass window shrouding a portion of the dropship’s windshield. It gave the inhabitants inside the vehicles a clear enough look of what the outside world appeared to be, of what they were falling into.

And what they were could hardly be fathomed.

What they saw in that crimson glow was like staring into the face of Tartarus itself.

One by one, each of the dropships came into view around them. They descended as a singular unit, noses down, short wings extended, breaking through the dark clouds and into even darker tides of warfare hardly every witnessed by the mortal eye. What very little seconds they had, they witnessed as much as they could.

The clouds parted to give way to a burning, apocalyptic battleground many hundred feet below them. Fires the size of entire forests coated the land, filled the horizon and painted the world in a horrific canvas of black, red, and orange. Rain pelted their windshield with untamed ferocity. Airships came and went with rapidly increasing speeds, with golden Solar Bolt aircraft zooming around the war in the skies as the monsters warred on the earth.

There they were. In all their terror and glory. Moving shadows of creatures battling for dominance in the fires. Titanic forces of nature slashing, tearing, beating, and roaring at one another in a war for the ages. They were too numerous to count, and with their dropships falling faster and faster, it seemed all but impossible to keep track of it all.

In the madness, what they could see was a numberless horde of flying demons attacking their forces in the sky. That was what the Solar Bolts battled against, an enemy that attacked their airships and dropships in a swarm unlike any other. A swarm that came from the earth, from below, to attack their world and their way of life up above.

An appropriately named Hell Swarm, they attacked with hellish fury. T.I.T.A.N. responded in kind, the Solar Bolts flying back and forth across the dropships’ windshields and pelting the flying monsters with rounds of piercing-hot ammunition. In torn bodies coated in blood, the Hellspawn fell. To join the hundreds of bodies of numerous other creatures big and small painting the growing battlefield below. It was that battlefield where the noses of their dropships were directed.

That’s where they fell. Closer by the second. The flaming hellscape of Black Skull Island.

Their radios were suddenly alive, one of the nearby dropship pilots shouting, “Uh, be advised, we got a pack of Skullcrawlers moving into our designated landing zone! Captain Shining Armor, what say you?!”

Shining’s voice filled their ears from the comms units they all shared, and his unmistaken roar said, “We need that landing site free of any Titan interference! Any nearby airships, we need an immediate bombardment!”

A heavy, almost emotionless voice responded simply with: “Copy. Clearing the earth.”

And in a stunning display of ponykind’s own power, the T.I.T.A.N. airships all around and above them armed the cannons hanging from their underbellies and opened fire. Bon Bon and Lyra and pretty much everypony inside the dropship lost their collective breaths. Eyes wide, reflecting the raining fires, they could see it all from where they were. The streaking lights of an aerial bombardment descended faster than they could onto the awaiting earth.

From it came an earth-shattering eruption, very well shattering the earth and coating it in fresh flames in the process. A pure, effective firebombing that undoubtedly cleared out any hostile presence. They kept up the bombardment, pelting the Hell Swarm, the raging Titans, until it was finished. With their objective achieved, the airships hovered in minimal silence, Shining Armor giving them all an astounding thanks.

A red light washed over their eyes, meshed with flashing bolts of bright white lightning in the dark storm. In that crimson embrace that only covered them further across their faces and now bodies, the same overly optimistic T.I.T.A.N. soldier from earlier had the audacity to start smiling. Then, he grinned. Then, he started chuckling, laughing even.

“Dropping right into the fires, everypony!” he cheered, laughing aloud. “You all know that old cadence, right?! Used to sing it all the time in basic training when we plunged into the oceans!”

“What’s he going on about now?!” another soldier asked, but he got his answer.

They all did.

“We cheat Death from his rightful victory!”

His words came out as a bellowing chant, hardly a song as he had mentioned. Immediately, the words were familiar to Bon Bon, were familiar to nearly everypony. And he seemingly waited, holding that grin as he turned to each one of them. The dropship bumped and rattled. The monsters roared and raged. The storm screeched.

“No one can defeat us!”

The responding chant was heard, but it didn’t come from him. They all looked over, especially the stallion, and saw the unicorn mare slowly starting to grin in her harness. He grinned right on back at her, moments before opening his mouth to sing.

“We are glad to plunge…”

Another voice followed him. “… hooves first into hell…”

Followed by another, one that shocked them all. Especially Lyra, turning to the mare on her left to hear and see her sing, “… in the knowledge that we will rise!”

“Hooves first into hell! We will rise!” they all responded in kind, chanting, almost finally harmoniously singing in a sense. Bon Bon got into it, bringing back old memories of her early years in T.I.T.A.N. She couldn’t help it. The comradery was there, refueled her heart with the strength it needed. The smiles were infectious, a wicked grin almost growing across Bon Bon’s lips as she shut her eyes in a strange sense of peace. Maybe finding peace in the chaos.

Lyra watched them in a glazed sense of awe filling her eyes.

Just as suddenly as it was given, that peace was ripped away when the dropship next to them exploded in a flurry of charred steel and vicious flames.

Bon Bon’s eyes popped open when she heard the blast. She stared at the windshield above her, and only caught a glimpse of it outside of the fire. Only saw a mere blur of black that tore through the dropship on their right and just as quickly disappeared into the storm. Following it was an echoing screech that could have very well made her ears bleed had the windshield not protected them.

Following the screech, however, would not be yielded by a simple, reinforced glass shield.

Following the screech was its following. And the Hell Swarm attacked their ship.

They attacked all of the dropships, attempting to wipe them out in one singular wave. The bat-like creatures clawed and bit and slammed themselves against the ships. They went for the wings, for the engines, and succeeded in taking down two more dropships and everyone inside. Bon Bon and Lyra watched as they fell around them, all in flames and shredded apart.

A bolt of lightning tore the storm in two, and within the clouds Bon Bon could see it. The damaged wings spread to their limit. The twin horns atop its head. Its long, spiked tail rallying behind it. Alongside its legion. Her eyes grew even wider. Her breath trembled. Finding no voice, she then watched as the blur in the storm suddenly turned back their way.

“Pilots, flares out! Flares out!” Shining Armor’s voice ordered.

Bon Bon was thankful she wasn’t piloting the dropship, because she would not have obeyed. She would not have listened. All she could do was stare into the pale, dead eyes breaking out of the storm and nearing their windshield.

Blinding lights broke out around them, forcing the Hell Swarm to break away and flee as the flares erupted from each remaining dropship. It was so intense that even the inhabitants of each ship flinched away from the light.

Something responded.

Something broke away into the depths of the black storm.

Something screamed.

“All right, dropships, slow your descent! Repulsive thrusters now!”

Bon Bon opened her eyes and realized that whatever had come out of the storm was gone. She blinked and blinked again to see the ground rapidly approaching. A sudden jolt filled them, and Bon Bon and Lyra felt their stomachs churn at the sensation. For their dropship, like all the others, engaged in the landing sequence.

Parachutes shot out from their hulls, expanding greatly as each ship’s nose was raised, and their engines expelled a great fire. An explosive force of energy that ignited in order to slow them down was seen bursting forth from their thrusters. The earth was nearing by the second, and everypony could see the mountains rising around them, the burning palm trees becoming taller.

“Activate landing gear!”

Wheels and skis fell from the opening bellies of each dropship, and they slowly made their final descent. Their black hulls camouflaged well with the scorched earth, shrouded in the rising smoke of the burning corpses of fallen Skullcrawlers and other fearsome creatures. Then, finally, they touched down, and the solid floor of the blackened grass was their greeter.

One minute. Somewhere, in the dark recesses of her mind that wasn’t locked in a constant fight for survival, Bon Bon was still counting. And she counted one minute.

She released a deep breath billowing within her, just as her harnesses were released and she nearly collapsed on the steel floor of the dropship. Lyra was there with her, her hoof intertwined with her own, never leaving her side. Sensing that comfort and turning to meet it, Bon Bon tightened her posture at the look of constant fear trying to flush over Lyra’s confidence.

She needed to be strong. For her. For each other.

The doors opened and the forces of T.I.T.A.N. piled out into uncharted and unknown terrain. As they did so, they made sure to grab their gear and weaponry. Swords and firearms were taken hanging from the dropship interiors. And Bon Bon, in a moment of uncertainty, eventually grabbed the rifle her eyes were lingering on for a second too long.

Stepping onto the charred grass, Bon Bon flung the rifle over her shoulder, tightening the strap so the firearm didn’t fall away from her. Lyra did the same, grabbing a similar rifle and slinging it over shoulder, the weapon resting on her back. She took a sword as well, tightening the sheath around her waist via magic. Together, they led their squad in a galloping charge across the earth toward the lead dropship. But even then, they couldn’t help but stare.

In a way, nopony could help themselves.

The meshed horrors of the dark and the light earth and skies was unapparelled to anything they had seen thus far. Rising embers from the burning earth blazed the horizon, ascending into the black clouds that swirled and battled above. Rain pelted the island to calm the fires, but even then they were uncontrolled. Uncontained.

Deep in the distance, they could see and hear the Titans engaged in a ferocious type of war. One that Bon Bon, Lyra, and Shining Armor especially knew all too well. This was no mere exodus to Black Skull Island. It could not have been some random seismic activity. It was something much deeper, much more sinister, and even far grander than that.

All thoughts could be saved for later. All that mattered was instinct, was focus, as they reached the lead dropship and Shining Armor stepped in front of the crowd. “This is it! Can’t stop now! Everyone, group up and stay close; don’t veer off and don’t fight any fights you can’t win! We’re going to finish this together, understand?!”

“Yes, sir!” they all responded. From equine, dragon, griffon, Hippogriff, and changeling. All the same T.I.T.A.N. All the brave that volunteered.

Shining’s horn shimmered and he ripped his sword free from his sheath, lifting the blade high over his head. “On me!” he shouted, and took off. And they all followed.

Into the foggy mists, into the suffocating smoke, into the fire and into the war.

A charging stampede was their rallying cry, hooves and claws and wings tearing through the grass and air as they all moved as a single unit. As a living, breathing, battling body that fought for survival into the oncoming tide of madness. Though they were not consumed by it. They tore through its heart, through its soul, and ensured nothing stopped or distracted them from their target.

As they ran and flew as one, they avoided as much as they could. They did not fight any fights that were not theirs, did not engage in any battles they knew they couldn’t win. Per Shining’s order, of course, but also for the sake of common sense. Black Skull Island held a myriad of dangerous fauna, as well as flora, and sometimes the hardest part was distinguishing which was which.

Almost as hard as surviving.

Though the world—and even Equestria to a degree—held a wide assortment of mythical creatures and fantastical, natural beings, Black Skull Island was another beast altogether. None of it seemed real. Hardly any of the creatures they witnessed resembled anything of the world they knew. They seemed otherworldly, reigning from a different era. A different world, even.

Then there were the beasts they did know, the ones that T.I.T.A.N. had kept records of and followed their paths of destruction. It had been relatively quiet since the Battle of the Three Kings. But now something had stirred them into a frenzy. Something had awoken their natural, primal instincts of war, conflict, and death.

The Titans were engaged. Some they knew, and others they didn’t. Others that had recently awoken and came into T.IT.A.N.’s radar in the prior months. Regardless, they were all locked in heated and deadly combat.

Battling for dominance, the Titans raged on the outskirts of their path. Many heads were turned to the jungles and the mountains and the valleys outside of their charge. If only to catch a glimpse of the sheer magnitude of their reach, of their power. Flying high, the multicolored wings and feathers belonging only to Quetzalcoatl were a stunning change to the crimson-coated environment. Those wings were locked with another’s, and soon the two Titans crashed into the jungles and ripped up mounds of earth and trees.

When they rose, Quetzalcoatl opened his beak and unleashed a petrifying shriek. Shinomura rose to meet him, its blue scales reflecting the fires. Its wings, as black as night, extending in a show of intimidation. Quetzalcoatl was hardly intimidated. He glared it down with his yellow eyes narrowing, and Shinomura roared in defiance.

They leaped for one another, clashed in mid-air, and took to the skies once more in their ferocious battle in the smoke and clouds.

“Keep going! Don’t stop now!” Shining’s voice echoed in the chaotic fog.

They didn’t stop. They couldn’t, no matter how much they wanted to linger and spectate the insurmountable beasts tearing each other apart. For across the mountain range on their right, Amhuluk was leaping from one peak to the next, his claws digging fiercely across the rocky surfaces of each mountain. He was tackled, driven to the valley below and that much closer to the T.I.T.A.N. troop.

Rolling and pushing his attacker off, Amhuluk was not prepared for the sudden swipe that Bunyip dealt to him. His tusks were driven, and tore through Amhuluk’s shoulder blade that made the writhing Titan cry out in agony.

Ripping a chunk of twisted vines and broken earth from the beast’s body, Bunyip fell back as Amhuluk’s claw extended far beyond the natural limit, slicing a clean cut across his face, and sending the Titan down onto the valley. Amhuluk screamed and dove for the kill, meeting only the end of Bunyip’s tail whipping him across the tendrils and launching the Titan clear across the valley.

There were others. More Titans and kaiju clashing in the distance and shrouded by the smoke and fires of their desolation. Fires spread by Titans that breathed such fury. Fires falling from the skies by the airships clearing a path for their soldiers. But their war was not just condensed to their superspecies. Many more were locked in the battle, a battle in the very place they called home.

Local beasts, creatures—maybe even some that could be identified as Titans to some degree—attacked one another in waves upon waves of unending death. Sirenjaws leaped from rivers and lakes to slaughter the Magma Turtles that dared to challenge them in their territory. They waded around, appearing like islands in the vast waters, to witness the turtles moving into their lakes to escape the fires.

Normally docile, without any natural predators, the Magma Turtles were driven to defense when chaos erupted all throughout the ecosystem. Something stirred the Sirenjaws into madness, attacking anything that came near. And the Magma Turtles, in a frenzy, unwillingly fell in their territory. The battle raged across the lakes and rivers, some Sirenjaws unable to break the hardened, rocky shells of the beasts as the Magma Turtles swarmed them one by one. While others, having successfully killed a turtle, experienced only agony when their volcanic blood set the Sirenjaws aflame.

The lakes and rivers were outside of their path, and T.I.T.A.N. did not interfere. It was only until the towering limbs of the Mother Longlegs nearly impaled a pony or two did they finally hesitate, react, and fight back.

A pack of Mother Longlegs were breaking through the tree line, stampeding across the grassy valley where T.I.T.A.N. was currently trapped. There were dozens of them, scaling up to twenty or more feet. But they weren’t alone. A rival pack of Sker Buffaloes stormed out of the trees all the same, meshed within the towering legs of the spiders. And they were all being attacked by the same thing.

Leafwings, Psychovultures, the flying creatures swarmed the much larger beasts in countless numbers. The Mother Longlegs were practically blinded by the avian reptiles, stomping and rushing forth in an unhinged frenzy as they tried desperately to fight back, to flee. The Sker Buffalo pack faced the same threat, swinging their forked horns viciously to and fro to fight off the Psychovultures. They unintentionally knocked out the legs of the spiders in the process, bringing down multiple Mother Longlegs and crushing them beneath their hooves.

In the stampede, Shining Armor, Bon Bon, Lyra, and the bravest T.I.T.A.N. had to offer stood and scrambled. Avoiding the piercing legs of the spiders that came crashing down all around them. Some griffons within their ranks whipped out their newest technological achievement, decades in the making and only perfected through T.I.T.A.N.’s support.

Several of the griffons took arms and aimed their bolt-action rifles to the sky, firing away at the avian terrors and the Longlegs.

The blasts from the rifles signaled for the rest of the squad to take action. And Shining Armor did, levitating his sword and slicing through the legs that crashed in his path. Slicing at any flying beast that dared to swoop down and attack his soldiers. “Push through!” Shining ordered, cutting and severing multiple legs as he did so.

Reacting properly, and knowing she didn’t have a sword like Shining Armor, Bon Bon gazed down to the gauntlet attached to her left foreleg. Her breath faltered, but after a moment of clarity, she hardened her glare and whipped out her hoof. Instantly, a silver blade extended from the gauntlet, locking in place and glistening in the fires around it.

By pure instinct, Bon Bon charged into the forest of limbs and sliced her way through. Many others, those who wielded the same gauntlets and those who wielded swords, charged with her.

They cut and sawed and fought, Shining and Bon Bon clearing an optimal path for their soldiers to take so not a single one of them were impaled. However, the limbs, once severed, spewed a deadly poison and caught whoever wasn’t fast enough to avoid the flailing liquid. The vile venom blinded one of their soldiers, his screams echoing across the field as he clutched his face and fell to the ground.

Their attempts to save him were squandered when a rushing buffalo crushed the lone pony. No longer hearing his screams, and with no other option, they pushed on.

Before long, they exited the packs of Mother Longlegs and Sker Buffaloes, but entered another trial, another face of Hell. Psychovultures swarmed them once out of the stampede, the T.I.T.A.N. squad utilizing all of their training, natural instincts, and advanced weaponry to fight them off and escape. Unfortunately, they escaped with one more taken from them. A pack of the vultures attacked a lingering stallion and dragged him across the grass, eventually carrying him to the sky and ripping him apart.

The Leafwings and the Psychovultures fought for the fresh kill, and if anything, gave T.I.T.A.N. enough of a distraction to escape. Lyra nearly gagged at the sight, Bon Bon forcing herself away. Shining tightened his jaws and galloped even faster.

This would not be in vain, he raged in his thoughts. Their sacrifices would not be for nothing.

None of their sacrifices would be in vain. Not the dropships that didn’t make it in the descent. Not the brave lives they lost evading the battles engulfing Black Skull Island. Not the squad of T.I.T.A.N. soldiers to their far right fighting off a Mire Squid, grabbing and flinging multiple ponies into the air, dragging even more into the depths of the lake.

They would make it out of this. They would finish the mission. Shining Armor sweared.

Only his thoughts, his promises were stalled when their continued luck seemed to finally run dry. And it came from the flailing beast fiercely thrown and crashing through the trees, through the field, and landing several yards in front of them. Blocking their path. Hindering their mission. Shining stopped, digging his hooves in the scorched grass as he cautiously began to backpedal. His face, his eyes locked with the creature, and he grimaced as he shook his head.

Skullcrawler.

Bringing his soldiers to a halt, Shining quickly yelled, “Take cover! Firing positions! Get this Crawler outta here; hurry!” Taking cover behind rocks, behind felled palm trees and dead creatures, the T.I.T.A.N. squad positioned themselves, observing the target more clearly now.

It was slow to rise, limbs trembling as soft cries could be heard escaping its badly bleeding jaws. Skin was torn across its body as blood seeped freely, a few of its bones awkwardly bent out of place, especially from its rib cage. The Skullcrawler appeared wounded, separated from its pack as the familiar cries of the beasts could be heard in the distance. Shining Armor gazed quickly to the source of the cries, seeing only smoke and fire in the distance, before turning back to the target.

He raised his hoof.

And Bon Bon, with Lyra by her side behind the palm tree, took a moment within that fast second in time to observe the weapon in her hooves.

In her hooves she held the next generation of warfare, or she would have hoped a means only for defense, only for survival. A technological achievement made possible by the industrial ferocity of the Griffon Kingdom and the combined knowledge and resources of T.I.T.A.N. Having taken inspiration from the turrets the Solar Bolts were equipped with, the bolt-action rifles were smaller, made for infantry, and utilized to a greater extent to reach a vast group of users.

She had very little training with the weapon. The rifles were designed differently for each species. For the griffons, for those with claws, fingers, the rifles were equipped with small and simple triggers. Handling each firearm was easier for those with the appropriate appendages. For equines, however, they were not disadvantaged. They were not hindered. The rifle Bon Bon wielded was designed specifically for ponies.

The rifle’s stock was where she could slip in her right foreleg, her hoof pressing up against a larger, heavier trigger inside. The hoofguard, where she gripped the rifle with her left hoof, was easier to hold and handle, formed specifically for hooves. Flicking the safety off with a press of her hoof on the side of the rifle, Bon Bon aimed down the sights and captured the Skullcrawler at the end of her barrel.

Lyra, on her side, simply levitated her rifle free from her back and gripped it via magic. No need to handle it. She aimed down her sights and confirmed her target.

And a second later, Shining Armor sliced his hoof down with a roar, and Bon Bon pressed the trigger.

Bullets and blasts of magic tore through the smoke-filled air. Unicorns who were able, like Shining, unleashed streams of magical bolts upon the Skullcrawler, while others fired away with their rifles. They all impacted the beast differently. The magic singed and visibly knocked the Skullcrawler back, while the bullets tore through the skin, meat, and bone. Each attack was different, but they yielded the same result: The Skullcrawler shrieked.

And then it charged.

“Look out!” Shining bellowed, though he was drowned out as the beast rammed its head into the nearest boulder protecting a dragon and two mares. They dove out of the way, the dragon catching his fellow T.I.T.A.N. soldier but unable to save the other. Her screams were quickly silenced as the Skullcrawler opened its jaws, caught her with its lengthy, leathery tongue, and yanked her down its gullet. It gave off a fierce, pain-filled roar to the blackened skies, to the troop below as more bullets penetrated its hide.

It tore across the grass with its forelimbs, its burnt tail slashing and swinging at any nearby T.I.T.A.N. soldiers. Intent on keeping the creature away from his troop, Shining charged it head-on, slicing his sword across its skull and down its forelimb. The Skullcrawler cried. Shining skidded to a halt, his horn alight, sword hovering over his head as he bent low.

The Skullcrawler raged his way. Seemingly ignoring every ripping pain that tore across its body if to see the equine fall within its jaws. Shining Armor did not wither, did not fall as the beast intended. He attacked with masterful swordsmanship, his sword flying rapidly above his head and striking the Skullcrawler in its weakest pressure points. Acting by his will, for his will, to keep the beast’s attention long enough for his squad to fire away. Or, if need be, to escape without him.

But with every bullet Lyra and Bon Bon fired, with every round the special agent loaded in with a cocking of the bolt handle, they dealt very little damage to the Skullcrawler. Their rifles, though effective against smaller creatures, did little to nothing to stop it.

Then Bon Bon fired another round and saw an explosive blast tear the Skullcrawler’s shoulder apart. Its cries were elevated, and the Skullcrawler collapsed. Shining Armor darted his head to the source of the shot. Bon Bon did the same.

What they saw break through the clouds of smoke and darkness…

It very well could have gotten a smile or two in the midst of it all. Instead, silent expressions of shock and awe filled the T.I.T.A.N. force once the clouds had broken, once the smoke had washed away, and the airships flew in with tanks hanging from their underbellies. Reinforcements.

A second shot was fired, the shell blasting from the end of the nearest tank’s barrel and striking the Skullcrawler for another devastating blast. The creature screamed and writhed, rolling across the grass and creating a vast distance between itself and the airships. Even then, that distance mattered not to T.I.T.A.N.

The smaller airships flew low, eventually releasing their locks from the squadron of seven tanks and dropping the vehicles onto the surface of the island. Just as quickly as they fell, they rose and took to the skies, disappearing in the clouds. The giant, lumbering vehicles landed with labored crashes, their tracks spinning viciously across the dirt and grass and instantly keeping each tank in line with the speed the airships had gained.

In little to no time, they were driving furiously across the field. Their barrels erupted and a wave of fury struck the Skullcrawler relentlessly. Blasts corroded its skin, its body, until the Skullcrawler could not run anymore. It did not have the strength to. The fire consumed the creature until not even Shining Armor could see the skull anymore. The tanks drove past him in a sweeping breeze of steel and power.

When it fell, it gave off a final, dying shriek and collapsed in a thunderous heap on the grass.

All seven tanks slowed down near the fallen Skullcrawler, and even in the darkness of the storm circling Black Skull Island, the fires still illuminated the T.I.T.A.N. insignias on each of their hulls. After what they had seen the war machines do to the Skullcrawler, the familiar logo was just another breath of relief for Shining and his team. As the plan dictated, heavy armor support had arrived. They slowly gathered together, moving as one to the squadron of steel.

The hatch from one of the tanks popped open, and Bon Bon almost grinned to see a familiar face through the smoke. There was no mistaking the black and gray mane, the famous hat, and the smile that was almost as famous joining the adventuress.

And Daring Do said with that smile, “Base is just up ahead, Captain! You need to finish this! We’ll keep things clear on the outskirts!”

Shining joined her smile, nodding appreciatively. “Thanks for the assist, Agent Do!”

“What, you didn’t wanna hitch a ride in the dropship with the rest of us?” Lyra asked, with humor, knowing they all probably needed a little pick-me-up after everything.

Daring followed Lyra’s smirk with her own, shrugging. “What can I say? Wouldn’t have been as cool!” She wished him, and all of them, well with a final salute, pulling the hatch down and sliding inside the confines of the metal monster.

As the steam shot out from the tanks, they began to roll forward, leaving Shining to tend to his troops. He turned to them, shouting over the roaring engines of the tanks, “All right, we’re nearing the old outpost! Keep your guard up… place still may not be abandoned!”

Those final, haunting words lingered longer than they should have. For others, they did not quite seem to understand the implications to Shining’s warning. Veterans, like Bon Bon, like a small hoofful of others, had read the prior reports, had heard the stories within the organization. They knew this particular mission to Black Skull Island wasn’t the first instance of T.I.T.A.N.’s interests with the island. This wasn’t the first expedition.

There were more. Other journeys and other crews who had remained on the island longer, who had managed to establish a base, an outpost, like the one they were nearing. But they went missing. They disappeared. A reason to their disappearance was hypothesized, but somehow T.I.T.A.N. always really knew what happened. Barely anything was left behind except a hardly-standing base with years of T.I.T.A.N. research just waiting for their arrival.

The island was an unknown enigma to T.I.T.A.N. They couldn’t have that. They needed to know what they were dealing with, what type of monsters were still out there and not yet discovered, and they needed direct communications back to the mainland. That was the mission.

That was what every sacrifice was for. Sacrifices that would never be in vain.

Yet even as the rest of her squad moved, Bon Bon lingered. She hesitated. Her unwillingness to move left her eyes to wander back to the dead Skullcrawler. Its charred carcass lay to her right, smoke dwindling from its torn body. Smoke that was undying, that continued to rage with the flames continuing to grow past the Skullcrawler, to where Bon Bon’s eyes then rose.

There was a reason why the prior expeditions never lasted. It was them, the beasts of Black Skull Island. In the flaming mists, deep in the embrace of the jungles, she saw what looked to be a shadow. A shadow of a great Titan battling swarms of Skullcrawlers. They leaped at the Titan, tried to constrain him, overwhelm him, but they never could.

Mere fodder could never overwhelm a Titan like him.

An alpha.

A king.

She was finally broken away from the flames in her eyes when Lyra yanked at her hoof, prodding her to follow. She did. They followed Shining Armor into the last lines of defense, noticing how vacant and dead the Skullcrawler nest appeared to be. Perhaps they were preoccupied dealing with the Titan. They didn’t care. All that mattered was that the nest was empty, and they were clear to pass.

Clearing through the jungle and slashing at the vines hanging in their path, the fires were growing around them. Fires tried to consume the jungle, but they made it out in time, nothing but embers trailing them as the squad entered into the flat field of dead grass.

Just beyond the field, there remained the mission. The target. An ancient facility overrun by time. The foundations were still there, but the T.I.T.A.N. outpost was barely standing. It looked as if it had survived a bombardment, though “survive” was giving it credit that probably wasn’t due. It was dark, not a light flickering within the numerous windows across the building’s face. Watchtowers were either leaning or fallen over, barbed wire fences broken down as if something had completely crushed them. The gates were crushed inward, toward the facility. Something charged at it.

And they still weren’t gone.

In the shadows, hiding within the confines of the outpost, dozens upon dozens of fiendish, red and yellow eyes appeared. And slowly, so very slowly, the claws broke out of the dark and the jagged teeth were soon to inevitably follow. Sharpened manes shrouded the elongated heads of each creature, until not one, not two, not three, but a pack of Death Jackals emerged into the firelight.

Dozens of them.

Leaping out of the windows, clawing their way down the concrete steps and into the grass. Standing tall upon the fallen foundations of the ancient outpost. All of them slowly gathering, slowly circling, nonetheless stalking their prey. The lone T.I.T.A.N. force stood their ground, Shining taking the lead and defending his remaining troops with his sword levitating threateningly over his head. The head of his squad, the alpha of his pack of warriors, meeting the rival alpha.

The lead Death Jackal hissed, lips curling to showcase rows of dagger-like teeth. Shining Armor didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t afford it. The two alphas glared to one another, the Death Jackal seemingly studying the equine in the short standoff. Its claws dug into the grass as it moved, claws dangling close to its chest. Then, it stopped. A small growl pulsated in the back of its throat.

Nopony heard him, but Shining Armor growled all the same. And he was ready when the Jackal finally struck, and he sliced a clean cut to the far right.

The alpha Death Jackal collapsed roughly, its head rolling across the dirt.

And Shining bellowed, “Engage!”

It was enough for Bon Bon to readily attack, already whipping her rifle forward and sliding in tandem. She jammed her right foreleg into the stock, loaded in a fresh round, raised the firearm, and pushed the trigger. The bullet destroyed the following silence and tore cleanly through the nearest Death Jackal’s skull in a crimson burst exploding from the back of its head. It fell quickly, like a heap of rocks tumbling down a mound of rubble. The creatures screamed and charged. T.I.T.A.N. charged back.

All in less than four seconds since Shining gave the order.

No one could have properly determined how long it took to clear out the base. There was no orderly keeping of time when raw instinct took command. The elite and even the newest blood of T.I.T.A.N. showed their prowess, their training, all in perfect harmony with one another. Griffons fired away and struck their targets. Dragons swooped low and cast flames onto their foes. The changeling, the Hippogriff, they fought as one and transformed so as to best the Death Jackals with fearsome beasts they could not challenge. The equines utilized magic, blades, and firearms all in one.

And it couldn’t have been more beautifully executed. Not a single one of them fell that time.

Lyra and Bon Bon galloped and fought side by side, as the same beating heart fueling their strength and keeping their fight well alive. Heartstrings levitated her rifle at a pouncing Jackal, blowing a hole through its chest and sending the beast flying back to whence it came. She then extended the blade from her hoof gauntlet, sliding beneath the swinging claws of the next oncoming beast and driving her weapon into the creature’s hind leg. It howled, and Bon Bon spun toward its cry and raised her rifle right up to its chin. Another shot, and another round through a skull.

Aiming to load in the next round, Bon Bon realized she was empty. Grimacing at her rifle, she quickly raised it to block the leaping Death Jackal crashing on top of her. Falling on her back, avoiding the snapping jaws rearing down at her, Bon Bon cried out and earned her wife’s immediate assistance.

Lyra tackled the beast, sending her blade into the Jackal’s ribs and earning a shriek of pain. Free from its grip, Bon Bon then drove her left hoof into its neck, a firm press that extended her own blade, the end sprouting free from back of the Death Jackal’s throat. She bucked it off, Lyra hopping away and yanking Bon Bon back to her hooves.

Trying to catch her breath, and wiping the Death Jackal blood off of her armor, Bon Bon turned to the unicorn and offered a strengthening smile. “Thanks… You’re fighting like a natural.”

“More like surviving like one,” Lyra replied, her smirk slowly growing. Bon Bon couldn’t hold back her own.

They shared a short chuckle. Some much-needed levity once they knew the death and madness was slowly coming to a forceful rest. They had earned it. Their efforts had earned the ceasing of such chaos. As their T.I.T.A.N. troop finished off the remaining creatures, they turned at attention to Shining Armor’s unmistakable voice calling out into the dark. He strode forth, hoof to his ear, as he announced loud and proud into his comms link for all to hear.

“Tigerhawk, we’ve successfully cleared the outer grounds. Send in your reinforcements so we can perform a thorough, internal sweep throughout the base.”

“Copy, Shining Armor. Great work down there. Take it easy; we’ll handle the rest. They’re heading your way now. Watch your heads.”

They all heard it in the little radios in their ears. They all slowly came together in that blissful moment of well-deserved victory. Bon Bon grinned, slapping her hoof onto Lyra’s shoulder. “Don’t have to worry anymore. Hardest part’s over!” she told her with a triumphant grin. One that Lyra couldn’t help but share.

In little to no time, reinforcements had arrived. The air began to rush past their hooves, blowing harder and harder against the grass and trees as the roaring engines of the oncoming airships descended upon them. Though smaller, that didn’t mean they packed less of a punch. Numbered in a squadron of three airships, the T.I.T.A.N. aircraft zeroed in on the small patch of earth Shining Armor waved them toward. He smiled through the rushing wind, continuing to wave even as he turned to make way for them.

Only, they never landed.

Not the way T.I.T.A.N. needed them to.

A horrifying and familiar blur of blackness tore over their heads and severed itself cleanly across the first airship. Causing it to erupt into a blistering array of fire and shrapnel. Shining stumbled forward, shielding his head as he twisted back and gazed in horror at the sight of the flaming airship falling to the earth. Falling directly for him.

“Take cover!” he screamed, and dove to tackle the nearest T.I.T.A.N. soldier out of harm’s way.

Bon Bon did the same for her wife, ensuring Lyra was safe as they both rolled further off from the airship’s crash landing. A fireball emerged from its flaming carcass, enlightening all within the grounds of the outpost to see the blur in all its hellish glory.

“Mayday, mayday! Unknown hostile just took out Raptor-1! Disengaging! Disenga—!”

It struck the other airship in its feeble attempt to retreat, quickly turning fatal. For both of them. The hostile beast rammed its talons into the airship, flinging its burning remains into the other, ultimately killing them both before they ever even had the hope in their hearts to escape with their lives. For every last one of them were lost in the blaze, the fall to the earth that erupted twice as large.

And in the light of the rising fireballs, the remaining T.I.T.A.N. force could finally see their attacker. It tore across the sky once more, landing roughly on the roof of the ancient outpost and turning back to face them. Lyra, Bon Bon, Shining Armor, and all the rest turned around, lifted their heads and eyes, and stood and laid in chilling silence.

Its talons hung wickedly down the face of the building. The ends of its razor wings gripped the rooftop, each appendage torn with bone-like protrusions rising from each wing’s end. Its rough brown skin appeared almost black in the shadows, in the fires glowing off of its hide, fur on its chest and back. Twin horns sat atop its head, one of them broken, both of them Bon Bon had seen before.

But what she recognized immediately were the eyes. The cold, dead, pale white eyes of the Eternal Enemy of the Sun. The Death Bat. The one who emerged and reigned in the dark storm, who was prophesied to plunge the island into blackness with his legion of Hell.

Titanus Camazotz.

It glared down at their wretched existence and screamed at them. Screamed with an alpha cry that tore apart the sound barrier and caused many within their ranks to crumble, covering their ears and screaming in response, in pain. In rising distress that clouded all other natural instincts and flooded them only with terror.

Once the beast yielded, barring its fangs and growing evermore closer to his prey, what was left of T.I.T.A.N.’s strength rose to meet him. Shining Armor lifted his blade, the sword lightly trembling in his magical grasp. Others with him, like Bon Bon, ensuring Lyra was behind her. Ensuring she was her sword and shield if the moment called for her to…

Before Camazotz could finish what he started, there was a response to his alpha roar.

An answer to his.

The roar was drenched in power, raw ferocity and unyielding strength that ripped apart the storm that Camazotz tried to claim and rule. It was enough for the Death Bat to turn his head in accordance to the source of the cry, and though Camazotz was blind, his echolocation provided plenty of sight. His Hell Swarm enhanced his senses even greater, their cries sounding off and warning their master of the rapidly approaching rival alpha.

And if the Titan could sense it, then T.I.T.A.N. could sense it, too. They all slowly turned away from the outpost, faced the darkness of the jungles shrouding the outskirts of the facility. And from the towering hills in the distance, they witnessed the forests breaking down. They could barely see in the darkness a shadow tearing through the trees and thundering the earth with each tremendous crash in its raging stampede. An army of a thousand warriors all forged into one, charging as one, directly for them.

Shining Armor finally returned to reality, snapping his neck back and ordering his team, “Get… get back! Hurry, retreat now! Go, go, go—!”

Camazotz screamed above their heads, jumping off the building and flying toward the raging stampede. Bon Bon and Lyra were caught in that moment—in a way, they all were. But they were safe enough. Just safe enough to see the shadow finally reach the outpost, and Camazotz meeting it head-on and shrieking in shock. Because when he did, the Ultimate Guardian of Black Skull Island was there to meet him almost immediately.

King Kong leaped into the light of the fires with a ferocious roar, with a thundering cry that tore Camazotz’s own out of his throat, and with his fist colliding across the bat’s face.

Camazotz struck the earth with his head first, rolling viciously as Kong rolled as well, quickly rising up to face the invasive enemy of his island. The Titans landed in front of the outpost, scattering Shining’s team to every direction, all in some fleeting effort to escape the battle that came to them. They took cover behind scattered mounds of debris, hiding within the walls of the outpost itself, and all turned to focus on the beasts. They could do nothing. It was a fight they couldn’t win.

They only hoped it was one that Kong could.

Slamming his wings against the earth, Camazotz proceeded to shriek in a clear sign of intimidation, of some petty attempt at defiance. Kong merely snorted, showcasing his teeth as he then slammed his fists into the dirt, against his chest, and roared. They charged.

Camazotz kicked off the ground, swinging his long, spiked tail forward and striking Kong across the head. The hit disoriented the ape, Kong falling to his right and crashing against the debris. Flying above him, the Eternal Bat called out into the dark, his screeches echoing across every corner of Black Skull Island. And just as Kong rose back to his feet, glaring up at the bat keeping his distance, out of the skies and out of the blackness came his legion.

The Hell Swarm consumed Kong in a matter of seconds.

They were numbered quite possibly in the hundreds, swarming every aspect of Kong’s body and biting, tearing, clawing all they could. As the King of Black Skull Island, Kong had faced his fair share of creatures. But the swarm, the sheer numbers, all of it was too much no matter how much he thrashed and killed. And Camazotz did not let up, flying low and driving his talons into Kong’s shoulder, his prehensile tail wrapping around his body as he lifted him high and threw him against the side of the outpost’s outer wall.

Watching Camazotz kick off the ground, and then fall quickly back onto Kong’s chest made Bon Bon cringe. His roars of panic made her shudder. She knew very little of Titanus Kong. Only reports. Only stories. But the fact of the matter was that he came to them. He challenged the Titan that could have very well killed them in seconds. Though it may not have been his intention, Kong had bought them time to run, to hide, to survive. He had saved them.

She couldn’t sit back and watch another sacrifice himself for them. She grabbed her rifle, reloaded it appropriately, galloped out into the open, and fired away. Not onto the Death Bat, but his swarm. And she earned many turned heads. From her own team, and from the Hellspawn.

One way or another, they all came to her.

More rifles were raised, more soldiers standing tall and brave alongside the special agent as they all fired onto the swarm trying to devour the king. Bullets rained, many missed, but some hit their moving targets. The swarm dropped out of the sky one by one, until they all eventually turned to the distant threat and attacked. All outside of Camazotz’s will, fighting the threat their master had identified earlier.

Doing so earned a screech of protest from the Eternal Bat, Camazotz turning to his Hell Swarm and ordering them back to finish the rival alpha. But it was already too late.

Kong leaped upward, grabbing Camazotz’s tail and slamming him back onto the earth. He spun him around, driving his head against several walls and watchtowers still standing. No longer. He flung Camazotz across the field, the bat crying as he crashed, as he rolled, as he dug through the grass and dirt and flames. Shaking, he tried to crawl away, tried to extend his wings to take flight, but Kong was not finished with him.

Landing on the Titan’s back, he brutally pummeled him, wrapping the bat in a chokehold as Camazotz clawed at his face. Irritated, now infuriated by the beast’s actions, Kong crushed the Titan beneath him, tightened his palms around the creature’s neck, and roared as he twisted Camazotz’s head in a wet, sickening snap!

He held the limp corpse of the invader by his remaining horn. He slammed his fist across his chest again and again as he bellowed into the dark.

That roar was heard by all, the Hell Swarm turning, twisting, and scattering as Kong faced them and roared. Tossed the body of their fallen god so that none failed to pay witness. Standing tall, roaring so loud that the very ground trembled beneath everypony’s hooves, Kong beat his chest until the Hell Swarm finally retreated.

Even then, he still roared. He still cried out. He still declared to all with his deafening alpha roar that he was not bested that night. The invaders of his home would find no refuge as long as Kong remained king. Peace would not accompany them in the terrors of the night. Victory would not be claimed by any other except for the King of Black Skull Island.

T.I.T.A.N. witnessed that. Shining Armor especially, with the agents, the soldiers, the brave and the bold standing around him, all of their eyes latched with the mighty Kong turned from them. All of them standing under the weight of his cry and only Shining able to feel the full power of it. Having heard it once before, long ago. And it made him shudder.

His roar washed all across the burning hellscape. To every valley, every hill, every jungle, every mountain, and every beach surrounding the island. To the oceans where Tiamat battled Na Kika on the outskirts of Black Skull Island, many T.I.T.A.N. naval ships burning or sinking around their clash. But even further than that. Passed the massive superstorm only growing bigger, and slowly consuming the land.

Kong’s alpha roar was just strong enough to break the ferocity of the storm.

Just strong enough to spread across the sea.

To several hundred miles off the coast of Black Skull Island, where his defiance had earned the king’s attention. In the dark waves, in his domain, the king swam with subtle intent. His tail waved back and forth, propelling him slowly but surely onto the source of the rival. A potential threat to his rule. One that would not be tolerated, and would never stand for long.

The sea split open, and the rising, jagged spines emerged. Each one of them glowing a violent, threatening blue. The head then burst free, the eyes just as violent. Just as fiercely bright.

And then he opened his jaws and roared, and Godzilla sank back into the waves with war burning in his nuclear heart.

Interlude One

View Online

Five Months Earlier

Ponyville, Equestria

Life changed for everypony. For Ponyville, for the Crystal Empire, and for every life in-between.

Once a quaint and somewhat isolated town near the heart of Equestria, Ponyville had transformed into a stunning metropolis as the days grew into weeks, and the weeks into months. At least, the beginnings of a metropolis. Ponyville now seemed to be in a constant state of steady growth, expanding further, growing taller with its infrastructure, and strengthening its populace every single day.

All of this was due to the relocation of the Crystal Empire’s refugees.

With the destruction of the Crystal Empire following the Battle of the Three Kings months ago, the thousands of innocent lives were left without a home to return to. Discord was the first to bring them into a safe haven after he successfully evacuated the Empire, but it was Princess Twilight who decreed where their new home would be.

And as such, she gave her brother, her sister-in-law, and her niece a new place to call home. Her old castle became the beacon of light for the Crystal Heart to dwell, and the ruling thrones of the Crystal Empire’s royalty.

The effects of this relocation were immediate. Ponyville was empowered by the Crystal Heart, its magic and unity with the Crystal Ponies giving a beautiful, crystalline flair to the town. The magic flowed from Twilight’s old castle, now deemed as the Castle of the Heart. Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Princess Flurry Heart ruled righteously and peacefully from within. The hierarchy of Ponyville did not change much. Mayor Mare still had her say, still spoke for the ponies of Ponyville, and nopony was neglected.

In fact, the introduction of the Crystal Ponies brought a new age of prosperity to the quaint, little village. Being the first of many advancements, the village grew exponentially. Humble brick and wooden houses stood alongside rising crystal towers and mansions. Infrastructure, notable statues and artwork, along with new festivities and entertainment skyrocketed Ponyville’s stance on the world market. Construction jobs were aplenty. Work was everywhere to be found. The economy swelled and only continued to grow.

It seemed Ponyville had become a smaller version of the Crystal Empire, but still retained its identity, never truly losing it, but merging it logically and naturally with the Empire’s.

The introduction of the Crystal Heart was not the only change to Ponyville, nor to the rest of Equestria or the world. Life itself had changed by the introduction of the Titans.

And with that, the leadership in Ponyville was constantly shifting. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance had duties to attend to, loyalties to uphold with T.I.T.A.N., and whenever they were gone, they ensured Ponyville was left in safe hooves. Usually, it was Mayor Mare who was in control in their absence. Other times, Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst would ensure Ponyville remained stable, caring for the castle they still called their home as well as Flurry Heart. It felt natural, at least to Sunburst, to watch over the infant as he had before during his days as the Crystaller.

With the populace under their care, there were very little altercations. Ponyville’s people were fairly well-adjusted to the Crystal Ponies, just as they had become accustomed to the emergence of griffons, dragons, Kirin, Hippogriffs, and changelings. Plus so many more that relished under the peace that Princess Twilight brought. That wasn’t the issue that started to slowly plague them.

It moved like a worm. Like an infectious, cancerous blight that only grew more tenacious as it fed on the discord and anxiety of the people. The Titans were real. The legends, the myths, they were all true. And with that truth came danger, came fear. Among the older generation, some saw these creatures as just that: creatures like any other living being on Equus. Others saw them for the destruction they caused in the Mass Awakening. They saw the death tolls. They saw the blood and fire and nothing else.

Among the youth, it was a much different story.

Already, captivating stories of giant monsters battling to the death enthralled so many young hearts. And the fact that they themselves could witness these monsters just by exploring the wilderness birthed a new generation. A generation of exploration and adventurers. The Titans became every starting conversation, every opening question, and soon almost every game the young played.

Even in schools—from the School of Friendship to Cheerilee’s Ponyville Schoolhouse—it was inevitable that the Titans were brought up. And so, the schools utilized it. Academics were expanded to include Titan history, artifacts, current events, science, and biology. Everything T.I.T.A.N. knew and could release to the public was shared. A whole new ecosystem had been awakened alongside the beasts, and with it an expansion on knowledge and discovery. The retention rate among the youth had boomed with the introduction of Titan studies. It became the talk of the people, of the education system, and without a doubt the world as a whole.

The opportunities were there. Change had come, and with it, the entertainment and marketing industry ran wild. Companies that would have given Flim and Flam a run for their money saw an opportunity and jabbed their knives into it. It wasn’t long before movies, clothing, traveling gear, trading cards, and even toys were crafted to capitalize on the rapidly growing popularity of the Titans. Soon, it became almost a competition to see who had the best Titan paraphernalia, as well as who could witness and follow the beasts for themselves.

Brand new protective groups and ecological organizations were founded as a result of the emergence of the Titans. Many of which were centered around following the creatures and studying them. Pictures of sighted Titans were numerous, by many groups who called themselves “Titanwatchers” scouting the creatures in their natural habitat. It was a task that was not without its danger. T.I.T.A.N., at times, would limit these Titanwatchers so as not to disturb the beasts. But disturbances were a constant pain to deal with, and even though T.I.T.A.N. was engaged a few times, it was mainly the King of the Monsters himself who kept the Titans in check.

Even in Ponyville, marketing had reached the youth. Fillies and colts, along with young dragons, griffons, and so forth engaged in games where they playfully fought each other, taking on the role as their favorite monster. Toys of Mothra, of Rodan, of King Ghidorah, and many more were the highlights of the young in their expansive imaginations.

And Godzilla, the Titan Savior of Ponykind, was clearly the most popular among the youth.

But with popularity came the unforgiving public opinion.

The title of “Titan Savior” was put into question countless times. Newspapers shared both sides of the argument, silencing no one, allowing these discussions to take place so they could further understand each side of where people were coming from. As if Godzilla would have ever cared for their word either way.

Still, those who supported and those who stood against the creatures were always at odds. It was in every newspaper, on every radio show, every broadcasted network, and not without reasonable intent. The Titans, even in their age of stabilized peace, were still undeniably powerful. The Mass Awakening, the deaths of over seven million people, could never really be forgotten or tucked under the rug. These concerns needed to be addressed. Concerns over their future, their children’s future, their survival all came into the forefront of debate.

These were legitimate concerns, and concerns the governments of the world constantly reassured. As long as T.I.T.A.N. was the first line of defense, they had the means to defend their way of life if the Titans, if Godzilla, ever turned on them. Doubts were shared, anxieties only grew as the months were elongated. Fear was growing as a darkness that pierced the hearts of all.

But T.I.T.A.N. was ready. Since the fall of the Crystal Empire, they had been secretly preparing themselves for the absolute worst possible outcome. Building and strengthening their defenses, studying the creatures further, and understanding just what kind of threat they were dealing with. From this, expeditions were reinstated within T.I.T.A.N.’s control, with the sole intent of knowing the truth behind their new neighbors.

With this as their goal, it inevitably led T.I.T.A.N. to the discovery of something that would change their world forever.

It all started when Maud Pie was employed by the organization.

Though her work was mostly constrained to Ponyville’s caverns in search for new and fascinating rocks, when T.I.T.A.N. came to her with a stunning proposal, she hardly could contain her excitement. The recruiters couldn’t tell either way if she was excited or eternally monotonous to the world. Her word of agreement gave them the answer they sought.

Essentially, her work would encompass a few key aspects: First, there was the recent studies of Titans reportedly burrowing back and forth below and above ground. Second, one of these burrowing sites was discovered just outside of Ponyville’s expanded borders, beyond the Everfree Forest, and near Ghastly Gorge. Third, and most important, they would need her expertise to lead a team of scientists and T.I.T.A.N. personnel into the depths of the earth to discover the reasoning for the Titans’ behavior.

The day had finally come, and Maud Pie stood in her hardhat, flashlight bright on her forehead, while surrounded by scientists as she gazed onto the mighty, earthen wall.

The site was actually inside Ghastly Gorge despite prior recordings. An entire side of the canyon wall was caved inward, with insurmountable mounds of rock and debris blocking the path the Titan had taken. Normally, the T.I.T.A.N. mining crew would have blasted their way through with plenty of dynamite. But with Maud Pie leading them, they realized they didn’t have to. She showed them weak points, destabilizations among the rock clusters, that with a simple crack of her hoof against them, the foundations came crumbling down.

And a path was made.

She led the T.I.T.A.N. expedition team deeper into the depths of the unnaturally formed cavern, where signs of a struggle were clearly shown by the jagged scrapes across the vast ceiling. Whatever the Titan had wanted, it ensured nothing would hold it back. Their journey came to an abrupt stop when the path ahead was blocked by the collapsed ceiling.

With Maud only giving them one objective: “We need to get through that rock.”

In the several minutes that followed, Maud Pie studied the earthen wall, thus allowing T.I.T.A.N. to begin gathering evidence. The mining crews got to work on breaking down the obstruction, but their tools did little to visually affect it. Scientists gathered torn scales of whatever beast had burrowed through the earth, collecting them for biological research later in Canterlot. When minutes turned into an hour, many of the scientists returned to Maud’s side, all of them asking the same questions.

And having studied the obstruction long enough, Maud gave them the same answer.

“You might want to stand back.”

With orders followed, the mining crew retreated to stand with the scientists. A large group of dirt-covered equines surrounded the precariously pampered scientists. Though they wore the appropriate gear for such an expedition, many of them would have rather spent their time analyzing their acquired specimens in the safety of Canterlot’s labs. Orders were orders, however, and they watched as Maud Pie approached the towering rock obstruction alone.

Gazing at it with a half-lidded expression, the light from her hardhat washed across the surface, and soon her hoof did the same. She explained in that same emotionless voice, “A vast majority of this rock is dolomite. With enough sheer force in one precise location, the rock will fall apart.”

She began tapping against the wall’s surface, listening intently for any potential hollow points deep within the rock. Soon enough, the curiosity of T.I.T.A.N. got the better of them, and they made attempts to listen closer as well. But she hesitated. Maud froze her hoof hovering over a particular center point in the wall.

“You might want to stand further back.”

Realizing their error, the expedition team quickly backpedaled. Mere seconds later, Maud planted her hoof firmly and flatly against the rock with a solid smack that echoed across the cavern.

It wasn’t all that echoed.

The world began to tremble. Small cracks twisted and turned and grew into monumental veins that separated the wall from one end of the cavern to the next. From the floor to the ceiling. A tremendous roar only grew louder as the foundations of the obstruction quickly fell apart, and the expedition team realized they weren’t far enough. And so, they ran back, clearing a big enough distance from them and the crumbling wall.

In the dust and rubble that followed, flashlights burned to life and scoured the fog. Voices cried and called out for Maud, who they had just witnessed be consumed under the falling wave. To their shock, she remained standing in the midst of crumbled absolution. Not a scratch on her. Her flashlight was the blinding torch they followed in the darkness.

And to their continued shock, they witnessed the softest signs of lights glowing in the distance.

Not just Maud’s flashlight, but something more. Flashing every color of the rainbow, swirling against the ceiling and cascading further across the walls the deeper they traversed. It left everypony speechless, silent in their journey until they all came to sudden halt by Maud’s extended hoof.

They joined her and stared where the light of her flashlight fell.

Far below, farther than they ever could have imagined, the light of a thousand rainbows came clear to their eyes. Reflecting from their gazes, washing over their agape expressions, the light encompassed them in a glow that was hauntingly beautiful. At the bottom of the great abyss, spanning a burrowed hole that was several hundred feet around and possibly hundreds deeper, a vortex swirled and glowed violently.

The closest scientist on Maud’s right whispered with fear drenching her tongue, “We must contact the directors at once.”

Maud said nothing, even as their voices around her questioned with unfathomable curiosity at what they were witnessing at the bottom of the abyss. She simply stared to it, the mildest rise of her brows following, as they all stared down at the wormhole.

Chapter 2 – Sons of the Earth

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Present Day

Beneath Foal Mountain

He simply stared to it, no movement seen upon his mask, as they all soon would stare down at the wormhole.

It descended down a deep slope of hollow ground, resting at the bottom of a tremendous slide. At times, he began to question and doubt if it was even feasible, if it would be possible to move such an object through such a chaotic means of transport. But he knew better than to doubt. He had learned so long ago never to question.

Emrick was born only to believe. And believe he did.

A cracked and worn horn stuck out from the skull’s forehead that he wore. Beneath the twisted antlers, under the pale white skull of an unknown creature, there stared and blinked the eyes of a unicorn. Just a pony. A dark amber was his coat and a fading gray his mane and eyes. But it was all nearly hidden by the dark, dreary cloak he bore upon his body. A cloak belonging to that of a high priest among his people.

His people… Emrick could still hear their strained grunts and groans bouncing off the walls. It was a necessary struggle. A short moment of pain before they were to attain the paradise they were promised. He turned to them, Emrick their leader, their priest, their Immortal casting his gaze to the sight that made his heart swell.

The skull of their god was spared from the massacre that occurred above world.

The Above deemed his rule to be unrighteous in their eyes, but in their eyes they could never see the truth. They could never understand the glory they were about to attain. Though he was but a fragment, a fragment was all they needed. The golden scales were rotted to unveil the damaged skull beneath, the empty eye sockets staring off into the shadows of the cavern. For now, the head of Ghidorah was settled upon the ground, as the unicorns surrounded it from the sides, the Pegasi hovered above, and the Earth ponies pushed from behind.

In a combined effort, the Occult of Ghidorah were doing exactly as their lord had commanded them. Exactly the words that were breathed forth from the Immortal Priest. Breathed from the very breath of their god. They all wore similar clothing as he, dark cloaks covering their bodies while skulls shielded their faces. Some were of creatures known to the world above. Some completely unknown.

Other members of the Order of the Dragon, the Harbingers of Zenith, the most powerful hooves to the Immortal Priest himself, stood lighting the way. Their golden masks were nearly concealed beneath their black hoods, skull-like as all the others. Jagged mandibles from the ancient masks dangled from their jaws, sharpened to fine points as were the teeth. Their eyes were black, concealed in shadows as the fires from the torches cast their light upon them. Upon the cavern. Upon their god.

As their god commanded, they were to bring him safely into their home. To Below, where the final component of the ritual had been attained. They had waited many millennia for this moment, for his glorious return, and his cry spurred enough life in their fading hearts to bring the cult back from the shadows. Their Ruler spoke as the Dragon, let the Voice breathe through him so they knew where to find their god. And they did. And they were bringing him home.

Pegasi held ropes in their jaws, their wings and muscles and every fiber of their beings straining to lift the monumental skull deeper forward into the cavern, to the awaiting vortex. Unicorns stood on the sides, lifting with their magic whenever the Pegasi found their strength to haul Ghidorah’s head forward. The Earth ponies at the rear drove their shoulders and themselves onto the severed neck, pushing with all their might but only acquiring a few feet every ten minutes or so.

Emrick did not care how long it took. Their ancestors had died waiting. Their grandparents, their fathers, their mothers, all passed before their glorious rise could ever become reality. Emrick—chosen in birth to lead them as the next Valiant, the next Diligent, the next Immortal—was blessed with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The responsibility that came from it would have taken any other pony into the depths of insanity of which there was no return. Such weaknesses that claimed former Immortals. But Emrick was forged for this moment. He knew he was born for something truly great. Their god cried to them. They returned for him. And now the ritual would begin and they would reign with him in one swift and final strike.

Where the Above would kneel to the Below.

A moment, a celebration, a proud victory known simply… as the Day.

The Day of the Dragon. The Day of Reckoning. The Day of Zenith. The Day. All breathed the same truth. All soon to come to pass. They were but a few hundred yards away from reaching the vortex, and Emrick would wait many more hours if need be. So, he gazed into the swirling colors that painted his gray eyes a rainbow of fire. He stood straight and still in his heavy cloak that swayed to the soft breeze.

But there was no breeze.

So deep in the earth they were, there couldn’t have been. Instead, the air whispered against his ears and made each lobe flick to their hushed calls. It washed over him, the call, the breeze, the touch he knew all too well. Emrick’s head tilted away from the vortex, his eyes shuddering to a close as his breath stilled to solid ice.

“My Emrick…”

It was him. Breaking through the bonds of death and life and finding the means to speak through Emrick once more. Ghidorah’s call, the dragon’s tongue, the breath of their god. The Voice. The Darkness crept along the walls and drowned all the world around him, leaving just Emrick and his god in a world all their own.

“Lord…” the priest called in return, “your will?”

Raspy and wet, as heavy as the earth, the Voice responded, “Why do you bring me here?”

“For the ritual,” Emrick said, almost taken aback by Ghidorah’s question. Regardless, he knew his lord was weakened by the massacre, and his power was fading. Perhaps the god’s memory fading as well? Emrick dreaded the thought, and knew Ghidorah shared his own. “Only from Below can we truly start to rise. It was foretold by the ancients that you would be brought to us—”

“As… such?”

Emrick turned back, gazing longingly to the limp, fractured skull being dragged forward by the Order. A few more feet closer. “Certainly not the way we would have hoped. Yet it matters not. The ritual will bring everlasting life to your followers, as promised. And most certainly for you, as well… the one who brings about the sacred apocalypse… sparing his chosen to reign with him in Zenith. The New World. Forever.”

The promise of paradise was forged since the first arrival of the grand king. Many, many ages ago when the beasts retreated Below to escape the apocalypse Above. Then, their most ancient of followers witnessed Ghidorah warring against the Usurper, the one who would eventually claim Ghidorah’s rightful throne and banish their lord into the depths of the abyss. For so long, the destruction Above ravaged all life. Their ancestors had no choice but to descend Below with the beasts.

Their ancient Order, the Occult of Ghidorah, it was all born from the fires of desolation from the Usurper. Prophesying such a day when they would return Above, the ancients claimed to have spoken to their god just as clearly as Emrick could speak to him now. Many histories had passed, but the promise lived through it all. They would attain Zenith, the peak of their strength and rule to the world above. Ghidorah would lead his chosen followers and claim their kingdom.

They would leave the world below. The vast caverns Emrick could see stretching for miles to his left and to his right. The mighty pillars of rock connecting the ground from the ceiling. The vile darkness. Their scavenging. Their burrowing. Their desperate fight for survival in a dangerous land beneath their hooves would finally end. Paradise would be achieved. They would have a new land, a new home, and a New World. Just the dream of it brought a burn to his eyes that Emrick needed to shut.

But his eyes burst open when Ghidorah uttered…

“The ancients have been misled…” Emrick shuddered, turning rapidly back to the decaying skull in search, in desperate hope for some kind of explanation. “The sacred apocalypse… has been prevented… but it can be reborn… as I can.”

“My lord…?” Emrick called, his voice reaching the Harbingers of Zenith, earning a few slow, studious glances.

But they could not hear as he could. They were not granted the privilege of hearing the Voice of the Dragon for now. Their purposes, their lives, were all in servitude of the Immortal Priest. They had no right to question. As for Emrick, when the Voice spoke to him, all he could think of were nothing but a sea of questions.

When the Voice said, “Retrieve… the Bewitching Bell…”

“The ancients did not speak of any… ‘Bell’?” Emrick said, bringing forth his first question.

“They knew not of its existence from Below. I sensed its power in Canterlot… a raw strength unlike any other. A darkness that consumes all light. Such power can ravish and reshape creation… and even… correct… it.”

“My lord… why not tell me of this power sooner? If we had known—”

“My strength fades with every word I tell you… You must travel to Canterlot… find the Bell in the Archives… bring… it… to… meee…”

“But the ritual—”

Emrick gasped, hunching forward and nearly collapsing as the overwhelming Darkness invaded his open mind. A mind he so willingly gave to his god, and now he used it against him. Flooding him with unapparelled evils that screamed in the silence, fears and terrors that stole every last breath from Emrick’s lungs. The screams filled his ears and made him momentarily deaf. His vision was fading, slowly consumed by the shadows until… the Darkness retreated. His god relented by his mercy alone, and the Voice spoke once more to him.

“The Day draws near and the ritual will be its harbinger… but such power to enact it is impossible alone. No unicorn, no magic of this world can accomplish it. You must retrieve the Bell… only its sacred power can quell the barriers between possible and impossible. Only the Bell… can save me.”

Trembling on his hooves, taking in several gasps of hot, heavy air, Emrick finally managed to compose himself. Just enough to rise up and stare into the shadows, into nothing but the Darkness.

The Voice spoke from it, and told him, “Once the Bell is taken, the rulers of Above will scour all the lands to retrieve it. Their armies will descend upon us… they have already discovered a means to travel Below.”

Just as fear was seconds away from consuming him, now a fiery anger had replaced it. A passionate strength that burned deep within Emrick’s heart and the furthest fathoms of his beliefs. “Impossible! How could they have found the sacred vortex?!”

Emrick was furious, and worried, but not without good reason. The vortex was their sacred portal, the very same passage their ancestors had taken to escape the genocide at the hands of the Usurper. The very same passage they had taken to rescue their god. And now, it could have very well come to the knowledge of their enemies. The next thing they knew, it could fall into the hands, the hooves, the greedy claws of the Above.

“Their curiosity… it is unearthing your home. Soon, they will curse it as they have Above. The ritual must be accomplished in their lands, in their homes… in their blood. They must be weakened first. We will rise as I have promised… and all the earth will be cleansed of chaotic powers. All the earth will kneel to its unknown heart. To us… forever.”

As a burning poker was jammed into freezing waters, so too did Emrick’s anger fade. Hearing of the ritual changing locations made his heart sink back home, and he turned to see his people still struggling to move the head further. They had fought through every ounce of pain just to bring the head to the vortex… and now their god ordered them to return it to the Above. To claim the Bell. To bring Ghidorah back. To strike at their enemies.

Though it hurt to see his people continue to toil, it hurt so much more to ignore the promise of his lord. The Darkness hurt so much more.

The Voice was pleased Emrick finally agreed. “There is much that must be done before we can attain paradise. You must convince them. You must promise them as I have to you. All will be made right. Trust in me… Believe in me…”

There was silence. The Voice wanted him to say it. “Do you understand, my Emrick?”

And the Immortal lifted his head, opened his burning eyes, and nodded. “Yes, my lord… I understand.”

The painful weight in his heart was lifted when the Darkness was pulled away, and the Voice gave him one last assuring strength to believe in. One last call in the sweltering heat of the earth that they would soon no longer be prisoners of.

“For the Day of the Dragon draws near…”

“… and we will be together to reign in the sun,” Emrick finished, closed his eyes to mutter one last silent prayer, before he began the next most difficult step forward: ordering his people to move backward. And they did in suffering, keeping their thoughts to themselves, as they carried, dragged, and pushed the head of Ghidorah back to the world above.

Chapter 3 – Global Protector

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Canterlot, Equestria

Commander Shatter Heart of the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector never could have suspected he and his team would be called in so early by the Princess of Equestria, but he didn’t complain. He complied. If anything, he was growing more and more excited as the day got closer and closer. Anxious as well, of course, but it was stemmed accordingly by the rising determination in his heart.

He had beaten down such anxieties and fears before. He was leading the future, and the future needed strength, valor, and courage unlike any other. So, they strode down the halls as a team, as one living, breathing body of courageous Neighponese warriors.

To his far right, there was Lieutenant Peaky Blossom of the Neighponese Solar Bolt squadron. Top of her class, she was hoofpicked by Shatter with some personal recommendation. The unicorn mare strode forth with a bright smile on her lips, an astonished gaze in her sparkling pink eyes as she gazed to the mighty pillars and stained glass windows they passed. Her bright yellow coat shone in the sunlight burning through the glass, her purple and red-striped mane amplified by that same warmth.

On his far left, trotting far more casually than the rest of them, Lieutenant Rotor Wrench stood taller just as well. He seemed to mumble a song under his breath, a tune that left a seemingly permanent smirk on his lips. The burly, pale blue unicorn stallion was Neighpon’s top engineer of their largest naval fleet, and he wasn’t too bad behind the stick, either. His green eyes were shielded by the heavy sunglasses he wore, his brown mane dangling in front of his glasses. A short beard graced his face, just as freely as the Haywaiian shirt with bright, colorful flowers graced his body.

Walking between Shatter and Rotor, Lieutenant Moonshadow did not carry the same love for life like Wrench did. However, like Rotor, she also wore sunglasses that hid her dark hazel eyes, but the unicorn mare did not wear any colorful fatigues. Her dark blue coat suited her name, with a short white mane barely even reaching her glasses. A high-ranking member of Neighpon’s robotics division, Moonshadow was chosen for her experience in such a field, not so much her piloting skills, which weren’t half bad, either. A toothpick sat between her lips, and she jostled it with her tongue in silence, staring dead ahead and not even considering to take in the sights.

And on his direct right, Captain Cross Heart walked tall and proud alongside Shatter. He always seemed to hold a smile of some sort. Always happy. Always extravagantly excited. Peaky seemed to notice and appreciate his grin more and more. His green coat was almost a stark contract to Shatter’s, but the unicorn’s black mane mirrored his perfectly. Not so much his blue eyes. He was the one who recommended to Shatter to enlist Peaky into their team. He trusted her enough, and why shouldn’t he? Cross only trusted two ponies with his life; his younger brother Shatter Heart, and Peaky Blossom. His marefriend.

In their center, leading them always was Commander Shatter Heart, the red unicorn stallion with crimson eyes focused only on his goals, and very little else at the moment. He did not smile as his older brother did. He rarely smiled anymore, only for grand occasions. Only for the coming days. Only when he needed to. And he needed to when called personally by the ruler of Equestria, and their closest ally since the Mass Awakening.

So, he put on a small, courteous smile when the throne room doors were opened to him and his team by a pair of Royal Guards.

He was given plenty of mental images of what it was like, but he never imagined how beautiful Princess Twilight’s throne room truly was. A gorgeous red carpet led to the mighty center throne, soft blue and violet marble decorating the walls and pillars. Stained glass windows decorated with Twilight’s cutie mark lined the walls going forth, and that was when it happened. His smile almost broke.

Shatter was just surprised to see the directors of T.I.T.A.N. present as well in Princess Twilight’s throne room. He wasn’t informed. None of them were.

But they were more than prepared for their arrival. Twilight, of course, but with Spike sitting beside her and Directors Celestia and Luna standing at the base of her throne. They all turned accordingly as the doors were opened and the Royal Guard announced loudly of their Neighponese guests. As they walked, as they trotted, as they grew all the closer to the throne, Twilight observed them at face value.

Yet she still read all of their files Celestia and Luna provided. She knew they backgrounds, their histories, what brought them forth to her now. Her immediate impressions were by their attire. Shatter Heart and Moonshadow both wore leather jackets. Peaky Blossom wore a standard uniform for the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector, simple green camo fatigues. Cross Heart wore something similar, instead being blue naval fatigues. Rotor appeared to be the most casual, the bright Haywaiian shirt with colorful flowers decorating it instantly catching Twilight’s attention. His deathless smirk as well almost prompted a smile from her in return.

Once they stopped in front of the throne, saluting appropriately to the directors, they bowed their heads respectfully to the princess.

Twilight smiled warmly, and bowed her head in return. She began with a raised hoof. “Thank you, esteemed pilots and warriors of Neighpon, for answering my letter. Your presence is an honor to us all. Your service to our world, even more.”

They rose with Shatter leading them. “The honor is our own, Your Majesty. Just as it is to be in the presence of our T.I.T.A.N. directors,” Shatter began with that same smile that was barely alive, his eastern accent just as cool and calculated. He chuckled to Celestia and Luna’s direction. “A welcome surprise, but if I am not to sound rude, what would be the meaning of this reunion?”

With a flash of her horn, a folder appeared out of thin air, and Celestia levitated the file to Twilight, saying, “Commander—”

“No formalities,” he interrupted. “We are all allies here. Friends.”

She turned back and stared at him. Barely a second passed before she sighed out a smile. “Of course,” Celestia recovered, beginning again, “Shatter Heart, we have been reading and rereading your file for quite some time now. All of yours, to be exact. And we invited you all here today so we can come to a formal agreement.”

“A means of which we all understand each other,” Luna added. All the pilots stared at the younger sister, noting the clothing she and Celestia wore. Jumpsuits that accompanied their natural coat colors, neither sister wearing any form of royal regalia, and understandably so.

Princess Twilight was the sole bearer of the crown now, and that weight was transmitted through her voice when she declared, “Nothing hidden. Nothing more that can potentially create a split between us. We’re allies now, closer than ever. Division in this day and age will not lead to a prosperous and peaceful society.” Twilight smiled as their eyes fell on her, opening the file with her magic.

She hesitated a moment. Lifting her eyes from the folder, she gazed to the base of her throne, passed Celestia and Luna and landing on the red unicorn. “Shatter Heart… born to Lily and Valiant Heart in the city of Izunokuneigh, Neighpon… orphaned twenty-one years ago after…” She looked up from her file, seeing the smile instantly vanish from Shatter’s lips. “I’m very sorry.”

He just nodded. He never took his eyes off of her.

“Following the disaster, you and your brother joined the T.I.T.A.N. sector of Neighpon when you were of age. From there, you’ve been training. In all forms of the nation’s defense; military, biological sciences, robotics, but piloting… most of all. Rising in the ranks, you eventually acquired the status as commander of all military operations for your nation’s T.I.T.A.N., until the organization was shut down by Celestia. Now that we’re back up and running, you have assumed all formal relations between Neighpon and Equestria. We… assume the blessings of the emperor were taken into account when you were granted this position?”

“Of course,” his voice fell an octave, and he stated rather harshly, “Was there anything else you wanted to remind me of?”

“Brother,” Cross said, leaning over in a heavier accented whisper. “Easy. Apologies, Your Majesty. We have had a difficult upbringing.”

Twilight pursed her lips, nodding in solidarity. “No, it’s I who should be sorry. The past is difficult, for many of us here. And you… Cross Heart,” she addressed, flipping to the next page in the folder, reading away. “A decorated soldier in the Neighponese naval forces, just as many years of piloting experience as your younger brother, yet refused every promotion after ‘captain’… now why would that be?”

“I’m comfortable where I am,” he answered, which earned a warm smile from Peaky.

“And your brother?”

Cross turned to meet Shatter’s eyes. He smiled warmly. “He goes above and beyond. Hardest fighter I know.”

“It would seem…” Celestia mused aloud. Slowly, one by one, each of the pilots found their heads slowly shifting attention away from Twilight and onto the director. Shatter was the last, having lost his smile quite some time ago.

“We would like to understand just what exactly it is you fight for, Shatter Heart,” Luna added, earning the attention of the esteemed pilots. “This creation from the minds of your T.I.T.A.N. sector was startling, to say the least… especially when the knowledge of its design came to be.”

Director Celestia breathed in deeply. “We expected a mechanized Titan, certainly, as our deal suggested. You were given the tools, the resources, the facility, the time and trust needed to construct such a machine. We never expected the design to be what it was. By the time we learned what Neighpon had developed, it was already too far into production. Too far to turn back.”

Luna’s face was ashen. “Too far before we realized what we were funding… what the minds of the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector had concocted.”

“This is such a condescending tone I am hearing. What seems to be the problem?” Shatter asked, almost sounding oblivious to their suspicions, but deep down he knew what they meant. He knew, one way or another, this conversation would be brought to the light of day.

“We know what this is about, Shatter… what this means to you,” Twilight said, bringing it fully into the light and out of the dark. “It’s Godzilla.”

As such, he wanted to be prepared for it, but even now Shatter Heart found himself flinching accordingly to the damned name spoken aloud. His eyelids trembled as he attempted to shut his eyes, regulate his breathing—as he practiced for years—but even now it was difficult. Just as much then as it was now. Taking in sharp, deep breaths, Shatter opened his eyes and met the stare of the princess.

“Is it ever anything else?” he scoffed, shaking his head. “Doesn’t our entire world revolve around him now?” He almost tried to laugh, bury the burden beneath some sick sense of a coping mechanism.

“It is more than that, Shatter, and you lie to us now if you continue to deny it,” Luna addressed, speaking the silent part out loud that Twilight did not have the courage to say at first, nor Celestia to a degree. Luna did not avoid the reality. She said what needed to be said as quickly as possible, what was on their minds, and held nothing back. “The disaster was unavoidable. Godzilla followed his natural instincts and a travesty occurred because of it, but it was not out of his own will to destroy. You and your people suffered greatly… but the more we read, the more we understood. You seem to be making this some kind of personal vendetta.”

“Your Majesty, if I may interrupt,” Rotor Wrench said, stepping in front of his commander just as Shatter’s expression began to twitch. He levitated his sunglasses off his snout, breathing on them and rubbing the shades against his shirt. “Shatter Heart is the strongest warrior we have in our forces. He was not granted commander on a whim, he earned it through many physical, mental, and emotional trials. The pony is unbreakable… unbeatable. But most of all he is loyal.”

He slapped his hoof against Shatter’s shoulder, and the unicorn responded with a thankful nod in return. Rotor smirked, levitating his sunglasses back onto his snout.

He was not the only one to stand up for the pony he trusted most. Moonshadow remained frozen where she stood, but her voice was no longer silent. “We trust our commander with our lives.” It was all she said, and she said it so, so coldly.

Peaky nodded in agreement, the unicorn mare stepping up to support the pony who supported her uprising. “We were personally chosen by him to lead this project. Greatest warriors in Neighpon, he called us… Strongest minds, strongest wills… exactly what he needed. The thought of this becoming personal is beneath us. The mission comes first, above all. Protecting ponykind, every creature from these beasts that seek to destroy us—”

“The Titans are not here to destroy us, Ms. Blossom. They just want to live, same as us,” Twilight corrected.

She just shrugged. “All a matter of perspective.”

Though grateful for their support, Shatter stood his ground all the same. Rising for his beliefs, refusing to back down from where his spirit was leading him. Where he knew he wanted to be. “I believe you were all singing a different tune not too long ago, if I’m not mistaken?” Shatter said, addressing the unspoken reality that even Luna hesitated to bring forth.

And perhaps Twilight, Celestia, and Luna were all guilty in not addressing it so.

It all happened a year ago, but it felt like yesterday. When their world was on the brink of destruction. Ghidorah, Sombra, the hundreds of Titans they awakened in their warpath. Witnessing them rampage, slaughter, kill to no desired end left a weight in their souls that no night’s rest could ever truly ease. It scarred them, in more ways than one. Both the Mass Awakening and the Battle of the Three Kings. The Titans, and Godzilla, displayed with no constraints the power they wielded.

And that… that terrified the sisters.

Power that was out of their control. The power to annihilate, to wield an unstoppable army against a wounded world unable to fight back against their strength. But also the power to heal. To stabilize. To keep balance. That was the power of the Titans under Godzilla’s rule. For a time, it had been peaceful. They were given the days to rebuild, and the Titans left them in peace. Godzilla left them in peace. But the future wasn’t written. Every single day, neither Celestia, Luna, or Twilight could rest easy, wondering and doubting if that peace was absolute.

It was a darkness in their hearts, in the furthest, deepest portions of their minds. Feeding their anxieties, enflaming their paranoia to act before Godzilla or any of the Titans did. One last layer of defense, that was all they needed. That was all they needed, and then no more. It was so overwhelming it was like they were drowning, and they finally had a way out. Even now they regretted ever giving that single inch to the darkness and letting the fear rule over them. Because it then took another inch. And then another. Until it took 400 vertical feet of pure, mechanized steel.

All in the image of Godzilla.

To most, it would be understandable to make the decisions they did. To a niche some—those who had personal contact at one point with the Titans, with Mothra, and even Godzilla—it was wrongful thinking to begin, and even now, at its end it was the wrong path to take. They knew it was, and Celestia and Luna came to that conclusion. Twilight did.

They were wrong. A mechanized Godzilla was not the answer to their hearts’ pleas. A protector was, as Mothra was, but they went too far. They allowed too much. It was still too late. They admitted it. But now was the not the time to hesitate and let the buried rage grow. They were on the road to recovery and there was no room on that road to make unnecessary enemies.

All three ponies seemed to imagine it all the same. Twilight shut her eyes, dropped her head, as Spike turned her way concerningly. Luna pursed her lips, looking away to the stained glass windows and saying not a word.

Celestia slowly gulped. She alone had the strength to say what was on their hearts.

“For a time… we came to almost share the same mindset as you. The Battle of the Three Kings… we saw things differently. The power of the Titans, of Godzilla, it was… devastating. Perhaps losing Mothra, nearly losing everything by the awakening of the Titans was an awakening in and of itself. We allowed Neighpon an almost unlimited amount of power if it meant our way of life was protected. Fear clouded our judgement… fear of losing any more innocent lives… but no more. We invited you all here today, the pilots for our Mecha, so we could all come to the same mindset.”

“And that same mindset is this,” Twilight declared, finding some semblance of strength thanks to Celestia’s courage to speak. With that strength, she turned solely to Shatter Heart when she said it. “Mechagodzilla is not Godzilla’s superior. Our Mecha will be used to protect life, to aid Godzilla just as Mothra aided him. We will aid him in his fight for balance; we will not try and control it. Not anymore. This is our creation’s true purpose. This is what we believe it was created for.”

“Godzilla is not our enemy,” Luna affirmed. Made her—their—stance very, very clear.

He understood. Shatter understood perfectly well. At least, as Twilight saw him at first, just the face value. Just as Twilight, he saw deeper. And just as Twilight could not understand that plight of which tormented him, so he did not understand the stance of which they now took. They thought they could understand, oh they really did, but Shatter knew it to be far more than their generous lives could have ever fathomed.

They lived in luxury. They lived in love, surrounded by walls that stood, by friends and family that lived, and it was impossible for them to know him by simply what was written. They experienced one disaster at the hands of the Titans, and sought peace only after a year of it permeating. It permeated much, much longer than that for Shatter. He fought so much longer than any of them ever could, and only he knew what was right. He believed that.

They didn’t.

He stared at them, never breaking his eyes away from Celestia until he turned them to Luna. And then to Twilight. Slowly letting the piercing ring grow louder and louder and louder in his head, in his ears, until he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts and then—

“You are protecting him?” he suddenly asked. The throne fell silent. Spike stopped writing on his parchment, lifting his gaze. Celestia and Luna looked at one another, and then slowly back to Shatter. The pilots did the same. Cross bit his inner cheek, harder and harder and hard enough to draw blood.

His eyes grew shockingly pale. Like the life had drained from them, the crimson becoming drained of all blood. Soulless. His lips twitched in what could have been a smile, but froze halfway.

His jaw quivered, and he scoffed lightly. “Does he protect us… or are we insignificant in his path of destruction, hm? Does he know the families he crushes beneath his feet? Could he ever understand the grieving father losing his child in a collapsing building… the mother holding a lifeless son or daughter, body charred beyond recognition… skin sometimes so heavy it looks like an extra coat of drooping, melted flesh?”

Cross tasted blood, and he stopped. He had the words he wanted to say, but they were trapped in his throat. Which left Shatter uncontrolled, almost unhinged. With no anchor. “Do you think he imagines that every time he rampages through one of our own cities?”

“Shatter Heart—” Celestia attempted to say, but was shockingly silenced.

“How… is this monster… any different than the devils that slaughtered seven million innocent lives?” Veins grew rampant up his neck, across his forehead. His chest heaved in and out and he growled, “Everything I’ve done has been to prevent this from ever happening again. For the preservation of our way of life, that is what you told me. And you are taking my creation… my T.I.T.A.N.’s genius… and you are bastardizing it to fulfil your own self-righteous goals!”

“Shatter!” Cross stated, stepped in and rested his hoof heavily on Shatter’s shoulder. Just as quickly as he intervened, he watched as Shatter’s ferocity was cooled. The life came back to his eyes. The soul he nearly lost was breathed back into him as he expanded his lungs and took a breath.

Cross stared up to the throne, to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and said with burning eyes that were pure and so full of life. “There is no bastardization. We are not at war anymore… they are right. Godzilla is not our enemy, brother.” He turned back and met his sibling’s eyes.

His hearing was back and the dark fog faded from his mind. The ring had settled and there was no noise any longer. He was back. An anchor kept him still, and Shatter was thankful that. Shatter closed each eye, Cross patting his cheek gently, forehead pressed to his own. His breathing was regulated once more, but his eyes were burning. Both brothers’ were.

Cross stared back at the throne, at the directors, at the princess. “There is no war.”

“There is no war,” Shatter reaffirmed, finally finding the gentleness of his tone once again. “Our achievement will thrive in the defense of life. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were also planning on visiting the HQ while we are in Canterlot. Your Majesty. Directors.”

He bowed quickly and spun around to make his exit. His pilots hesitated, before they, too, spun to join him.

“Do not leave on misgivings. Understand that we all thrive in the defense of life. We are united now, and cannot afford division as the old world once was. Despite all of this, our loyalties still remain, not just for the preservation of life… but upholding the Magic of Friendship to every creature on this world. Those are our loyalties…” Celestia called out, and caused Shatter to halt. All five pilots did.

Her eyes were soft, and her voice was softer. Calling, reaching out, but even then she needed to know the truth. They all did. “Tell us, Shatter Heart… where does your loyalty truly lie?”

The unicorn made no attempt to respond. Not until he could keep his seething breaths regulated and not until the red had left his vision. Once the unbalanced peace he knew too well had settled within him, he turned his head back. He met her eyes.

“… With the crown… With our world… With ponykind… always.”

And then he was gone. He and his chosen four. The throne doors were opened for them and they made their exit to Canterlot’s T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters.

But not before Spike could mutter under his breath, “Jeezo… guy’s got one too many screws loose, am I right?”

Twilight cuffed the back of his head with her hoof. “What? I stayed quiet for the meeting, just like you asked! Got everything written down, too!” he whispered sharply while waving his parchment. The princess just rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

The former princesses did not hear the young dragon. They prayed Shatter Heart did not hear him. The former princesses merely stared, never taking their eyes off of Commander Shatter Heart of the Neighponese T.I.T.A.N. sector. Not until the throne room doors slammed shut behind him and his pilots.

Chapter 4 – Zenith

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Canterlot, Equestria

Shatter Heart was told not to let their words get to him. He was told of his loyalty, his valiant courage and hope for a better tomorrow of which united them in the first place. He was told by his brother, by his pilots, that they trusted him.

Inside of the castle, those words meant very little when shrouded under the guise of a so-called peaceful ruler. A ruler, or many, who put the needs of their true enemy before the needs of themselves. Or even the needs of their world and the innocent lives that looked to them for guidance, protection, and hope. Shatter Heart knew and understood this more than anypony else. He believed he was the only pony who could.

Outside of the castle, however, Shatter could already feel that shroud being lifted. The words of his brother and his pilots calmed his heart considerably so, and he was thankful for it. He told them, saying he appreciated their support when he needed it most. And if anything good was to still come from this day, let it be the visit to the T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters, where they could lay their eyes upon their creation. Because that, no matter who believed controlled it, still came from the greatest minds of Neighpon. It still came from them. It was still their rising son.

Still, under the light of Princess Twilight’s sun, there was a shudder in the veins of Shatter Heart. Even outside, he could never truly escape her presence or some semblance of her reach and touch upon the world. Cross was the first to notice his sibling’s unsettled state, even if Shatter buried it quickly. Just as quickly as he began to trot off into the streets of Canterlot to reach the appropriate building. The entrance to the HQ.

His pilots followed and said not a word. Not even taking in the sights or the ponies they crossed. For even though they were supposedly allies in this new age, they never felt more like strangers in a strange land. A land that ignored them and their desperate words of warning of who they still believed to be their true enemy.

But they were not ignored. In many ways, they were heard by the rulers, even if they didn’t see it. A semblance of their worldview was taken into consideration and the heart of Princess Twilight Sparkle sympathized greatly with their plight.

In many more ways, however, they were not ignored. Ways they could not see, nor did they seem to notice. They were looked upon from the shadows, from the crowds, from plain sight.

And the Harbingers of Zenith watched as they left the front steps of Canterlot Castle and vanished into the depths of the bustling city.

A lone, hardened face in a crowd of ponies. A stallion standing by himself on the sidewalk, near the entrance of a bakery. Another hidden in an alleyway, taking his first steps into the light. There were more of them, numbering six, that all stood separated but were far closer than any other beating heart could fathom. They abandoned their dark robes and golden masks in exchange for the perfect camouflage: their equine features on full display and hiding nothing.

Perhaps that wasn’t entirely true. The lead Harbinger among them wore his dark cloak, with the knapsack hiding underneath, resting on his back. He stood as the unmoving face in the constantly bustling crowd of ponies that moved around him. His light gray eyes trailed the path the five unicorns took away from the castle, before his gaze slowly returned to the front doors.

Can you hear it?

Not a word left his lips, yet he answered the question shared among the Harbingers of Zenith. I hear the Voice of the Dragon calling to us…

And he was correct. The chaos of the city was loud enough already, but even if things had stilled so as one could hear a pin fall against the concrete floor, the heretics would not have heard the Voice. It was whispered through the air, unheard and unseen by unworthy souls. But they heard just as simply as they heard one another in their ears. The Voice beckoned them forth, illuminated their path, so they were never lost.

The lost, the corrupted, they shambled about aimlessly as the Harbingers stared. One slowly walked past a crowd of ponies clinking small tea cups and sipping their worries away under the bright summer sun. Some played fruitless yard games and shared their extravagant lifestyles with one another over laughter, more droning laughter, in an equally droning and lifeless existence.

Heretics… They share the same flesh as us, but they are not of us.

Let them drown in their pleasures. We must begin.

The whispers of the Harbingers were momentarily silenced, leaving their minds focused on the task at hoof. The six came forth just as the Voice commanded them so, until their hooves graced the grass, the concrete, and finally the steps that led up to the castle doors. A pair of Royal Guards were stationed and waiting, their eyes suddenly widening by the sudden intrusion of six unknown ponies slowly approaching.

One guard quickly jammed his spear forward, declaring in an authoritative voice, “Halt—!”

He could barely even finish the word before a flash of light earned a crimson gush across his throat.

The second guard was blinded by the flash, just as quickly losing his voice to a slur of incomprehensible gurgles that left his throat, seeping out of his lips as the crimson dribble that followed quickly.

The short blade disappeared just as quickly as it appeared out of nothing, slicing cleanly across each of the guards’ necks. Two Harbingers rushed forth and caught the bodies, hooves over their mouths, hiding them away from any potential suspecting eye. A small sacrifice by risking their appearance, but necessary. Casting his gaze across the road, noticing no disturbance that followed, the lead Harbinger nodded them onward.

One stole the chest ornament from the first guard’s armor and pressed it against the castle doors, magically unlocking each. Just as the Dragon said it would. Safe inside and closing the doors behind them, the lead Harbinger heard a simple gasp on his right and magically flung his hidden dagger out of thin air and impaled it cleanly into the throat of the approaching Royal Guard. The Harbingers froze where they stood, the lead stallion among them watching as the guard choked on his blood, tried desperately to wail out a cry, but managed not even a squeak of terror as his body finally collapsed into his own pool.

The lead pony caught his spear before it could hit the marble floor and cause even more noise. His eyes were pale, paler than the fallen guard’s. Not even a twitch in his face for just as easily taking a life as it was catching his spear. The pool of red was growing larger.

Cleanse it.

A simple set of words he whispered through the dark magic shared between the six. And it was followed through with sheer, vile will and not a hint of hesitation. The dead were gathered and piled together, their weapons joining them as a pair of Harbingers ignited their horns. A torrent of flames spilled forth and encircled the bodies like serpents, devouring them so much quicker. The fires rose higher, higher, brighter in each Harbinger’s motionless gaze until they were suddenly doused.

Nothing was left. It was all vaporized, not even leaving ash as that, too, vanished with a flash of magic. The marble, once stained in blood, was as clean as it had been once they stepped freely into the castle’s hold. As if every aspect of the guards’ existence had been wiped clean from the face of the earth.

The Harbingers of Zenith moved on.

It was not difficult to navigate the labyrinthian halls of Canterlot Castle, for they had the Voice to guide them. The Star Swirl the Bearded section of the Canterlot Archives was dead ahead, and it was just as easily infiltrated. The guards never saw the blades coming. Cleansing them was just as easily accomplished, as the lead Harbinger pried the door open with the ferocity of his enhanced magic. The lock was shattered and the gate was slowly opened, the stallion minding the soft cries of the rusted metal.

As the six entered into the embrace of ancient knowledge of the Above, they paid no heed to the scrolls and books littering the shelves to their lefts and rights. All they cared for was the center of the Archives, where the great hourglass sat in silence. Together, the Harbingers of Zenith surrounded the hourglass with the lead stallion staring longingly into the sand.

The Darkness would strengthen their magic to mimic that of the rulers, that was what the Voice promised. And it was so, once all six of them united the magic from their horns onto the hourglass, the sand within proceeded to rise up. Rising just as the hourglass did, unveiling the descending, swirling staircase into the depths of the Archives.

Nothing was said as they descended down the steps, the path ahead lit well by the torches magically ignited, just as quickly killed as the whisper of the Voice trailed behind them. Shadows were washed away once they entered into the depths of the castle. It was there that they found themselves in an ancient bunker of sorts, where evidence of the Titans’ existence hung from the walls, were displayed on the shelves, and sat on the tables.

Graven images of their lord were displayed in ancient cave paintings. Paintings eerily similar to those found Below. Perhaps a distant tribe, a clan forgotten, that painted such masterpieces, all of which still paled in comparison to the flesh and bone they would soon return life to. They spread out, searching up and down and every corner for a sign to lead them in the next direction.

Pages were scattered over a small table. One Harbinger found himself in that area, reading Star Swirl’s notes to himself, but his voice was shared among the others all the same.

“It is a cool summer night. Three moons after Princess Twilight’s ascension, I am now recalling. Before her crowning, I was given the task of safekeeping an item I can only describe as a talisman that chimes doom. The Bewitching Bell. Even now, my quill quivers at the initial prospects of such a task. I have scoured my archives for ancient knowledge, perhaps bridging the gaps between times. The knowledge of this era has greatly surpassed the world I once knew.

“Gusty the Great did not leave much of her teachings. All I could collect, everything she knew of the Bewitching Bell was stored in my book that was unfortunately stolen in a past Summer Sun Celebration, I was told. I had to begin from scratch, relying mostly on this old pony’s memory to copy everything I once wrote word for word. Limbo has certainly left me with a greater migraine than when my allies and I were taken from this world.

“But now the Bell has been given to me by the princesses former and current, and I can further study its demonic qualities firsthoof. This magic is not natural. It consumes and amplifies any source of power the user desires. It changes magic. Corrupts it. I am not even certain the Bell, its magic, or its former wielder are even natural to our world. For the safety of it, and every last creature that resides in these lands, I have entombed the Bell in a barrier of my own creation, with magic fused with that of the aether itself. The Bell’s corruption will not be able to break the powers of the world beyond ours, nor will there be any powers of this earth to do so in return. I should feel mild comfort in knowing this… but I do not.

“Even now, I feel its power somehow lingering in the very air that I breathe. Making its home in my lungs, in my heart, my nightmares. It wants to be free. It calls to me with desires beyond imagination. When I ignore its call, the shadows grow darker. I can feel their weight press upon me in this very room. The Bell still seeps in my mind and yearns for destruction, attacking me in my sleep even outside of these walls. But I have locked away its call. I am not as weak as it desired. I cut off its source of nourishment when I denied the Bell myself. It seems it hungers only one thing: fear.

“Is it fear that powers it, strengthens it, perhaps even imbues both it and the desired wielder? Is it a corruption that spreads through deceit and fear? This, I do not know. But this, I do: the Bewitching Bell can never leave this mountain. It can never see the light of our sun again. For if it does, if it falls into the hooves of one with the will and wickedness to match it, I fear we were spared of its true nature before. It would not be so merciful a second time.”

It was all true. Ghidorah had led them true. The Bewitching Bell was within these walls.

And even so, Ghidorah continued to lead them. His voice called to them from the Darkness, and they pursued it with no hesitation. More doors were opened to them, more ancient staircases that led them deeper, further, the Harbingers following the Voice until they came across something that made them finally stop. Finally breathe aloud. Finally take in their surroundings.

A great cavern was laid forth beneath even the bunker. Where not a torch was alight and only a blinding whiteness could be seen glittering further below the steep mountain heart. For it was the mountain they finally reached, traversing the underbelly of Canterlot until the earth was their greeter at long last. Continuing in their descent, they followed, ironically, the Darkness to the light. It was not ironic to the Voice, to Ghidorah. He led them exactly where he needed them to go.

And so, they stopped. One by one, all standing together, all leaning on the edge of the abyss and gazing skyward to the ball of light. Within it was their great prize.

The Bewitching Bell.

The ancient talisman sat locked away hovering over a great cavern in the mountain. An orb of magic surrounded it, slithering streams of shielding, magical rays swirling around the great orb. Pitch blackness rested in the abyss beneath the orb, no end in sight. Nothing but shadows to reach quite possibly the roots of Canterlot Mountain.

But as they have read, as they understood, the Bell was trapped in the powers of the world beyond. Fortified so that no magic of this earth could pierce the veil. Yet it was dark magic that flowed within their veins. The magic of which the Dragon imbued them with. Ghidorah, their glorious King from the Stars, allowed his Darkness to flow with their minds, their spirits, their shared will.

Every horn was ignited and a burst of black and gold magical streams flew forth into the orb.

The most horrific scream echoed throughout the cavern. That was how it sounded to them, at least. Once the golden rays of their god infused with the white orb, the streams grew violently sporadic. Bursts of light spewed forth and impaled the rock around them. They kept at it, pressing on the power of their lord and shattering the bonds of the Bell. The light was overcome by the Darkness, and the orb exploded into a violent array of blinding particles of wilting sparks.

The power of the aether was broken. The tomb was shattered and faded into the black. The Bewitching Bell hovered momentarily before it was levitated down to the lead Harbinger.

He stared to it in silence, noted its weight, its rough texture. Words were written of its power, the rulers of this nation kept it concealed by the strongest magic they knew, and still the Harbingers of Zenith could not seem to understand its importance. It was not their duty to understand. It was their will to follow the High Priest, and the Voice that commanded all within the Order.

And they achieved just that.

Everything was left as they found it. The hourglass closed and the Canterlot Archives were locked away, a magically repaired lock and all. Though it was odd, among the ranks of the Royal Guards, that the Archives were mysteriously unguarded for the remainder of the day. As were the outside doors, though they remained locked all the same. It was even more curious that five guards did not return to the barracks that night, and there was no word shared among the ranks of their whereabouts. An investigation began shortly after, but they would never be found.

Leaving with the Bell tucked away in the lead Harbinger’s cloak, the six wandered Canterlot for an escape, walking in broad daylight. Once more sacrificing their appearance to the Above. It would mean nothing compared to what they had achieved, what their lord once reborn would bring. They could only imagine it…

A holy genocide of the heretics Above, bringing forth the gateway of the long-awaited Zenith and its mysteries finally unveiled to them.

Chapter 5 – Where the Answers Lead

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Black Skull Island

T.I.T.A.N. Outpost Beacon

The storm had settled considerably around Black Skull Island, but it was still there. Still growing by the day. Still becoming more ferocious.

When the morning light shined upon the aftermath of Black Skull Island’s siege, it was if a hurricane of blood and fire had washed across the island. Creatures large and meager lay scattered across the former battlegrounds. Scorched bodies transformed into blackened charcoal and joined the likes of skeletal remains. There was hardly any green grass or trees left, from the combined actions of both Titan and T.I.T.A.N.

Most of the Titans that came to usurp the throne of the King of Black Skull Island had fled. The ones that remained joined the dead. Bunyip, a MUTO here and there, had been counted and mourned by T.I.T.A.N.’s first-ever Personal Titan Relations Expert. Or, as everypony called her, the Titan Whisperer. She was brought forth once the mission was accomplished, and the siege had reaped its awards. The old base of operations was recaptured, reestablished, and repopulated by the time the sun rose on that day.

So, the Titan Whisperer stood alone atop the highest balcony of Outpost Beacon, as she was told it was named. Below her, in the grounds surrounding the base, T.I.T.A.N. agents and soldiers were already hard at work rebuilding defenses around the outpost. Watchtowers and steel fences were raised in a vast radius surrounding them. Armed guards stood at every possible entrance, never once having a moment of rest, for they knew the island well. They fought hard just to break through its natural defenses. Everything and anything on Black Skull Island could and would kill them.

But Fluttershy, the Titan Whisperer, didn’t see it that way.

For while there were many flora and fauna alike that posed a threat to their safety, she had read numerous reports of what had happened, had seen most of it herself, and came to the conclusion that a panic had spread across the island. Perhaps not from their interference, but from another. One that stirred the earth and cascaded darkness upon Black Skull Island. Fluttershy could still hear the beast’s horrific cry even now, in the dawning sunlight.

And because there was another, a Titan that had survived the onslaught wrought upon his island and chose instead to rest. Instead of finishing off the remainder of his invaders, this Titan let them be. This Titan, this king, had suffered enough.

Atop the highest balcony of Outpost Beacon, Fluttershy watched Kong stir about among his damaged kingdom.

She stared at the king with a sullen stare. Pain riddled in each iris, seeing every inch of destruction that was needed for T.I.T.A.N. to reclaim what was theirs. But at the cost of so much, so many lives, she wondered if it was even worth it. They deserved some of the blame for destruction, surely, yet it seemed as if Kong did not blame them for what had happened the night before. If he had, perhaps there would have been no hesitation to finish off the T.I.T.A.N. force upon his island. No, for there was another reason he skulked away, but kept an eye on the awakening outpost and the airships hovering around it.

He lingered, he assumed they weren’t a threat yet, and he stumbled off to lick his wounds.

Even when he was so far away, Fluttershy could still see him. Kong wandered about almost aimlessly, clutching his injuries and taking a dip in a nearby lake. He doused his head under the waterfall, cleansing his head and fur from the blood that tried to dry. Next, he sat down, washing his arms gingerly and prodding the cuts and bruises even softer. With each touch, Kong gave off a low, painful growl, moaning lightly as he cleaned himself.

Most of his wounds came from Camazotz, that much Fluttershy knew. Black Skull Island was disturbed when the Death Bat broke the hold of the world and invaded with his Hell Swarm. Now that Camazotz was dead, was that the reason Kong left them alone? He eliminated the major threat to his island, the legions of Hell retreated back from whence they came, and the Titan war had settled as the storm slowly faded.

But not all of it. The storm had faded only so much. It was still there, lingering on the edges of the island. Growing again, larger than before. The death of Camazotz only stilled it temporarily. It would return, and finish the bat’s unholy mission upon the island.

These things Fluttershy feared. All she wanted to do was establish some form of contact with Kong, a wonder to the world, a king in his own right. Perhaps now, they could begin to do so. With time short, the Titan Whisperer aimed to begin her work as soon as possible.

But in order to do so, she would need a safe escort to Kong. She had more questions that needed answers. And with T.I.T.A.N. having retaken their Black Skull Island outpost, perhaps that could be achieved in the coming days, or even sooner.

Entering the facility, Fluttershy noted how quickly reconstruction had started. Walls were reinforced and invasive flora were torn down. It was almost rebuilt from the ground up, but much of the old infrastructure and technology had survived, surprisingly. It seemed the Death Jackals found no interest in the files and radios left behind, choosing instead to make the base as a safe nesting ground and nothing more.

She flew down to the second floor, passing by several construction crews and armed soldiers, if only to make her entrance into the director’s office. The director, having long since passed away, left a spacious room of which he conducted nearly all operations on Black Skull Island. A great, circular table sat in the middle of the room with swivel chairs surrounding it. Windows sprawled the walls and morning light doused the interior of the office, unveiling to Fluttershy the room’s current inhabitants.

Agent Daring Do, Special Agent Bon Bon, Agent-in-Training Lyra Heartstrings, Captain Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance all turned to her. A few of the leading heads of the T.I.T.A.N. operation, all absolutely drained from the successful recapture of the base, but still somehow managing smiles to their Titan Whisperer.

“Fluttershy,” Cadance called, almost standing up, definitely perking up from her chair, “glad you could make it! Did you manage to get any rest last night?”

Daring Do snickered, raising a humorous brow at the princess, but otherwise said nothing. She didn’t have to. Judging by their appearances, dried mud and soot on their coats, heavy bags under their eyes, none of them got any rest.

Especially Fluttershy, the Pegasus shaking her head respectfully. “Sorry… couldn’t really sleep even after the airship safely landed.”

“Well, that’s fine. At least we can find some comfort in these early hours,” Cadance offered with a helpful smile.

She didn’t receive much support from a certain unicorn, Lyra making her groggily voice heard when she said, “If by comfort, you mean potentially risking our lives while we drop our guard on a deathtrap of an island.”

Bon Bon scoffed, shaking her head. “Lyra, I swear you’re not getting any better with that.”

“With what?” Lyra asked innocently, hooves raised and all. “Am I wrong? Literally everything on this island can kill us!”

“That,” Bon Bon chuckled. “The mission was a success. It’s fine to have a little optimism and morale once in a while.”

The unicorn blew a raspberry and crossed her hooves, leaning far back in her chair as her heavy eyes finally closed. “I’m like the definition of morale,” Lyra muttered under her breath, earning a playful brow rising from Bon Bon.

“All right, easy you two,” Shining Armor interrupted, bringing some semblance of management to the disheveled crew. He leaned forward, tapping his hoof on the splayed map of the island. “Operation Skull is mostly a success. We still have work to do; don’t forget that. We nearly got a working generator, so we should be able to get the radios up and running again soon. Once communications are established with the mainland, we can get to work with collecting any evidence… that was left…”

Shining’s eyes trailed up the table, finding Fluttershy’s raised hoof amidst the group. Soon enough, everypony’s eyes were drawn to their Titan Whisperer.

“Yes?” the prince asked.

Lowering her hoof, Fluttershy cleared her throat and approached the table with all the gentleness of a mouse. Yet she spoke with authority, declaring softly, “I think we should really focus our efforts on establishing contact with Titanus Kong.” Shining’s brow rose at the sudden assertiveness. He looked to Cadance, the Alicorn simply smirking his way. “He’s the alpha predator here. It would make sense—and not to mention be quite beneficial—if we could begin to make peace with him. Wouldn’t hurt to have a Titan protecting us.”

“You sure you can get that overgrown monkey on our side?” Daring asked, leaning back in her chair. “I mean, he can handle nests of Skullcrawlers and make my job a heck of a lot easier, but imagine what he could do to us.”

“I can,” Shining muttered. The room fell silent momentarily. Not an awkward silence, but a darker, far more fierce silence that left a cold in Shining and Cadance’s hearts, and a growing sense of dread and wonder in everypony else. He turned to Fluttershy. “We’ll get to work on sending you and an armed escort first thing tomorrow morning. Now, the generator will need a substantial amount of…”

She raised her hoof again.

Cutting off his speech, Shining tightened his lips. Sighing through his nostrils, he said, “You know, you don’t need to keep raising your hoof.”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy apologized with the light blush, quickly dropping her hoof. “But… we really need to do it today… and without an armed escort.”

Having almost dozed off, Lyra suddenly jolted awake, slurring out a garbled, “Wat?”

Another silence filled the room, only this one wasn’t just awkward, it was concerning. “Um… Fluttershy?” Cadance prodded, turning her chair to face the Pegasus. “That doesn’t seem like the soundest option right now. Creatures are still on edge from last night, anything—even our appearance—could provoke them. Especially Kong.”

“Weapons are a necessity,” Shining declared, and would not be moved on the subject. “And why today?”

Fluttershy turned to approach the window, the tip of her hoof rising to tap the glass sharply. While others were blinded by the morning sunlight, Fluttershy never swayed her gaze away from the black clouds on the horizon. “The storm is coming back. What we thought was triggered by Camazotz’s emergence, it still hasn’t left completely. It’s growing on the edges of island… and soon its going to consume all of Black Skull. And I’m afraid…”

Her hoof fell. She staggered weakly away from the glass, only to face her friends with an expression she wanted to be strong. Instead, the fear seeped through, no matter how strong she had become over the years. She said, “I’m afraid it won’t end so easily this time.”

Bon Bon stared out the window, noting the dark clouds hovering across the vast western sea. “Those don’t look like any normal storm clouds that I’ve ever seen. Black Skull Island’s natural ring of storms seem to be moving dangerously closer to shore. They’re definitely growing…”

Shining and Cadance exchanged a knowing glance, each of them sighing out an exhausted breath. It had been a long night. “Well, I guess we can finally address it now that we’re all accounted for.”

A seat was offered to Fluttershy, but she didn’t take it. She was afraid if she even took a moment of rest, she would lose the energy she needed for the day. It happened to Lyra just as easily, the unicorn squeaking out snores as a line of drool dribbled down her cheek. The Titan Whisperer stood and listened.

Listened as Shining Armor began. “Our top scientists back in Canterlot seemed to come to an understanding on why this all started. First, and the most obvious, the emergence of Titanus Camazotz. What we initially thought to be just tremors beneath the island turned out to be a rival alpha digging its way from below. Now, obviously, why would an alpha do this? What caused the bat to act up?”

Nopony answered, but they all seemed to already know. Shining continued. “It’s an alpha… and it finally was able to respond to Ghidorah’s alpha call made a year ago. Seems Camazotz was just making his way up all this time. Out of everything that came from this, the only thing we can deduce with certainty is where Camazotz came from… and where all the Titans seemingly came from.”

“The Hollow Earth,” Cadance responded grimly.

The name resonated in the room and left a kind of sickening fog. One that clouded minds, confused hearts, and wearied spirits to the point of fear. A fear of the unknown, because that was what they faced now, especially on foreign soil. It was all unknown. “There are dangers beneath us that we need to investigate,” Shining said.

“Or close up forever,” Bon Bon offered, and Shining didn’t object to it, either.

“It’s a threat we can’t control because we know little to nothing about the Hollow Earth. As for the storm…” the unicorn said, taking in a sharp breath to rise from his seat and walk slowly toward the window. “Digging deeper… no pun intended, our international excavation experts managed to find some very curious paintings deep in a mining shaft in the ancient city of Hakoda, where a cave lied just underneath. Apparently… this wasn’t the first time Camazotz paid our land a visit.

“Ancient tribes back in the day worshipped this ‘Eternal Enemy of the Sun’. More occult practice if anything; blood sacrifice, rituals, anything these paintings and ancient text could tell us. When we assume the Great Cataclysm occurred, when Camazotz retreated into the Hollow Earth, the ancients prophesied an omen to fall upon the land of mortals. An omen from the ‘Dark Titan’, where storms like locusts will devour the sun and plunge the earth into eternal midnight. Well, seems they were half-right.”

Cadance picked up for her husband when she noted his slacking posture, his grumbling voice from lack of sleep. “The storm was not natural, but we may know the cause. When Camazotz broke the seal of the Hollow Earth, that darkness was able to seep into Black Skull Island. Maybe it is an omen of some sort, of… perhaps something darker soon to come. The Hollow Earth has a connection to all of this, and the anomaly of this island as a whole just reinforces the notion that… Black Skull Island is part of the Hollow Earth raised to our realm,” she explained.

There were studies each of the mares had read. Reports, expeditions, theories and everything dating back over forty years ago. Black Skull Island was not a natural ecosystem by any means. Nowhere else on Equus held the vast assortment of flora and fauna that this island contained. The only thing Equus shared with this island were the Titans, and even then Black Skull Island held few. A species of gigantic apes completely unique to the island, the ancient enemy of the island’s inhabitants—the Halakrah, the Skullcrawlers—but not much else.

But what was most concerning of all was that it was just an island. A small piece of landmass when compared to the continents of the world. If Black Skull Island was but a mere taste of the Hollow Earth, then the land above could only dread what truly rested beneath them.

“The nature of the Hollow Earth, its weather, its power… far beyond anything we’ve ever seen. Just like the creatures of Black Skull Island. Just like Kong. This island… there’s nothing else like it on our world,” the Princess of Love finished.

“And now, we face another storm on the horizon,” Shining said, staring out into the sea and seeing the dim bursts of lightning in the black, swirling clouds. “Wonderbolts gave us the confirmation last night after the darkness faded over the island. Remnants of Ghidorah’s hurricane merged with the unnatural weather shrouding Black Skull Island. Its creating a superstorm of unimaginable proportions… and it was only getting worse.”

He sighed heavily, pressing his hoof roughly against the glass. “Doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon, either.”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy stared at the back of his head. “What does that mean for us?”

Shining quickly turned to face her, breathing deeply, “Means we establish stable communications, build up our defenses, and brace ourselves for the storm of the century. There’re still years of research we need to find in this facility and bring back to the mainland, and bring back everypony who—!”

He forced himself to stop. Cadance stared at him.

“Everypony who… what?” Fluttershy asked.

Much was shared of the island’s expeditions, but not everything. Much was kept from public knowledge, and for good reason. Shining Armor could testify of such things. Instead, he testified, “Storm’s gonna hit these shores soon. We’ll get a crew together to scope out the weather patterns for more accurate information, but for now we need to strengthen this facility.”

Fluttershy was adamant to add, “And a crew to make peace with Kong.”

He grumbled under his breath before meeting her stare. Not her petrifying Stare, but a deepness in his gut warned him not to push her further lest that terror of hers be unleashed. It was only ever used for misbehaving animals, or even Titans as the past year had shown. He knew she wouldn’t use the Stare against her friends, but sometimes he wondered.

He said, “Fluttershy…” and almost immediately stopped. Shining bit his lower lip tight, shaking his head and exhaling heavily. “It’s not gonna be that simple. You can’t just ‘make peace’ with that Titan.”

“Why not?”

Cadance rested her hoof on the Pegasus’ shoulder. “Listen, Fluttershy, there are things you don’t know, things you weren’t told about this creature. You read the reports about the other expeditions, right? About everypony before us who came to this island?” The Pegasus nodded, but the look on her face said she still wasn’t convinced.

“Kong’s dangerous,” Shining grumbled.

He’s… complicated,” Cadance added for recovery’s sake.

Fluttershy stepped away, Cadance’s hoof falling from her shoulder. “How do you know?”

And there it was, backed into a corner with no other way of escape except the truth. Shining and Cadance had a feeling they would have no choice but to speak of it when they were tasked with such a mission, when they would be undoubtedly stepping hoof on Black Skull Island once again. Nopony else who had been with them before even dared to step up, and for good reason. Neither husband or wife could blame them for refusing to join in on Operation Skull.

And as it seemed, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were the only ponies physically, mentally, and loyally capable of handling such a mission in the first place.

The couple exchanged a glance. They both knew what needed to be said and done. Cadance leaned back and took in a very, very deep breath and let it all out. “It all happened after the honeymoon… when Celestia and Luna themselves recruited us into T.I.T.A.N.”

Interlude Two

View Online

Years Earlier

Canterlot, Equestria

The newlywed couple made their presence known to the Royal Sisters.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both found the strength to face away from the stained glass window. The imagery of Cadance and Shining Armor bound in love, the same love that saved Canterlot from a changeling coup. They had personally commissioned for it, as a permanent reminder of true love conquering the darkness of hate.

And yet, despite the warmth of the morning sun breaking through the glass and showering the sisters, the throne room, everything everywhere, a new darkness had seeped its way into their hearts.

Still, it was nice to see Shining Armor and Princess Cadance again after so long.

It had been months since the wedding that would be spoken of for years to come. It had been weeks since their honeymoon, and now the royal couple were fully ready to return to the thrones. They were just now beginning the first stages of the transition, making their temporary home in Canterlot while the sisters prepared the next stage.

What it was, where they would be ruling, that was still a mystery to the newlywed. Perhaps this meeting would shine some much-needed light on the subject, Cadance hoped.

Courteous and respectful bows were shared among the four, before they all lifted their heads and embraced. Celestia giggled warmly, looking down to her niece and asking, “I assume you both had a wonderful honeymoon?”

“A nice step away from Canterlot after that whole… ‘fiasco’?” Luna coughed, unable to hide her knowing smile.

Cadance backed away, sharing a quick hug with Luna before giggling in return. “Oh, I don’t think any island is going to make us forget the wedding anytime soon. No matter the distance, either. But yes, thanks for asking! The Evenchain Isles are gorgeous this time of year!”

The two sisters shared a quick smile, before Celestia’s eventually fell and Luna’s mood dampened as a result. The elder tried to smile to the newlywed and said, “You will have to tell us all about it sometime later. For now, it is of the upmost importance that we address the meaning of this assembly. We just hope…”

Her voice trailed away, alongside her stare that rose up to the rows of stained glass windows. Each one telling a different story, a different legend. The Elements of Harmony returning to their new bearers, cleansing the darkness of Nightmare Moon and freeing Princess Luna. Twilight and her friends uniting the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance saving Canterlot…

“We hope you understand the responsibility that comes with your newly crowned positions of royalty. The burden is not so easily carried alone, so my sister and I are grateful we can count on both of you carrying this weight together,” Celestia uttered, finally managing to meet their eyes once more.

“And we hope you haven’t already received your fill of island adventures,” Luna added, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t help.

“Um… are you transitioning us to an island kingdom?” Shining asked, his curiously turning into concern. He stepped forward, his hooves echoing across the silent throne room. “I’m… uh… wasn’t aware we had any firmly established territories off the mainland.”

For a moment, the sisters merely stared the couple. What needed to be said wasn’t easy, and carrying it wasn’t, either. It needed to be shared. So, Celestia told them, “With the responsibility of rulership, so also comes the knowledge best kept hidden. The will to hold it, the strength to protect it, and above all… the understanding.”

It was Cadance’s turn to step forward, her voice soft but serious. “Auntie… what do you mean?”

So came the hardest part. Celestia closed her eyes, found warmth in the sunshine and hope in the new day. Found courage and strength with the sister by her side forevermore. It was enough to find her voice.

“Sixty years ago, the threat of monsters began to grow to levels that once seemed uncontainable. These were not the type of creatures that roam our lands today, nor the demons left over from Grogar’s rule. These were something more… perhaps far more dangerous. Almost something we weren’t prepared to handle. To properly contain and hide away these monsters from the public, an organization was forged with only one responsibility: keeping the knowledge hidden.”

Their reactions were as expected, Cadance shocked into silence, eyes wide and mouth sealed shut. Her husband seemed more confused if anything, his brow hardening by the second. “What organization?” Shining asked.

“The Tactical Investigative Titan Assimilation Nexus. Or… T.I.T.A.N., for short,” Celestia answered.

“‘Titan Assimilation’? That’s what these monsters are called? Titans?” Cadance asked, finally able to recover and return to the conversation.

Luna nodded. “Indeed. And great effort was dealt and much was achieved by my sister before my return. Today, these creatures are properly contained in numerous outposts across Equestria and throughout the world. Many rulers today know of T.I.T.A.N.’s existence, but many young kings and queens and leaders alike are still blind to the truth. We didn’t want that to become of you two.”

Though thankful for that, it was still a lot to take in so early in their joint royalty. Cadance bit her lower lip, eyes washing across the marble floor before they eventually rose back up to the sisters. “Why are you telling us this now?”

It was Celestia’s turn to bite her lip, unable to meet their stare for a second or two. Nothing more could be hidden. Everything had to be shared if they were to help carry the burden. “Because there have been subtle disturbances in the eastern sea… on an uncharted and mythical island hidden in the undying storms. This legend has earned T.I.T.A.N.’s interests, and previous expeditions were attempted over the past forty years. Much was achieved in these expeditions… but so much more was lost. The ones that had succeeded did not last long. All contact was lost.”

“Our allies in Seaquestria mentioned tremors beginning to sprout beneath the island, under the water. Something is stirring there… something that could very well become a threat to us or our allies in the near future,” Luna explained, having to force herself to stop. Closing her eyes, taking in a deep breath, Luna gathered her conscience and addressed them carefully. “Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, with your military expertise and magical prowess alongside the remaining arsenal we have of T.I.T.A.N., you will have everything you need to reestablish the base of operations on Black Skull Island.”

“And perhaps learn the truth of what happened on that island,” Celestia added.

It took the couple a minute or two to absorb everything they had heard. Neither Celestia nor Luna blamed them, allowing them to take as much time as they needed to understand. Perhaps not as much as the sisters did, but enough to know the severity of their situation.

Pacing back and forth and finally stopping, Shining mused, “Why don’t you send the best you’ve got in… ‘T.I.T.A.N.’?”

Celestia was quick to respond. “We are. But it also just so happens to be that you were the best guard in all my rank. The most experience. The strongest leadership. Though some agents and warriors of T.I.T.A.N.’s past are elsewhere dealing with personal matters, retirement, or on missions of their own. The ponies we’re sending are the best we have at the moment.”

“And that includes the two of you,” Luna agreed with a smile. “We would join you, but there are more disturbances growing not only outside our borders, but within them as well.”

“More Titans?” Cadance lightly gasped.

The sisters neither acknowledged or denied the possibility. Not until Celestia said, “For all of our sake, we pray not. Strange disturbances in the Frozen North are growing more frequent, and we’ve already dispatched a nearby team to study the source of these anomalies.”

She spread her wings, Luna joining her, and under a brilliant array of sunshine washing over them, Celestia declared, “The world is changing, Shining Armor. Nothing will ever return as it once was. For the protection of our species—every species—we must learn the secrets of our world. They could very well be the key to ponykind’s survival.”

Shining sighed, shaking his head. “So… we’re shipping out to this ‘Black Skull Island’ now? Just Cadance and I?”

“You will not be alone on this journey. Some of our best will join you. The airship landing pad will have the arsenal and crew you need. In fact, if you return to your quarters, there will be bags already prepared with every tool needed for this kind of expedition. That is, of course, if you wish to volunteer for this mission?” Luna explained.

The moment was theirs to contemplate and come to a shared consensus. Just between the two of them. Shining and Cadance looked to one another, whispered words so soft neither sister could hear. Shining, most of all, seemed the most conflicted, eventually easing into Cadance’s words of comfort as she nodded and pressed her horn onto his own. He found solace in her magical aura, kissing her snout gently before she smiled and broke away.

She approached the rulers of Equestria with a look of stoic determinism brimming brightly. That was exemplified in her voice, the young princess declaring, “If this mission could help pave the way to a safer tomorrow, one where we know the dangers we face, then we accept.”

A breath of relief was shared between the sisters, Celestia bowing her head thankfully. “Thank you… Thank you both so much. You will have everything you need in your quarters. The airships will launch on your command.”

Not much else was spoken after that. Shining delved into what kind of dangers they would face, the reasons for the prior expeditions’ disappearances. Even the knowledge of the sisters was limited on such a subject, but they assured them they would have everything they needed for a safe journey. A few goodbyes, a hug or two, and the newlywed left the throne room in pursuit of the unknown that was undoubtedly resting on the horizon.

Leaving the two sisters to dwell in their own unknown pursuits. They found themselves gazing back into the hope of the new day, the sun warm on their faces. The glass images of victories past did enough to fill their hearts with hope. And it was good.

Everything had already been firmly set into place. Black Skull Island would once again have communications with the mainland, and all their years of past research would be found and secured. They had no doubt in either Shining Armor or Cadance to achieve the mission. Even in their own home, trouble was brewing. They had already sent an expedition of brave scouts to Northern Equestria. Anomalies in the Frozen North were making themselves known. And none of it seemed good.

“We have accounted for every possibility?” Luna asked at last, speaking their thoughts aloud.

“Yes,” Celestia said in a tight whisper, as if fearing any knowledge they spoke of could have been heard by another. Despite being so utterly alone in the throne room. “Soon, we will have updates from Outpost Frostbite on the current state of the Frozen North.”

“Could it be… the Titan hidden there…?”

“No…” Celestia answered quickly—almost doubted her own response—then quickly doubled down. The facts and the science spoke for itself. “No, the beast is in hibernation. Despite tremors in the area, our scientists have confirmed its recent state.”

Luna snorted, gazing back to the heart made from the love Shining and Cadance shared. “If it is not Monster Zero… is it possible, dear sister?” she questioned, turning back to meet her sister’s unknown stare.

All to ask, “The Crystal Empire’s return?”

Celestia stared at the heart in the glass all the same. The heart between two ponies, forged by them, united in love and power and magic.

“I fear the possibility…” she finally answered, trying desperately not to believe her own words, “… of the shadow of an old foe just as well.”

It was hours before they finally found the courage to leave their Canterlot quarters. But after much discussion between husband and wife, they both came to the conclusion—though not an entirely satisfying conclusion, albeit—that this was the burden rulers must take. The protection of their species, the safety of their world and their way of life must be upheld. If the sisters’ grave warnings were true, then their world was in danger.

There were secrets out there. Ancient history of powers yet unearthed, and so much more they as a species did not understand. The Titans were one thing—colossal creatures of earth-shattering, sky-tearing strength—but the unknown was even more horrifying. This island, this “Black Skull Island” held years of research that delved into these unknowns. They couldn’t let it just stay lost.

The threat was out there, in the uncharted wilds where beasts and creatures had the power to wipe them out. Power that they—ponies, griffons, Hippogriffs, and so many more—did not have and could not wield for the greater good. It was in the hands of the Titans. In the hands of the unknown. Above all, this was a journey of understanding. To learn how, and why, they needed to protect themselves from every possibility.

It was why they found themselves on the landing pad of Canterlot’s airship fleet. Or, more accurately, T.I.T.A.N.’s fleet. Saddlebags resting over their backs, with vigor in their hearts and fear being beaten back by the second, both Cadance and Shining Armor came to the largest ship in the fleet, stationed first and closest to the entry.

With a crew nearly packed and loaded, they came across two particular ponies. An Earth pony and a Pegasus, both dressed almost too casually for a trip to an unknown island. Still, they had bags upon bags of gear and equipment, the Pegasus mare flying in and out of the airship to load each bag in. The stallion was checking their supplies one last time. Once he looked up, his face practically brightened with energy when he spotted a familiar-looking newlywed approach him.

He responded in kind. Rows of decorative teeth circled his Stetson hat as he tipped it to Shining and Cadance, flashing a bright smirk as he approached and offered his hoof. “Nice to meet ya, Your Highnesses! Guess the princesses got ya up to speed, eh?”

His accent was distinctly Austalian, and though neither of them could match his energy, they could at least return his kindness. “Uh, yeah… guess you’re some of the ponies left in T.I.T.A.N.?” Shining asked with a smile, shaking the stallion’s hoof after his wife.

The Earth pony scoffed with a howling chuckle, flicking his hat back. “That we are, Your Majesty! Snap Shutter at your service! And this lovely little wallaby is my wife, Mane Allgood!” Mane just so happened to fly down the ramp and land next to her husband, offering a quick bow with an even brighter smile than Snap’s.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Cadance courteously greeted, holding out her hoof that Mane shook so hard she nearly ripped the Alicorn’s foreleg out of her socket.

“Pleasure’s all ours, Your Highness!” Mane practically shouted.

“Please, just ‘Cadance’ is fine,” the Alicorn responded with a weak chuckle, holding and gingerly caressing her foreleg once Mane released her.

“‘Shining’ is fine, too,” the young prince added, casting Cadance a quick, wordless glance as if to ask if she was all right. Her passive smile was a satisfactory answer.

Allgood rubbed a hoof through her blonde mane, quickly apologizing, “Sorry if it seems we’re a little weary! Had a pretty long trip all the way back to Equestria! Then again, when you’re on dual assignments between Farasi and Shire Lanka, traveling back home can be a little daunting.”

“Never even crossed my mind you were tired,” Cadance muttered, still rubbing her sore foreleg from the abuse Allgood’s hoofshake had dealt.

“Not to mention adding a third assignment to our busy schedule!” Snap declared, hopping onto the ramp of the closest and largest airship among the parked fleet. “But hey, when you’re about to embark into uncharted waters into even more uncharted isles, can’t really pass up that opportunity now, can ya?”

“I just wish we could have had more time to drop by Ponyville and see our daughter,” Mane sighed, turning to stare into the high sun. “If I’m not mistaken, our little Scootaloo was a flower filly at your wedding!”

Momentarily taken aback, Cadance nonetheless said, “Oh, Scootaloo is your daughter?”

Snap Shutter tipped his hat to the newlywed. “Guilty as charged!” he drawled.

Cadance exchanged another glance with Shining, the two of them unable to hold back their grins. She nodded, managing a real, warm smile. “Yes, she and her friends did a wonderful job.”

“Well, looks like we got quite a lot to talk about on the trip! Certainly don’t expect it to be quiet now!” Mane stated, turning to follow her husband up the ramp. As Snap Shutter loaded in the last of their bags, she turned back, waving the royalty up to them. “Well, come on then! We don’t wanna kill any more daylight now, do we?”

Levitating their bags, gear, and tools into the air around them, Shining and Cadance began to make their way up the ramp after them.

“They seem… eccentric,” Shining muttered to Cadance’s ear. “And adventurous.”

“That’s gonna be us in about three years,” she whispered back.

“Hoping for longer,” he replied, earning a giggle from his wife. “Hoping this mission is just a one-time thing.”

She didn’t say anything after that, finding her husband’s humorous tone to hold some dark undertones. Though not intending it by any means, Shining still left a heavy cloud in the air between them, one that left both husband and wife speechless as they traversed the colossal airship, settled their bags into their quarters, and made their way to the cabin.

It was well alive. Ponies moved briskly and communicated with the rest of the fleet, readying the engines, and saluting both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance as they made their presence near the front of the cabin. Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood were there as well, calling out to the nearby airships to start their engines. They were ready to ship off for the long run, he proudly declared with unsatiated spirit.

Sitting down in their seats, locking themselves down with seatbelts secured, Shining and Cadance watched the magic of technology unfold before them. Never had they seen such advanced flight controls, and certainly not in any airship they had flown in prior. T.I.T.A.N. wasn’t cheap by any means. The princesses made sure they had the best, top-of-the-line arsenal.

The lead airship rose subtly, then quickly picked up speed as the engines roared behind them. The cabin shuddered, as did the couple, but they held on all the same. Until the skies were theirs and they opened their eyes to the oncoming horizon.

“Hold on to ya flanks!” Snap Shutter loudly cheered to the fleet via radio, to the cabin, and for all in the expedition to hear. Numerous cheers and whistles came as a response from all around, Snap and Mane lowering their sunglasses with bright smiles adorning their lips.

So, the royalty gazed out, listening to the radios blazing with confirmations all around from the rest of the fleet, witnessing such a fleet surround them. An army in and of itself, with brave souls embarking on the first steps of a grand expedition. Celestia’s sun shone its brightness through the cabin’s windshields, almost blinding the crew, but enlightening so much more to them.

It was a vast, open, and beautiful land laid before them. Ponyville with Shining’s little sister and their friends living quaintly just below. Living peacefully, not knowing a single thing about what was taking place just above their heads. Nopony would know. The mission, according to the princesses, was off the public records. Secrecy was their shield.

And as they gazed to Ponyville coming and going, Cadance slowly lifted her eyes to her husband. His eyes lingering to Ponyville a moment longer than hers, for his eyes were drawn to his wife’s when he felt her hoof wrap around his. It was a subtle gesture, an even softer moment that they shared. That spoke volumes and said no matter what rested on the horizon, they were together. They were united in love, in strength, and in power. And nothing—not a changeling invasion and certainly not one island—could ever break that.

They offered a smile to one another, one more assurance that was needed for the journey.

Before long, Canterlot was gone. Out of sight. Leaving just the rest of the eastern world between them and their mission.

Celestial Sea

Eye of the Storm

They reached the island.

They should have turned back.

The undying storm they were told about swallowed them whole.

Everything came and went so very fast it almost felt like a memory, like a dream they both wanted to forget. A nightmare encased in utter darkness with flashing lightning and roaring thunder. The world was blurred between the lines of consciousness and unconsciousness, light and darkness, screams and silence. It wasn’t long before their airship had completely lost control.

Their engines died out from the onslaught of the storm, and they fell. They dropped right out of the sky, spit out of the hurricane and launched in a fiery blaze into the unknown isles that laid ahead. They weren’t alone by any means. Several other airships lost control all the same, falling with the lead ship in the fleet and crashing onto the earth until the whole world became black.

Echoing cries and screams broke through the piercing ring infecting both Shining and Cadance’s eardrums. Calls for help, calls for confirmation on their well-being were made, but were not answered. The radios somehow still functioned as the world, the cabin, and the airship came into focus for Shining Armor, and it was all torn apart.

He laid underneath the nearest flight console, having been thrown violently there as the airship came into contact with the landmass. As the blur slowly left his vision, as the ring began to fade from his ears, Shining Armor heard the voices crying out from the radios. Even more nearby crying out in the wilderness. Dead ahead of him, he could see his wife come into focus, her pink coat bruised and bloodied but still alive. Still barely breathing. Still alive.

Lifting his head, banging it against the console, Shining grunted and clutched the top of his dome. His heavy breaths were all he heard as he brought his hoof into focus, staring deeply into the wet scarlet painting his hoof. Once more, the voices in the radios cried out, and Shining somehow heard it clearly over his ragged breaths.

They cried, “… anypony copy?! We’re… your location now! Hold tight! Following… smoke!”

Dragging his own dead weight out from underneath the console, Shining grunted and groaned and trembled on his own hooves. The cabin trembled all the same, groaning to his movements as fires quickly spread from the interior to the shredded balloon over their heads. He saw that, his instincts kicking in and forcing him to rush to his wife’s aid.

“Cadance…?” he croaked, his throat so incredibly dry as the air around them began to burn. Coughing harshly, Shining tried once more, reaching his wife and shaking her awake. “Cadance… honey, come on. Come on; can you hear me? Cadance…!”

She mumbled something under her breath, but was soon to wake, eyelids fluttering open as she stared up into the expectant and worrisome expression of her husband. Her blurred vision could see the bright flames slowly catching, slowly slithering up the shredded balloon over Shining’s head. The smoke was heavy. The embers so very hot to the touch as they rained down.

“Shining…” she gasped, already falling into a coughing fit in a failed attempt to stand up. He quickly helped her in that regard, resting his head beneath hers, mindful of his wound as he lifted Cadance up.

Once more side by side, Shining shared a helping magic once he pressed his horn to hers, offering some semblance of strength that he passed on from him to her. It was enough, and Cadance rested thankfully against him as they slowly limped their way out of the tilted cabin. All while Shining continued to mutter, “Gotta get out in the open… Gotta signal to the others where we are…”

“Where are we?” Cadance whispered, eyelids feeling so heavy.

Shaking her awake, the desperation quickly building from the fear in his eyes to the beads of sweat on his forehead, Shining Armor traversed the dark halls in an even more desperate attempt to find the ramp. All around him, he could see tattered walls barely held together, distant fires slowly growing across the remains of the airship’s innards. Metal was bent and broken. Light bulbs flickered on and off as the airship continued to groan in agony.

All Shining could say was: “I think we made it.”

Cadance lifted her head, spotting the broken ramp barely held up. One blast from Shining’s horn and it fell, thankfully holding enough for them to limp down it onto solid earth.

Instantly, their visions were flooded with a blinding light, the blazing sun on the horizon dipping to signal the end of the day. The sunset’s orange and red glow cascaded across the charred and living grass surrounding their hooves, across the lush jungle surrounding them at every turn. Once their eyes adjusted, they could finally make out everything else around them.

Mountains rested in the distance, great peaks with flocks of birds fleeing the immediate area flying over their heads. With Cadance still leaning against him for support, Shining turned them both around so they could gaze upon what was once the strongest ship in the fleet. It now lay as a dormant shell of fire and ruin, having viciously crashed against the earth if the large treads of spewed dirt and trees behind it meant anything.

Even larger fires pockmarked the island and only continued to grow, infecting the jungles and spewing a black sickness of smoke high into the air. Ultimately, signaling the locations of the other airships that crashed. Shining and Cadance stared to those smoke signals, breathing and bleeding and not knowing what to do now but wait.

And listen.

Hearing the distant roars of engines out in the distance and thankfully growing closer.

They turned around to the sound. High in the burning skies, to their great relief, they could see the remaining fleet that had survived the storm come into view. At least eight or so airships still functioning. Just enough to pick them up and whoever else had survived the crash. Lifting her head high, Cadance offered her own signal and fired a magical flare into the sky, a bright burst like a firework erupting high over the crash site.

The cabin was already well-aware of the towers of smoke, but seeing some form of pony-made signal erupted their adrenaline. There was somepony alive down there. There was somepony calling for help. Having no other means of communication, the captain of the leading airship picked up the microphone and called out to the radios, “We see your flare; we’re coming down now! Stay together! We’re going to be searching the surrounding area for any… more… surviv…”

He found his own voice trailing away. The same fate for his eyes, rising from the burning earth and onward to the burning skies, where a shadow passed over the sunset and everypony in the cabin saw it. They saw it, but they couldn’t believe it.

A tree was flung through the air and pierced the balloon of the leading airship.

A horrifying silence fell over the remaining fleet, the surviving cabins having no other reaction other than sheer shock and terror as the balloon of the airship quickly deflated and burned into embers. The airship reared back, got caught in flames, and instantly dropped to the earth where a tremoring and blinding explosion followed its crash. The T.I.T.A.N. crew was in disbelief. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were in disbelief. Soon, they all found their reactions turning toward the source of the attack.

Its shadow rose higher and higher. The fleet flew closer and were drenched under its darkness, every eye darkened and every breath taken from every last pony inside the ships. Questions were cried within the radios, but none received an answer. Nopony could have given a satisfactory one. All they could do was fly onward and continue to question what they saw and couldn’t believe.

The remaining airships hovered before it.

It stood tall before the light of the falling sun. Clenching its fists, snarling with exposed fangs, enraged with flaming eyes.

The remaining airships charged it.

It charged back.

When they clashed, all the earth and all the sky was shuddered. When they clashed, every last breathing thing within the area paid witness to the destruction. When they clashed, it wasn’t even a fight. It was a massacre.

Cannons erupted and filled the sky with fire and light. The explosives rained against the mighty beast and it cried out in response, raising its towering arms as a shield. They did not stop. T.I.T.A.N. did not hold back. With everything that they had, they ensured it was all thrown against the creature. But it quickly retaliated. Finding its moment, the beast leaped skyward and drove its hand into the nearest airship.

The cabin was crushed. The balloon exploded. The fiery remains fell from the beast’s hand and impacted the earth with such force that a plume of smoke and fire burst free. It wasn’t done. With the flaming shrapnel still in its palm, the Titan flung the remains to the fleet. The red-hot metal shredded two balloons from two different airships, and while one somehow remained airborne, the other quickly fell.

It didn’t explode when it crashed. Not until the beast’s foot came crashing down upon it. And bending down, it drove its fist directly to the underbelly of the ship, turning what remained into a flaming husk of metal and polyester. More cannons were fired and more struck the furry back of the creature, earning shrill roars of pain from the beast. It spun and attacked accordingly.

They had done nothing to it. Their weapons were weak compared to its power. As the beast delivered the last blows to the remainder of the fleet, two ponies witnessed such horrors from so far down below. Final cries echoed across the fleet, as the beast grabbed one airship and drove it into another, killing each cabin and silencing every voice within. As its roar echoed supreme among the desolation, among the growing graveyard of burning ships. The two ponies stood as witnesses to such desolation, having lost nearly all will and strength to act.

All they could do was watch.

The beast slammed the last airship into the earth, erupting into a tower of fire. Shooting out, catching the trees, nearly catching Shining and Cadance within that blaze. Had it not been for Shining’s protective shield spell, the flames would have devoured them. Had it not been for his heart finally willing him into action, they would have burned.

But as the flames passed, so too did Shining Armor’s magic. They were left alone in a burning hellscape, their only means of help burning away before their very eyes. And before their very eyes, they gazed into the flaming glare of the one within the fire. They gazed and met the fury of the beast.

It rose up, shrouded in smoke and fire. Shining and Cadance lifted their heads higher and higher, unable to move, the horror having paralyzed them. They saw nothing more but the beast. The giant ape, the monster of Black Skull Island.

It raised its fists and thundered its chest, roaring in the heart of the burning fleet that invaded its home.

Chapter 6 – Lock and Key

View Online

Present Day

Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

Shatter Heart had to hand it to the Equestrians, the T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters was always a wonderous sight to behold.

The wait in the elevator did not take long, and soon they found themselves once more beholden to the Equestrian sector of T.I.T.A.N., for having kept their creation in pristine condition. The doors slid apart and the heart of Canterlot Mountain unveiled a living, breathing world of magic and technology flowing seamlessly.

A slew of aircraft hovered throughout the cavernous space, both airship and hovercraft mixing with one another as each dropped off and resupplied fresh resources for the HQ’s workforce. Scientists, miners, hardhat crews, crane operators and pilots alike moved about the various catwalks that shrouded the mountain walls like veins. Multiple observation decks and stations covered the walls, while the steel floor at the base of the headquarters was nearly filled to the brim with construction vehicles, T.I.T.A.N. agents in training platoons, and mounds upon mounds of boxed supplies, technology, and rare resources. All needed in completion of their creation.

And what a creation it was, and had turned out to be.

In the heart of the mountain, standing slightly hunched forward but locked firmly and safely in place, their mechanized warrior rested. It was showered in lights, from the blinding lamps hanging above the cavern, to the moving spotlights constantly flowing onto and off of its steel exterior, and to the construction lights always pressed against it. Always keeping the machine well-lit and well alive. Sparks danced as constant construction and development shrouded the machine.

It stood at a miraculous 400 feet tall, perhaps even more with the recent design updates. A skeletal body contained a dark rib cage, with rows of rectangular dorsal plates upon its back, all of them holding dark LED lights on their surfaces. The plates lined the creation’s back and tail, ultimately mimicking a certain Alpha Predator, with improvements upon improvements Shatter and his team of scientists meticulously put together. Hidden underneath steel shoulder blades and under its feet, massive propulsion thrusters were constructed, ultimately giving the machine the power of flight.

Through hours of research into Titan studies and biology, they saw the limitation of Equus’ natural kingdom and sought to have a counter to every last strength. Jagged claws with buzz saws, steel jaws with rotating, metal grinders, a tail scythe, rockets hidden across its frame, and a superheated energy beam powered not only by its core, but by its pilots.

It was the perfect blend of science, technology, raw engineering, magic, and willpower most of all.

It had been a busy year for T.I.T.A.N., but the nations that came together—the hoofful that braved the unknown and contributed—could rest assured that their monetary and physical contributions did not go in vain. Help arrived from the Changeling Empire, the Griffon Kingdom, Hippogriffia, the Dragon Lands, Yakyakistan, and others. The closest allies of Equestria. Resources and donations poured in once confidential news spread only to the T.I.T.A.N. sectors, news of Equestria and Neighpon uniting to create a first line of defense in case of any Titan-related emergencies got too out of hoof. Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, everywhere… such a travesty one year ago would never be allowed to happen again. Not when they had a Titan on their side.

Shatter Heart could still hardly believe they managed such a construction in a year’s time, but it made sense in the grand scheme. When word got out of a means to defend themselves, giving their species the power of the Titans in their own grasp, it did not take long for production to get well underway. And when updates showed a steady progress of the work on the Mecha, even more riches, resources, and labor came forth to unite in one singular cause. A cause they could all believe in.

Project Mecha’s whole purpose for T.I.T.A.N. was to save lives, protect cities, prevent disasters that the Titans caused. A safer version of Godzilla that acted to keep lives safe, to act for the betterment of Equus’ species above all else. That was always the goal, and that never changed, not even now. Yet still, many felt there was always something more hiding behind the curtain, unable to unveil itself out of uncertainty or fear of what others would think. Shatter was not afraid to share it. He proudly let his T.I.T.A.N. brothers and sisters know visually of what they were creating, and the name gave it all away just as well.

Mechagodzilla.

A Titan to match the King of the Monsters. To defend them in case Godzilla ever decided they were the next threat to be eliminated from the only world they knew to call their home. His followers in Neighpon believed in this, for Shatter’s T.I.T.A.N. were the lead designers of such a project. Equestria—and a deep part of Shatter always truly thanked them for this—provided a safe haven for them to develop their dream, uniting others to their cause and giving resources and riches to help further it. In a way, Shatter never could thank Equestria enough for what they had managed to accomplish thus far.

The team marveled still at their creation. Peaky was the first, breathing out an astonished chuckle and shaking her head. Her eyes were as wide as could be as she said, “I never get tired of this. Seeing him… Still can’t wrap my head around how we managed to…”

Her coltfriend draped his foreleg across her withers, bringing her in close. She stared at Cross, awe still in her eyes, as they exchanged smiles and returned to the Mecha.

“It took all of us,” Moonshadow said, cutting whatever Blossom’s lingering thought was off. She turned to her left, staring at the side of the lead pony’s face. “You knew exactly who to look for when designing it.”

In a way, Shatter Heart had done exactly that. He wanted the best of the best, no weak links to hinder them. His first choice, obviously, would have always been his brother, but as he looked deeper into Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N. and military forces, there were some lights shining in the darkness.

Pilots, all in their own right, but having specific skills necessary to Mechagodzilla’s unification and completion. Peaky Blossom, arguably the best pilot among them. Rotor Wrench, the brains behind the nuts and bolts of every square inch of the Metal Titan. Moonshadow, the technical, scientific mastermind behind their robotics division, knowing the mind and the power of this mechanized marvel. Cross Heart, the aged pony with the most level-headed military experience they needed. The glue that kept them together. A born leader. The perfect co-pilot to their unifier.

Shatter Heart, quite possibly the most well-versed pony when it came to such a creation. He had the piloting skills. He had years of engineering expertise. He dabbled in the recently formed robotics division in Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N. sector. He had seen his fair share and lived to lead just as his older brother had. Somehow, holding a shred of all of their skills but still incomplete without them by his side. Still, holding one thing they failed to fully grasp: raw passion, and the will to wield it.

“I need nopony else,” he answered, slowly turning to meet Moonshadow’s emotionless stare hidden behind her shades. “I have all I need.”

Their skills weren’t all he was looking for. He wanted specific magic users, because powering the Mecha required an intense energy input. A generator never before constructed in Equestrian history, now made possible with the intellect of Neighpon. But other than that, a magical neural link was needed between a highly-skilled user and the machine’s central processor. Nothing could truly function—could truly live—without a mind, and Mechagodzilla was no different.

They couldn’t risk an Alicorn, much like their rulers, so they went with the next best thing: unicorns. Five in all, each one piloting essential functions of Mechagodzilla. Each pony shared the energy output, carrying the mental weight that the central processor inflicted on their minds. Too much for one pony, and the mind would break. It wasn’t healthy, nor was it natural for the brain, the body to absorb such massive intakes of energy. The skull of the machine would be where they would be operating.

He stared into the dark eyes of the Mecha. It stared right on back at him.

“You really think that’s what they’re gonna use him for?” Rotor asked. “Just… some kind of helper to Godzilla? If so, what was the point of all this if we’re still gonna be under his rule?”

Shatter was quick to answer, perhaps anticipating the question and already knowing the answer in his heart. “We didn’t use a year’s worth of resources, trillions in gold, labor in the hundreds of thousands just to build a slave. Just for us to remain enslaved.”

Cross sighed, dropping his gaze. Peaky turned to him, concern riddled in her expression. It only amplified when his foreleg fell from her. “Maybe we should look at this from another angle. Perhaps… from theirs,” the older brother said. “Without the guardian kaiju, without Mothra, Equestria was looking for a protector. The princesses, the directors, maybe that was all they were looking for. All they wanted was another guardian.”

“Mechagodzilla will be their guardian,” Shatter retorted, turning quickly to meet his brother’s eyes. “He will be everycreature’s guardian.”

“But what do we guard?” Cross questioned, taking a step forward. He expressed a calm and quizzical nature, while Shatter’s was cold and accusatory. Especially with every word that continued to flow from Cross’ lips. “There hasn’t been a major kaiju incident on the homelands since the Crystal Empire. And Godzilla… despite everything we had anticipated… has done nothing but kept the creatures in line.”

“Are we at war, Cross… or no?” Moonshadow interrupted. Silence befell the team of pilots, nothing but the sounds of progress echoing around them. The unicorn mare jostled the toothpick between her teeth, slowly grinding it. “Is every day with these monsters an issue of our survival on the line… or no?”

Cross stared at her, but didn’t dare say a word. Not when there was still a part of him that knew she spoke truth. Shatter spoke instead, and he explained, “Equestria came to us… with the idea of a mechanized Titan to defend them all. A Global Protector, that is what we all wanted. We give them Mechagodzilla… and now they reject him. They want to make allies with Godzilla, but we know his true nature, don’t we?”

There was utter silence in return. Shatter blinked and realized he had been facing his Mecha the whole time. So, he turned to face the one he had been intending the question towards.

“Brother…” Shatter called, “… don’t we?”

He couldn’t let the others see weakness. Even when it grew so vapidly across his body like frostbite. Cross gulped, and looking down with a slow, very small nod, he agreed with his silence.

“What’s our place now in all this, then?” Peaky asked, finally stepping into the conversation. She spoke as if the question was offered to all, but she directed it solely to Shatter Heart. Her eyes, devoid of all awe and wonder that Mechagodzilla brought to her heart, was cemented in solemnity.

“Our goals have not changed,” Shatter answered without hesitation. “Our place is with the survival of our species. With that… we… and the rulers… can find some common ground. Soon, our Mecha will be revealed to the world.”

A short stare down was instituted between the two, and for a time, neither pony was willing to back off. The tension was growing hotter, larger, consuming the team of pilots until everypony found themselves on edge. Until there was one among them willing to pull them back.

“And we’ll be the Global Protectors of Equus, just like we always dreamed!” Rotor declared with a victorious cheer, slapping his commander’s back and shaking him. He laughed loudly, easing the rising temperatures and earning several breaths of relief. Just enough to get a small smile out of Shatter. A smile and a soft exhale, almost like a scoff, which was more than worth celebrating.

Rotor took what he could get—and thankful the tension had died down—he waved his hoof onward and said, “Come on, then! Let’s head to the rec room, get some drinks on me! And… Moon, too; she can pay.”

“You’ll have to outdrink me first, big guy,” she murmured, passing by Wrench and giving him a playful bump of her rump against his rib cage. Seeing the sly grin on her lips was another victory Rotor gladly chalked down for memory’s sake. "And not pass out like last time."

"You spiked my drink, and you know it!" Rotor laughed, to which she replied with a subtle shrug and smile.

While two of his team proceeded off, Shatter hesitated. Cross and Peaky did as well, turning back to the younger brother to see him wave them off. And to hear him say, “You all go ahead. It’s been a long trip; enjoy yourselves while we’re in Canterlot. I need to speak with the minds.”

He excused himself, moving on to the next observation deck with the T.I.T.A.N. scientists, hoping for any further updates to their Mecha. Just before he did, he gave one last look to the miraculous machine in the heart of the mountain. His dream made real, his hope brought to life. His hope that would soon lead them to victory.

The fight for such a dream was still not won, however. There were still obstacles in the road ahead. Some they couldn’t see, and some they did. Actions Godzilla had yet to take, and the actions their leaders have already made against them. It was just a setback. They were still well on their way in terms of production. Before long—after months of rigorous testing and strenuous hours into the night—their Mecha would finally be leading the charge toward the future. He would be marching in parades celebrating Equus’ victory against the Titans that sought to destroy them. He would soon be flying in the skies.

Despite everything they had done and everything they had promised, they were still locked down. Fear and cowardice from their leaders kept them hidden. Cowardice for the self-proclaimed King of the Monsters. Shatter Heart was not afraid. He wrestled with the beast in his nightmares nearly every night, and every day he would fight to better every chance they had against him. Against every Titan. He was still a sickness in his spirit, one Shatter swore to cure.

The rulers, Godzilla, they were holding them back. Keeping them, and their creation, chained like dogs.

Mechagodzilla was the key.

He believed that.

And then he was gone.

Peaky watched him in the numerous seconds she counted in silence. Watched his mannerisms, watched his labored steps that took him away from them, and she stared instead to his older brother and watched him do nothing. Say nothing.

So, she said, “Cross, um… you know I don’t like to pry, but…”

“It’s about Shatter,” he finally uttered.

“Sorry, it’s just… he always seems so distant. And I know you don’t like talking about Izunokuneigh..."

His hoof found its way back to her. Feeling his touch calmed her nerves, and she sighed a great release because of him. Her eyes fluttered to a close, finally lifting them so they could meet his. In his eyes, she could see every ounce of pain he still carried seeping free. But with her, for her, he felt as if there were things they could offer each other. She could hope to understand. He could help lessen the burden he and his little brother carried.

Even now, it burned to speak of it. But he did. He said, “Everything changed after the tragedy befell our home. After our parents were taken… we had the beginnings of a fresh start, maybe a healing, once some time had passed under our grandfather’s care. But time kills just as easily as nuclear fire…”

He was clearly struggling, and Peaky calmed him with a touch of her own hoof to his chest. To his heart, where she felt it beating so very rapidly.

He sighed, heaving in and out and finally maintaining his breath. Because of her. For her. “When he passed, that was it. There was nothing left for us. So, we hoped to move on, carrying the ghosts of Izunokuneigh to hopefully help those who carried the same weight.” Cross lifted his head and watched his brother’s form vanish within the observation deck at the end of the catwalk. “Shatter never really walked away. Times I wonder if he still imagines himself or a piece of himself trapped in the burning city. Even as the flames died, he stayed. He stayed in the shadows while I moved on into the light.”

It felt right to remove such weight from his spirit. It felt good, and he was thankful it was her who was there to listen. Before, he felt as if it was only his brother and himself who could speak of it alone, to each other. And they have, but there was never a healing. Even if they tried to pretend there was. If this was to be the first step, then Cross was glad to take it.

He wouldn’t hesitate to help his brother when the time came.

“You don’t feel the same as him?” his marefriend asked, voice soft.

“Of course I do,” Cross breathed, staring deep into her eyes. “But I know when to let go. Holding on to the past does not help us move toward the future. I have tried countless times to help him through this, but he still…”

Nothing came free from his voice. It was agonizing, and even now he could feel the fires from that night piercing his skin like it had before. The burns on his forelegs had left their mark. Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, every last which way he could never forget. But he could still move on.

“He won’t let go,” Peaky answered.

He just couldn’t say the same thing for his little brother. Cross nodded. “Yes.”

“What was he like before?”

He lifted his eyes and stared. Stared into the dark gaze of Mechagodzilla and praying to see the same future his brother did. Praying they shared the same ambitions, goals, and endgame for the betterment of their species. He prayed that was all he could see, hopefully one day.

“He laughed a lot.”

The sounds of progress were deafening. Voices distant and voices close rang a tune almost piercing to the bone. Sparks flew and fell like waterfalls down the mechanized kaiju, blinding lights washing all around in the mountain facility just outside of the world. The world that had no idea what they were building, what was coming, and what was assuredly meant to change it forever.

They stood in silence, gazing to the Mecha. Peaky leaned into him, nuzzling him comfortingly. A kiss to her forehead was his response, followed shortly with his soft voice whispering by her ear, “If this will bring peace back to his life… let it be so.”

Chapter 7 – For Better or Worse

View Online

Black Skull Island

T.I.T.A.N. Outpost Beacon

Cadance had to stop. Perhaps the memories—being too painful—forced her into a long recess of silence, spurring Shining Armor to move closer to her side to console her. But not even the prince could pick up for his wife in what was undoubtedly a traumatizing experience for the both of them.

Because their very own Titan Whisperer interrupted him. Fluttershy spoke her thoughts aloud when the silence became too pestering. “That can’t be all… There has to be more! These creatures are just like us; they can be rash and violent at times, but they are not evil!”

“Titanus Kong killed over thirty T.I.T.A.N. agents, scientists, and reserves that day… just because we entered his territory,” Bon Bon retorted, barely even looking up from the table she prodded with the tip of her hoof. Lifting her eyes, bags so heavy beneath, she met the Pegasus’ wounded stare. “You still think he’d be willing to have a nice, friendly chat?”

“Maybe… maybe he felt threatened,” Fluttershy defended, knowing in her heart what should be the natural instincts of every animal. Even the Titans. “An unknown entity coming into his home, airships crashing and causing explosions, fires, smoke… he could have seen it as an attack.”

Shining mulled it over. It wasn’t the first time he considered that possibility, and hearing it out of the expert’s lips only cemented that possibility. “Yeah, that’s not too far off…” he mumbled.

“Well, what are we doing now?” Daring said, earning the attention of the room. Lyra lazily slumped her head in Daring Do’s direction. “We got an entire battalion of T.I.T.A.N. forces surrounding this outpost. Airships, tanks, armed troops scouring the nearby grounds. If he thought we were a threat back then, what’s gonna stop him from thinking we’re a threat now?”

What Fluttershy said took everypony’s voice away. “Then why hasn’t he attacked us?”

It was a stifling quiet that entered the room. Exchanges and glances were shared between them, nopony really having enough logic or insight to back up whatever claim they could have made. Only Fluttershy, who had the most experience with animals of every variety, had both the logic and the insight on her side that time.

“Why didn’t he attack this outpost this morning when I saw him… and he saw me? Because we are not a threat, and he doesn’t see us as one… yet. If, and when, he eventually does… would it have been better if we established a peaceful contact before? Instead of sitting here doing nothing… staying afraid?”

“Uh, sorry, have you seen what the island is like out there?” Lyra finally chimed in, taking in an elongated yawn before stating, “I don’t know about everypony else, but I’m not too keen on stepping back outside where literally everything can kill us! Unless you all forgot about that?”

“No, Lyra, we didn’t forget,” Bon Bon groaned, her hooves pinching the bridge of her snout. But what the unicorn said wasn’t wrong. With Fluttershy wanting to make contact with the alpha predator on the island, the threat of an attack from said alpha looming closer, and the constant reminder that they were basically in the heart of a living, breathing meat grinder, their options weren’t looking too bright. The stress was beginning to rebuild, something none of them needed at the moment.

Lyra’s response to that was another yawn. One that Bon Bon fell victim to as well.

Cadance finally returned to the conversation, saying, “It’s not necessarily fear we feel for Kong, Fluttershy. It’s the fact that we don’t know exactly what to feel. Should it be fear for what he did to us when we first came to this island? Should we trust him for how we were able to escape this island in our first expedition? Back then… it didn’t seem as if peace was even possible with him. Just a... momentary truce.”

But then Fluttershy shocked the room once more when she said it.

When she boldly declared, “Back then, you didn’t have me.”

Everypony found some reverence in Fluttershy’s startling bravery. Like they never even expected it. As for Cadance, she breathed a short laugh, like a scoff of surprise.

Before she eventually nodded her head in submittance. Because she knew Fluttershy was right. “If that is how you feel, if this is what you believe to be in your best judgement… then we will not stop you. If you wish to know if Kong can be reasoned with, then our best will join you in your mission to establish a peaceful contact.”

“Annnd we’re not the best, right?” Lyra suggested, hoped for. The silence was enough of an answer. The unamused looks from Shining and Cadance was just salt in the wound. “Oh… we are. Gotcha.”

Fluttershy gratefully bowed to the princess, thanking her as such. “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty! Thanks to our efforts, we’re going to learn more about this alpha Titan in the most peaceful way possible!”

“Do we have to go right now?” Lyra complained with a heavy yawn and a gurgle in her tummy. “Can I at least get some breakfast and a nap before we go kill ourselves?”

Fluttershy looked at her, and with a determined, warming smile, she said, “I promise, nopony is going to get hurt from this. I’ll get planning now and we can move out later today.”

“Well, that sounds promising. And what you said wasn’t half-bad, either, Heartstrings,” Daring Do mentioned as she hopped out of her seat, slowly making her way to the exit. “Could definitely go for some grub and a few-hour nap.”

It was an idea that quickly spread like a virus, until more than half the room was infected. Soon, Lyra and Bon Bon joined quickly behind Daring Do’s tail, with Fluttershy giving one last thankful bow to Cadance and Shining Armor before making her exit as well.

“Save your energy, all of you!” Shining called to them.

As the four mares exited the swinging doors—with Fluttershy taking her own path to own quarters to begin staging the expedition—Daring chuckled with a shake of her head. “‘And so, our brave explorers, in the calm before the storm, ready themselves for direct confrontation with the beast of Black Skull Island.’ Heh… my readers are gonna love this.”

Once the doors were closed and neither Shining nor Cadance could hear the clip-clopping of hooves anymore, the unicorn unleashed a great sigh. He leaned far back in his chair, staring heavily at the ceiling. “Are you sure we should go through with this? I mean, no offense to Fluttershy, but she’s never faced anything like this. Hay, we barely have.”

“I’ve known Fluttershy long enough to never doubt the meager,” Cadance said, turning her husband’s way with a smile.

Shrugging, Shining sat forward. “I guess it won’t be so bad… hopefully. If Kong is capable of peace, we’ll know for sure now,” he mused. Before long, he found himself shaking his head with a scoff, almost one of disbelief. Somehow, Fluttershy’s words managed to reach his better conscience, and he realized quickly their base of operations was still standing even when Kong could have very well leveled it hours ago, with all of them in it.

But he didn’t. And that alone was worth exploring, learning the truth to. “Cadance, it’s been so long. Maybe he did change,” Shining muttered.

“Or maybe we did… for the better,” Cadance suggested, giving one last longing glance to the window, to the hopeful sunrise. Unable to unsee the growing unrest of the dark storm over the sea.

One last longing glance before Shining draped his foreleg over her withers, pulled her close with a kiss to the forehead, and led them both to their quarters to get some much-needed sleep.

Chapter 8 – The Day

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Fillydelphia, Equestria

Heart of the Mountain

It had been several hours of trudging across the earth. With the aid from the remaining Harbingers, with the aid now from their High Priest, they were able to reach the designated mountain. The mountain their lord commanded them to leave his skull, to lay forth the ritual, and where he would be reborn.

It was the closest settlement with an abandoned mountain, the safest place the Order could rest without the eyes of T.I.T.A.N. peering upon them. Yes, Emrick heard the treacherous words from the Dragon, how his Harbingers risked their appearance in Canterlot if meant to acquire the Bell. Their presence from the Above was still hidden for now, and they would need as much time in the shadows as possible. But that time was desperately running low.

With what little time they had to remain hidden, Emrick ensured all of it was spent accomplishing the goals of his master. So far, everything had gone according to Ghidorah’s will. Foal Mountain was surrounded by T.I.T.A.N. forces, so they abandoned the prospects of beginning the ritual within said mountain. Instead, the mountain range led them to an abandoned cavern deep in the heart of the peak outside of what the Above called “Fillydelphia”.

It would be adequate. The Voice did not object, and the Darkness did not attack. So, laying the head of Ghidorah in the center of the cavern, where walls that seemed to touch the sky led to perpetual darkness above, the Order of the Dragon took the time that was given, at last, to rest.

Several ponies slumped on the rocky floor, gasping for air that the mountain did not supply enough of. They were cautious in their breaths, many taking off their cloaks as their bodies ached and cried. Though many removed their masks to catch their breaths and rest for the time being, he did not.

Emrick remained by the side of the towering skull. Rotted flesh, cracked bone, and desolate remains meant nothing to him. For even as his hoof treaded the surface of the skull, he could still hear the gentle whispers brushing against his ears, making them twitch. Their lord was alive, ready and waiting, being prepared for the time at last to come.

In his soft exhales, Emrick heard a voice breaking through the darkness and echoing across the cavern walls. All for him to simply hear: “My Priest… you know I am not one to speak harshly, but…”

Lowering his hoof, he turned around to see the small skull peering at him under the torch light. The voice was soft, feminine, and he recognized the mask. Emrick sighed, turning away and back to the remains of his lord.

“Speak your mind, Dahlia. The Day is upon us; a time for victory at long last. Our lord would not want us to remain silent.” As he uttered those words so calmly, his hoof once more found its way to the cracked surface of Ghidorah, rubbing the tears, easing his hoof down the damages. All soon to be healed.

Her name, Dahlia, felt wrong even to hear it herself. From a pony so highly acclaimed to know her by name was enough to steal her breath. Still, she gathered the courage she needed and managed a soft, shivering voice to speak out and say, “Even if we are to speak in doubt?”

His hoof froze. Emrick said nothing. Didn’t even move. Dahlia’s heart rapidly increased in pace.

But she was urged on, the concerns of the others pressuring her to even question their Immortal in the first place. She cast a quick glance back to them, seeing the expressions from her fellow ponies shift away as if they didn’t even know her.

Dahlia blinked hard beneath her mask, furrowing her brow and shutting her eyes. Damn them. Her heart still yearned for answers herself. “My Priest… why must we toil in the Above? We were so close to the sacred vortex, but now you claim our god brought us further from our goal—”

“Quite the contrary; his words were specifically breathed to me, and those words—as clear as I am speaking to you now—ordered us to bring him here. This is our goal now. The Voice speaks to me, even now… and we have done it. Our toil has come to an end,” Emrick explained, slowly twisting his neck back to give her a sideways stare. “Have I ever led us astray, Dahlia?” he added with enough weight to rival the earth.

Stammering now, Dahlia rapidly shook her head. “No… you haven’t, my Priest.” She should have known it was foolish to question the guiding spirit. Prior generations failed to achieve even a fraction of what they managed to accomplish, and because of it, their lord abandoned them. Their lord was in their midst now, speaking through their Valiant. Why ever could she doubt that, when even now she could gaze upon the very skull that belonged to the Dragon?

Her resolve was not drained, however, and she said, “Yet, we doubt still; we—”

“Take off your mask.”

Dahlia lost her voice there, wide eyes widening even further behind said mask. “My Priest, I am still young in the Order. I do not deserve to show my face in the presence of—” she said, dipping her head in submittance.

“Our lord speaks differently now,” Emrick declared, dropping his hoof with a firm slap against the mountain floor. The first step closer to her, the intensity of the torch fires reflecting off his skull and eyes. “Do not hide from us, Dahlia.”

Gingerly, she obeyed, raising a hoof to remove the skull adorned with antlers of a creature even she didn’t know the name of. Behind the mask, there was but a lovely young pony bearing neither wings nor horn. A pale white coat with soft gray eyes, a light red mane and tail to join her. She, with the others, faced quite possibly the heaviest of their hardships, having to forcefully push against the skull of Ghidorah across treacherous caverns and mountain tunnels. That, at least, was what Emrick saw in her.

He removed his as well, earning a sharp gasp from the mare.

Beneath the skull, she saw his face for the first time. Under the light of the torches, his coat burned almost the same hue as the oranges dancing in the flames. A gray mane with equally gray eyes. Wearied posture, bags under his gaze, Dahlia had expected a much older and experienced High Priest to lead them. Instead, she looked upon a face that was but a few years older than her. Barely any older, but carrying a burden far greater than she or any within the Order could imagine.

A burden only he could carry. A Voice only he—and his Harbingers—could hear.

“The time for doubting has come to an end,” Emrick told her. “Our ancestors perished, but we will never perish with what we have been promised. We are the promised generation; our bloodline will not end in vain. In the New World, we have no reason to toil any longer. We are but one stepping stone away to bringing an end to this heinous world and their heretical leaders. Do you understand now, Dahlia?” He stepped closer, just enough for his breath to warm her own, for her eyes to stare nowhere else but up into his own. “We have reached the end.”

Breaking away, she nodded. The same breath that spoke as the Dragon was overwhelming, and she felt there was no other choice but to submit.

“Shall we begin the first labors of the ritual, then?” she asked, still staring away.

“No,” Emrick answered, turning to find his rest. “It must be fresh. We will wait for the Harbingers.”

They waited for hours. Many questioning, many doubting, and few remaining faithful even unto the end. Until, eventually, the end at last came to them. Came to them from the light of the torches dancing across the vast cavernous walls. Came to them from a familiar group of six ponies having finally completed their journey. Came to them with the lead Harbinger among the group proudly unveiling the talisman from his bag. Emrick was the first to see it, levitating it high for all within the Order to see and believe.

And now, with the Bewitching Bell in their clutches, it could all be achieved. That was what Emrick was told, and what he faithfully followed.

Many surrounded and began to hurl damning remarks as to how such a feeble and broken bell could ever accomplish the goal they sought. It was practically dust, they claimed. One strike against its surface and the bell will shatter, all of this was for nothing, the High Priest could have very well led them nowhere. Lied to them, just like all the others that came before. Their god had truly abandoned them. Each claim far worse than the last.

The Harbingers stood with their Immortal Priest, challenging all who questioned the one who spoke as the Dragon. Their god commanded it, he told them so, and they would follow his Voice to the ends of the earths. Be it Below, or Above.

Even as the arguments pestered on, Emrick started to hear the whispers growing more fervent, the Darkness coiling around the Bell he held in his magical grasp. The power was almost overwhelming to him, but the Voice was there to pull him from the storms trying to drown him. Once more, his lord called to him and made a proud declaration that their faith was not in vain. That they would not have toiled in vain.

When Ghidorah spoke to him. “I am here…” he said. “Begin.”

And with that settled, when Emrick declared it with a booming voice, the ritual began.

All else was put aside, every last qualm and doubt laid to rest when the Order was given just one moment to believe. One more act to see if their faith had led them true. They began by marking the skull with an ancient language only they could speak. A dead language Above, but not Below. They then marked themselves, on every mask, bone and gold, until it was complete. A massive circle was then laid around the skull of Ghidorah, painted not in oils.

But by the swift slash of a knife against skin. Against every foreleg jutted forth as the Harbingers cut every hoof and let the blood drip and pool. The pain was raw, real and hot. But it would not last forever. Everypony shivered as their scarlet ran down their hooves and made the circle in which the Harbingers forged.

As the golden masks got to work, all the Order could utter was: “Blood of our blood. Flesh of our flesh. All in one shall the one free us of our enslavement and burn the world who dared to burn us first. Blood of our blood. Flesh of our flesh. All in one shall…”

It was spoken again and again, until the circle was painted and the intricate lines all led to the skull. Like veins pooling life to the one who desperately needed it—needed them—now more than ever. Dahlia cringed at the sight of the knife cutting her hoof, nearly passed out at the crimson flowing free and pooling below her, but she found the strength to stand.

When her eyes turned and saw the mask looking her way. Saw the look of the High Priest staring only to her and giving her a single nod. Of approval. Of admiration. Of whatever she needed to stay awake. Then, watching in mixtures of honor and uncertainty as Emrick—after cutting himself and letting his own blood join them—raised the Bell high with his hoof.

And spoke. “The God of the Void hears us! My lord, let your power be freed from your broken shell and fuse with the powers of this world!”

“Blood of our blood! Flesh of our flesh!”

“Use it, strengthen it, ignite it to your purposes and free yourself of the bondages of death!”

“All in one shall the one free us of our enslavement…!”

“Rise now and reclaim the throne that was stolen from you! Rise now and lead us to our glorious future, and burn this world that was stolen from us!”

“… and burn the world who dared to burn us first!”

“Rise now, my king! Rise now in the coming of the Day, our King Ghidorah!”

He uttered one final incantation, and with his eyes rolling into the back of his head, Emrick levitated the Bell from his bleeding hoof. His horn was bright, brighter than every last torch and every last horn that joined him. He could feel the Darkness overflowing within him, demanding a release of every last vestige of dark magic Emrick took in that single moment.

With a cry from the Voice—a cry from Emrick’s own throat—the Immortal Priest fired a beam of black and golden magic directly into the Bewitching Bell.

Instantly, the Bell reacted, awakened, and chimed not once… but twice.

It volleyed the blast of Darkness and consumed the intricate circle of blood in a bright golden flame. The letters inscribed upon the skull also ignited. Every last blood drop, every last marking made, everything was consumed in the bright fires. Until even the flames began to burn through the masks and the ponies began to scream. They flung off the skulls from their faces, clutching their foreheads as the burns bored deep. Dahlia followed suit, trying so very desperately to contain her own screams as the marking burned itself into her forehead.

She stared at her hoof, at her trembling hoof, as the wound was cauterized in a fiery seal. A brief moment of pain, and her wounds were healed, leaving their marks.

Her eyes slowly rose up.

Watching the same fate befall the skull of Ghidorah.

But a far deadlier fate was unveiled, as the Bell forced an otherworldly earthquake to spawn after it gave one last chime. Three in all. The circle continued to blaze, continued to consume the head of the dragon in that same heat as mixtures of fire, blood, and magic fused together to wash across the skull. As this occurred, the ground was trembling and the mountain itself started to fall.

An earthquake, born from the Bell, spawned through the ritual, and unleashed upon the world, devoured the mountain in seconds. The Order of the Dragon proceeded to back away and stumble over themselves. The Harbingers of Zenith surrounded and guarded the priest, ensuring nothing could harm him. The Bell fell into Emrick’s forelegs as its magic was spent, the unicorn gazing to the talisman in mixtures of awe and horror.

All while listening to his people fall.

“What is happening?!”

“The mountain is crumbling!”

“They have doomed us!” one particular voice cried out, and earned Emrick’s eyes. “Our Priest and our lord have doomed us all!”

But others refused to doubt. “My Priest!” Dahlia called, rising to her hooves. He was focused elsewhere, struggling to stand, not saying a word when they needed him most. Dahlia gritted her teeth, ignored the warnings in her heart, and screamed, “Emrick! What must we do?!”

Her call was enough to break him free from the bondages of terror, and onto the reality set before them. In that reality, a path was given, not spoken by the Voice or shown through the Darkness—neither of which called to him—but it was unveiled by his own two eyes. By his own intuition. By his own instincts to keep his people alive.

“To the tunnels!” Emrick shouted, pointing to the darkness of which they came. “Quickly!”

They escaped just as the ceiling caved and all the earth beneath them gave away. Jagged rocks fell and took everything in the cavern with it, Emrick’s lingering gaze watching as the head of his master was taken just as well. The shadows and the dust consumed all, forcing the Order to flee back from whence they arrived. With every step, they escaped the radius in which the ritual continued to unfurl. They escaped the heart of the mountain that was devoured in an otherworldly power mirroring that of a black hole.

And unfaithfully mimicking the power of a supernova, the ritual concluded, and the mountain erupted.

The blast could be heard for miles, but everypony within Fillydelphia felt the shock wave wash through their very bones. It popped eardrums, shattered skyscraper windows, and flipped carriages clear across the roads and ponies right off their hooves. As everypony slowly started to come to, rise up and search for the origin of the blast, they lifted their heads high and instantly regretted not running. The screams were high. High in the air.

For the heart of the mountain on the edge of the city erupted, and spewed mounds of earth and rock clear throughout the city. An explosion of raw magic creating a storm of golden and black lightning, all of which was washed across the city. Decimation fell, mounds of the very mountain with speeds no rock should have ever taken impacting buildings and shattering roads. Skyscrapers twisted and turned, broke apart and fell, thousands of shards of debris raining down to bury the fleeing ponies whose lives forever changed.

In the core of the storm, as the mountain collapsed and left but a cloud of utter darkness in its remains, something stirred. Something writhed in agony, and screamed as such. Shadows enveloped its very being as it emerged from the storm. Gold and black transformed into dark purple very quickly, and the lightning washed across the distorted skin of the beast. Rapidly, in a way that wasn’t natural, wasn’t right by any moral law, it clawed its way out of the mountain and pressed its bottom claws against the side of the shattered peak.

In the womb of the collapsing mountain, the fallen king was reborn and took a stark, terrifying new form.

A sickened, demonic head arose from the clouds of lightning, colored a light gold and charcoal black. Several dark horns shot up upon its head, followed by countless other horns down its towering neck and shrouding its jaws. Its jaws, specifically its bottom mandible, was split in half with various teeth aligning in an unorganized, broken pattern. But each one sharper than the last. The eyes of the beast were opened, but not just two eyes. Several, across its face and upon its bottom jaws. All of them igniting and burning blinding, poisonous purple.

The body, contorted by black magic, broke free from the hold of the mountain. And landing, crashing in the edge of Fillydelphia, the beast screamed in a shrill cry of unhinged agony. Just enough for the black, torn wings to explode from the sides of his body and impale the buildings to his left and right.

And his neck rose, carrying the skull reforged, as the jaws unhinged like a serpent and a bright fire broiled at the back of his throat. Breathing in deep, taking in his first breath, the beast heaved and cried out a violet gravity ray that screeched down and tore across the earth, through the road, severing buildings in half until all of Fillydelphia felt his sting.

Felt his pain.

Felt the wrath from the Demon of the Stars once more.

Chapter 9 – Mechagodzilla

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Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

The reports came in, and all of it spelled disaster. A rising tide of terror unfolding in the city of Fillydelphia as a rogue Titan was rampaging throughout. Distress beacons were sent free and the closest T.I.T.A.N. forces began to engage, but they needed backup. They desperately called out with distress signals of their own before all of them went dark.

The skies around Fillydelphia were empty. Surrounding scouts in nearby settlements reported nothing. The oceans were calm and nothing emerged, per the reports from their naval forces. There were no signs, no responses from Godzilla, or from anypony else. They were on their own.

They were left with no choice but to act, and to finally engage their greatest weapon for emergencies such as this.

All of the T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters in Canterlot Mountain was a frenzy, scientists scrambling to their stations while soldiers and officers rushed to their armored transports. Airships were in the sky and out of the mountain before anypony else, needing the head-start. Knowing they weren’t nearly as fast as their mechanized backup.

In the midst of such a frenzy, three figureheads stood on the edge of a balcony overlooking the mighty complex of their nerve and control center for all of T.I.T.A.N. Three leaders, monarchs and oligarchs past and present, watching and ensuring everything worked as they had ordained. Three rulers all in their own right, and with them was Spike.

He gripped the steel of the hoofrail and gazed down with widened eyes to the headquarters enflamed. Princess Twilight, Directors Celestia and Luna, all watched and saw the same. A fire of emergency, clenching the spirits of their finest warriors engaged in what could have been a call to war. Even in their times of peace, emergencies happened. Mistakes were made. Titans broke free and followed their savage, primal urges. Today would be no different.

The only difference being they finally had a means to really fight back.

Before them, several hundred feet away and several hundred feet in height, Mechagodzilla was slowly charging up for the flight of its life. Despite all the nagging thoughts in the back of their heads, they had to trust the science. They had to trust their finest minds that everything was locked and loaded, ready to fire. The machine was complete. It, he, was ready.

They had to believe that. Just as they had to believe them.

Coming fresh from the armory, the elevator doors sliding wide open for them, they walked together in a line down the massive catwalk. Scientists and soldiers stepped aside and saluted properly, already recognizing the suits the ponies wore. Seeing the insignia on their patches, the flags they wore all with the bright red rising sun of the East. Neighpon’s finest, the pilots for their greatest weapon, and their soon-to-be Global Protector: Task Force Risen Suns.

Shatter and Cross Heart, Peaky Blossom, Moonshadow, and Rotor Wrench all stepped forward in dark jumpsuits. Stepping forward to meet with the royalty and the directors of their operation. Moonshadow branded her helmet, a slick black surface and faceplate with a dark visor. Her horn jutted free from a small hole on the forehead. Hers, like all the other helmets, also had a dark hole on the back of the head. More intricate. More delicate. The others either held their helmets beneath their forelegs, or had it clipped to their belts.

Twilight and the sisters spun around to meet their pilots head-on. Spike was slower, almost unable to break his eyes away from the monumental scale and supremacy of not only the headquarters in action, but of the Mecha itself. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the thought that such a machine could walk, fight, or even fly for that matter. But that was what he was told by Twilight, no matter how much of a pipedream it once was.

Now, it was reality. Now, it could finally take action in their reality, brought forth out of the shadows to deal with emergencies specifically what it was created for.

Specifically what Shatter and his team were brought in for. “Any updates on our situation?” the younger Heart asked, stopping in front of the rulers with his team joining him.

There were some ashen expressions shared among the trio, before Twilight finally cleared her throat and took a step forward. “All reinforcements around Fillydelphia have gone dark. Scouts have been ordered to stay clear of the area and we have airships in the sky already en route,” Twilight explained as clear as she could, no matter how hard her voice tried to tremble.

She motioned her head back toward the directors, saying, “Celestia and Luna tell me Project Mecha is finally ready… and I just wanna know if I’m sending T.I.T.A.N.’s greatest pilots out there in the safest conditions possible.”

It was an admirable gesture, one that Peaky, Cross, and Rotor definitely appreciated. They found themselves gravitating towards the princess and her worldview more and more, not just because of her words earlier that day, but because of her actions. Funny, no more than an hour ago, they were laughing and drinking and casting their faith on their creation instead of the ones who helped create it. No matter how much they wanted to believe otherwise, they couldn’t help but shake the feeling that maybe Shatter was right. Maybe they were still being chained.

But, when it all came down to it, when all the cards were on the table, the rulers of this land and of Equus’ defense force took every necessary measure to ensure the safety and stability of their victory. Most of all, Twilight did something no other ruler had done for them.

She actually seemed to care.

Only, Shatter hardly seemed shaken. He rarely gravitated in any direction the princess or her followers faced. His expression was unmoved, face unreadable. And all he had to say was: “Give us the green light, Your Majesty.”

He knew it, they all knew it, and eventually Twilight and the directors would know it. Every precaution was calculated and taken. Every flaw that plagued the Titan superspecies did not hinder their creation. They had crafted a weapon that was above all mortal flaws. Over a year of strenuous studies and work, riches beyond compare poured into the funding, and the strongest-willed warriors behind the reins… now they all knew it.

They had been preparing for this day for a long, long time. They were more than ready.

So, Twilight nodded. Seconds after, Celestia quickly added, “We have no confirmed reports on this rogue Titan’s identity. All we have are the devastating affects it’s had on the city of Fillydelphia. When you all get in there, assess the situation, drive the creature out of the city the safest way possible. Above all… try and protect the people you swore to serve.”

“We have been preparing for a moment such as this,” Luna chimed in, but her voice seemed anything but calming. Her face darkened, and her eyes centered and bore deep into one pony’s in particular. “Do not cross over any unnecessary lines. You have your orders.”

Though it wasn’t the response she expected, Shatter nonetheless turned her way. Once more, unshaken. Unmoved. Unreadable. “Naturally… Director,” he said with a slight bow of his head and a subtle shut of his eyes.

Luna didn’t know what to make of it, and she did not have much time to ponder. Shatter raised his helmet and firmly covered his head with it. The rest of his team followed suit, moments before they offered their final salutes, turned around, and followed the catwalk that led directly to their creation.

Cross looked down to Spike, and with a final, smirking wink, he brought his helmet down and trotted off.

Together, they all trotted off. But it was Shatter who turned to his left and right, seeing the breathless expressions from the HQ’s inhabitants. To break their stupor, to engage the storm and fuel their spirits, Shatter slammed an armor-plated hoof across his chest plate and shot it into the air, roaring loudly, proudly, and cheering in the name of T.I.T.A.N. The cheers quickly followed, from every direction as ponies clapped, stamped, whistled, and supported their pilots every step of the way toward the Mecha.

Hooves were shaken and slapped as Task Force Risen Suns went off to fight the good fight, to ensure their way of life was protected and their people saved. The cheers and encouragement roared on, even as the team entered onto the hovercraft stationed beneath the Mecha’s jaw. They climbed up its steps, turned around to face the masses, and were slowly lifted up. The engines of the hovercraft gave their light and lifted them high. Even then, they were cheered for. Waves, hollers, whistles, shouts championing their victory that was soon to be. Rotor grinned like a maniac. He had a good feeling they would be hearing cheers like this a lot more from now on.

Twilight laid her hoof softly on Spike’s shoulder, bringing him in close. Celestia and Luna watched on, as the princess did, and forced that dark shroud out from their hearts. The darkness would not win this day. This day belonged to them, and they had to believe that. They had to believe in the ability of Neighpon’s finest pilots to finish the mission.

The hovercraft lifted them high into the back of the colossus. Where, between the dark plates, they stepped hoof into an entrance on the back of the neck and made their way up into the cabin, where they would be piloting the mechanized monster. The control center. The skull. The mind of Mechagodzilla.

Every entrance and exit were locked and the lights brightened their surroundings. Moments before they were dimmed and they were able to get a better look at where each would be stationed. There were five spacious stations, all with a control console before them. Above their heads, a hardened glass dome housed the central processor: an engine of insurmountable power that remained in the shadows. For now. A dark shield covered the front of the skull, but it wasn’t dark for long.

Each pilot took their appropriate station, Shatter in the center and his brother Cross on his left. Peaky and Rotor were on his right, with Moonshadow joining Cross on his left. Mechanized straps began to lock in place on their hind legs, keeping them stable for nearly any situation. Together, they were all stabilized, gave the appropriate commands to their consoles, and began the launching sequence.

“Power cores charged at 100% capacity! Everything is looking great on my end; what’s say you?!” Rotor loudly asked, but for good reason. The machine was awakening. The lights were dimming to reroute all power to the central processor. Mechagodzilla was impatient, Rotor imagined with another maniacal grin.

“Weapons systems are online!” Cross shouted with the tiniest notions of an excited smile slipping past.

Peaky added, “Flight controls enabled! Requesting control when we’re airborne?”

“Confirmed,” Shatter replied, and was soon followed by the rest.

Peaky scoffed, still in disbelief all of this was actually happening and not just a pipedream. “Acknowledged!” she responded with a similar smile, mirroring Cross’.

Moonshadow still did not share their enthusiasm, and responded plainly, “Motor function is stable. Awaiting neural links…”

She was the first to do so, reaching up and swiping down on her black visor to shield her face. The others followed, pulling down their visors as the central processor was ignited. Bolts of electricity shot forth from the engine and struck the hardened glass dome in waves. Just as suddenly, five black cords sank down from the processor and dangled beside each of the pilots. They reached out and struck the cords with the back of their helmets, connecting them seamlessly. Neural links were established within seconds, as natural as a heartbeat, as quick as a thought, all flowing a stream of blue energy down the cords and into the helmets.

The energy was sudden, but not overflowing. Not drowning any one pony. Each of their horns were ignited and their magic fused with the energy. Seamlessly. Beautifully captured and maintained. One with the engine and one with the mind of the machine. Aside from a few grunts, gasps, and sighs from the task force, they were still standing. Still breathing. Still ready as ever for a fight. Lifting their heads, their black visors shimmered and brought up detailed HUDs of the Mecha.

Moonshadow breathed shakily, but slowly nodded as the information flowed across her HUD. “Central processor at 100%. Motor functions enabled. All systems green.”

“Mechagodzilla…” Shatter Heart loudly announced. The pupils of his eyes shimmered for but a brief moment. A glimmer in the eye, that lingered and resonated and radiated a soft, haunting blue. The same color that enveloped most of his visor. That enveloped most of the cabin and the central processor. That enveloped his horn.

He took a sharp breath in. “… engage.”

The black wall before them suddenly brightened, and they could see just as the Mecha could see. All of the HQ brightened before them. Rectangular metal plates lining the machine’s back and tail all began to glow, as well as his eyes a bright blue. The machine's claws twirled and spun to life. The tail unfurled and rested straight. The dark rib cage was brightened all the same, from the markings scathed down the eyes and down to the arms, legs, and to the tip of the tail, Mechagodzilla began to rise. Inside, everything was stable for the pilots. No issues were to be found.

But outside, hardly anything remained stable. The steel floor at the bottom of the mountain began to lift the Mecha up. Very slowly, very carefully, until the opposite side of the mountain opened and the machine was lifted straight through it. The floor shielded any onlookers from gazing anymore, and the catwalks trembled ferociously but remained locked in. Just as everypony, be they scientist, soldier, princess, director, or dragon, remained alive and well to see their weapon off.

The ponies of Canterlot would feel but a tremor, a minor rumble beneath their hooves and nothing more. Then, they would go about their day as if nothing had transpired, delve in the delicacies of Canterlot and bask under Twilight’s sun for what was undoubtedly another day of peace. But their day, for how clean it appeared, was only made possible for those who got themselves dirty. Those who jumped into the fire. Those who fought back the forces of darkness from encroaching on the light.

Mechagodzilla grasped the sides of the mountain, his head lifted high as he gazed out into the midday sun. A fleet of airships were already well on their way to the smoke on the horizon, to the east where terrors lurked and raged. Planting his feet, and at last given the green light, the machine charged up his propulsion thruster on his back, hidden under his shoulder blades, beneath his feet, and took a leap of faith with Peaky Blossom behind the wheel.

And with Peaky Blossom behind the wheel, Mechagodzilla took flight.

Onward to Fillydelphia, leaving every last T.I.T.A.N. airship in the fumes.

Chapter 10 – The Shin

View Online

Fillydelphia, Equestria

Ground Zero

A scream opened his eyes, and he saw the world on fire.

A blur was his greeter, but even that unfortunately faded to unveil reality. The terror, the fire, and the screams of reality, all meshed in an array of bright oranges and filthy grays falling from the sky. And the lone unicorn pony lifted his head from the shattered floor, the side of his face coated in ash while the other half was considerably cleaner.

Half of the entire ceiling was gone, but there was no sky. Nothing but a white haze with the sun’s light barely able to seep through. It was snowing. Hot, flaky shreds of burning light that fell softly. Down into the fractured building he was in, where rubble encompassed all the floor and miraculously left him mostly unscathed.

The sounds of destruction echoed beyond the haze, followed shortly by an undecipherable screech that filled his burning body with a cold unlike any other. It was there, and then it was gone. But the destruction remained. The horrifying screams of his fellow Fillydelphians remained.

His mind finally started to come to, and so did his senses. The building was his own, his place of business that he ran with his wife. Instinctively, he looked for her among the ruin, his heart rate rapidly increasing and his breathing tight within the smoke. Calling her name was a hopeless endeavor. His voice was broken by the ash in his lungs. The screams permeated the skies and blocked out everything else.

Stumbling out of the building and into the street, Brimstone continued the search.

Streets that were heavy-laden with desolation, with smoke billowing to form towers higher than the tallest skyscrapers, Brimstone still could only hear the screams. With the occasional tremor, the shuddering of the earth followed by a building or several crumbling to their foundations. Smoke and fire were everywhere. Creating a fog so dense he couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of him. All he saw clearly were the skeletal husks of building debris littering the road and the embers softly falling.

Then, he saw them emerge, rushing in a wave of flying, galloping, limping ponies of every race. All of them rushing in the opposite direction to where he shambled. Once more, he called out, declaring her name loudly so that even the screams in the air could not drown him out completely.

“Rose! Red Rose, where are you?! Where are you—?!”

Amid the stumbling masses, there he found one other who moved like him. She moved aimlessly, her eyes burning from the ashes and soot covering her body in a ghostly white. Most of her body. He could still barely identify her through the deep red coloring her mane.

His heart leaped, and the freezing cold in his nerves grew considerably warmer at the sight of her mane. Galloping to her aid, Brimstone grasped onto her shoulders and offered a soothing, familiar voice that only his wife would know. She could barely open her eyes, her hoof reaching up to offer her own touch, but she couldn’t find him. Not until he moved his snout onto her hoof.

“Brim…?” Red Rose uttered, to which he responded with a subtle quake in his chest. Felt through the shudder on his breath that she felt on her foreleg. That shudder spread and soon she was whimpering, still unable to even see her husband. “I-I… I… I tried to get them outside… to our place. I tried to help them run before the building…”

“Oh, no…” Brimstone muttered, using his magic to clean out her eyes carefully. His own gaze was lifted high, far past her to see the building she most likely referred to. More ponies appearing through the fog, all just as beaten and bloodied and broken as her. Almost all of them emerging from the desolation that plagued the building rubble… and that was it. No standing skyscrapers. No places of business. No homes.

It was all flattened, nothing left standing. Nothing left but a seemingly vacant valley forged through fiery destruction.

He wiped at her mane, at her cheeks, just the minimal acts that still showed gentleness and care. Moments before her eyes opened fully and she saw him. She saw her husband, not well, but alive. Still alive. It was all she could muster before a second wave of tears burst free, and they embraced.

It was all he could do to stop himself from crying, caressing her mane and feeling her living, beating heart against his chest. “Oh, it’s okay… Rose, it’s okay, honey. It’s…”

The monster’s scream broke the sound barrier.

Like a fractured cackle, a laugh of agony endured by a torn throat and vocal cords, but fought on. Raged on, until all the world and every last living thing felt its pain through every raining ember of its desolation. Sitting in the middle of the road, wrapped in each other’s hooves, both husband and wife flinched accordingly to the sound of the cry and lifted their heads high above. Every last fleeing pony stopped accordingly when they heard the beast almost immediately on top of them. Right over them.

All around them.

That was its presence, its wrathful mark left not only in their once beautiful city, but in the hearts. In their souls, like a burn that could never be healed. A scar forever seen and forever felt. Even if they were to recover from this mindless act of aggression dealt to them, the trauma left behind would scorch generations.

The ponies of Fillydelphia were under the protection of T.I.T.A.N. They had been shared the truth of these superspecies long forgotten, now returned, so they knew the patterns in which these creatures attacked. This beast, this dragon, there was no deliberate intent to its actions. No threat it deemed necessary to engage with. They couldn’t know if these lands were once its own millions of years ago. They simply couldn’t know what the beast was or wanted.

But seeing the golden scales meshed with the black, charcoal hide, seeing the wingspan, the towering neck, and the golden crown embedded upon the dragon’s head, many minds and many fears reverted back to the old demon. The beast that fell from the stars and waged war with their planet, with the Titans here, and claimed itself to be king of the monsters.

But it had died. It was killed, as T.I.T.A.N. had told them, by the rightful king. The same T.I.T.A.N. that swore to protect them from these travesties. The same T.I.T.A.N. that now lay in ruin throughout the flaming husks of Fillydelphia, all while the dragon stood triumphant among its fires.

All while Ghidorah lived and breathed and screamed his horrible roar.

Then, he stopped. He looked up. As did they.

Hearing the new sounds of engine fire, feeling the tremoring waves wash across the earth, both Brimstone and Red Rose lifted their heads. So many others within the street did the same, and they all saw the same, none being deceived. Seeing the fire fall from the sky and slow to a ferocious descent into Fillydelphia. It landed in the same road in which Brimstone and Rose sat, facing them down, facing down the Golden Demise, kicking out a wave of dust and embers.

In the stillness, even Ghidorah was silent. Pressing the tips of claws and his wings into the two standing buildings to his left and right, peering heavily into the smoke cloud. Not uttering a single sound. Not until he saw it, and every last heartbeat standing on the road saw it. By then, he growled softly at the sight of the lengthy, silver tail washing across the air and wiping away the smoke.

Standing tall on the opposite side of the wall of dust, a false idol standing in the image of his hated foe remained. Even if it was false, the image alone sparked a burning, flaming hatred in the blackest pits of Ghidorah’s reforged heart. His growls quickly changed into something far more horrifying, far more threatening, and the wrath he once expelled upon the helpless lives of Fillydelphia, he now focused every ounce of it on the false god.

Ghidorah screeched.

Mechagodzilla stood up in silence.

“We gotta get out of the road…” Brimstone uttered, breathless and almost completely lost at what he was witnessing. Though he couldn’t understand the players, he knew the game they were about to engage in. The tension broiling. The roars. The intimidation displays. They were all threatened the longer they sat in the road and did nothing.

So, he did something. “Everypony… follow us!” he shouted.

“Follow us inside; hurry!” Red Rose amplified, calling out to every last fleeing pony around them to rally close and stay together. In an effort heralded by the two, they ensured a mass of ponies quickly exited the street if only to crowd and hide within the nearest alleyway and standing structure. If but to reach their place of business and shepherd as many innocent lives as possible.

Up inside the skull of the Mecha, the pilots understood well the type of situation they were about to engage in. The tension was broiling hot, and they all felt the heat. The roars from the Titan were deafening. The intimidation it displayed only signified an inevitable attack.

Relinquishing her control over the mechanized Titan, Peaky announced loudly, “Target in range!” Her HUD flashed, and she pressed rapidly on her control console, ensuring her team saw what she did.

The details flashed over Moonshadow’s HUD, but she paid little heed to it. Her eyes were locked solely to the golden and black Titan glaring them down. “What the hell is that thing?” Moonshadow breathed, but was never fully answered.

Rotor tightened his jaw, but nonetheless sneered, unable to hide his sickened look. “It’s rogue; that’s all that matters… We do this quick and clean, just like we trained for!” he followed up his uncertainly with a powerful boost of enthusiasm, one he hoped the rest of his team took to heart.

Shatter felt enthused enough seeing the burning city they flew in to. The fires, the destruction, the undoubtable death, all of it only affirmed to him of what was sacrificed because of this rogue beast. All of it gave him the conviction to do what needed to be done. “Cross, give us a scan of the area,” he ordered without hesitation, without fault, never breaking his glare from the creature’s.

“Scanning for heat signatures…!” his older brother responded, tapping away on his control console. All of their HUDs brought up the signatures, coating the city in infrared and pointing out specific splotches of red that moved in ways fire did not. “Be advised, we have a heavy civilian presence in the immediate vicinity! Recommend we carry the target out of the city immediately!”

His vision still coated in infrared, Shatter gave a firm nod. Mere seconds before giving the firm order. “Acknowledged. Risen Suns… let’s turn and burn!”

Testing the machine’s vocal processors, the task force engaged the rogue Titan with a ferocious roar leading the charge. As if it was just another vain attempt to imitate Godzilla, the Mecha unleashed a cry that resounded with a tremoring, lower octave, then quickly elevated in pitch. All of it was roboticized, constructed, unnatural in every sense. But it was just as threatening as any natural roar. It was as real as the 400-foot-tall mechanical terror.

Mechagodzilla made it his own, and he charged.

Igniting his thrusters and launching himself like a rocket directly for the creature, he flew directly over the street and the buildings and dodged in mid-air, directly for Ghidorah’s left. Snapping his jaws, Ghidorah bit nothing but smoke and air, failing to find the false Titan in time before his claws clamped tight around his throat. Ghidorah yelped, shrieking and thrashing in the Mecha’s grasp.

Using his left claw to tighten around the dragon’s towering neck and his right claw to keep his wings constrained, Mechagodzilla planted his feet, kicked off the ground, and ignited his boosters to the max. With the flailing, screeching Ghidorah in his grasp, Mechagodzilla launched the both of them high into the sky.

“Reverting control back to Blossom! The stick is yours!” Shatter Heart declared, he and all the bridge shaking violently against the ferocity of the engines and the Titan fighting in their machine’s arms.

She was hesitant at first to take back control, but knowing they needed air superiority and to get as far from the city as possible, she took it without question. Feeling a wave of nausea hit her once a familiar energy rift hit the back of her head, Peaky gritted her teeth and shouted, “Agh! Stick is mine! Holding position! Stay on target! Stay on—!”

A reverberating tear assaulted the eardrums of everypony in the bridge, forcing all of them to hunch forward, press their hooves to their heads, and cry out as if they were violently electrocuted. Flashing red warning signs flared to life all above their heads as emergency sirens began to scream. Their flight path began to buckle, and before they could realize what happened, they were falling.

Ghidorah had just ripped his claw out of the Mecha’s back propulsion thruster, wrapping his body around the machine like a vicious serpent. Twisting, curling, biting, clawing, and tearing everything he could until they hit the city of Fillydelphia once more.

An explosive force impacted the earth and ripped it apart, blowing outward a circular wave of dust and rock that eviscerated entire buildings unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast radius. Final screams were elicited before ponies were blown away, washed and buried under a wave of debris. In the epicenter of the blast, a stirring of two bodies emerged from the smoke.

The first was Mechagodzilla, shuddering as his limbs flinched with countless sparks shooting off from various joints and mechanisms. Inside the skull, the emergency lights continued to flash. The sirens continued to blare. The pilots remained in place, if not momentarily shaken, dazed, and confused at what just happened. Peaky lifted her head like it weighed a thousand pounds, noting the emergency signs on her HUD. Seeing the heavy damage sustained on the back thruster.

She was slow to speak, her voice seemingly running away from her. “We… we’ve lost propulsion thruster… thruster two. Grounded… sharing the stick…”

“Acknowledged!” Shatter responded with a ferocious grunt. He stood up fully, turning to his brother and Moonshadow on his left and his two other allies on his right. “On your hooves! Focus up and defensive measures engage!”

“We’re still in the city, Shatter!” Cross warned.

“Then we’ll follow Rotor’s word: finish this quick and clean,” the younger brother responded fiercely. He seethed in pain, ignoring it, and rose up with his allies. The strength of their minds, the power of their wills united to ultimately, slowly, lift their Mecha from the crater in the earth. “Moon, regain motor function, now!”

The second being to arise was Ghidorah.

“Engage!” Moonshadow roared.

Emerging from the dust with a sickening shriek, the dragon lunged forward and drove his jaws directly for the Mecha’s throat. The machine quickly raised his arm and caught the teeth of Ghidorah, the beast locking on with a vice-like bite. His claws and teeth ripped and tore at the machine’s steel hull, clawing on the side of his face, the jagged teeth in Ghidorah’s abdomen snapping for the Mecha.

Spinning accordingly, and with a roaring cry from the pilots, Mechagodzilla turned with Ghidorah in tow and slammed the beast into several empty buildings, all of which barely stood, all of which fell into crumbling desolation as the dragon was driven into each.

Ripping Ghidorah out of the last building, Mechagodzilla proceeded to ram the Titan directly onto the street, dragging him out of the crater until he was digging him into the earth itself. He didn’t relent. None of them did, each of the pilots expressing various degrees of obvious struggle, along with rambunctious and victorious whoops and hollers from Rotor in particular.

Standing tall, Mechagodzilla proceeded to lift his right foot and drive it directly onto the chest of the beast. He did it again, and again, each deafening stomp making Shatter’s bones tremble. Making his mind reel. Slowly darkening the vision around his eyes from the well of decimation and depravity this foul creature dealt upon the city. How much had already fallen? How many lives had already been crushed? How fast had the fires had spread?

Just because they couldn’t kill this creature in time.

Before he was too far gone, Shatter implored with the others. “Ready the proton scream!”

Everypony acknowledged. Everypony focused their wills in unison. Everypony followed through. The central processor went into overdrive, lightning sparking off wildly across the glass dome and the engine practically screaming. The entire bridge began to flash from darkness to light, black to blue, over and over again. The frequency in the air elevated to almost unbearable sounds.

Deep in the back of Mechagodzilla’s throat, a deep blue glow began surface. Every dark crevice upon the hardened shell of the Mecha’s body radiated brighter and brighter, until the jaws of the mechanical beast fell open and the spinning maw was burning hot. The blue glow of the proton scream reaching blinding levels, he very nearly unleashed its power and finished the fight.

When the clubbed tail sprouted free from Ghidorah, it quickly slashed upward and struck the side of the Mecha’s head.

A short burst of light spewed free from the jaws before the Risen Suns quickly and forcibly locked the mouth of the machine shut. The light that belonged to the proton scream was not stopped, however, and that short burst shot off and struck the roof of a nearby building. On Mechagodzilla’s right, the roof of the building was annihilated before the rest was crushed by the machine’s flailing body crashing into it.

“What was that?!” Rotor shouted, startled and shaken.

Cross shook his head, trying to see through the static on his HUD or even the consistent blur in his own vision. “Hit on our blind side! How did it get behind us—?!”

“Heads up!”

An assaulting, hellish pain to the ears attacked them first, and the next thing they knew they had a pouncing wyvern landing harshly against their back. Ghidorah cackled, leaping forth and crashing on the spinal columns of Mechagodzilla. His clubbed tails were quick to wrap tightly around the machine’s abdomen. The tips of his wings, his jagged nails, and his snarling, abdominal maw bit and clawed at the hull. His snapping jaws reared for Mechagodzilla’s head, but the machine reared back. He ducked.

He stumbled violently as Ghidorah continued to rip and tear at everything he could.

As the teeth bit deep into the mechanical dorsal plates, Ghidorah ripped clean several rectangular spikes. Emergency lights and sirens were flaring and blaring. Heavy damage was sustained on the lower spinal column, as their HUDs warned them. Mechagodzilla mirrored the pilots’ screams, the machine flailing around with fire, shrapnel, and smoke bursting from his body.

Shatter, however, refused to be contained by a mindless beast. “Moonshadow, revert your control to the scythe!”

She did as she was told, igniting her horn and readjusting a fraction of her consciousness to the lower rear of the Mecha. She didn’t have to be told what to do from there. The end of Mechagodzilla’s tail spun violently, the scythe-like blades spinning and rising up just as quickly. Just as viciously impaling the back of Ghidorah and mincing the abdominal maw.

Ghidorah’s cries amplified to unbearable levels, and before he could continue a second longer, Mechagodzilla reared back with his left elbow, popping the dragon in the head to loosen his grip. With a flick of his tail, Mechagodzilla took a mighty step forward and threw the Titan off of him. Ghidorah slid clean off the tail, a sickening trail of black blood flying through the air with him, before he came to a crash deep down the street.

“Moon, revert back! Advance!”

Mechagodzilla trembled the earth with his roboticized roar. His thunderous footsteps only amplified the tremor, scores of fleeing ponies screaming in their escape of the immediate vicinity. The road was empty, thankfully, but those running and lingering on the opposite streets left and right to the buildings paid witness to the silver Titan rampaging across Fillydelphia. Rearing back with its right fist, curled in its claw-like nature, that spun almost unnaturally for any creature, they witnessed it all in mixtures of awestruck terror and sheer breathlessness.

For the punch that was ordained to crush the chest of the demented dragon hit nothing, for Ghidorah had risen. He had kicked off the earth to the far right, dodging Mechagodzilla’s strike mere yards from the impact. Stumbling forward with his claw hitting nothing, Mechagodzilla turned, and the pilots turned, to see the miraculous sight of the shredded wings of the Titan catch flight.

They were dumbfounded, and it cost them.

Flying forward with a fierce flap of his wings, Ghidorah drove his feet directly onto Mechagodzilla’s chest.

Once more, the pilots’ world was thrown into a violent hurricane. The bridge was unstable as the machine fell backward, crashing through and splintering a row of skyscrapers. Debris rained, much of the larger pieces flying further out to impact event more buildings. The small ruins hit the street down below, where the Mecha was inevitably falling.

And down below, onto the crowds of ponies that couldn’t flee in time, all they could do was lift up their horns if they were able, ignite a magical shield, and shut their eyes.

“We’re going down!” Peaky warned.

“Back thrusters, now!” Shatter retorted.

His quick thinking saved incalculable lives. The propulsion thrusters still operable on the back of the Mecha ignited, spewing forth a wave of energy across the street and onto the masses. They flinched back, cowering under the fierce lights and barely peeking up to see the machine start to rise. He started to fly. And with a single, sudden push, he was launched right back into Ghidorah with that same punch, this time rightfully delivered.

Crushing Ghidorah beneath his claw, Mechagodzilla didn’t stop. None of the Risen Suns could stop. Grasping the neck of the beast with both claws, he reared up and proceeded to drag and slam Ghidorah across the city. All while constantly detecting heat signatures. All while pushing Ghidorah away from the innocent lives still trapped in Fillydelphia.

As the Titan’s thrashing grew almost uncontrollable, Mechagodzilla raged on. He roared, the pilots ignoring the slashes of Ghidorah’s claws, and drove him into the nearest abandoned building. The claws from each hand tightened considerably around the creature’s towering neck. The buzz saws spun to life and proceeded to shred the throat to crimson ribbons.

Ghidorah screamed.

“Finish it!” Shatter Heart roared.

Mechagodzilla roared.

Directly into the face of the dragon, who responded with that same fearsome cry. The shoulder blades opened, the chest plates opened, all to unveil rows and columns of open cylinders, all of them dark. All of them suddenly brightening when Mechagodzilla pelted the beast with a devastating bombardment of rockets and missiles.

Cross tightened his jaws as he was the one to pull the trigger, to unleash their full armament onto the Titan. They were left with no other choice. The beast had proven too dangerous to let live, or to be taken out of the city. They needed to finish it now. The shoulder cannons were ablaze. The chest armament was fiery.

The buzz saws tore deeper into the flesh of Ghidorah’s neck, and soon they would have his head. Soon, they would have their first victory. Before long, a head rose up out of the smoke from Mechagodzilla’s cannon fire.

But it wasn’t the head they held.

It wasn’t the head screaming, bleeding, and thrashing beneath them.

It was a head in similar form and nature. Golden and black scales. A crown of evil. Purple eyes and split jaws. But it wasn’t held down. It only rose up, born from the body of the dragon, and snarled down at the flabbergasted crew of the Mecha.

Then, it struck. Snapping its jaws tight and digging its teeth into the skull.

The Risen Suns screamed as they were thrown back, their harnesses thankfully keeping them stationary. Even then, their minds were almost lost, overcome by the immense sensations of pain overloading not only the Mecha’s systems, but their own. Their own internal systems: the mind, the heart, the soul all torn by the unrelenting assault.

Amidst the raining sparks and exploding consoles, through the blinding red emergency lights and alarms, Shatter Heart fought on. He raged on. “Hold on! Do not lose yourself!” he told them, and maybe even himself.

They all tried to come together again, unite one last time to turn the tide and end the fight. Only when they tried, when they lifted Mechagodzilla’s left arm, the first head of the hydra leaped forth and drove his teeth into the wrist. All while the second head continued to crush his jaws against the skull in which they operated.

The tails wrapped once more around the abdomen, this time constricting the legs and preventing any further movement from the Mecha. The wings held down the right and left arms. Deep within the throat of the Titan, the demon, all the Risen Suns could do was watch. Their movement was taken from them, their systems were overloaded, and they watched as the back of the demon’s throat began to glow.

A soft violet that transformed slowly into a deep, dark purple the longer they stared. A darkness that was somehow growing brighter by the second, even when time seemed to slow so considerably more. They tried to fight back. They tried to move, and the screams, their orders to one another, went without logical responses or clear answers. No way out. They were trapped, entangled, ensnared beneath a growing flame.

Into their almost assured annihilation they stared, knowing without question that this was not a creature of this world. It was not natural by means Equus was capable of. It was a demon. A demonic entity that lusted for death and fire.

Of which it would finally attain from them.

As Ghidorah charged his gravity ray, Shatter Heart was fighting a battle all on his own. While he suffered the same as his team, there was something deeper gnawing and gnashing at him. The darkest recesses of his mind survived what was already an overwhelming wave of agony affecting his nerves. While everything else failed, that part of him survived. It did not relent, it did not give in. It had survived the radioactive flames of his fallen home, had cursed and tortured his worst nightmares, and would not allow him to die this day.

It forbade it. In turn, Shatter Heart forbade it.

And for a second, just a single second, he took full control.

His horn shimmered a blinding blaze, and his eyes opened. Wide-eyed, red veins beginning to build on the edges of the white, Shatter unleashed a tremoring bellow from deep within himself. Deeper than he even knew. When the others fell, he rose. When the others screamed in pain, he screamed with wrath. With rage. As a dark scream was ripped from his heart, mind, and soul and Mechagodzilla followed through.

He tore his right arm free from the binds of the dragon, and Ghidorah relented. He reared back and drove that claw directly into the beast’s stomach, and Ghidorah lost control.

After he fired his gravity ray directly through the skull of the Mecha.

The beam was broken off from initially tearing through the entirety of the machine. That single punch knocked Ghidorah off, but it was unable to stop him from breathing the violet ray. Shatter’s expression broke when he saw the light, when he felt the burn of the violet tear through the bridge and flow right past him. The cries he knew all too well were all that he heard. There was nothing more but light, and then darkness.

It burned through the left side of the skull, slicing cleanly through it and down the back of Mechagodzilla. In a scream that tore apart the sound barrier, the gravity ray ripped through the spine and the dorsal plates and sent them flying, burning to the broken earth to join the rest of the flaming shrapnel falling from the machine.

He fell shortly after, hitting the earth and gasping for air that Mechagodzilla had stolen from him. As for the Mecha, he stumbled backward. The left side of his face was melted, his left eye gone and leaving only a circular wound that burned violet flames. Instantly, all motor control was lost.

The machine gave off its last, lingering sounds of operation and then it crumbled. Falling first to its knees and then its chest.

Its head resting flat against the earth with the rest of its shattered body.

As the blue lights faded from the machine, Ghidorah slowly rose. As did the surviving inhabitants of Fillydelphia, all of them paying witness to the victor among the beasts. And in that victory Ghidorah claimed, he proudly stood triumphant upon his first defeated foe. He pressed his foot upon the back of the Mecha. With his wings unfurled and high, he lifted his heads and both screamed into the heavens.

The scream that tore apart the clouds. The roar that all within Fillydelphia and beyond heard and cowered beneath. An alpha cry to thunder the world with a reborn terror.

And when he was finished, he kicked off the destroyed remains of Mechagodzilla and finished what he started.

But not in the way he had before. This time, he flew over what was untouched, spewing a thick, dark fog from his twin mouths that fell over the city like a cloud. A cloud that suffocated, that blinded, that burned to the touch and caused mass panic within seconds of the darkness falling over the city. Pegasi flew for their lives, but they didn’t get far. Not when the fog captured them. Unicorns created magical bubbles, and they saved as many as they could within them.

But that didn’t last. Ghidorah landed in the heart of Fillydelphia. Untouched, barely broken from his influence. The black smog slithered down his body as his heads slowly rose above it. The twin heads faced downward. Both jaws unhinged like serpents, split apart unlike anything natural, and began to glow a similar hue as before. A similar hue that spelled only one thing: death.

Death and fire.

That was what was given, what was laid forth to waste the city. There was no hesitation. No qualms and no lingering thought from the dragon. It simply was what it was, did what it did. Held not a drop of wrath back. From the dark fog that spewed from his body, from his mouths, a fire ignited and flowed forth in a wave unlike anything ever seen. The smog was immediately captured in that fire, for the smog was a combustible haze that instantly caught flame by just a single spark.

Blown outward in a circular tsunami of fire, everything touched by the fog was burned. Streets and buildings were ripped apart as if inflicted upon by some great explosion, carriages and countless lives either vaporized, burned to blackness, and thrown clear across the streets. Not a scream came from a single one of them. It was a quick but very painful death that was shared by all. Pegasi were vaporized in mid-air, in mid-escape. Magical shields popped and burst open.

The flames devoured everything. From one end of the city to the other. Every last standing skyscraper, building, and house. Red Rose and Brimstone’s business housing dozens of innocent lives they had fought to save. All of it. The bunkers that were built to protect them from any Titan-related attack were eviscerated as the gravity rays followed the fire.

Each head of Ghidorah was lifted up slowly, and the flames tightened from each of their agape jaws to form two similar rays of pure violence. Purple beams of energy that shredded what remained and melted what stood. Multiple skyscrapers were decapitated in an instance, in a single wave of fury. Debris rained with the embers as towers fell and dust rose with the flames. The gravity rays continued onward, until nothing was left. Until only glass and ash remained.

Until Ghidorah’s wrath was satiated.

Ghidorah eviscerated with the cult watching on.

On the edge of destruction, watching wanton desolation spread forth like a literal wildfire, Emrick stood with his remaining compatriots. His followers watched in silence, the burning winds licking at their cloaks, but not a single one of them wearing a mask. Only the Harbingers bore their golden skulls, but the others stood naked, faces revealed to the world. Shock painted on their pale expressions.

Even Emrick stood without a mask, unable to find the strength or reasoning to put it on. He hid nothing more from the world if even their lord so willfully laid waste to it, unveiling his presence that would leave a permanent mark upon the face of the Above. The Above would never forget this, not let this tragedy go unanswered. They would tie the destruction to Ghidorah, and to the ones who brought him back, and they would be hunted.

War had begun. Inevitable, but far too sudden for any within the Order to have ever imagined.

“My Emrick…”

Emrick gasped lightly, looking down to the Bell resting on his foreleg. He then lifted his eyes to the Dragon himself standing before a canvas of flowing fire, his silhouette darkened and his eyes burning a bright, fierce violet. Looking directly at them.

At him, and saying, “The Day has come. We must go now. I must retreat to grow strong…”

He could hear Ghidorah’s voice speaking through the Bell, through his mind clearer than ever. Now that he was free, now that he was alive once more, nothing could hinder their communication. Nothing could keep them from him any longer. Emrick gasped, practically choking up, almost unable to believe any of this was actually happening.

Ghidorah flew into the skies, landing directly in front of the mountain and kicking out a wave of dust. Directly before the Immortal Priest and his people, all of them gazing up in sheer adoration. They fell to their faces. Their devotion was admirable. They ensured it was.

When Emrick lifted his head from the earth, he saw only the heads of Ghidorah staring down at him alone. His eyes, they all seemed to narrow as if studying the lone pony who led them true. The stallion that led to the capture of the Bewitching Bell, that led to the ritual’s completion, that led to all of this.

To the next stage of Ghidorah’s plan.

“To… evolve.”

Standing up, breathing in the smoke from his breath, Emrick nodded and gripped the Bell that much harder. “Yes… my lord,” he said.

The mountain range had been decimated. Ghidorah had bathed the city in fire. He created a permeating glow of orange on the horizon that lifted even into the clouds, where the smoke was so thick and so heavy it blotted the sun. Casting a new night upon the land, upon the city that once was.

Extending a wing, Ghidorah allowed them to crawl upon his hide. Until even the last and weakest among them was aboard, safely on his back and holding onto their god. Dahlia looked upon the hide, grasped the scales she couldn’t fathom were living and breathing again. She looked onto her priest, seeing a small but very real smile grace Emrick’s lips. And perhaps, for the first time in her life, she could smile, too.

He took to the skies with a mighty flap of his wings, leaving behind his mark and his warning to all the inhabited earth. Even then, he was not satiated. He hungered still. His bloodlust was forever, and Fillydelphia was merely the first to taste it. Soon, all the world would know him. They would feel his fire.

It was all going to burn.

As the early morning hours passed, reinforcements arrived not too long after. Merely twenty minutes after Mechagodzilla, and all they saw on the horizon was a black cloud. A black cloud with the earth burned in reds and oranges. Immediately, the intentions of the T.I.T.A.N. airships changed from reinforcing to search and rescue, and dozens upon dozens of them entered the city’s airspace.

Desperate voices filled the radio channels, many of them horrified and calling out for any T.I.T.A.N. bunker to respond. Only, no one did. They took actions into their own hooves quickly after, launching freezing spells onto the burning buildings and roads and landing directly into the desolation. The voices in the radios called for reinforcements when they were meant to be.

They called for help directly from command, from the princess and the directors themselves. But only when they found him.

Only when they found the remains of Mechagodzilla.

Resting in the ruins, with a shattered hull and damage beyond comprehension, Mechagodzilla was found and surrounded by an entire battalion of airships. From the darkness that fell over the land, searchlights burned bright and flowed across the body of the Mecha. Scorched lightly by the flames, but still in one piece. Mostly.

They never did find the creature that dealt such a flame upon Fillydelphia. It had escaped, flew under their radar without a single head being turned. In T.I.T.A.N.’s total loss, they never even found the monster responsible. They never even saw it.

But another did.

She watched the entire battle from afar, atop a distant hill that sat on the edges of the city. It was the first city she saw when entering the coast, from the ship she rode in on to the mainland of Equestria. She had come a long way from her home, a distance not many could say they had traveled in their lives, but it was necessary. It was essential to have witnessed such travesties unfold.

It was too late for her to act, too much for her to do alone. All she could do, all she was instructed to do, was act as a witness. It pained her greatly to see the fires, to hear the screams echoing across the valleys and trees. All of nature mirrored their pain and mourned as she did for the loss of such life.

The fiery winds began to blow as the Deceiver and Destroyer laid his final strike in the heart of the city. It blew violently and tugged at her dark red cloak, only she remained standing. She remained as the witness she was ordained to be in that moment, lifting her eyes and witnessing the Demon fly forth from the darkness he alone created.

The thief who stole life. His crime would not go unanswered. His destruction would be unveiled and all would know him for who he truly was.

She watched Ghidorah fly away, and she lifted her head to him. Her radiant, amber eyes watching and lingering on the shadow of the beast, but seeing so much more within the shadow. The mare in red, the Second Sister, sensing without a doubt the familiar Darkness emanating from him.

Chapter 11 – Black Summer

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Fillydelphia, Equestria

The Radiance shone with the rays of the sun, breaking the blankets of smoke above the city that once was. In its descent, engines roaring like monumental beasts, the mighty airship landed in the center of Main Street. The fragments and ruin of what was left.

A ramp unfurled, and rapidly descending down its walkway, Princess Twilight entered onto the desolate street with a cough quickly following her. Almost as quickly as Directors Celestia and Luna joining her. Together, arriving as fast as they possibly could with their finest crew, the leaders of both Equestria and T.I.T.A.N. stood there. Slack-jawed. Breathless. Eyes agape and unable to blink.

They were only forced to blink when the smoke in the air grew too harsh, and the tears in their eyes stung too fierce.

The fire could be seen from the horizon. Drenching the skies and the distant clouds in an ethereal, orange glow. Only, when they grew nearer, it was anything but beautiful. Ash storms raged for miles, but in the heart, it was far worse. The eye of the storm was not a calm respite from the rest of the burning winds. The fires were hottest, the ash was heaviest, the death was highest in the epicenter of the Titan attack.

She was thankful she didn’t let Spike come. She couldn’t have let him see this. She wondered if even she was capable.

Firefighting units were dispatched first. Both on the ground and in the air. Carriages drove down the roads and pelted buildings that still burned with streams of water. Unicorns utilized ice and freezing spells to speed up the process. Pegasi utilized clouds that weren’t burning to create large pockets of rainfall, greatly showering the flaming ruins to leave them smoldering. Airships above lowered their hoses and let the water rain atop entire streets still covered in fire. It was slow, but it was efficient. The smoke that rose darkened the skies even worse, but it would fade.

With a majority of the fires killed, search parties were given a clear passage to begin sifting through the debris. Voices filled the air along with sirens from the airships, voices from the local and T.I.T.A.N. search parties desperately calling out for anypony to respond. Black, skeletal buildings barely stood as the parties moved through them, continuously crying out. Hoping for any responding call.

When they heard nothing, they searched further. They dug deeper. They called louder.

Echoes danced with the swirling ash. Echoes of crying voices begging for a response of any kind. All three leaders walked slowly, almost aimlessly, down the road. When the fires were mostly dead, all that was left was a ghostly-white aura painted on every building, every street corner, every pile of rubble. On every charred carcass left as but bones melted into the earth itself.

Twilight forced her eyes away at that, a sharp gasp leaving her lungs. She slimmed her breathing so as not take in any more smoke. Magically levitating a rag across her muzzle, she breathed instead into it and pressed onward. Celestia and Luna never raised a rag to cover their mouths. They hardly breathed to begin with.

Their personal guard surrounded them the further they entered Main Street, a mix of golden-plated Royal Guards joined with burly stallions in black armor, helmets, and dark visors. Spears, swords, and bolt-action rifles rested on forelegs, in sheaths, or upon their backs. Weapons were at the ready, for anything. Even such hardened expressions trained for conflict could not hold forever, and flinches slipped free every now and again to unveil the pained hearts behind every plate of armor.

For behind every stone-faced soldier and warrior, seeing the loss of innocent life splintered even the most fortified walls. It burned even hotter to know they weren’t there to at least fight for them, even if it meant losing themselves in the end.

“Flash Sentry!” Twilight cried, snapping everypony to attention. Her guards rushed behind her as the Alicorn flapped her wings to kick off the ground, flapping them even faster to land directly in front of the Pegasus in question. “Flash… Oh… thank goodness… Any news to report on the bunkers?”

For all his days serving as a Royal Guard, Flash Sentry had grown used to transferring from the Crystal Empire to Canterlot, even if the travel and hours were strenuous. After the destruction of the Empire, however, and when he learned he would be permanently stationed in Canterlot, he only imagined for a time what an honor it would be to serve under her watch. To serve under one such as Princess Twilight Sparkle.

But the days grew darker. The peace she brought was fair and righteous, but it seemed as if the darkness of the old days were growing once more. The shadow of the enemy was rising, spreading across Equestria. Flash Sentry had sworn to uphold the peace, to serve in her court and fight for the future in which the species of Equus could live in harmony with Titans. That future seemed to grew ever fainter, and today only cemented that dreaded fact.

He and his battalion were so very tired. He took off his helmet, and the sweat coupled with the soot painted on his face was evident enough of his weariness. His broken eyes only amplified that message. “Your Majesty…”

“Flash…” her soft voice called, and Flash visibly recoiled. Uncertain if he even had the strength to tell her. After what he had seen, he almost didn’t have faith he could do it. Whatever he could muster, whatever strength still kept him standing, he managed.

“There’s nothing,” the Pegasus in the golden guard uttered. “Every T.I.T.A.N. bunker was either destroyed or empty. Nopony made it in… or, if they did…”

“Nopony made it out…?” Twilight finished, seeing the ashen look respond from him. It was all the answer he could supply. “N-nopony…”

Her head fell, and shaking gasps left her. The city was quiet as all within her own guard as well as Flash Sentry’s battalion stood still. Not a one daring to move. Not a one daring to speak. Celestia draped a wing across her trembling frame, and her warmth was a comfort compared to the warmth of the ashes.

“There was something else,” Flash added. “Something else the search parties found first.”

Heads perked up, from Twilight and Celestia. But it was Luna who stepped forth and asked, “What is it?”

He placed his helmet back on. “Directors… princess… it’s best if you see for yourself.”

They followed without a word more. In silence, in echoes of violence, they traversed the devastated remains of the once prosperous city of Fillydelphia. Celestia’s mind kept reeling on the fact that a single Titan was responsible for such a sin. A single rogue Titan that had left its mark forever upon the world and the history books. The ponies of Fillydelphia did not deserve such a fate. They did not deserve such unrighteous judgement.

Twilight’s heart ached the more she saw, so she looked away. Only, it was everywhere. Every building she saw, every breath she took, every piece of gravel she trampled, the pain and the hurt was everything. In many ways, she knew she couldn’t drown herself in the deeds of a single Titan, of a rogue creature that turned savage. She knew she couldn’t blame herself for this. They responded in the best ways they could, sent the strongest in their arsenal to fight the battles that once seemed impossible to fight, but seeing what she saw now… she was wondering if it was all true.

If it was all still impossible to fight.

Maybe she should have been there, taken the place of the T.I.T.A.N. forces sent to sacrifice their lives. Maybe even the Princess of Friendship and of Equestria wouldn’t have been strong enough to fight such a beast. Maybe she could have been, but they would never know. It was over now, but it was still there, growing in the blackness festering in her heart.

That infectious little seed of guilt.

As for Luna, she shared a similar feeling of blackness encompassing her soul. She had fond memories of the city, having visited Fillydelphia herself a while back. Seeing it now only darkened her heart. As the former Princess of the Night, ruling in the dark was not a burden as she in her youth once believed. It was that prideful burden that led to the fall of Princess Luna and the rise of Nightmare Moon. Only after she was saved, brought back to her sister’s wings, did she realize the light could not exist without the dark. The dark could not thrive without the coming of the light.

But this darkness… this was unlike anything they had faced before. A city burned, the needless slaughter of innocents, and for what? Such a reckoning was too foul for words. She could have blamed themselves for not taking action by their own hooves, simply relying on their war machines to protect their way of life when that duty fell to them. She could have blamed the creature, which would have been sensible, but to what end? Not every Titan killed just for the bloodlust and destruction.

Such an event only occurred when their minds were corrupted. When they followed the will and the call of Monster Zero. Luna wondered…

Her wondering could be saved for a later time. When she and her sister, the princess, and the battalion of guards came to a nameless road shrouded in smoke. Only, the smoke was cleared by the engines and propellers of the airships above, washing the air and leaving the horrific image bare for all to witness. And witness they did, with shaken hearts and stolen breaths.

Lying in the midst of Fillydelphia’s ruin, Mechagodzilla might as well have lied with his own ruin.

Buildings were toppled over and slabs of earth were ripped from their bindings, chunks of concrete shattered and thrown to and fro. In the heart of the destruction was T.I.T.A.N.’s greatest weapon, their greatest creation, torn as if mauled by some tremendous bear. The work of the rogue Titan, no doubt. Burning embers rained with the ash and coated the fallen Mecha. Shards of steel and circuitry were scatted across the road, painting the devastation in all their hard work.

Perhaps Celestia and Luna took the hit the hardest, but Twilight felt just as crushed seeing Project Mecha in all its failure. Immediately her heart leaped when she saw the bodies they pulled out of the skull of the machine. Its left eye, burned in a circular fashion as if a hot iron rod was jammed into its socket, that was where they found the pilots.

Agents and medics of T.I.T.A.N. pulled all five out on individual stretchers, raising them up to the medical airship hovering above Mechagodzilla. All were safely hauled up, safely secured, and safely flown back to Canterlot for immediate diagnosis. They weren’t the only ones hauled away.

“They’re awaiting your orders, Director,” a T.I.T.A.N. agent addressed, holding out his radio via magic. Celestia took it carefully, her magic almost seeming to shake to her own quivers. But she held strong for them, speaking into the radio and giving the order.

They watched in silence. Watched as the steel straps fell down from dozens of airships. Large and small, as many as they could fit in flying formation, the impressive fleet of T.I.T.A.N. airships hovered together over the Mecha’s remains. They descended with their straps dangling out of the ships’ bellies, meeting the agents already on the ground. The straps were locked in, tightened with an extra magical, unbreakable bond, and the agents dispersed.

Made way for the airships to rise.

And as they did so, laboring immensely to bring Mechagodzilla with them.

Magic was a defining factor in the airlift, but it was still an impressive feat from the T.I.T.A.N. fleet nonetheless. They were slow to get it off the ground, calculate how much force to put into the thrusters, but soon they were off. Lifting the damaged machine higher, fragments of its own body falling back to the earth, the airships continued to rise. Mechagodzilla still remained mostly intact, and that was all they needed.

Now high enough, the airships pushed forward and began their long and strenuous journey back to Canterlot Mountain.

It still felt so unbelievable. For Celestia, Luna, and Twilight, of course. A part of them should have felt as if this was always a possibility, that Mechagodzilla could fail. Though after all they had invested, all they had achieved, the enthusiasm that was growing outmatched the doubts and the fears. They finally had a guardian once more, a Titan who would fight solely for them.

And now, they were back to square one. At least their pilots were coming home. At least the chassis of the Mecha had survived.

It did not take long for Princess Twilight’s curiosity to take over. While T.I.T.A.N. sought still for survivors—with an affirmed order that she gave them not to stop until they did—she instead chose to search for the causation to such destruction. Traversing the city opened no leads, as it seemed every road led to the same desolation they saw a hundred times over. The crater, Main Street, Dragon Town, everything that was once doused in flame and now left to teeter and fall.

When all was becoming bleak, there, resting outside the city limits was a broken peak. A mountain, or what was left of it, resting with pillars of smoke eroding from the great hole in its center. Twilight took the lead, with Celestia and Luna following behind her, curious themselves to see what her intuitions would unravel.

It seemed the higher they flew, the more was unveiled. From the state of the buildings on the city’s edge, they appeared to have been bent outward while facing the mountain. Considering the mounds of earth and rock scattered from the range and reaching the city, the pieces of the puzzle were creating an image Twilight did not particularly like.

She needed a closer look. Celestia and Luna sought the same answers.

Flying to the mountain wasn’t an issue. It was searching the mountain of rubble that remained, a chasm left in what was once a beautiful peak on the outskirts of Fillydelphia. Perhaps the creature had slammed into the mountain, or it had burrowed from below and erupted from its peak. Nesting Titans weren’t uncommon, and their resilience would have most certainly been put down quickly by Godzilla. But he was nowhere to be found.

And the hypothesis of it being a natural attack were fading.

For when Twilight took a deeper look, studied further the mountain ruins, she found something different. Something she hadn’t found in the city. Burned on practically every rock within the chasm were strange markings, faint tints of gold and red-like cinders in a dying bonfire. They were still hot to the touch, and Twilight recoiled. It didn’t deter her, nor did it Celestia and Luna.

When the sisters took a step closer, they analyzed the markings and realized they were of intelligent design. An ancient language. A dead tongue that not even Celestia or Luna knew. Yet the symbols, they did. All the symbols and markings burned together to form a vast, explosive reach throughout all the chasm in what was once a mountain.

All three stood together on the mound overlooking the great wound. Seeing the symbols spread from one rock face to another, encompassing it all. They couldn’t speak the language, but they had seen such a tongue before.

Etched in faint scrapes upon the Bewitching Bell.

Canterlot, Equestria

Their worst fears were being made true.

That was the thought constantly ravaging the backs of their minds, growing like an infectious disease the longer they went without a concrete answer or proof. The evidence in Fillydelphia was damning. The Titan-like roar they had heard coming into Fillydelphia only added fuel to the flame, building a fire of insurmountable proportions. A fire, if they left unchecked any longer, could grow out of control. The fears, despite all their best efforts, were slowly becoming far too real.

Returning to Canterlot posthaste, the Radiance made its landing almost in tandem with the medical airship, passing by Mechagodzilla miles ago. There was no time for subtlety or hiding from the public eye. Practically every head in Canterlot was lifted to see the mighty airship fly overhead and reach the landing pad near the castle.

Even leaving the airship was made to be a panic, and Twilight did an awful job hiding that fact. Keeping the peace was her top priority—as it was the sisters’—but the peace was fractured. It was breaking, and they needed to do what they could when they could if it meant balance was maintained.

She flew as hard as her wings could push her, bypassing entire crowds, hardly waiting for guards to open doors for her. Celestia and Luna didn’t even try to stop Twilight. They were flying just as fast.

Once they reached Canterlot Castle, they made their way to the Archives, to the Star Swirl the Bearded section. It was unlocked with a guard fumbling for his keys, not even having to open the gate himself when the princess and the directors did it for him. Celestia and Luna channeled their magic and instantly activated the hidden doorway, the staircase descending down the sanctum of T.I.T.A.N.’s ancient secrets.

But they didn’t stop there. They couldn’t. They kept descending further and further. Deeper than Star Swirl’s inner sanctum, to the roots of Canterlot Mountain, where reality crushed them as if the mountain itself was falling. In some sick and horrific way, they almost wished for that to happen, if just to deprive them of what they saw.

There was no light in the heart of Canterlot Mountain. The light of the aether was gone, replaced with darkness. Their worst fears were made true.

Grogar’s Bell was gone.

Chapter 12 – An Unexpected Party

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Black Skull Island

A morning trot around her garden back home in Ponyville would have been preferable. Waking up beside her lovely wife and prepping the day with some mouth-watering daisy pancakes and orange juice with the birds singing on the windowsill would have been paradise. Even the little arguments over who got the mail that morning was blissful nostalgia.

Instead, the morning was spent in a paradise away from home. The supposed paradise was a monster-infested island beginning the slow recovery from the ferocious war waged the night before. The morning trot around her garden became a trek through a damaged jungle environment, weaving between towering trees and climbing great mounds of earth. The birds that once sang were now replaced with creatures she couldn’t even name chittering, howling, and crying into the daylight.

At least Bon Bon was able to wake up beside Lyra. Maybe that was all she needed.

Once everypony came together within Outpost Beacon, Fluttershy had already concocted a plan to establish a peaceful contact with Titanus Kong. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance gave the final go-ahead, and a party was formed. Consisting, obviously, of Fluttershy leading the pack with Shining and Cadance tight by her sides, Daring Do, Bon Bon, Lyra, and a hoofful of other faceless T.I.T.A.N. soldiers.

As she decided it would be in all of their best interests, nopony carried a firearm. All they had as a means of protection were swords, and in the hooves of skillful swordsponies, it almost seemed like they had all they needed. Even if Shining thought otherwise, believing deep down they were helplessly unprepared for whatever treacheries Black Skull Island could throw at them. He had seen such treacheries before. He and his wife.

Then again, if this journey was meant to make a definitive and final peace with Kong, then maybe the risk would be worth it. He could hope.

The journey was almost what Fluttershy had wanted. Minus the swords, which Shining Armor absolutely would not budge on. And to a degree, Fluttershy could understand. Black Skull Island was still home to all manner of creature, both peaceful and territorial. Some means of defense—purely in the act self-defense—would be necessary. Besides, as long as they didn’t unsheathe them or appear too threatening to Kong, maybe the Titan wouldn’t feel threatened.

“How much further do we have to go?” Lyra called from near the back of the group, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. The jungle they traversed hadn’t relented. It was growing stuffier the further they drove into its hold.

Lyra had a point, and everypony took note of the exhaustion they were feeling. The humidity of the island was fierce, even when they were concealed by the towering palm trees blocking out the rays of the sun. Slivers of light rained down and painted the jungle floor, in some way marking the path for them to take. Insects buzzed around them, smaller creatures moving and jumping between the trees.

Dragonflies three times their natural size flew overhead, a small swarm flying by and leaving the party thankfully alone. Daring ducked regardless, sneering at the bugs. Even she was growing tired of the seemingly aimless trek. “As much as I love traveling with Ms. Complains A Lot, she’s got a point! Where did you last see him, Fluttershy?” Daring Do asked, leaning out from behind the T.I.T.A.N. soldier walking in front of her.

“I saw him leave the watering hole shortly after our morning meeting,” Fluttershy explained, trying to keep her voice down in case they happened to come across Kong earlier than expected. She wished they did the same. “He crossed over this jungle towards the nearest valley. We’re almost there, so keep your voices down… i-if you don’t mind, that is?”

“No, no, we don’t mind,” Lyra mumbled, taking in a deep breath of hot, wet air. Bon Bon playfully pushed forward a large leaf and ducked under it, letting it smack Lyra in the muzzle. Spitting at the ground, Lyra sent a glare dead ahead, to which Bon Bon only responded with a quiet chuckle.

Moments before Lyra managed a small smile herself. At least she wasn’t completely bored.

“Still think we should’ve brought more help,” Shining whispered to his wife on his left.

Cadance breathed out a chuckle. “So far, nothing seems to have leaped out at us. Shiny, we’ll be fine. Fluttershy’s our little good luck charm.” Upon hearing that, the butter Pegasus couldn’t help but giggle, looking to the trees above with a faint blush.

She then looked dead ahead and spread her wings, flying off the ground to hop over a fallen tree and out into the open grassland on the opposite side.

Soon enough, their prayers were answered, and the jungle ended with them on the other side of it. Basking under the sunlight, a vast world was unveiled to them at last. Expanses of grass that led to several mounds of earth. Beyond them was a valley between two great mountain ranges. The earth dipped down to an astonishing jungle that traveled farther, deeper into the heart of Black Skull. A river flowed down the center, with birds of almost no specification flying in-between the peaks above the great valley.

And to the mountain range on their collective right, there they fully saw him at last.

Resting under the calming warmth of the sun, almost sunbathing in a sense, there lied the great monster of Black Skull Island. Kong was deep in his sleep, the king taking his long and well-deserved rest after a tireless night of war.

For so long, all they could do was stare at him in the peaceful quiet Black Skull rarely provided. Perhaps it was near his presence that peace was made possible in such a treacherous environment, as almost every other creature and Titan on the island would assuredly keep their distance from the alpha. Bugs and smaller birds flew under the rays of the sun that showered over his body, his fur still wet from his early-morning dip in the watering hole. His breaths were tremoring, softly powerful with every guttural sound that left his sleeping form.

The first thing Fluttershy wanted to do was go it alone.

She made the first step by herself to make that point clear, but Shining quickly grabbed onto her foreleg, holding her back with his hoof. “Wait, Fluttershy!” he warned in a tight whisper, still wincing at the sound he made. Any sound, he feared, and Kong would wake up. He lowered his voice even further. “Look… maybe it’s best if you had some backup. Take a couple soldiers with you, or hay, Cadance and I would be more than willing; any of us would be. Just… don’t try and do this alone.”

She was thankful for his concern, and she made that clear with the soft smile she offered. “It’s okay, Shining Armor. This is what I’ve known for the better half of my life. I’ll be fine.”

He didn’t seem convinced with his eyes constantly flicking back and forth between Fluttershy’s reassuring stare and the sleeping behemoth. Not once did he ever doubt Fluttershy’s connection with animals, but all the memories he had of Kong—both the bad and the uncertain—left him in a state of disarray. He didn’t want to feel responsible for what could happen to her… as what happened to all the other ponies who joined them in their first expedition.

His wife’s pink hoof rested over his, and he was filled with a calming strength he desperately needed, and one that felt all the more familiar, and therefore welcome. Cadance, while holding her husband’s hoof, assured him with a gentle, loving voice, “Let her work her magic.”

After some calming breaths, Shining eventually nodded. “Okay… but if anything happens… anything that could endanger you… we’ll be ready.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Fluttershy promised, and just as confidently spread her wings and quickly fluttered into the air.

She let the breeze take her, the winds leading down into the valley where she gracefully flew down. Letting her hoof graze the tips of thousands of grass blades before lands transformed into jungles once more. Jungles that she flew high above, flapping her wings to gain some much-needed height in order to reach the mountain range. Angled at almost 30 degrees, the mountain slope reached a much higher elevation, but Fluttershy would not need to reach too high.

It did not take much time at all to reach him.

Soon, she was hovering just above his upper lip, watching it twitch and curl as soft growls and sighs left him. Kong’s eyes had remained closed, giving Fluttershy the impression he was still fast asleep. She could only imagine the dreams he was dreaming. Running across the vast, open world with no restraints, no battles to fear, no enemies to challenge. Living in the world he controlled in his mind, letting those days or nights be filled with peace and rest and adventure.

Noticing the scars tracing his chest and arms—adding the fresh cuts he had earned from last night—Fluttershy shuddered and closed her eyes. It seemed almost surreal how any Titan could have undergone such horrible circumstances. Living practically every day as if it was a fight for survival. Constantly having to defend his home from rival beasts—as well as equines, if history meant anything.

Kong had not lived an easy life. But maybe they were marks not meant to represent pain, or regret. Perhaps they were marks of pride, of victory, showcasing his medals so that all knew him and feared him for what he was: a king.

Fluttershy would have liked to imagine that. As she flew up to his nose, managing to hold a smile as he expelled a breath from his nostrils that blew back her mane, Fluttershy opened her eyes and stared down at him. Still finding peace after war, living as tranquil a life as he could manage. He didn’t need any more enemies; Fluttershy believed that. He needed more of this. More of peace.

And maybe, just maybe, he could use some friends.

That was her sole intention when she flew closer and patted his nose, stating softly but loudly, “Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead.”

A low growl tremored not only the earth, but the very air itself. Everypony could feel it sift through their bones as the gargantuan ape slowly stirred, and just as suddenly opened his eyes. Fluttershy was sure to fly far enough backwards to give Kong enough space, and she was smart to do so. The Titan king slowly raised his arm, matted hair still wet and slightly bloody dangling from his limb. If only to lift his palm over his face and block out the sun from his eyes.

A dark speck appeared out of the sunlight, and Kong lowered his palm to see it. To see the small, flying equine fully. The Pegasus then darted over to his far left, his head following her. When she landed back on the mound of grass, joining her friends and allies once more, Fluttershy looked back to Kong and waved to him.

Kong merely responded with a yawn, his jaws wide, teeth displayed. He shook his head, various birds and insects flying off of his fur.

“I think I got his attention,” Fluttershy announced, still finding a reason to remain calm while everypony else were on the edge of their seats, just as ready to fall back and draw their swords if necessary.

That option became more and more sound as Kong rose up, sliding easily down the mountain slope into the valley, where he began his approach. To them. He minded his injuries in his movements, growling softly as his fingers scratched at his chest and limbs, as well as his rear end.

“He’s coming this way,” Lyra warned, her horn softly glowing, magic wrapping around the hilt of her sword. Her hooves quickly backpedaled to every lull in Kong’s earth-trembling stomps. “Why did you have to fly back down to us?”

“So he can see us all and know none of us are a threat to him,” Fluttershy responded, holding out her hoof to the ponies beside and behind her. She felt Shining Armor brush against her foreleg, but Fluttershy was certain to stop him from taking another threatening step forward. “Calm down, calm down, everypony… Easy… let him see us…”

Gentle but curious gurgles escaped the back of his throat, and soon he had reached the edge of the valley and the mounds of grass that rested before him. That wasn’t all that stood before him. For there was that same Pegasus that had awoken him, joined by many others like her. Many with defensive postures—Kong had seen such stances before from his foes. All of them, however, held weapons of some kind. Blades hidden, but clearly there. Clearly meant to be used against him if necessary.

Baring his fangs, Kong’s snarl showcased a mouthful of teeth caught in a sneer. How easily such a threat to his rule could be crushed by a simple press of his fist to the mound, or how easily they could have been swiped aside and he could return to his rest. But it was her alone that made him hesitate, where his eyes turned to first and foremost. The pony he had seen earlier that morning staring at him. The pony that called to him in a voice that he…

Well… Kong wasn’t entirely sure what he felt when he heard her voice. As far as he knew of equines, they spoke in a tongue that wasn’t his own, acted in ways that were entirely against his nature. Yet he had seen the peace within them before, just wanting to survive and live their lives, the same as him. If that was of any consolation, any kind of similarity they could share, then Kong could allow that. He could let them go their separate ways and live their own lives as long as they didn’t tamper with his.

But her… There was something different with her. There was no wordless communication as before. The words he heard leave her lips and wake him felt almost as real and understandable as the language he knew. Breaking every barrier of the natural order, uniting the ties between intelligent beings that were once left severed since the beginning of time.

Even now, the words she spoke were words he could miraculously understand.

“Hello there…” Fluttershy called out. His shadow drenched them all in darkness, but he did not move save for his subtle, heavy breaths. His chest rose and fell. His arms did the same, hands still tightened into fists.

“My name is Fluttershy… and these are my friends,” the Titan Whisperer declared, holding out her hoof to the group of ponies behind her. Her hoof suddenly shot skyward. “We came from those ships in the sky. You know those flying ships… don’t you?”

Kong’s response was a fierce snort. Nodding, Fluttershy said, “I’d like to apologize… for what’s happened to your island. All those years ago, and even today… my species have made mistakes when it came to your kingdom. I want you to understand that we are not here to threaten you… or to hurt you. We want you to care for your safety, as we want to care for our own.”

His sneer had flattened, and Kong was slowly letting his agitation cool considerably. It was the strangest he had felt in a long, long time. For a time, he had closed off his heart the same way he closed off his island to all invaders, no matter their intentions. Never once allowing his guard to fall when a Skullcrawler, or worse, could just as easily take him with his back turned. Never once letting another speak to him in such a way that felt… calm.

The only other memory of which he could relate it to were of his family. His father. His mother…

Calm. Kinship. Peace, order, love… these were things he believed were impossible now. Yet every time he heard her voice, he was reminded of a time when all of these things were possible, and so much more. It allowed the cloud to leave his mind, his vision, and see the bright, calming smile grace the Pegasus’ lips.

Fluttershy said, “That old base near the lake… a lot of my friends are there with those flying ships. I can promise that we will not go out seeking conflict with you. We will gracefully leave you in peace once our work is finished here… but for that to happen… there needs to be peace. Can you do that for us? Can there be peace?”

He made no sort of sound she could distinguish as a tangible response. It took a moment, but Fluttershy soon recognized the pattern Kong let slip through his body features. His breathing slowing down, his lips twitching more frequently, the flicker in his dark, orange-yellow eyes. She saw deeper than that, took a step closer and saw his face even trying to hide in the shadows. She saw deep enough.

“It’s been so long since someone’s talked to you… hasn’t it?”

A soft, sad sigh left his lips. Elongated, showing the great weight he was releasing when her question struck further than just his ears. It was telling for everypony present, and their defenses lowered considerably. Even Shining found the magic around his hilt to be fading, his wife’s hoof gripping his own tighter and tighter.

His sigh was followed up by a forceful huff, causing Lyra to yelp and duck behind Bon Bon.

“It’s okay…” Fluttershy said, to Kong and perhaps her friends. She almost laughed. “I can keep talking if you want me to. And… if you’d like… I can come visit you from time to time.”

More murmurs and grunts rumbled in the back of his throat. His stance changed from threatening to somewhat at ease, his shoulders loosening and his expression seeming a lot less tight. Nopony else spoke Kong, but they had a feeling those sounds were very reassuring, filled with hearty approval.

“But you have to promise me… as I promised you…” Fluttershy added, resting a hoof over her heart. “We are not here to threaten you… so do not come seeking conflict with us. You do that, you keep the peace… and I can come see you as much as you’d like. I can tell you stories… and you can tell me some of yours. Whatever you’d like. How does that sound?”

His lips parted and another sigh left him, filled with much less weight. It felt more like a calming exhale if anything, a thankful grunt added to the end of it. His curiosity didn’t seem to end, as did hers. Everypony’s eyes were slowly drawn away from the towering ape and shifted instead to the Pegasus standing in front of them.

Watching as she lifted up her hoof to him.

And instinctively, they all proceeded to back away slowly once Kong dipped his head down to her.

Not too fast to startle him, but not too slow so they could at least be cautious about whatever was going to happen. They could take no chances, but Shining soon found himself stopping. As did Cadance. Along with the rest, one by one, until they witnessed the mighty King of Black Skull Island come face to face with one of their own.

To their shock, to their disbelief, with smiles growing from one face to the other, they watched Kong lean down into her touch. Her hoof pressed gently onto his upper lip, gingerly caressing the hairs, shivering lightly under his breaths. Fluttershy gasped, unable to contain her smile. Unable to hide the joy in her eyes that she gratefully shared with her new friend.

The gasp of her breath on his lip made him shiver in return, and the pony giggled. His fists fell into open palms. His eyes met her own.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Fluttershy whispered, giving him that warming, gentle smile. His grunts made her giggle, and she said, “You’re very welcome.”

The presence in the atmosphere had shifted. The tides of tension had finally ceased and a calming air filled their lungs. It seemed nopony was as on edge now that the meager Fluttershy had befriended such a titanic force of nature.

Lyra stepped out from behind Bon Bon’s shield of a body, the Earth pony draping a foreleg over her wife’s withers and bringing her in for a weak embrace. Daring Do smirked, scoffing lightly with a shake of her head, the Pegasus still somewhat in disbelief. Cadance leaned gently against her husband, and Shining couldn’t help the smile that broke through. As for the others… they had heard the stories, but now they saw it with their own eyes. There was no doubt any longer. There was no more need to fear the forces they thought were beyond them.

They had the Titan Whisperer on their side now.

Then, they heard the roar.

It broke across the air. Jungles across the deep valley gorge sprung to life and every manner of creature began to awaken. Birds, Leafwings, and so many other flying beasts took to the skies in droves, massing so mightily they may as well have blotted out the sun. Just as peace had been returned to the island in that soft, summer morning, chaos was spreading in response to the roar. The call.

The alpha cry that thundered the world.

That came from the mainland.

A sense of panic instantly flooded the party of ponies, replaced quickly with an unnerving sense of dreaded cold unlike any other. A cold that felt far too familiar for Bon Bon, Fluttershy, Shining Armor, and practically everypony’s tastes. Yet it felt wrong, damaged, breaking the atmosphere in some desperate, wrathful call of pain.

A call of pain veiled over a call of challenge. A challenge that Kong responded to.

Kong turned to it and roared back, establishing his own alpha cry upon his island. To every beast and critter and to let them know that Kong was still king. They were not to respond to it. They were not to follow lest his wrath be dealt to them. He had already proven his fury once before, and he would gladly do so once again if necessary.

Kong continued to roar to the clouds, continued to beat his chest in a triumphant display of intimidation for whoever dared to challenge him, and all Fluttershy could do was turn back. Meet the eyes of her friends with a look they all shared. A dread they all felt. Hearing a cry they all knew.

Chapter 13 – Evolution

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Frozen North

A reckoning was growing. A tide in which the earth itself had felt, and nature recoiled. A tempest in the clouds spurred by the arrival of a familiar but dreaded cry, elevating, burning hotter, elicited by the golden streaks of lightning breaking the skies. Natural storm clouds in the Frozen North were becoming infested with an unforeseen darkness raging from the South.

A darkness that corroded, that corrupted, and killed any natural wind and snowflake. All to replace it. All to change it. To reform the natural world to his liking. In his image.

The white atmosphere shifted to accompany the oncoming clouds of black. It swirled like an infectious cancer, laying its claim upon the frozen tundra. The golden streaks transformed into unsettling bolts of purple lightning. The lightning itself shredded the earth upon the cloud’s arrival, ripping through mounds of rock and ice with each bolt striking the world. The hurricane-like storm of shadows devoured the landscape and cast the frosty-white haze away.

Laying the land ready for his arrival. And when he came, he came as a shadow. Breaking through the dark with wisps of shadowy fog trailing his form and washing out upon his impact. As he impacted, the world trembled. Ice cracked beneath his feet, his claws, his sheer weight that was only continuing to grow. As he rose, two towering necks of gold and black rose to unveil the jagged crown of the fallen, false king, now reborn into the dual-headed face of terror the world knew.

Ghidorah was in treacherous pain. Both heads writhed and howled as his body struggled to hold back his warring intentions.

By the decree of the Voice that only Emrick could hear—when the Voice chose only to speak to him—Ghidorah let them off on the nearest icy mountain. He spread forth his right wing and let them climb, slide, or fly down to the flattened peak. Holding himself steady despite the agony he suffered. Until Emrick was the last and he joined his people once more.

Bell in hoof, dark cloaking whipping against the fierce, dreaded cold of the Frozen North’s wind, the Immortal Priest spun forth to face his master. He called out to him several times, speaking even to the Bell in hopes the Voice would answer him. But he was given no further instruction, no other word except for the last he had heard and obeyed.

Those words being to disembark. To wait. To trust.

Dahlia approached. Her intentions, her curiosity for her Ruler was growing into concern for what she was witnessing. What they all were witnessing. Her hoofsteps were growing closer, on his side and without his knowledge, and the Harbingers reacted for their priest, cutting her off.

“Stay back!” the Immortal Priest ordained, barely even looking to his side. He saw all he needed to. “Do not keep her away…”

The golden masks exchanged a few glances, before falling down to the young mare and backing away as ordered. With that, the Earth pony was allowed her approach, pausing only mere feet behind Emrick. Sensing her presence, not even turning, he spoke.

“Dahlia…”

“Emrick…” she whispered. She was growing more accustomed to calling him by his name now. He didn’t seem to object to it. None of the Harbingers raised forth a hoof or a voice to stop her. So, she didn’t. Holding her broken stare onto the dark mists ahead, her heart and her spirit ached to hear the shuddering cries of their king. It ached even further the longer she—and her Priest—did nothing.

“… What is to become of our lord?” It was the most she could ask, the height of her and everypony else’s concerns.

Flinching to the sounds and sights of Ghidorah shambling about and screaming, Emrick nonetheless kept his focus cemented. He slowly opened his eyes again. “He told me to trust him.”

Dahlia let her gaze fall to the icy-cold of the mountain peak. The snow that covered her hooves, a frost that was a rarity in the Below. She found herself slipping, letting free a concern of her own heart, her own worries, and what many within the Order may have seen to be selfish.

“And what is to become of us?”

The frozen breaths from his lips ceased, and Emrick turned to her. Seeing the desperate look in her eyes—the same look shared in all of their eyes. All of them wondering if they could and therefore should do something, anything to help their lord. And perhaps even themselves if this were to fail. If this pain was to escalate to death. Yet all of them, deep down, knew there was no stopping what was to come. It was inevitable, and all they could wonder now was what their place in the grand scheme would be going forward.

Even Emrick knew this, and wondered all the same. He knew the prophetic teachings by heart. He knew of the New World to be born of out of the ashes of the old, like a phoenix rising to join with the sun. He had heard the words of his master, in Fillydelphia and now in the Frozen North. With retreat came the opportunity to rebuild and plan ahead. With strength came a great pain to overcome.

With evolution, there must first be change.

Dark forces were at play now. There was no stopping that. Unbridled and untamed within the twisted, reborn heart of the Dragon. They continued to twist his heart, mind, and soul further, elevating so greatly and so painfully that the body began to suffer from the will of the Darkness. As it suffered, it succumbed. It changed.

Emrick never found the opportunity to answer her. Not when Ghidorah slammed his claws into the earth and tore deep into it.

Especially not when the third head erupted.

It came so suddenly and so violently that the members of the Order visibly were taken aback. The Harbingers made no movement, made no reaction. Emrick let slip a flinch, a sharp gasp leaving Dahlia and the mare clutching to his side. His eyes darted to her and rested momentarily. Rested on the pony leaning onto him, gaze fearfully latched with their god. Latched with his excruciating pain and trembling all the same.

Her touch was a welcome warmth in the cold. Her hoof was wrapped around his foreleg, only growing tighter. He made no effort to stop her.

He merely stared where she did.

The third head exploded from the body, resting on the right of the middle crown. Chunks of shattered skin from his previously battle flew off, torrents of black blood raining to drench the icy floor and melt it. Steam arose from the searing heat of the creature’s blood, that same steam drenching all of Ghidorah. The same blood leaking and spilling free in every wound both prior and current.

As the third head reared skyward, it let loose a treacherous and aching cry. The pain did not stop there. A neural connection was established with the other two heads and soon all three were slithering and slashing and writhing in pace with the stumbling body of the beast.

It was a torture of the mind and body, a war unseen waged between the old minds of Ghidorah and the dark power flooding his internal systems. It battled for dominance, tormented the weakened flesh to allow the old minds to shut down. It was as if the body was rejecting the spirit. A spirit that yearned for unity, and a power not even the ghost of Ghidorah could overcome in its broken state.

When it was finally unified, the brokenness was beginning to be repaired. The shattered state was healing. In a long, treacherous, unforgiving display, Ghidorah began his second evolutionary phase.

Lightning began to spark and shoot off across the ice, with golden, purple, and now black bolts of raw energy birthed from his body. More chunks of skin and deeper flesh began to burn and peel off, falling away to allow a greater shell to take hold. Bones were broken, were strengthened, and finally grown in an expansive, new form. The cries were hellish. Claws dug deeper into the ice. All three necks were trembling and suddenly curled back.

Each head took a drastic change. The skin seemed to melt away from the onslaught of the lightning, both from its own body and the swirling storm of blackness swirling around the creature. The winds were picking up, and soon ponies from the cult had to hold on to one another just to not lose their balance and slip down the mountain. As if a massive tornado had formed, it swirled around the Dragon and proceeded to strike it with a fury unknown.

The skulls were reshaped, bones growing with new veins and a new skin to take their place. Instead of a multitude of blank, hollow eyes, each head was given two. Sunken, with pale white orbs that shimmered red, but a mighty improvement upon the first evolution. The jaws of each head were interlaced with a fresh skin, connecting them. Making each maw whole with new rows of jagged teeth. More organized. Much sharper. The jagged crowns as the crescent moon grew even fiercer atop his heads, joining the growing horns twisting and curling in their growth spurt.

In many ways, they appeared much like the heads of the former King Ghidorah, prior to his defeat at the hands of the Usurper. And yet they took their own identity, reborn out of the dark mists and hailing lightning to tremble the earth with a new growl. The storm did not calm by any means. The winds continued their assault and the storm only spread. The Occult of Ghidorah held on and watched on, unknowingly protected by a force they were slowly losing the ability to understand.

The whole time, Emrick never loosened his grip on the Bewitching Bell. His hoof, however, somehow held tighter around Dahlia’s hoof instead of the talisman.

They watched together. They trembled under the might of his growl as one unity, beginning to shudder. Out of the shadows, he rose up. Under the brightening storm of his own creation, rising to the clash of lightning and thunder, Ghidorah stood tall. Much higher, much larger, much stronger than before. He raised his wings, not a tear to be found in them, and created something more.

He lifted all three heads to the skies and created another rival alpha call.

And he was complete.

Celestial Sea

He had long since answered the first call.

His trajectory had changed. Just as he was nearing Black Skull Island, a mere seven or so miles off the coast of the forsaken island to respond to the initial sounds of rivalry, of a potential dissident—or many—to his rule, he had felt something. Something heavier, far more demanding of his attention. And he turned to respond to it.

Lifting his head out of the waves, roaring in agitation to the call of another crying out to the world, the king turned and made a complete 180. Away from the island in the East and onward to the mainland in the West. The broken call proclaimed victory. A victory that would just as quickly become false as this dissident’s inevitable claim to the throne. The island could wait for now.

Just as he had felt the lives of every Titan on and in the world, he now felt the life of another make his call known. It was not a sound he had heard in recent memory. It was broken, not whole, but still held some underlying tones of a primordial and deserving revilement. A treacherous weight in his nuclear heart he had felt before, and knew far too well. It tried to weigh him down, to shudder his path and quake the earth with fear.

But the king feared nothing. Not even the prospects, the miniscule chance… of an old foe returned.

Whatever challenger this was, whatever mimicry it tried to unsheathe, nothing had stood in the king’s path before, and nothing would even now. It begged, nay, demanded his full attention, and so he swam away from Black Skull Island. His trajectory changed to the mainland of Equestria.

And then the second call came. Much more pronounced, rebuilt and nearly whole again. From the North. A roar so damning and so real that there was no haze any longer. There was no doubt in the mind of the king, and his will shifted from reestablishing order to a vengeful quest. Bloodlust and hate filled his vision in the murky depths of the sea. He practically saw red in his narrowed vision under the deep blue.

Godzilla had known the call, the cry, and the roar of his old foe since the days of the sun’s first light, and before the sun’s fall this day, he would ensure that foe would never rise again.

It ended today. The rivalry, the old war, the False King… Ghidorah. Imbalance would finally end.

Chapter 14 – The Old War

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Frozen North

It was not hubris that guided him. It was not pride, for pride led to folly, and folly to failure. He was not plagued with such lowly desires like the equines were. He swam with a natural, righteous intent. Merciless in his intentions, but true to his nature. The order of the world has been shaken, and he was its great equalizer. So much undone, and he would see to its original state returned.

So when he rose out of the ocean waves, with torrents of freezing water raining from his hide like grand waterfalls, he stomped upon the icy tundra with his intentions cemented in his natural mindset. His emotions, his rage, may have been enflamed, but he would not be sporadic. He would not be careless in the task set before him.

Godzilla had arrived to the Frozen North to see balance return to the world he called home.

Entering into the fold of the cold, Godzilla shook himself free of the thin layer of ice that tried to form on his hide. If the chilling waters weren’t enough, the below-zero temperatures ensured he was coated in an icy blanket. The shards and frost burst from his hide, a short snort leaving his nostrils as the king stomped further onto the land. Observing his surroundings, growling softly in the back of his throat.

The sun sat on the far horizon, hanging in the air and dousing the land in a bright light, that whiteness only elevated by the environment, and cascading all across the Frozen North for as far as his eyes could see. His temperament wanted to cool to compensate for the land—even if his thick hide didn’t allow for the chilling temperatures to bother him—for he saw nothing.

The land was clear. Distant mountain peaks sat within the fog as a soft snowfall shrouded him. In the barren wasteland, it seemed Godzilla was the only beating heart for miles, yet he knew it wasn’t true. The rival had called from the very ground he now walked upon. He had heard it just as clearly as the wind now rushing past him. The wind only grew fiercer, pelting him, screaming against him, so much so that Godzilla finally turned to the source of its ferocity. He stared into the light of the sun.

But soon, even the sun’s light could not pierce the oncoming darkness.

Storm clouds gathered quickly. Faster than they ever should have naturally formed. The shadow draped across the world and made Godzilla’s eyes narrow, his irises burning hotter. He, too, felt the blanket try and smother him, but he stood his ground. Never faltering. Never wavering even as the storm that devoured the skies slowly entombed him.

He stood alone in the darkness. Streaks of golden lightning impacted the ground, eliciting a horrific cry with each impact. The gold was joined by the black, dark bolts coated in a white flame shooting off across the clouds. It was anything but natural, and Godzilla glared to each daring strike encircling him. His breath as hot as a furnace expelled a great steam with every exhale. His tail slowly swayed back and forth and his feet stomped heavier and dug deeper into the earth.

It swirled over his head like a multitude of vipers circling their prey. The darkness was slowly transforming into what could only be resembled as a vast tornado, slowly growing into a ferocious hurricane. His dorsal plates began to glow so very softly, only brightening as the darkness grew thicker. Threatening him, as he threatened it back. Intimidation was on full display as Godzilla spun around again and again, his growls growing heavier. His claws clenched in and out. His eye turned everywhere, anticipating every dark cloud to burst open with his dreaded enemy.

In the eye of the storm, towering high over Godzilla’s head, it opened. The clouds broke apart and Ghidorah fell down. Dive-bombing him in an attack that Ghidorah in no way tried to hide. All three heads gave a vicious war cry as the dragon descended upon his hated foe.

But before he could even make impact, Godzilla reared his head up and fired an atomic beam.

It was so sudden, so unrealistically fast that any other creature would have struck the atomic breath head-on. Yet Ghidorah’s instincts were on another plane of existence. He was not bound to the natural world as Godzilla was. The dark forces flowed with his instincts and Ghidorah was left unscathed. So, when he seamlessly dodged the blast, it almost stunned Godzilla. Not enough to stop him, though.

He kept on the assault, following the evading dragon that nearly impacted the earth. Instead, the Golden Terror spread out his wings and caught flight, soaring mere yards above the ground. Godzilla followed his path with his fiery breath. He circled him, the heat ray slicing the storm in a near-perfect, 360-degree turn. Until Ghidorah got the upper hand with Godzilla turned around. He tried to face the other way, but Ghidorah pounced first. He was faster than before.

And when they struck, Godzilla realized he was more bloodthirsty than before as well.

Just enough to meet Godzilla’s own thirst.

They shambled across the earth, Ghidorah constantly wrapping his tails and necks around Godzilla’s limbs in an effort to constrict him. All while biting, slashing, and clawing at every centimeter of the Titan. Their roars sounded off in a battle with one another. Their voices raged as did their bodies, channeling the furious strength within them and unleashing it upon each other.

As one of Ghidorah’s head bit down on Godzilla’s neck, the king cried out, grasping onto the head and rearing it forward. Only to ram his jaws down and pierce the darkened, golden scales of the invader. The head screamed. The other two shrieked and pelted Godzilla’s back with gravity beams. In his momentum, Godzilla lost his footing from the added weight of the impact against him, and he fell rolling his shoulder.

Crushing the head beneath him, Godzilla rolled outward and fell against the tundra. Ghidorah writhed and squirmed as he too fell, the right head cursing an alien tongue for the weight of the Titan that had just landed on him. Steam erupting from his spine, Godzilla slowly rose, mirroring the movements of the three-headed demon. He pressed his palms and planted his feet into the ice, darting his head in Ghidorah’s direction and growling.

His clubbed tails chattered like a rattlesnake’s, and Ghidorah stood low and defensive. The tips of his wings and claws embedded into the earth, his towering necks low to the ground, he hissed and flicked his forked tongues in an effort to tempt Godzilla forward. He slowly began to slither back. He would not make the next move.

Letting his malicious and vengeful thoughts fuel his actions, Godzilla gave an earth-shattering roar and charged. It was but a moment where he let personal qualms take charge of his duty to restore balance, but if his rage was to be used in order to vanquish the evil, then perhaps Godzilla allowed it. His dead sprint thundered the ground and ripped out mounds of ice and rock. His stampede appeared almost unstoppable, as if not even the mightiest of mountains would have stopped him in his fury-filled state of mind.

All the while, Ghidorah remained unmoved. He waited until Godzilla expelled his wrath and severed the distance between them, and then all three heads gave their cackling roar.

Ghidorah flapped his wings as a mighty gust of frost blew forth across the earth. He kicked off the ground and swung his dual tails forward. Each spiked club connected and sandwiched Godzilla, with his skull in-between their deafening impact. Godzilla froze momentarily, his head leaning back, his eyes almost in a daze as he shambled about. His fury seemingly began to dissipate, and Ghidorah took advantage of his shocked state.

With another flap of his wings, Ghidorah flung himself and tackled Godzilla, his claws latching onto the Usurper’s face. Ultimately, bringing them both onto the ground, Godzilla spines splintering the earth and erecting shards of landmass. Ghidorah wasted no time and proceeded to wrap his tails around Godzilla’s body, rising off the Titan and noting his delirious state.

Only, the second Ghidorah relinquished his claws, Godzilla took in a deep breath and expelled an atomic beam directly onto Ghidorah’s chest. The radioactive ray sliced across the beast’s abdomen and shoulder, eliciting a painful shriek from the dragon and managing to knock him back. Just enough for Godzilla’s tail to slide free.

He rolled, slamming his tail across the demon as he did so. Planted once more on his hands and knees, Godzilla tried desperately to rise. The numbness from his head and the blur from his vision was finally beginning to fade, and he stamped his feet upon the ground once more only to nearly fall flat on his chest when Ghidorah latched onto him.

He stopped him before he could stand up fully. No hesitation. No mercy. Ghidorah knew in his twisted state of mind that he needed to end this fight fast. He gave Godzilla no opportunity to resist and flapped hard, beginning the slow climb up into the heat of the storm and the ferocity of the swirling clouds. As the lightning proceeded to electrocute and tear across Godzilla’s hide, it merely strengthened and fueled Ghidorah.

Illuminating scales almost a glassy black and gold, Ghidorah dug his teeth into the king’s skin. He tried to absorb the atomic power that flooded the veins of the King of the Monsters, and he may have received but a mere taste when his grip was loosened. When his heads cried out in sheer agony as Godzilla’s atomic breath pierce through his wing. He sliced upward, burning the limb to fleshy embers. Both he and the dragon were therefore brought back, landing fiercely into the earth together.

The impact sent shock waves and tremors throughout the Frozen North, impacting the first waves of the ocean and yielding there. Yielding only to the sounds of stillness amidst the chaos. For the eye of the storm seemed once more to be the calm in the madness, as two titular forces of nature and evil proceeded to rise out of the destruction they caused.

Godzilla was the first to rise, intending to end this war now, once and for all. He towered over the wilting and writhing wyvern and planted his foot harshly onto the demon’s spine. A fierce snort left his snout. A weak cry left the maws of Ghidorah. And as he puffed out his chest, his dorsal spines brightening a piercing, blinding blue, Godzilla found himself unable to finish it.

Not when the storm aided. Not when the lightning struck. Not when the Darkness attacked.

The shadows of the storm shot out like foggy tendrils, proceeding to pelt the Usurper with a volley of thunderbolts. Gold and black, the lightning doused Godzilla’s form and caused him to fumble, to raise his arms in defiance and screech out in some vain attempt to ward off the strikes. His hide felt the pain of the lightning tearing across him, yet it wasn’t just his body that was assaulted.

The Darkness itself attacked. Raging through Ghidorah, and now openly attacking Godzilla. It shrouded his wounds and enflamed them. It blackened his vision and choked him. It went for his mind and will and strength and tore everything asunder.

Immobilized now, Godzilla stumbled back and forth and attacked nothing but darkness and light, the shadows and the lightning, and fired his atomic breath into the storm. Now free from the Usurper’s weight, Ghidorah slowly rose and turned, flying in for the final strike. Attacking the disoriented Godzilla with a terrifying, cackling cry leading him.

His first slash swung upward, clawing Godzilla’s chest and chin and punching his head skyward. His second strike, he utilized his entire body, ramming himself into Godzilla and launching the Titan king further back, but he did not fall. Godzilla’s cries elevated into piercing groans, and they only grew worse when Ghidorah pelted him with three gravity beams.

The golden-black bolts of electricity struck Godzilla’s chest and legs, his arms and face, but they didn’t stop there. To Godzilla’s shock, the mouths of the dragon suddenly unhinged, the backs of their throats brightening to a vicious purple. Thus, transforming the chaotic lightning into slim rays of raw power. Three gravity rays, all firing and shredding Godzilla’s hide to bloody ribbons.

Crimson began to fly high and flow down from Godzilla’s desperate but fruitless movements to avoid the attacks. The gravity rays cut across his chest, neck, and finally his legs, removing his mobility. Severing the strength in his limbs. Bringing him once more to the earth with a tremoring impact.

He fell to his side as the rays continued to dig deeper into him, pushing him further across the ice. Until, finally, the mouths of the dragon ceased their assault and the gravity rays died. Standing high and mighty now, Ghidorah raised his wings, both the clean and severed, and glared down upon his wilted foe. Godzilla tried to rise, tried to move, but all he could manage was a weakened cry.

Then, Ghidorah attacked him once more with gravity beams.

Only… these were different. The gravity beams proceeded to miraculously lift Godzilla up. It was as if he was suddenly weightless, the laws of gravity no longer applying to either him or the beams, as the name suggested. Then, when Ghidorah relinquished the assault, he dropped him. Watched him fall and crash into the earth with a deafening crack against the ice and tundra. Perhaps even Godzilla’s own bones. The thought left his wrath unsatiated, and Ghidorah unleashed his beams once more.

And once more, he lifted and dropped him, higher each time, further and further into the earth with each drop. On the final fall, when the wave of snow and frost finally washed past Ghidorah, all he could see left in the crater was a bloodied, broken, and beaten king. He lied motionless, but his eyes continued to move under his slipping eyelids. His mind was practically lost, disoriented in the shadows swarming around him. Some dorsal plates were cracked.

His blood fell upon the snow, and Ghidorah lapped it up on his slithering way to the king.

He constricted him like the serpentine fiend he was, wrapping around his limbs with his tails and necks and ensuring he wouldn’t be able to fight back, let alone break free. Godzilla’s wounded state allowed Ghidorah to act in the way he did, finishing the fight as he was intended to, and then proceeded to drag Godzilla where he always intended and needed to bring him.

Laying him at the feet of the mountain, Ghidorah loosened his grasp and rose up, ensuring at least one foot was planted and keeping Godzilla prone. It seemed, however, that there was not even an act of resilience. It was that failed resilience that Ghidorah absolutely found himself enraptured in, his soft growls emanating sounds of gleeful pride and victory.

He just needed to break the king’s fight, shatter his body, and leave him in a docile-enough state for the Order of the Dragon to finish it.

And now, what was left rested solely on the one wielding the Bell. Ghidorah made that abundantly clear, growling in Emrick’s mind, “Why do you hesitate?”

Standing on the edge of the mountain, Emrick, his Harbingers, and his Order held fast after having witnessed one of the greatest, most colossal battles they had ever seen. Now, with Ghidorah having dragged the wounded Godzilla to the base of the mountain, they were left with the Dragon himself slowly lifting his heads to glare their way.

“What…” Emrick cautiously breathed. “M-my lord… w-what is it you require of—?”

“You’ve always known what was needed. You’ve known what to do. Face it. Allow it to fill your mind and rest in your heart. The Usurper lays before you, Emrick…” Ghidorah softly growled in his mind, the right head flicking down to hiss at the prone king.

“You… you would have me kill—?”

“No,” the Voice declared, all three heads rising up. All three heads staring down at the ponies that called themselves his people. “The world is at war against us now, do you not understand? We caught their eyes, earned the Usurper’s attention, and now they will be hunting. They will be searching… for the one to blame for the fire we left behind. The ones who have seen and felt the fire will know it was us, but they will be drowned out by greater fires. They will be forsaken… and the world beyond will only know and feel the ashes…”

The three heads of Ghidorah slowly turned down to Godzilla. “They will see their king… now their monster… turned against them.”

Emrick said nothing. Neither did the Harbingers, but they couldn’t hear his Voice. Nor could Dahlia or any other within the Order. Just Emrick, and he had nothing to say. “The power of the Bewitching Bell will change the Usurper’s mind to my will. I will turn the world’s wrath and vengeance unto him. I will have them hate their false savior. Only by your own will can this be done.”

Staring down to the talisman resting in his hoof, the Immortal Priest observed the ancient but brilliant design carved across the Bell’s surface. The raw power nestled inside. The same power that resurrected their god, now once more at his command by the command of the same Dragon reborn from its power.

He spoke out into the silence. “The powers of the Bell… The powers of the Darkness…”

His voice was soft and his mind was racing. None of what they were doing was prophecy. The Above was prophesied to feel their wrath, but the Usurper brought to them by their own god… now Ghidorah demanding him to unleash its power onto Godzilla…

This was not what the ancients foretold. Ghidorah was their star fallen from the heavens, their rise to a more unified ideal of life, or even death if Ghidorah deemed it so. What was taken from them would be returned to them, even if all the earth should be razed, it would be reborn. It was as they were promised. As they worshipped. As their faith proclaimed, and yet this… was not prophecy. This did not seem like order.

This only seemed like more fire to spread.

As if reading his mind, Ghidorah hissed, “Your ancestors followed out of fear, not faith. Believing their fear and worship would spare them of my wrath when I returned. If it is death you seek, I will gratefully supply it… just as your fathers and grandfathers.”

Emrick shakily raised his head, his eyes, from the Bell. Instead, he lifted them high into the pale-white and flaming eyes of the Dragon nearing him by second. Crushing him by spirit further and further with only his glare. With only the powers of the Darkness.

With just his Voice. “But… you are not your fathers. You are not your grandfathers. You do not worship out of fear. You follow what you know…”

“… is right,” Emrick finished, and Ghidorah was pleased to hear his thoughts be shared. Raising the Bell, Emrick gave the talisman of doom one last reassuring look before gazing back up to his god. “This is the path forward, my lord.”

Approaching the edge of the mountain, his hooves scraping mere snowflakes off to the slopes down below, Emrick halted at once. Getting as close as he possibly could, seeing as much of the Usurper as was feasible. Godzilla was still docile, still recovering from his wounds. But he wouldn’t be for long. Soon, he would rise again, and that wrath would consume them all the longer he did nothing.

Remembering the words of his master, Emrick slowly raised the Bell. Higher than his hoof could manage, and then he lifted it with his magic the rest of the way. Until it shuddered and started to glow far off from the mountain’s edge and hanging high above in the frozen air. Until, even then, its power was contained. Until, Emrick let go. Let go of the fear, the doubt, and believed.

He fired a burst of dark magic from his horn onto the Bell, and it chimed.

Just once.

Absorbing that power, strengthening it, and rebounding the Darkness down onto the head of the fallen king. Even in his weakened state, Godzilla still cried out. He thrashed about, opening his jaws to their greatest length and unleashing a tremoring, agonizing, torturous yell into the sky. Ghidorah kept him planted firm, watching him struggle, watching the Darkness take hold. Finding some sick pleasure of watching his foe suffer as he had suffered.

The power of the Bewitching Bell, the powers of the Darkness combined, all of it had finally broken his fight and taken hold. And Godzilla rested. Not a movement more. Hardly even a breath.

“Your faith… is well, my Emrick.”

Bringing the Bell back to him, Emrick could stare nowhere else but onto the unmoving form of their hated enemy. The Usurper, feared in legends passed from generation to generation, now falling at the hooves of their own High Priest was cause for victory. For celebration, even! But noting the lack of smiles on any within the Order—he especially lingered on Dahlia's frozen, agape look—Emrick nonetheless managed to breathe out a small smile.

“I will trust your judgement,” he said.

“Time is short now. We must move.”

“What of the Usurper?” Emrick called out, watching the Dragon lift his foot from Godzilla’s form and stomp toward them instead. “We leave him here?”

“All will be made well soon. This was but the next necessary step. The world will return to its original state… before this hierarchy of power damned it,” the Voice proclaimed. Ghidorah hissed, raising his right wing burned and severed from his limb. “And now… the next necessary step: I must rest… and heal… down Below…”

Emrick furrowed his brow, his breath getting heavy. “If we return to Equestria, we will surely be attacked!”

“I have no intention of returning to Equestria. I know of another entrance to the Below… here… in the Frozen North,” Ghidorah replied, his Voice echoing loudly in Emrick’s eardrums. The Three-Headed Tyrant turned to the unforeseeable fogs in the distance. Further north. Further into the chilling death.

And said, “The abyss where I was left behind. Where they trapped me. Once a prison that failed to keep me, they have crafted another prison to hide away the true power of this world. We cannot be seen... and we won't. There is another entrance, far beyond this frozen hellscape. Far beyond the knowledge of this world. That... is how we will find our way home.”

That was their journey, their path from that point forward. Finding their way onto the left wing, onto the back of their god, and then flying further into the depths of the Frozen North and even beyond it… where their destination lied. Beyond the abyss where their god was forsaken, abandoned, and left behind for the world to move on without him. Beyond to where even the Occult did not know.

They, in turn, left behind the fallen King of the Monsters. His body unmoving, his eyes closed, his breaths so soft they seemed almost uncharacteristic of him.

But in his mind, there was a chaos brewing. A shadow that draped over his will, his conscience, and entombed his mind, heart, and soul in a land of utter gloom. A deep shadow in which he saw nothing, but heard only one order, one Voice, that shined as the Darkness.

Chapter 15 – What Was Lost

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Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

There was a slight rumble in the ground in the vast capital city of Equestria. A moment many felt earlier that day, and now with the setting sun on the horizon, feeling a second tremor was not as easily a thought pushed aside. Two quakes in one day and somepony was bound to start asking questions.

To add to the tremors, the sounds of a distant cry filled the skies. A roar that sounded eerily similar. Confusion had spread, surely, with many questions gone without answers. Arising and flaring fears with hardly anything to cool the temperatures. Minor panic began to grow within the crowds of ponies surrounding the castles and the mansions of the elites in Canterlot, but even they had no response to the disturbances.

Under the guise of a faceless chaos, Mechagodzilla was flown in.

Canterlot Mountain opened, what once seemed to be a natural, rocky face splitting apart to unveil the world of metal within. The first to enter were the medical airships, followed no less than ten minutes later by the mountain of shredded steel. The fallen Mecha was cautiously hauled into the hold of the mountain, the dozens and dozens of airships gently lowering the machine down to the bottom of the T.I.T.A.N. Headquarters.

If Canterlot was in somewhat of a panic, the T.I.T.A.N. HQ was practically a madhouse. Repair crews instantly flooded the ground floor, small teams of firefighters putting out the small flames still lingering within and outside of Mechagodzilla’s carcass. Most of the machine was deactivated and powered down, but some remnants of energy still flowed.

Scientists and engineers took extreme precaution when dealing with the central processor. An engine of insurmountable power, heavily damaged, that had the potential of exploding at any moment. But only if they weren’t careful.

Just as the medical personnel took extreme precaution when dealing with the wounded.

They were rolled out on stretchers. The ramp of the medical airship hit the solid landing pad, with the stretchers following no more than two seconds later. Lead doctors and staff surrounded the wounded, noting their uniforms, their flags. The pilots recovered from the Mecha, just as they were warned. All five were hauled away, speedily across the catwalk and rushing past countless onlookers with worry and fear drenching their expressions.

Especially from the likes of Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. The princess and the directors practically burst through the elevator doors, if only to see a scene of near-madness plague the greatest minds and arms T.I.T.A.N. could supply. They were but a few of many eyes to see the stretchers haul off the bravest and fiercest pilots in all the global organization.

All five of them together, accounted for, but in critical condition. Shatter Heart, Cross Heart, Rotor Wrench, Moonshadow, and Peaky Blossom. All five of them with white sheets draped over their bodies, but thankfully not over their faces. Ensuring some semblance of hope. Ensuring there was a chance for them to recover. All three leaders watched them be taken away, Task Force Risen Suns having paid the price for the battles they all thought they could fight.

Off to the medical wing, to rest. To recover. To return, hopefully, soon.

She stared for as long as she could manage, before the burn in her eyes became too painful to ignore and Twilight had to blink it away. Having known the cold expression grip her facial features more times than she cared to count, Twilight nonetheless felt it shudder across her once more. This time, encompassing her entire body. Her innermost being. A shadow in the spirit that hissed of doubt, regret, grief, and the inevitable pain that always followed. In that shadow, she stood alone, and never felt more alone carrying that weight.

A weight that was just as easily lifted by the soft touch of a hoof to her shoulder. And turning to the touch, she gazed upon the calming, motherly eyes of the former ruler and her former teacher. Celestia hardly fared any better, the dread in her gaze and the sullen expression equaling that of Twilight’s own grief. She was not alone in the shadows, not alone to bear the weight of her decisions. Because Celestia held them just as well, and this was not the first failure she had experienced.

Neither her nor Luna’s. It was hardly any less painful to face either way, no matter how many failures. The younger sister came forward and laid her hoof upon Twilight’s opposite shoulder, all three of them united together in that sorrow. In that loss. All of them walking forward to the end of the catwalk to gaze down onto the metal world below.

Airships and hovercraft, alongside countless Pegasi were already in a cluster, moving high and low, back and forth, all to mitigate the damages Mechagodzilla sustained and restore all they could at the moment. Practically every observation and work station were filled with engineers trying to maintain structure of their present situation. It was maddening.

That didn’t even count for how many emergency beacons were activated across the radio waves. The broadcast stations across the HQ were filled with sounds of chaotic energy, and the directors came to understand why soon enough. A single T.I.T.A.N. agent flew down to them from one of the higher broadcast stations, landing beside Celestia and saluting properly.

“Director Celestia, Director Luna, Your Highness,” the Pegasus mare declared, breathless. Seeing the nods sent her way, she lowered her hoof and gulped. “News from the global broadcasts. Emergency beacons have been activated across several key outposts and cities within a 600-mile radius of the initial alpha call, and another 900 miles from the second. Titans within that radius are starting to become anxious; some were even trying to follow it, others acting… distressed.”

Celestia furrowed her brow, turning fully to face the Pegasus. “How do you mean?”

“I’m just passing on information, ma’am. What I’ve heard,” the T.I.T.A.N. agent rapidly explained, recollecting her thoughts. A stream of sweat slowly built and fell down the side of her head. “The ones that tried to follow the call were successfully drawn away from any settlements or cities thanks to our ORCA tech.”

Twilight managed to lift her head at the mention of that name. It brought a sense of a relief to the dread trying to claim her soul, a much-needed edge and victory for T.I.T.A.N. after the devastation at Fillydelphia. All she needed was to hear the technology’s name to feel the uplift in her heart.

The organization had recently developed and utilized a short-wave frequency technology that they dubbed as the “ORCA”. Named after the whales of the same name, it was meant to mimic an alpha frequency, thus drawing the monsters away from civilization and drastically minimalizing the threat of Titan-related attacks on various established settlements.

For the most part, it worked. And if today was meant to prove anything, the same tech was utilized on a grander scale, for events and emergencies such as the one they faced: a rival alpha call. Essentially, the ORCA technology would be equipped in various airships as they proceeded to track down and capture the interests of the agitated Titans. After what they heard, it seemed they successfully managed to drive them away from Fillydelphia and other cities, the Frozen North where the second call originated, and whatever alpha Titan made it.

“That’s a relief,” Twilight finally uttered.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the agent agreed with a small smile. “The second we heard it, we mobilized and shipped out, bringing the Titans back to their natural habitats before they could venture too far off. We just didn’t expect to hear the second call come shortly after.”

“None of us expected it,” Luna replied, not even turning her way.

The agent nodded regardless. “Well, we were prepared and acted appropriately either way.”

“Which we are grateful for,” Celestia interjected, feeling the desire to offer her thanks, her gratitude, when neither Luna nor Twilight could find themselves to do so. Not because they weren’t thankful, but there was so much else on their minds at the moment. “Excellent work, agent… and just as well to every hard-working pony within this mountain. It is not so simple a task…”

She gazed out, down to the rapid reconstruction and recovery efforts made for the Mecha. It was already in the processes of being raised up, locked in a standing position so repairs could be properly made to every portion of the machine. From the very top of its melted skull to the very bottom of its shattered and torn feet, sparks began flying and broken steel began falling to make way for the fresh batch.

The mare’s smile tightened, before it just as quickly dissipated. “There were also some reports from our scouts that… other Titans appeared frightened. And… if I can speak for myself, ma’am… that call sounded anything other than natural.”

It was then that Celestia’s expression fell to the cold darkness once more.

“It… almost sounded like—”

“Thank you, agent. You’re dismissed,” Celestia interrupted.

Having the words crushed before they could even leave her lungs, the Pegasus nonetheless offered a salute and a short bow of her head to each respectful leader. She was gone, flying back up to the broadcast station to relay their leaders’ response. Leaving them to their loss, the agent paid no heed to the deeper implications of which her warning spelled, or how gravely it affected the likes of Princess Twilight, or the directors for that matter.

They did not dismiss her out of disrespect, nor believing her thoughts to be mere superstition. Mainly, Celestia dismissed the agent so as not to openly clarify rumors or fear of what may or may not have been. They had enough panic as it was, but the agent’s words of worry were still sound. They were not ignored.

There was a similarity to the alpha call, and it reminded them, terrifyingly so, of Ghidorah.

A puzzle was laid before them. Pieces scattered about in a mysterious formation, and they were still missing some key pieces. Without the pilots conscious, they couldn’t factually identify what type of creature they fought, so that would remain hidden for now. The missing Bewitching Bell, as well as the missing guards stationed around the Archives, were marked as high priorities, and a full investigation was already underway. What they could go off of at the moment was the alpha call itself.

It did not call to the Titans of the earth for a specific purpose. It gave them no instruction. Just a voice in the void proclaiming, “Here I am! Face me now!” perhaps. Or maybe a victorious roar, an intimidation act initiated after Mechagodzilla’s defeat. That would explain the first call, but the second? They could hypothesize a challenge call to any other Titan in the world, specifically the alphas. It seemed to be what Ghidorah would have done.

And there she was going again, Twilight imagining the worst-case scenario when nothing was confirmed. She grimaced nonetheless, closing her eyes with a shuddering exhale. It wasn’t soft or quiet enough for Celestia and Luna to not notice.

Twilight’s mind was running wild. The prospects of Ghidorah’s supposed return the center of it all, with other outliers that still made no sense, no matter how hard she tried to connect them. One thing she knew was connected was Grogar’s Bell, but how, and for what purpose—other than assured destruction—she still didn’t truly understand. Thankfully for them, the call didn’t reach worldwide. It was growing though, a bigger radius with each cry. Who knew if it would offer another challenge? When and where would it strike and call next?

They didn’t know. They just needed to be prepared. All they did know were three oddly-specific facts: Whatever it was, it destroyed Fillydelphia, utilized Grogar’s Bell, and now they could confirm it as a rival alpha.

Pausing on that, Princess Twilight opened her eyes. She lifted her face in a slow but sudden realization of one aspect to all this madness that didn’t seem to factor in… when it most definitely should have. So, she pondered aloud and asked, “Celestia… Luna…?”

The Directors of T.I.T.A.N. turned accordingly to face her, one sister on each side. Knowing the longer they stared, the more they let their demeanor fall and allow the inward feelings to flush forth. The care, the worry, the love they held for their princess and their friend only heightening when they saw a foreboding uncertainty grip her expression, and only worsen by the second.

And they finally understood why, when Twilight turned first to Celestia, then to Luna, and said, “Have our scouts been tracking Godzilla recently?”

Chapter 16 – Titan Savior

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Manehattan, Equestria

City lights glistened in the waning dusk, until the world of Equestria was brought into another brilliant night. The darkness cascaded across the skies, lighting up the heavens with a gorgeous array of starlight. Twilight’s moon slowly rose on the horizon, the eastern ocean brightening to the arrival of the full moon. And Manehattan, the city that never slept, was more alive than ever.

Reconstruction efforts had been halted so the night life ponies once had forgotten could return in full force. Clubs and restaurants were ablaze with city folk retiring after a long day’s work. Lovely couples began the long night with dancing and partying, while families spent the evening and the night in nearby parks, or enjoying a nice meal at the city’s most famous restaurants. The streets were alive and well.

The inner city was brilliantly captured in a moment that radiated peace and a regrowing prosperity. It had been a difficult reconstruction, but Princess Twilight and her T.I.T.A.N. had led them through it well. Skeletal buildings stood alongside the ones that had survived. The names of the fallen had been engraved upon the marble stones surrounding the reconstruction sites, so the ponies of Manehattan would never forget. What they lost, who they lost.

Perhaps most importantly, they expressed the undying spirit of survival. How they lifted those who had lost their lives so the ones who lived retained their memories, rebuilding what was once lost, what the enemy tried to take. What the enemy failed to achieve. Because out of the fire and into the light of a bright, new day, they remained. They lived.

Even the Pony of Liberty remained tall and proud and valiant in the coming night, holding her torch high to the rising moon and the unforeseeable darkness.

The waters were calm surrounding the city.

In the far reaches of the Manehattan bay, distant T.I.T.A.N. ships patrolled the area, but they were minimal. The travesty of Fillydelphia reached the city of Manehattan, like it had several cities and settlements, and patrols were at the ready. Searching, waiting, always vigilant for any threat to make itself known. Other than T.I.T.A.N., the infamous Titanwatchers were also present on the outskirts of the city.

Having rented out nearby hotels and sharing apartment complexes, the group had heard the warnings from the government to be aware of increased Titan activity. After the rival alpha roar had been made, the creatures had gone rampant, as did the Titanwatchers. Most chaos had been settled on land, but the ocean was still ripe with sea beasts that had not been tamed as of yet. No T.I.T.A.N. force or ORCA device had been utilized to their knowledge, so they kept watch, as their name suggested.

Aside from the common fishing vessel or the T.I.T.A.N. patrol, the Titanwatchers were more discrete about their presence. More of an activist group whose sole purpose was to understand the nature and mindsets of the creatures in a peaceful manner, they ignored the warnings and the dangers and searched the waters for any signs. Their boats were few, numbering five in all of Manehattan bay. They had to be few; T.I.T.A.N. didn’t like them very much.

Instruments to survey the ocean floor were scattered about on each vessel, with radars constantly searching for any signs of Titan activity. Those same instruments cluttered a particular boat resting in the eastern sea, a mile or two off the coast of the city. Probably further than any other Titanwatcher, pushing the boundaries, threatening T.I.T.A.N.’s interference the longer they sat there.

The Titanwatcher alone on deck wasn’t worried. Not in the slightest if the content and weary expression on his face meant anything. He was kicking back, leaning on his chair, hind legs crossed and resting against the table holding his radar system. Letting the soft, monotone hum of the radar soothe his senses along with the cool chill of the ocean spray. Letting his wide-brimmed hat fall further and further in front of his drooping eyes.

A cup of coffee was levitated to the Earth pony. “Lookin’ to be another long watch, eh?” a familiar voice to his right announced.

Leaning his head back, the stallion smiled to the see the unicorn captain offer him a cup, to which he gratefully handled with both hooves. “Lookin’ to be that way,” he responded in a gruff, albeit greatly-relaxed tone. He raised his coffee to his fellow Titanwatcher. “Here’s to the long night.”

“To the long night.” They clinked mugs and took a light swig.

“Anything come up?” his captain asked. “Was really hoping we’d see Na Kika out here.”

“Nah, been quiet for hours. Not even a school of fish to swim in and say hi,” the Titanwatcher responded, turning his gaze to the distant vessels swinging further out of the bay. Even the Pony of Liberty looked small from where they were. “Those patrol boats might turn their spotlights over here soon. Thinkin’ of bringin’ us to the docks?”

“Eh, it’ll just be more empty warnings from T.I.T.A.N. They don’t got the stones to—”

Beep.

Both ponies froze.

They stared at the green line of the radar swing around.

Beep.

Capturing something. A disturbance. A figure deep within the water.

Beep. Getting bigger, growing longer, emerging from the North and taking a sharp turn East.

Unnaturally fast. Unnaturally sudden. Beep. Toward them.

And when it was beneath them, it came so suddenly and so forceful that a moderately-sized wave impacted the starboard side. The ship teetered just enough to knock down several instruments off the table and make the ponies spill their coffee. The captain’s drink fell all over the floor of the boat. The other Titanwatcher’s fell right in his lap, earning a sharp, agitated cry from the stallion.

Shooting up onto all four hooves, the stallion was quick to clean himself of the hot coffee, but found his interests aligning far quicker with the ocean dead ahead of him. Just as his captain’s interests were. Watching the ocean split open for the disturbance to make itself realized. No more gimmicks. No more hiding. The towering dorsal plates rose from the ocean surface and shimmer a bright, violent, intimidating blue.

The Titanwatchers knew those plates. They knew those shimmering signs. Neither pony could breathe a word out when the tail rammed itself against the belly of the ship and ripped it in two, flinging the halves of the boat clear across the awakened sea.

Their cries were never heard. Their sounds blended in with the fleeting screams of their fellow Titanwatchers, along with every T.I.T.A.N. patrol boat within the vicinity. For the spinal plates proceeded forth with the towering tail slapping down into the waters once more, each rocky-like bone splintering and cracking through any vessel that got in their way.

Leading the charge, breaking the waves, two orbs brighter than the dorsal plates finally emerged. Bright blue eyes that were finally lifted high and the jaws were unhinged to unleash an earth-shuddering roar upon the oncoming, inhabited land.

Godzilla was here.

Emergency Titan Raid sirens began to flood the air. Spotlights were ignited. Anti-Titan Turrets were engaged and the ponies handling them turned each barrel to the sea. Upon every rooftop across the city, ponies either partying the night away, families awakened from their slumber, or Titanwatchers were all fully engrossed by the sounds of the siren. They turned their eyes to the spotlights waving toward the darkness of the ocean.

There, they saw him rise. He rose out of the ocean, unleashing a second, bone-trembling roar. One clearly meant as an act of intimidation. As a clear threat. As an act of war. And there was no intent in his actions to stop his coming rampage.

The turrets were burning bright at the ends of their barrels, the coastline and docks surrounding Manehattan flashing white and yellow and firing streams of red onto the charging Titan. Unloading their ordnance. Unleashing the firepower of T.I.T.A.N. Yet it stopped nothing. Godzilla did not yield. Every shelling, every bullet, every blast against his hide only aggravated him.

But T.I.T.A.N. wasn’t done. They expected such from any creature, even Godzilla. If the firepower did not ward him off, their air superiority would catch his attention. So, the skies were filled in less than a minute. Solar Bolts flew overhead, launched from the nearby T.I.T.A.N. facility to engage the active threat. They flew between buildings, over rooftops, with shocking speed and jetting for the target.

They launched their missiles, unleashed their turrets, and Godzilla merely swatted them aside. Roaring in defiance and rage. Unshaken. Undeterred. Unstopped. It was then that the ponies of Manehattan proceeded to flee. The streets were chaos as the T.I.T.A.N. soldiers stationed on the city’s edges held their ground, but were ultimately thwarted. Titanwatchers fled from their rooftops, their observation posts, as the warnings and the threats all finally came to fruition. All finally struck them in their hearts with that cold, dreaded reality.

No threat was made to Godzilla’s dominion. Manehattan lived every night as it had the past few months since the heaviest days of the reconstruction had passed. T.I.T.A.N. established their stronghold but they made no threat against Godzilla or his rule. No change in the natural order was made or declared. This attack went against everything they thought they knew.

And Godzilla didn’t stop. He didn’t relent. He killed.

It was raw and savage, against his nature, against what they believed his nature to be. Or maybe they were deceived. In the raining fire and collapsing buildings, that deception spread as a fear that corroded every spirit and every heart across Manehattan. The ground shuddered and carriages bounced in place. Pegasi took to the skies and flew for their lives. Unicorns and Earth ponies galloped in a mass panic as far from the oncoming tide of death as possible. Trampling others who were too slow, too feeble, too afraid to move.

Godzilla entered the cityscape and began his decimation with an atomic breath, severing buildings both standing and in mid-construction. They all collapsed together. More Solar Bolts came, but they just as easily were blown out of the sky by that same beam of fire erupting from his maw. His cry elevated in pitch as more missiles struck his body, and he then retaliated by striking his body against the towers, the skyscrapers, the hotels, the apartments.

Everything.

His tail slashed at every street he passed, decapitating buildings as his feet crushed the roads and any fleeing heart caught under his shadow. His claws swiped and gutted every structure, ripping mounds of rubble free and flinging them across the city in a mindless, rageful manner. It fell upon the ponies trying to run, trying to fly away, trying to live. The rest were burned. Bursts of light, waves of power, a radioactive fury fell from his agape mouth. A singular stream of his atomic breath was washed across the city. His fire gave a cry unlike anything the world had heard. A shrill, piercing shriek that devoured any and all caught in his meaningless wrath.

It was that fire that devoured all. Every standing structure that had survived the Titan attack one year ago. Every attempt to rebuild what was broken, retain those who were lost, they were also devoured. The marble structures that held the names of the fallen, lest they forget, were buried in the crumbling ruins of the towers falling over them.

Waves of fire and of dust filled the streets. Every street, until Godzilla finally relented. His jaws came to a close and the atomic fire had ended. He had left a growing fire in his wake. His spinal plates finally darkened from the bright blue that consumed them, as did his eyes, and he finally stood to witness all he had done.

He stared at his destruction, his eyes holding a dead, soulless stare. Even so, his eyes were glistening nonetheless. His eyes shone with the fading light of atomic power and something much, much worse. For when he stared at the needless destruction, there was felt only one true power, and one his eyes expressed far more than anything else Godzilla could have. His eyes said it all. His eyes burned. His eyes carried a voice stronger than any roar he could have made.

His maddening, golden eyes, irises as red as the fires devouring the city, with pupils as black as his mind. In his wake, they carried terror.

In his wake, that terror carried on.

Baltimare, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. Outpost Horseshoe

The sirens quickly spread. From one city, one settlement to next. All it took was one’s ears to be opened and eyes to be vigilant to hear the warnings and see the fires on the horizon. Smell the smoke in the air. To step outside their homes and businesses and the T.I.T.A.N. outpost stationed in Baltimare’s Horseshoe Bay.

All to see the fire in the North. The great plume of red and orange like a faint match, a pinprick. But from what they heard in the radios, in the emergency broadcasts shared by their allies in Manehattan, is that they were under attack. Godzilla was on the move. And he was coming for the southern outpost.

Immediately, a state of emergency was declared by the mayor of Baltimare by order of T.I.T.A.N. All citizens were required to relocate to the bunkers while the military and T.I.T.A.N. forces proceeded with defensive measures. Horseshoe Bay held a large assortment of T.I.T.A.N.’s naval fleet, airships and battleships of every size and variety. The outpost stationed there was responsible for stationing a hefty number of Equestria’s T.I.T.A.N. naval fleet. Not all, by any means—as the Hippogriff navy easily overshadowed theirs—but they were the largest manufacturer.

One of the biggest threats, it would seem. And that was why—in their minds—they believed Godzilla came for them.

When he did, when he appeared on their radar and every scope they peered out of showed his dorsal plates emerging from the ocean depths, nothing could stop him. No matter how hard they tried, how dense their defenses were, or how many numbers they had.

Godzilla tore through their naval ships all the same.

He practically broke out of the sea, ramming his glowing fins into the bellies of two great battleships. Their cannons fired off in an attempt to strike him, but they went sky-high. Hitting nothing but air. Erupting alongside the rest of the ships when Godzilla’s raging roar came spewing out of the waters. With his roar, came the blazing heat ray from his mouth, unleashing fire and fury on the T.I.T.A.N. fleet upon the sea.

The wrathful king lifted that same beam to the air, striking at the airships, burning the balloons to embers. Their flaming, charred corpses fell out of the sky, making several crash landings in the city to avoid drowning the crew. Not many had the luxury of landing relatively soft, or on solid ground. Most burst into flames and landed straight into the dark embrace of the deep.

Spotlights waved across his body, and Godzilla cried in agitation as a fleet of Solar Bolts pelted him with a bombing run. He rammed his feet upon solid earth and entered into the city, eyes aglow with a sinful blue that knew no end to such devastation he caused. He swatted his claws about, swinging at the planes as the armies of Baltimare fired on him from the sky and the ground. Tanks and armed troopers, all of their meager bullets and tank shells doing nothing, achieving nothing but their own demise when they chose to stay and fight.

Instead of running.

That was their first mistake. Their second was trying to defend Outpost Horseshoe.

That was what Godzilla specifically targeted.

As the last of the Solar Bolts collided with the street in a blazing heap, the panic unfolding within the outpost staging grounds was unparalleled. They had a rogue and clearly berserk Titan marching on their armament and yet they didn’t have the means to fight back. Their fleet was gone, in the sea and in the air. Their soldiers were retreating to leave the outpost’s fate to certain demise.

Commanders and officers of Outpost Horseshoe were already well underway in sending a clear distress signal to T.I.T.A.N. HQ. They activated their emergency beacon and stood their ground. Not having the honor of going down with their ships, they chose instead to stand and die holding their fortress.

As they stepped out of the command station, emerging under the raging lights of the distress flares popping off in the dark night sky, they were greeted to another light. One from the melting remains of their largest airship, the Apex. It fell over their heads, crashing deep within the outpost grounds and creating a vast, blinding fireball that brought forth the light of the sun.

Before it all fell dark, and the only light that remained was the brightening hue of a haunting blue in the distance. Followed by that haunting roar that every T.I.T.A.N. commander and officer felt jolt every nerve ending in their bodies.

Amidst a washing crowd of fleeing engineers, scientists, agents, and soldiers, the leaders of the outpost perhaps felt the greatest pain watching their armies retreat. The ponies they were meant to lead and serve, now abandoning every righteous law to save their own flanks. A failure on their part, but failures they would not die as. Cowards they would not stand as. They would not run. They would not cower. Even when certain death came stomping into their fortress, certain death they faced with guns raised and voices roaring.

Only to be silenced by Godzilla’s deafening war cry.

He silenced them all in a single, sweeping breath.

Casting his atomic fire across the outpost staging ground, Godzilla proceeded to eviscerate entire buildings, factories, armories, and supply stations of military equipment and vehicles. From battleships and airships in mid-construction, to tanks and armored vehicles and dropships, and even to countless lines of firearm and ammunition production. All of it was consumed in an explosive, killing force.

Godzilla pelted the earth relentlessly, his dorsal plates as bright as his eyes, as bright as the streams of fire burning from his jaws. The heat ray tore across the outpost and struck a crowd of fleeing soldiers. Ponies and vehicles were thrown back from the fury of the eruptions, their screaming, flailing bodies like rag dolls against the blossoming flames washing over them.

He kept up the fire until there was nothing left. Nothing left to recover or rebuild. All of it burned to charred corpses and ash in the wind. Brought to its knees from the path of destruction he left in Baltimare. Sinking to the bottom of the bay with countless bodies sinking alongside the demolished ships. Left to rot in a radioactive hellhole.

Godzilla lifted his head to the night sky and roared.

Colombuck, Shire Lanka

Bombs didn’t work. Bullets were nothing. Every ounce of defensive and offensive measure they had were burned in nuclear fire. So when it came to the attention of T.I.T.A.N. that Godzilla’s path of destruction was heading toward the island of Shire Lanka, they deployed one of their last countermeasures in an attempt to ward him off.

The nearest T.I.T.A.N. brigade stationed in Griffonstone was deployed, equipped with the finest ORCA the organization had. Their airship—the fastest in the eastern fleet—miraculously managed to reach the island city of Colombuck before Godzilla. A pristine team of griffon pilots, they ensured the ORCA wasn’t activated until they could get a guaranteed sighting of the King of the Monsters.

Low and behold, he arrived bursting out of the sea, spines driving headlong toward the island’s borders.

Having heard the distress signals through the radio and the emergency beacons all night long, the griffons understood just exactly what had happened and what was assuredly coming. What would assuredly befall Colombuck if they didn’t respond to Godzilla’s heinous actions. With a few adjustments to the control console piloting the aircraft, a large briefcase of some kind was lifted up and placed down on the face of the console.

Opening the case, the black screen came to life and the ORCA was prepared to engage. Ensuring the device was connected to the airship’s speakers, a reassuring thumbs-up was given from one pilot to the other, and the ship’s comms came to life.

As did the ORCA.

Readjusting the frequency to mimic a rival alpha, the griffons listened from high above the ocean’s surface as the low octaves of the machine elevated in pitch with each burst out of the speakers. Each frequency giving the same call, taunting Godzilla with the call of a rival predator.

They flew past him.

But he kept on swimming.

It was then the pilots knew something was horribly wrong. The ORCA technology had gone through several phases of testing, with wild success each and every time. They were guaranteed a functioning countermeasure to any and all Titan-related attacks, a way to defeat the creatures without a single drop of blood being spilled. It had worked time and time again whenever the beasts roamed too close to an Equestrian civilization.

But to him, to the king, it was nothing. Like every other attempt the world had made to slow him down.

The airship wheeled around at a tight 180 degrees, ensuring the speakers were screaming at their maximum and the ORCA was blaring the alpha frequency. They even threatened the radius of the signal, pushing past the recommended boundaries so no other Titan would respond. But desperation clouded their minds, their judgement, and their actions, because nothing was working.

When Godzilla sprouted out of the sea, they had hoped something would change. They tailed behind the monster but he remained resolute, unshaken. He broke through the city’s defensive barriers and proceeded forth into its hold. Sirens had already been filling the night, but now the screams joined them. Now, Godzilla’s furious roars drowned out every voice and his atomic breath coated the earth.

The city was laid to waste, all while the airship continuously flew high above, the ORCA continuously trying to drive him away. But it was no use. He ignored it.

As the smoke rose around their windshield and the embers lit up the night sky, one griffon finally took the only other action that could have made a difference. Grabbing his headset, he adjusted the console before him. He made sure he was live on all T.I.T.A.N. communication channels.

Beginning his distress message by breathlessly shouting, “This is Griffonstone T.I.T.A.N. Airship Gallant, calling out to all eastern settlements and outposts! Repeat, Griffonstone T.I.T.A.N. Airship Gallant to all eastern settlements! Evacuate all citizens immediately! Godzilla is not responding to the ORCA frequencies! Repeat, Godzilla is not responding! Evacuate all citizens and prepare your defenses! Godzilla’s trajectory is heading right—!”

A light brighter than the embers rose up to them, and the fiery, explosive force of Godzilla’s atomic breath pierced the underbelly of their airship. The rest erupted, falling out of the sky and impacting the flaming hellscape that encompassed the ground.

The same flaming hellscape shrouding Godzilla, the dead eyes staring straight ahead to the coming sea. Moments after, he finished his desolation and proceeded forth into the ocean. Leaving his deed to rot against the earth, leaving behind an island in flames, but unable to stop that single distress message soaring and spreading across the air.

Panthera, Abyssinia

T.I.T.A.N. Outpost Lionheart

Ornithia. Sydneigh. Ng’amia.

They were already hit. They were already gone.

Cities were left to smolder into cinders, creating fiery beacons from one city, one T.I.T.A.N. outpost, to the next. Oceans were filled with burning and sinking naval ships poised to defend their lands and their seas from the coming tide of destruction. Their fires filled the night skies and corroded the horizon in a sickly red. Nothing, no other defenses remained between Godzilla and Outpost Lionheart in Panthera.

News struck the felines of Godzilla’s rampage, and they did all they could in a timely manner if just to sustain their capital city. The innocent were organized and led to the bunkers outside of the city limits. An impressive naval defense was locked tight between Panthera’s coast and the village of Siam. That was the main reason for such mighty defensive measures, to sustain their capital city and their way of life.

But if they were being truthful to some degree, the need for such militaristic machinations of war, more than any other settlement on the continent, was for Outpost Lionheart. In truth, the southeastern outpost was a huge supplier of raw materials for the majority of T.I.T.A.N.’s military infrastructure.

The felines excelled in developing trains, vehicles, planes, tanks, planes, firearms and ammunition, and a vast assortment of material that supplied a great number of T.I.T.A.N. allies, as well as allied nations. Not only for military needs, but for basic infrastructure. Metals, iron, oil, riches beneath the earth, all of it ensured Abyssinia was an invaluable ally to have. The world desired for defensive war machines in the new age of monsters, and Abyssinia delivered, with great thanks given to their hefty supply of natural oil wells across the desert.

When they heard of Godzilla nearing their city, it wasn’t just felines defending the coastline and the grounds outside of Panthera. Allied nations and forces of T.I.T.A.N. were also present, watching in trembling trepidation to see the fires in the South… only growing brighter and larger.

Fires on the ocean.

Fires devouring the village of Siam.

And the light of Godzilla’s arrival ripping through the sea.

He reared out of the waters headfirst, driving his head and spines through a towering bridge hanging over him. The bridge connected the mainland of Abyssinia with a small island in the bay, and it all came crumbling in ruin once Godzilla tore through it. Supply trains driving desperately to the mainland were cut off, falling to their demise in the sea.

T.I.T.A.N. scouts stationed on the island surrounded the edges of the command building, seeing Godzilla stomp across the bay and only rise higher and higher. His dorsal plates were blinding, growing brighter, hotter, more ferocious the more the armies of the world waged war against him. It was not war he sought. There was no war the meager inhabitants of Equus could ever wage against Godzilla and survive.

No one knew what he sought. But witnessing him plowing through wave after wave of the joint forces defending Panthera, it was clear what his intentions were. When he entered the outskirts of Panthera, leaving behind devastation untold and incalculable amidst miles of destroyed armories and factories, and standing in the ruins of the oil refineries, it was clear, right then and there, what he sought.

And it was already too late to stop him.

Godzilla lifted his head high, his jaws even higher, as his body suddenly brightened into a stunning, blinding blue. The low-frequency growls of energy only elevated in pitch and speed the further Godzilla charged up. Filling his eyes, showcasing his bones beneath the hardened hide, and enveloping his open mouth until…

He drove his fiery breath directly down into the earth. The tremors that followed were horrific, washing across all of Panthera as the ground was literally burned open. Vast and vivid cracks shot out across the city, waves of heated dust and radiation enveloping the armies of T.I.T.A.N. faster than they could run. Godzilla did not yield. He did not stop, only digging deeper and deeper and igniting the oil wells below ground.

From that, the fire only spread. From that, he killed their most essential tool for production right in the source.

Oil fields and refineries were caught in flames, miles and miles of precious lifeblood for the machines of T.I.T.A.N. and of the world gone in an instant. It was as if a sea of flames, a sea that flooded the earth and drowned the felines, the ponies, the dragons, the griffons, all who dared to stand against Godzilla’s new rule.

A new rule elevated by his terrifying roar, a roar that all would remember. A roar that blistered the fire-streaked skylines and chilled the night. A roar that permeated and burned the memories of all who miraculously survived, all of them forever knowing what had happened this horrible night. All of them forever knowing the dreaded deeds Godzilla committed.

His deeds weren’t natural. His deeds weren’t warranted. They offered no vocal and real threat to his rule, and he killed them anyway. And for what?

It wasn’t reestablishing order. It wasn’t even war. It was madness.

A madness, a terror, a fear that spread.

Chapter 17 – Land of the Living

View Online

Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

A brightness brought him back. A light from above that disoriented him a moment until the dark in his vision finally faded, and the blur was gone. Deaf ears had passed, and he heard their voices surrounding him.

“Commander…?” a voice in the void called, and he realized just how distant he was becoming. How far he had fallen and how much the dark tried to reclaim. “… Shatter, can you hear…?”

The light above was so incredibly bright it made his head throb, or perhaps that was the deep migraine finally reemerging. A wave of nausea threatened to appear, but Shatter was able to relinquish a sigh billowing deep within him, tilting his head to the side. He touched the gentleness of a pillow, finally felt the warm sheet resting over him.

“He’s coming to,” another voice inquired, this one female. Turning to it, all Shatter saw was pure whiteness, the blur fading quicker and quicker. As well as her voice becoming more pronounced, realer. “Can you hear me? There he is.”

When his vision cleared, Shatter was greeted to a sight of two nurse mares on each side of his pearly-white bed, with a unicorn stallion standing on the very end and slowly trotting his way over to his left. The stallion, who Shatter assumed to be the lead doctor, offered a kind, gentle smile, just one to warm the situation.

“Welcome back, Commander Shatter Heart,” the doctor exclaimed softly.

His vision cleared further, and Shatter took a moment to ignore the greeting and instead focus on the pony before him. He was a dark yellow unicorn with light cerulean eyes and a heavy brown mane. He wore white scrubs, unlike the nurses who wore bright blue, with a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his snout. Seeing Shatter aware and awake, the doctor looked over to his nurse, whispering tightly, “Bring the rulers in at once.”

She was gone, rushing out to the hallway with Shatter slowly trying to follow.

He was calmly but forcibly laid back down by the doctor and his remaining nurse. “Easy, no need to move just now,” he smiled warmly. Shatter just gave him a cold, dead stare. Clearing his throat, the stallion rested a hoof over his heart and began again. “My name is Doctor Horse, and I’ve been tasked to care for you. I’m happy to say you’ve made a successful recovery. Gave us quiet a scare, I might add. You’ll be pleased to hear that the emperor personally asked for your current condition. We’ll send word out soon.”

Minimal comforts, and ones Shatter wasn’t concerned about. He sat up this time and wasn’t stopped, pressing his back against the headboard. “My Mecha…?” he asked, voice hoarse. “My crew…?”

He realized just how incredibly weary he was, looking down his body to see gauze strips and bandages shrouding his chest and limbs like a mummified corpse. Gasping lightly, coughing even harder, Shatter looked to his right foreleg, seeing some familiar burns still scarred, left uncovered by the fresh bandages. Some new burns were made to join them.

Tears were in his eyes from the lack of air he allowed in his lungs. His coughing fit earned a necessary response, and a glass of water was levitated to him. Shatter took it and chugged the water without remorse, barely breathing, final gasping for air once he finished.

As his nurse levitated the glass out of Shatter’s hooves, Doctor Horse removed his glasses via magic, rubbing the lenses against his snow-white scrubs. “Well, I am certainly no engineer, but last I heard they were able to recover most of the chassis intact. The central processor as well, thank Twilight. Minimal damage, but nothing too severe. The best of the best are already working on repairs as we speak.”

He was silent for nearly ten seconds after, prompting Shatter to lift his head. He stopped coughing.

He practically stopped breathing when he had to ask a second time, “My crew?”

The doctor sighed, placing the glasses back on the bridge of his snout. “Commander Heart, I was hoofpicked by Princess Twilight Sparkle to be relocated here to Canterlot Hospital, and now the T.I.T.A.N. HQ Emergency Medical Center. She holds great respect for me ever since she first came to Ponyville, and I hold immense respect for her, now more than ever. In all my years in the medical profession, it’s always been my priority to put the truth above all. Light and heavy; I don’t wish to lie to my patients. I care for and respect every last pony and creature that comes under my aid. I do… everything in my power to help my patients recover… to save my patients if…”

There was an unsettling quiet that followed, and Doctor Horse seemed pained to even have to speak of it himself.

“I only wish you understand that I and my team have done everything in our power. Your friend, Rotor Wrench, woke up the earliest. Have to admit, he’s one of the toughest ponies I’ve seen in a long time.”

Doctor Horse stepped aside, unveiling to Shatter’s sight the image of the burly stallion tucked in nice and comfortably on the bed at the far end of the room. Rotor lied still, turning slowly after hearing his name, and offering a weak salute to Shatter. The red unicorn couldn’t help but manage a centimeter of a smile.

“Your other pilot, Peaky Blossom, is right over here. Directly ahead, see her? The next room… she’s coming to.”

He was directed straight forward, where the glass window between them, the hallway, and the next room over unveiled his fellow pilot and friend. Peaky looked to be the weariest among them, a team of nurses caring for her in all her necessities: applying a wet towel to her forehead, giving her a sip of water through a straw, and applying fresh gauze and bandages. Peaky barely even opened her eyes.

Shatter’s heart ached just seeing her in such conditions. A pilot of her merit didn’t deserve to be bed-ridden. Treated like they were a sickness, lowly failures confined by their incapacity to achieve victory. That wasn’t who they were. None of them deserved it.

And at the sudden thought of his fellow pilots, Shatter looked around the room. Seeing nopony else. His chest began to sporadically tremble. As did his voice when he called out, “Moonshadow? Cross?”

His wile eyes turned instead to the lead doctor, who could only respond in silence. And shortly with, “Commander, I—”

“Where is my brother?”

His voice was undeniably laced with venom, ensuring to not only the doctor but to his nurse as well that Shatter was fully conscious, fully aware, and fully willing to face the inescapable consequences that came with war. He was a strong pony, strongest in all of Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N.

Though, then again… nopony was ever truly strong enough to bear the weight that came next.

Doctor Horse corrected himself, beginning again. Softer, more personal. Calling him by his name and telling him, “Shatter… we tried, but… the wounds were too severe. Both Moonshadow and Cross Heart were in critical condition on the flight, and bringing them into the medical bay… it was too late. They faced the brunt of the blast. You were very lucky to have survived. I’m sorry, son.”

Nothing but an eerie silence filled the medical center, with random sounds from the ICUs and heartrate monitors now and again. The air grew so still and so cold that the nurse tending to Rotor Wrench had to face away, her eyes darting and lingering on to Shatter to see what his reaction would be. Rotor’s was as expected: heartbroken.

As for Shatter…

There didn’t seem to be much of anything. Other than the sunken look to his expression, as if his skull had replaced most of the blood in his face, and his eyes being filled with a great shadow, there was no sound. There was no immediate reaction. It was slow and calculated, the unicorn gulping silently and staring on—with that thousand-yard stare, as cold as winter—and saying nothing. Doing nothing more.

“They’re in the room down the hall if you wish to see them,” Doctor Horse offered.

Though he heard him, most of what Shatter heard was that irritating, piercing ring make its return. His mind was a ship now growing lost at sea, a dark fog slowly encompassing his surroundings. No way to turn around. No way to stop, for Shatter’s anchor was gone. His tie to reality, to the last remnant of his clan, gone.

The door practically flung open, but Princess Twilight managed to catch it before it could slam against the wall.

“Doctor Horse, your nurse told us he was awake?” Twilight addressed. She was trailed shortly by both directors and the nurse that led them. Noticing the attention of the room shift her way, Twilight sheepishly shrunk, biting her lip as a sort of awkward, wordless apology.

Then, her eyes met Shatter’s, and she sighed. “Oh… Commander Heart… what a relief to see you still with us. How are you?”

She strode forth so she was on his bedside, next to Doctor Horse but closer to Shatter Heart. Director Celestia and Director Luna took the opposite side of the bed, ensuring their Neighponese pilot was surrounded by allies, and most importantly, friends.

He didn’t even look them in the eyes, leaning back and resting his head on the cold metal of the headboard. “Alive.”

Well, that’s always a positive, Twilight imagined in her head, nonetheless offering a supportive smile. A smile that quickly deflated as her hoof found its way onto the bed. Close to his. “The nurse told us about your pilots… your brother… I-I… I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through. What… all of you are going through. I just want you to know that we’re here, no matter what. For you, your team, for anything you need.”

Celestia was certain to nod, adding gratefully, “Be assured that we are already doing everything in our power to find this creature you battled. As well as beginning the necessary repairs to the Mecha. We should be up and running again in mere weeks.”

“Weeks…” Shatter mumbled, staring slowly to the ceiling. Head deep in his pillow, mind racing so fast, just imagining all the horrific deeds the monster would have inflicted in that time. Enough to make his head spin and burn a fresh migraine deep into his skull.

Luna seemed to recognize such anxieties start to billow—she had faced many herself in ages old, and even in recent memory. They would ensure Shatter and his pilots received the proper treatment to get them back on their hooves, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something deeper. Something that haunted the stare in Shatter’s eyes the moment she stepped hoof in that hospital room.

Something to dig into later, for they had bigger issues to tend to. “But… if we are to find this creature… if we are to end this conflict… we will need clarification on exactly what it is we need to find,” Director Luna explained.

Opening his eyes, the unicorn tilted his head from the pillow if to meet her gaze. And oh, how serious it became, Luna exemplifying the weight to their situation by growing closer, her voice hardening. Her expression beyond the point of serious, as she asked, “You were there in Fillydelphia. Yourself, Rotor, and Peaky. What creature did you battle?”

Just uttering that word, that name, “Fillydelphia”, it shook something within Shatter. Something alive but dead at the same time, cruel and vile, that felt no pain and only dealt it in return. A memory, and one he instantly tried to repress lest the bright, violet flames start to arise and encompass his sight like it had before.

Thankfully, the question was loud enough for Rotor to hear.

“Ma’am, I…” Wrench tried to say, losing his voice as it sounded uncharacteristically shriveled. Clearing his throat, tilting his head to every eye in the room on him, he said, “I can’t say definitively on the kind of Titan. Certainly didn’t look like any Titan we’ve studied before. Some kind of… dragon. But it seemed… wrong. Everything about it was just wrong. Nothing natural about it. Not in the way it moved, fought, or even roared. It was…”

“Evil,” Shatter gravely finished.

For quite some time, neither stallion could offer anything else. It was as if Director Luna had inquired too deeply, too quickly into fresh wounds. Even the former princess seemed to recognize her rash actions, and backed away accordingly. The answers they received, and the pale looks they saw now said everything.

They were traumatized by it. They gave no clear picture of what it was because they couldn’t. It was too soon. Too much mental and physical scarring.

But before Luna could make her apologizes known, Rotor grunted softly. Turning to his directors and the Princess of Equestria with wet, burning eyes and saying, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I—”

“Thank you… for everything,” Twilight interrupted, giving her utmost appreciation for their efforts and sacrifice. Ensured they both knew that above all else. Her voice was soft, exemplifying all the tenderness and love that the Princess of Friendship knew best. With that knowledge, with that strength on her side, she focused it on the pony resting before her.

She rested her hoof over Shatter’s, and uttered gently, “I’m so sorry. If you need somepony to speak to, call for me. I’m here.”

Even upon the thin blanket, Twilight felt no warmth. Just a shocking coolness that encompassed Shatter’s hoof yet left his reactions unfazed. No shivering. No flinches. Only mirroring his eyes, each being just as cold. Staring dead ahead, almost at nothing. To nowhere. Twilight found her hoof, and her gaze, falling slowly away.

They were ushered out of the room by the doctor. In their slow exit, Doctor Horse stopped Twilight, addressing her in a somewhat private means. Twilight’s face seemed to darken once more, the pain evident as she glanced quickly to Shatter and then slowly over to the opposite room. The room that held a certain yellow unicorn pilot.

Once they left, Shatter let his eyes flicker across the smooth, bright covers shielding his lower body. His vision, once again, seemed to blur, but his consciousness was sound. The lights in the room brightened as a wetness started to grow and wither across his lower eyelids. A subtle movement ahead brought his attention to the room opposite to theirs.

He saw them, the princess and the directors, joined with Doctor Horse entering the room and speaking to Peaky. There was not a word he could hear, but Shatter somehow already knew what they were telling her. If the doctor’s hushed whisper, Twilight’s expression from earlier, and the bond Peaky and his brother held meant anything, then Shatter knew what was spoken.

It broke his heart even further—if that was possible—to see her cry out at the news of her coltfriend. Hooves risen to shield her mouth, tears breaking through her tightly-shut eyes. Only for her waning strength to fail her, and her face to fall into her hooves as she wept. Loud enough to echo across the room, down the hall, and whisper between Rotor and Shatter.

He cared not for what else the directors spoke to Peaky about. Probably more weightless charities to ease the pain of her loss, or maybe they began to ask her about the creature she saw in Fillydelphia. Whichever the case, Shatter drowned them out.

When Rotor asked, “Commander…”

Heart took in a sharp breath, not even turning his way. “Rotor…”

“About what happened in Fillydelphia… about your brother… he was a good pony. One of the bravest I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. And Moon…”

He never turned to face his commander. Perhaps he didn’t have the strength to do that. He sniffled, hard. But thankfully, when he was weak, his leader was strong, and Shatter recovered for him. “One of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever seen. Soft spoken, but colder—”

“Than ice,” Rotor said, joining Shatter in finishing that statement, and even in a light chuckle. A chuckle that just as quickly died as it started, leaving the two in a deathly quiet. “Can’t say the same for her heart. One of the kindest, sweetest mares under that cool exterior.”

By then, Shatter found a reason to turn. He found a reason to reach out and see the pilot that survived. The warrior that endured. The friend who was still there with him. If that was to be considered a blessing of some kind, Shatter would take any and all he could. Rotor, just as well, found the strength to notice his commander’s gaze and face it.

“I’m thankful you and Peaky made it,” Shatter told him, and meant it.

“Feel the same for you, boss,” responded Rotor, the light blue stallion weakly smiling. A smile that mysteriously faded once he stared up above, to nowhere. “And… before the explosion… I noticed on the HUD that we managed one more strike on the creature. I felt nothing. I didn’t act on it. Commander…?”

“It was my doing,” Shatter admitted. There was no other reaction from him. He felt no shame, hid nothing. “I took most of the machine’s central processor. I took control of the Mecha.”

Rotor sat up. “Shatter, we were warned about this. Taking in that much energy output, even for a few seconds, could be deadly. When the doctor said you were lucky to be alive, I more than agree with that now.”

“What would you have me do, my friend?” the unicorn retorted, leaning up and facing him fully. “I saw the blast coming, and it would have consumed all of us. If I had done nothing… we wouldn’t be here. If I had done nothing… well… perhaps then I wouldn’t know my brother and Moon were…”

He paused, needing to. He sighed, giving in. “Though… now I see that my actions have only led…”

“Come on, don’t put that weight on yourself,” Rotor said, trying to comfort. Trying to see the positives in their otherwise bleak situation. He could think of only one. “We’re alive. We survived because of you, boss.”

It still seemed like a weightless charity. More words with little meaning behind them, even when they came from a reliable, welcome source. Rotor was not a weakness—Shatter ensured that, but anything offered to him to somehow soothe his injuries was little more than a dripping satisfaction. So very little aid with no rest. There was nothing to excuse him or his actions, Shatter believed that.

Even if he wanted to believe there was one.

Even if he desperately didn’t want his brother’s blood on his hooves.

“Not all of us…” Shatter heard himself mutter. His gaze was elsewhere, focused on the sheets, on the floor, anywhere except on his surviving friend. Even when he knew Rotor’s eyes stared nowhere else but to him. “The Mecha isn’t powerful enough. Even with our magic, our will… we weren’t enough.

Instead of more weightless words, feeble charities, what Rotor said next left Shatter momentarily shaken. “All the more of a chance for us to bounce back and right the wrongs,” Wrench responded after a short shrug.

Shatter made a face, awestruck if anything, before a tiny smile tried to sneak across his limp lips. Rotor’s sad grin certainly helped.

“Perhaps I can be thankful I’m alive,” his unicorn commander said. Rotor nodded softly, lifting his stare to see the blankets be pushed aside and Shatter make an attempt to rise up. Not before he nodded Wrench’s way, ordering, “Get your rest, my friend.”

His hooves gently scraped and patted the white, marble tiles. No more than three seconds later, the only other nurse came back from the far end of the room, pressing her hoof to Shatter’s shoulder and quickly addressing, “Hey, hey, easy! Where do you think you’re—?”

When Shatter turned to her, his stare was enough to rival the Frozen North’s coldest seas. “Sleep does not strengthen me. Let me pass.”

The nurse was momentarily stunned. “Just a stroll around the HQ, boss?” Rotor asked aloud, earning the mare’s attention.

“Just to clear my head.”

Rotor nodded at that, then nodded at the nurse. “Let him pass.”

With another’s approval, and seeing the lack of pain or fatigue from Shatter Heart, the nurse ultimately saw no harm in a little exercise, both physical and mental. She let him walk, though Shatter hardly would have even let a single nurse stop him. Considering the circumstances and his current state, however, it felt nice to walk free without any altercations lingering behind him.

On his way outside, exiting down the long, dark hallway, he passed Peaky’s room, casting her a longing glance. Her tear-filled eyes turned to him, both of them sharing the same pain without a single word to utter. Their thoughts, their hearts, both aligned to the same pony.

When Twilight turned to the window where Peaky stared, she saw nopony. He was already gone.

There was no comfort offered to him, for he sought none of it. No falsehoods, no lies. Nothing to keep him away from what was real and what he needed to face head-on. He couldn’t run away, sleep on his distress and his failures and believe all was fine. That wasn’t who he was, or who he was trained to be. He knew what needed to be done, and where he needed to go.

If there was anything he kept from the doctor, the princess, or the directors’ concerns for him, it was where he could find his brother. The door stood at the end of the hall where no light touched. Only the pale, white light under the door frame that beckoned him forth.

Entering the room at the end of the hall, he saw them. Both lying across a single bed each. Moonshadow, her face and body concealed by a sheet. His brother, face concealed under the sheet all the same, moments before Shatter pulled it back to confirm the correct identity.

He used no magic. Even the most minor of actions elevated his migraine’s strength. In fact, he preferred the simple use of his hooves. It was softer, more personal. Slower. Under the sheet, he could see the one who brought him out of the fires so long ago, with Shatter unable to ever return the favor. Gazing on the lifeless face of his older brother Cross Heart, Shatter Heart could only feel the sharpest, coldest knife pierce and split his spirit.

There was a certain peace to him. He was at rest now, even if his final moments appeared to experience great pain. The fresh burns across his face, devouring most of his coat and mane, left very little of the former brother he could recognize. Skin was charred, the skull barely hidden by a single layer of burnt skin. But he expressed no suffering, for the pains of this life had passed for him.

Shatter raised his hoof and draped it across his chest, resting it over the silent heart. Over the fallen Heart. His own flesh and blood. His own family. All that he had left, giving Shatter no choice but to let him rest. The tears assuredly came, but Shatter was accepting of them this time, closing his eyes as he laid the sheet gently back over Cross’ face.

In life and death, he expressed the highest honors for the bravest pair of ponies he had ever known. For his family, his brother in arms, he raised a hoof to his head in a firm salute. A salute that ended in a respectful, slow bow of his head. Eyes closed the whole time. Tears slipping free despite his greatest efforts.

He offered the same salute to the bed behind him, to the wonderful co-pilot who gave her life all the same. Breaking his stature, letting his real self take hold, he laid a hoof on Moon’s hoof beneath the sheet. Right then and there, there was never a doubt in his mind that the emperor would grant them the highest of honors when their caskets returned home. Shatter Heart would absolutely ensure it.

Then, he turned around and walked away.

For his team’s sake. For the sake of the fallen, giving them their deserved rest. For his own sake, the mental stress becoming too much, almost as much as the emotional stress. If there was to be any comfort this day, Shatter would seek it in silence.

Under the gaze of his creation.

Walking into the mountain facility to witness his Mecha in the first stages of reconstruction.

It was just as the rulers had said. A full effort was established to rebuild what was broken. To lay a bandage on a failure so great was but another attempt to offer a weightless charity. It couldn’t hide what he had done, what he had failed to achieve, no matter how much steel was replaced or how many sparks were ignited. He was told they would come back from this, stronger than before hopefully. The necessary steps to fix the Mecha and find the beast responsible was already underway.

Only… the longer he stared… the longer he listened… it just felt like the same song and dance he had heard before. Promises of rising from the ashes. Finding the beast responsible. Ending the war before it ever had the chance to grow out of control.

More shockingly similar words from a former princess that crossed his people before.

He faced away from the falling sparks. He walked away from the promise of a new creation and a new hope. He turned down a deeper hallway that dug into the rock and walked nowhere. To nothing. If anything, to try and clear his head and push out that constant, nagging ring trying to regrow in his eardrum.

Shatter stopped.

His ear flicked in the direction of distant radio static.

Now frozen, his head slowly turned in the direction of the haunting sounds, and his gaze settled on the room amidst a slew of others down the hall. Shuffling toward it slowly and cautiously, curious in his actions but frightened in the deepest remnants of his mind, Shatter happened upon a T.I.T.A.N. broadcast station.

Inside, he could see a controlled chaos. Far more controlled than what was occurring throughout the T.I.T.A.N. HQ. Inside, where multiple black and white screens showed static footage, ponies were moving about frantically from station to station. They received magically-transported letters by the dozen, the radios ablaze with distress calls, and the footage on the screens all unveiling and telling the same horror story.

He was right to be cautious, for nopony saw him. He was right to be curious, for how else would he have discovered the truth? He was right to be frightened.

For he saw Godzilla wreaking havoc across the world.

The footage on the screens came from the airships, filming the Titan unleashing streams of fire from his jaws upon the helpless cities unable to fight back. The footage also came from the ground, from horrified T.I.T.A.N. soldiers fighting back with all that they were, but losing everything in the process. Taking the desperate chance to retreat and save what they could. Retreating only to be engulfed under the monster’s shadow, or his flames.

Radios were unending with the sounds of people suffering, crying out for help. From all around the world, as every culture, every species, everyone everywhere that Godzilla crossed. For all their differences, they all shared the same fate.

The ponies of Manehattan’s smoldering remains, of Baltimare’s devastated naval fleet.

The parrots of Ornithia who were drowned in chaos.

The felines of Panthera witnessing their greatest strongholds, their precious oil refineries, and their finest city become but a wall of white flames.

The footage from across the world showed them all, and they all burned the same.

Burned beneath the earth-trembling roar of the King of the Monsters.

“HQ, we need immediate support from Cloudsdale! The bunkers are full and we can’t enter the city! Requesting immediate Pegasi air support to clear out these fires!”

“Casualties are estimated to be in the thousands—”

“Evacuate all citizens immediately! Godzilla is not responding to the ORCA frequencies! Repeat, Godzilla is not responding! Evacuate all citizens and prepare your defenses!”

“We’ve received immediate aid from Saddle Arabian airdrops following Godzilla’s attacks in the southeastern region. The royalty want to understand if Godzilla is coming after them next. We’re already getting calls from governments—”

“It’s broken through the defensive lines! Fall back! Fall back!”

“We need air support from HQ!”

Shatter heard that roar and nearly blacked out. He witnessed these events from the footage and stumbled away, far more quickly than he anticipated. His footing was practically numb, practically gone. His heart thumped in his ears and he crumbled against the wall outside in the hallway. Blurry vision, rapid breaths, sweat building and falling, Shatter almost couldn’t believe it, but it was real. A panic attack, and one he hadn’t had in a long, long time.

He crumbled against the wall, sliding down to the floor in almost like a fetal position. Hooves to his head, pressed tightly against his ears, Shatter stared wide-eyed to the opposite wall ahead of him. Fear quickly encompassed his mind and body as his past panic attacks had done. Except, it wasn’t just fear that devoured him. Mostly, he felt enraged. Enraged because he could do nothing now.

It was all happening again, and when he finally had built the power—the machine—to prevent this, it was taken from him. Leaving him with nothing. Nothing to respond with, nothing to do… except watch it all happen again.

“Someone! Pl-ple-please! Please help us!”

Godzilla’s roar echoed from the footage. It echoed from his darkest memories, and Shatter shut his eyes and screamed.

Interlude Three

View Online

21 Years Earlier

Izunokuneigh, Neighpon

It was the last tremor, the heaviest they had felt, that was the last straw for him. The doors to their grandfather’s home slid open rapidly, and Shatter Heart practically raced across the grassy lawn with his older brother barely able to hold him back. Out under the night sky, under the brilliant starlight, where the city before them was in tatters.

“Shatter! I said you have to listen to me! Mother and Father said you have to!” his older brother Cross shouted in their native tongue.

Shatter made no attempt to gallop a step further, allowing Cross to easily catch up and wrap his foreleg tightly around his withers. Both to halt his pursuit and keep him steady, for the tremor was still unfolding, albeit not nearly as strong as earlier. Their grandfather slowly made his way onto the front porch, glasses heavy upon his snout, his brow even heavier.

Cinder Heart’s voice was the heaviest of all, roaring at the colts, “Boys, you come back inside at once! I will not have my son’s children throwing away their safety so recklessly, not under my roof!”

There was not a sound nor a movement from either of them, despite Cross having successfully apprehended his disobedient younger brother. The two simply stood as one now, their shadows cascading further and further with each burst of light brightening in the city beyond the hills. Cinder’s old heart began to beat faster, his fears becoming realized. “Cross, you bring him back this instant!” he shouted once more.

“They said they would be here…” Shatter whispered tightly, his voice the loudest sound his older brother could hear. Enough to earn Cross’ attention, bringing his wide and worrisome gaze onto his sibling. “Mother and Father are still…”

Cross was left facing a split road. His parents entrusted him to keep his younger brother safe in their absence. Despite being only a couple years older than Shatter, he was still meant to be the adult when the actual adults were gone. Gone, still in the city, helping others flee another earthquake. They had faced many minor tremors before and came out unscathed. This one, however… it felt different.

He could entrust his grandfather to keep Shatter safe. As for Cross, he couldn’t rest—much like Shatter—simply not knowing where his parents were in this coming catastrophe. He was a Heart. It was a dishonor to ignore his own. His own beating heart, and the family that was still trapped in the city.

And so, with a gentle shove against his chest, Cross took his stand in front of his little brother. Meeting his stare and nothing else, trying desperately just to feel Shatter’s rapidly-beating heart and not the fear corroding his own body. “Stay with Grandfather,” was all Cross told him.

Before he took off down the hill.

“No! Cross, wait!” Shatter desperately pleaded, reaching out but being stopped once more. This time by his grandfather, who had just lost all patience with the colt writhing in his grasp.

For nearly ten seconds the two fought. The withered Earth pony was no match for the speed and adrenaline the young unicorn still had, and when he slipped out of his grasp, old Cinder collapsed onto the grass. Losing his breath, gasping for air, the stallion reached for his glasses that had fallen from his gaze. The blur in his eyes faded and he caught the tiny flicker of red from Shatter’s coat vanish among the Neighponese maples.

He trembled to his hooves, limping far behind them, mustering up the strength just to scream their names.

Of which neither brother replied.

Galloping past the hills and valleys, through the streams blackened by the night, and entering the outskirts of the city, Cross Heart observed the chaos at face value.

Various Minka just outside of Izunokuneigh were being abandoned, families taking their chances with their young and their carriages packed to the brim with their livelihood. A great exodus was being enacted, families fleeing for the hills, the same safety and serenity Cross’ own parents brought their children to.

Mother and Father led them to the safety of their grandfather’s home high atop the mightiest of hills in all of Izunokuneigh. There was great seismic activity today, and it only worsened as the sun fell and the stars became alive. They didn’t want their sons to be in the city if anything horrible happened, as they stayed behind to help others evacuate.

An evacuation that just as quickly became a disorganized, rampant chaos. The deeper into the city he traversed, the more he saw of the depravity and the heartlessness. Various cracks grew larger and wider across the streets and even deeper into the earth—the cracks in their fumbling society also showing—spurring countless acts of vandalism, stealing, rioting, all of which went unchecked. Businesses were ransacked. Families fled from homes as another—albeit smaller—tremor rippled across the ground. The lawless became the order. The old order was nowhere to be seen, offering nothing to save the ponies of the emperor.

Perhaps we both saw it that way…

But delving deeper, believing at first the root cause to be another earthquake, Cross’ intentions shifted momentarily from finding his parents when the platoons entered the streets.

They were armed. They wore decorated armor reminiscent of the ancient samurai, bearing the flags of their proud nation as their carriages rolled into the roads. Many soldiers sat in the carriages, but many more marched on their own hooves, beat the air with their own wings, and put down the riots with their own unicorn magic. The lawless, cowards as they were, abandoned their deranged pursuits once the military took command of the chaos. Batons and katanas and magic were their weapons to deter the acts of madness unfolding in the city they swore to protect.

As for the tremors, it didn’t seem there was any weapon they could wield to combat it. But they sure seemed determined to try.

They all rode and marched and flew in one direction. Breaking the tide of the riots, stemming the chaos to try and control it, the local police and armies of Neighpon stormed Izunokuneigh. All to reach the western coastline. Witnessing this, Cross watched them in their monumental numbers, followed from a great distance to see what their destination just so happened to be.

He stepped out from behind a slew of building debris, climbed atop a mound of rubble blocking the road, and saw every spotlight pointed toward it. All he saw were the walls when he heard that shrill voice cry behind him.

“Cross!”

His head spun around, and his eyes widened in horror. “Shatter?!” his older brother cried in response, though with more anger, laced with betrayal. “What are you doing?!”

“Trying to find you! We must get Mother and Father!” Shatter exclaimed, stumbling on the rocks dotting the road.

Cross slid down the mound to cut off his path. Snout to snout, the overwhelming dread washing over his anger, Cross screamed, “I told you to stay—!”

A terrible shift in the underground world cut off his voice.

The facility where military personnel were already marching toward and surrounding shifted as well. As did most of Izunokuneigh.

It was an old facility present on the outskirts of the city, with walls so high and security so tight that none within the city of Izunokuneigh—not even the Pegasi—were allowed to see beyond it. None except those sworn to secrecy within the walls. That didn’t seem to deter the police or the military, as they seemed hellbent on seeing those steel doors unlocked. The roaring orders from the commanders to the stationed guards surrounding the walls were a strong indicator that time was of the essence, that their orders came straight from the emperor himself. That something was terribly, horribly wrong.

But they were all silenced. The military, the facility’s guards, and even the two young unicorns arguing just on the outskirts of the city. Silenced by the growling shift of the world beneath their hooves.

There was another sound deep within the earth. The soft growl of tectonic plates scraping viciously against one another, and escalating far beyond what seemed natural. For all within the walls of the facility and all within the city of Izunokuneigh heard it as clear as any other tremor that came and went. Except this tremor held with it a wailing cry.

A cry that effectively tore down the walls of the facility.

I can still hear it. Like the most terrible of booms.

The cracks in the walls had spread so vast, so quickly, that the structure simply could not be maintained. It collapsed as the tremor progressed, and the walls surrounding the facility all fell in tandem. Giant slabs of concrete and steel beams crumbled as a wave of dust washed over the police and armies of the emperor.

In the dust, in the shadows, unseen and unheard amidst such a sea of chaos, the brothers Cross and Shatter traversed the sea. A sea of shaken warriors and skeletal beams of a former wall. Soldiers were blinded by the dust, forced to remove their helmets and masks to cough and nearly dry heave upon the solid pavement, just to breathe in a fresh breath. Unicorn horns ignited and voices called out for the wounded to sound off.

In an effort to wade their way through the dust and darkness, Cross and Shatter found themselves lost in it. But never losing each other. Cross ensured he had his little brother’s hoof wrapped tightly around his. Their hoofsteps became echoes among several others, stopping only when Cross instinctively stopped at the first sign of light.

A soft orange glow. One that shimmered deep below the ground and emerged in the darkness. Not the darkness that surrounded them, but a deeper blackness. One so thick that only the oncoming beams of the nearby spotlights could have granted the brothers the sight they needed. Cross had made an effort to turn away and run, bring his brother with him, but he had lost all motor function. All he felt move was his chest, his heart deep within him thundering in tandem.

Only now did the sons see what such precaution was for. Only now did they see what their parents had warned of, and what Izunokuneigh was desperately unprepared for.

Hidden behind the walls and hidden from their knowledge in their own home, a large cocoon rested in the earth. And the orange shell around it began to fade into black. Instead, a new light came from the dissipating smoke and oncoming spotlights washing across the destruction. Allowing both Cross and Shatter to see the cocoon with their own eyes. It was empty.

It had been opened.

The light from the spotlights caught the emerging limbs rising high over the crevice and impacting the solid pavement to the brothers’ left and right. The limbs pushed up the head, the glowing red visor, and the jagged teeth hanging within the widening jaws.

How foolish we were. Unprepared. Standing awestruck to what we didn’t know then, but know now as the MUTO.

The beast unleashed a horrible sound, as if an agitated cackle emerged deep in the blackest pit of its heart and made its dominion to the earth and sky. Its voice clicked and snapped furiously, its jaws doing the same. When it rose up to full height, when they were caught under its shadow, that was when Cross knew he had to act. He knew his brother’s life was endangered, so he grabbed his hoof once more and tore him away from the monster.

They ran. They galloped. They raced across the devastation as soldiers raced past them, toward the beast. As brave as they were, it was still a fool’s game. Even from the rallying cries of their commanders and the explosive blasts from their unicorn magic impacting the creature, it was all folly. For the monster glared down at them, shrieking at the magic striking its hide, moments before it spread its wings and sent a gust of hurricane-like winds across the earth.

Carriages were flung like they were paper. Pegasi flying toward the beast with katanas and spears drawn were thrown to the ground even faster. The armies crumbled and fell, rolled back and were thrown against debris and one another. Luckily, Cross had brought his younger brother to the entrance of the city, the two ducking and hiding behind the closest building. The roof was torn free above them, but the foundations held strong.

The dust itself had fully cleared now.

And all that was left was the creature echoing its roar high into the night sky. Both Cross and Shatter peaked out from cover to catch a glimpse of it, just a mere image of its shadow grown with its wings greatly extended into the air.

Just as the beast turned its attention onto the helpless city, it stopped. Its roar ceased. It was silenced. Instead, it turned its attention to the coastline, to the West, where it heard a disturbance.

Just then, both Cross and Shatter heard it, too.

Deeper than the soft thundering of the earth, growing in strength to become mightier than the earthquakes that came before, the tremor came from the sea. The sea itself receded, and the threat of a tsunami was present, but it never grew to that level. Even when the sirens sounded and whoever was left within Izunokuneigh hadn’t yet fled for their lives, they most assuredly did now.

The sons did not. Perhaps it was the fear that held them there. The curiosity thanks to their youth, as well. Whatever it was, they did not move. They did not run. They watched.

The sea erupted, followed by even heavier tremors than they had felt prior. Darkness coated the shoreline, but even the shadows could not contain it forever. The spotlights on the outskirts of the former facility all turned in accordance to the new disturbance, the new threat, and the new terror that had broken through.

A terror that had followed the sounds of the trembling earth just as Cross had. Just as Shatter had. It emerged out of the ocean and entered the city’s edge. It elicited an agitated stance from the creature. The beast spread its wings and gave off, once more, its threatened battle cry. The spotlights did not pay it any heed.

They washed across the tremendous feet crushing the ground. They washed up the legs to the sternum, to the swaying claws.

Enlightening all the world to the face of annihilation glaring down to them all.

Cross Heart gasped. Shatter Heart uttered not a sound.

The legends they were told were true.

Gojira was real. It was here.

And he attacked.

With an earth-shattering roar leading its charge.

There was a clash, there was a shock wave, and the sounds the beasts created where as the sounds of Tartarus awakening, and hellfire raining down. Gojira greatly overpowered the rival monster with crushing strength and visceral ferocity. Its jaws bit down on the creature’s and twisted it awkwardly. So much so that the creature collapsed and rolled across the road, directly into the hold of Izunokuneigh.

Shambling with all limbs pushing its shaken body back up, the beast quickly noted the immense dichotomy of power displayed. The alpha was of a strength it could not match, a nature it could not contend with. The newborn was fresh to the world, fearful of what it held, and what this alpha could do to it. And so, the creature sought only its natural instincts it was born with. The winged creature followed its nature and tried to flee.

As for the terror of the sea… annihilation was its nature, and annihilation was what it brought.

Just as it spread its wings and rose up, Gojira ignited its spinal plates and unleashed a blinding beam of raw, fiery radiation onto the newborn. The attack launched the beast forward, instantly losing its flight and crashing further across the city. Turning back, the monster gave off a crackling cry before spreading its wings and trying again.

Flying again.

Doing everything to escape Gojira’s fire.

As did Cross and Shatter.

There was no hesitation any longer when the creature’s struck. Every effort Cross took from that point forward was to protect his little brother. So, they ran. Between crumbling buildings as the tremors escalated to magnitudes neither brother imagined could be real. Nor could they imagine the sheer image of the beast flying and crashing in front of them and decapitating their way of escape.

Another road, and another way out. Another chance to escape. Another chance to survive. As the brothers ran for their lives, so too did the winged beast. Only, it was skewered again and again, caught by Gojira’s flame that followed every direction it took. Its fire was spread throughout the city and the earth and the many who dwelled upon it.

All who were caught in Gojira’s path felt its wrathful sting… a path laid forth since the old order of the world had fallen. The only order now—the only order Godzilla sought—was his own. These titanic forces of power, these monstrous beasts of the natural world, their war was waged and the innocent suffered the worst. If this was the natural order, if this was Gojira’s nature, it brought with it the end.

Annihilation brought only the end of all they knew.

Shatter and Cross miraculously managed to escape, just to their original destination. Though Cross intended for the hills once he saw how vicious the beasts battled and how quickly the fires spread, he soon found his means of escape burned away by the rising flames. The newborn flew over their heads, barely scraping the rooftops with the tip of its left wing, and then came the fires washing across the buildings and streets and consuming it all in a horrifying, blue wave.

Cross dug his hooves into the road, shielding his face with a raised foreleg to block out the blinding rays, the searing heat, and the overwhelming power of the blast. Only, when he dropped his foreleg the fire did not stop. It did not cease. It grew only larger, fiercer, with no intentions to stop and only intending to scorch the night sky in a haunting, red glow.

It scorched all the earth just as well, for every direction Cross turned he could see only the fire. A fire that held no distinction from what it took. A fire that touched and devoured and tore down the most ancient of towers and familial homes. Nothing was spared. Nothing was defended or protected when the true order of the world crushed the inhabitants of it.

He spun around, finally realizing his younger brother was gone. But he didn’t have to look long.

He recognized the street. He recognized the homes, though the flames licked at them still. He could never forget the walls, the short grove trail, the stones leading to the front doors of his birth home. The maples were burned to black, embers trailing from the scorched leaves and getting caught in the rushing wind. Down the path, between the trees, and frozen in fear before the open doors, there was his little brother.

There was Shatter.

Rushing to his side, he was surprised to see that Shatter hadn’t acted. In a way, Cross was surprised in his own inaction. The two just stared, faces pale but illuminated under the flames coating the home they were raised in. Shatter’s eyes were full, flushing with so many different emotions he didn’t know which one to express. He didn’t know which one to act on.

But he knew soon enough. They both did.

It was their screams from inside that convinced them.

Shatter was gone in a heartbeat, ignoring the screams from his brother that were now numb to his ears. For a moment, all was numb. Tears stained his eyes and the breath in his lungs had halted when he tore through the broken doors. He didn’t feel the burning wood beneath his hooves before it was too late. He couldn’t see through the smoke to find his parents. Not when the plumes of flame and searing-hot ash shot forth toward him.

Not when the ceiling collapsed and his brother concocted a weak, magical shield to cover him.

The screams came back, but they were not the voices Shatter sought. They were not the voices he threw away his life for. The scream came from the voice of his older brother, begging and praying that he was all right. That he was okay. His magic wasn’t strong, but he had tried. I knew he blamed himself when he pulled Shatter out of the debris.

His screams elevated in pitch as his hooves reached into the flaming hunks of wood still hanging over his little brother. He pushed them aside, Cross crying in agony as the wood seared into his forelegs. Branding him in a language he could only describe as desolation. A tongue he could never mimic or utter. The same brand consumed his brother’s body and limbs, sparing his face.

He was dragged onto what was once the front porch, the farthest Cross could pull before his strength had faded. The smoke had filled up so much of his lungs he could hardly believe he was still breathing, every whooping cough earning more tears and practically vomit splattering on the floor. But even then, having sustained the burns and the smoke and tears, they had not faced the worst of it.

They observed their city.

A home they would once awaken to every morning, sneak out and watch the rising sun bathe the hills and the maples in a stunning red blaze. Mother and Father calling us home… calling them to finish their morning chores before school. Both of them racing each other down the hills… into the stunning red blaze.

Now, the only blaze came from the jaws of Gojira, casting its wrath across the city all to strike down the flying creature. Once the beast had been struck down, Gojira finished it off, unleashing one last stream of atomic fury onto the prone creature. It expressed its victory in an earth-trembling roar that tore apart what was left of the flame-filled skylines. The monster was defeated, but the cost, the aftermath, all of it was far too much for their minds to comprehend.

But, they supposed, it was never too much for Gojira and what it deemed necessary. The King of the Monsters lost nothing from this massacre.

As for them, as for the victims, they might as well have lost everything. The sons who lost their home. Their mother, their father, their people were gone, washed away in a sea of flames.

We both burned that night… but some of us heal quicker than others.

Wood splintered in a horrific sound. Like shattering bones, like the monstrous, dying moan of an even greater beast came from above. The lost sons twisted their heads around, only to gape in horror as the rest of the roof and the house collapsed around and on top of them.

Cross ignited what strength he had left into his magic, creating one last shield for them. One so weak and frail it would have never saved them… had Shatter not intervened and empowered his brother’s shield with his own magic. His untrained, undisciplined magic that was weaker than Cross’, but was somehow just enough.

Shatter Heart dove into Cross’ embrace and brightened his horn. And it was just enough to protect them from the raining, flaming debris that brought darkness onto them.

I can never forget that night… despite all I have done to try.

But perhaps the morning after was worse.

Light spilled between the cracks and crevices above their heads. Voices rang and cried in desperation, a feeble call to any who lived. Their own voices were unheard, far too weak and too dry to utter even a gasp. Barely even a cough. But it was enough to catch the nearby ears, shadows of unknown figures rising above to block the light and rip out the planks of wood from above.

It was blinding, the sunlight. Not a welcoming, morning red or a soothing, summer orange. No, it was white. Purely and hauntingly white. As if the afterlife bade them to come into the embrace of eternity. Only, they were hoisted up by reaching hooves instead, pulled out of the debris and black ash. Everywhere they turned, the brothers saw only blurred faces of their rescuers asking if they were all right. Neither spoke a word. They were too consumed with the world they once called home.

Their grandfather came for them eventually, having found his son’s home—or what was left of it—and was not surprised to find his grandchildren there. He was shocked, but mostly thankful, to find them both alive, and he embraced them in such a way. He asked the same questions the rescuers did, caring for the colts’ safety above all else. And once more, they said nothing.

When all that was left was a pale, ashy wasteland, with flakes of death constantly raining in what they used to call home, it was not unbecoming of them not to speak when spoken to. They were assuredly shaken to the core, and would undoubtedly need the proper time to recover. Yet it seemed all the brothers Cross and Shatter wanted to look at was Izunokuneigh.

To really, truly take it all in if it was to be the last time.

Hardly a single home remained structurally sound, as well as barely even a skeleton of a building left standing. The earth was flattened with mounds of desolation left, pillars of black smoke rising high. It looked as if a single cloud had fallen over Izunokuneigh, brightening the sun’s rays so that a phantom whiteness drenched what little air was left to breathe. For the air was pockmarked with flakes, ash and lingering embers from whatever fires were still left.

In the distance, the remains of the creature lied like an ashen skeleton corroded against the earth, its legs jutted forth to the sky in a perpetual, frozen state of decrepit degradation. Gojira was nowhere to be found. He was gone, but his cruel act remained.

With both brothers covered in soot and ash, they were finally raised to their hooves by their grandfather who gently checked their injuries. He never got too in depth, for the thick cloud hovering above the city finally broke, bringing forth the ferocity of the sun onto the survivors like a weighted, heated blanket.

They flinched back accordingly, raising their forelegs in an effort to block the blinding rays. But the longer they waited, the more curious they became, and breaking through the blinding sun came the emergence of a grander airship tearing through the skies. It hovered down to the great wound dealt upon Neighpon, its engines roaring, turbines spinning so very fast to wash away the ash and smoke.

Small groups of survivors stumbled forth out of the shadows and into light, gazing up to not only see one airship, but several. Dozens washing away the clouds and bringing forth the unfiltered light of the sun upon a cold and injured people. Ponies who were once lost, now called to. Ponies who had lost all, but would soon be rebuilt.

For that was what the airships brought. That was who they were. I still remember…

“Shatter, your flank…”

Cross’ first words in what felt like ages, and he referred them to his younger brother’s rump. Though, not entirely. Not for the reasons that confused both Shatter and his grandfather. Instead, a different revelation dawned on them when the younger of the brothers was adorned with a never-before-seen cutie mark on his flank. Earning his before Cross. Though not showing his enthusiasm, Shatter nonetheless wiped away the soot to unveil it fully.

And Shatter Heart almost couldn’t believe it when he saw it. For his cutie mark was not some abstract image or idea relating to a talent. Instead, his cutie mark was a symbol; the Neighponese symbol for family.

It was not the only symbol he saw that day for the first time. For when he lifted his head back to the sky, back to the airships zeroing down to their location, all Shatter paid attention to in the blinding sun was that symbol upon the balloon of the airship. The image of Princess Celestia’s sun rising above the world they called home, with the letters “T.I.T.A.N.” adorning the world below.

What came next should have been salvation. It should have been a swift and speedy recovery and retribution for what had been done to their home and their people.

What really came next was unforgiveable.

No… surviving was worse.

The city was eventually rebuilt and the wounded were gratefully cared for. But the name of Izunokuneigh was buried, as well as the truth of its greatest disaster. Covered up and shown to the world as nothing more than a devastating earthquake. An earthquake… and the world believed it. What else had they to believe other than the words of the Bringer of the Sun? T.I.T.A.N. covered it up, but not just them.

They were all in on it. The ruling powers, the kings and queens of the old world order, leaving us desperately unprepared for the coming new world order. Shatter and his brother fought for years to tell others the truth, but they were always ignored. Always silenced by their own government and even their own grandfather. He begged to them, pleaded that they not trifle in matters that were beyond their understanding.

For years… we tried… but time took Grandfather away, and where did that leave us then?

Time and patience and experience. That was what they had, as well as each other. That was all Cross and Shatter Heart needed and deserved. Instead of dissenters, they trained to be loyalists. Under the guise of warriors for the empire, they became warriors for their people, holding the truth and knowing the truth. They had both seen it with their own eyes. They witnessed Gojira lay waste to their home, even if to kill one beast.

They both knew and understood that.

Cross seemed to fade away from the truth after some time… believing he was on some path of recovery. That… after what happened with the Battle of the Three Kings… that was his excuse to believe anything other than the truth that was branded in our hearts that night. He wanted to move on. He wanted to change…

He knew the truth. He saw the truth. Every night and in every nightmare. Godzilla was a monster that could never change. It was his nature to dominate, to desecrate, to bring his own order to an unruly and free world. That was why they chose to serve Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N., proving their loyalty through years of training and service to the empire and its armies. Cross chose to focus on Neighpon’s defense forces.

Shatter… I… led our T.I.T.A.N. to what it was always meant to be. I was to lead not only Neighpon but all the world into a peaceful and more secure future. That was what we could have done, what T.I.T.A.N. was capable of… Then I saw what kind of ruler Princess Celestia was.

Shutting us down, leaving but a mere vapor of our strength left in the world while the rest of it moved to the shadows… or was destroyed. Our T.I.T.A.N. claimed the world could never know of what monsters lie below us. Equestria almost allowed the truth to be discovered… but they couldn’t have that, could they? They could not allow the free people of the world to know of the true evil we face.

Celestia would not let that happen. She would not let us speak freely.

She knew I had the will and power to change the world, and I still do!

Mechagodzilla would have changed the world, and he was torn from me!

Now, this demon runs rampant in our world doing everything my brother and I warned of, and they are surprised?! T.I.T.A.N. does not stand a chance against Godzilla, and the longer we continue to lie to ourselves and our people, the more assuredly doomed we are!

T.I.T.A.N. was never for Shatter Heart. They tried to hide the truth. They tried to hide Godzilla’s true nature.

Now, only he knew and understood that.

Chapter 18 – I Saw You

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Present Day

Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

She heard he had retired to his private quarters, refusing to be entombed in a hospital bed, as the nurses said he had put it. It left her heart even heavier knowing he wanted to be alone, finding some false comfort in the shadows instead of the presence of others, or his pilots, who most assuredly needed his leadership now more than ever. Not even his leadership, just him. Just his presence would have been a comfort in their time of need.

Luna knew the pain of that separation more than anypony.

Twilight had her duties, and Celestia assured Luna she could handle reorganizing T.I.T.A.N. for the time being. With the time she was given, Luna would not waste it. For as the night droned on in a sleepless chaos within the mountainous walls of the T.I.T.A.N. HQ, the early morning hours were Luna’s domain. Swimming in a sea of dreams, she witnessed the various bubbles of the ethereal plane.

And she found Shatter’s to be particularly heartbreaking. And worrying. The things the dark recesses of his mind proclaimed in the memory, in the nightmare, were a cause for concern. The moment it ended was the moment Luna made her way to the hospital wing, only to learn of Shatter’s absence, which then brought her to his private quarters.

Standing alone in the dark, on the opposite side of the door, in the empty hallway.

She raised her hoof to the cool metal of the door, halting only centimeters in mid-knock. As if… sensing a haunting. A fleeting feeling of shadow beyond the door. A darkness that was all too familiar creeped within, hanging in the air, and then immediately retreated when her presence was felt. It was gone, and she breathed again.

Blinking rapidly, and softly knocking three times.

All she heard was a faint: “It is unlocked.”

Given that approval, and with her horn aglow, Luna made her entrance into his quarters. The metal door slowly swung open, and inside all Luna could see was Shatter Heart sitting up in his bed expectantly, staring straight ahead with a dead stare in his eyes. As if he had been in that position for maybe hours, and had molded himself into it. But Luna knew otherwise.

He was asleep mere minutes ago. It was as if he was already expecting her.

“Hello again… Shatter,” Luna addressed, cautiously making her approach to his bedside. In her soft hoofsteps, she took note of his room. The flag of Neighpon was draped from one end of the wall to the other, the insignia of Neighpon’s T.I.T.A.N. faction decorated as a large patch on his jacket hanging on the coat rack. Pictures, all in black and white, showed him and his pilots. Him and his brother. His parents. All of them face up. All reminders.

Noting that, with flashes of his dream coming and fading behind her closed eyes, Luna opened them and stood near his bedside. She offered a soft smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” he responded gravely.

Luna held her breath. “You know of my… abilities, then?”

“You are the Princess of the Night,” Heart muttered, tilting his gaze to her. “It is your duty to peek into the minds of your little ponies, to gaze into their dreams, to guide when needed, to comfort if necessary.” For a moment, Luna was taken aback by his words, made evident by the growth of her eyes. Shatter suddenly twitched, sighing with tight lips. “Or… former princess.”

Luna breathed a chuckle. “Well, the duty still stands, as far as I am concerned. Perhaps Twilight will learn about dream walking in the future, but as of now… I find comfort in aiding my little ponies whenever they are distressed. And yes, I do still like calling them ‘my little ponies’.”

It was Shatter’s turn to chuckle. Or, at least force one. “Somepony has to.”

“Like Princess Twilight,” the former ruler suggested. Shatter’s prolonged silence was telling, but Luna was determined. She cleared her throat gently. “Twilight is doing well, wouldn’t you agree?”

“She is doing her duty. The most any of us can do.”

That’s a start, Luna thought to herself. You cannot lose him now.

“She is leading T.I.T.A.N. well,” Luna mused, taking a seat on the floor. She slowly stared up to the ceiling, sighing. “The responses to these attacks have been efficient. Already, reinforcements and support units are moving to devastated areas to search for survivors. Major cities are slowly being evacuated. ORCA devices are in the air and we are constantly tracking Godzilla’s position. A necessary and effective response, I would say. Not only that… but her royal duties have improved immensely since she took the throne a year back. Leading this nation and T.I.T.A.N., building better many of the mistakes we have made in the past.”

“And yet your sister still covered it up.”

The interruption was sharp and direct, like a needle jammed too suddenly into the vein and injecting a freezing cold into the nerves. Luna stared at him, confusion in her eyes, but Shatter could see through it. He could see through her innocent attempts of leading him on, addressing his nightmares, and what he said in them.

“Do not treat me like a child, Director. I know why you are here. Peak into my mind, lead me into a false sense of security, try and convince that we are ‘better now’; is this how you lead in Equestria?” She opened her mouth to interrupt, but Shatter beat her to it. “You can try… all you like to convince me, but it won’t work. All else is a lie when I alone have the truth.”

She found that very interesting. Almost exactly like his subconscious mind proclaimed in the nightmare. Or perhaps he was fully conscious of what he said. “And what truth is that?” she asked.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in several breaths, if to calm his nerves. Each breath was slower than the last, ensuring his heart was at ease. He couldn’t say the same for his mind, or his fractured spirit.

“He follows his own,” Shatter answered regardless of his internal war. Turning his stare to her, keeping it as cold as his frostbitten soul. “Gojira is not loyal to any nation or creed. He cares not… for suffering. For destruction. For annihilation is all he brings in his own crusade, his own rule of law. And will we be subjugated to his law? Will we always be at his mercy? Should he decide we are a threat… nothing could stop him from enacting his will. His order. His own… twisted, righteous intent that he alone follows. And now here we are… facing him.”

Once a long time ago, Shatter believed only he and his brother could know the truth fully. Others did, but those were stories passed down from generation to generation in his homeland, warning of the terrors the King of the Monsters could and very well would bring. It was a tale of caution, and it was just as true as any other historical event.

But now, that terror had spread, and all the world knew it. It was not some cautionary tale or ancient legend to tell children by the fire. It was real, and now everypony knew the truth, or some fraction of it. So, sharing it in full with Director Luna felt less discretionary. The situation had escalated to Shatter’s worst fears, and these were the conversations they needed to have, right here and now.

Instead, Director Luna changed the subject. “My sister asked you once before where your loyalty lies. Would you mind if I asked this time—?”

“No,” Shatter interrupted, then quickly added, “Now, it is my turn to ask: Why does your loyalty lie with those that hide the truth?”

Brow furrowing, expression shifting as if facing an insult, Luna argued, “There is nothing hidden anymore. The whole world sees Godzilla’s actions now, Shatter Heart.”

“Then why hide them all those years ago?” he snapped.

Her expression calmed down considerably. Hearing the raw emotion dripping from his tone, and knowing all he had been through—having seen it through his eyes—Luna took a moment to watch her own boundaries. T.I.T.A.N. had not dealt Shatter and his people a fair deal. She was not present for such decisions to take place, but her sister was. Celestia knew what was at risk, and Luna trusted her with more than her life. In this life and the next, Luna would never doubt her sister.

Did it make T.I.T.A.N.’s actions right, though? Did hiding what happened lead to the best possible outcome, when what they feared for years now became a reality? If anything, Luna found solace in finally facing these questions now, with Shatter of all ponies. Better than leaving it buried.

So, she responded. “My sister did not wish for chaos to unfold globally… much like the world leaders of the time. Tensions were already high as it was, and bringing in Titans would have only sparked a greater flame that I am afraid nopony would have been able to douse. At least… that was their thinking back then.”

Luna slowly turned to meet Shatter’s cold, hardened stare with her soft one. “It was a different time back then. Many uncertainties, many insecurities. Though, they made do. My sister worked within the boundaries, maintaining the peace while supplying those who suffered. She ensured T.I.T.A.N. would aid all who suffered from unprovoked Titan attacks.”

“Yet she found no trouble in silencing them when they spoke the truth.”

“Are any of us so innocent?” Luna asked, and the break in her voice was real. The surprise in Shatter’s expression was just as real, but he slowly understood where she was getting at. Even the lands beyond Equestria knew the tale, the history, of Nightmare Moon. Especially considering what Celestia had done to her own sister…

“But what I said earlier was no lie: Twilight is building better the mistakes of the past. After the Crystal Empire, when Twilight was made head of T.I.T.A.N., she ensured that nothing more was hidden. Everything was uncovered by the organization to the public, including the disaster in Izunokuneigh.”

The look on his face just as quickly dampened at the utterance of that haunted name. “Yes, she had no choice at the point, did she? There was no denying what millions of creatures died for, and what millions more witnessed with their own eyes,” Shatter whispered. Noticing Luna’s continued, silent stare, Shatter managed an elongated scoff, weakly chuckling, weakly out of breath until he took it back in. “Oh, am I supposed to be thankful? Does it now make it right to have hidden what happened to my home? Or silencing my brother and I?”

He learned forward in his bed, whispering sharply, “Are the fallen of Izunokuneigh now being heard?”

The needle quickly shifted from her vein to her heart, and Luna was frozen like a glacier.

“We have always heard you,” the director replied, voice shaken lightly. She blinked a few times, but no tears. “Even upon my return, when my sister told me, my heart ached. As it still does now. We sought to prevent chaos before… as we do now. The suffering heard around the world will not be silenced. T.I.T.A.N. is on the path to peace, to unity, and it is one that we all must stand together on. In order to commit to a better future where we all survive.”

Shatter Heart never broke his eyes away. The haunting she had seen in his gaze before in the medical wing was just as present now as it was then. The turmoil Shatter had been through was devastating. It was a tragedy, and it left him with scars both visible and invisible. Scars that painted him into who he was. So, it was not a surprise to hear what he had to ask next.

“Where Gojira survives?” he asked quietly.

It was not a surprise that Luna did not answer.

It was as if he had expected the silence. “I do not know,” Shatter sighed, leaning forward and staring at his crumpled sheets. “I do not know if I can forgive T.I.T.A.N. for what they did back then.”

Just like him, she expected him to say something along those lines. Which only meant she was ready for it, and knew how to respond. Luna rested her hoof over his and asked, “Could you hope to one day?”

In some odd way, Shatter did not feel the same touch as he had with Twilight. Her hoof felt like nothing to him, like a false comfort, a weightless charity, as he had known before. Yet—and he could admit—after everything Director Luna had done; coming to him after his nightmare, avoiding the formalities when it mattered, speaking to him on a deeper, personal matter, that was something he could admire. That was an honor not many had earned from him.

Monarchies and politics aside, they were both still ponies. They both had living, beating hearts. They both had souls. They both knew pain and hurt together. And most of all… they had the ability to heal from it.

It almost surprised him to hear himself say, “I can hope.”

Her smile was lovely. Warm and comforting, unlike the stories he had heard of the Princess of the Night. It almost pained him to pull his hoof away. “But now… what can we do? It is all happening again… only now, the world sees Gojira for what he really is: a monster, a destroyer. You know my dreams; T.I.T.A.N. does not have the power to defeat this common enemy. Perhaps not even the armies of the world stand a chance to this great evil. The only chance we had… my Mecha…”

There were the fresh wounds again, bleeding profusely when his face broke. He buried it just as quickly, much to Luna’s dismay. “When he rises once more, I will be the first to lead our creation to the demon that threatens every life,” he hissed.

It was more than a threat; it was a promise, and those sometimes were the most dangerous. Luna admired his tenacity, his fighting spirit, but even she could see through the smoke and fog. She could plainly see the path he was treading and the ocean before him was black. It was limitless. No end to the depravity one could travel when given the mission and will to see it through.

There was no denying the darkness in him, as there was in her when she fell to Nightmare Moon.

“Shatter…” Luna uttered, and forced herself to push, “… this path you are on… what peace can be found in it? You seek blood… vengeance. There is hate in your heart and something far, far worse, I fear. I do not wish for you to continue down the same path I once walked when I rebelled against my sister.”

She rested her hoof over his once more and tightened it, ensuring he didn’t pull away. He needed this, Luna just knew it. “What Twilight said rings true now as it did then… we are here for you. We know your past, and there is nothing to fear of it any longer. You are not alone anymore.”

He stared at her hoof, then slowly raised his head so their eyes could meet. The red in each eye was telling. “I never was. Not until I lost my brother…”

“You,” Luna reaffirmed, holding his hoof as fiercely and passionately as she could, her eyes burning with the same ferocious passion, “Are not. Alone.”

She emphasized each word, as if convincing not only him, but herself. For she had faced her own personal demons, just as Shatter was battling his now. The way Shatter’s dreams tortured him, much like the Tantabus tortured her. It was Luna’s own doing to punish herself for the years of grief she caused Equestria and her sister. Only together, with Twilight and her friends, were they able to pull her out of that tortured mindset she had engrained in herself.

As if… she needed a reason to feel justice was served. She needed somepony to pay for what she had done. And that somepony just so happened to be herself. Only afterward, when Celestia had heard of it, when she was comforted by her older sister, when she was assured that her past deeds were forgiven and there was no punishment necessary… it was then Luna knew she wasn’t alone anymore.

Shatter was, in many ways, no different… and yet different all the same. He wanted justice, or vengeance, as he more so saw it. He wanted somepony to pay for these travesties. He would turn that hatred to Godzilla, but to what end? He alone could not fight the beast any more than the armies of T.I.T.A.N. could. That was why his subconscious mind tortured him. Those were the nightmares, the memories, all supplying him with the reason and the strength to do what he believed was right.

And if her presence was there for him, proving to him that he was not alone, perhaps they could walk the right path together. Not the path of vengeance, but justice.

Only… a little seed of doubt remained, and one that left Luna with the most subtle of chills lingering under her coat. As if she doubted it was Shatter’s own doing for his nightmares. As if… it was another darkness altogether. Perhaps one she personally knew.

Perhaps… a thought to delve into later. For Shatter broke the silence and asked, “Would you have done differently?”

Luna almost did a double take. In a way, she almost expected him to ask something along those lines, but it was still jarring. It was still so incredibly heavy on her heart to hear him ask, “Had you never rebelled, had you ruled alongside your sister… would you have told the world the truth?”

The pain in his voice was agonizing. It sounded as if he desperately needed to know, and it all the more burned her soul. The question lingered in the quiet longer than she would have liked. Left in a state of bewilderment was unbecoming of the former Ruler of the Night. It did not reflect the co-director of T.I.T.A.N. and the strong persona she had crafted, either. But she was trapped, refusing to give a comforting lie after all the progress she had made with Shatter. He didn’t deserve that. He deserved what he believed.

He deserved the truth, and one that Luna truly didn’t know how to answer.

The best she could offer was: “Seeing how our world is today… how the masses reacted and adjusted to the Titans… I would have liked to. But back then… simply not knowing… simply… not being ready… I am not so sure.”

A lukewarm response, but the only one Luna could manage for such uncertainty. The past was the past, and even back then they did not know how the world would be tomorrow. They did what they thought was best, what was safest, as they continued to do now. The world knew now, and the best they could do was continue to fight for their way of life.

As for Shatter, he appeared crestfallen by her answer. But not shocked. Perhaps his lack of surprise hurt her the most.

She would not have his loss of faith in who they were or what they could be. She refused to release his hoof, in fact, tightening hers to his. Reaffirming to him fiercely and truthfully, “Shatter… we need you. You and all your pilots, now more than ever… May I ask where your loyalty lies?”

His stare met her own, and this time she was given an answer. A familiar one at that. “With our world… With ponykind, always.”

Almost exactly what he said that day in the throne room. Though, Luna noted the lack of his first response: “With the crown…” Did it mean something deeper, or did she delve too much into nothing? Regardless, it was an answer she could accept, despite her haunting doubts. She gave him one more promising grip of her hoof to his, assuring him in silence that he was not alone, before she rose to let him rest. It was still quite early in the morning.

The fact remained, however; he always stood by that belief. Ever since he joined T.I.T.A.N., since he stepped hoof in Twilight’s throne room, and even now as Luna offered one last smile and left him, closing the door behind her, he always believed that. He always fought for that.

Now, Shatter was even more convinced of that.

Chapter 19 – Ace in the Hole

View Online

Near Trotsylvania

Serpent’s Creek

Days of the same madness had engulfed a chunk of the world in flame.

Raging fires lit up from cities and civilizations like beacons to light the night, and scorch the day with the remaining plumes of smoke rising into the clouds. Today, however, the fire was given a respite. A soft rainfall came from the thick, gray storm clouds billowing across the eastern territories.

It was a particularly cloudy day near Trotsylvania. The adjacent river south of the city, Stampede Stream, had grown increasingly agitated. A barren land rested south of the river, with only a few cabins and lookout posts, all abandoned. No, it appeared the only major attraction south of Trotsylvania was the T.I.T.A.N. observatory in the heart of the marshlands. It, as well, appeared to be abandoned.

Very recently, curiously enough.

So, when Godzilla broke through the rampaging tides of Stampede Stream—as if he was battling a watery stampede in and of itself—he found it odd to see a complete lack of life upon the land he strode. The smaller rivers surrounding the landscape, all leading into Serpent’s Creek that went even further down south, were silent save for the subtle pitter-patter of rain droplets striking the calm river surfaces.

Every fishing boat was docked. Every cabin was quiet with not a candle to be seen. The lookout posts were dark. With river water still dripping from his scarred and heavily-built hide, Godzilla tightened his expression, narrowed his burning eyes, and turned instead to the observatory.

His next stomps upon the earth were toward it.

He had been drawn by the nuclear activity in the T.I.T.A.N. observatory, which was what it appeared to be on the surface, but deep below it was a laboratory for a massive staging ground. For new technology, weaponry, all beginning the first steps into the nuclear realm with the towering, concrete cooling towers jutting forth on the outskirts of the observatory.

It was strangely curious, that even in the deepest, darkest portions of Godzilla’s fractured mind, he was still calculating. He was still wondering why the equines tampered with nuclear power. Why they so suddenly spiked all their nuclear testing and reactors to just as quickly abandon their sites? If it was to draw him out of the sea, they had succeeded, but to do what exactly?

His head perked up when he caught the familiar and obnoxious sounds of the ORCA.

A frequency he had heard more times than he could count in the past several days, what with the equines and the creatures of his world trying to fend him off and draw him away. In the distance, his thoughts were correct when he spotted yet another aircraft carrying the ORCA frequency. The airship hovered high in the air, emerging from Peryton Peak and flying high over the forest in the East.

Coming right for him.

Followed by another coming from the West, from the Celestial Sea to Stampede Stream.

Godzilla quickly shifted his attention to the second airship flying from the sea. It, too, carried an ORCA and blared its alpha frequency as loudly as it could. A deep, agitated growl grew at the back of the king’s throat, his eyes narrowing to the point of bright slits. Each a bright red and gold. This formation from T.I.T.A.N. had already been done, with multiple different ORCAs going off at once to deter Godzilla from his path. It had failed before, and it would most assuredly…

Then, the ground trembled and the forest erupted. Godzilla spun around, eyes widening to see the emergence of a blackened creature tear its way through the trees and fog. Its black coat soaked by the rain, dagger-like claws pressed firmly into the earth as its towering arms bent forward in a clear sign of aggression, the beast was undeterred and, by the looks of it, was ready for a fight.

Having followed the alpha frequency of the ORCA and now standing face to face with the tyrant king, Baphomet saw no reason to turn away.

The world had been thrown out of balance, and signs in the winds of Godzilla’s heretical acts to the natural order had spread. This was not the same darkness as Ghidorah had brought. This was another heresy, and one Baphomet would not bow to.

Not like he had bowed to Godzilla before. This was not the same King of the Monsters. This was a bloodthirsty tyrant that needed to be brought down. An honor that Baphomet gladly claimed with a terrible cry erupting from his skull-like maw.

The second airship hovered high over Godzilla’s head and stopped there, the very same second Godzilla responded to Baphomet’s challenge with a horrific roar of his own. The very same second Stampede Stream blew open and Scylla pounced on him with his back turned.

The attack was followed by Scylla emitting a series of quick, chittering cries, a clear call signaling a challenge. Godzilla could hardly respond when the tendrils spewing from her mouth wrapped tighter and tighter around the king’s throat. A fog of liquid nitrogen was vomited from her maw and spilled across the back of Godzilla’s neck, freezing quickly. His roars changed suddenly to pained cries as he stomped and spun rapidly to fight the giant cephalopod off.

Leaving him unprepared for Baphomet to attack.

He engaged with his own stampede, tearing across the marshlands with his head down and antlers protruded. The impact he delivered to Godzilla’s open thigh earned a sickening stab, the bones tearing through Godzilla’s hide and earning fresh blood. The king howled.

Baphomet howled in return, ripping his antlers free and filling the air with a spray of red, a mist that coated the light fog. Maintaining his footing while Godzilla stumbled, Baphomet reared back and pounced forward, swiping harshly across Godzilla’s face.

The strike was deafening, Godzilla’s head tilting awkwardly as his mind momentarily went dark. He fell in a colossal heap that thundered the world, but not before Scylla could safely relinquish him and skid across the ground. Her legs were nimble and caught the earth quite well, allowing her to create as much distance as she pleased between her and the tyrant.

Already, Godzilla was showing signs of movement despite the devastating blow Baphomet had delivered. It was as if his body moved despite what his pain expressed, his mind fighting a battle his body struggled to keep up with. To stop him once and for all, Scylla intended to encase him entirely in ice if need be. So, she proceeded in spewing more liquid nitrogen across his face, then to his body.

The ice around his jaws exploded when Godzilla fired an atomic beam directly into her face, warding her off, earning a shrill and agonizing cry from the cephalopod before Godzilla finally rose up. Spinning around, low to the ground in a defensive, almost primal state of being, Godzilla glared first to Baphomet and then slowly back to Scylla. Growling down the two Titans in a short but unsettling standoff.

They growled in return. Baphomet paid little heed to Scylla, as she did for him. Both of their focus had shifted to the tyrant who claimed to once be their king. Now, he stood defiantly before them with blood on his claws and not a soul on this world that had the power to match him. Not until now.

His crimes against the natural order would finally be answered.

With Godzilla’s back facing him, Baphomet screamed and dug fiercely into the earth, tearing the distance between him and Godzilla in half. The other half was unreached when Godzilla suddenly swiped his tail wickedly across the air and struck Baphomet across his entire body. The Titan went flying, crashing and rolling several hundred feet away near the observatory.

Beating back Baphomet, the Alpha Predator shrieked when Scylla’s sharpened swords for legs stabbed and sliced at his back and side. She was relentless, pursuing him with rageful chitters and cries as two of her six legs stabbed at him repeatedly. The blood she earned was a sweet fragrance to her, painting the rivers beneath them red.

Unfortunately, she grew too sporadic, seeing too much red that her vision had been narrowed. She failed to see the bigger picture, and then failed to see that Godzilla had been leading her. Letting her strike him. Letting her grow more confident, less strategic, and therefore left her open.

He caught one leg, breaking it with a solid snap! Her cries were ear-piercing. He caught her other leg swung for him, slamming it down and stomping on it, snapping it just as well.

The sudden act had flung her downward, and having lost her footing, Scylla collapsed on the softened earth. She began to sink slightly into the mud and water, and whatever struggles she managed in those few, short moments she had left, they all faded when her eyes were lifted up. Up to stare into the burning and demented stare of the mad king as he gave her one last, soulless glare.

Before he raised his foot and crushed her scorched head.

Another ear-piercing scream came, but not from her. Her corpse was already growing cold, and Godzilla spun around just in time to catch Baphomet’s pounce.

The two grappled, vying one another for supremacy. He snapped at him with his beak-like jaws, teeth nearing Godzilla’s neck closer with each bite. The king cut off his feeble attempts before he could even get another bite in, flinging Baphomet into the nearest cooling tower. The impact shattered the tower, the structure crumbling down as a massive plume of white dust rose around them.

Their battle was driven through the T.I.T.A.N. observatory, but by that point, it wasn’t really a battle any longer. Hardly even a fight. It seemed to be more like torment. For as Baphomet cried weakly, struggling to even raise his trembling arms to push himself up, Godzilla’s shadow was already hovering over him. His claws were already on him.

His wrath was already dealt, and there was nothing more Baphomet could give.

Grabbing the beast by the antlers, the madness-induced state of Godzilla’s mind encouraged him to proceed, and he did so with rageful, almost sadistic intent. He drove Baphomet’s head into another cooling tower, splintering the concrete and cracking Baphomet’s skull. Trying to pull him back for another strike, Godzilla realized he couldn’t. Not at first. One antler was stuck in the structure.

And Godzilla ripped him off anyway. Earning a sickening crunch of bones splitting, a shriek of unadulterated agony, and leaving the antler protruding from the tower, still barely standing from their conflict.

There was very little resilience left in Baphomet’s bleeding form, his claws weakly slashing and grasping Godzilla’s face and claws. Trying to break his hold on him. Trying now just to get away, just to survive. But not even the King of the Monsters, in his new order dealt to all the inhabited earth, would allow such freedom.

To those who stood against him, there would always be a definitive and assured end.

His goat-like, amber eyes trembled as they gazed up to the dark figure of his former king, now just a soulless monster who had taken the form of the one he once bowed to. Monstrous and vile, heartless and cruel. Seeking wanton destruction and death and all to kneel or die. The more he stared in his final moments, the more Baphomet peered into his fiery glare. He saw no life. No peace.

There was only madness in his eyes. The image of his former king appeared only as the shadow of King Ghidorah.

And so, Godzilla acted upon his enlightened and twisted will, grabbing Baphomet’s remaining antler and bending his head back. Exposing the black fur on his neck. Easing his path to entry and execution. Godzilla reared down and dug his teeth into Baphomet’s jugular.

Twisting and tearing and ripping his head back with Baphomet’s throat between his jaws.

A crack of thunder and a screaming bolt of lightning rippled the storm clouds as a fresh downpour of rain fell upon the cursed world. For it was a curse when any creature lost their life unjustly, without mercy, with no rightful answer given to the evil that afflicted the world. Across Serpent’s Creek and the adjoining lands, the remnants of the beasts’ battle remained. Haunting reminders that Godzilla left behind for all to know of his wrath.

He stood there, his left claw gripping the last antler that held Baphomet’s limp corpse. The jaws hung open lifelessly, eyes dark, skull fractured with a gaping wound where his throat used to be. Bent low, snorting out steam from his nostrils, he stared onward to see Scylla’s broken body sunk slightly into the mud pools. Her legs jutted up from the ground, bent awkwardly, broken and bleeding.

Godzilla labored in his breathing, sharpened teeth baring and bleeding profusely. Blood dribbled down his jaws and soaked his neck, staining his chest in rivers of red. He sprayed the air the same color when he breathed in and unleashed a threatening cry to the earth, to the fleeing airships, that his was not a crown to be claimed. His throne was not to be taken. His kingdom was not to be overcome.

It was a roar that was directed at Trotsylvania, where his blood-red eyes glared. A city, a people, undefended and without hope.

Mount Metazoa

The Hall of Unity

Days more of the same madness, and the world finally responded as one.

They came from every corner of the globe; from lush palaces, lavish kingdoms, and bunkers hidden on the outskirts of what were once monumental civilizations, now just mounds of smoldering rubble from Godzilla’s rampage. They came from the frontlines of every defense utilized to stop the King of the Monsters. They came as one to the Hall of Unity if it meant having a cemented plan to end this madness.

Once more, outside of the jurisdiction of the Convocation of Creatures, all world leaders were highly requested to attend. For a declaration of emergency—and an emergency they all fully understood—not one world leader was absent. Not one wanted to miss this.

The press were finally allowed within the doors of the great Hall. Cameras flashed and questions filled with the air with rapid precision and severity. As more and more kings, queens, emperors, and bureaucrats stormed inside the mountainous amphitheater, it took the strength of their individual royal guards to keep the press at bay, to keep their pestering questions as far from the leadership as possible.

The press soon found themselves drawn to another figurehead, one like the brightest lamp to their moth-like behavior. They washed into the center aisle, more cameras flashing, more reporters demanding a response of some kind to this chaos, and a response that would hopefully be more effective than the last. Every flash, every question, every concern, all directed to one.

All of them directed at the leader, the ruler, of both the nation of Equestria and of T.I.T.A.N. as a whole.

Princess Twilight Sparkle strode down the center aisle of the Hall as if time itself seemed to slow down. Every camera flash, every screaming question, everything had grown numb to her. Her eyes were wide and hardened, focused only on the red carpet leading to the grandest stage in the world. The stage where every eye would be staring.

Directors Celestia and Luna were also with her, which spawned even more press from the corners of the room to turn their attention to the center vein of the Hall of Unity. If anything, the rulers and the kings and queens found some solace in the lack of press pouncing on them like lurking predators. They questioned many a time why it is they allowed press to be within the Hall in the first place, and then they remembered who was responsible and turned their eyes to her.

“Transparency was key to a free and thriving society”, as Princess Twilight proclaimed mere months ago within these very walls. They had nothing more to hide from the creatures of Equus, as the secret organization of T.I.T.A.N. was unveiled last year, and all the knowledge and events they knew of shared just as well. But then again, they were always discovering something new with the Titans, and sometimes these discoveries took time to fully understand before they could be shared with the world.

What was happening now, with Godzilla, was not entirely new, but it was just as shocking to all to know if came from the one they once called their “Titan Savior”.

Allowing the press, and therefore the people, know of their intentions and plans to stop these catastrophes was a necessary step to a unified and peaceful world, and one where they could finally all fully trust one another. But sometimes, the monarchies doubted the decisions of Princess Twilight, and why she above all others seemed to make every damning choice when it came to how and why they ruled.

She was the Princess of Friendship, the Element of Magic, a hero renowned who brought peace and friendship to every nation willing. Her choices before only brought more light into the world than darkness. Even if many did not particularly like the press seeping in to what should have been their private convocations, it was not inherently bad to be more transparent. Even if many within the press twisted the words and intentions of the world’s rulers.

No, they hardly doubted Princess Twilight on the decisions she made before. They were only beginning to question the actions she made now, what with two dead Titans near the devastated ruins of Trotsylvania.

The actions of T.I.T.A.N., of the ORCA, were fully on display for all the world to witness and question, and question they did.

When Twilight took the stand on the grand stage, Celestia and Luna never leaving her sides, she cast her wearied gaze out to the hundreds of faces peering at her. Many faces she came to recognize. Many friendly, many disheartened, and many more on edge. Queen Novo was always a comforting stare away, along with King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember. Others, like the Griffon Lords, Prince Rutherford, and King Aspen were a little more difficult to please.

But she certainly tried to do more than please, anyway.

Silence began to fill the Hall when Twilight began speaking. The reporters captured her every word, notepads and pens in a flurry.

“The dead don’t suffer,” the Princess of Equestria began. Silence returned to the Hall, even heavier and more unnerving than before. Intentional as it was, Twilight still struggled with the next words, needing them—no, wanting them—to be as abundantly clear as possible. She wanted them all to understand that they were not ignored. They were not forsaken. The rulers saw their people suffering and they would fully acknowledge every ounce of it.

She gulped softly, eyes blinking rapidly. There had been enough tears the past few days; she didn’t need any more right now. She needed to be strong. “Even in our shared losses, we can all come together to find comfort in knowing their pain has passed. To all we have lost… all we never forget. But our focus remains with the living. Our goal, our purpose, to ensure they remain living… long and prosperous lives.”

She spoke into many microphones. The stand was large enough for both Celestia and Luna to speak with her, but she stood on her own for now. Needing to do this alone for now.

“That is why we are here today. Thank you, one and all, for giving us your time and your patience during these tumultuous times. We seek only to end your patience, and bring forth a certified and decisive answer to the…” Twilight struggled to say, but quickly cleared her throat and shakily breathed, “… the horrific tragedies we have faced… and continue to face.”

No cameras flashed. Every reporter hesitated once they had finished writing, hanging on every word. The pestering silence followed and Twilight tried to recollect her thoughts. Staring out to every ruler, and having practiced no grandiose speech beforehoof, Twilight spoke from the heart.

“Our recent campaign to deter Titanus Gojira’s actions was… unsuccessful. We—”

And yet she was still interrupted.

“‘Unsuccessful’… is putting it kindly,” Lord Gestal of the Griffon Lords raised his voice, earning an accusing glare from Director Luna. His talons scraped the handle of his sheathed, ceremonial sword, his eyes running over the intricate designs over and over again. Never once looking at the princess.

Yet, he still said, “What happened with Trotsylvania was a disaster, plain and simple. Certainly, you’ve managed well in evacuating major cities, even aiding those outside of your nation’s borders, but the damage is still done. The city is in ruin along with its nuclear testing facility, joining dozens of other cities, and this unhinged Titan is still left unaccounted for. Not to mention your ORCAs have now wrought only more death… from the beasts your T.I.T.A.N. so proudly tries to protect.”

Luna’s glare turned into a sneer, and she snorted furiously and tried to step forward. She was stopped by Twilight’s hoof raised back to her. Celestia cast her younger sister a worrisome if not unsurprised glance.

Waiting until she could feel the rising temperature of Luna’s aura drop safely, Twilight lowered her hoof, sighing into the microphones. “We were not alone on this decision. This course of action was decided by many military minds within multiple T.I.T.A.N. sectors. The Dragon Lands and Shanghay can both attest to this.”

The mayor of Shanghay and Dragon Lord Ember both nodded in agreement, sounding off their support into their microphones.

Celestia stepped forth, sharing the stand with Twilight and speaking to all. As if she needed some feeble technology that could barely rival her Royal Canterlot Voice. But, if to save the eardrums of those closest to the stage, she spoke calmly enough.

“If you all are so willing to end the incredible progress of diplomatic relations if but to shift the blame, then blame my sister and I. The fault is ours. We are the directors of the Equestrian sector, and we were spearheading this operation. Princess Twilight merely signed off and let us do our job… which we have failed. If there is any blame to be had, shift it to us, and not to her,” Celestia explained. Luna stepped forth and nodded fiercely, refusing to back down or cower to the face of adversary she had known almost all her life.

And not a single one of them rose up to do so. Even Lord Gestal read the room and kept silent, though he could bet everycreature there was shifting the blame in their thoughts.

Neither Celestia nor Luna doubted they all thought it. “Now then… let us explain our actions,” Celestia began, waiting for her sister to step forth. Luna did so with her horn burning, bringing the projector on the ceiling to life. The screen behind the stage began to unfurl to a blank, white canvas, allowing the projections to appear.

A single image of the ORCA device popped up, the blueprints beside it.

Director Celestia waited until every eye was raised, and then she said, “Utilizing the ORCA has proven to be unsuccessful. We had hoped Titanus Baphomet and Titanus Scylla would have succeeded in either calming Godzilla or fending him off. The ORCA, in and of itself, excels in mimicking alpha frequencies and drawing certain Titans away from what their desired target would have been. This has not worked the same with Godzilla… for reasons we still can’t quite seem to understand. And two Titans… two creatures… paid the ultimate price for our failure.”

Her explanation only cemented many worries, many fears within the congregation. T.I.T.A.N. was not so morally superior as they appeared to be under Princess Twilight’s leadership. Working freely under the governments and monarchies of the world, the veil was slowly being pulled away, and nothing could prove they were clean. They were just as guilty to every action they took as they were innocent to every action the Titans took, all out of T.I.T.A.N.’s control.

If anything, they tried to be better, but ended up acting both morally superior and morally bankrupt. Both black and white. Perhaps even showcasing the gray in their actions.

“Thousands more have already paid the price,” the feline king of Abyssinia uttered softly into his microphone. The room audibly shifted in his direction, multiple cameras flashing. The monarch flinched to the bright lights, but nonetheless kept what composure he could.

His breath trembled with every word said. “Your people… my people… all of us betrayed by the same Titan we thought could be the great equalizer… or even the peacekeeper to these beasts. The time for understanding his actions has passed. Thousands, maybe millions, are in danger while we continuously fail them! We cannot… allow this to continue!”

He was growing emotional and sporadic—something he did not want. The comforting embrace from his wife and queen was a minimal warmth. But suddenly, he felt a greater fire burn in his chest when the resounding cheers, whoops, hollers, claps, and various other diverse sounds of approval sounded off.

“What more would you have us do, Your Majesty?” the minotaur king genuinely asked, prompting the cat’s attention. “We have already entrusted our T.I.T.A.N. forces to contain this threat, which they couldn’t even be trusted to accomplish.” He scoffed, crossing his burly arms with a shake of his head. He, like many others, was just tired. “Would you have us commit instead to a military effort?”

“It would certainly be more beneficial to utilize armies we can control rather than an independent organization to ‘keep us safe’,” King Aspen noted, scoffing when he emphasized “keep us safe”, as did many others scoff. Then, he just as quickly sighed in defeat. “Then again… it would be as if shooting arrows into a tidal wave. Stamping spears into an earthquake. Battling the very winds of a superstorm… without the aid of Pegasi, mind you. This Godzilla is a force of nature… and nature… cannot be controlled.”

As the ruler of Thicket within the Everfree Forest, perhaps Aspen held more knowledge of the uncontrollable power of nature than anycreature present. His comments left a grave silence in the air.

“Much like it cannot be fought against with swords and bullets,” Queen Novo of the Hippogriffs stated. As the room shifted to her, Novo brought her eyes to the stage, meeting the wearied and burdened eyes of Princess Twilight and Celestia. Luna looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else, perhaps even Tartarus. “I understand the choices you made with the ORCA… with the two Titans… but dealing with this Alpha Predator cannot mean sacrificing innocent life in the process. There must be another way!”

“Then suppose you Hippogriffs contribute to this fight!” the chief of the ape tribes accusingly proclaimed, rising from his chair and practically quaking the winding table. His black fists were pressed firmly to the table as he snorted. “The power of your precious Pearl of Transformation has been shared among your people, yes? Transform yourselves into titanic beasts and take the fight to this monster!”

“The Pearl’s power is not so simple as you think it is. What you desire from us is impossible,” Novo retorted with a talon covering her necklace, narrowing her eyes fiercely to the ape’s glare. “And I will not sacrifice my Hippogriffs to be pawns for some ‘global army’.”

A different uproar was birthed upon that accusation, and an uproar where nearly every figurehead had something to argue. They were a united species, that they could all agree on. But when it came to military efforts, to war—a grueling concept they have not come to face yet in this new age of peace—many were hesitant and many supported the idea of a shared military. It was a concept that had been brought up in the last Convocation of Creatures, and was left up for discussion later on.

Twilight supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later. She made no attempt to hide the frustration in her sigh.

“Everycreature, please, let’s calm down and think this through!” Twilight tried to intervene, falling on many deaf ears. “King Aspen is right! We can’t fight nature. Contributing to a military effort would only cost us more lives and resources.”

“Speaking so highly of resources…”

The interruption came from the first floor, from the Duke and Duchess of Hailberg. It was the duchess herself who interrupted Twilight’s soon-to-be rallying speech. Her antlers rose up when she took her stand, pressing her hooves onto the table firmly but not so aggressively. Making her aggravation subtle without a verbal statement.

The moose cast her eyes across all within the Hall of Unity. Cameras flashed every two or so seconds, but she ignored them, focusing only on her fellow rulers. “We have heard… whispers and rumors of several monetary donations… as well as resources being funneled into the Equestrian sector.” The Duchess of Hailberg slowly turned her snout back to the stage, the mighty moose raising her eyebrows curiously. “Now, where have all those grateful donations gone towards, princess?”

There was hesitation from the stage, and everycreature caught that. Voices began rising, daring accusations and strong criticisms for not only Twilight’s silence, but the lack of her denial for such claims. Discord was growing, tensions between nations burning at an all-time high. It had not grown this fiery since before Twilight rose to power. She, as well as Celestia, shared uncertain looks. Turning to Luna, the former Princess of the Night furrowed her brow, nodding them on.

Silently telling them both via magical contact, “The time is not yet. They are not ready for the Mecha.”

“Or perhaps the Emperor of Neighpon would be so kind as to explain,” the Duke of Hailberg added, rising up with his beloved. Together, they both turned to the far left of the first floor, where the emperor just so happened to be situated. “Seeing as Neighpon has grown quite comfortable with Equestria this past year. Any resources or projects you would like to share?”

His chair had grown unusually uncomfortable, what with suddenly being placed in the hot seat. His luscious, red sokutai flowed down to the floor, his armored guards gripping their sheathed katana handles tighter. Amidst the flashing cameras and oncoming silence, the Neighponese Emperor was quiet. He flicked his eyes to the stage, but said nothing.

“What was shared with Equestria is not the same as a shared military, duchess,” Celestia interjected. “Everything we have done was all meant for the betterment and security of our way of life. Would you kindly like to remind us who is leading the evacuation and rescue efforts around the world?”

For that, neither the Duke nor Duchess of Hailberg had anything to say that was already known. There was no denying Equestria’s efforts around the globe, both in recent memory and as they continued to do now. The royal moose couple slowly took their seats in silence.

The Griffon Lords were not so easily pleased. Lord Gestal spoke for them, as if their thoughts were all shared, and declared, “If you are so eager to lead T.I.T.A.N. as well as the future towards ‘friendship’ and ‘prosperity’, then lead us out of this storm! Deal with this threat… or we will.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Luna said, finally allowing her voice to be heard, though not through the microphones. Her Royal Canterlot Voice was beginning to show, but she clearly held back. Only barely, if the growing fire in her eyes meant anything.

Gestal refused to back down to the former princess. His glare was joined by all the Griffon Lords. His voice emphasized with the full weight and intent of the Griffon Kingdom.

“As he has clearly brought war to us… we bring war… to Godzilla.”

“War” just so happened to be the word that set everycreature off, as they all proceeded to express strong support and strong opposition to such a claim. The Hall of Unity appeared to be anything but, creatures big and small already at each other’s throats. Trying to maintain the chaos outside the walls as well as within proved to be more of a challenge than Twilight had expected. She was thankful Celestia and Luna were by her sides.

Though, Gestal’s suggestion was not entirely without strong foundations. With Godzilla’s targets having primarily been factories and construction sites for T.I.T.A.N.’s arsenal, they were fearing Godzilla would come next for their munitions factories in the Griffon Kingdom. Their main export going up in flames would be monumentally devastating, not only for their growing economy, but for every allied nation they supplied firearms and ammunition to.

Thankfully, the king of the changelings was able to bring another option to the table, and one that avoided war.

“What about Discord?” Thorax suggested, and almost instantaneously the room began to quiet down. “The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony? We’ve worked together before to stop Queen Chrysalis, a-and he helped in the Battle of the Three Kings. Can’t we just ask him to stop Godzilla?”

Seeing the desperation in Thorax’s eyes, it pained Twilight to shake her head.

“Unfortunately… no. I haven’t seen Discord since the Crystal Empire. He hasn’t left his home in the chaos dimension… or ‘Chaosville’ as he likes to call it,” Twilight responded, clearing her throat awkwardly. “He hasn’t left if for months… with not even his closest friends able to reach him.”

Her thoughts drifted to Fluttershy, and Twilight’s heart ached. “We were lucky before. Luck, and the Magic of Friendship, saved us in the Battle of the Three Kings. With Discord involved back then… if Ghidorah had managed to devour his chaos magic fully…” she shuddered at the thought.

A being with no morality, no mercy, no love, just death and madness wielding the multiversal power of the Spirit of Chaos? Not only that, but Discord was of external nature, not natural to their world. There was natural chaos, and then there was Discord. Bringing him in before was a gamble they miraculously made it out of. Bringing him in again, meet chaos with chaos…

“We can’t risk it again,” Twilight said, and Thorax lowered his head dejectedly.

“Well, what do we have left?” Ember asked aloud. “Novo has a point: there has to be another way!”

She may not have practiced a speech, but Twilight definitely remembered what she had to say to that. Her most important talking point since she took the stand. “Our options may be few… and risky… but we have been left with very little choice.” She nodded over to Luna, who only sighed and brightened her horn. Being delegated to a glorified projector operator wasn’t her favorite option, but it was still better than being verbally involved with this den of fiends Luna knew as “politicians”.

The screen flicked over to a new set of pictures, all in black and white, and all of them showcasing the hidden island of Black Skull Island. And the king that resided there.

“That is why I’m proposing the possibility of another alpha Titan,” Princess Twilight began to explain, holding her hoof high to the screen behind her. “One that has overcome and emerged victorious from the invasive Titan attack on his home of Black Skull Island. His kingdom. His throne, if you will. Little is known of Titanus Kong, but we already have a team on the island committing to the necessary research. What we do know… is his status as an established alpha predator. Though it appears he tends to act out as more of a ‘protector’ of his island.”

The Hall of Unity was captivated by the photos, by the island, of which many rulers had never even heard of it. The apes seemed to find a particular interest in the photos displaying a massive creature of their species. Perhaps an ancient ancestor, or a separate superspecies, maybe. Legends and stories within the tribes told of giants that once roamed among their people. Apes larger and much more powerful than they could ever imagine. Could this Kong be the one they had heard of? Could it be the missing link to their history?

Their questions were never answered, because they were never asked, because Princess Twilight did not stop.

“He acts to protect the creatures that cannot fend for themselves against more malicious predators, if what our researchers tell us is true. He keeps to his own, remaining hidden for the most part… and it won’t be long before this attack on Black Skull Island draws Godzilla’s attention.”

Dropping her hoof, Twilight faced the hundreds looking to her for clarity and guidance. An answer to their pleas. An option—and maybe their only option—to end this madness. She said, “So… following these failures to fend off Godzilla… we propose a campaign to defeat him.”

“You would have us utilize an alpha Titan to fight Godzilla?” the Saddle Arabian king questioned. “This… ‘Kong’ from the uncharted Black Skull Island?”

“How will this end any different than last time, pony?” Prince Rutherford demanded to know.

There concerns were not unfounded, as it already sparked some more debate within the Hall. Many were concerned about falling down the same path again—pursuing an effort that already didn’t work at a potentially greater cost now: losing the only other alpha Titan they knew of. Then, there were those who pushed for it, who saw it as the only way to try and solve this threat with Godzilla. The world had already suffered too much, too long, and pitting an alpha against an alpha could give them the edge they needed.

Especially when Twilight answered, “Because with Kong, he won’t just have the full front of T.I.T.A.N. backing him… he’ll have the Elements of Harmony as well.”

That was an edge they had known, and one that led to victory every single time. An edge that every species on Equus could believe in. Now, she and the directors had the full, undivided attention of the Hall.

Giving Director Celestia enough time to prepare, and Director Luna enough time to update the projector. “A superstorm is growing over Black Skull Island, and that’s an environment we can’t control. So, we can transport Kong over to the mainland of Equestria, here,” Celestia pointed to the screen behind her. The screen shifted to a map of Equestria, an arrow leading from the island to the Forbidden Jungle on the eastern coast of Equestria. “An environment that suits Kong’s favorable ecosystem. Godzilla will be drawn to him the second Kong comes off that island and out of that storm, so we must travel swiftly.”

Princess Twilight nodded in agreement, declaring, “We need an alpha to hold his own against Godzilla long enough to weaken him, to consume his focus, and if possible, defeat him. If not… then he could weaken Godzilla enough for the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. For my friends and I… to do what’s necessary.”

Very rarely had Twilight felt any apprehension to utilizing the Elements of Harmony. Since she and her closest friends had first discovered them that fateful night in the Everfree Forest, in the Castle of the Two Sisters, they had been used time and time again to ward off the evil that infected their enemies-turned-allies, or vanquished the evil altogether.

But using them against Godzilla was another gamble. The last time they had done so, the power of the Elements was too much for Godzilla’s nuclear core to maintain, and he lost his life for it. Had it not been for Mothra’s sacrifice, the King of the Monsters would not be alive. The way Godzilla was behaving now went against everything they thought they knew of him. Everything Fluttershy thought she knew and could share with them.

Deep down, Twilight didn’t believe this was Godzilla’s true nature. He had proven before to be a defender of the natural order, and left them in peace. Nothing Equestria or the world had done could prove that Godzilla viewed them as a threat; they certainly couldn’t fight against him, that much was true. No, Twilight believed there was something deeper going on. Something far more sinister. A curse of the mind or the soul that had driven Godzilla to lash out, perhaps. If that was the case, then all they needed was the Elements to cleanse the evil from him.

But first… they needed him in a weakened state for the Elements to properly heal him.

Getting Godzilla to that weakened state, however, meant risking another in the process. It was either that… or sitting back and letting this carnage continue. Twilight made her decision. She needed to know if the rest of them could, too. “I know what you’re all thinking, and I understand the risk is great. Putting another Titan’s life on the line is even greater. We are fully open to hearing your thoughts, and hopefully… another option—” she tried to say, but was interrupted by the sound of a chair pushed out.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” the ruler of the parrots announced, “… I have already lost my brother and his children to Godzilla. My people… in Ornithia… all the same, in losses I cannot even fathom. You have our full support for this campaign.”

Momentarily taken aback by such a bold statement made so soon, Twilight nonetheless found herself thankful for his contribution. It shortly spread.

“Princess Twilight… if this is the only way… then you have our T.I.T.A.N.,” Queen Novo proudly stated, stamping her talon on the table for emphasis. She stared at the photographs of Kong, a small smile tugging at the end of her beak. “As it would appear… we have our Titan.”

The Dragon Lord stamped her Bloodstone Scepter onto the ground, rising up. “You have our T.I.T.A.N., Your Highness.”

Thorax stood up. “You have our T.I.T.A.N.”

One by one, many slowly rose in support, giving what T.I.T.A.N. force they could manage for Equestria’s daring campaign to Black Skull Island. The press was already running wild with this proclamation, and there was no hope in stopping them now. Though, Twilight did not feel compelled to keep this plan hidden from the world. The world needed to hear it, to know that the ones who led them had a plan to protect them.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, the Hall of Unity came to an agreement, and the campaign was approved with resounding applause.

Twilight was thankful for the support, but couldn’t help the gnawing feeling eating away at her soul. With every clap and cheer she received, they only added to that dreaded feeling. As if desperately pleading to her that there had to be some other way. A tiny voice that sounded painfully like Fluttershy’s begging not to put another life at risk. And Twilight argued back, that when it came to thousands, potentially millions, of others already lost and at stake… then she would do what was necessary.

Did that still make it right?

She couldn’t tell if it was that gnawing, pleading, begging voice she heard… or herself.

Twilight stared back at the photographs on screen for all the Hall of Unity to witness. The images of Kong staring back at the brave photographer, at her, with that calm, restful stare.

Chapter 20 – The World Needs Him

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Black Skull Island

T.I.T.A.N. Outpost Beacon

The superstorm was a war they couldn’t win. No Pegasi could control the conflict in the clouds that was slowly but absolutely devouring the skyline and the earth of Black Skull Island. Even now, the outer edges of the island were consumed, fierce winds and destructive lightning razing every living thing left from the colossal Titan war.

The eye of the storm zeroed in around them, tightening the noose, ensuring a swift and deadly end for everything not within a stable shelter.

T.I.T.A.N. watched it all with keen interest, all from the safety of their newly-established and refortified base of operations. Outpost Beacon would survive the coming storm. The creatures, the Titans… maybe not. That was for nature to decide. Then again, T.I.T.A.N. wasn’t entirely certain the storm coming was natural.

It was confirmed from the Wonderbolts of Ghidorah’s remnant hurricane merging with the storm ring around the island. Coupled with the unnatural readings having infected the ecosystem with Camazotz’s arrival from Hollow Earth, that combination laid the foundations for a disaster the likes of which Black Skull Island was not prepared for. Perhaps the ancients were right; maybe an omen had fallen upon the land of mortals.

Or, at least, the beginnings of an omen.

Dark forces were at play, and many they did not understand. Black Skull Island would become uninhabitable. They theorized it wouldn’t be much longer before the storm took the island. A day, maybe two. That was all the time they had left. Local tribes that inhabited the island—the Iwi equines, zebras, monkeys, orangutans—cooperated well with T.I.T.A.N. if it meant escaping the coming catastrophe. The ships carrying the refugees had already fled the island, on their way toward the mainland of Equestria.

Others… most of them… declined T.I.T.A.N.’s aid. They would not leave their home. Time moved on without them. T.I.T.A.N. needed to move fast, and let nature—and fate—take its course.

Or, more accurately, they needed to move him fast. They just needed a way to convince him first. Then again, that was what Fluttershy was for. That was what Bon Bon and Lyra were tasked for: bringing the bad news to their Titan Whisperer.

Together, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, and T.I.T.A.N. agent Daring Do watched from the balcony of Outpost Beacon as their two agents made their way down the defended path. Out the front gates and into the wild to meet up with Fluttershy. Lifting their eyes, they couldn’t help but rest their shared gazes on the horizon, peering into the oncoming darkness. Cadance shuffled to Shining for comfort, which he supplied. Daring slowly narrowed her eyes to the storm.

Not a word was spoken between them. With Lyra and Bon Bon gone, they had their mission to achieve. The outpost still had years of confidential records and files that needed to be transported off the island. Any hope for rescue missions for the lost ponies left behind in the last T.I.T.A.N. exhibition was all but abandoned, no matter how hard Shining wanted to fight for them. They simply didn’t have any time.

One day, maybe two. That was all they had.

And—with orders directly from the higher-ups—they needed to ensure that time was spent recruiting the giant ape.

Pushing through the foliage and emerging on the other side of a long, winding, mountainous valley, both Lyra and Bon Bon came across a beautiful sight. The sun was shining, uncovered by the remaining clouds still hanging over the heart of the island. The ring of darkness would soon take over, but it was still undeniable to appreciate the beauty of the uncharted wilds while they were given moments of peace.

A bright, golden hue washed over the grassy mounds, bounding and rebounding and leading to the edge that dipped into the valley between two great mountain ranges. Sitting by the edge was their Titan Whisperer, and sitting with her was the great King of Black Skull. Lyra instinctively hesitated, and Bon Bon turned back to her.

“Come on, we don’t have time to waste,” Bon Bon pestered. “Lyra…”

“S-sorry, it’s just…” Lyra said after a short stumble, clearing her throat with several blinks of her eyes. Eyes that never turned away from the towering mass of brown fur, scars, and muscle. “Haven’t seen him so…”

“Yeah…” Bon Bon said while practically readying her wife’s mind. She, too, turned her gaze skyward to look upon the king, muttering softly, “Calm.”

The minimal peace they had established thanks to Fluttershy was in fear of wavering. Or, Lyra and Bon Bon feared it would waver, what with the bad news they had to deliver. But that fear was outmatched by the overwhelming dread that was assuredly coming whether they hesitated or not. Time was not on their side, and they needed to ensure every second was not wasted.

That was how they got moving again. Climbing and carefully sliding down the mounds of grass to reach their destination. As they did so, they could hear Fluttershy’s soft, delicate, wonderful voice speaking to the monstrous ape.

“… that way they can know, too. You won’t just be understanding me, okay?”

She moved her hooves around her chest, showing different signs and signals by patting her heart, jawbone, and facial features. Neither Lyra nor Bon Bon knew what she was doing, as evident by the dumbfounded looks on their faces when turned to one another. They pressed on.

Kong looked over his palm quizzically, flexing and relaxing his fingers in and out. It was not long before the glare of the sun could not hide the two coming ponies. Lifting his head to them, interrupting his time with the gentle equine, he huffed in mild agitation. The action caused Lyra, Bon Bon, and even Fluttershy to flinch in surprise. So much so that the Titan Whisperer twisted her head back to see what disturbed them.

Her expression already deflated when she saw who it was. Judging by the look in her eyes, both Lyra and Bon Bon could tell Fluttershy understood why they were there. It pained them even more, as it did her when the silence was all that was shared between them.

Pretty much cementing her worries.

Kong, though not entirely intimidated by the other equines’ presence, still found it quite bothersome. Fluttershy was different. For the first time in a long time, he was calm around another. He found himself actually coming to enjoy her presence. The others… not so much. If anything, there was a tolerance he allowed with the equine invaders only because of the little yellow pony that came to him first.

The two other ponies were not leaving. Seeing the look from Fluttershy’s stare, that reassuring glance and tiny smile, gave Kong the incentive he needed to leave her in peace. One last glance to his hand, one last snort expelled from his nostrils, and he slowly got up and turned around. Made his way down the edge and into the valley.

She watched as long as she could, coming to truly enjoy the short moments of seeing him slide, jump, run, swim, and journey across his kingdom. A king that not only defended his throne, but thrived in the land he called home. Played like a child free of the struggles of the world. He wasn’t really a child anymore, that much she came to understand, but he still took what time he could to live like one. As if that childhood, that peace, was stolen from him.

In the silence, Fluttershy really came to appreciate her own intention not to speak on the matter at hoof. It was a bliss to rest in the sunshine and warmth, breathe in the air untouched by the rest of the world. But it was a bliss that blinded her from the real world, from real matters that needed to be discussed. She eventually surrendered and turned to them.

Usually, she was quite happy to see the two. Today was different. Everything had changed for the worst the past several days, but today in particular took the cake. Sighing, Fluttershy faced forward, eyes staring off into the bright, gorgeous valley below.

After so long of enjoying the quiet peace, Fluttershy finally addressed the monster in the room. “I still can’t believe what’s happening,” she said quietly, as if afraid her voice would somehow travel to Kong. “It’s… it’s horrifying what happened in Equestria. In Abyssinia. So many places, so many creatures… I… I-I…”

The tears threatened to form, but she held them back. She was strong enough now for that. “I just can’t believe Godzilla would do this,” she whispered.

“Welcome to the club,” Bon Bon muttered sullenly. Turning to her, Fluttershy could see the same look in Bon Bon’s eyes that she felt in her own soul. Not only horrified, but that subtle and very real feeling of betrayal.

It was not long ago since Fluttershy and Bon Bon rested their hooves on the broken and beaten King of the Monsters, in the deepest crevice of the long, lonely abyss. In that quintessential moment, choosing to fight with Godzilla instead of against him. Trusting him to set things right. Trusting him to lead them into a future where everycreature and nature lived together in harmony.

That trust had all but been shattered.

Lyra made her voice known, saying slowly, “There are rumors back home. Rumors that we might need to go to war here soon. And…”

She struggled to meet Fluttershy’s eyes that time. “And bring Kong with us.”

After she had uttered those horrific words—the same kind Fluttershy had been dreading the moment she saw the two of them—their Titan Whisperer looked away. Away from them and instead on the gentle giant within the valley. The sun was to her back, but she shut her eyes anyway. The burn in each was a natural response to the ache in her heart, answering its cry with the only rational emotion she could express at the moment.

It was not only her trust with Godzilla that had been broken.

“What T.I.T.A.N. did to Baphomet and Scylla…” Fluttershy whispered. Lyra and Bon Bon were silent, neither of their stares breaking from her. “Without even asking for my input… for my thoughts… they went ahead and killed two animals… for nothing.”

When she opened her eyes, she stared at Kong running and leaping from mountain to mountain. Untamed and unchained. All the horror stories she had heard of him, the damage he had caused, the lives he had taken, all over a misunderstanding. All because he felt threatened when invaders attacked his home. Now, here he was as his true self, in his true element. Living. Free. At peace.

At home.

She gasped out a smile, and one that did not and could not last. Fluttershy shut her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek as her whimpers turned into soft cries. Lyra was the first to console her, followed secondly but quickly by Bon Bon. Not a word was spoken between them. Not a word more was spoken that they already understood.

Chapter 21 – Next Generation

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Ponyville, Equestria

News spread fast of the turmoil on the coasts of Equestria. Ponyville was but one of many towns that took every precaution necessary to protect its inhabitants.

Local T.I.T.A.N. scouts were on high alert after reports of the unprovoked Godzilla attacks reached their borders. The smoke from Manehattan, from Baltimare, could be seen scorching the horizon, and so the town was appropriately defended. Despite the higher tensions, life continued on as it usually had within the reformed Ponyville.

Expanded to accompany the exodus with the Crystal Empire destroyed, Ponyville housed a great assortment of creatures from around the globe, but—as its name suggested—it housed ponies most of all. Including the Crystal Ponies. To many, the quaint village became their new home, and it was slowly but surely growing into a small metropolis day by day.

To the Crystal Ponies, it became the empire they left behind, with the royalty leading them as they had before. Only, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were absent to deal with T.I.T.A.N., leaving the former Crystaller, the Castle of the Heart’s inhabitants, and Mayor Mare to run things while the rulers were gone.

The former Crystaller, Sunburst, cared for Flurry Heart as he had before. Twilight’s former castle, now referred to as the Castle of the Heart due to the Crystal Heart’s placement in the tree’s throne room, not only housed Sunburst and Flurry Heart. Starlight Glimmer still called the castle her home, and she helped run things alongside Sunburst, just as they both also ran the School of Friendship.

School was out for the summer, but not all the students of the School of Friendship went back home. Not just yet. Some decided to stay with friends and close ones within the expanded borders of Ponyville. Others hesitated to travel with news of Godzilla’s savagery inflicted upon neighboring nations.

And some just lingered long enough to see the fresh newspapers hit the stands, all of them with big, black letters reading: “WAR! GOVERNMENTS UTILIZE T.I.T.A.N. TO RESPOND TO GODZILLA ATTACKS!”

Every news stand was flooded within seconds, but Sandbar just managed to snag a paper before the flood hit.

With a crowd of chaos behind him, the young colt shook off the dust from his coat and snapped the newspaper open in his hooves. His eyes traversed the main headline, and just as quickly sped through the paragraphs of information below. Detailing what the press managed to release from the recent decision at the Hall of Unity, fantasizing it to an almost unhealthy level, giving dire warnings, etcetera, etcetera.

His eyes hovered heavily over the black and white image of Princess Twilight addressing the Hall of Unity, and his heart felt heavier. Moments before it sprang to life and he galloped off into the Everfree Forest.

Now, normally, colts his age wouldn’t be seen near the Everfree, or even near its outskirts. Too many dangers and too many horror stories to tell around the campfire, all in order to spook fillies and colts just like him. But Sandbar was unlike the other colts of Ponyville. He looked past the dangers and saw only the path he had traveled dozens of times before, memorizing it by heart.

It was the same path where his hooves, as well as talons, dragon claws, and yak and changeling hooves traveled together.

In a spacious valley in the heart of Everfree, passed a rickety bridge overlooking a great and dark gorge, there Sandbar galloped to the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters. Where, in its desolate remains, a shining beacon of hope and friendship stood proud. The crystal Treehouse of Harmony, where the young, six friends spent their days together.

And so, the Young Six they were, made complete when Sandbar stormed through the front, crystalline gates with a ferocious slam!

Ocellus and Silverstream both flinched, the two high above the shelves to fill in the vases with a fresh assortment of flowers. The Hippogriff, in her shock, let slip the vase of water from her grip, hitting the row of plants they had painstakingly assorted and nearly finished. Doing so caused a chain reaction, like a stack of dominos, knocking over vase after vase until the last and largest one fell from the highest shelf.

Down below, the young griffon Gallus was spinning a bright red buckball on the tip of his talon when he heard Sandbar slamming the door open, followed shortly by multiple vases falling and shattering all around him.

He yelped in surprise, abandoning the ball and shielding his head. “Hey, watch it!” Gallus cried, screaming as more vases fell. He took cover, diving under the nearest table.

Lounged across the distant couch, Smolder watched it all unfold with the toothiest grin she could manage. She even tossed a small gem into her mouth from the bag she brought, munching gratefully to the even more grateful entertainment.

The changeling and the Hippogriff were already on top of it, catching and juggling and balancing as many vases as their arms and forelegs could hold. “S-sorry, Gallus! We’ll get it under control; we just need to—!” Ocellus was saying, seconds before a vase smacked her right on the head and comically stuck itself there. Crashing and losing grip of all she carried, Ocellus sat there on the floor and struggled to pull it off.

“Don’t worry, Ocellus! I got this from here! Nothing is getting out of my sight!” Silverstream decreed, then blissfully missed the largest vase that fell right past her.

Stampeding through the foyer, Yona leaped through the air and caught just one flower, the rest of the vase hitting the crystal floor and shattering into a million pieces. Landing and sliding to a halt, Yona lifted her head up high, and between her jaws the stem was bent awkwardly, only a single flower petal left.

“Yona got it!” she triumphantly declared through clenched teeth.

Ocellus pulled the vase off with help from Gallus, only to see the state of their flower arrangement. Silverstream cheered and flew down to slap her free talons to Yona’s hoof. Ocellus merely groaned, covering her expression with the empty vase. Smolder’s laughter was the only sound left in the Treehouse’s foyer.

Followed quickly by Sandbar’s voice saying, “You guys! Things are gettin’ worse out there!”

“What are you talking about?” Gallus asked, still recovering from the flower bombardment.

“This!” he declared, holding out the front page of the newspaper for all of his friends to see. Yona squinted her eyes as Ocellus placed the vase aside and stepped forward. Gallus was right with her. “Princess Twilight is leading T.I.T.A.N. against Goji! There are already rumors that a full-blown war is gonna start, with all the world against him!”

Flying over to join them, Smolder flapped her wings and hovered over the group, rubbing her chin and making her thoughts audible. “Hmmm… yeah, and why should this involve us?”

Sandbar raised a brow. “Come on, Smolder, you can’t honestly believe that Goji would actually do stuff like this?”

“Hmmm… yeah, I can,” she responded, dropping to the ground with crossed arms.

Sandbar remained adamant, defending his point by arguing, “Goji? The same monster who defended our world from that three-headed alien? The same alien that would have killed us all had Goji not stepped up? Why would he suddenly destroy everything he fought to protect?”

“Did he fight to protect us… or this world?” Ocellus thought aloud,

Smolder steered the conversation back. “I mean, from what we’ve seen and heard, he’s the closest thing to a dragon, and I know dragons. Not that surprising that he would just wake up and decide to burn down some cities and villages. Dragons have been known to do that for less.”

“Well, not anymore, right?” Ocellus questioned, and this time earned every head and eye. “The races are at peace with each other, and dragons aren’t just gonna go around burning stuff down for no reason. Just like the Titans; we’re at peace with them now. So…”

“Sooo…” Sandbar led them on.

“Sooo the question is… why is he doing it, then?” Gallus asked, slowly putting it together.

“Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the ocean!” Silverstream suggested, flying down to finally join her friends. All while ceremoniously dropping the vases from her arms and letting them crash around her, much to her friends’ shared dismay. “Seaponies have been known to get pretty grumpy if their coral beds are juuust too sharp.”

“I don’t think Godzilla is sleeping in coral beds,” Smolder deadpanned.

“Oh, yeah, do you know where he sleeps?” Silverstream retorted as a matter-of-factly.

“Not in coral beds!”

“Maybe Goji thought we would hurt him!” Yona said aloud. Really loud, bringing everycreature’s attention onto her. “Yaks always ready for a fight! Not surprising Goji would see us as threat!”

Gallus took the paper from Sandbar’s hoof and read it over, holding it out to Yona. “Nothing here about Godzilla attacking Yakyakistan.”

Yona tilted her head, clearly confused. “Why attack other places, then? They not big or strong like yaks!”

“Gee, thanks,” Sandbar mumbled, frowning her way.

Gallus read over the paper again, muttering softly, “Mm… more outposts gone. He’s attacking big cities and T.I.T.A.N. outposts. Does he really think we’re that big of a threat to him?”

Sandbar sighed, taking the newspaper back and lying it on the floor for them all to see. Together, the six of them surrounded the pages, looking down and onto each other as Sandbar spoke. “Judging by the paper… it’s too late for the world to try and decide why he’s doing this. They’re already taking action, and it looks like T.I.T.A.N. is ready to go to war with him. Things are gettin’ hot… but they’re about to get real bloody real fast.”

The rest of the Young Six could sympathize with their friend’s plight, but in the grand scheme of things, what really could they do? They were kids, with voices deemed less important than those with the crowns. Ocellus made all of their thoughts known, and she said, “Sandbar… the Hall of Unity decided on this. Those are our leaders and the leaders of the rest of the world in agreement. What are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, I just…” Sandbar sat down with a shake of his head, a defeated sigh slowly leaving him all the same. “I just feel like there’s something we have to do.”

Hearing the defeat in his voice, Smolder tightened her lips and racked her brain for a way her friends could see the positive side in all this. “Okay, not to toot our own horns, but we did kinda save the day when Tirek, Chrysalis, and what’s-her-face tried to take over the world—”

“Cozy Glow?” Sandbar suggested with a raised brow.

“Yeah, that guy,” Smolder said with a snap of her claws. “But this totally seems like another beast altogether. Not one that can be solved with the Elements of Harmony, and if it is, they got Princess Twilight and her buddies to take care of it. If you ask me, I say we sit back, relax, and enjoy the start of our summer.”

She emphasized every point she made with an action, flying back to lean deep into the couch, sigh in a satisfactory way with her claws resting behind her head, and legs kicked up on the table. She even grabbed her bag of gems and tossed another into her awaiting mouth. “Besides, we’re far enough from this craziness,” she said between chews.

“This ‘craziness’ may just reach you sooner than you know.”

The ethereal voice earned an uncharacteristically shrill cry from Smolder’s throat, the dragon leaping from the couch to get as far from the voice as possible. The voice that appeared behind her, and soon made its presence known fully to all within the Treehouse of Harmony.

The Young Six gathered together, huddled close in fearful trepidation of what was coming for them. Suddenly, an orb of multicolored light emerged like the brightest torch in the darkest of nights. An array of rainbows swarmed and circled the center orb, which was a sparkling, blinding whiteness in the core. So bright that every member of the Young Six had to shield their eyes with a raised arm or foreleg, unable to fully gaze into the light.

The orb approached and hovered before them, and spoke in a voice none of them recognized. Yet they knew who it was. Deep, deep in their hearts they could feel the same presence they had felt many times before. A presence that came to them in their most desperate of hours beneath the School of Friendship, under the roots of the Tree of Harmony, where it tested their friendship. A presence that boldly and proudly told them that though they were different, that did not mean they were not capable of friendship. That undying ideal, that power that unites the world, that was in their nature.

It told them that. The Spirit of Harmony made sure they believed that, and they just as assuredly believed it was the Spirit of Harmony before them now.

Even if it was not in the same way as before. A silent stillness suddenly entered the Treehouse, but it was not of fear or anxiety. The young souls lifted their curious eyes, only barely staring to the light. Curiosity and wonder filled their hearts now, if not plagued by something worse still.

The Spirit of Harmony seemed to understand their distress, and calmly suggested, “Perhaps a more recognizable form would be suitable for you all.”

In a stunning display of light, the orb’s power faded greatly, and in its wake all that remained was but a mirror image of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The same look of the headmistress they knew and loved, the same soft, tender smile they all lowered their guards for. All of it was the same. Minus, of course, the sparkling flair that encompassed her coat, mane, wings, everything.

In the form of Twilight once more, Harmony waited for their approval. To which they gave with a quick, shared look and various nods and verbal agreements.

With even the voice mimicking Twilight’s, Harmony began by taking those first steps closer to the Young Six. Her voice was as bizarrely beautiful and mystically poetic as they remembered, never losing her ethereal edge that was beyond all of their understanding.

“You listened to your heart well, Sandbar. The decisions of your rulers are quite unsettling… and unbecoming, and it was right for you to bring this to attention with your friends.”

Having slowly become more used to her presence now, Sandbar bashfully looked away, unable to hide the blush. He waved it off with a weak scoff, muttering, “Ah, it was nothing. Just a feeling, ya know?”

“It was more than a feeling; it was fate,” Harmony corrected with a smile, her eyes changing to a far more serious hue to join her falling grin. Her shimmering eyes fell to the newspaper resting between the Young Six. “The world is begging for a response when they refuse to look for the cause. How the one they once called their ‘Titan Savior’ would suddenly turn against them, and yet very little was done to seek the truth. Questions were asked, something was discovered, but nothing was unveiled. It would seem… war is still in the nature.”

The rest of the Young Six were already calm enough to rise up from the floor they once fell to, even being brave enough to sound their thoughts and opinions to one they regarded as a higher being.

“There has to be a way to prevent this war!” Ocellus said. “There has to!”

Harmony smiled, and it was as wonderfully perfect as it had been before. When she first introduced them with a smile into the very Treehouse they now called their home away from home. She answered, “And you are right. The way to ending this war is to find the truth of Godzilla’s innocence.”

That revelation certainly opened some eyes, especially Smolder’s. Sandbar scoffed and smiled her way, raising his brows and flicking his head back to Harmony, as if silently telling the dragon “I told you so.”

“So… he’s not really doing this?” Gallus bravely asked, bravely wondered himself. “There’s something else going on here?”

The apparition slowly nodded, closing her eyes in doing so. Opening them only to gaze onto the children. “There is a puppet master behind every puppet. A shadow that hides from every source of light. But in recent times, that shadow has grown larger, stronger, more fervent. Only now is it beginning to stir and inflict its will upon our world. A Darkness is washing over the lands and hearts of many. Friends, allies, foes… all will be affected and none will be spared.”

Ocellus gulped as quietly as she could, but all of her friends heard her. And none of them blamed her. The words Harmony spoke—and the way she said them—just dripped with underlying dread and terror. The likes of which they had never experienced, and they fought a war against the forces of darkness once before. But this shadow, this “Darkness” Harmony spoke of… there was more to it than they could ever understand.

Far more than any of them would have ever liked to know.

Even in the face of such Darkness, Harmony stood tall. She pressed on and never took her stare away from her chosen. “But you must overcome this. Harmony will overcome all evils. As this Darkness falls, you must be the rising light, but only if you allow yourselves to shine. Do not hide while the world aches and groans. The power within you all must be used to unite, not divide. Repair the bonds of friendship, not damage them further. Save… not kill.”

Her eyes fell to the newspaper, then flicked to the sky, to nowhere the Young Six could see, and she sighed.

“Do you know what I ask of you now?” When they stood and sat there in silence, still shocked at her words—and she didn’t blame them—Harmony dropped her gaze. Then, she raised her head with a look of stoic determinism glowing brightest of all upon her. “I am asking all of you to find the truth, and help bring the Darkness into the light.”

The shock and awe that filled their faces were unmatched. Followed shortly by Yona and Silverstream’s excited chitters. Smolder, on the other hoof, was less than excited, and made her position known. “Okay… totally get you on the whole ‘darkness into light’ thing, but just in case we don’t screw this up… can’t you just handle this?”

Harmony seemed to hold back a chuckle, but let slip a tiny giggle that escaped her nostrils. She turned to Smolder and held that calm, sympathetic smile her way. “I will intervene when necessary, but it must be the Bearers of my power to act when they are called. Only then can I do what is necessary to retain the natural balance of harmony in the world.”

Silverstream’s excitement was undone by her arising curiosity, and she made it known. “Why not Twilight, then?” the Hippogriff asked. “Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, too? They’re still the current Elements of Harmony!”

Harmony’s stare seemed to be distant once more, gazing off to the far-off wall or perhaps somewhere more. Perhaps seeing eternity, fate, all the pieces needing to be put in place. Many of which made Harmony smile. Many of which made her smile die, and she sighed.

“What I told you before holds true now,” she said, burning the sadness away and replacing it with fiery resolve. That same resolve filled her eyes, and all the Young Six felt its heat. “Friendship is, always has, and always will be in your nature. And a time will come when the current generation will fade, and the future will look to you.”

That truth bomb shook everycreature to their core, enough for them to look to one another and whisper the words and questions that were unheard, all of which Harmony could hear. The most important one, the one that was directly asked, was brought forth by the young changeling.

“Is that time now?” Ocellus asked.

To their relief, Harmony shook her head. “It is not in my authority to say,” Harmony responded, and just as quickly reignited their anxieties. She seemed to sense that, adding, “But united… the Bearers, the Guardians, my Champions must come together as they have before. For though Twilight and her friends were chosen, they are still learning. Their hearts are still young, as are yours… but you each hold something more… something they manage to lose time and again in this dangerous time.”

Harmony smiled once again, and this one was encouraging, uplifting, meant to strengthen the spirits of the children who only feared for the future, of the unknown. But she gave them a way through, a light to guide them amidst all the evils and chaos and lies plaguing the world they lived in.

“An innocent heart.”

A light in the dark, and one the Young Six could all seem to agree on. Harmony knew it was so, for they saw the world through a child’s eyes, reinforced by the ideals of friendship and harmony taught to them by the very Bearers she had chosen that fateful night in the very castle grounds she stood in now. Sometimes fate had a way of bringing things full-circle, and Harmony smiled at the thought.

Sometimes a child’s innocence was all that was needed to seek the truth.

Harmony even said, “That is why I have chosen you to seek Godzilla’s innocent heart.” Their heads shot up like rockets, but Harmony had already turned to make her exit, nonetheless looking back at them. “You must go now, to Baltimare, a city that endured his destruction. There, you will find everything you need. Good luck, my Champions.”

“Wait!” Sandbar called. His voice just managed to halt the Spirit of Harmony a moment longer, and the young colt would ensure his time wasn’t wasted. “I know this form is, like, more suitable for us, like you said. But that ball of light we saw earlier… was that really you? Like… your real form?”

He could have asked so many other questions, and yet he chose that. Harmony chuckled. Just as she expected from Sandbar.

And then, she just smiled, and answered, “One of many.”

The dragon took the next moment for herself, and interrupted. “What really are you anyway?” Smolder asked, her voice strangely soft.

Turning the dragon’s way, the entity thought a moment longer before her words fell away. Her eyes washed over the others. Yona. Silverstream. Gallus. Sandbar. Ocellus. Smolder. So many different faces from so many different backgrounds, and yet they all just managed to come together. They all just managed to make it work. True friendship was a curious but undying ideal, and it never failed.

Harmony was even more certain now she had made the right choice. And she replied, even softer, “A friend.”

She vanished in a flash of light.

It was silent for so long, that they all just came to enjoy it. Listen to the birds singing high above the heads, feel the warmth of the sun shining through the Treehouse and bringing the natural light and life to their home. All was calm. All was peace. And then Yona opened her mouth.

“What are we waiting for?!” Yona declared, stomping around the foyer. “We can save world just like before! We can be heroes again! Yona go pack bags!”

“Wait!” Gallus interrupted, grabbing a clawful of her fur and struggling to drag her to a halt. When he miraculously managed to, he exhaled a breath of exhaustion and said, “So, that’s it? We just drop everything, go out on our own, and hope by some miracle we find… something in Baltimare? Something that can prove that Godzilla is innocent in all this?”

“Duh, silly! Weren’t you listening to Harmony?” Silverstream said, flying up and playfully knocking on Gallus’ head. “Hellooo, is Gallus in there? Was it too much info for you to handle? I mean, it was a lot, but it sounds like she trusts us, and that’s good enough for me!”

“People should really think twice before trusting you, Silverstream,” Gallus groaned, catching her talons from knocking his skull again.

She just giggled, crushing Gallus in a big hug instead. “That’s why I have you and all my friends! Together, anycreature can trust us! Yona’s right! We’re heroes, remember?! We saved the world!”

“But we weren’t alone when we did that,” Ocellus noted, a tiny shiver of fear rushing up her body. “If we do this… we’ll be on our own.”

“No, we won’t,” Sandbar retorted, looking to the heart of the Treehouse of Harmony, the light shining in and shimmering across the variety of crystals hanging from the ceiling. He chuckled. “I got a pretty good feeling we’ll have a friend watching our backs. What do ya say, guys?”

“Me! I’m definitely going!” Silverstream gleefully cried, waving her arm high in the air as if calling out to a teacher.

“I guess,” Gallus said with an uncertain shrug, only to lose his breath from another of Silverstream’s crushing hugs.

“Count me in,” Ocellus finally agreed with a firm nod, and a reaffirmed spirit.

“Me go! Me go!” Yona yelled with every stomp.

“Smolder?” Sandbar led on.

After everything they had heard, Smolder still held some doubt. It took some convincing, but she ultimately realized that they had faced stakes like this before. This would potentially be no different, and if it was, it would be a challenge they would face together. If nothing else, she could always get a good story out of this to take home to the Dragon Lands, lord it over everyone’s heads.

She simply shrugged. “Sure,” the dragon finally gave in and said. Sandbar’s smile was so contagious it almost got one out of Smolder.

Yona slowly appeared by her side, a somewhat pleading and excitable look glowing in her eyes. “Yona go pack bags?” she asked, as if she ever needed any further confirmation or approval.

It was a battle Smolder knew she couldn’t win. The trip to Baltimare and the journey for the truth was one she definitely would win, she decided. But with Yona, with her friends, they always just managed to slip between her scales and touch her heart.

Smolder rolled her eyes, unable to hide that smile that overtook her at last. “Yona go pack bag—”

“YAAAY!” the yak roared, stampeding through the dragon and trampling her in her wake. Sandbar helped scrape Smolder off the floor, the dragon’s glare fading by the sound of Sandbar’s laugh, which spread to the Hippogriff, then the changeling, then the griffon, and finally back to the dragon.

If there was one thing they missed about going home to their respective lands over the summer, it was definitely this: all of them together.

And this time, for a brand-new adventure.

Chapter 22 – First Light

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Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

Twilight came to appreciate the late nights inside the T.I.T.A.N. HQ. Canterlot Mountain was surprisingly calm amidst such daunting circumstances, amidst such a vast array of magic and technology seamlessly merged together. The hustle and bustle of the daylight work hours had faded into shadow, and in the shadows work still commenced, albeit on a much more minimal scale.

Skeleton crews now worked on the repairs to the Mecha. Very few hovercrafts moved about. Lights twinkled in the dark edges of the mountain, and observations decks were—for the most part—empty. The communication and broadcast stations, however, were still well alive and well alert, constantly keeping a lookout for any more distress beacons. Even into the late hours of the night, the forces of T.I.T.A.N. worked tirelessly to keep the world they loved under a watchful eye.

There especially was no rest in rebuilding Mechagodzilla. If all else they had planned managed to fail, there would still be one final contingency plan.

From their observation post hanging high above the mountainous facility, Twilight Sparkle watched what little life there was through the glass shielding. Directors Celestia and Luna were with her, with a couple of the only survivors they knew from the travesty at Fillydelphia also joining in. Filling the semi-large room. Surrounding the circular table.

Discussing the plan of action with the heads of T.I.T.A.N. “Your Majesty…” Peaky Blossom interrupted Twilight’s distant train of thought, bringing the Alicorn’s focus back to the room. “Apologies, but… you never answered my question.”

“Oh…” Twilight mumbled, twisting her swivel chair around and sliding it closer to the table. Doing so caused her to sit up, straighten her posture, and bring her full attention back to the surviving task force pilots. “Right. Sorry, Ms. Blossom. You were saying?”

She sat on the table, her back partially facing Twilight and fully facing the directors. Some minor bruises still lingered on her face, and her foreleg may have remained patched up with gauze to hide the burn scars, but she had otherwise managed to make a full recovery. Alongside her fellow co-pilot and friend Rotor Wrench.

Leaning her unbandaged foreleg forward, pressing her hoof onto the table, Peaky stared into Twilight’s eyes and ensured they turned nowhere else. “I’m still not fully convinced this plan is sound. Neither of us are, to be honest,” Peaky said, turning to Rotor beside her. The burly stallion gave his support with a firm nod. “And I know we’re still out of commission until further notice, but… hearing you announce a plan like this over the radio it just… didn’t really sit well with me… us. So… is this really the right course to take?”

“Our options have become very limited, Ms. Blossom,” Celestia interrupted, the pilots of the Risen Suns shifting in the former ruler’s direction. Celestia held her ground firmly, her eyes and tone void of any disillusioned thought. “If your leader would have liked to join us tonight, perhaps he could have shared his thoughts instead of pushing them off to you two.”

Rotor did not take too kindly to that tone. His face was littered with bruises and bandages, his Haywaiian shirt hiding the bandages beneath. Rolling his shoulders, sighing heavily through his nostrils, Rotor expressed his disdain for that comment physically, not really verbally. He still respected the directors immensely, but his respect for the pony that recruited him trumped all others.

“Shatter is still recovering. He needs all the sleep he can get,” Rotor argued, the crack in his voice painting the frustration he was beginning to feel.

“I concur,” Luna added, much to the surprise of both the Neighponese pilots and her own sister. She pressed the tips of her hooves together, letting them rest flat against the table as her calm, calculated stare turned to everypony individually. “His mind is in a delicate state. Rest will be his most valuable ally for now.”

“Our point stands… and Shatter’s concerns should still be taken into account,” Peaky said, noting, however, Luna’s concern for the well-being of her leader with a tiny glint of appreciation. “So, princess… are we truly out of options?”

An appreciation that dwindled for the Equestrian leadership with Twilight’s next choice of words.

“It would seem so, yes,” Princess Twilight cautiously said, finally finding her voice. Seeing the disappointed drop of Blossom’s eyes urged Twilight further. “Trust me, Ms. Blossom, we have looked at every viable option. Our weapons, as they are, are no match against Godzilla. And bringing the nations together for a full-blown conflict with armies would be catastrophic. We had a weapon, and we nearly lost it in Fillydelphia. We nearly lost all of its pilots…”

Her head was raised again after that, and Twilight saw the pain riddling the expression of one of those very pilots she referred to.

“So this plan with Titanus Kong,” Rotor said after a short moment of silence. “This is the one that’s gonna get us out of this mess? Even utilizing the Elements of Harmony?”

Leaning back to sit up straight on the table, Peaky sighed, crossing her forelegs in a way that seemed she was hugging herself. She said, “Last we heard from the Battle of the Three Kings, the Elements used to ‘revive’ Gojira ended up being too much for his body to handle. If we somehow manage to weaken Gojira with the ape’s assistance… wouldn’t the Elements just as potentially kill him as they had before? Especially now considering he’s acting far too violent?”

Being masters in that area of expertise, Celestia and Luna shared their thoughts.

“The Elements were utilized well to defeat Nightmare Moon at her full strength and save me… but this is something else. Godzilla is not acting as we believed he would,” Luna curiously added. “We still do not understand if this is Godzilla’s true nature…”

“And we have discussed this recently with Twilight,” Celestia mused. “Perhaps it is something else that has changed him. The Elements could cure whatever is ailing him, or they could be lethal against his biology, his nuclear power, like in the Crystal Empire if fully consumed. This could be a sickness of the mind… which is why Twilight has decided that is what she and her friends will primarily focus on when the time comes.”

Twilight nodded in confirmation, hoping their multi-layered plan would be a breakthrough in the doubts that remained with the Risen Sun pilots. To her dismay, she saw them unshaken, undeterred.

With Peaky even suggesting, “Have you ever considered that… maybe… it’s too late to save Gojira?”

And Rotor adding, “Maybe it’s time to kill him before he wipes us all out.”

Those suggestions were just as quickly swiped down the moment they were brought up. Celestia and Luna opened their mouths to argue, but it was the Princess of Equestria who made it her duty to protect their stance. She firmly stamped her hooves onto the cool metal of the table, rising up only inches. Those inches might as well have been miles with the authority she radiated, every eye in the room seemingly looking up to her.

“No,” she declared, “I will not allow the justification for wanton destruction. There wouldn’t be an end to it, anyway. Everything we’ve thrown at him, everything we have just doesn’t match up to what Godzilla is or is capable of. The Elements of Harmony will not be used to end a life that we know is capable of peace. The only thing that can match him is a rival alpha… and one, it would seem, can be on our side.”

Even when faced with such authority, Peaky was faced with a battle she felt was greater. And a battle on the horizon she believed they had no hope of winning in their current state, with their current plan. “And if Gojira proves to be too much for even this rival alpha of yours, what then? I’ll tell you what: no other choice! It’s either that monster, or us! One life, or the survival of our species! I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but we cannot sit back and let this carnage continue! Sooner rather than later, you are going to have to realize that the Elements must be used to end him—!”

“They will be used to save him!” Twilight said with a fierce stamp of her hoof on the table, leaving a reverberating sound that echoed raw power. The same power glowing from the spark in her eyes and burning from her horn. Though her magic was not seen, it was felt. Stinging the air, heating her voice, shaking the hearts of everypony present.

“Godzilla’s out there and he’s hurting people, and we don’t know why!” Twilight frantically exclaimed, then just as quickly shut her eyes. Tensions were growing high, and Twilight realized she didn’t need to be losing her head. She checked her emotions, letting them cool considerably. Taking in several deep breaths in and out—a talent she picked up from her sister—Twilight slowly opened her eyes.

There was a change in her tone. Less sporadic, more controlled. Not emotionally fierce, but passionate nonetheless. “There has to be something else going on here. Grogar’s Bell is missing… the same inscriptions on the talisman found outside Fillydelphia in the destroyed mountain. Then shortly after… Godzilla goes on his rampage. It can’t be a coincidence. It can’t be.”

Things were getting heated, and Twilight was thankful Spike retired for the night hours ago. Not only would he have found such late-night arguments to be tiresome—much like Twilight to a degree—he probably would have dozed off in the empty seat beside her. Twilight felt her eyes grow all the heavier at the prospects of sleep.

But she stayed awake. She stayed strong. “The rival alpha… Kong… he’s our best bet. If he’s able to calm Godzilla down, weaken him, or, at best, defeat him… then we can safely utilize the Elements to see what’s wrong with the creature that saved our world before. If it’s not Kong… then it might just be another…” Twilight looked back at the Mecha, bringing the room’s attention with her.

She faced forward. Faced all of them. “When it comes down to it… what other choice are we left with? We have to stop Godzilla. We have to.”

Turning from Mechagodzilla, Luna stared at Twilight curiously. She raised a brow, trying to weigh the sheer magnitude of Twilight’s statement. If not Kong… then another. One way or another… they were going to end this madness. The implications alone could only mean one thing. “You would have us go to war with him? Just like we did many years before?” she heard herself asking.

Twilight looked over to the former Princess of the Night. The expression she dealt was void of deceit, especially when she said, “We’re already at war. And we’re losing. It will not be like before. We are not declaring war, we are ending it before it ever has the chance to grow out of control. Before anypony or anycreature else decides to raise their flags against Godzilla.”

She was right. Much to the still lingering qualms with the Risen Suns, they could come to understand Twilight’s point of view. With Mechagodzilla out of commission, the world was left with Kong as the only other alpha they knew of that could stand against Godzilla. Weaken him, surely. And, perhaps, allow them to use the Elements to stop Godzilla and potentially find out how and why all this madness started in the first place.

It was a daunting task, but one the princess and the directors seemed to be fully committed to. And though they were out of commission for the time being, Peaky Blossom and Rotor Wrench were committed just as well. They could only hope their commander shared the same thoughts.

Perhaps there was one thing Shatter Heart would have agreed with, that they all came to the conclusion of: one way or another, they were going to stop Godzilla.

Maybe for good. Maybe, hopefully, not.

Outskirts of Black Skull Island

Celestial Sea

Fluttershy never wanted the bond she formed to be used against him.

But when the time came, when they were finally given the green light from the royalty and leadership to move forward, there was really no other choice. They lived in a world of chance, and leaving him on the island to fend against the unnatural superstorm was a chance Fluttershy couldn’t bear to live with. Bringing him, however, was the only chance they had to end Godzilla’s rampage.

And there was always the chance of finding Kong a new home.

T.I.T.A.N. made the right choice when they allowed Fluttershy to establish peace with Kong early. They hadn’t known the storm would grow to the magnitude it eventually had, so when it was time for them to make a hasty escape back to the mainland, Fluttershy was able to bring along a big, furry companion. With what Fluttershy managed to accomplish, she earned Kong’s trust, and he trusted her enough to follow her and escape the destruction of his home.

What other way would there have been for him to cooperate? Fluttershy succeeded where T.I.T.A.N. never could have. But though she had managed to save the life of a friend, the shadowy dread that permeated in her soul continued to gnaw away slowly at the Pegasus.

She didn’t hide the fact that she disagreed with the Hall of Unity. Shining Armor, Cadance, Daring, Lyra, Bon Bon, and all the others could see her frustrations clear as the rising sun. But what irked her the most was the fact that the rulers believed they could just control the life of a Titan, remove him from his home to fight a battle he didn’t choose. Just like that.

But she was in no room to argue anymore. It was decided, and they acted.

At dawn, at first light, with enough magical sedatives to calm down the lumbering titan of an ape, T.I.T.A.N. embarked from Black Skull Island in a fleet of vessels and airships. Almost every last reserve they had, they sent back home with the fleet. Their remaining forces were left on the island to brace Outpost Beacon for the storm, and to hold the line so they had some form of contact on the uncharted island.

The ships pushed on through the harrowing waves and raging winds, the T.I.T.A.N. naval supercarrier dubbed the “Axalon” in the center of the mighty fleet. Resting on the Axalon, unconscious and calm thanks to the sedatives, Kong lied unmoving. Lied with chains and cuffs covering his limbs and neck. Fluttershy allowed the sedatives because she felt he would have become frightful of the sea and try to flee toward the island, but she fought T.I.T.A.N. on the use of the chains. They eventually stayed on with Shining and Cadance promising: “They would keep him from falling off into the ocean.”

That, and the fact they couldn’t risk the lives of their fellow T.I.T.A.N. forces if Kong decided to fight them off and return home. The quiet part wasn’t said out loud, but Fluttershy already knew T.I.T.A.N.’s true intentions with the chains either way.

But in a sick sort of way, the chains did keep Kong’s unconscious body strapped to the vessel. Especially when they broke through the final lines of resistance, and then the oceans finally calmed down. His giant, hairy palm rested over the edge, the waves lapping at his fingertips as the ocean breeze painted his unmoving face. The sun’s light graced Kong’s body once the storm clouds finally faded, and nothing more than the sea stood in their path.

They left the devastated Black Skull Island. An army of T.I.T.A.N. and reinforcing Hippogriff naval ships led the charge with their last hope to save their world. Seaponies swam and leaped beside the mighty fleet, guarding the waters, protecting the hope. Leaving everything else behind to chance.

Just as the storm devoured the rest of the island.

Chapter 23 – Home

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Celestial Sea

T.I.T.A.N. Naval Ship Axalon

In the low, morning skies above the Celestia Sea, the lead T.I.T.A.N. airship Tigerhawk was patrolling ahead, more so leading the fleet in their journey. Beside it, another gargantuan airship dubbed the “Silverbolt” flew a hundred or so feet to the far right. Less than a dozen airships joined them, with seven battalions of Solar Bolt aircraft flying in formation all around. Keeping the skies safe.

As for the sea, the fleet of ships numbered five carriers and seven naval craft. Most of the carriers offered a stationary resting point for the aircraft to land and refuel, or to carry minimal tanks and armaments left over from Operation Skull. The Hippogriff naval ships were armed to the teeth with heavy-ordnance cannons, with equine and Seapony scouts constantly scanning the waves and radars for any disturbance that threatened their mission. They had the firepower to scare off any marine Titan with a few well-placed shots, but it was essential to be alert no matter what.

The second largest carrier in the fleet was the Axalon, and it was the ship that carried the now-awake King of Black Skull Island.

Kong sat in his chains, looking over his wrist again and again and scratching the lock around his neck. The magical sedatives were still active in his systems, so he was much calmer now than he was when initially put on the ship. But much of the magic had worn off, and now he was mostly fully conscious of his surroundings. Grunting and growling softly as his eyes turned to the endless ocean to his left, and then to his right.

Much of deck was filled with supplies, but also some brave T.I.T.A.N. agents and scientists. Most of the scientists performed constant health status checks on Kong while the agents went about their daily duties, either guarding the scientists or performing maintenance with the engineers to keep the carrier ship running. They had grown accustomed to the giant ape’s presence, trusting the princess’ magic to keep him docile, but not comatose.

Even then, a pair of heavily-armored and armed T.I.T.A.N. guards stood patiently and alert beside Prince Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadance. They each wielded heavy sniper rifles attached to the strap on their backs, their black armor, metal faceplates, and clear visors focused fully on the lumbering Titan.

Shining and Cadance were less prepared, approaching their Titan Whisperer just as they were. No armor. No weapons. They were already on Fluttershy’s bad side, and they didn’t need weapons close to Kong. They didn’t wish to upset Fluttershy any more than she already was.

Assuring their guards they were fine and to keep their distance, Cadance approached Fluttershy and met her on her side. Shining shuffled up on the Pegasus’ opposite side. All three of them stared only at Kong and said not a word for the longest time. Together, they watched him pull lightly at his chains, slowly start to realize what they were for, and then shortly lose interest to stare at the ponies moving all around him. His soft grunts and curious mumbles rumbled the ship.

Finally, Shining mustered up the courage to ask, “How is he?”

Fluttershy barely even acknowledged their existence beside her. Her eyes were never torn away from her friend, in chains. “He’s starting to realize where he is… and that there’s nowhere else to go,” she finally muttered in a broken manner. With an even more broken posture, Fluttershy relinquished a quiet sigh that was billowing within her for quite some time.

Cadance pursed her lips, giving her own sigh. “I wish things could be different, Fluttershy, I really do… but we’ve been overruled this time. This is bigger than all of us, and all we can really do is the best we can given the circumstances.”

Finally, Fluttershy turned to the princess, and with heavy, solemn eyes, she whispered, “Is this really the best we can do?”

Before either of them could answer—even if they really didn’t have a satisfying answer—they were interrupted by the thundering cry from the great ape. The ship teetered when he rapidly tugged at the chains attached to his left arm, the monstrous monkey trembling the vessel with his reverberating roar. Instantly, Shining and Cadance took defensive positions in front of Fluttershy, shielding her. Their guards reached for their rifles, but Cadance ordered them back.

And thankfully so. For when Cadance turned her gaze forward, she noticed something. Something she perhaps theorized but never truly expected to happen.

She and her husband were gazing forth, their eyes meeting Kong’s, and the Titan had stopped. Calming down considerably, ceasing whatever agitation or fury that was beginning to boil, and leaving him curious and collected. Maybe finally finding more mutual ground other than what he had already bound with Fluttershy. Maybe, after seeing them fully, in his docile state, he finally recognized them.

He made more curious sounds, soft huffs and grumbles. Both Shining and Cadance were momentarily stunned from seeing the expression on Kong’s face, but they were left breathless when Fluttershy confirmed their wonders.

“He remembers you.”

Twisting back to face Fluttershy, Shining and Cadance saw the look on her face, void of humor, void of deceit. Void of joy. They weren’t entirely certain if she was mimicking Kong’s emotions or her own. Either way, Shining rested his hoof on her shoulder, whispering, “We should talk in the bridge.”

He flicked his stare back to Kong, noticing the ape having never taking his gaze away from them. It made Shining trot just a little bit faster up the stairs and in the control room with his wife and Titan Whisperer in tow.

The bridge of the Axalon was expansive and well occupied. Numerous computer monitors that helped run and maintain the ship were managed by several T.I.T.A.N. crewman. The captain of the vessel—Captain Thorn, a burly unicorn stallion—stood at the back of the bridge behind the steering wheel, keeping the carrier steady on its long journey ahead. The sun shone brightly through the glass windows rounding out the bridge, illuminating the occupants to Fluttershy.

Three she recognized: Daring Do, Lyra, and Bon Bon. All three of them faced the front window and stared only at Kong. Before the metal doors creaked open and they turned to see Shining, Cadance, and Fluttershy make their entrance. They greeted one another with soft smiles and short nods.

But Fluttershy was far from being in the mood for pleasantries. The others caught the clear hint from her dour expression, settling themselves around the small table in the center of the bridge.

“Seems the big monkey is finally starting to stir,” Daring noted, centering her gaze back on the beast outside. “Might need another sedative spell here soon, Your Highness.”

“He’ll be fine,” Fluttershy answered, her voice deadpan. The others stared at their Pegasus friend, turning to Shining and Cadance. Daring just shrugged with a smile.

“Okay, then! Should be smooth sailing from here on out if everything goes according to plan,” Daring exclaimed, leaning back in her chair with her forelegs resting behind her head. It had been a long couple weeks on the meatgrinder of Black Skull Island. It was going to be paradise to go back home.

“Unless Godzilla decides to pay us a visit,” Lyra noted, instantly bringing down Daring’s mood.

Shining thankfully shook his head, easing their worries momentarily. “Godzilla was gonna come for the big guy eventually. Might as well get him to an even playing field.” Shining rested his hoof specifically on the Forbidden Jungle on the map displayed on the table, directly where their fleet were headed.

“And if Godzilla decides to break through our fleet…?” Bon Bon suggested. Shining was less than audible that time. Turning to the glass windshield, Bon Bon stared at Kong and shakily exhaled. “I’m just afraid with Kong awake now, his roars are gonna attract Godzilla much quicker.”

It had been a year since Bon Bon had conquered her fear of Godzilla. The Battle of the Three Kings had cemented her renewed stance with the King of the Monsters, and a part of her still always believed there was still that guardian within Godzilla. The one that protected the world and every living being essential to the natural balance of the ecosystem.

But recently… that fear was slowly but surely crawling its way out of the recesses of her mind that she had locked away. Just hearing the horrific news across the globe of Godzilla’s rampage, seeing the photographs and the video footage, and calculating the death toll had reignited a terror deep in her mind and heart. Her fear was growing again, as that trust she felt she could have with the Alpha Titan had all but been extinguished.

Fear was growing everywhere from these attacks. And now, T.I.T.A.N. had the means of finally responding properly. With Kong and the Elements, they could finally fight back.

“My magic should keep him calm for the time being. Albeit there may be some… hiccups,” Cadance responded, looking away to the same window Bon Bon stared. “I’m sure you’ve all heard his little uproar.”

The team was silent for a moment. Letting the subtle hustle and bustle of the bridge be the sound that entombed them. “We’ll make it through this,” Shining promised, and they were grateful for his strong, stoic tone in the coming tide of uncertainty.

Before the silence could return, Bon Bon leaned forward and smiled warmly. “How are you doing, Fluttershy?” she asked.

“I’m fine…”

“You sure about, Whisperer?” Daring pressed.

Finally lifting her eyes from the floor, Fluttershy could see that not only Agent Do was pressing her, but everypony seemed to be. They weren’t mean or pushy or anything like that, but they were clearly concerned. Despite all the political and global turmoil that had ultimately affected their operations within T.I.T.A.N., deep down they were all still friends. No matter what, that was something the Hall of Unity couldn’t change.

So, she sighed and began.

“No, I’m… I’m not,” Fluttershy said, her voice aching with pent-up frustration coiled with sadness. “When we came to the island, I’ve heard countless stories of how this horrific beast killed so many ponies just for coming on his territory. But the more I heard, the more I read, and what I saw… none of it seemed like the truth. The Kong I met and the friend I’ve made is so much more than a horror story. He was so afraid… so angry… so alone for so long…”

None of them dared to interrupt her. Every eye around the table focused solely on Fluttershy. Even some crewmembers around the bridge tilted their gazes to the Titan Whisperer, hearing the rumors made truth spoken from their very own Titan source of truth.

“I would have wanted any other option... but the world’s already made up its mind...” Fluttershy said. “And in some way… they’re right… just as they’re wrong. Godzilla needs to be stopped. We need to help with whatever’s hurting him. If Kong is the only way to do that… with me and my friends, too… then we’ll do it. I don’t disagree with any of you on that. We need Kong… the world needs him.”

Eventually, her eyes settled on the front windshield. They settled on Kong and rarely wanted to turn elsewhere. But she needed to for this, slowly facing her friends and allies and asking them sincerely, “But what about what Kong needs?”

She left after that, not even offering another word. Not even waiting for them to answer. It probably wasn’t the answer she needed anyway.

Night came over the Celestia Sea, and so too did a distant storm.

In the storm’s wake, with heavy thunder and dousing rain forcing everypony off the deck, they took refuge below deck or in the bridge. Left out in the cold, with the roar of the storm shuddering his bones and the freezing rain and chilling ocean winds piercing his hide, Kong didn’t even attempt to hide his discomfort.

He tugged and pulled at his chains time and again, becoming more fervent as the darkness grew heavier. Despite the magic numbing his mind and his senses, his movements were still sporadic. Every weak attempt to break free was met with no release, and each time Kong instead released a bellowing cry high into the air. The thunder cried back and the lightning chased away the shadows, but only for a moment.

As the Axalon teetered and tipped, the crew finally responded and gathered at once to the bridge. Bon Bon and Daring instantly suggested more magical sedatives be applied immediately from Cadance, and now the princess seemed as if she wasn’t in the right to disagree. Not only was Kong threatening himself by marking his position as a target to any and all creatures who could hear, not only was he threatening to snap his chains and fall off into the ocean which was an environment he was definitely not accustomed to, but he was threatening everycreature on the ship.

All of which Cadance, nor T.I.T.A.N., could allow to persist.

However, they realized soon enough that there was already action taking place before them. Under the storm, with the blazing lightning lighting up the night, they could see a lone figure approaching Kong in his disgruntled state. Every tremoring roar, every attempt to yank at his chains, and the lone figure only grew closer to him. Quickly, Shining and Cadance, Lyra and Bon Bon, and Daring Do all rushed out on the deck to stop the figure.

Only, they didn’t have to.

Rushing out into the rain, the small team took cover behind the supply crates as another of Kong’s roars filled the night. He held up his fist high into the sky, the chains snapping and refusing to give him another inch. Peeking out, all five ponies hesitated when they finally realized who it was under the shimmering spotlights surrounding the Titan.

Kong realized who it was, too.

Soaking wet, her long, pink mane shrouding her face but not her eyes, Fluttershy remained unshaken and unmoved, unlike every other creature aboard. Her eyes were never torn away. Her focus was never turned to anyone else. She was not afraid of the storm. She was not afraid of the dark. She sensed his distress and heard his cries, and she made herself abundantly clear that she was there for him.

She was there for her friend. A friend who was scared. A friend that needed… her.

All within the bridge and all atop the deck were absolutely astonished with what came next. Instead of roaring at her, instead of attacking her for betraying his trust, instead of doing what any one of them would have thought he would do, he changed all of their hearts when he raised his finger toward Fluttershy.

Simply held it toward her.

Under the rain, under the chaos of the storm, surrounded by darkness, he stared only at her. And Fluttershy raised her hoof and graced his finger. Even in the vast cold of the seemingly unending ocean, feeling the touch of her hoof was the warmest Kong had felt since he was taken. She held her touch for as long as she could, and then Kong relented and sat back down.

As the ship finally settled, Shining and Cadance slowly exited from behind the crates to meet Fluttershy. Daring, Lyra, and Bon Bon remained hesitant, but they stepped out eventually, never taking their eyes off the giant ape. Still struggling to believe that what they saw actually happened.

Cadance laid her wing over Fluttershy’s head to block the rain, acting as a sort of pseudo umbrella, while she asked, “Fluttershy, what are you… how did you… that was incredible; how did you do that?”

Fluttershy did not share her shock or her enthusiasm. She merely glanced the princess’ way, stared in silence, and then slowly turned back to her giant friend. “He’s afraid…” Fluttershy whispered. Kong’s expression tightened, the Titan shutting his eyes as his face was drenched in rainwater. “I promised him that he would be safe if he came with us… but I don’t… he doesn’t…”

“He doesn’t believe us,” Shining said, finishing her thoughts.

Fluttershy nearly broke down right then and there. Maybe she was grateful for the rain in some way. Easier to hide the tears if they dared to arise. “He wants to go home,” Fluttershy said in a broken tone. Kong huffed and sighed, dropping his head.

The small team appeared shaken by that news, many downtrodden expressions plaguing their faces. Lyra shuffled anxiously while Bon Bon stared up sullenly to Kong. Daring’s wide-brimmed hat was dripping wet, but she didn’t hide the hurt clearly evident in her eyes.

As for Cadance, thought affected by that heart-wrenching truth, she had to shake her head. “That’s impossible right now. Black Skull Island is uninhabitable as long as that storm stays. It isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

As for Fluttershy, she once more turned to Cadance, and she was the one to shake her head this time. “That’s what I told him.”

“And what did he say?” Daring asked.

The chains rattled to life, and everypony—minus Fluttershy—flinched back in surprise. Bringing their conjoined attention back to Kong, they watched in stunted shock as the monstrous ape raised his right hand. He brought his fingers and thumb together and pressed the tips of his fingers to the side of his cheek. Then, he moved his hand closer toward his ear, and touched his cheek again. Doing so spelled out a silent word, a hand sign that the deaf and the mute commonly used to communicate.

Kong gave them a word. Just one word.

“Home.”

Now, neither Shining nor Cadance knew what he had said, but the movement was exact. The intention was there. The constant contact proved that he was trying to communicate. Lyra didn’t know what he said, and neither did Bon Bon. But Daring Do spoke her fair share of languages in her travels. One of them was sign language, and seeing it displayed from a Titan of all creatures left her jaw dangling over the deck.

“I taught him sign language,” Fluttershy explained, which ultimately explained it all. Even though Kong continued to make the same hand sign, even though it hurt her every time she saw it, Fluttershy remained strong. “Not very many words, but enough. Now, there’s a way for you all to understand Kong like I can. To further peace not only with me… but with all of you.”

That explained where she had been all those previous days. Out in the wilderness with Kong as her only company. She wasn’t just furthering peace and trust between herself and Kong, she was teaching him a way to speak with all of them. A way they could all unite on common ground.

Fluttershy shook her head. “And now we took him from his home.”

There it was. The weight that had been crushing Fluttershy was now fully shared by the rest of her friends. For a while, they wanted to believe they shared her same feelings of doubt and regret over taking Kong from his devastated home. Maybe Kong could have survived the storm on his island. Maybe all of their theories and scientific instruments were wrong, and they had taken him away when there was no need. But now, they saw that the betrayal went much, much deeper. So many efforts were made to unite their kind, and so many steps were instead taken backwards. If there was any way of mending it, it wasn’t out in the middle of the ocean trapped on this boat.

Yet, despite it all, Shining did acknowledge one other result from all of this madness. Despite having been taken from his island, despite having shown signs of aggression, Kong still didn’t fight them. Perhaps it was Fluttershy’s presence that protected them, but there was also that curious, little comment Fluttershy had made, how Kong seemed to remember him and Cadance.

His wife appeared to share the same thoughts. The thought that, through it all, maybe Kong did change. Even after the last horrific time T.I.T.A.N. had been to Black Skull Island, maybe there was something more to this giant ape than they realized. That, maybe, he was truly capable of peace.

That, maybe… they had made a terrible mistake taking him from his home.

Interlude Four

View Online

Years Earlier

Black Skull Island

It thundered its chest and gave an even more thunderous roar to the invaders, and the invaders heard it. None could deny its presence any longer. The fire it had sown in the sun-streaked winds were laced still with the final cries of the T.I.T.A.N. forces whom it had taken. And now, it reaped from the fires a terror that Shining Armor and Princess Cadance could never relinquish.

Husband and wife stood together, gazing up into the fading flames and burning smoke where the Monster of Black Skull Island stood in the core of the fire. For a time, they were stuck in that moment, petrified by fear in which all their limbs became numb. Not just their limbs, but their hearts, their minds, their will, all frozen by that unbeaten power that corroded the courage in Shining’s spirit, and the love in Cadance’s own.

For the horror had overcome Shining’s spirit, and the pain, destruction, and wrath had overcome Cadance’s.

They were only able to move when two familiar faces leaped in front of them and yanked their hooves. Snap Shutter’s burly voice roared out, “Up and at ‘em, Your Majesty!” He grabbed Shining’s hoof and quickly spun him around.

Follow by Mane Allgood’s shrill cry, “We need to get to the trees! Hurry, Princess!” She pried Cadance out of her stupor, and soon they were all galloping, flying, and fleeing for their lives toward the nearest tree line.

They were not alone, for a hefty crew had survived alongside the two adventurers. Many wounded, many shellshocked, but all of them following quickly behind and alongside the royalty, who finally returned to the real world and ran for it. Their options were limited. They had nowhere else to go. The fearsome beast finally brought its attention to the fleeing masses.

And it bared its canines and roared, giving chase.

The creature cut the distance almost instantly, each tremoring footstep sending the team of equines shambling, skittering, and bounding across the grassland. Those who flew were not affected, the Pegasi reaching the jungle just in time. Just as the ape’s shadow came over them and its foot crushed two T.I.T.A.N. agents lagging in the back of the group. Their screams were immediately cut short.

But the others made it into the trees, leaving the agitated beast behind to reach down and fail to grab them within the thick trunks and brush. Its arm dug deep into the tree line, but its fingers grabbed nothing but branches and struck tree trunks. Bellowing with rage, the great ape proceeded to rip the jungle asunder, intent on slowly but surely ripping apart as much land as necessary if but to find and eradicate the destructive invaders.

For the time being, they had escaped the creature’s wrath.

Leaving them to face an all-new trial of survival: the uncharted wilds of the hidden island.

Once he felt they were all in the clear, with nothing more but the beast’s distant roars echoing in the air, Shining shambled to a slow trot, eventually coming to stop and gasping for breath. “Is… is everypony all right?” he asked aloud, turning to the large group of a little more than a dozen ponies.

“Got as many as we could, Your Highness… but couldn’t find the others. Got a pretty sure-fire feeling in my gut that our people in those airships didn’t make it,” Snap Shutter gasped for air, turning his head to get a quick headcount of their team. His ears slowly fell flat against his skull when he couldn’t count the two missing ponies of their group.

While soft murmurs and worrisome questions were whispered among the crew, Cadance took the time to heal her husband’s head wound. Pressing her horn to the side of his head, Shining flinched back, but when he saw it was her, he instantly melted into her touch, into her embrace, as her healing magic flowed to his injury and stitched the skin together. The blood was washed clean.

With his wound healed, and with a reassuring kiss to his forehead, Cadance stepped back and finally let her curiosity take control. Now that they were out of danger, out of sight of the beast, she gazed up to the trees. Her eyes twinkled as did the rays of sunlight peeking through the thick branches and leaves of the jungle flora. The air was heavy, thick and hot. Sounds like birds, insects, reptiles and all other sorts of unidentifiable creature cried out into the wild. There was no certain path before them. Nothing but twisted vines and tree roots blocking the mud and leaves dotting the ground.

The trees towered greatly over them, greater than any tree Cadance had ever seen. Amidst a jungle of giants, her mind finally came back to the small group of survivors… and what they had escaped from.

“I’m certain you all saw what we did?” the Princess of Love asked aloud. “That… giant?”

Mane Allgood and her husband just nodded. The rest of the crew were silent. A few stares held with the princess before they eventually fell to the jungle floor, but not a sound from them. A stagnant and unsettling silence filled the air around them, so thick it could have been lapped up like water. Almost as if they knew certain information, certain stories and legends that became reality and they refused to speak of. Under order, perhaps. Or perhaps out of terror, still trying to comprehend if the legend they saw was actually real.

“A Titan, then? That’s what the princesses were telling us about back in Canterlot,” Shining mused, biting his lip as his eyes traversed the heavy jungle all around him. He stared back from where they came, shaking his head. “We have to signal back to the mainland that we’re still here. Pretty sure our airship is burned to a crisp… along with its radio. No chance we’re picking anything out of that debris field back there.”

“Weeell…” Snap Shutter said in an elongated, hopeful tone, “we do have one other option.”

Shining twisted back to him, with the other ponies inevitably following. “Old T.I.T.A.N. base not too far from here. Should be a few-hour journey if we stick to the coordinates on this map,” he said, pulling out a wrapped-up parchment from his belt, unfurling it and displaying it wide for all to see. “There should be a radio in there, all right. Even if it’s busted up, we can get it fixed right quick.”

“Not just one other option,” Mane added, turning her worrisome stare back up to the royalty. “It might just be our only option left.”

She was hesitant, remaining silent after that haunting remark. Realizing she was waiting for their command—as Shining and Cadance were still technically the highest authority among the survivors—the young prince nodded her along. “Lead the way, then,” Shining ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mane said with a slight bow, tugging her husband Snap along. Just as the rest of the crew were gathering their things and trekking beside and behind Snap Shutter, Mane stopped. She stared back. “And sorry… for all of this.”

Her stare was met with silence, as the royal family merely stood together, pale and drained of every essence that gave them life. Mane tried to say something else, but felt nothing more could be offered to heal what innocence was taken from the prince and princess. She moved on, joining her husband in the front of the pack.

With Cadance and Shining Armor inevitably following. Shining sighed. “What did we get dragged into?” he whispered.

For that, Cadance didn’t have an answer. She simply did not know.

The journey to the supposed T.I.T.A.N. base was, for the most part, uneventful. The group stayed in the jungle to avoid any open spaces where they could be easily picked off by any aerial creature, as Mane and Snap warned. Caution was taken with every step, the flora and fauna almost looking completely alien to anything in Equestria. It was still quite intriguing to the princess nonetheless, exploring as close to the group as she could.

Insects buzzed past them in small swarms, dragonflies and horned beetles nearly three times as large as the bugs back home. Aloe plants rose from the ground only to reveal large tortoises with camouflaged shells, crawling away from the pack of equines. It was incredible to the newlywed, though Shining appeared more interested in getting off the island as quickly as possible.

Warnings were given as they entered a bamboo forest, with Snap Shutter specifically warning to watch out for the moving bamboo. And if so, get out of the way if it tried to get near you. There was a hunch as to what he meant, but Shining took any precaution necessary, keeping his eyes constantly moving and his senses on high alert. Cadance kept close to her husband until they reached their destination.

And when they finally did, a shared breath of relief filled the survivors.

Shining and Cadance reached the head of the pack to see it for themselves. It was certainly an old base of T.I.T.A.N.’s, if the worn symbols etched on the sides of the collapsed building were a strong indicator. It seemed to have been long-since abandoned, as if a storm had ripped right through it and tore apart most of the base’s foundations. That would have explained the toppled fences around the perimeter, as well as the destroyed watchtowers.

Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood weren’t leading the survivors anymore. It was Shining and Cadance who led them up the concrete steps and past the shattered doors.

Inside, they found the desolate remains of what was once a thriving ecosystem of order and ecological study. Now, it seemed the natural ecosystem took over, leaving the tables, chairs, laboratories, almost everything they saw covered in a fresh layer of bright green moss, flowers, and leaves of every variety. Most of the ceiling was gone, sunlight pouring in to the abandoned outpost. Not a living soul could be seen.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. Not a peep,” Snap exclaimed softly, shaking his head. He turned to Shining and said, “Best to keep our voices down. We can search the facility later; see if there’s any survivors still left over from the last expedition.”

The communications department was flooded by Snap Shutter and his wife, Mane Allgood pulling the vines from the doorway and pushing open the crumbling infrastructure. Together, the two of them got to work on searching for the right radio. As expected, most of them were destroyed, worn by the natural environment. Many of the survivors joined them in searching, with Shining Armor still quite taken aback by the facility.

Peering inside the dark room, with only the light from unicorn horns guiding their search effort, Shining asked, “Any luck, Snap?”

“As a matter of fact…” Shutter drawled as he hoisted a carboard box onto the table, opening it cautiously. “This might be the ticket!”

Pulling out the dusty radio, Snap gave it a quick blow of air and set it down gently on the table. With a magical jolt courtesy of Shining Armor, the radio was given enough power to start functioning. Instantly, the room was nearly packed with survivors crowding around the lone radio that Shining, Mane, and Snap surrounded, adjusting the dials and the antennas to just the right frequency.

With Mane stating softly but fiercely into the microphone, “T.I.T.A.N. HQ, this is Outpost Beacon; Agent Mane Allgood speaking. Do you read me? Outpost Beacon to Canterlot, T.I.T.A.N. HQ, can anypony respond?”

Trying and failing to establish contact with the mainland again and again, their efforts were not deterred and they kept at it. For several minutes as Princess Cadance and the lingering few survivors stumbled about the main foyer of the outpost. While many searched different rooms in hopes of finding any other surviving T.I.T.A.N. agents holed up in the outpost over the years, Cadance found particular interest in the records room.

Her curiosity was spurred by a breadcrumb trail of scrolls scattered across the floor, ancient paper ruined beyond restoration, with their knowledge forever lost. However, those scrolls led to the records room, a rusted vault built into the wall with its steel door wide open. The room was spacious, dark with shelves upon shelves of folders, papers, and scrolls scattered across the ground.

With the light of her horn filling the vault with a soft, alluring blue, Cadance was able to scan the floor. The tip of her hoof rummaged through the piles of documents, each one warning of classified information in big, red letters. Yet her eyes were trained to something far more interesting. A particular document that, when opened with the hold of her magic, unveiled a slew of files that dated back to almost forty years ago.

Her eyes widened the more she read, and she snapped the document shut and left the vault.

“Snap Shutter,” Cadance called softly, minding her voice. She approached the communications department, standing alone at the open door into the dark room. “Mane Allgood. Do you mind telling me what exactly this is?”

Mane turned away from the microphone, seeing the classified documentation hovering beside Cadance’s paled gaze. “Just some old studies previous expeditions have made. There are hundreds of documents probably scattered around the whole base by now,” Allgood answered.

Only, her answer did not satisfy Cadance. “Yes, but this study specifically discusses the origins of Black Skull Island, and apparently this island might not be the only ecosystem like this on the planet? An oasis of deadly monsters, and we’re standing on just the tip of the iceberg?”

She took several more steps into the room, so close in fact that the tip of the folder was pressed to Mane’s chest, and Cadance’s expression had hardened to a far more serious stare.

All so she could ask, “So tell me… what’s this ‘Hollow Earth Theory’?”

The question stung the air so that every head in the room turned to the source, and felt the piercing gaze of the Princess of Love. Snap Shutter eventually turned as well, with Shining Armor readying to say something in response to his wife’s curious question.

But just then, like a cruel twist of fate, their answer was left unknown for now. The radio came to life with a voice on the other end calling to them.

Immediately, Shining rushed to the microphone and spoke as rapidly but as clearly as he could. “This is Prince Shining Armor, former captain of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard! I am here with Princess Cadance, Snap Shutter, and Mane Allgood. We have a sizable group of T.I.T.A.N. personnel with us. We’ve had a terrible accident going into Black Skull Island and need immediate evacuation! I repeat, all of our aircraft have been destroyed and we have no means of escaping the island! Send reinforcements to Black Skull Island at once!”

“To Outpost Beacon,” Snap interjected into the microphone.

“Right, to Outpost Beacon! Do you understand?!”

There was a short moment of static, and then the voice returned. “We hear you, Shining Armor. Be advised, a T.I.T.A.N. fleet will be in the air and on the sea within the next hour. We will dock on the nearest shoreline and have our airships escorted to Outpost Beacon. If your location is compromised, signal to us with a flare. I repeat, we will be looking for a flare. You have a three-day time window, Your Highness.”

“Appreciate it, Canterlot,” Shining declared with a satisfied smile, the first genuine smile he felt since arriving to the island. He managed a short scoff with a shake of his head. “We’re gonna have a long talk with the princesses when we get ba—”

The wall at the end of the room exploded, and out came a feral Death Jackal with fangs poised for Shining Armor’s neck.

It was already crumbling, barely held together with rotted wood and vines encompassing its foundation. So, when the stalking Death Jackal pounced on its prey on the other side, the wall practically erupted like a cannon ball had torn through it. Fragments of wood chips flew out and impacted the survivors, larger chunks hitting Cadance and Mane and knocking the two mares back out of the room.

Yet it was Shining who took the heaviest brunt of the assault, the Death Jackal crashing against the table, destroying the radio, and tackling Shining Armor so it straddled over his prone body. Shaken but not blinded, the unicorn shot out his forelegs and caught the nearing jaws of the creature rearing for his neck. With teeth digging into his skin, Shining cried out into the agape maw of the Jackal, unleashing his pent-up pain with a magical bolt straight down the beast’s throat.

His magic sent the Death Jackal flying skyward, directly through the ceiling to the room above, where it all came crumbling down shortly after. The various cracks growing across the ceiling was a sign for everypony present to get out.

“Shining!” Cadance screamed.

“I got ya, Armor!” Snap Shutter decreed, yanking the unicorn to his hooves. The two shared a look before they heard the crackling ceiling above. “And that’s our cue! Run!” They and everypony else teleported, flew, or dove out of the communications room just as the ceiling collapsed and destroyed everything inside with a crushing weight.

As the dust settled, a different sound emerged other than the coughing from the T.I.T.A.N. survivors. Soft squeaks and barks of pain, followed by even softer growls and whines. In the remains of the communications department, the ceiling unveiled what was on the floor above them: a nest of smaller creatures much like the full grown one that attacked Shining Armor. They lied across the debris, some of them barking, baring their fangs, and chittering their spiked manes at the crowd of equines.

A litter of pups. Which meant breeding. Which meant there were more of them.

Which meant…

“ROUK! ROUK! ROUK!”

Their cries came from down the nearest hall. From the upper floors. From the dark edges of the main foyer. From everywhere. Growing louder. Nearing them.

“Ah… so that’s what happened to the Beacon crew…” Snap Shutter fearfully muttered.

“Everypony, RUN!” Mane screamed, with the crew taking off as fast as their hooves and wings could carry them out the front doors.

The moment they exited the outpost and tore down the concrete steps, a Death Jackal was waiting and leaped from the upper floor window, tackling an unfortunate Pegasus in mid-flight and digging its fangs into his throat. His screams were silenced, only the heavy, panicked breaths from the surviving crew filling their ears.

With Mane and Snap leading the retreat, with Shining and Cadance covering the rear, the royalty looked back swiftly to see the open doors and windows practically flood with the ravenous creatures. The outpost grounds were swarmed in a matter of seconds, the canine-like beasts barking and screeching and trailing the survivors.

Hooves stampeded through the jungle, followed quickly by an even greater stampede of claws and vicious, bloodthirsty growls. So much proceeded to happen, elevating to even more horrifying aspects that Shining Armor and Cadance almost couldn’t believe what they witnessed. They hardly could believe they made it out alive.

One by one, many within the survivors were picked off when they entered the bamboo forest once more. Only this time, they were sporadic. They weren’t cautious. When the bamboo stems came stabbing down, a few unfortunate souls were caught under them. Some ponies… some Death Jackals… all now prey for the mighty Mother Longlegs stomping overhead. Shining and Cadance’s eyes widened to the sight of the massive spider cover them under its shadow.

Out of the horrors of the bamboo forest, they were then forced into the grasslands by the regrouping pack of Death Jackals cutting off all other avenues for escape. The red grass faded and they entered another forest of sorts, where long, green stems and yellow flower petals replaced the bamboo and spiders. Yet these flowers were not delicate. These flowers were not pure.

They opened like Venus flytraps and snatched up any creature that crossed their paths.

The carnivorous plants not only caught several Death Jackals, but even some equines of the unfortunate survivors. The purple plants contained the screams of the ponies within their maws, even as they thrashed and fought and begged for help. Only none could come. It broke their hearts to gallop away, but if they stayed they died. Either by the plants or the overwhelming Death Jackal pack hot on their trail.

Finally, back into the jungle they escaped, but the Death Jackals were not so easily deterred. Shining fired off more magical blasts from his horn at them, hitting only a couple, but the pack was still unfazed. Many of the Pegasi took flight to escape, separating the group further. Seeing this, Cadance spread her wings and enveloped her husband in her magical glow, kicking off the ground and into the air.

The Death Jackal behind them narrowed its eyes. A barred its teeth, and with a fierce kick off the ground much like the Alicorn had done, the Jackal kicked once more after it hit the tree, gaining and using that momentum to impact Cadance on her blindside. Her cries filled the air as she came falling down with her husband and the creature in tow, all three of them rolling down the nearest hill.

The Jackal nearly regained its footing, but it tumbled and rolled much like Cadance and Shining had. When they hit the bottom of the hill, they stumbled and slipped down an open crevice in the earth. It was Shining who powered his magic and slowed himself and his wife down before they could hit the rocky surface. His magic practically caught them, easing the two softly onto the cold, filthy floor.

It was tight and dark where they ended up, but up above they could see it was the exact same. A scar against the earth was their only source of light, and up above the Death Jackal peered down at them. Hissing and seething, it scratched between the crevice in some vain attempt to crawl down, but it was no use. It could fall and break its leg, or worse, die. The fall was too high, the crevice too tight to crawl out of.

It was not worth it for two. Much more could be gained with the rest of the equines. Growling and giving one more fierce bark to the two ponies, the Death Jackal returned to the pack to continue the hunt.

Leaving them behind. Leaving Shining and Cadance a moment to breathe, to rest, but never a moment where they took their eyes off the only light shining down upon them.

They waited.

For hours and hours, until weariness creeped in and they took turns falling asleep. Until the sun fell and the light was gone, and darkness washed across the land. All that was left were the darkened skies and twinkling stars, but it was so very quiet. Not a sound other than the distant bugs sounding off their night songs.

Agreeing it was time, they used their combined magic to teleport safely out of the crevice. Despite having regained an impressive amount of strength after the turmoil they had been through together, Cadance still gasped after her first step, the limp in her foreleg clear. She hissed, teeth grit as tears stung the edges of her eyes.

Holding her fiercely, Shining promised her safety with a simple, “Hold tight.” He hoisted her onto his back, nuzzling his wife tenderly before he began his slow trek into the dark.

His journey was not long, and his weariness thanked him for finding shelter within so short a time. He ducked under a felled, hollow trunk of a tree, minding Cadance’s head. Setting her down near the open end, Shining proceeded to levitate branches and large leaves by the entrance and exit of the tree trunk. His horn cast a glow that ensured nothing else was in the tree. It was just them.

As his wife had done for him, so too did Shining heal her wounds. Though not as skilled magically as her in healing spells, he knew enough from his days serving as the Royal Guard captain. He knew a twisted foreleg when he saw one, and he mended the muscles, tendons, and bones while hardly breaking a sweat. Cadance sighed gratefully, staring into her husband’s eyes with a deep tenderness the likes of which he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Not since their wedding.

Then, she turned and stared past the branches and leaves blocking the open trunk, gazing out into the deep valley on the edge of the jungle. The aurora borealis filled Luna’s night. The lightning bugs and bioluminescent critters moved throughout the valley. Even in such strenuous times, there was calmness to be earned. There was peace to be found.

Cadance kissed him softly, whispering with fear still in her voice. Fear of what could come, but still genuine enough to say, “I love you.”

Shining offered the same comfort, in a land in drought of comfort. “I love you.”

He didn’t know if it would be the last time he told his wife that. She imagined the same for him. He didn’t know what terrors lurked in the night, and very well may stumble upon their hideout. Safety and security were not present on Black Skull Island, that much they deduced. But here, right now, wrapped in each other’s embrace in what they could barely call shelter, perhaps that was safety enough. Just for them.

Despite the horrors of the day, the beauty of the night lulled them into sleep, with only each other to assure them safety.

Chapter 24 – Round 1

View Online

Celestial Sea

T.I.T.A.N. Naval Ship Axalon

When the morning sun rose on the seemingly unending horizon of the ocean surface, the fleet spent a restless night pushing onward. Now, they had the rest of the day to press forward to the mainland, which they were scheduled to arrive to just after lunch.

Fluttershy woke up. In the belly of the Axalon, her room was cramped and cold, covered in silver steel with only her corner of the room resembling any semblance of Fluttershy’s nature. Soothing candles sat on her dresser, all of them low and dark. Documents collected from Outpost Beacon shrouded the table in the center of her quarters with pictures of Kong covering the walls around her bed. Her tangled bedsheets unveiled the exhausted Pegasus, and Fluttershy slowly sat up with a monstrous yawn.

A wild pink mane was bundled atop her head, strands dangling in front of her eyes as she rubbed the sleepiness out of each. Mumbling an incoherent thought aloud, Fluttershy was just about to rise out of her bedsheets when the glaze left her vision and she stared at the photographs. Hanging on the walls beside her, all images of Kong taken from previous expeditions… and even a few new ones she had taken herself. All of them showing Kong in his natural habitat. All of them showing Kong at peace, at rest, at home.

She swore she saw some tiny smiles in the pictures she had taken of him. Back when Kong could still trust her. It hurt even more to look away, but Fluttershy did with a sigh, rising out of her bed. It was about time to start feeding Kong breakfast anyway, and she didn’t want to leave him hungry. She just hoped he would be okay with more fish. They had become his only meal for the past day.

But once again, she was stopped before she could fully rise. By the almost unnoticeable flick of her right ear, Fluttershy stopped. She caught her breath, hearing nothing but the creaking and groaning of the ship all around. Yet she was on high alert, having heard a deep disturbance that her ears miraculously caught, but silence remained as her answer.

Slowly turning to the wall on her left, she didn’t really seem to know what she was doing. Instinctively, Fluttershy pressed her hoof to the hull of the ship, and shortly after… the soft rumbles sounded. The same sound she had heard. The heightening growls. The familiar presence and voice belonging only to…

“Oh, no…” she whispered. And true terror was on her tongue.

Then, emergency sirens filled all the ship.

Quickly kicking off her sheets and practically flying to her dresser, Fluttershy got dressed and tore down the hallway, which was already filled to the brim with rampant, seafaring ponies, griffons, Hippogriffs, changelings, dragons, and so forth. Every branch of T.I.T.A.N. came together to face possibly the most important mission of their careers, and all of them were moving with the speed of warriors destined to face wanton destruction.

The sirens grew louder the higher she moved to each level of the ship, with more agents and soldiers she saw prepping their defenses. Her adrenaline kept rising the more she did upon the ship, and by the time she was below the bridge, she found herself running into Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Just the ponies she wanted to find, only they were joined by a Hippogriff.

“Fluttershy!” Cadance said, clearly taken aback by the Pegasus bumping into her chest. She had rarely seen Fluttershy look so worked up, and a deep dread within the princess suddenly flicked to life. Still, she minded her friend’s current state first and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Shining Armor! Cadance! You have to listen to me; there’s—!” Fluttershy tried to warn.

“We already know, Fluttershy,” Shining interrupted, holding his hoof to the dripping-wet Hippogriff on his left. “Commander Lilyclaw here was just giving us a rundown.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty. Titan Whisperer,” Lilyclaw greeted with a courteous bow of his head, bringing his full focus back on the royalty. They walked briskly as they talked. He spoke with a thick Hippogriffian accent, much like the general of all Hippogriffia’s naval forces, Seaspray. “Our Seapony scouts managed to spot the unknown entity five miles due north of the fleet, intending to ram us head on. They reached me as soon as they could. Whatever marine Titan this is, we’ll meet it with—”

“This isn’t some other marine Titan,” Fluttershy interfered, taking her stance at the head of the pack. “I heard him with my own ears… I felt him… and you all know who he is just as well…”

Together, all three stood in complete awe and silence as the world around them rushed in a blur. As the armies of T.I.T.A.N. readied themselves for the unknown threat currently barreling their way, there they stood and stared. That dread Cadance had felt was burning with a coldness she recognized, but didn’t want to give attention to. Shining felt all the same, the color draining from his face, the weight crushing his stomach.

Lilyclaw had some theories on the Titan, but he didn’t want any of them to be right.

“It’s Godzilla.”

But Fluttershy had to confirm every fear all the same.

In a way, Shining was thankful for her brutal honestly. No beating around the bush, no lying to keep their hearts at ease. The threat was real and was right on their doorsteps, and now they could properly be in the right mindset to face it.

So, Shining Armor declared loudly, “Ready all battle stations, NOW!”

Atop the deck of the Axalon, Kong tugged at his chains again and again. The blaring sirens, the roaring engines of the airships and Solar Bolts above, all of it ignited in a tension that made Kong’s agitation flare, and he instinctively reacted. Roaring at every tug of his chains, and the steel refusing to give in to him. The last of the magical sedatives were worn away, so his senses were all nearly fully intact and on alert.

And his senses told him that he was in clear danger.

The deck of the ship was in chaos, the equines and other creatures of Equus moving frantically to prep the ship’s defenses and tie down their supplies. Watching them with rapid breath and a widened gaze, Kong gripped the sides of his head in clear agitation, trying to block out the infuriating cries of the sirens sounding from each naval craft. He roared back at them, ducking his head as a battalion of Solar Bolts soared past him. They weren’t alone.

The lead airships hovered overhead, the Tigerhawk and the Silverbolt joined by less than a dozen airships, with seven battalions of Solar Bolts circling the clouds and scouring the waves for any emerging disturbance. Five carriers and seven naval craft searched the waters, with equine and Seapony scouts within each bridge checking their radars as the scans traversed through the sea again and again.

Every ordnance was armed and prepared, aimed at nothing in particular as the threat hadn’t shown itself just yet. Among the carriers, the two largest remained as the most heavily protected, the other ships sweeping around and defending them. The second largest, the Axalon, carried Kong and most of the T.I.T.A.N. leaders. The largest supercarrier, the Noble Steed, carried their remaining armament and the fleet’s commander.

Within the bridge of the Axalon, Fluttershy and Shining Armor were the first to storm inside, followed quickly by Cadance and Lilyclaw. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Daring Do were already present and running operations with Captain Thorn behind the steering wheel. Now that Shining was back—as the highest authority on the Axalon—the reins were given back to him.

After Bon Bon said to the microphone attached to the ship’s radio, “Commander Blight, this is Special Agent Bon Bon of the Axalon! Our radars are showing zero activity on the ocean floor; what’s say you?”

“Read you loud and clear, special agent. This is Commander Blight of the Noble Steed responding; we’ve had zero contact of any Titan presence at the moment, but we’ll keep you in the loop the second something pings our radar.”

“See to it that you do. Prep those battle stations and ready yourselves for the worst,” she declared and ended the conversation, taking a step back. All around her, all she saw was chaos. It was meant to be a calm morning with no disruptions. They were supposed to get back to the mainland in a few hours. Of course, that didn’t happen. Rarely anything went according to plan. Now, all she could see beyond the windshield of the overcrowded cabin was Kong fighting against his chains as the fleet prepared for battle.

She sighed, resting a hoof to her forehead with her eyes shuddering to a close.

“You okay?” Lyra asked, shuffling close to her side.

“How can I be?” Bon Bon replied, lowering her hoof and bringing her gaze back to the giant ape. Staring past him, she stared onto the ocean surface glowing gold from the intensity of the rising sun. “The ocean isn’t really my favorite place in the world, and the fact we got a Titan headed straight for us…”

“Hey…” Lyra said, resting a hoof on her wife’s shoulder. She could already feel the soft trembles on Bon Bon’s body. “It’s gonna be all right. You’re not on one ship like before in the Frozen North. We got a whole fleet protecting us.”

Daring Do peered through her binoculars and scanned the ocean surface, the glare of the sun on the surface of the waters making her eyes burn. “Yeah, and what are the odds it’s Godzilla coming for us?” Daring asked aloud.

Noticing the silence in response, Daring turned away from the sea and back onto Lyra and Bon Bon. Instead, she saw them all turning to Shining, Cadance, and Fluttershy standing before them, that glazed dread shared among all three. Without a word, their expressions spelled everything out, and it confirmed all of their fears. Bon Bon shakily exhaled, raising a hoof back to her forehead as Lyra tried to comfort her.

Daring sighed, lowering her binoculars. “I spoke too soon, didn’t I?”

“We know nothing for sure yet,” Shining said, pushing toward the lead console. “Thanks for contacting Blight, Bon Bon. We’ll need every ship ready for whatever’s coming our way.”

“What’s our next course of action then, Captain?” Lilyclaw asked, stepping up beside Shining and his team.

“We hope that whatever Titan it is… it breaks off—”

The radars gave off an audible ping. One that was loud enough in the lull between the sirens. One that was loud enough to silence every voice in the bridge and bring their breaths to a halt.

“Captain Thorn… Captain Shining Armor…” the radar technician muttered, slowly turning his chair around to the lead console. He tapped his hoof to the radar, the second sweep picking up the monstrous anomaly getting closer. “I don’t think that’s happening.”

Nopony and nocreature uttered a word. They couldn’t, as they simply couldn’t help themselves being drawn to the front windshield. Lyra and Bon Bon were the first to move, followed by Fluttershy and Lilyclaw. Thorn, Shining, and Cadance stayed behind and watched, as they felt all within the grand fleet was watching what they saw all the same.

Beep.

The radar continued with its haunting sound. Somehow, everycreature didn’t seem to hear the sirens anymore. Just the ping.

Beep.

Every few seconds, and then it was closer.

Beep.

Closer.

Beep.

Until they saw it. They saw the sea split open and unveil its king, the marine monarch appearing by his dorsal plates alone. The spines rose higher, clearly evident and rushing through the waves at breakneck speeds. So fast in fact that he didn’t intend on slowing down. Not for anything between him and the Axalon. Not for the naval craft unfortunately passing his path.

They witnessed Godzilla’s spines crash into and through the naval ship.

Shocked, mortified, and with a terror-stricken tone, Bon Bon pressed her hooves to the windshield and screamed, “NO!”

Just as she dreaded. Just as she feared. Just as her fears had warned her and she still didn’t listen. Flashes of memories like lightning struck her mind and she was reminded of that night eight years ago in the Frozen North. When those very same spines capsized her ship, and were now hurtling at her at ramming speed. With what power could they have responded with back then? With what power did they have to respond now?

Absolutely everything they had.

Battle stations were prepared and finally engaged the target now that he showed malicious intent. The flaming husk of the smaller naval craft burned upon the surface of the waters and began to sink, but the rest of the fleet took aim and fired. Heavy-ordnance cannons unleashed their firepower, blanketing the air above the sea with black smoke and roaring cannon fire. Kong covered his head, his ears, and roared back.

Just as the rockets and cannons struck his back, Godzilla sank under the surface. The explosions rocked the ocean and sent shock waves between the ships. Resurfacing, not having slowed down in any capacity, Godzilla kept up his wrathful pursuit of the rival alpha. He had heard his calls the night before, and the agitated cries he made now only affirmed Godzilla that the enemy was here.

Only, when he resurfaced, T.I.T.A.N. was waiting for him. Several Solar Bolts engaged in strafing runs with Godzilla’s back as the target. They flew by and pelted his spines and hide with bullets that ultimately did nothing, not even earn his attention. It was only until the nearest airship hovered over the King of the Monsters and unloaded its payload. A cluster of bombs bombarded Godzilla’s back with multiple, deafening eruptions.

That earned the king’s focus, Godzilla flipping his head back underwater and roaring.

“Sweeping around for another bombard—!” the changeling pilot said through his radio, only to see the sun darken and a rising shadow appear on his right. He only had a split second to see it. A split second to react. A split second to scream, “AHHH—!”

Having risen out of the water like a swaying tower, Godzilla’s tail struck the airship and blew it out of the sky. The fragments of the craft and the burning balloon fell both slowly and quickly to the ocean below, all while Godzilla’s tail became the new target of interest between the fleet. Multiple Hippogriff ships unloaded their cannons on the tipping tail, the crew of each ship watching it tilt one way and then the other.

Until Godzilla finally brought it down on the ship to his left. The Hippogriff naval craft didn’t stand a chance, the tail severing the vessel in two. Each halve jutted skyward before falling to the sea in a blistering fire.

While such destruction was unfolding before them, the crew aboard the Axalon could only watch in a state of horrified bewilderment. Unsure of what to do or how to respond. Feeling the ship teeter and rock back and forth, many brought their attention back to their main occupant. Kong grasped one chain with both hands, rearing back and bellowing loud to the clouds. The chain still would not give.

He turned when the destruction caught his attention, Kong watching the tail slip back into the waters and the dorsal plates swim his way. Barring his teeth, the King of Black Skull Island gave a thunderous, intimidating roar to his oncoming attacker. The King of the Monsters responded with one of his own below the waves.

“We gotta unlock his chains!” Lyra suggested, and immediately brought life and adrenaline back into the Axalon’s bridge.

“So, what, he can turn and kill us all the second we let him go?! The chains stay on!” Daring retorted.

“Kong isn’t going to touch us with Fluttershy still onboard. He still cares for her if not for any of us,” Cadance suggested, her eyes flicking to Fluttershy's unreadable expression. She turned, instead, to face her husband. “Shining, Godzilla’s coming for him; nothing we can do to hold him back! If we unlock his chains, we’ll be giving him a fighting chance!”

Daring didn’t like it, but the issue was raised to a higher command, and one she was obligated to obey. “Your call, Cap!” Daring said, turning back to wait on Shining. Even Captain Thorn turned to the prince for orders, knowing Shining’s authority outweighed his own.

With all eyes on him, Shining Armor was forced to make a decision, and one with plenty of good points backing each side. Kong most likely despised them for taking him from his home, putting him under a spell, and forcing him to travel to a land that wasn’t his own. Then again, after last night’s display, he felt deep in his heart that Kong wouldn’t raise a fist against them. Not with Fluttershy still in their midst. His mind suddenly sparked.

“Fluttershy!” Shining called. “What do you suggest we do?!”

To his horror, though… they all found that Fluttershy was elsewhere. Her mind was gone, focused on things that were not the current issue at hoof. But perhaps, she thought of a deeper, heavier issue. A calamity that struck the world, and that calamity had now been brought to them. A shadow that corrupted the heart and mind of the Godzilla she thought she understood, and now she could see it all with her own eyes. There was no denying it any longer.

It sickened her. It questioned her heart, and then it broke it.

“Why…” was all she could say, “… why is Godzilla doing this?”

For that, nocreature had an answer. Nor could they even respond.

Before Godzilla could reach the ship, his dorsal plates quickly sunk under the water, and he disappeared. To Kong’s growing confusion, he searched the endless, deep blue but lost him. To wherever he had gone, wherever he was, Kong slammed his fists onto the ship and roared into the sea.

Godzilla responded once more, his roar leading the charge as he rammed the Axalon in an upward pounce.

The surprise attack knocked Kong backward, as well as successfully capsizing the supercarrier. Those unfortunate souls who remained atop deck were thrown back, their screams joining the resounding crashes of their supply crates breaking from their restraints and sliding, bounding, and impacting the ocean surface. Everycreature within the bridge lost their footing and fell in the direction the ship was tilting, their screams and cries drowning what little air remained… before the water quickly broke through. Ponies and creatures on the deck that could take flight did so, the others landing in the water, where the deck of the Axalon quickly met and crushed them.

With its belly facing the sun, the Axalon teetered as Kong cried for air, taking his last breath before he went under. Now capsized, the inhabitants in the bridge began to panic. Water rushed in and was shortening their ability to breathe. Before long, all the bridge was underwater, not a bubble of air to be found.

As Lyra struggled to create an air bubble out of her magic to protect her and Bon Bon, Cadance doing the same for Fluttershy, Lilyclaw took action and transformed into a Seapony thanks to the shard of the magical Pearl dangling around his neck. Helping up Shining Armor, Lilyclaw motioned toward the main lever in which Kong’s chains were operated.

Turning to the lever, Shining could see through the shattered windshield the dark shadow of Godzilla swimming toward the ship once more. And this time, Kong was trapped under his environment, with no edge. With no hope of fighting back. As long as those chains remained, he was sentencing Kong to his death.

Cheeks puffed out, lungs shrinking fast, Shining decided it was his call and swam as fast as he could. Together, he and Lilyclaw reached the lever, and with their combined strength they pulled as hard as they could. Bringing the lever down with his last breath, the bubbles floating rapidly out of Shining’s agape jaws, he opened his eyes once more when he heard the reverberating clang of the massive chains unlocking.

And just in time. Now with his limbs free, Kong caught Godzilla at the last second, grappling with the King of the Monsters as his jaws snapped for his throat again and again. Gripping each of Godzilla’s claws, Kong reared back and slammed his head into Godzilla’s own, disorienting the lizard just enough for the ape to swim back up for a much-needed breath of air.

In doing so, Kong flipped the Axalon back over.

Water proceeded to drain almost immediately, leaving the occupants of the bridge lying strewn about and gasping for air. Several coughs filled the cabin, with each creature helping one another back up. Cadance came to her husband’s side, assuring his safety and then thanking him for releasing Kong, as evident by the lack of chains dangling from his wrists now.

Cadance then turned her attention to Fluttershy, the poor Pegasus lifting her head from the small puddle where she lied. Her mane was wet and covered her face, the Titan Whisperer spitting out a helping of ocean water before Cadance finally came to her aide.

“Fluttershy, are you all right?” the princess asked, lifting up the shaking Pegasus. Fluttershy coughed roughly and gasped for air, quickly swiping her mane aside.

Wild eyes on high alert, Fluttershy turned back to the windshield and asked, “Where’s Kong?!”

She and Cadance approached the windshield, or what was left of it. The shattered glass unveiled the layers of destruction cast across the Celestia Sea. Godzilla had sprouted from the ocean, but was immediately greeted by a wave of cannon fire from the nearby naval ships. He slashed at the waters and ships as the smoke and fire clouded his vision, and he yelped in agitation. Among the graveyard of burning ships and sinking aircraft, the crates of supplies surrounded the Axalon as the deck was covered in wilted chains and one pissed off monkey.

Kong let his anger fully blossom, his hands—now free—prying at the lock around his neck and ripping it open. Nothing more held him down. Nothing else could hold him back. He let that fury be known with a trembling roar, pounding his chest fiercely and profusely. He told his foe that he was here, he remained unbroken, and no manner of environment would ever change that.

Certainly not Godzilla’s natural habitat.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Fluttershy gasped, “He’s okay!”

Turning back to the bridge, Kong heard her voice and saw that she was okay all the same. A little less weight was relieved from his heart at the sight of her, and Kong huffed in response. Just then, he turned back to the sea to catch Godzilla swimming back for another strike. Another attempt to sink the ship—and perhaps Godzilla would not pass up the opportunity this time, if but to deprive Kong of a solid surface to stand on.

His eyes flicked rapidly from one ship to the next, until Kong finally saw it. He saw the supercarrier Noble Steed a jump or two away from him. It offered a much larger and wider surface to stand on, and most importantly, it was further away from Fluttershy.

Looking to her, then to the Noble Steed, Kong made the leap of faith.

The Axalon buckled from the mighty shift in weight, the bridge watching Kong leap from their deck to the nearest ship, using it as a stepping stone just to reach the supercarrier. Despite his immense size and prowess, Kong did not destroy the Noble Steed upon impact, much to his relief as well as everycreature aboard the lead ship, as well as those on the Axalon.

The Noble Steed merely sunk backward momentarily, the bow rising high before eventually coming back to crash against the ocean surface. Those still upon the deck of the ship took refuge in the lower levels, or they hopped in the nearest airship or Solar Bolt and escaped the coming carnage they knew was about to transpire.

Standing tall, promoting his appearance for all to see—especially for Godzilla—Kong breathed in deep and unleashed a terrifying roar to the sea. Godzilla’s spines burst forth from the ocean, changing course from the Axalon and instead shifting attention to the Noble Steed. There was already a mass panic from those aboard the supercarrier, every radio blazing to life and Commander Blight ordering all ordnance to target Godzilla and get him away from the craft.

Yet their ordnance meant nothing. Every cannon fired on him hit only water once Godzilla sunk deep again, using that momentum to rise back up out of the waves.

Avoiding the cannon fire, Godzilla burst free and landed onto the deck of the Noble Steed supercarrier. The ship buckled once more to the immense weight added, but it held still, just barely. Godzilla clawed and ripped apart the hull, dragging himself closer until his feet were pressed to a floor stable enough to hold him. He crawled like a feral animal enraged to the point of insanity, but he found his composure and rose, deafening the seas of battle with his horrific war cry once more.

This time, he faced his enemy on equal footing. This time, Kong was unhindered, and he struck back.

His fist flew through the air as his own war cry retaliated, decking Godzilla across the face.

A resounding crack tore across the clouds, followed by ear-splitting explosions of cannon fire striking Godzilla’s hide. The nearby warships fired everything they had at the King of the Monsters, but it was little more than a nuisance to him. He was more rocked by Kong’s deafening punch than anything else T.I.T.A.N. had thrown at him, and he almost stumbled back before his mind cleared, and Godzilla retaliated.

Crying out, the king swung his right claw and slashed Kong across his face. The ape wasn’t as balanced as Godzilla had grown to be, and he lost his footing and fell back onto the stern of the supercarrier. Intending to end this pitiful renegade quickly, Godzilla stepped forward with his dorsal plates burning a haunting blue. As did his eyes.

As his jaws fell, he nearly dealt a killing atomic beam directly for Kong’s heart… had T.I.T.A.N. not fired another volley of rockets and cannons to his spines. That, of all the attacks T.I.T.A.N. dealt, nearly made Godzilla stumble, and it cut off his concentration and darkened his back plates. Yelping in surprise, Godzilla turning to the warships that surrounded him and charged up his atomic breath for a sweeping kill—or several—across the sea.

And he did so without hesitation, firing a continuous beam of raw, radioactive firepower that blew apart not one, not two, but three naval ships and nearly continued onward to the rest of the fleet.

The resounding blast from his jaws were cut off by Kong’s fist once more meeting Godzilla’s face. His eyes and spines went dark again, Godzilla shaking the blur from his vision before pouncing on the rival king. Kong was faster, driving his shoulder into Godzilla’s sternum and making the king lose his breath, as well as his footing.

Successfully knocking Godzilla back into the water.

His short-lived victory was just that: short-lived. For under the waves, that same low-frequency growl and brightening blue light began to charge, and Kong looked overboard to see it for himself. Already naturally sensing danger, Kong took another mighty leap of faith and jumped from the deck of the Noble Steed.

Just as Godzilla’s atomic beam blew it apart.

A blinding whiteness momentarily stunned everycreature across the fleet, many having to avert their eyes. That white was replaced by a tower of stunning blue atomic energy flying high into the sky. From the source of the eruption, the supercarrier had been reduced to blossoming fragments flying out in every direction, two great halves of a once great ship jumping high before falling so low.

The Noble Steed, the largest ship in the fleet, was gone.

Every attempt to contact the bridge or Commander Blight were hopeless, as nothing but static were the greeters of the Axalon and every other airship and naval craft attempting contact. Before long, the tower of light had faded, and nothing but flames remained on the surface of the deep. Everycreature’s moment of shock and awe was shortly replaced when they noticed that Kong hadn’t resurfaced.

In fact, out of their sight, in the dark blue waters, Kong was attempting to swim back up to the Axalon, only for Godzilla to emerge out of the dark and pounce him from behind. His teeth dug deep into Kong’s shoulder as his claws gripped and tore at every bit of the monkey he could get. With only one arm propelling himself up to the surface, Kong found that to be impossible. Especially when Godzilla’s tail wrapped around his body and he proceeded to drag him down further into the darkness.

Seeing the bubbles emerging but no ape in sight, it came to T.I.T.A.N.’s attention that it was Godzilla’s intention to drown Kong. Noting the desperation in Fluttershy’s eyes quickly turn to him, Shining Armor took action and grabbed the microphone so that his voice traveled to every radio in every naval craft.

“Seaponies, get down there! Disorient Godzilla! Do anything you can to help Kong!”

There was no hesitation. From each naval craft, from even the airships, every Hippogriff took the great leap of faith and dove down into the awaiting ocean. Each of their Pearl fragments allowed them to transform instantaneously into their Seapony forms, thus allowing them to swim with great speed and ferocity toward Godzilla. Some even went the extra mile and transformed into greater sea beasts, giant squids, anything to rival Godzilla’s size and strength.

It was quiet for so long.

For nearly half a minute, there was silence upon the graveyard of burning ships.

Then, the sea erupted and relinquished one of two kings. Kong’s palm grasped the deck of the Axalon, making its inhabitants jump in surprise. They turned to see the rest of the great ape appear, drenched and breathless, coughing up waterfalls of sea water onto the ship before collapsing. Clearly exhausted. Clearly out of the fight.

But still alive. Fluttershy’s heart found ease in that reality.

“Godzilla’s coming back!” Cadance warned.

Just as her heart darkened when that reality made itself known.

Every head in the bridge turned accordingly, seeing Godzilla’s spines break through the waves and crash through the flaming husks of what were once naval ships. “I want every cannon on Godzilla! Wait for my mark!” Shining ordered through his radio.

Rising out of the water, Godzilla lifted his head high and took in a mighty breath out of the smoke-filled air. The fires shrouded him as the towers of smoke clouded the skies above his head, but still Godzilla remained undeterred. The feeble actions of the Seaponies and the sea beasts only disoriented him temporarily, and they fled like the cowards they were when Godzilla turned his focus onto them instead of the rival king.

But now, there was nothing more that could stand in his way. The rest of T.I.T.A.N.’s worthless fleet turned their weapons onto him, but Godzilla knew they would deal no true harm.

His eyes burned with a flaming intensity and hatred the likes of which he had never before expressed. They were fueled by a madness he had never known, the golden eyes narrowing at the fleet, red irises seeming to brighten as the Darkness in his pupils only became blacker. And just before he could press onward and finish the attempted usurper… he stopped.

Something deep within himself stopped him.

It came like rumbling of thunder, with a cry like lightning resounding across all the earth. For his deep connection to the planet and the creatures that inhabited it brought Godzilla’s mind out of its hazy cloud… and back to its natural purpose forged over millions of years. Just for a moment, there was a break in his mind, the dark connection severing to allow Godzilla a moment to hear the sound.

The cry.

The call of another.

A rival alpha deep within the earth sounded off, far below the world above and within the world untouched by the self-proclaimed rulers of these lands. Godzilla’s mind was not his own. His instincts, his actions were tainted by a curse. But perhaps the first cracks had begun to surface, and that dark influence over his mind was starting to deteriorate.

For though he was ordered by a shadowy power to kill the great King Kong, there was a deeper purpose that he chose to answer instead. And it was so.

Giving one last burning glare to Kong and the T.I.T.A.N. fleet, Godzilla turned aside and dove into the waters, beginning the hunt for the alpha call. The only hunt that mattered.

Nevertheless, claiming victory in his and Kong’s first of soon-to-be many battles.

Chapter 25 – The Doubter

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Hollow Earth

Temple of the Kongs

“These ruins are your salvation.”

Deep near the core of the earth, a terrifying tempest was growing. A dark cloud billowed over a great cluster of mountains. Between the twin layers of solid earth—one above, as below—an ancient monument stood amidst the test of time. The Temple of the Kongs stood alone in a great valley with a history more ancient than its current inhabitants.

“You were able to survive for so long… lost so many of your tribe and your people to the dangers of the Below. Sanctity and safety were not delivered… until your prior High Priests led them here.”

Within the valley, a graveyard remained but was unseen. Battles lost to time with no one left to share its memory or sing its songs. For the Kongs were gone from the valley, and the temple remained with a growing storm hanging overhead. The storm was unnatural, sucking in the clouds hanging between the two earths and creating a swirling thunderstorm, where black and golden lightning struck the tips of each mountain peak.

“They perished waiting for me… laid to rest in the tomb they claimed as their sanctuary. As I was trapped… in a tomb all the same. But not dead… Not dead.”

Inside the Temple of the Kongs, a spacious throne room remained standing. Yet the graveyard persisted even passed the doors and in the walls of the once glorified realm. A realm of superiority, of supremacy, where bones and weapons lied before the throne, resembling sacrificial offerings to the once great kings of old. Giant, reptilian daikaiju were scattered, along with the bones of massive apes.

A final battle took place within these walls. An ancient war that none could speak of, for none knew of its true history. All they had left were ruins. Ruins… and a tomb.

“You would not wish these ruins to be your tomb… would you?”

Hearing the Voice in the Darkness, the Immortal Priest Emrick opened his eyes slowly. “No, my lord…” he answered coolly. “That is why we have you now.”

What Ghidorah’s voice said was true. Generation after generation of their tribe toiled and suffered in the Below, for the beasts of old hunted and nearly brought their kind to extinction. They were only able to miraculously survive because the previous leaders were able to bring them to this sanctuary, a mighty kingdom once before, but now abandoned. They were very few when they first entered these halls.

Now, so many years later, they were many once more. The Temple of the Kongs saved them. That, and their undying faith that their god would return to them one day. And now, the Day had come. Their lord returned, and it was within these walls… he suffered.

Emrick stood alone atop the edge of a great drop, within what appeared to be an empty, fully circular amphitheater of monumental size and strength. Lava flowed like veins in the aqueduct-like designs of the temple, flowing down into the pit. Down below, Ghidorah writhed in the depths of the temple, the heat and light from the very heart of the world illuminating the steam and casting his shadow across every towering wall.

With every tremoring cry Ghidorah unleashed, Emrick grew only more impatient. Ghidorah spoke to him through the Voice, and he warned of the mistakes and failures of the past leaders of the Occult. How their namesake betrayed them, how such “Immortal” Priests could succumb to age and death and be buried in a temple meant to uplift power and strength above all. It was but a tomb, and one Emrick could not deny.

He was impatient for many reasons. His own mortality always lingered in the back of his mind, but the Darkness offered more anxieties of which he fell prey to. With every hour and day wasted in the temple—waiting by a promise that their lord would grow strong—the world Above was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together, no doubt.

They would have already known the Bell was gone. They would have already tied Fillydelphia to a different creature, if they haven’t already known it was Ghidorah by now. The Usurper, Godzilla, would only last as a distraction for so long before the world turned their blade… to them.

The Bewitching Bell dangled from his throat, tightly knit around his neck to prevent any other from handling their most precious weapon. Even the Harbingers of Zenith were no longer granted access to the Bell. That privilege was Emrick’s alone, as was direct communication to their Dark God.

That separation, that seclusion… undoubtedly led to questions and speculation from the rest of the Occult of Ghidorah. The Harbingers could still hear his Voice, ordering unquestioning loyalty, which they assuredly followed without hesitation. It had been many days since the rest of the Order had received word from their god, let alone their High Priest. Tensions were enflamed, like the heat of the molten rock flowing high above Emrick’s head, and seeping down to the pit beneath him.

It certainly did not help that Ghidorah’s agonizing evolution made him scream out more alpha cries. As if signaling a beacon from their position, a beacon that the rulers Above would surely discover sooner or later.

“You have me now… but where is your faith?” the Voice proclaimed to his mind alone.

“I have always been faithful—” Emrick tried to say, but was drowned in the shadows.

“Which is why I can trust you, my Emrick. But the others… your precious Order are falling away from me. Every day, I feel their hearts yearn for something more. Something that was promised from disillusioned minds of your past leaders… your leaders whom I have told you have been led estray. You know this… don’t you?”

“The ancients spoke of prophecy—”

“Prophecy can be written and unwritten as I will it!” the Voice bellowed, the Darkness invading Emrick’s mind and making him shudder. Over time, he had grown accustomed to the Darkness’ presence, yet it still stole his breath and trembled his legs every single time. “Just as the Usurper follows my will. He faces the rival as we speak. If it comes to it, the alphas will kill one another, and I alone will conquer whoever remains. No prophecy can guide the everchanging powers, nor can it shift my purposes. I will lay fate on its knees to bow before me, and all the world will suffer for what it did to me!”

Ghidorah writhed and roared once more in the heavy smog down below, shuddering the very foundations of the temple. Electricity flowed throughout the amphitheater and lightning coated Ghidorah’s shadowy form. The nightmarish shriek tore through Emrick’s very spirit and split his bones, but he remained standing. He closed his eyes as the Dragon and the Voice roared once again, and soon enough his lord settled into silence.

Amidst such horror, Emrick remained as the Valiant he was forged to be.

“The evolutionary phases grow longer and more tiresome…” Ghidorah breathed, as if the breath was whispered by Emrick’s ear. “We are close to victory… so you understand why I must require absolute, unfettered loyalty.”

The Voice in his head was momentarily silenced when the sound of approaching hoofsteps miraculously sounded off behind him. Even amidst the wails and moans of Ghidorah far below, their approach was not masked, and Emrick turned his head back.

He saw a golden mask draped in black robes. A Harbinger led a lone pony to his domain, and emerging from behind the burly stallion, that lone pony was instantly recognized… and Emrick’s cool posture melted.

Dahlia. The Earth pony who had once been estranged to him, now having become quite noticeable. Not only for her devotion to the Order, but to him especially. She was young. The elders guided her well, and her loyalty was admirable. Her courage, even more so, to come speak to the High Priest in his private hours was bold. Bolder than he expected from a mere occultist. Her white coat contrasted well to the heavy reds and oranges of the lava glowing around her, reflecting perfectly against her vibrant red mane and violet eyes.

Just as beautiful as he remembered.

His thoughts detracted for a moment, and then returned to the Darkness.

“She whished a council with you, my Priest,” the Harbinger uttered, voice as heavy as the steam and smoke they were entrenched in.

Gazing to the golden skull, Emrick nodded. “My council is quite limited,” he spoke, looking to his antlered skull mask resting on the nail struck to the pillar on his right. “Harbinger… leave us.”

The golden mask bowed and turned, the mighty Harbinger of Zenith leaving Dahlia alone with their Diligent Priest. Watching him trot slowly down the steps, Dahlia shakily exhaled before facing forward once more. Emrick no longer stared to her, but to the pit down below. She felt his presence calling to her, and emerged by his side to stare onto her lord all the same.

Even now, the shadows held his whispers and she could not ignore Ghidorah’s plight… or their own, for that matter.

Emrick seemed to read her thoughts. “I am certain the Order has heard our lord’s torment. The earth itself echoes with his screams. He is growing… and perhaps this will be the last evolution before his full strength has returned.”

His fellow tribe member—and perhaps a pony he could call his friend—gazed longingly into the smog. The rising steam stung her eyes, and the tears that grew were not only from the heat, but the torment she as well felt in her heart. “We feel our lord is in pain,” Dahlia finally croaked, clearing her throat, as if speaking for the whole tribe.

Which she was.

Emrick was not surprised by the Order’s concerns. He and Ghidorah were discussing it mere moments ago, and to hear it brought to him from Dahlia was expected. They had chosen her as their sacrifice if the Immortal High Priest were to reprimand and punish her for their lack of faith. But Dahlia was different.

He felt it would be a weight he could not bear to raise his hoof against her.

Finally facing these concerns, Emrick said, “Our god is just in a moment’s pain. Soon, he will lead us to greatness. To salvation. The New World awaits, Dahlia. Zenith awaits… We must stay the course.”

Her eyes watched the slithering movements of their three-headed lord… and she found herself looking away. Up above to the glowing waterfalls and the numerous veins all filled with flowing lava. To the peak of the temple where thunder raged overhead. For so many years, she gazed onto these walls, these ceilings, and saw nothing but darkness.

How she longed to see the light of the sun instead of the light of the planet’s heart. Prophecy promised Ghidorah would lead them to reign in the sun forever… in a world no longer dangerous. No longer hunting them. The heretical rulers Above would be washed away, and their domain would rise from Below to unite the world fully as one once more. Once before when the God of the Void fell from the stars. But that domain was taken by the Usurper, and their ancestors promised retribution would return.

They never promised what had come as of recent.

“The New World… Zenith… all proclaimed through prophetic teachings passed down from generation to generation. And yet… this is what we are growing to fear, Emrick,” Dahlia explained, she brought her eyes down to turn his way, but Emrick did not turn from his lord. It was as if a great shadow had fallen over his features, and he remained unmoved.

She did not stop. He needed to know their plight. “What we have done… what the Usurper has done… these actions were not proclaimed in prophecy. This Bell that you do not relinquish,” she hesitated, eyes falling to the talisman dangling around his neck, the Bell reflecting the fires of the lava, “… it was never foretold to us. It harnesses a power that has reshaped our god and the god of the Above.”

It was raw power, radiating a strength that forced Dahlia to turn away and try to meet Emrick’s eyes instead. The Bewitching Bell, it seemed, had a will of its own, and it did not take kindly to her words. Gulping softly, shuddering with each breath, she said, “This is a power I fear we were never meant to find.”

Just then, Emrick flicked his head accusingly in her direction. His gray eyes took on a darker hue, and he shook his head in a clear showing of disappointment.

“It is through the Bell… that our lord lives again. Or would you rather his decrepit skull have joined the others within this tomb?”

However, Dahlia was not so timid as when she first removed her mask to him. Breaking that barrier and forming that bridge gave her the confidence to shout not only her cult’s fears… but her own personal worries as well.

“We did not believe this because you said the ritual alone would bring Ghidorah back!” Dahlia exclaimed. “Not through… ‘evolutionary phases’, but whole! We were following prophecy because he returned as the ancients said he would! We would bring him home as prophecy dictated, and he would return to us not through a Bell… but by our faith.”

“Blind faith is worthless without the power to strengthen it,” Emrick retorted, shocking Dahlia into silence. He gritted his teeth, his lips twitching as he spat, “But we have power now, Dahlia. Our faith is made right because of what we have accomplished. Our lord is in torment now, but he will return to us stronger than ever soon enough. The Usurper blankets the world in flame, and soon the Dragon will defeat him. No power on this earth or below this earth will ever rival us again. All who have perished for our cause, their blood will be avenged. Prophecy does not dictate our assured victory. Fate does not bind us. We… will make our own destiny to Zenith.”

She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The most faithful among them and here he was declaring heresy so profoundly. It was as if his voice was not his own. Sooner than she would have liked, Dahlia found her eyes trailing back down to the Bewitching Bell, and it began to make sense.

“Is this you speaking, Emrick… or the Bell?”

With that, Emrick tried to speak, but he found his enraged temperament having cooled when he really, truly heard her. As if the next word that came out of his mouth could have been poisoned, tainted by a power that wasn’t his own. As if she was right to question, and was right to warn him.

Dahlia did not stop. “Is the power you wield from the Bell truly from our god… or something else?” she sincerely asked, voice soft but sharp with warning.

Emrick could stare nowhere else but into her eyes, as if she was daring to reach out through the Darkness to pull him away before it was too late. Too late… for what though? They had already committed atrocities in Fillydelphia. The blood of thousands were on their hooves by the actions of the Usurper, who they empowered. So much was done, but how far could they go into the Dark—into this ancient power—before there was no turning back?

Part of him wanted to pull away, to walk out of the Dark and step into the light and realize that the prophecy he swore his life to uphold was being unraveled. The other part of him—the part of his heart, mind, and soul that were being gripped by his lord—would not relinquish. Not one fraction of himself would turn away, because the Voice deemed it so.

As the Bewitching Bell slowly tightened its hold around his throat like a noose.

He turned his face away. “It would suit you well to leave me, Dahlia,” he muttered softly.

Her gaze lingered as long as she could manage, and he felt her eyes burning against the back of his head. But even then, she alone was not enough. Dahlia realized that. She turned and left him, without another word.

As her hoofsteps faded, Emrick was left alone. The Darkness surrounded him again—drenching him in a blackness he could not escape—and spoke to him through the Voice, proclaiming, “We do not need her. One unfaithful is not enough to deter our plans. The Harbingers will remain loyal to the last breath, and the Order will fulfill their duties as long as you are there to lead them.”

“I will need you now more than ever, my lord,” Emrick said, and felt his voice hesitate and tremble for the first time in a long time. Opening his eyes, the tears growing on the edges were so very real, but not from the smoke. “I do not wish to lose her… or any of them. We have lost so much already…”

Ghidorah screamed once more, and left the Temple of the Kongs a tremoring mess. The loudest alpha cry yet, and one that the Darkness knew would lead to greater repercussions in the world Above. Almost instantly, the Darkness felt it’s will fading from Godzilla’s mind. Cracking, slowly, but barely holding on. The first cracks were all that were needed for him to resist, and Godzilla turned away from his rival and chose instead to follow the cry.

Leaving the Darkness in a state of bewildered silence, for the first time.

“They need to witness their god leading them to victory,” Emrick said.

The Voice remained silent for a time, and then responded, “And they will have me, my Emrick. They will have us both, with the Bell and my wrath to lead us. When my pain will pass away, so will the doubt.”

Emrick tried to breathe, but he found that straining. As if the Bewitching Bell was constricting itself tighter around his throat and boring itself closer to his heart. His hoof rose to rest over it, protecting it, concealing it from Dahlia and the many unfaithful that were growing within their ranks. The Bell eased its choking grip after that, and Emrick breathed.

In that stillness that was his own, Emrick felt the next words that left him were conjoined perfectly with the Dragon’s.

“Soon… all else will pass away.”

Chapter 26 – Hope

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Baltimare

When the Young Six entered Baltimare, they didn’t really know what to expect. Every story they had heard, every news article from every newspaper stand they passed by only spoke of devastation on a global scale.

Their journey across Equestria led to a few familiar sights, as well as something new here and there. Equestria was not the home to some in their little fellowship, but it was home to others. With Sandbar leading the group, they had that minimal assurance they wouldn’t get lost. Ocellus brought a map just in case, and Sandbar may have looked a couple dozen times, just to be safe. Silverstream gawked and squealed at every new location her eyes could wander, with Gallus and Smolder flying begrudgingly alongside the overexcited Hippogriff. First came some mystical ruins at the end of the Everfree. Then came Dodge City, where they restocked on food and other necessities. Then, they traveled down the river to the East where they could finally see the smoke in the clouds.

It was just as enthralling to travel together and discover new and old places alike. Even if the journey was growing long and tiresome.

Yet they trudged on, with only Harmony’s words being the guiding beacon that led them: Baltimare had endured Godzilla’s destruction. There, they would find everything they needed. She called them her “Champions”, and wished them luck on their journey.

But when they reached the smoke, Baltimare barely even looked alive.

From the heavy, gray and black clouds above, to the pillars of smoke rising from the ruins, each of the six creatures halted appropriately just to stare. Not to speak. Not a word. Just to stare. Even Silverstream’s unbeaten smile seemed to rest, and her expression paled. For a city that endured Godzilla’s path of rampage, they would have dreaded to see what city hadn’t survived.

The smoke came from the extinguished fires on the far south of the city, surrounding Horseshoe Bay and the T.I.T.A.N. outpost that used to stand there. There was nothing anymore. Nothing but a black, scorched ruin flattened to the land. The lands surrounding the burned ruins were closed off, a steel fence recently erected with warnings signs shrouding every ten feet of the fence. Each one warning of high levels of radiation poisoning passed that point. The Young Six didn’t traverse any further south.

Much of Baltimare had survived—thank Twilight, Sandbar imagined—but there were still clear signs of aggression dealt to the city when it tried to defend itself against the King of the Monsters.

Homesteads remained standing on the outskirts of the city, but in the inner workings, walking into the hold of Baltimare in the empty main street, it looked like a ghost town. Towers and skyscrapers seemed gutted, ripped by multiple slashes of gargantuan claws. Some had fallen days ago, back during the initial attack, while others had miraculously maintained their foundations. One skyscraper leaned against another, with nothing but fog filling the air and ash falling gently in the weak breeze.

Horseshoe Bay had turned black from the dark clouds above, with littered remains of battleships and other sea-worthy vessels smacking gently with the soft waves against the coastline. Seagulls cried and flew all around, as even the beaches were both littered and desolate; not a soul. Not a pony other than Sandbar leading his small band of friends through the skeletal remains of the city.

Stepping back onto the main street and walking almost aimlessly through the fog and aftermath, the Young Six took their time to coalesce.

Resting his wings, Gallus stumbled back onto solid ground. He strode slowly alongside Sandbar and Ocellus, turning his head from side to side. Eyeing every dead structure, every fallen building, every mound of rubble gathered together by the efforts of a now empty civilization. Growling in dissatisfaction in the back of his throat, Gallus shook his head.

“Don’t think there’s anything we need here. Thanks a lot, Harmony,” the griffon said.

Sandbar snorted, tightening the strap of the saddlebags on his back. “We’ve barely even looked around. There’s gotta be something else here; I mean, come on, when has Harmony ever steered us wrong?”

“Well, she did trap us under the school and said we’d be stuck there forever if we didn’t solve her test,” Ocellus noted with an evident shiver at the memory.

“Good thing we did though!” Silverstream said after finally landing on the ground, wrapping her foreleg around Ocellus’ withers. “If ya think about, she was steering us toward the right path all along! How else would we have known that friendship was in our nature if we didn’t overcome our fears?”

“Just saying… it’s a pretty intense first test,” Ocellus mumbled against Silverstream’s unnatural strength.

“If this is another test, Harmony sure isn’t making it easy. Least this time we’re together at the start…” Gallus muttered aloud, unsure if any of them were even listening thanks to the stifling silence that followed. Not keen on listening to the distant whispers of the haunting wind, Gallus cleared his throat. “Just doesn’t seem there’s anything here that will help us… or help Godzilla. It’s all just… dead.”

Even Smolder started to cough at that comment, and for a dragon especially, that didn’t spell anything good. “It’s like the air is poisoned. Bettin’ the ground is, too…” she exclaimed.

Yona answered her friend’s open concerns by plopping a nearby rock into her mouth and chewing away. “No poison!” she declared with a swallow, but just as suddenly gagged. “Least tasty rock Yona had, though!”

“Didn’t ask you to do that, but great, thanks,” Smolder murmured with a deadpan look glazed in her eyes at the yak’s bizarre actions. Eating crystals was one thing, but rocks…

Biting his lower lip, Sandbar pushed down that gut-wrenching feeling of doubt trying to arise. “Let’s keep at it, guys.”

In the northern section of the city, the Young Six kept on in their silent journey. Checking every nook, every cranny, and coming up with nothing. All they really found after nearly an hour of searching was the distant sound of a bell ringing in the distance. And growing closer to it, following it, they realized it was the warning bell of the Baltimare train station. Finally, they found survivors.

Lines and lines of them. Appearing out of the smoke like dark silhouettes painted against a white, lifeless backdrop. They were packed together, families of ponies having come to one place to gather their livelihoods and all they cherished for the long journey ahead. Where that journey led, none of the Young Six knew. So, they began to ask around.

Unfortunately, nopony was in a talking mood. Their gravely expressions, sunken eyes, and bodies coated in several layers of clothing and rags told the Young Six everything they needed to know. It especially hurt for Silverstream, the usually enthusiastic and positive Hippogriff losing her breath when a small filly turned her way with a bloodied rag wrapped around one eye. Silverstream fell silent after that, backing away from the line and letting it move on without her.

The ponies of Baltimare had faced the worst of the worst when it came to a Titan attack. The structural integrity and security of their home had been breached, and all that was left for them now was a trip to Canterlot. The train station on the edge of the city only had one destination, and the royal capital would provide them the necessary aid, as promised by the Princess of Equestria. Sandbar learned all that from the conductor announcing to the crowds the train’s purpose from then on out.

And each car kept getting boarded, leaving, and returning empty. One by one, back and forth, until all who suffered and endured were safe in the capital city of Equestria.

“Godzilla did all this…”

Standing far off from the lines of survivors, the Young Six turned appropriately the sound of that voice, realizing it was one of them. It was Gallus who just shook his head in disbelief and asked, “How… how can he be innocent for any of this?”

For too long, nocreature said anything, and Gallus was tired of the silence he received. He looked directly at Sandbar when he shouted, “Huh?!”

Sandbar blinked in surprise, and just as quickly scowled. “What, you want me to defend his actions? I can’t, Gallus, okay! You think I know why Godzilla is doing any of this?! That’s the whole reason we came halfway across the continent, remember?!”

“Yeah, and look at all the good that did us—!”

“You guys, stop!” Ocellus screamed, pushing the two apart, their snout and beak nearly pressed to one another. “Harmony was right. We can’t look at this the way the world looks at it.” She pointed back at the survivors. “This is the whole reason the Hall of Unity wants to go to war with Godzilla. They’re not looking at this with an innocent heart.”

“Even an innocent heart can tell when people are hurting, Ocellus,” Smolder retorted, her arms crossed and expression hard, if not heavily wounded. By everything they had seen, it was difficult for Smolder to stay strong, and her friends definitely noticed that.

It didn’t stop her though, and the dragon continued. “We can keep searching this city… but if ya ask me… we’re not gonna see anything except more of this,” she muttered, pointing her thumb back at the lines boarding the train.

There was the bomb. There was the pained reality they each kept in the back of their minds the entire journey. Always vigilant of it, but never wanting to fully face it or accept it as fact. But that reality was slowly becoming their reality, and there was no amount of innocence in any of their hearts that could rise to counter it.

It was as some of them feared from the beginning, and what the others were slowly coming to accept. Harmony had led them through thick and thin before, but this was a conflict that threatened not only their lives, but every life. To imagine that six young creatures could have made a difference in a coming war that was mightier than any of them was seeming now as nothing but a falsehood. A dream.

One by one, they were beginning to slowly falter, reality setting in and caring not for their fantasy. Fear as a shadow slithered into their veins and made them tremble, leaving Ocellus and Silverstream shivering where they stood when they finally realized they stood on the ashes of dead ponies. Dead ponies from Godzilla’s attack.

Could he have still been innocent in the grand scheme of things? Was there even a grander scheme at play? After being instructed to come to Baltimare and following through with that, finding nothing but destruction and misery in a city gravely wounded, the Young Six began to realize… that they didn’t really know what they were doing there. When nothing seemed clear to them, they realized they were trapped in a fog, and the only way out was back home.

The only way out was to walk away.

Yona asked the question they were all thinking. “What should we do?”

The answer most imagined was to do just that: walk away. Go back home. Enjoy the start of their summer and stay out of whatever was coming. Maybe Harmony was misled this time around, and Twilight and her friends would handle this with the plan T.I.T.A.N. had. That was what most of them felt, now allowing their fears and anxieties to rule.

Despite her better judgement, Smolder wouldn’t let her fear get the better of her. In the end, if nothing else worked, logic would dictate that they go back home, not fear. And so, she gritted her teeth and shook her head with a sigh. “We can give it another hour. Maybe there was something we missed back there. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to…”

Lifting her head from the mounds of ashes by her feet, Smolder suddenly felt her voice trail away from her. Her words were taken alongside her breath, leaving the young dragon gazing off wondrously to the distance.

Gallus noticed her change in appearance almost immediately. “Hurt to what? Smolder?”

But she wouldn’t answer. Ocellus and Yona had turned as well, with Sandbar joining them. Silverstream grabbed the griffon’s head and spun him around to the direction where she, Smolder, and now the rest of the Young Six were staring.

And seeing the mare in red.

The fog that tried to suffocate them had been forcefully opened by a force none of them could fully understand, and in the direction they all stared, there was an opening in the whiteness. An image of a mare standing on a distant hill overlooking the once great city. All together now, they seemed to abandon their fear and ignore the anxious thoughts gnawing at the back of their minds, for something more had called to them. They heard no voice, saw no light in the dark, but it felt different. And yet so similar all the same.

The Young Six stumbled out of the hold of the dying civilization and walked on living, breathing grass once more. If but to hesitate when they approached the mare’s back.

Now closer, none of them really had a clue as to why they all came together to the mysterious figure on the top of the hill. Neither the pony, the dragon, the Hippogriff, the changeling, the yak, nor even the griffon knew. But for some unspoken reason… it felt calmer than suffocating and succumbing to fear. Just seeing the dark red cloak flow from her back, tugging at the soft breeze that picked up every second or two, was almost magical.

Where she stared, they could not fully see. The city that survived Godzilla’s attack, maybe, and there she stood on the edge that led to desolation. She stood on that edge and stared to the East. To something far beyond any of their understanding. It was then that the mare realized she had company.

And so, she turned to them, and slowly pulled back her hood to unveil the face beneath.

The most striking feature about her were her eyes: radiant and brilliantly amber. Almost gold in a sense, and sparkling with the same priceless intensity. A stark contrast to her ghostly pale coat and black mane. Not only that, but dotted on her cheeks, her forehead, and down her neck to even her forelegs, her coat was covered in black tattoos. Sandbar almost scoffed at the sight of them. He had seen a plethora of intricate and stunning cutie marks before, but nothing like this. They were mystical in a sense, written in a language none of them could understand.

She was Neighponese, that much they could deduce. But everything else about her seemed so completely alien. Not in the sense of like Ghidorah, but unheard of. Unseen and unknown. Finally being unveiled to the world for the first time. Judging by the expression on her face, the kind and warming smile, the Young Six appeared to be the first faces she had unveiled herself to.

Not only that, but the smile came when she sensed something about them. A certain quality, though cracked at times, still holding strong in a fellowship that was harmonic. Deterred, but not lost. Confused, but not gone in the Darkness. Despite all their backgrounds, their personalities, their histories, they came together. They faced the tide and stood now before her.

That harmony was not lost on the Second Sister. Harmony, she mused.

Then, she asked calmly, “Why are you here, little ones?”

Her voice alone was enough to wash away whatever fears were left crawling back at the Young Six. If there was a heaven to any of them, its beckoning call was her voice. Majestic, otherworldly, peaceful in every sense and banishing every evil intent of the heart and mind. The voice of a mother to a crying child. The voice of a guardian angel defending the light. The voice almost eerily similar to a certain Spirit of Harmony they knew.

But still unique enough to call her own.

For quite some time, none of them could answer her. Her question in their minds was slowly transforming into more of a statement, as an answer to themselves on why they were there. Their purpose, their journey, finally becoming clear again once they were free of the desolate death.

Ocellus was the one to tell her. “We’re here to prove Godzilla is innocent.”

The first to step forward, and the first to receive the mare in red’s arching brow. “Is he, now?” she asked aloud, much to Ocellus’ surprise. “Are any of us truly innocent?”

The changeling was at a loss for words, but thankfully she had a good friend by her side to defend her. Sandbar stepped forward to join the changeling. “Well… we just want to know why he’s doing this. I mean… after everything, he would never turn against us… right?” Sandbar said, but even he was beginning to doubt once more.

Once the mare’s overwhelmingly amber eyes turned his way. “Unless the creatures of this earth gave him a reason to,” she answered, and then smiled reassuringly with a single nod. “But you are right. He would not without necessary reason. I intend to prove it.”

What felt like the biggest breath of fresh air was shared among the six. Not only a breath of relief, but rejuvenating hope. The fear that they were sent on a fool’s errand all the way to Baltimare just to reach a dead end had suddenly opened to a brand-new start. And one that left them all equally rejuvenated and perplexed.

“Oookaaay… how can you prove it?” Smolder asked.

Just as suddenly as her smile came, it left her. Leaving an infamous look of dread the Young Six were all too familiar with, for they felt it not too long ago. She stared solemnly to the North, to the land swallowed in darkness and flame. To the distant land that was once Fillydelphia, and had now become a black mark drenching the coast of Equestria in a permanent shroud of eerie desolation.

Her voice mirrored such terror. “I have seen the true evil with my own eyes. It is an evil I have known and can call by name. An evil this world endured… and will face again. I have felt and seen it first in Fillydelphia… where this all started… and I feel it returning. Do you know what I speak of?”

Her words were minimal and shrouded in mystery, yet for some unknown reason they could feel what she felt. Almost see what she saw. It went deeper than a mere physical understanding, or psychological. It was a spiritual distress that warred in each one of them, threatening to awaken the fear once more now that the thought had been reignited. Now that the image of the Three-Headed Tyrant had been brought to life in each of their minds.

Gallus gulped. “Yeah… I think we do,” the griffon shuddered.

The mare in red stared at each of their expressions and nodded, shutting her eyes. She just as suddenly opened them and said, “Then you understand my plight. I must take this warning to the rulers of this land before it is too late.”

“We can take you to Canterlot!” Silverstream suddenly interrupted, instantly earning the interest of the mysterious pony. “We know Professor—er, Princess Twilight personally! That train over there can take us to her, and you can tell us all about what you saw on the way! Sandbar, how many bits do we have left?”

“We don’t need any bits to ride this train,” Sandbar explained, gazing down the hill where the train station remained. Where the lines of survivors undoubtedly stood. Where the distant ring of the bell continued to haunt the streets. “Everypony rides free for now.”

“Oh, sweet! Sooo… what do ya say?” Silverstream said with a large, hopeful grin, fluttering her wings close to the mare.

She stared at the Hippogriff, turned to the others, and mulled over the proposal. The bell of the train continued to sound, forcing the mare to shut her eyes. Not the sound of the Bell. This one led to safety. This one led to sanctuary. This one led to the next step of her journey.

Opening her eyes, the Second Sister smiled at the Young Six and bowed her head. “I say lead the way, little ones.”

There was a certain excitement among the children now, a clearer path laid forth. A tangible purpose that they could finally see, with no fear left to dictate their actions. Harmony was right once again to urge them onward to Baltimare, for they found what they were looking for. And they would sooner understand the greater conspiracy shrouding Godzilla and his innocence that shined through it all. Now, they believed that more than ever.

As for the mare in red, her thoughts were elsewhere. To somepony else. She stared to the West, and let grow a small, comforting smile even in the tide of coming Darkness. A smile she felt deep in her soul was shared so many hundreds of miles away, deep below the earth, hidden and defended from the evils above… under the light of the great moth.

Chapter 27 – Round 2

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Equestria, Forbidden Jungle

T.I.T.A.N. Airship Tigerhawk

To avoid any other collisions with Godzilla, T.I.T.A.N. saw it fit to keep him hoisted as high from the water as they could manage. That inevitably led to their fleet of remaining airships carrying Kong in a strange contraption of a net, all the way to the mainland.

The remaining nine airships just barely managed to rest the lumbering Titan onto solid earth once they passed the shoreline. Inside the jungle’s canopy, the net was laid to rest on the jungle floor in a spacious grassland free of any trees. Kong’s immense size and weight ensured at least a few trees were crushed, but for the most part the journey had been a success.

If having narrowly survived an encounter and confrontation with the King of the Monsters was considered a success.

What few ships remained from the fleet docked accordingly near the shoreline, having endured the full brunt of Godzilla’s fury and desperately needing the fuel and repairs if they ever going to be sea-worthy again.

As the airships dispersed, the lead craft, the Silverbolt and Tigerhawk, hovered over Kong’s wearied form. In the bridge of the Tigerhawk, Daring Do leaned back from the windshield and released a growing tremor in her gut… as the biggest breath of relief she could manage.

“Well, we managed to burn more than half of our fuel supply making the rest of the journey… as well as carrying that 90,000-ton ape. Mind signaling to home to let the princess know how swell we’re handling things?” Daring sarcastically suggested, though the seriousness in her eyes told Shining that she wasn’t joking about contacting Canterlot.

And with that, Shining could agree. He wanted to wait until they transported Kong safely onto dry land, and now that they were here—now that Kong was starting to stir and sit up—the prince turned to the ship’s communications officer.

“Get in contact with Canterlot. Tell Twilight to get the Elements prepared—”

To their far right, practically every head jerked up in attention to the erupting of the ocean surface, and the emergence of some familiar dorsal spines rising from the waters. Simultaneously, all of their hearts plummeted, and a black shadow overcame their internal and external features. After having done everything they could to avoid Godzilla, it seemed that in and of itself was an impossibility.

Roughly a mile further north of the shoreline, Godzilla stomped forward into the hold of the Forbidden Jungle, shaking himself free of the water that drenched his hide… and shaking his head fiercely to free himself of something else entirely.

In that terrifying moment of silence, the radios came back and the voices pondered that Godzilla wasn’t paying attention to them. It seemed his attention was elsewhere, as if Godzilla was forcing himself to face the North but couldn’t quite turn in that direction. He continued to stomp aimlessly forward, continued to shake his head from side to side, with his distant growls becoming more erratic. More enraged. More… painful.

Hearing such sounds reminded Fluttershy of that wretched night so long ago, when Godzilla was defeated by the conjoined efforts of Ghidorah and Sombra. The pain he felt that night and the pain he endured now mirrored each other well, and it made Fluttershy sick to her stomach. Especially having to accept the fact that there was nothing she could do as she was.

That’s what her friends and the Elements were for.

That’s what Kong was for.

With T.I.T.A.N.’s confusion leaving them hanging back, Kong took the opportunity to act. He saw Godzilla emerge from the sea just as much as the equines did, and finally taking a short look around to his surroundings, feeling the dirt and grass crushed between his fingers, and standing firmly on solid ground once more, Kong proceeded onward.

But he did not charge in a bellowing rage or stampede, much to the relief of T.I.T.A.N. No, when they finally saw Kong start to move, they watched a king adapting to his new environment. And one that was so similar to his natural habitat, Kong was able to move swiftly, quietly, and efficiently across the Forbidden Jungle toward his target.

Godzilla never even heard him, let alone noticed him. Disoriented from the dark forces and the raging power struggle in his mind made it too difficult for him to focus on other matters at the moment, giving Kong the perfect opportunity.

Climbing the highest mound he could find, Kong hung back just far enough from Godzilla for him to remain oblivious to his actions. Prying a large boulder out of the mountain beneath him, the King of Black Skull Island snorted quietly and chucked the rock clear over Godzilla’s head. The boulder flew across the sky and impacted a cluster of trees that rivaled even the tallest mountain peaks in the Forbidden Jungle. The splintering of wood and the tremendous crash brought Godzilla’s focus back, and now on high alert, he roared at the disturbance.

Giving Kong the opening he sought, and he leaped high from the mountain and drove his right fist in the back of Godzilla’s head. Roaring his vengeful battle cry the entire descent.

The ambush knocked some clarity back to Godzilla’s mind, as well as knocking him flat on his chest and rolling for several yards across the jungle floor. For the time being, the dark forces settled and left Godzilla to deal with the rival effectively. And with that state of mind, Godzilla cried out and planted his claws firmly into the earth to hoist himself back up.

Only for Kong to pounce on top of him again.

The giant ape was unhinged in his vengeful state, raising high his fists and then slamming them fiercely back down onto Godzilla’s skull, sometimes even ramming his arms and elbows down onto the tyrant king. Godzilla yelped with each deafening impact, and he thrashed about with the strength and adrenaline of a wounded animal fighting with its last breath. Only, Godzilla was just getting started.

The two shambled across the Forbidden Jungle, between great mountains and crashing through trees that matched them in height. For all of Godzilla’s vain attempts to knock him off, Kong was shockingly nimble for his size, and he held on tight with each of his limbs. A growing sense of panic began to arise in Godzilla when he felt the rival’s bicep snake underneath his jaw, threatening to crush his windpipe if he gave Kong any leeway.

Crushing the jungle floor beneath him and bringing them both an abrupt halt, Godzilla then proceeded to backpedal, eventually encountering the side of a mountain and flattening Kong between him and it. A fierce yelp of pain escaped the ape’s agape jaws, and he relinquished his grasp on the king. Channeling all of his strength, Kong forced himself to take in a breath, forcefully expanding his lungs and bringing clarity back to his vision.

Godzilla was charging, teeth first poised for Kong’s throat. Tightening his jaw, barring his teeth, Kong held onto the mountain and reared his feet forward, kicking Godzilla across the face. With the sea monarch's mind in a boggled and broken state, Kong pressed his feet to the mountain face and leaped off, striking down with his fist once more across Godzilla’s cheek.

He didn’t stop. Using his momentum, Kong reached low and plucked another boulder from the earth, swinging back and palming the rock with both hands. Slamming it cleanly across Godzilla’s other cheek. His roars conflicted with Godzilla’s own, each one tremoring the earth and thundering the air with each devastating impact they dealt to one another.

There was a certain rage behind every impact of Kong’s attacks. After having barely survived in what was hardly a fair battle in Godzilla’s natural environment, now they could stand on equal footing in what was fairly Kong’s environment. And the king held nothing back, ensuring each blow would leave scars for Godzilla to remember, or even worse.

He was taken from his home. His status as the defender and rightful king of Black Skull Island was stripped from him. He had nearly lost his life to this mad king, and Kong would do everything in his power to attain the vengeance he deserved was his claim. That claim was made clearer with each punch, with each kick, with each drop of blood he saw fly from Godzilla’s face.

The bloodied boulder was gripped tight between Kong’s hands, and the ape raised it high over his head if but to deliver one last killing blow to the tyrant. But Godzilla was not so easily beaten, nor broken.

The ape was a pretender, a foreign monarch that held no power in Godzilla’s world. And he would ensure Kong felt every weight of that unspoken promise.

With one slash of his tail, Godzilla swiped high and struck Kong in the back of the head, knocking the boulder clean from his hands and staggering the rival king. Palms pressed to the dirt, Kong lifted his eyes only to meet a pouncing lizard, the enraged beast tackling Kong and digging his claws into shoulders. He then proceeded to forcefully handle Kong, dragging him across the jungle, through the trees, and against the side of a nearby mountain.

Where he eventually flung Kong back to the earth, his bloodied back hitting the jungle first. In the glare of the sun, Kong nearly missed Godzilla’s foot raised high over his chest, but he rolled out of the way just in time. Godzilla roared in agitation, firing a shockingly-fast and continuous atomic beam at the ape’s prone form. Instead, he merely chased the ape in his rampaging escape, the fiery beam of blue atomic fire following Kong across the jungle.

He stampeded clear through the jungle until he reached the rocky terrain of the mountainous regions. Kong leaped high, his hands grasping the mountain peaks and swinging him from mound to mound. The atomic breath followed him, obliterating entire mountains with each fiery impact. A hanging rock edge was presented to him, and Kong grabbed onto it to fling himself high above to the top of the intricate rock structure.

Then, the atomic fire stopped.

Breathless and peering back, all Kong could see were the flaming ruins of the jungle behind and beneath him. A wall of black smoke blocked any attempt for Kong to spot his foe, and Godzilla to do the same. So, he walked through the fire and smoke, stomping forth through the desolate ashes of the Forbidden Jungle where they did battle. Only, Godzilla still could not see his foe.

Across a great valley of mountains and towering rock structures, there was not a single sign of the ape’s appearance. Godzilla snorted, narrowing his burning glare. He knew Kong to have fled, but he did not take the false king for a coward. Not until now. So, the hunt began.

Stomping into the rocky terrain, Godzilla continuously slipped and slid down toward the valley, having to pull himself back up time and again. The terrain was not built for him, nor could it sustain Godzilla’s weight. He realized his hunt would have to end sooner rather than later, as the dark forces in his mind began their wretched games once more, trying to deter him now that the immediate danger was gone. Trying to tighten the grip on his heart and his mind as it had before.

Only, now, Godzilla was aware of its actions, and fought it every step, no matter how overwhelming they appeared. The battles he fought were not just outwardly, but the battle within was one Godzilla felt was growing all the more important.

This evil, this Darkness within him yearned for chaos and destruction, for him to turn his focus instead on the T.I.T.A.N. forces and to wipe them all out. No longer was Kong the priority, it told him. When the time came, they would clash one last time and determine the victor, but now his enemies surrounded him and the Darkness demanded that Godzilla take action… or suffer.

He was moving about aimlessly, shambling and fighting in his mind for so long that when Godzilla finally came back… he stood amidst the edge of a great drop. The edge of the rocky valley that overlooked the ocean and led to a horrendous fall. Growling softly and blinking away the surprise, his eyes suddenly widened when he realized he had been deterred. His alignment was out of balance. His purposes were skewered and Godzilla was being attacked by an enemy within.

But worst yet, he realized his rear was undefended.

Just as the mighty Kong jumped from the atop the highest rocky peak with a blade-like boulder between his hands, high over his head, and poised for the kill.

He roared the entire fall, but Godzilla was already turning back just as he jumped. In that leap of faith, Kong saw the dorsal plates light up and Godzilla spin around. But he barely even got off a blast of atomic fury, the fire managing to singe Kong’s exposed side and break his concentration. The sharpened boulder did not pierce Godzilla’s hide as he intended. Instead, both he and the boulder impacted the king and destabilized the floor beneath them.

The edge of the mountain collapsed, and the two engaged in a freefall down into the awaiting waters. They crashed against the surface of the rock wall, bringing mounds of earth and slabs of rock down with them. Rolling and slamming against one another, Kong just managed to miraculously grasp onto a divot, allowing him to then press his feet and his remaining hand onto the mountain.

Godzilla was not as dexterous, and he fell into the ocean with his roars trailing. Followed shortly by a large chunk of the mountain that sank into the deep with him.

He did not sink forever. The ocean was not his grave. Though wounded and shaken, Godzilla returned. Not to the battle on land, not to the battle with the rival, but to the one within. Once more, he heard it, the cry in the heart of the world. The cry belonging only to the herald of the Darkness, and an old devil. An old enemy that was no longer hidden, for Godzilla heard him clearly now.

The conflict in his mind was waning, and his true purposes were beginning to shine through the cracking prison cell of his entombed will.

High above the crumbling mountain, most of all the battlefield had begun to settle. He held still to the mountain wall, and Kong leaned outward with but one hand holding him to the rock. For his eyes gazed out into the rapid waves lapping fiercely against the rocks. For several seconds he stared, and then there was silence upon the surface of the deep.

With his free fist, Kong gave a thunderous, victorious roar and pounded his chest.

And through the smoke, the fleet of T.I.T.A.N. aircraft finally peeked out to catch the aftermath. All they saw were the falling remains of the mountain crashing into the sea. Above the destruction, there was Kong, pounding his chest for a well-earned victory.

Daring Do even seemed to note it as so, boldly claiming to the stifling silence in the bridge, “Guess round two goes to Kong.”

A few heads shifted in her direction, mainly the likes of Fluttershy, Bon Bon, Lyra, and Cadance. Some of their expressions tightened, as if they couldn’t believe Daring was keeping score of all things, like this destructive conflict was akin to a boxing match. But they couldn’t make their opinions known when their radar technicians picked up a disturbance.

“Hold up! We got movement!”

Right on cue, some very familiar dorsal plates broke free of the water. Everycreature of T.I.T.A.N. and Kong especially took notice. However, instead of a continued conflict, Godzilla proceeded to swim away. Particularly, he swam to the North, and it didn’t take long for Kong to climb up the mountain and just as quickly jump off of it.

Crashing and rolling through the Forbidden Jungle, Kong gave chase, following the fleeing Titan in the sea by stampeding on dry land.

And just like that, the chase was on… with T.I.T.A.N. left in the dust.

Before the dust could settle, the communications officer for the Tigerhawk asked, “Uhhh… Captain? Your orders for contacting Canterlot?”

Staring out to the shrinking forms of both Godzilla and Kong, Shining Armor fell back into his seat and sighed. “Tell Twilight to bring some more fuel for the Tigerhawk and the remaining fleet, too. Got a feeling we won’t be touching ground anytime soon.”

Chapter 28 – The Prophet

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Canterlot, Equestria

Canterlot Mountain, T.I.T.A.N. Observation Post

Twilight listened to the radio chatter echoing against the walls of the observation post, high above the ground, on the face of Canterlot Mountain that glowed like gold to the oncoming tide of her sunlight.

The windows were open to allow the fresh breeze in, and fill the room with almost blinding rays of bright yellow and gold. If it was to pierce the darkness and bring some warmth and calm to the situation at hoof, then Twilight was in the front row of its arrival. She sat near the far end of the observation post, the mighty tower standing tall on the opposite face of Canterlot Mountain. Away from the royal capital, and facing the East. The sun was warm on her face, and she leaned into it as the breeze flowed past her purple and pink mane.

Meanwhile, the directors Celestia and Luna stood beside a large radio, telling them in the rough waves of static the news they were waiting for all morning: Kong was on the mainland, in the Forbidden Jungle. T.I.T.A.N. was ready for Twilight and the Council of Friendship to act.

While their words were numbing to Twilight’s ears, the directors were more than vigilant, and responded accordingly to such confirmations. “Thank you for the insight, Tigerhawk. After hearing of the attack in the Celestial Sea, we feared the worst. Thank the stars you’re all still all right… with a mission well accomplished, it seems.”

“We ain’t out of this rodeo yet, Directors… but appreciate the morale nonetheless,” the distinct voice of Daring Do chimed in. There was a sound that seemed as if the pilot was taking the microphone back, and he cleared his throat.

“Be advised, we are currently tracking Godzilla’s movements as he traverses North. Kong has been giving chase since the alphas clashed in the Celestial Sea. He’s not letting Godzilla out of his sight. Still unsure at this moment why Godzilla is fleeing, but we’re not hoping to take any chances. Awaiting confirmation of the Elements arrival to the Tigerhawk, and… stand by… the captain would like a word with the princess…”

“Twilight… can you hear me?”

There was a rustle of movement near the window of the observation post, and both Celestia and Luna turned to the burning sunlight washing in. Having turned around, having let the numbness leave her and a living, beating heart and soul take control once more, Twilight perked up at the comforting familiarity she heard coming from the radio.

It pained the former princesses to see Twilight in the state she was in. They could not have even imagined her state of mind had they remained in retirement, had they allowed Twilight to reign amid the darkest moments their nation had ever known. Not since the Mass Awakening had such terror and confusion reigned, but a solemn vow was made after their victory…

They would never leave Twilight alone to face this new threat. They would stand together through this new age of monsters. Not only for her, but for all of ponykind, for everycreature. Every life, both of their kind and the Titan kind. Peace was possible between their worlds before, and they would ensure that peace was returned to all once again.

Still, even in such strenuous times, that pain slowly fluttered away when they saw the life return to Twilight’s eyes. Perhaps hearing the voice of her family brought a mighty weight of peace back to her heart, and it showed in her rejuvenated movements to the radio.

“Shining?” she carefully asked.

“Good to hear your voice again, Twily,” the unmistakable voice of her older brother responded. Instantly, her composure deflated with relief, as if hearing him again was all that was needed. Even if the news was somewhat disheartening. “Listen, the Forbidden Jungle isn’t going to work out now that Godzilla and Kong are on the move. We’re going to need you and your friends as soon as possible.”

Twilight made a face, both at the unfortunate news of Godzilla and Kong’s status as well as the constant static in the radio air waves. This technology was still somewhat new to Twilight. She made sure to lean in extra close, hooves pressed to the table with her lips nearly against the radio's microphone.

“I’ll send a letter to my friends now… We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning,” the princess responded. Twilight turned to the former rulers—now directors—for confirmation, and they nodded. “The Radiance is still being fitted with a new experimental weapon system, but she should be airborne before I raise the sun tomorrow. Give us your exact coordinates by then and we’ll meet with the fleet… with plenty of fuel reserves as well.”

She remembered their earlier request, and would see it followed through. Hearing the relieved sigh in his tone, Twilight almost smiled. “Appreciate that, really. And Twily…”

For a few seconds, the radio silence became more and more unnerving. Celestia and Luna even stepped closer, crowding behind Twilight in grave apprehension for what Shining Armor had to say. It nearly surprised them all, to say the least.

“I know things have been hard for you. Hay, they’ve been rough for everycreature involved. All these things piling on us at once: Fillydelphia, Grogar’s Bell, Godzilla’s turn… it’s all disturbing; none of us are denying that. Can’t deny myself when I say I would’ve done things differently with the Bell, but there’s no time for that now. Don’t let it eat away at you. We have a clear and present danger to face, and we can’t buckle under the weight. We have to be strong… for everycreature relying on us.”

The directors found solace in seeing the determinism rise back into Twilight’s features, starting first with a deep inhale, a hoof to her heart, and a long-winded exhale. “I hear you, Shining. There’s a lot I wish we could have done differently, but you’re right: no time for that now. We’re going to win this… I promise.”

Celestia couldn’t help but smile. Luna fell victim to the same. There was the young princess they knew, the leader returned to them. Never once did they doubt their decision in crowning her, and they were proud to see their faith hold strong.

“See ya tomorrow, little sis. Love you.”

Twilight managed a small but strengthened smile. “Love you too, BBBFF,” she murmured in comfort. With that, the radio waves were cut.

“That was very empowering of you,” Celestia said after a moment of silence, earning Twilight’s starstruck expression. “You may not think we’re doing much right now, Twilight, but our efforts—when combined—will ensure the victory you promise. I have full confidence in your ability to lead, and that has never wavered. You have grown so incredibly strong these past few years… and it would suit Shining well to be reassured by your word… as I have.”

Feeling a slight burn in her eyes, Twilight nearly let the tears arise but quickly blinked them away, unable to hide the grin that came out instead. Even if she wasn’t her teacher anymore, Celestia would always remain a great fount of wisdom for Twilight to return to whenever she felt lost. And, more importantly, she would always remain her friend.

“Thank you, Celestia. Really, it… it helps to know I’m not in this alone.”

“And you never will be. This dark tide… we will face together. Wouldn’t you agree, Luna?”

As for Director Luna, her expression seemed to have been frozen in a perpetual state of deep, deep thought, riddled with growing uncertainty, anxiety, and worst of all… fear.

Deep in her mind, her focus was elsewhere. Gathering the knowledge from the past few weeks and bringing it all to the forefront, trying desperately to see how it all connected. She had felt something terrible that night she visited Shatter Heart, just before she entered his room. Hovering over him like a cloud, like a presence, and then fleeing from hers. That same dread was being felt not only by her now, but by many. More than she could count, and it was clear as the daylight, without excuse.

The shift in the winds, in the magical aether, in the dreams and spirits of those she witnessed. The mystery monster in Fillydelphia, the demonic incantations of the Bewitching Bell found outside the city, the Bell’s disappearance… and now the madness with Godzilla. From it all, Luna just couldn’t get Shatter Heart and his nightmares out of the equation. It all meant something, and it was assuredly all connected.

A dark tide was certainly coming, and indeed was already here. But something greater was beginning to show its face, and was coming whether they were prepared or not. A darkness… and one that Luna had known before. A darkness she had felt entrenching Shatter’s dreams and even her own… long, long ago.

She couldn’t hold it back or keep it down any longer. She turned to her sister and her princess, and Luna slowly uttered, “I have been having thoughts as of recent—”

An aggravating interruption came from the knocks on the door, followed by Spike bursting into the observation post.

“Twilight!” the dragon exclaimed, his little wings flapping rapidly before he crashed into the chair he didn’t see. His tumble onto the floor shook Luna into silence, and she retreated into herself with a wince. The fear she felt even thinking it won this round. Perhaps that battle would be won and she would tell the others her theories, but for now Spike had something urgent to tell them, by the looks of it.

With Twilight’s Royal Guard quickly following him, suddenly the interests of the three intensified. Two guards trailed Spike and stamped their spears onto the solid marble floor, each one standing straight on Spike’s sides. Letting the dragon catch his breath, Twilight asked, “What’s wrong, Spike? I mean, clearly something if it means the Royal Guard are with you.”

Standing up and cracking his back, flexing his wings, Spike panted and pointed back to the open door. “Some very… some very special guests… They came from the train station… They… Ah, why did this tower have to be so far away—”

The Royal Guard on Spike’s right took over for him. “Apologies for the intrusion, but this is urgent. These guests requested counsel with the Princess of Friendship and of Equestria. They mentioned specifically about speaking with their ‘old professor,’ Your Majesty. They said you would know them.”

“Oh, we know them, all right,” Spike said after finally catching his breath. “You guys can come in now!”

“Twilight!”

Like a stampede of a multitude of creatures, the Young Six bolted into the observation post and practically tackled an unsuspecting Twilight to the ground. The guards nearly intervened, but were stopped only by the sounds of Twilight’s laughter. To hear it again was like a warm flood that washed over the hearts of all who were present, especially Celestia and Luna. To see that genuine smile grace her former student’s lips gave a real sense of ease to the director’s wounded spirit.

The Young Six bombarded her with hugs, minus Gallus and Smolder who tried to remain professional for their friends. They still couldn’t help but smile to see their old professor and Headmare. Just the image alone of Twilight gave them a bit of peace, like a harmonic friend they knew.

“Hey!” Twilight giggled through her laughter, sitting up with Ocellus under one foreleg and Yona under the other. Silverstream hugged the back of her neck while Sandbar hugged her chest. “Yep, I definitely know them! Old students of mine from the School of Friendship!”

“It’s so good to see you again, Profess—Oh, um, Your Majesty!” Ocellus corrected herself.

“Yona been trying to tell everycreature that school not the same without you!” the yak bellowed, practically snuggling herself into Twilight’s mane.

“Come on, guys, you’re drowning her. Let’s get out of this dogpile and—GAK!” Smolder was snatched by Silverstream’s outstretched arm and pulled in to the group hug.

Gallus saw her other limb turning his way. “No, no, no, no—!” he tried to say, flying off only for Silverstream to snag and pull him into the hug as well.

Through the grin, Twilight sat up fully and readjusted herself. Allowing the hug to end naturally, she faced the Young Six before her. “It’s nice to see all of you, too! Guess it’s for the best you didn’t go back home yet. What’s going on?”

Silverstream was the one to shout, “Godzilla is innocent! We have proof!”

Just like that, the atmosphere in the room shattered. From smiles and glee bombarding the reunion, now there was only a deathly serious vibe filling the air. Twilight’s smile quickly fell away, and her eyes widened. Celestia and Luna joined her, taking the steps that severed the distance between them and the six creatures.

She stared to each one of them, not a one betraying the other, or holding Silverstream accountable. They knew why they were there, and they were ready and willing to face it head on. The princess was at a loss for words. “What…? How do you…?”

“They came with one other, Your Highness… and thus, the explanation for the urgency of this counsel,” the other guard said. He stepped aside to allow her entry, shocking the three figureheads into silence, especially with what the guard said.

“A survivor from Fillydelphia. She claims to have seen the monster that destroyed the city and can properly identify it.”

When she stepped into the rays of sunlight, Twilight could hardly believe what she saw. Celestia and Luna shared the same fate. Before them stood a young, lovely Neighponese mare under a blood-red hood and cloak. Removing her hood, her pale white coat shone brightly under the sun, but it was her tattoos, her eyes almost gold in color that left Twilight speechless.

That, and the claim that she was a survivor. From the city that left them with more questions than answers, and perhaps she could be the one to finally provide them.

Director Celestia was the first one to step forth. “I am so sorry for your tremendous loss. Just know that what you’re doing is incredibly brave… All of you,” she said. Her voice was courteous and respectful to the highest degree, and she turned to the Young Six and smiled, facing the mare in red once again. “Coming all this way to help us. Just know that any ounce of information you can provide will be immensely helpful. Oh… but where are my manners? My name is Celestia, and this is my sister Luna, and our ruler Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled to the mare, and Luna stepped forward to say nothing. Just to nod. “Would you mind telling us your name?” Celestia asked.

It was quite some time before the mare responded. She seemed to study the rulers of this land, her amber eyes shining like gold under the sunlight flicking from one pony to the other. When she took in her fill, she studied the room, looked at all the maps and battle plans strewn across the tables and floors and walls.

There was a sense of… disappointment in her gaze, a crestfallen look that came and went when she finally returned to the rulers. “My name will not aid you, only what I have seen,” the strange, strange pony replied.

Though slightly taken aback by the curious, ethereal tone in her voice, Twilight was nonetheless gracious even if she didn’t want to share her identity. “Anything will help; thank you,” Twilight said with an encouraging smile, silently requesting her to begin.

And the Second Sister did.

“You know of this beast that has destroyed Fillydelphia. Deep in your hearts you know it, but you do not wish to face the truth,” she began, and immediately earned a tilted head from the princess. From the directors, she earned a couple of furrowed brows and confused glances. “The truth pierces all things. It does not discriminate, nor associate. It is present and real, and fear has been allowed to dictate its will over this nation… thus, hiding the truth in deep shadow. Fear left you to seek alternative solutions instead of seeking the undeniable reality in all of your hearts… and the one you know to be.”

She took a single step forward, one hoof in front of the other, as she mustered up the greatest strength within her to tell them.

“The beast from Fillydelphia… it is Ghidorah.”

There were no smiles left in the room. In fact, the air had chilled to the point of near hypothermia where everycreature was affected. Not even the Young Six had been told this on the train, and they fell victim just as well. Seeing the hardened and petrified expressions she received, the Second Sister expected as much, and continued.

“Dark magics have led to its return. It is reborn, new. In my land, these entities reborn we call… the Shin… and this Shin Ghidorah has left a mark upon this world to signal to all… of its return. It must be stopped.”

Those within the post began to look to one another. For some sensible or rational response to such a bold and horrific claim. Mostly, they were trapped in a state of being they had never wished to experience again, the scars still fresh from the age of Ghidorah’s return and the destruction he rained upon the inhabited earth. Already, memories and flashes engulfed several ponies and brought them back to those hellish days where golden lightning ripped the earth apart and that terrible cackle broke apart the skies.

Not even the royalty was spared of the truth. “Ghidorah…” Twilight whispered, slowly backing away from the Young Six, from the directors, and hit her chair resting by the open window. All the while shaking her head in constant denial as her chest heaved in and out. As that reality set in. The ancient inscriptions of the Bewitching Bell found in the outskirts of Fillydelphia… and now Ghidorah’s return…

“No… I… I-I didn’t want to… He couldn’t have…” she whispered.

The Second Sister stepped closer. “The truth cares not for your denial,” she declared.

“And you are the arbiter of truth?” Luna suddenly snapped, the grave news having sent her growing anxiety into a whirlwind. “How are we meant to take your word as truth? Where is your proof, anyway?”

“Sister,” Celestia warned, her eyes telling Luna to mind her anger. But her questions were not unfounded, as the mare in red had yet to supply valid proof to her damning claims.

She turned to the former rulers slowly, stared them deep in their thousand-year-old gazes.

“My proof is what I have seen with my own eyes, and my word. You do not have to take my word for truth. You can go on and fight your war like you planned all along. You can disregard my warnings as superstition or lies. But I came to you because I felt the rulers of this land deserved to know what really happened that cursed day. I felt that if there was anypony willing to listen, to understand the threat we face… it was the Elements of Harmony. The ones who faced this evil before and won.”

“We only won because of Godzilla,” Twilight replied, earning every head in the room. After having recovered mildly from her sudden panic attack, she checked her breathing and returned to the conversation. Returned to her friends and the mare in red, meeting her mystical stare. “We want to believe you, please.”

“Believe what you wish… but you know it already in your hearts, and you will come to understand the truth behind my warnings. Just as I know the truth in your words, for it was Godzilla who felled the wretched serpent that day… with thanks to the Elements of Harmony.”

The mare smiled thinly to Twilight, before she just as suddenly began to pale. “The serpent now wields a power that corrupts Godzilla’s mind and heart. A power from an ancient weapon… do you know of it? You have heard it before, as it chimed woe and madness in the winds. The seal, its prison has been broken and it chimes once again… have you felt it?”

Her words held a deeper meaning and weight, and it all clicked almost instantly. And she suddenly got defensive and stood up straight. “How do you know about the Bell?”

The Royal Guards even took a step closer, planting their spears a few inches tighter behind the mysterious mare.

The Second Sister didn’t even flinch. “There are Dark forces flooding these lands. Fear and paranoia are running rampant. The world today may have forgotten his influence, or consider it to be mere legend, but not I. My ancestors battled the Great Sorcerer Grogar and his foul spawn. My ancestors knew of such power, and now Ghidorah wields the Darkness. Godzilla attacks this world out of his control, for it is the Demon of the Stars that now controls him.”

It was just as they theorized, a corruption of the heart and mind that led to Godzilla committing these atrocities. Everycreature had their own genuine reaction to such gut-wrenching news, but Luna hesitated to even breathe. It was not for the reasons that the others shared, for she was caught every single time the mare mentioned that word: Darkness. A power wielded once by the Great Sorcerer, now in the hands of the resurrected Ghidorah. A Dark force washing over the world to spread fear, paranoia, anxiety, mistrust, malice, pain, death, and so much worse in the shadows and now openly in the light.

And her mind just kept returning to that night she entered Shatter’s room and felt it. A darkness… as she sensed in Shatter as well.

“It is worse than we could have dreamed,” Celestia muttered, cutting off Luna’s thoughts and bringing the younger sister’s attention to the elder. “But it all mostly connects. Who attained the Bell, who broke its seal… we still do not know.”

“This, I do not know. That is for you to discover. I have done all I can for now,” the Second Sister said with a courteous bow of her head.

“Twilight…?” Luna called, unsure of her own shaking tone. But when she turned to face the princess, she almost certainly did not expect to see such stoic determinism slowly gripping Twilight’s shuddering features.

But they were there. They were real. Twilight Sparkle lifted her eyes and stared at nothing in particular—perhaps the unknown, the uncertainties that lied ahead, the terror they would surely face. She looked it all dead in the eye and just as fearlessly declared, “Nature has an order. That order’s been infiltrated. Corrupted. And that corruption is washing over all the earth the longer we do nothing. We have to stop this, now.”

“And how will you do so?” the mare in red asked.

Turning to the Second Sister, the Princess of Friendship surprised many in the room when she smirked. “I’m going to write to my friends. Spike,” she addressed, the young dragon waddling up to her and burping out a magical quill and parchment, already ready to write when Twilight instructed him.

That same determinism was glowing brighter than ever now, the Alicorn shining under the rays of her sun. Silverstream was in absolute awe, the other creatures unable to hide similar feelings. “We’re bringing the Elements together and we’re getting the Radiance in the air as quick as we can. With Kong’s help, with T.I.T.A.N., and with the Elements together, we can flush out this evil that’s corrupting Godzilla. Now we know for sure what it is. Now… we know what to do to save him.”

“You believe me, then?” the Neighponese pony said, almost curiously.

“Like you said… in a way, I’ve always known this was the truth. It’s not gonna be easy—nothing we’ve done up to this point has been—but I’m just glad we can finally come to face what’s real… together,” Twilight responded, staring her deep in the eyes and nodding, knowing she was telling the truth. “Thank you… we wouldn’t have known without you.”

She bowed her head once more, closing her eyes. “My work here is finished, then. You and your friends will do what you must to guide us through the Darkness.”

“And we’ll bring this evil to light,” Twilight said, with a real, living, fighter’s smile coming back to life on her lips. And one that brought the fight back to the remaining weakened spirits in the room. “Spike… write this letter to the Council of Friendship…”

Chapter 29 – Reunion

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Canterlot, Equestria

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room

To say Pinkie Pie brought a rejuvenated and much-needed life back to Canterlot’s throne room was an understatement. She was whooping and hollering and nopony dared to stop her or the infectious smiles she brought to everypony’s lips.

What was once a somber light and mood that filled the shadowy throne room was now filled with bright lights, party cannon explosions, and raining confetti as the pink party master herself stormed, bounded, and rebounded all throughout Twilight’s castle walls. The situation was more than likely not worth the overly enthusiastic response; it was hardly a positive situation at that. Mostly, she was just so unbelievably happy to see all of her best friends together again, with so many other friendly faces to join the reunion celebration.

And even a new face was there as well.

With the throne room filled Pinkie Pie’s unexplained madness and hilarity, the rest filed inside accordingly. There was Princess Twilight, trailed closely by her remaining and closest friends: Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. The T.I.T.A.N. Directors Celestia and Luna followed shortly after, with the Young Six and the mysterious, red-cloaked mare trailing at the end.

The two Royal Guards closed off any other from entering, taking their positions at the throne room doors, both now tightly shut.

Giving them all the secured privacy in the world to reunite.

Rarity simply unwound herself, finally free from the upstanding citizens of Canterlot, gushing at the beauty and glory of the Canterlot throne room once more. It had been a long train ride, and now she could finally relax and face her friends, whom she hadn’t seen in weeks.

“Oh, Twilight, dearie! Why does each moon have to come so slowly! Agh! Might as well consider permanently moving myself to the business up here!” She grabbed Twilight and they shared a quick hug, Rarity formally kissing each of Twilight’s cheeks. Pulling back, the unicorn smiled warmly, sighing. “But that’s for another day, another headache. It’s always a pleasure to see you all again regardless.”

“Well, we seem ta be missin’ a friend this time ‘round,” Applejack drawled, coming up to join the two. She winked to Twilight. “But hay, it’ll be one heck of a reunion when we see Flutters tomorrow!”

Twilight giggled. “I mean, if you all want to move the Council of Friendship reunions closer together, I’d be happy to—”

“Oh, no, no! I wouldn’t want to be the pony to interfere with anypony else’s schedules. Besides, as long as we can visit earlier this time, I’m more than happy,” Rarity said with smile.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you again, Rarity,” Spike dreamily exclaimed, practically floating behind her. Rarity responded with a soft coo, and pulled the dragon in for a hug.

The unicorn only intensified his blush by nuzzling her cheek against his, declaring, “The pleasure’s all mine, Spikey Wikey.”

“Ugh, I hate to interrupt the romance, but I think we’re in the clear to talk about Twilight’s letter now,” Rainbow interjected, flying in-between both Rarity and Spike, separating the two while simultaneously performing circles and loops in mid-air. With her lightning-quick reflexes, she even managed to snag Pinkie Pie bounding from wall to wall, her hoof snatching the pink maniac’s tail.

“Right, Pinks?” Rainbow emphasized, smirking to the upside-down party pony dangling from her grip.

“Oh, heck yeah!” Pinkie Pie cheered, a resounding explosion of streamers and confetti blowing out all around her. As Rainbow was busy spitting out the confetti that got in her mouth and mane, Pinkie suddenly recoiled, smilingly innocently to the group staring up at her. “Oh… was I too loud earlier?”

Most of the group couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you attracted half of Canterlot on the trip over here, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight chuckled.

“Okay! I’ll be super-duper, extra quiet then! Starting… NOW!” Pinkie screamed.

Twilight winced, shaking her head but unable to hold back the smile. “Thanks.”

“So!” Rainbow interrupted once more, dropping Pinkie and letting her hit the floor in a ball of pink fluff that rebounded like a bouncy ball before settling. She flew close to Twilight’s face, practically whispering, “What kinda emergency we talking about here? I mean, if it needs the Elements of Harmony, it’s gotta be pretty big. Probably bigger than a villain of the week, huh?”

“It’s big,” Spike mumbled, looking away and scratching the back of his head. He didn’t want to be the one who said it, so he turned to Twilight for help.

“Liiike… kaiju big?” Rainbow asked, a hopeful tone tugging at the edge of her smile.

Twilight, Celestia, and Luna all turned to one another, then to Rainbow, and slowly nodded.

To their surprise, Rainbow’s reaction wasn’t what they expected. She pumped her hoof, whistled and cheered, “Awww yeah! Can’t tell ya how long I’ve been itching to launch some rainbow beams at some deranged monster! This past year has been nothing but Wonderbolt training, which, don’t get me wrong, dream come true and all, but I’ve been needing a little more excitement here and there! Sweet, so… what kinda kaiju we talkin’ about here?”

Twilight bit her tongue before she could speak, unsure if she even had the strength to admit it to them. After everything they had gone through to defeat him the first time, she was afraid to see their reactions. Then, she reminded herself what was on the line, and turned to the Second Sister for that reminder. The look in her eyes was enough for Twilight to press on.

“One we know…” she finally said, relinquishing her tongue and admitting the truth. “Ghidorah.”

The room returned to its darkened, somber mood, and one that not even Pinkie could brighten in that moment. Yes, Twilight’s sun did continue shining through the stained glass windows. The world didn’t end in that second of stillness. Her fears were unfounded and she actually let a moment of relief fill her up, letting the truth permeate the air and fill her friends. They needed and deserved to know just as much as everypony else.

And they reacted accordingly, to the best of their ability.

“Huh… no kidding?” Rainbow questioned, and there was still the slightest hint of a tremble in her exhausted breath. It was like the events from one year ago played and replayed in her vision, and she stared at nothing as a paled look overcame her.

The same fate befell the others. Applejack whistled, tipping her hat back as she sat down. Simply overwhelmed with information at the moment. Rarity shook her head in denial, her breath quickening and chest rising and falling so very rapidly.

“Are we sure it’s that… ghastly beast?” Rarity scoffed, trying to deny that bold claim and pray for any other alternative.

Twilight nodded, holding her hoof out to the Young Six… and their mysterious friend. “Our former students were able to confirm it with our new friend here. She survived Fillydelphia… and was able to tell us exactly what she saw.”

Applejack perked up her head at that, and slowly turned it to the mare in the red cloak. “That right?” she questioned aloud, standing up and trotting slowly over to her. And coming face to face, meeting her eyes for a fraction of a second, Applejack stepped back.

Then, she shrugged. “Heck, she’s legit.”

Nopony else seemed surprised, which intrigued the Second Sister. The mare in red tilted her head curiously. “You can tell with barely a glance?”

AJ scoffed, tipping her hat to the pale-coated pony. “Girl, Ah can spot a liar halfway ‘cross the county. Ah think we can take yer word as proof.”

“Oh… the kaiju is tied to Fillydelphia, huh?” Rainbow noted, landing on the floor and rubbing the back of her head shamefully. She struggled to meet the Second Sister’s gaze, but the rainbow mare managed. “Uhhh… sorry for sounding so excited earlier. Didn’t realize you were from…”

“Fillydelphia is not my home,” the Second Sister replied. Her gaze focused not only on Rainbow, but shifted to everypony. Everycreature. In case they didn’t know, now they would. “I am from a faraway land… come to this one. But fate would have it that I be late on my mission… but not too late to help your people in your darkest hour.”

That statement lifted many heads, turned many eyes, and shifted all focus to the mysterious pony with the voice of an angel.

“So, what happened last year with that three-headed jerk… that wasn’t the worst of it?” Rainbow asked, unsure if she even wanted the answer.

“What else is coming?” Luna asked, almost a little too harshly. Tensions were already high and the threat even higher, the former Princess of the Moon clearly on edge. If there was to be a coming catastrophe that this so-called prophet knew of, it would be wise of her to tell them.

The Second Sister didn’t even flinch, slowly turning her eyes to the dark director. “That… is what we must fight to prevent. I wish I could share more, but even I cannot see what lies ahead. Not clearly, not… entirely. I have done all I can for now.”

It wasn’t the answer anypony wanted, but it wasn’t her fault, either. Twilight understood that, and slowly approached the mare. “Well… we can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve given us. Especially all of you,” she declared, smiling warmly to the Young Six, a little giggle leaving her. Turning back to the mare in red, the princess asked, “Is there anything we can do for you?”

Her heart was kind, the Second Sister told herself. The intentions and actions of the Princess of Friendship had proven time and again to lead to the right outcome, to lead Equestria and the world out of the shadow of hatred, discord, malevolence, and lead to something bright. Yet she almost did not anticipate how… friendly she was. How full of care and love she had for others, even strangers such as her.

She could only pray Twilight would continue to lead them right.

Smiling, the mare said, “If it does not trouble you… I would request a place to rest tonight. Everything I have seen, everywhere I have traveled, and only now have I realized how weary I have become.” The pony laughed lightly. Then, she lifted her eyes of glowing auburn to Twilight and her closest friends, smiling with a slight bow of her head. “I must continue on my journey by the first light of the morning.”

“Then, you have a place to rest tonight,” Twilight affirmed simply, resting her hoof on the mare’s shoulder and nodding in return.

“Well, with all that settled, I think it’s time for the Elements of Harmony to go over the battle plans,” Sandbar oh-so boldly declared, stepping forth with his five best friends. He stamped his hoof triumphantly on the marble. “So! How we takin’ down Ghidorah this time?”

The silence in the room was deafening, and it slowly deflated Sandbar’s chest and smile.

“Uhhh… ‘we’?” Applejack repeated, a brow raised in the creatures’ direction.

Ocellus bashfully raised her voice. “Um, we were hoping we could join you and—”

“No offense, kids, but if this is involving Ghidorah, might as well leave it up to the pros this time,” Rainbow interrupted, though not particularly phrasing it the right way.

So, Pinkie Pie decided to phrase it appropriately. “Yeah! We wouldn’t want you guys getting hurt now!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling all six of them in for a tight group hug. “I don’t think any of us could sleep peacefully if one of you got caught in the crossfire and your charred bodies were burned into our conscience!”

“That’s… certainly an image,” Gallus grumbled.

Rarity stepped up to clarify for her friends. “I think what Pinkie Pie is trying to say is that we don’t want any of you to risk your lives. You’ve never faced anything like these beasts, and just the thought of any of you getting hurt…!” Rarity dramatically proclaimed, almost wilting herself and wishing she had a drama couch right about now.

“We not little kids anymore!” Yona argued. “We save the world with you before!”

“That was different. These Titans are different,” Twilight tried to explain, but was interrupted.

“We came all this way, wasting our summer and risking our butts in the process, and you’re not even gonna let us finish the fight with you?!” Smolder shouted.

“That’s right,” Twilight boldly declared, and there was no hesitation and no humor left in her tone.

“But, Twilight—!” Silverstream tried to beg.

Twilight stamped her hoof on the marble, silencing each of the Young Six from even attempting to argue further.

“No buts!” she declared, and she would not be moved on this issue. Their safety was a priority, and one that wouldn’t be risked tagging along for a mission such as theirs. “You’ve all helped so much already. Where we’re going is unknown… and I won’t have you risk your lives for something none of us can control. Leave the rest to T.I.T.A.N. and my friends… we’ll finish this.”

There was more they all wanted to say, more they wanted to bring up to defend themselves. Like a certain harmonic friend that Sandbar almost brought up, but seeing the daggers in Twilight’s glare, he lost his voice. They all did.

“Pfft… whatever,” Smolder grumbled, snorting out a plume of smoke and crossing her arms.

Her ears fell flat against her skull, and her heart ached for her former students. “You’re more than welcome to stay in Canterlot for the night as well… and take the first train in the morning with your friend,” Twilight said, turning to the Second Sister and nodding softly. The mare merely stared blankly at her, in a long, almost deathly serious stare. And one that almost made Twilight have a double take.

Had it not been for Rarity stepping forth. “However, it would be quite beneficial to know the plan, Twilight, dearie,” Rarity said, bringing focus back to the issue at hoof.

With her eyes flicking quickly to the Second Sister, and then back to Rarity, Twilight eventually nodded in agreement. “Right. Celestia, Luna, if you could…?”

The directors made the plan known to all in the room, and held nothing back. Celestia started by utilizing her magic to play forth a magical hologram, showcasing auras of colorful images shaped like the T.I.T.A.N. fleet, Godzilla, and Kong. She said, “Our plan, once we join Shining Armor’s fleet, is to allow Titanus Kong to wear down Godzilla. Just enough for the Elements to have an opportunity to cleanse the darkness that controls his mind and actions. This was our initial plan earlier, but with confirmation from our new friend, there is a dark infection within Godzilla’s mind that Ghidorah controls, and we must purge it.”

Luna stepped forward. “And this time, the Elements will not kill him like before in the Crystal Empire. We will only be targeting his mind, and in his wearied state, he will not be a full threat when the inevitable moment arrives. The Elements of Harmony will win the day for us… as they have numerous times before.”

That statement alone was worth celebrating, and Rainbow saw to it to bring some rejuvenated spirits back into the throne room. It had gotten a little moody for her tastes.

“Woohoo! Can’t tell ya how pumped I am to get back in the action!” Rainbow Dash cheered, flying and performing multiple loops and zigzags across the throne room. She landed harshly near them, almost cracking the floor, and jammed out her hoof to her friends. “What do ya say? Let’s save the world one more time?”

Staring at her outstretched hoof, Applejack chuckled. “Ya act like this’ll be the las’ time, Dash.”

Puffing out her lips, Rainbow smirked. “Lemme rephrase that: Let’s save the world again?”

Applejack smirked in return, smacking her hoof to Rainbow’s. “And again.”

Rarity did so as well, connecting her hoof with a triumphant smile. She played along and said, “And again.”

Twilight shook her head with scoff, eventually bringing her hoof in as well. “And again.”

“And again and again and AGAIN!” Pinkie Pie cheered, leaping in the group and pounding her hoof with the others. They all raised their hooves and cheered, whistled, and vowed victory. What was meant to be a triumphant and bold celebration was slowly growing sour. Smolder rolled her eyes and frowned at the floor. Sandbar sadly looked away. The Second Sister saw all of their reactions and stared in silence.

But nopony noticed them. They were far too busy focused on the victorious tide coming their way. Until Pinkie’s mane suddenly deflated. “Awww… it’s just not the same without Fluttershy here!” she whined.

“We’ll see her again tomorrow when the Radiance meets up with Shining Armor,” Twilight said with a wink. “Promise.” And that was enough to get an ecstatic smile back on the pink pony’s lips.

It suddenly dawned on Rainbow when they brought up Fluttershy, which reminded her of Fluttershy’s role in T.I.T.A.N. And what T.I.T.A.N. were bringing with them to the inevitable clash with Godzilla. “Oh, yeah… what if the monkey fails?” Dash asked aloud.

The two directors caught their breath at that question, as if anticipating it. Twilight felt the same, and turned to Celestia and Luna. Puffing out her cheeks and blowing a raspberry, the princess said, “Well… judging from Shining’s last message concerning Kong… we think he can hold his own against Godzilla. But… if it comes to that… we have another contingency. It’ll be ready tomorrow alongside the Radiance.”

Applejack raised a brow, and then asked, “And this here ‘contingency’ is…?”

Wincing in anticipation, Twilight gritted her teeth and said in a tight, shrill voice, “A giant… mechanized Godzilla.”

Applejack raised both brows.

Rainbow’s jaw fell, and Rarity’s neck practically shot back in surprise. The Young Six were equally as surprised, some incredulous, others thinking how that was even possible. But it was Pinkie Pie who grabbed Twilight’s cheeks and mushed her face close to hers.

All while proclaiming, “You had a giant robo-Godzilla this whole time… and I’m just NOW finding out about it?!”

With her cheeks mushed and unable to speak, Twilight just nodded. That was enough for Pinkie to be let loose, and she sprang up in the air and screamed, “I CALL TO BE PILOT!” And just like that, she zipped to the doors, leaving only a dust cloud of herself behind.

“Pinkie, no! We already have pilots!” Twilight called.

“THEN I CALL SHOTGUN!”

The doors burst apart from Pinkie’s advance, and the guards could do nothing to stop the pink menace. Twilight spread her wings and took off after her, with Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash inevitably following. But not before Rainbow could pause in mid-air, turning to the others and chuckling.

“Best we go stop Pinks… Don’t want her to destroy all of Canterlot before we save the world.”

She winked to Spike, the Young Six, the directors, and the Second Sister, before flying off after her friends.

While some among them could only laugh at Pinkie’s hilarity, all the Second Sister could do was stare. Stare at those open and now closed throne room doors. Stare and turn to the six, young Champions, the wearied, conflicted, former princesses… and she sighed so very heavily. So very dejectedly.

She couldn’t help but feel so very lost for them.

Chapter 30 – Lullaby of the Shobijin

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Canterlot, Equestria

Canterlot Castle, Guest Room

Night fell on Canterlot, but as the hush wind blew gently across the now-empty roads, and lights, candles, and magical horns died down one by one, there was anything but rest in the guest room of Canterlot Castle.

For the Young Six were restless. Restless as they were, it was not due to the elongated adrenaline of youth. Instead, their lack of sleep spawned from the burning, nagging feeling eating away at each and every one of them. Their last discussion with Princess Twilight Sparkle did not end in their favor, and not a single creature of their band found peace that night, nor could they see any peaceful outcome to this decision.

So, instead of resting, they argued.

“This is so stupid!” Smolder hissed, pacing back and forth across the room, smoke continuously spouting from her furious snorts.

“Or, maybe, it’s for the best,” Ocellus retorted, trying to find some clarity in Twilight’s decision. “L-look, let’s face it: the Elements of Harmony are going to be utilized by Princess Twilight and her friends anyway. I mean… what help are we going to be if the Elements are already on the job?”

“What?!” Yona gasped, stomping over to the bedside where the young changeling lied. “You saying you no want to fight monsters?!”

“N-not particularly…” Ocellus whimpered, shaken slightly by Yona’s booming tone.

“No, you know what this is?” Smolder stated, jamming her claw at Ocellus in an accusatory way, but not really accusing the changeling for anything. Instead, she had another target in mind. “This is Twilight thinking we’re not tough enough for the job! She’d rather we sit on the sidelines while they deal with some end-of-the-world threat without any other Element backup! Probably thinks we’re gonna screw something up, or-or step on their thunder, or—!”

“There’s that dragon pride for ya,” Gallus mumbled aloud on his own bed.

“You saying griffons can’t have pride for who they are?!” Smolder said, darting her glare over to the griffon.

Gallus leaned on his talons and muttered, “We got greed. Little different.”

Rolling her eyes with a groan, Smolder said, “Greed, pride, whatever! Fact of the matter is we’re the future Elements of Harmony! Heck, even Harmony itself said so! We save the world a couple of times, and we’re still not enough to save it again! Make it make sense, Twilight! Plus, I am not spending the start of my summer being cooped up back in pony town if I can’t go back to the Dragon Lands because of Godzilla! Oh, they ain’t taking me out of this now!”

“Yeah!” Silverstream echoed, laying atop the chandelier and peering down at her friends with big, begging eyes. “I’m emotionally invested now! I have to see how we’re going to save Godzilla, not just hear about it back home!”

While some semblance of agreement was being echoed among Smolder, Silverstream, and Yona, there was one member of their crew who had been uncharacteristically silent the rest of the day, and even more so at night. Ocellus turned to the opposite end of the bed, spotting the opal mane and spring bud coat in what little moonlight there was. Head low, facing away, with his eyes and focus elsewhere.

On what… was what the changeling sought to understand.

“Sandbar…” Ocellus called curiously, “… you haven’t said a thing since we got here.”

The sudden callout earned the attention of the rest of the Young Six, all of them shifting to the Earth pony on the end of the bed. But his focus was indeed elsewhere. His wind was indeed set on something more deserving of focus. Though he picked up bits and pieces of their argument, he lingered on one point Smolder had made earlier, on one name that stuck with him more than any other.

Harmony.

He recalled her words, and spoke them aloud, “Harmony told us… the way to ending this war is finding the truth to Godzilla’s innocence.” Sandbar turned away from the dark corner of the room, facing all five of his friends. “Well, we did, didn’t we? We found that pony in Baltimare, she saw that it was Ghidorah behind this, and that Twilight and her friends are going to cleanse Godzilla’s mind of this evil that’s corrupted him. But…”

Hopping off the bed, Sandbar approached Smolder and Yona slowly, deliberately, choosing each word as carefully as he could. As if a nonexistent threat of Harmony leering over his shoulder was poised to strike him down should he stray from whatever purpose she deemed for them. But she wouldn’t do that.

Sandbar still saw it right not to stray either way. “What they said about Kong… about this… ‘robo-Godzilla’… still sounded like they were prepping for war. Then throw that three-headed dragon into the mix… I don’t see how this can end any other way.”

His friends were silent. Smolder crossed her arms. He continued. “So, I got a different thought in mind,” Sandbar said, eyeing the outside world beyond the closed balcony window. “Instead of taking the train back to Ponyville tomorrow morning, we sneak onto the Radiance when its being loaded up.”

There was some expectation in his heart to see some immediate support from his friends, especially the likes of Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream. Instead, he was given a look shock and surprise from all of them, as if they hadn’t expected Sandbar of all ponies to offer the thought that was in their heads as a viable option.

He didn’t back down from it, either. “Like, seriously! Ocellus, you can even disguise yourself as a T.I.T.A.N. agent, and get us passed security or something. Or, or, Gallus, Smolder, and Silverstream can fly us right over their heads and sneak us onboard! Or, we could even—!”

“Whoa, easy, tiger! Remember to breathe… and keep your voice down so no one eavesdrops,” Smolder warned, rushing to him and clamping her claws over his mouth. Removing herself, she faced him fully, and Sandbar saw a stare unlike any other she had given him yet. One of hardened determinism, with a slight pinch of curiosity. “But… you’re serious about this?”

For a second, he wasn’t even sure if he was serious about this, or if he was just throwing some wild and dangerous thoughts out in the open. Letting his heart and emotions speak for themselves, without any rational thought behind them. They sneak onto the Radiance, then what? They face down Godzilla or Ghidorah, and what do they do? Ocellus was right, the Elements of Harmony were already being deployed, and Godzilla was going to be saved. They had done all they could with that mysterious mare in the meantime.

Maybe it would be better—and safer—if they just went home.

Then he thought of Harmony. Saw her warm, supportive smile in his mind, heard her promises in his heart, and shook his head.

“We stood alongside Star Swirl the Bearded and Twilight Sparkle against the forces of evil. We brought together our divided species with the teachings of friendship Twilight and her friends taught us. Who would we be as the future Elements of Harmony to back down now? Way I see it… we're just getting started, and we need to see this through to the end,” Sandbar finally decreed.

“Yeah!” Silverstream cheered, flying down to join her friends, forming the beginnings of a half-circle. “We’re just as important as Twilight and her friends! We’re the next generation of the Elements, and we don’t back down from evil!”

“We prove Goji innocent!” Yona followed, joining in the circle now almost complete. “Now we go fight for him!”

Turning to the audible groan, the five friends spotted Gallus burying his head in the pillow beneath him. He mumbled into it, “Call it a weird feeling… but I agree. I think we’re meant for something more here. Not just sittin’ back in Ponyville… but taking this fight straight to where it matters.” Lifting his face, and standing up with a shrug, he joined them regardless. “Maybe I’m weird, or crazy… or maybe that’s Harmony talking in my head. Either way… I’m down for whatever you got planned.”

Seeing them all come together, turning his thoughtless ramblings into an actual call to action, and Sandbar started to feel the weight of what was actually going to happen. He chuckled nervously, feeling the sweat on the back of his neck when he rubbed it.

“We could really use some guidance from Harmony right about now…” he said.

Then… felt the soft touch of a friend grasp his shoulder. He turned to it, and saw the warm, supportive smile of Ocellus standing by his side. Joining her friend. Completing the circle. “I think we just got some,” she told him, and subsequently, all of them.

She held out her free hoof in the middle of their circle. “Let’s finish this fight.”

A free hoof that was quickly joined by a pony’s hoof, then a yak’s, a Hippogriff’s talons, a griffon’s as well, and a dragon’s claws.

The moonlight belonged to the Princess of Friendship, and the Second Sister honored it as such.

Even in a land so far from home, she could acknowledge that the touch of the Princess of Friendship graced the entire world in one way or another. First, it was the Princess of the Day, Celestia, and the Princess of the Night, Luna, who raised the sun and moon and let their light and beauty fill the world. With life, of course, for how could life survive with the sun? But the night…

The night was a beauty untold, a story that did not seem to have an ending. For Luna’s story, tragic in its beginning, ended in redemption. In her return by her sister’s side. But Twilight’s night… her story… held a mystery to it. A calm like a gentle breeze the Second Sister felt upon the balcony. A chilling cold that the winds of fate deemed necessary to send her way, and in turn, send her to them.

Fate was a fickle and curious force of power.

Nevertheless, she took their kindness and retired in Canterlot Castle that night. The guard led her true, and she was safe and alone within the confines of a well-guarded, well-kept guest room curtesy of the Princess of Friendship, and fit for royalty. She almost found the thought humorous; she was less than any royal, less than even the innocent creatures that filled these lands, but her purpose was greater than they could understand. Even then, Princess Twilight treated her well. Not like royalty, but like a friend.

Perhaps that was her defining character. Perhaps then she would see the truth and follow the correct path. Even with their war machines and plans of battle, even with the disregard for the Champions of Harmony who found her and brought her to them, even with so much more that pestered the Second Sister. Even with all of this… there was still the hope Twilight presented. And a hope that could lead them true… or not.

Who was she to question fate? She was but a herald of it, and, as it so happened to be… they all were.

The winds led her true, that much she could confirm. That much she could rest in, knowing her duties here were accomplished. Sighing and gazing to the moonlight, the Second Sister could only stare to the crescent moon and wonder if there was more she could say, more she could tell. The Elements, the Champions, the rulers of these lands were given everything they needed to succeed, but the unwavering feeling of doubt and fear tried to attack her.

More attacks from the enemy. More weaknesses she nearly allowed herself to be open to. Immediately closing her eyes, she shut off any attempt for fear to strangle her with a word of her own. With a sound of her own. A call that came from her heart and flowed from her lips like a soft, alluring melody. A single note that flowed and filled the air above the darkness in Canterlot with her voice.

With her presence. With her protection.

She sung the lullaby in her native tongue, and prayed it reached the one she sought after.

“… Of forgotten kindness… and ruined spirits… we pray for the people’s spirits… as we sing… this song of love.”

The last note stung her eyes, and she opened them to feel the fireflies dancing in the starlight. Their turquoise glow filled her with a warmth unlike any other. A warmth she knew personally, and it made her smile a true smile. Giving her peace. Giving her rest. Giving her the assurance she needed.

Fate would play forth as intended. The balance of harmony would tip one way or another; there was no stopping that. She would be there, resting first on this night, and then continuing her journey by hoof. Stopping for no other creature, for she had no reason to do so any longer. The song of the great moth returned and called to her. Called her to them.

And she was not afraid for what would come next. “I am coming soon, sister.”

Chapter 31 – Zero Hour

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Canterlot Mountain

T.I.T.A.N. HQ

“Woooooow! What’s this, Twilight?!”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at Pinkie’s giddy optimism. It was contagious, and she had to admit, that contagion was spreading among all within T.I.T.A.N. HQ. That rejuvenated life that filled Twilight’s throne room now began to fill the mountain facility, T.I.T.A.N. agents from all ranks turning and smiling to see the pink ray of sunshine make her presence absolutely clear. Maybe it was her aura. Maybe it was her antics. Maybe it was that special Pinkie Pie magic that nopony could ever understand, but love nonetheless.

The clock struck twelve at midnight, but nopony was tired anymore. Not when the heroes of Equestria, the Council of Friendship, blessed the agents of T.I.T.A.N. with their presence. Most of them, anyway.

Though missing the yellow Pegasus, the Element of Kindness, the remaining Elements were present and accounted for. Every able-bodied T.I.T.A.N. agent knew of Twilight’s plan to utilize the Elements of Harmony to end this destructive conflict with Godzilla, and seeing them was like a breath of fresh air, something they had been dearly missing being cooped up in Canterlot Mountain.

Within seconds, there were already cheers and hooves stamping on the metal, a small crowd growing larger as Twilight led the Elements, Spike, and the Directors Celestia and Luna deeper into the cavernous facility. Hooves stamped in hardy approval of the Elements of Harmony, some even being bold enough to reach out and shake the hooves of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.

Not really used to the spotlight, Applejack accepted their hoofshakes as respectfully as she could, tipping her hat courteously to the remaining crowds cheering her name. Rainbow and Rarity, however, simply shined under the spotlight. Dash flew above them all, saluting to the masses and performing several air stunts, flexing as she did so. Several Solar Bolt pilots whistled and cheered even louder. Rarity gushed and bowed with every opportunity she was given, the stardom almost getting to her head. Very nearly, but she contained herself. They were on a mission after all.

“It’s okay; they’re cleared,” Twilight assured the burly, heavily armored agent guarding the catwalk. Turning his masked face over to the remaining Elements of Harmony, the stallion nodded without a word and stepped aside. He saluted to the directors as they passed, blocking the remaining agents from entering the restricted zone.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t see everything that was unfolding mere yards ahead of them.

“This…” Twilight introduced proudly, her eyes shining under the mighty spotlights shrouding the great weapon, “… is Project Zero.”

Finally answering Pinkie’s persistent questions, even the party pony herself fell silent to the grandiose size and scale of the mighty weapon hanging high above. Within the mountainous facility, erected from on end of the rocky wall several dozen yards to their right and ending just in front of them, a cylinder-like cannon was displayed above. It was painted white, with black and silver tips on each end. Metallic support beams kept it hovering, and the ponies below noted the writing across the cylinder.

Type-3 Absolute Zero Cannon.

Twilight’s voice came out of the silence. “Bon Bon gave us the idea after the Crystal Empire. Seeing how the low temperatures affected the Titans, adding the freezing spells for good measure, she believed we could go one step further. And so, with Canterlot and T.I.T.A.N.’s brilliant minds united, we were able to devise this side project… and hopefully bring it to fruition!”

Her voice turned many heads among the scientific community, the scientists tied to Project Zero facing the approaching Princess of Friendship, as well as the mighty group that trailed her. The lead scientist for the project smiled, the unicorn mare in her long, white lab coat and heavy glasses approaching the princess.

“Ah, Your Majesty! Directors,” the lead scientist greeted, levitating her clipboard between them and checking off the last boxes. “Right on time! We’re ready for a final test phase. Would you like to do the honors and sign off on it?”

The sisters turned to one another, and with a shared nod, they were in agreement. Celestia smiled, bowing her head mildly. “You have our approval.”

Twilight joined her former mentor’s smile. “Let’s see what you’ve concocted,” the princess agreed.

With that final word of confirmation, the project specialists got to work for the firing test. Alarms began to blare and warnings lights flashed red. The ground level of the HQ was cleared out, workers and agents alike peering up to the cannon to see if it would actually fire this time. Across the facility, the intercoms came to life and announced the one and only warning.

“Absolute Zero Cannon, final test commencing. Stand clear behind the appropriate barriers. Systems check: Magical power cores at 100% capacity. Temperatures reaching nominal levels. Exterior panels, activated. Preparing to fire in five… four… three… two…”

As the voice spoke throughout the HQ, the cannon began to change. To the amazement of the Council, Spike, and even Celestia and Luna to a degree, three panels extended and started to spin rapidly around the end barrel of the cannon. The temperature gauges all dropped to an astonishing -273.15 degrees Celsius due to the intensity of the magical power cores—being empowered by the very same freezing spells used in the Battle of the Three Kings.

From the tips of each exterior panel, a bolt of bright blue lightning began to fire off to conjoin in the center, at the very end of the cannon’s barrel. A bright whiteness filled the HQ, forcing everypony to flinch accordingly, though it wasn’t enough to blind. From that light, a ball of raw, magical energy began to form, grow, and rapidly spin. The sphere of freezing blue energy grew so mighty that it could no longer be contained, and with a mighty roar from the cannon…

It fired.

Heads shot to the side to follow the beam’s trail, and they watched the stream of bright blue energy contact the target at the opposite end of the mountain wall. The target—a simple red circle painted on the wall—was doused in a blinding light, and everypony turned away at that moment. They waited until the light died down, and the ferocious growls of the cannon faded.

Eyeing the target, they witnessed nothing but a wall of ice replace the rocky surface, from top to bottom, sharpened crystal-like shards of ice jutting outward from every conceivable direction. Frost flakes rained down gently like snow, the temperatures dropping so suddenly that everypony within the HQ could suddenly see their breath. It was raw power incarnate, unleashed for a moment from the grand weapon they created, and in the end, it was a success.

A success.

“Absolute Zero Cannon, test fire accomplished,” the voice in the intercom noted, and the HQ erupted in cheers.

“Congratulations, everypony!” Twilight exclaimed with a widened smile she couldn’t contain, eyeing the group of scientists already in the midst of celebrating. “I think we can chalk that up as a success!”

The scientists cheered and hugged one another, but even in their grand accomplishment, a dire state of mind fell over one pony in particular. The lead scientist raised her short-wave radio as she got a call, her smile dying once she brought the device to her ear. Trotting up to the princess, whispering something urgent in her ear, Twilight’s smile slowly deflated as well.

“So… Project Mecha really won’t be…?” the Alicorn asked, meeting the scientist’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’ll let Task Force Risen Suns know immediately,” she responded, levitating her clipboard, her radio, and her bag close together as she started off down the catwalk and disappeared in the heat of the celebrating crowds of agents.

Twilight watched her disappear, and found the sounds of victory all around her to become dull. Soon, all she could hear was her own heartbeat, her panicked breaths growing more sporadic. Despite the intense shivers trying to overwhelm her, Twilight stayed strong. She desperately needed to stay strong.

Somehow, she managed to hear his voice over her own rising fears.

“Uhhh… Twilight?” Spike called, gently patting her shoulder and earning her attention. He tightened his lips, nervously looking to her, then to the cannon, and finally to the devastating aftermath of the ice wall it created. “I’ve been meaning to ask… we’re not actually considering using this cannon on Godzilla… right?”

She blinked. Staring only at Spike for several seconds on end, and then suddenly she darted her head back to the Absolute Zero Cannon. Frost particles flowed gently above and past her, the chilled air making her breath quiver. As well as her voice. “If all else fails…”

A tense moment of silence fell over the group. Even as the degrading cheers and resounding conversations grew among the T.I.T.A.N. agents, the stilled quiet was brought to the forefront of the Council of Friendship, as well as the Directors of T.I.T.A.N. They came together, Applejack standing close by Twilight’s side.

“So Kong, the Elements, an’ this ‘robo-Godzilla’ Pinkie’s been yammerin’ on about may not be enough?” Applejack asked. Noting how long it took Twilight to respond, she followed the princess’ gaze up to the cannon.

And then, Twilight said, “We didn’t know how long Mechagodzilla would have been out of commission. We theorized weeks, but that was just a guestimate. At the immense rate we’ve been working on the repairs, it’s looking like the Mecha won’t be ready until later tomorrow… so we’re going to have to launch our campaign without it for the time being.”

Both Celestia and Luna stiffened at that revelation, the latter seeming to relax after a moment’s realization. No Mechagodzilla meant no use of the Risen Suns, which meant the pilots could continue to rest and recover for more than what was deemed necessary. More so, Shatter Heart could continue on the path of recovery.

However, that also meant potentially losing Mechagodzilla, and one of their last shots of ending this conflict peacefully. Without any unnecessary death. Because if all they had was Kong, and he failed, and Godzilla could not be saved or defeated by the Elements of Harmony… all they had left was the Absolute Zero Cannon.

Luna stared at the ice wall, both the cold and a deep, dreaded fear making her shiver.

If Godzilla threatened their very existence, they would have no other choice.

Twilight continued, resting her hoof on the nearest railing that was already starting to frost over. “I wouldn’t have wanted Kong to be involved… and I’m sure Fluttershy would agree if she were here. But he wouldn’t have survived on Black Skull Island with that storm tearing it apart… and Godzilla’s already taken the first swing at him. We can’t stop the coming battle between Godzilla and Kong now. All we can do is fight alongside him the best way we can, unite the power of the Elements and save Godzilla before…”

“Before…?” Rarity asked, leading her on, but she already knew the answer.

Turning back to her friends, her eyes were heavy, almost wrought with tears, and Twilight choked out, “Before Godzilla may be too far gone.”

“Well, it won’t come to that,” Rainbow interjected, taking a firm stand and planting her hoof in the heart of the Council. “That cannon of yours isn’t gonna be fired again, ‘cause we’re gonna get that evil out of him no matter what!”

Her valiant smile was all Twilight could stare at, and her own smile came shortly after. She couldn’t fight, and she didn’t want to fight it, because Twilight wanted to believe. Just like Rainbow believed they were going to win this, save the Titan Savior of Ponykind, and end this war once and for all. Seeing Twilight’s returning smile was enough to revitalize the Council, and one particular party pony.

“I couldn’t agree more!” Pinkie Pie cheered, bounding over and wrapping her closest friends into the tightest, firmest, warmest, most assuring group hug she could manage. “Oh, Twilight! Could we maybe, possibly, definitely see the robo-Godzilla now? Pleeeeeeease?”

She gave the best puppy dog eyes she could ever manage, and Twilight couldn’t help it. Rolling her eyes with a smile, Twilight submitted and said, “Oh, all right. It’s about time you all saw our last trick up our sleeve.”

Breaking the hug, Pinkie hoof pumped into the air as her body shot up like a rocket, coming back down to the catwalk with a fiery crash and an explosion of confetti. “Come on, everypony!” she practically screamed, barreling down the steel catwalk and rushing to no particular direction. Definitely not the right direction, but she would figure that out eventually when her friends inevitably followed.

With a shared group laugh, the Elements trotted off to find and escort Pinkie to the correct location. The directors hesitated for a moment longer, their heavy stares locked with the Absolute Zero Cannon a second longer than they would have liked, and then they turned to join them.

As they left the testing wing of the HQ, Twilight peeked back one last time to see the Absolute Zero Cannon being equipped to the underbelly of the T.I.T.A.N. capital airship, the Radiance.

In the construction and repair wing of the T.I.T.A.N. HQ, the Council of Friendship were greeted to the grandiose sight of their most impressive achievement to date. And one that made Pinkie’s jaw fall flat to the steel floor, forcing her to drag it along, as her eyes grew like blown-up balloons.

The lights were bright inside the mountain facility, so it gave the ponies the clearest view possible of the mighty machine. They trotted alongside the vast and expansive series of catwalks, reaching the base of the machine and gazing up to its immense height. So much so, that they felt their necks craning back harshly just to capture it all. It was still hardly enough.

For they witnessed the metal beast being rebuilt, and Mechagodzilla stood as still as stone, eyes dark, lifeless. But not for very much longer.

Applejack whistled in astonishment, flicking her hat back so her eyes could capture the entirety and majesty of the Mecha. The tip of Rarity’s hoof had risen to cover her mouth, the unicorn simply at a loss for words. As for Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus wasted no time in jetting forward and performing circles around the machine. Even so, it took her a bit of time to circle the Mecha three or four times.

“JEEZO!” Rainbow exclaimed, her voice echoing off the sounds of construction across the cavern. The little blue dot flapped her wings just above the Mecha’s head, her widened eyes gazing down the spinal cord and wrapped tail in the darkness of the ground level. “How tall is this thing, Twi?!”

“About 400 feet!” Twilight answered loudly, her eyes falling back down to the catwalk and spotting three dark figures. Three particular ponies they were quickly approaching. “Our pilots can tell you everything you need to know!”

As for Mechagodzilla’s pilots, Peaky Blossom and Rotor Wrench turned accordingly to the familiar voice coming up on their right. They stood prepped and ready for flight in their black, armored jumpsuits, helmets nestled under their forelegs. Spotting the princess, Spike, and the directors, Task Force Risen Suns were almost taken aback by the others with them, but soon enough they were able to recognize the heroes of Equestria.

But Shatter Heart did not even turn his head.

He did not even flinch.

He could not even hear them.

Though he stood with his fellow pilots, he felt as if he was standing alone in the midst of their greatest achievement’s return. This momentous occasion was meant to be celebrated with those who contributed most to the Mecha’s creation, and two more ponies were meant to stand alongside Shatter for their day of victory. But they didn’t. They weren’t there to join them.

Moonshadow and the last of his family, his brother Cross, were taken needlessly. That was all Shatter could think of as he stared into the dark, dead eyes of his Mechagodzilla. His body was there, but his spirit was gone, trapped momentarily in the dark recesses of his fractured mind. A split spirit that warred against itself and the heart he tried to mend, but it was fruitless.

Darkness and shadow called to him and left his state of mind as an utter fog, one he could barely see through. One he could barely escape. One that suffocated the life out of him. And the only voice that called to him led him deeper into the dark, and there was no anchor to stop him. No anchor to hold Shatter to the real world. He heard nothing else but that voice call to him over the piercing, screaming ring deafening his ear drums.

“Commander Shatter Heart!”

And then he blinked. He was back. The dark red unicorn turned to the calling from Her Highness, and met the expectant stares from Princess Twilight, Director Celestia, Director Luna, Spike, Peaky, Rotor, and so many new faces just all staring at him. Ignoring the sinister quiver gripping the back of his neck, Shatter respectfully cleared his throat and faced the royalty and superiors appropriately, standing at attention.

“I’m so happy to see that you’ve made a full recovery,” Twilight exclaimed giddily, not at all acting in the manner of royalty, which surprised the task force. Her smile seemed a tad forced, but there was some genuine warmth to it. “Oh, these are my friends! Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash; the Council—”

“The Council of Friendship,” Shatter simultaneously interrupted and finished for Twilight. The Alicorn dropped her smile, eyes wide but not necessarily offended by the interruption. He turned to each one of them, nodding gently and muttering quietly, “Yes, I know.”

Peaky joined his nod, adding, “It’s an honor to serve alongside you for this coming mission.”

That was more than enough of an invitation for Rainbow and Pinkie to rush ahead with their burning questions. The rainbow blur, more straightforward in her approach, flew up to nearly bump snouts with Peaky, declaring loudly, “This… this has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life! Coming from the coolest pony on the planet, what you guys managed to build is so awesome!”

She emphasized those words by squishing her cheeks, her eyes sparkling with childlike joy and wonder. Peaky couldn’t help but chuckle, Rotor smiling awkwardly as Shatter just stood there. And stared.

Suddenly jamming her hoof up to Mechagodzilla, Rainbow asked, “I gotta know, can it do everything Godzilla can?!”

Emerging from his silent state, Shatter quickly and fiercely replied, “He will do what is necessary.”

The tone of his voice almost immediately killed Rainbow’s enthusiasm, and the Wonderbolt’s smile fell in response. She met his eyes and almost expected another response, but received none other. Nothing verbal, at least, as the dead, glazed look in his eyes was enough for a frown to grow across the Pegasus’ face. It was as if there was a flicker of something in that gaze, something that darkened her fiery spirit and directly attacked her known personality, her righteous Element to uphold.

But she never spent long enough in his eyes to know for certain, because Pinkie was on her knees begging before the pilots. “Oh, please, please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeease can I help pilot the robo-Godzilla with you?! It would be the greatest and funniest thing I’ve ever done!” Pinkie cried.

Shatter’s eyelid twitched. “‘Robo-God’—?” he almost snarled, but Rotor thankfully chuckled and answered for him.

“Unfortunately, Mechagodzilla can only be piloted by unicorns. Highly skilled unicorns. Sorry about that, ma’am,” the burly unicorn responded to her pleas, offering his hoof to her instead.

“Okay!” Pinkie gleefully said, her bubbly personality reigniting fast as Rotor lifted her back up. She zipped quickly over to Twilight, whispering into her ear, “I call dibs on the next mech, though!”

Trying to understand if Pinkie was being serious or not was a battle in and of itself, so Twilight pushed it aside—for now—and addressed the burning issue. “I would… personally like to apologize for the delay in Mechagodzilla’s launch. I was told it would be mere weeks before we saw some finalized repairs, and then I was told it would be ready to fly with the Radiance, and now I was just told that—!”

Shatter raised his hoof, and Twilight found her voice suddenly lost.

“It is all right, Your Majesty,” Shatter responded, his voice and demeanor much calmer now, perhaps even Shatter realizing he needed to watch himself in front of the presence of so many superiors.

Sighing, adjusting the helmet under his foreleg and placing it on the steel floor, his hoof resting on top of it, Shatter said, “The lead scientist of Project Zero already gave us the grave news. It is unfortunate… but understandable. It would not be in any of our best interests if we were to launch the Mecha unfinished. It would be careless… and we would lose more than we would have ever gained. Until we can guarantee he is at full strength… we will remain here… and await your call.”

Rotor and Peaky both firmly nodded in agreement, standing proudly alongside their commander. Glad to see they had come to an agreement quickly, without the need of any unnecessary qualms, Twilight nodded in return.

Her smile came back and she said, “I can assure you all that call will only come if we desperately need it. Thank you… all of you… for your devotion, loyalty, and service to our world. We’re going to win this, I promise.”

Standing with her friends, Rainbow slowly turned to stare harshly at Twilight at the mentioning of that word: loyalty. As if there was another fire ignited inside her when she stared into Shatter’s eyes and felt something horrible. Like an omen that clawed at her heart, and one that cried to Rainbow but she couldn’t quite make out what it was saying.

But the dread she felt was real. The uneasy feeling she had for Shatter Heart remained, and her harsh stare never left that red unicorn stallion.

Even as he bowed to Twilight. Even as he saluted to the directors, nodded to Luna, and walked off with his pilots.

Rainbow eventually turned away, but never lost that feeling. Her eyes returned to the mighty Mechagodzilla, Applejack and Rarity continuing to gawk at it while Pinkie rambled on and on about what she would have done had she been piloting the machine. Spike jumped in at the opportunity and said what he would do behind the wheel. Twilight giggled and joined their conversation, Rainbow uncharacteristically silent for most of it.

Her eyes kept flicking back to Shatter Heart, and they lingered when Luna approached him.

“Oh, Shatter Heart, a word?” Luna called, trotting quickly up to the retreating stallion. Celestia watched her sister break off from the group, listening in to their conversation with a little magical influence.

Turning back to the approaching Alicorn, Shatter placed his helmet down and asked, “Yes, Director?”

“I would just wish to know…” Luna paused, catching her breath and realizing just how heavy and strained it had become. The previous and personal discussion she had with Heart was telling, and it was the last one they shared until this moment. Which made this all the more strenuous. “Tensions are growing. There is a certain unease in the air that I have felt, perhaps you as well? And your dreams…”

Shatter raised a brow. “You have been peering into my dreams again?”

With the knowledge of this dark influence somehow becoming more prevalent—and now the confirmation of Ghidorah and dark forces conjoined to wage war against the world—Luna’s own thoughts had gone into dangerous territory. Dangerous theories, terrifying prospects that she didn’t want to believe were possible. All of it had been building up and brought Luna to that moment before the unicorn. The unicorn who, at least to her, seemed to be at the heart of this darkness.

She didn't want it to be true, but that gnawing feeling wouldn't go away. Not until she knew for certain. Luna opened her mouth, realizing how dry her tongue had become. Her voice strained when she spoke. “I have trusted the judgement of your team after they cleared you for duty. I have seen the disturbance of your nightmares, but even those have dissipated recently. You seem settled. Outwardly, at least, but inwardly… I would wish to know what your intentions will be if you are called into action?”

His expression was unreadable, and the unsettling fear growing in the pit of Luna’s stomach was arising. Just as the Second Sister had said fear and paranoia would arise, as it had engulfed their nation and every nation already. A consequence of Ghidorah and the Bell’s power being utilized to plunge the world into chaos, and chaos would be the only outcome, no matter what.

Luna only hoped that chaos was something they fought against… and not something they fought within.

Shatter Heart already made up his mind.

“I will do what is necessary,” he answered, and Luna breathed again, quietly. “For the good of ponykind. For our survival. Most importantly…”

He picked up his helmet, and with a small smile—a rare occurrence from the unicorn—Shatter nodded to her. “I will fight alongside you,” he affirmed.

That answer was satisfactory enough. Just enough to get a small smile and a nod from Director Luna in return, before she turned to walk back to her sister. He, in tune, walked back to join the rest of his pilots. And Luna, casting one last glance to Shatter Heart, considered that he was fine after all. Maybe they would be able to accomplish this.

Maybe she was terrified of the prospects of believing otherwise, as a cold, dark shadow washed over her heart.

They escaped the catwalk.

They left the construction wing of the T.I.T.A.N. HQ and came together just outside the entrance to the mountain’s inner hallways, which led to their quarters, when Shatter Heart spoke to his team.

“Peaky, Rotor, I would like to tell you…” he began, voice softer than usual, more intentional, “… I am immensely thankful for your support in clearing me for duty. I have chosen you both specifically for your undying loyalty to our home, as well as the preservation of all life. But… you are also loyal to me… as I am to you. You did not have to be after what I did in Fillydelphia, yet you were… you are. It will be my greatest honor to serve with you again.”

And just like that, Peaky Blossom and Rotor Wrench saw their old commander, just like they had when they were first recruited. Soft, but well-spoken. Sincere, but direct. Loyal, and especially to his team. To his friends. It earned some much needed smiles out of the Risen Suns.

Rotor slapped his commander’s shoulder, grunting, “We owe you our lives, Commander. Your actions in Fillydelphia saved us, and we’ve seen you improve since then. Even when we’re not going into combat with Moonshadow and… your brother… we both decided and knew… you were ready. As were we.”

Hearing the name of the city, the names of his fallen comrades, twisted an ice-cold spike that was never removed from Shatter’s heart. So much so that he trembled when he responded, “What happened at Fillydelphia will not happen again.”

“Do not make us promises like that, Shatter,” Peaky retorted, and her smile was gone, replaced only with a harsh sense of reality filling her expression. Her eyes were growing heavy and wet, and it seemed the memory of that city broke something that was never fully repaired. “We have to be prepared for anything… including an event like Fillydelphia again. Only then can we overcome it… Only then can we…”

The tears came free, and there was not an ounce of judgement among them. Blossom shed her sorrow and made it evident, but the others remained silent. Remained by her side, but gave her the time needed to speak on her own terms.

Sniffling hard, opening her eyes, she faced Shatter with her tear-streaked face and told him, “You lost your brother… and I lost the pony I loved… I don’t want to lose either of you, too.” She turned to Rotor as well, and the acceptance in that look she received spoke volumes.

Shatter laid his hoof on her shoulder, bringing her gaze back to him. He said something that made her heart crack even further, and flood it with a warmth and a sadness she had yet to experience.

When he said, “He loved you. Never doubt that… I will gladly stand with the pony I am honored to call my sister.”

It was then the water works really flowed, Peaky releasing a gasp of air she had been preparing for her whole life, for as long as she knew and loved Cross Heart. A gasp she would have gladly relinquished had she seen Cross kneel to her and offer a ring.

Managing a smile through the tears, Peaky whispered, “Sister? Was he ever going to…?”

Shatter nodded. “He was intending so. There is nopony else he would happily spend the rest of his days with.”

There was the confirmation she had been waiting for, and it simultaneously completed her and broke her all the same. Peaky continued to tremble, continued to cry, but it was needed. There was a sense of peace to be found from that revelation. Pain, surely, but love most of all. If anything was to come of this tragedy, she was thankful to have gained a brother in the end.

Rotor laid his hoof on Shatter’s shoulder, as Peaky did the same for Wrench’s shoulder. “Let’s finish the fight… spend the rest of our own days in a world brought to peace… by our hooves,” Wrench fiercely declared. “For the Empire and for the world!”

And that was a call the Neighponese could all rally behind, and Task Force Risen Suns did so with dutiful honor to the very end.

“For the Empire and for the world!”

Chapter 32 – By Our Hooves

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Canterlot, Equestria

T.I.T.A.N. had rented out a café for the long night. One of many.

It was like a small party was unfolding in one of the rare sources of light shining in the shadows of the capital of Equestria. The streets of Canterlot were, for the most part, peaceful once darkness set in and Twilight’s moonlight glittered across the roads and buildings. But as for a couple blocks, businesses were wide awake and T.I.T.A.N. troops were well alive.

They looked to be more than alive, as if this night was their last to actually feel alive.

Skeleton crews and special agents had become so much more since T.I.T.A.N. had been refunded a year back, and they were more akin to soldiers now. Like a standing military that didn’t just serve a global organization, but the creatures of the world. There was honor in that position, surely. Yet, the idea of serving the greater good had begun to grow more and more blurred as the days and weeks of fighting these titanic monsters soured their hearts and cracked their spirits.

Earlier that day, the directors ordered all personnel to prep all battle stations and ready every able-bodied fighter and reserve they had. Word had grown like a disease in all the ranks of Equestria’s T.I.T.A.N. Orders that muddied into rumors and whispers. Dreaded rumors that spelled only thing…

They were going to war.

Nopony knew how, or why, and worst of all, they didn’t know when. The order could come at any time.

And so, that late at night and even into the early hours of the morning, T.I.T.A.N. personnel—now soldiers—spent what freedom they had drowning their fears and anxieties in salt and hard drink. Once esteemed soldiers and agents now shambled about aimlessly in the brightly lit roads of Canterlot like the drunkards they became, moving from one café to the other, one bar to the next, all while laughing, jeering, and stumbling over one another.

The owners and workers of the cafés, bars, and shops knew T.I.T.A.N. to be their protectors, so it surprised them to a degree to see them acting in such rambunctious ways. Like carnal beasts needing as much alcohol in their systems before taking their partners to the hotels to spend what hours they had left in passion. No love, just raw desire covering the dread that resided in each of their hearts.

But not every establishment was like this. One in particular was calmer, more tranquil in the early hours of the morning darkness. The band was playing late, and a soft jazz filled the smoky air inside the café. Trumpets, trombones, drums, and the piano combined to form an atmosphere that was warm and welcoming, peaceful even in times of war. Rumors spread from the decisions of the Hall of Unity, but nopony outside of T.I.T.A.N. knew what was really going down, or what was surely about to happen.

Nopony but the lost souls partying in the streets of Canterlot. In this tavern, however, these souls of T.I.T.A.N. found peace in the calm. In one another. In the music, the drinks, and the warmth they brought each other.

A small unit of Solar Bolt pilots crowded around the bar, three stallions and two griffons. In fact, most of the tavern was filled with pilots, or “Air Heads” as the other divisions of T.I.T.A.N. jokingly referred to them. Sitting in the high chairs with nearly empty drinks and salt pouches splayed before them, Red Reign and his troop simultaneously listened to the radios and stared up to the television screens.

Listening for any update from command. Watching the black and white screens as they played news broadcasts and replayed Titan preparation and evacuation videos. The TVs hung high over the bar, with nearly every eye around the bar trained heavily on them.

After the news report, the overly sophisticated and ecstatic voice from the TVs began again, playing the same message in every Titan prep video. “Here at the Tactical Investigative Titan Assimilation Nexus, or ‘T.I.T.A.N.,’ our job is clear and present: your protection! With the emergence of Titans to our delicate and fragile ecosystem, proactive preparation for a Titan emergence event is critical. A single towering force of nature has the power to permanently alter the lives of millions. It is our job, our duty, and our mission to prepare you for that force. The Titan Preparedness Plan is your guide to staying safe in the face of monster attacks. These are the three steps you need to know; it could just save your life!

“Step 1: Know Before You Go. Identify the locations of your local T.I.T.A.N. bunkers. Every major city and settlement has been equipped with a nearby T.I.T.A.N. facility and/or installation, so don’t be shy and refer to your local T.I.T.A.N. personnel for help! Just like our young fillies and colts here…”

Many of the TV screens showed a silhouette of a monster attacking in the background, a group of young ponies approaching an armored T.I.T.A.N. agent, asking quickly the location of the nearest bunker. After addressing their concerns appropriately and efficiently, with thank yous all around from the children, the agent ruffled the nearest colt’s mane and sent them on their way.

The camera focused on the armored agent. “I’m doing my part!” the T.I.T.A.N. agent declared with a wide, toothy grin. The crowd of fillies and colts all cheered in unison, “And we’re doing ours!” as they galloped into the bunker, the vault door shutting tight behind them.

Next to Red Reign’s left, a griffon pilot snorted out a mixture between a laugh and a scoff, the cigar dangling from the edge of his beak, smoke rising up to the ceiling.

“Step 2: Run and Take Cover. In the case of a Titan emergence, do not panic and calmly sprint to the nearest T.I.T.A.N. bunker or shelter. If bunkers are at capacity, seek the lowest level of a basement. Finding shelter outside the city limits is always a viable option as well.”

“‘Calmly sprint…’” one of the pilots muttered and shook his head, downing the rest of his hard liquor.

“Step 3: Stay Informed. Follow all instructions from local authorities and T.I.T.A.N. personnel. You can also stay up to date via newspaper, radio, and television. Our eyes are vigilant 24/7, so you can rest assure any oncoming Titan-related incident will be tracked and nearby settlements will be warned well in advance. With our T.I.T.A.N. forces at the ready, there is no threat too great to prevent us from safeguarding our future! Join us in building a safer, more resilient community! T.I.T.A.N. We are here to protect you!”

The videos ended, the screens shifting to the same news broadcasts displaying the reconstruction efforts in Manehattan, Panthera, Trotsylvania, and more. All aftermaths of Godzilla’s attacks.

“They’re pushin’ out the propaganda hard,” one of Red’s pilots mumbled.

Red’s mind wasn’t nearly as fuzzy as his fellow pilots’. The dim lights of the bar hung overhead and illuminated his dark red and white mane and light red coat, dark blue eyes rising from his glass. “Is it propaganda if it’s saving lives?” Reign responded, leaning over the bar to spot the pony who made the comment.

“You tell us,” the griffon with the cigar said, turning his chair to face his superior, cutting off his line of sight from the other pilot. “Is it saving anyone?”

Red Reign was far from a doubter. Hay, most of his life had been spent as a secret agent serving the hidden organization, and its reemergence into the spotlight doubly reinvigorated the organization as well as him. He was as loyal as they came, but witnessing these attacks, seeing T.I.T.A.N.’s failed defenses, efforts, and further politicization darkened the pride he once felt to serve. The most peace and calm he felt in recent memory was tonight, feeling the drink cloud his foggy thoughts. His peace—no matter how hard he wanted it to be—wasn’t with T.I.T.A.N.

“I’d like to believe that, but recently…” Red responded, letting his voice slip away from him.

“Your drink’s gettin’ a little low, sir,” the bartender noted, bringing every pilot’s head forward. “Let me get you a fresh one; on the house.”

“Appreciate that,” Red said with a weak nod.

“My hero,” the other griffon to Red’s right said with a grin, holding out his glass to be refilled. “You’re making our lives a heck of a lot easier, ya know that?”

“Oh, no. You fine folk are the heroes here, not me. Thank you all for your continued service to our world,” the bartender responded, offering the strongest smile he could offer.

With his glass full of liquor and his mind well warm and fuzzy, the griffon chuckled and nudged Red’s rib cage. “Looks like the propaganda worked,” he whispered, to which Red could only scoff, pushing it off as a laugh to which his fellow Solar Bolt took.

He knew his team meant well. They were realists, didn’t toe the line and didn’t hide from reality. That, he could appreciate and respect. Only meant they didn’t hide behind a veil that the rest of T.I.T.A.N. currently were attempting with these psychological campaigns. They knew what was coming, the leadership of T.I.T.A.N. knew what was coming, but still they promised the world that war would not be the final solution. This next operation of theirs would be the final solution, but in reality… it all led to the same thing.

The drink was warm down his throat, and admittedly, it made the bad thoughts go away. Or maybe it was her voice when it filled the air.

“Hey, fly boy!”

It was directed at him, and Red was slow to react. When he did, when he turned to the voice, he saw a sight that made his brows arch considerably. Brown mane and tail with black streaks. Lime green coat and bright blue eyes. A mare with a face that took his breath away and nearly made him cough on his drink. Especially when the unknown beauty asked him, “How ‘bout a dance?”

Gulping down whatever residue was left in his mouth, Red stared at her uniform, the patch of the Solar Bolts knitted on her shoulder. The same as his uniform. Smirking to the mare, Red responded, “I don’t know about that, fly girl. I think we’re all clocked out—”

“Humor me,” she interrupted, earning a look of surprise from Red and his squad. Especially when she held up her hoof to him. “When are we gonna have another night like this?”

Reign was at a loss for words. Her forwardness and courage left him momentarily speechless, fumbling his words so horribly that his fellow pilot picked him up out of the gutter.

The griffon on his right leaned forward and responded, “Ma’am, you’ll have to excuse my friend here. He’s an Air Head for a reason, and he gets nervous in front of those he finds beautiful. Miracle he managed to lead a squadron of all us beautiful boys.” That earned a giggle out of her, making Red’s heart leap. “But yes, he would oh-so love to dance… if you’re, um, friends would like to as well.”

His talon pointed over to the crowd of mares gossiping and giggling at the display their friend was making with the pilots at the bar.

“I think that can be arranged,” she said with a laugh, tilting her head back to her group of mares she spawned from. With a sharp whistle, the mare smiled to see the girls come bounding over, partnering with each pilot at the bar until the floor was filled with duos. Even the griffons found a dance partner, one of them sighing and plopping his cigar into his drink, letting the fire sizzle out before he was ushered onto the dance floor. The other griffon seemed more than excited to be able to do something except gulp down his sorrows with the rest of his troop.

Leaving just Red and his lone admirer. She held out her hoof for him to take, and with a breath-filled laugh and one last shot of liquid courage, he took her hoof and led her to the dance floor.

Standing face to face, taking her hoof, Red’s mind was barely blurred, and he could thankfully still keep himself in line. He minded his manners and asked, “And who do I owe the pleasure of this dance?”

“Private Dew Springleaf,” the mare responded, looking down to his hoof curled in hers and smiling.

He smirked. “That’ll do, Ms. Dew.” Her laugh filled his heart with such warmth, he almost couldn’t believe it. “Commander Red Reign, by the way.”

“A pleasure, Mr. Reign. Hey, chief!” Dew called, craning her neck back to the band in the corner of the bar. “Play something slow for us, will ya?”

The lead instrumentalist saluted her way. “Anything for our heroes in the skies,” he said with a toothy grin, tightening his cap and nodding to his band. The piano started it all, leading into a gradual and wonderful crescendo from the drums, to the trombone, and so on.

The dance of the pilots started slow and meaningful, nothing crazy or intense. It anything, it brought a certain tranquility that drink and salt just couldn’t compare. A minute in, and the rhythm of the music flowed with their bodies, something even a flat-hoofed pony like Red Reign could follow.

“Something you should know about me, miss,” Red noted with a chuckle, “each hoof of mine is a lefty.”

She laughed, throwing her head back a little. “You seem like a fine enough dancer so far. I’d say you’ve impressed,” she mumbled with that same fiery smile of hers.

Another several seconds of silence, just their smiles communicated to each other, before Red managed to start the conversation again. “So, what spurred the need for a dance in ya?”

Dew threw her mane back, pushing her tongue into her cheek and breathing out a smile. “You’ve seen the doom and gloom, I’d assume. Kinda got sick of it myself until we came here. You and your boys were the only ones we’d seen with more self-control than others. I mean… I don’t mind a drink or two, and a salt cube here and there, but I’d rather stay coherent for this. For something fun… you know?”

“We’re not technically at war, Ms. Dew. There’s still plenty of fun to be had.”

“Yeah, you and your fly boys seemed to be having a ball before we showed up,” she jeered with a smirk. That was enough to get another chuckle out of Reign.

“Can’t be so sad and uptight all the time, Red. That’s what politicians are for,” Springleaf teased, but even Reign could find some truth in her words.

If even spurred him to ask, “And what do you think we’re for?” He spun her around, Dew instantly returning to his hoof and his embrace.

“Concerning work… it is ‘our job, our duty, and our mission to prepare and defend the world for any Titan-related force’… or something along those lines,” she laughed, before her mind started to wander and her eyes trailed up to meet his. “Outside of work… I like to imagine we’re meant for something like this. A little slice of something… peaceful. And you?”

There was peace to be had. During the early days of Twilight’s reign, to the year after the Battle of the Three Kings… and to this moment now, Red knew peace was possible. What tomorrow would hold was unwritten, but for just a moment, Reign didn’t seem to mind. The fear and the anxiety was gone. It was just him and her and a wonderful song.

“I wouldn’t mind a little more peace in my time.”

Dew grew a smile that made his heart dance something fierce. “Guess we’re of the same heart,” she replied.

The music started to slow down considerably, the jazzy flow bringing the two closer and closer together. Until she could smell the liquor on his breath. Until he could feel the coolness of her breath make him shiver. A strand of black hair fell in front of her eyesight, almost blocking Dew’s view of him. Seconds later, the magic from his horn brightened, and the blue aura wrapped gently around her mane strand and gingerly pushed it back behind her ear.

The caress made her shiver in response, the flight of the trumpets making their hearts fly in tandem. The elevating cry of the music brought them so much closer, until their eyelids shuddered shut and their breaths momentarily ceased. Under the starlight and majesty of Canterlot, under the bar lights and smoky air, that peace was made true to them, even if it be for just a night.

They stopped. The music stopped. All of it stopped when it was drowned out by the alarm sounding off in the T.I.T.A.N. radios.

Inches apart, hearts once warm, now cold and darkened, Red Reign and Dew Springleaf opened their eyes and turned back to the bar. Every head and every eye seemed to follow them, spotting the T.I.T.A.N. radios sounding off an alarm that was made specifically for them. A siren that signaled a call to arms and a call to action. There was no voice to signal that it was a drill.

The morning came with a dark omen etched into all of their hearts to hear that alarm play for seconds on end… with no end. Red and Dew turned back to one another in that silence in-between each radio cry. Even their voices lacked the life they once felt, replaced by shells of soldiers called to the inevitable.

“Looks like we’re going to war after all,” she whispered.

“Looks like it,” he whispered.

Hours later, and Canterlot had undergone an immediate change in atmosphere. There was a rush among the civilians, ponies leaving rapidly for the train station after warnings from the Titan Preparedness Plan played over every radio and TV broadcast. Canterlot was not threatened directly, but T.I.T.A.N. ensured its ponies were ready.

Many fled accordingly to the bunkers and shelters at the base of the mountain, while T.I.T.A.N. HQ within Canterlot Mountain was called to arms. Full steam ahead. Every able-bodied agent, soldier, and reserve in the Equestrian sector of T.I.T.A.N. answered the call and united at the headquarters. By the time the sun rose on that bright, burning morning, half of the Equestrian fleet was prepped and nearly ready for launch.

Leaving behind the other half of the aircraft fleet… as well as Mechagodzilla. Final preparations with the Mecha were still undergoing tests, but Twilight was ensured their secret weapon would be ready for them soon. The Mecha, and the other half of the fleet, would be called when reinforcements were absolutely needed. No exceptions.

As for Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Radiance, she and her crew were beginning to board the mighty, lead airship. The Radiance was fully fueled, equipped with an impressive new armament, and ready for takeoff after supplies, fuel reserves, and the crew were aboard.

They numbered quite the crew, consisting of Twilight, the T.I.T.A.N. Directors Celestia and Luna, the Council of Friendship minus Fluttershy, and hundreds of Canterlot’s best scientists, engineers, pilots, and top agents serving as Twilight and the directors’ personal guards.

As for Spike…

“Awww, come on, Twilight!” the young drake groaned, flying beside the princess as she trotted her way over to the Radiance. They were joined by dozens of Royal Guards and T.I.T.A.N. personnel loading up the aircraft, the landing pad filled to the brim with several other airships and Solar Bolts. The morning sun was blinding, making the upcoming journey east all the more difficult.

Something Spike just couldn’t seem to grasp like Twilight could. Telling herself that, Twilight sighed and stopped in her tracks, spinning around to stop him as well. “I already told you last night, Spike: This operation is going to be extremely dangerous, and I don’t want you risking your life.”

Directors Celestia and Luna paused, turning back to see Twilight and Spike’s inevitable confrontation concerning his involvement. There was no rush as of yet. They wanted Twilight to take her time with matters such as this.

Looking past Celestia and Luna, Spike leaned out to spot the lone Royal Guard protecting the entrance to the Radiance, practically stonewalling anypony not qualified for the mission ahead. He frowned, explaining in a deadpan tone, “But it’s totally cool if Pinkie Pie and Rarity get to go?”

Twilight frowned, puffing out her lower lip. “We’re going to need all the Elements of Harmony for this mission. You should know that—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Spike huffed, crossing his arms and turning away in defiance. “Gonna need all the Elements to free Godzilla. I get the gist.”

Her frown slowly dissipated seeing his slumped, almost defeated posture turn away from her. Twilight knew the fight ahead wasn’t going to be easy, and Spike certainly wasn’t making it any easier. Still, she understood his plight, knowing the courage Spike could wield, having witnessed it personally. And to be held back despite it all had to be frustrating. She only wanted him to understand from her point of view.

So, she laid her foreleg over his shoulders and tugged him close. “It’s the same reason I didn’t want the students to join, no matter how much they wanted to,” Twilight explained.

Spike snorted. “The students didn’t get to fight in the Crystal Empire. I did.”

Twilight pulled him closer, leaning her lips close to his ear. “And you were very brave back then. But this isn’t just Ghidorah we’re dealing with, it’s Godzilla, too. It’s the Bewitching Bell. It’s… evil beyond any of our understanding. Because of that, we don’t entirely know what to expect. We’re making the choice that needs to be made, risking our lives to fly out into the dark. I need to know you’ll be safe from that.”

Having explained her reasoning to the best of her ability, Twilight pleaded within that Spike could hopefully come around, to understand her decision. She felt him shivering. “Then I need to know you’ll be safe, too!” he suddenly exclaimed.

Those shivers changed into soft trembles, followed by Spike’s voice cracking and breaking down. With her heart kneaded just right, Twilight spun Spike around to face her, pulling him into the tightest, warmest, most reassuring embrace she could manage for her little brother.

“We’re going to win this, Spike… and then we’re coming home. I promise,” she whispered.

Eyes swelling up, Spike relinquished the growing fears and gripped his sister as tight as ever, claws nearly digging into her coat, not wanting to let go. Twilight didn’t wince to it. She held him even tighter, giving no sense of wanting to let go, either.

In their tearful hug, not a soul took notice to the six figures sneaking onto the Radiance. Initially, they were just five figures, turning out to be Smolder and Silverstream flying from over the edge of the landing pad, carrying Yona around the mighty balloon of the airship, and sneaking onto the ramp. Gallus followed while carrying Sandbar, the five running into the lone Royal Guard.

Only for the guard to transform back into Ocellus. And now reunited, the Young Six went completely unnoticed as they entered the Radiance.

With one last hug goodbye—and a little extra squeeze for luck—Spike stepped away to join the Royal Guards behind him, watching as Twilight turned to join Celestia and Luna. Together, the leadership of Canterlot stepped aboard the ramp of the Radiance and climbed into the hold of the gargantuan airship.

Once inside, the shining sun exemplifying Twilight’s strength and brilliance tore through the glass windshields of the Radiance’s bridge. Despite that, everypony was focused and getting right to work. The pilots gave the directors a notice that the ramp had been risen, all doors had been shut and locked, and all supplies have been successfully loaded into the airship's storage hold.

With that confirmed, Celestia and Luna took their seats near the head of the bridge, looking down the different levels to see Twilight join the other members of the Council of Friendship. It was like nothing had changed, a strong sense of déjà vu filling the two sisters. Just a little more than a year ago, they were all in a similar situation, all joined together to face the evils waiting just beyond the horizon.

Applejack stood directly in front of the windshield, facing down the glaring sun with a fearless glare of her own, tightening her Stetson hat and hopping down to the floor below, joining Twilight and the rest of her friends. Pinkie Pie could hardly contain her excitement, having sped through breakfast provided by the finest chefs Canterlot had to offer to be the first pony on the Radiance. And that was before the pilots had settled the ship on the landing pad. Even they were shocked to see the pink pony miraculously hidden in plain sight in the bridge.

Rarity sat around the large map in the center of the bridge, Pinkie Pie hopping up and down beside her. She greeted Applejack appropriately once the cowpony joined her, the unicorn lighting up when Twilight settled on the opposite end of the table. With her came Rainbow Dash, the fearsome Pegasus having flown around the wide, spacious bridge just enough to tire out her wings. She knew it was going to be a long flight, and she’d rather get as much of a workout as possible before launch.

Together, all five of them sat around the table, the map of Equus nestled between them, as Twilight laid her hoof down and began to go over the plan one more time. Celestia and Luna sighed in tandem, smiling at the sight.

The Elements of Harmony.

Soon, they would reunite with Fluttershy and the rest of Shining Armor’s fleet.

Soon, the Elements would save them all.

But before Twilight could go over the plan, the sirens were blaring and the lead pilot announced loud and proud over the radios, “Alert! All systems are green for takeoff! Clear the landing pad and strap down for launch in ten… nine… eight…”

It all seemed to move so slow for so many ponies. For Twilight in particular. Though joining with her closest friends once again for another adventure was always a dream come true, she couldn’t help but feel oddly cold about the whole ordeal. The plan was sound for the most part, and if they followed it, if everything fell into place, victory would be theirs.

But that was where she felt off. That was where the cold, enveloping darkness emerged. She remembered last year feeling nostalgic for times like these, for battling the forces of evil alongside her friends, traveling to uncharted wilds, meeting new people, new places, and helping spread the magic of friendship. Now, it seemed all the adventures she had with her friends were world-ending catastrophes all centering around the Titans.

And now, for the first time since Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow… the Bewitching Bell was involved. It was in the enemy’s hands, either Ghidorah or… something else. It somehow brought Ghidorah back, and now a greater threat was presented to them beyond Godzilla.

That was the cold Twilight felt. A cold that just wouldn’t wash away, not even under the warmth of her morning sun.

Not even as the Radiance rose from the landing pad and slowly turned to fully face her light. It was spectacular. It was gorgeous in every sense to witness the lands of Equestria so high above the world. It didn’t burn away the cold in her heart, but it helped ease it. Just enough to get a smile out of Twilight, enough to join her friends as they gazed in awe to the majesty of their home.

Far beneath them, they could see the Canterlot train station and the locomotive currently leaving the capital city. The first train ride of the day, and one in particular that left a warming peace in Twilight’s soul. The rest of the Council took part in that peace and comfort, seeing the same train as Twilight and smiling because of it.

Because aboard that train, the Young Six were on their way back to Ponyville safely. Their mysterious friend had joined them, fully intent on seeing the end of her journey further west. Whatever that journey would entail, Twilight wished it one last wish of good luck. Perhaps fate would bring their paths together again.

One day, but not today.

Today belonged to them, and they would see to it victoriously.

The Radiance rose from the landing pad and escaped Canterlot’s airspace, quickly picking up speed. Joining the lead ship were a small fleet of airships and Solar Bolt squadrons serving as support and backup to protect the royalty. Flying past Canterlot Mountain, Twilight and Celestia and Luna gave it one last lingering stare. Reinforcements would join them when they were ready. The Radiance would receive word when that time came.

When they reached a nice, cruising speed in the air, Twilight turned back to the map displayed before her friends. With the sun on her face, she laid her hoof down on the table and began. “Okay… this might be your last chance to ask any lingering questions about the plan. So, girls… are we ready for this?”

“Let the monkey beat on the lizard, use the Elements to get that dark gunk out of Goji’s head,” Rainbow Dash explained rather lazily, hovering above the table like she was laying on a cloud, wings flapping lazily to barely keep her afloat. “Wake me up when we got a challenge,” she yawned.

“It’s lookin’ ta be more of a challenge than that, Dash,” Applejack warned. “Ah mean, we can’t really ferget about that three-headed hydra hidin’ out there… somewhere.”

“And then there’s the Bewitching Bell to think about,” Rarity brought up, already shivering at the prospects of such a weapon in the wrong hooves.

To their surprise, Rainbow merely waved it off with a flick of her hoof and blowing a raspberry. “If the evidence we’ve heard is anything to go by, that undead snake is gonna be close to the Bell. And if Ghidorah’s really controlling Goji, he won’t be far behind once we free him.”

“An’ you can bet on that?” Applejack asked with a raise of her brow.

Rainbow flew down and planted her hooves on the map, though still retaining flight. “Well, no! But it makes sense! Come on, think about it: Ghidorah and Godzilla have had this huge rivalry spanning who even knows how many millions of years. If Ghidorah was finally given the power to control Godzilla and use him to attack the world, he wouldn’t let go of that leash. But if somepony yanked it right out of his slimy claws, he’d have no choice but to come for the ponies who took his prized pet. And then… wham!”

She slammed her hoof on the table, smacking the map almost hard enough to crack the glass. “We pelt that old snake with enough rainbow blasts to send him right back to the stars… preferably as stardust… hehe,” Rainbow chuckled evilly, a sly grin growing across her face.

“While I think we should discuss more on the use of the Elements against an unnatural force like Ghidorah, we really need to focus on that… ‘dark gunk’ in Godzilla’s mind, Rainbow,” Twilight explained, bringing the attention of the table onto her. She even earned the eyes and ears of the former princesses, but Twilight couldn’t see their expressions behind her.

She continued. “If these dark forces are really from the Bell, it’s a power we barely understand. Hay, even Star Swirl struggled to understand it. We could risk causing a nuclear meltdown if the corruption isn’t contained and cleansed properly. I mean, look what happened in the Crystal Empire,” Twilight noted, pressing the tip of her hoof to the ruins on the map of what was once the empire in the Frozen North.

Twilight said, “If Godzilla is too active and there’s too much of the Elements’ power infused with him, it could overwhelm and kill Godzilla like last time.”

“Shucks we don’t have a giant, god-like moth to sacrifice herself this time!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, resting her cheek sadly on the table. Applejack frowned at Pinkie’s comment, while Rarity merely patted the pink mare’s puffy mane in comfort.

“Riiight, but Twilight,” Rainbow interjected, finally landing on the floor of the bridge. “This dark magic can still be pushed out of him, right? The Elements of Harmony have beaten every bad guy we’ve used them against!”

It was several seconds before Twilight inevitably responded, taking that time to really mull over the limitations and potential of the Elements. They were crafted to represent the greatest virtues of the world’s greatest heroes of the time, and were then utilized to combat the age of darkness and chaos that followed the Pillars of Equestria’s disappearance to Limbo. Celestia and Luna wielded the Elements and brought an age of peace never before seen, defeating the likes of Sombra and Discord. Then came Twilight and her friends, using the Elements to best even Luna herself when she was corrupted by Nightmare Moon.

But the Bewitching Bell… the power of Grogar…

Finally, Twilight offered the best answer she could. “The dark magic can more than likely be purged; however, we would need Godzilla in a weakened state, thus giving us the opportunity to only cleanse his mind carefully, with surgical precision. If we can have that… I believe we’ll have no trouble freeing Godzilla. I… I really do believe that.”

It was a respite of peace. At least, a peace of mind. And belief in their actions to bring harmonic balance back to their world was the driving force to what led Twilight to the magic of friendship to begin with. She believed her friends were the key, she believed they represented essential aspects of the Elements’ power, and she believed now the Elements would be enough to defeat the forces of Darkness.

As they always have.

To Twilight’s great relief, Applejack chuckled. “Sounds good ta me!” she drawled, tipping her hat to Twilight with a wink. “An Ah’ll bet that Ghidorah feller won’t be far behind once we manage ta free Godzilla.”

“And with him, the Bewitching Bell! We’ll strike two birds with one stone!” Rainbow cheered, hoof-pumping in the air.

“No matter what happens, we are going to find that dreaded beast and end him, and find the Bell and those responsible for taking it,” Rarity assured the rest of her friends.

Pinkie Pie stood on top of the table, announcing loudly, “And then I’ll finally get to wield the Bell again, turn Ghidorah into cookie crumbles and the rest of the universe into ICING!”

The bridge of the Radiance was so quiet anypony could hear a piece of hair hit the floor. Every head had turned and every eye widened by Pinkie Pie’s strange outburst. A few awkward coughs among the pilots and engineers forced Rainbow to drag down Pinkie from atop the map.

“She doesn’t go anywhere near the Bell,” Rainbow said, pointing her hoof to the pink menace on her left who just couldn’t stop smiling maniacally. “So… Twi, when you say we need Godzilla in a weakened state… and if Kong doesn’t come through for us… do you mean we’ll have to…?”

In an instant, the Council of Friendship took a moment to really question something they hadn’t thought of earlier: their morality in this situation. There was no doubt that they would do anything to end this madness; they couldn’t just let it continue endlessly. But would that ensure a certain action would need to be followed? An action such as severely injuring Godzilla?

Would they do what was necessary to stop Godzilla’s rampage? Would they pull their punches, or would they hurt the creature that was once their ally? And… if all else failed… would they have the strength to end the life of the King of the Monsters?

Twilight gasped at the thought, quickly shaking her head to dash those thoughts away… for now.

“Once we have Mechagodzilla ready… it might come down to that. I have no doubt we have the strength and tools needed to finish this fight, and if that means hurting Godzilla… just a little bit…” Twilight explained, then quickly let her words trail away. As if she didn’t have what it took to say it out loud. At least, not yet.

She sighed. “It’s going to be hard… I don’t think any of us are in a position now to deny that. We don’t have to hurt him too seriously, just enough to stop him and flush out the evil corrupting his mind. If anypony has any issues with that…”

It was a hard truth to accept, but one they needed to. Almost all of their cards were played, and all they had left were a few more aces. Ones that shouldn’t fail, but Twilight and her friends had been proven wrong in the past. They had also been proven right. It was all a matter of trust within one another, trust with their larger team in T.I.T.A.N., and hope that harmony would triumph over chaos.

Rainbow Dash was the first to respond. Slapping her hoof on the table, she met Twilight dead in the eye, no humor to be found in her stare, and declared, “Too many creatures have died already. There’s no room for us to wuss out and not do what needs to be done. We’re gonna fight… and we’re gonna save Godzilla… no matter how much it hurts.”

Seeing Twilight’s stunned expression, she turned to the rest of her friends. “I’m ready for that if you all are.”

Applejack leaned in, laying her hoof down next to Rainbow’s without question. “Ah’m ready.”

Rarity followed, joining them. “We’ll do what needs to be done.”

Pinkie added her hoof to the center of the map. “And we’re going to save the world.”

That just left Twilight, with the four others slowly shifting their focus onto the Alicorn who had yet to respond. Only, Twilight was well in agreement. Her thoughts were on somepony other than herself. “The hardest part is convincing Fluttershy…” the princess mumbled, and realized it was the loudest sound in the bridge.

Because nopony, none of her friends, not even Celestia or Luna, could respond well enough to that. And they thought about that through the long, silent journey east, wondering just what to do with their animal-loving best friend.

Chapter 33 – Stowaways

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The Radiance, Main Bridge

The reunion was short but definitely sweet, once the two T.I.T.A.N. fleets came into contact just northeast of Rainbow Falls.

It was an almost instantaneous merging of the two fleets, the Radiance and her escort of airships and Solar Bolts coming into contact with the Tigerhawk and Silverbolt, as well as their assortment of defensive aircraft. Once the static left the radios and real, living voices spouted out of the machines, there was no end to the greetings and discussions of their next course of action.

But, of course, the greetings were necessary.

Twilight and the remainder of the Council practically crowded around the communications officer of the Radiance. Once initial contact was confirmed and a direct communication was established, Fluttershy was beckoned forth by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance when the Titan Whisperer’s—and more importantly, the Element of Kindness’—closest friends called for her.

It didn’t take long for everycreature’s ears to be assaulted by Pinkie Pie’s shrill voice screaming, “FLUTTERSHY! We missed you sooo much! Oh, you should’ve seen it; there was this giant cannon that fired an ice ray, and-and-and-and we saw a GIANT robo-Godzilla, and then you missed our even gianter best-friend, Element-of-Harmony hoof bump—!”

Rainbow interjected before anycreature could raise their voices in protest to Pinkie’s voice assaulting their eardrums, flying over and wrapping her hoof tightly around the party pony’s mouth. “Pinkie, breathe!” Rainbow warned with a chuckle.

While the Council cringed and continued to rub their ears to recover from Pinkie Pie’s overtly loud greeting, all they heard was a giggle on the other end of the radio call. Then came the gentle, unmistakable voice of their best friend.

“I missed you all so much, too,” Fluttershy replied, as soft and kind as ever, despite the circumstances. Clear across the sky in the bridge of the Tigerhawk, Fluttershy stood beside Shining Armor, Cadance, and their own communications officer. Looking over to the front of the bridge, Fluttershy spotted Lyra, Bon Bon, and Daring Do smiling her way, glad to hear the voices of the Council as well.

It brought enough peace in such trying times… simply hearing the Elements of Harmony united.

Then came Rainbow’s voice that made everycreature’s heart stand still. “Wait… you guys all knew about the robo-Godzilla, right?”

The Tigerhawk’s bridge was quiet. As if every head and every heart turned and waited to hear what their Titan Whisperer had to say about that. Bon Bon’s face hardened, her eyes rising to the windshield to see the ocean beneath her… and Godzilla’s dorsal plates swimming through the waves. Lyra pursed her lips, turning over to Bon Bon and then Daring Do, none of them even tempting the thought to respond.

As for Fluttershy…

Shining turned to see the look in her eyes, as if the life suddenly drained out of her like an empty lung, practically wilting as well. Her ears fell flat against her head, her heavy eyes drooping low in tandem. She tried to speak, tried to breathe, but only shuddering breaths escaped her as a result of her weakened posture. It almost looked as if she was ill.

With some silent pestering from his wife to respond, Shining cleared his throat and spoke toward the microphone. “Yes, we… we know about Project Mecha. The secret project isn’t so secret within the Canterlot T.I.T.A.N. sector… or its closest allies.”

Cadance added, “While we may have had some conflicting thoughts… and doubts… hearing what became of the Mecha in Fillydelphia was a shock to all of us. And… we’re hoping this coming conflict won’t have to resort to its return. We have the Elements of Harmony with us after all.”

The Princess of Love turned to Fluttershy with a comforting, warming smile, intent on raising the Pegasus’ spirits. To her relief, Fluttershy responded with a smile of her own. A weak one at that, but still there. Still very real and well alive.

Twilight responded in the radio by chuckling.

“Last resorts are just that, Cadance. With Kong and the Elements, we’ll have what we need to end this coming battle before it spirals out of control. And… no, Pinkie, it’s not your fault. Don’t give me those puppy dog eyes; you don’t have to be sorry! They knew about Mechagodzilla; it’s fine! Sorry, Pinkie’s just… being clingy and sorry in her own ‘Pinkie Pie’ way.”

“Speakin’ of that giant monkey,” Applejack interjected, trying to bring some focus back to the discussion. “How’s he doin’? From where we’re standin’, he’s kickin’ up enough dust ta rival a buffalo stampede!”

Applejack wasn’t far off in her observation. Beneath the two fleets, the King of Black Skull Island was engaged in what was essentially a singular stampede with him alone in the heart of the dust cloud that trailed him. He had broken through what little forest remained with no hurdles to stop him, rushing out across the empty, lifeless plains along the shoreline. But Kong’s focus wasn’t dead ahead. It was to his right.

And to his right, swimming against the crashing waves trying to reach the shore, Godzilla protruded out of the water. Just barely. Just his spines signaling where he was directed, where his destination was leading him. With the two T.I.T.A.N. crews now united, they could put their minds together to try and figure out just what Godzilla was up to… and where he was going.

Wherever it was, whatever end Godzilla saw that they didn’t, they were at least thankful Kong wasn’t letting Godzilla go so easily. The wounds were still fresh, and the bad blood left from their previous two battles was nowhere near cleansed. Not until one definitively submitted to the other.

Kong would ensure that, and T.I.T.A.N. would be there to end the conflict peacefully. To reach an end where they all won.

Where Godzilla was freed from the dark corruption, Ghidorah was brought to justice, and Kong found a new home.

“He’s doing good,” Cadance finally responded, hardly able to take her eyes off the rushing ape. Almost mystified by the Titan in a way. “We had some close calls in the Celestial Sea… but he handled himself well against Godzilla in the Forbidden Jungle. Given the right opportunity… we think he can do it.”

That earned a collective breath of relief from the Radiance. Admittedly, it earned a few breaths of relief from the Tigerhawk as well. From Lyra in particular, the unicorn leaning back in her chair to gaze to the ceiling. Her first mission as a T.I.T.A.N. agent, and it had gone far beyond any of her expectations.

Landing on Black Skull Island had turned into a race against the clock for the fate of the very world. Not only was Godzilla their target now, but Ghidorah’s return was not just a theory anymore; it was reality. He was out there somewhere, and their greatest hope came from relying on a giant ape… and the Elements of Harmony. At least Lyra was able to find her relief in that, in the heroes of Equestria, and hoped Bon Bon did as well.

But her wife’s thoughts were elsewhere, and the special agent rose up from her chair to approach the communications officer.

Thinking out loud, her eyes darting across the floor as if she was in a trance of deep thought, Bon Bon noted, “Pinkie Pie mentioned a cannon with an ice ray.” Then, she turned around to see where the Radiance emerged out of the thick clouds between the two airships. And the cannon hanging tightly below the underbelly. “Sooo… I’m guessing Project Zero is finally ready for the field? I mean…”

She trotted over to the windshield, spotting the massive weapon resting under the Radiance airship, practically reaching the tip to the opposite end of the craft. “From what I can see… you guys really didn’t want to leave anything to chance,” Special Agent Bon Bon said aloud.

She pressed her hoof gently to the glass, sighing. “Guess you weren’t kidding about last resorts, huh, Twilight?” Bon Bon called.

Back within the bridge of the Radiance, the crew that had gathered around the radio took a moment or two to glance at one another. The Council of Friendship, lost in their silence, and the directors Celestia and Luna almost succumbing to the same fate.

Managing to hear Bon Bon’s voice—albeit, a bit softer—Celestia responded for the princess. “The Absolute Zero Cannon is equipped… testing is complete… and yes… we aren’t taking any chances.”

There was no humor in her tone from what the Tigerhawk could decipher, and they couldn’t blame her. Not after everything that had transpired. Not after Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Abyssinia, and so many others. There was no room left for risks in their arsenal.

Taking clear note of the severity in Celestia’s voice—knowing she had heard it countless times before and understood that weight personally—Twilight gulped softly before taking in a deep breath. One the Tigerhawk heard, and was followed up with, “Are you sure about this, Bon Bon?”

From where Bon Bon was standing, simply seeing the end goal to her recommendations nearly left her breathless, incredulous to actually seeing it. What was once seen as a pet project had grown into a fully funded weapon system that had exceeded all of Bon Bon’s expectations, and pretty much all of the T.I.T.A.N. HQ’s.

If what she heard about its recent test fire was true, then they were dealing with more than a deterrent against the Titans. A simple idea for an ice weapon was dangerously turning toward a do-or-die situation where they could very well end up actually using its incredible power. Against Godzilla, if all else failed…

She spoke her thoughts aloud. “I remember how effective those freezing spells and potions were on the Titans back then… during the Battle of the Three Kings. This cannon is gonna prove useful… and maybe even more effective if it all came down to it.”

Dropping her hoof from the windshield, turning back to Lyra and Fluttershy peering intently at her, Bon Bon managed a smile amid the coming darkness. “But let’s make sure it doesn’t."

The Radiance, Armory

Just what he needed: storage duty.

Not only that, but he was alone to tend to the mighty armory of the Radiance, the rest of the airship’s crew rushing and bustling about to keep the aircraft flying and prepped for any and all Titan-related threats that were sure to come. Add that to the newest addition—the secret weapon system he only knew as “Project Zero”—the electrical systems within the Radiance were on thin ice, metaphorically.

Adding the weapon to the underbelly of the ship proved to be a difficult task, and required a vast amount of power, resources, and ponies to tend to the cannon. It was doable, and the Radiance still flew, so that was a positive. They just never managed to test the cannon’s firing capabilities while attached to the airship, and that left a lot of crewponies worried.

But it was handled for the time being, leaving a lone T.I.T.A.N. agent to deal with their supplies for the coming journey ahead. The unicorn stallion walked slowly across the vast armory, a pen and clipboard levitated in his magical purple aura. Wearing the appropriate black jumpsuit as his fellow agents, the stallion lifted his wearied eyes up and down the stacks upon stacks of crates.

Checking their contents, he confirmed they were filled with the appropriate armament for their ship’s cannons. Plenty of reserve ammo. He marked the appropriate box on his sheet with solid check. Speaking of reserves, the towers of fuel strapped down were meant for the Tigerhawk, the Silverbolt, and the rest of the T.I.T.A.N. fleet. Extras were brought aboard and stored per orders from Princess Twilight herself. He marked them down and moved on.

But before he could even pass the last fuel tank, there was a distinct sound and an obscure movement that caught the agent’s attention, and he nearly leaped out of his coat when he turned to face it. Horn ablaze, dropping the clipboard and pen, he shined a bright light in the direction of the disturbance.

The boxes in the far, opposite end of the armory began shuffling on their own, with no help from the still airs the Radiance was flying against. Aside from the occasional grown of the airship and the light whistling of the wind outside, what the agent heard was anything but that. It felt unnatural, and the movement instantly stopped the second his light covered the boxes. If he wasn’t curious before, he most certainly was now.

That, and the fact he heard some obvious shushing and whispers coming from behind the large stacks of supplies. His curiosity sharpened to needle points, and his intentions readied him for a possible fight. With the bladed gauntlets strapped tightly to his forelegs, his rifle strapped slightly less tight on his back, the T.I.T.A.N. agent slowly made his approach.

As quiet as a mouse, and as efficient as an assassin, just as T.I.T.A.N. trained him and his fellow agents. So that when the time came, when the boxes were levitated with lightning-like speed, the Young Six were completely unprepared for the glaring eyes of the T.I.T.A.N. agent that met them in the blinding light of his unicorn horn.

“Ummm… guess you didn’t hear Princess Twilight’s order about bringing the Elements of Harmony, huh?” Silverstream managed to say, that shred of confidence she had instantly doused by the stallion’s intensified glare.

The Radiance, Main Bridge

The frozen mountaintops of Yaket Range were coming into view. Yet there would be no deterrence for Kong as he continued to pursue Godzilla, the lands ahead looking to be quite manageable for a beast of his stature. Oncoming hills, maybe some sharp drops, but deep on the horizon they could see flat land for miles. Then, the Frozen North.

What that meant, nocreature could really know just yet. Godzilla’s destination was leading them to a familiar landscape, one with bad memories that many of them shared. Or, he could be leading them somewhere completely different. There was no telling. They simply had to follow and wait and see.

What little peace there was just had to be interrupted, bringing in an all new taste of chaos. The steel doors to the bridge of the Radiance swung wide open and slammed against the walls, ensuring every head had spun around to face the disturbance. And when they did, it was the directors and the Council of Friendship who faced it fully, rising up with shock, confusion, and horror gripping their features when reality finally set in.

“Your Highness! Directors! I found something you might find interesting!”

The voice came from the T.I.T.A.N. agent barging through the main doors, his unicorn magic gripping the ears, horns, and feathers belonging to a pony, yak, griffon, changeling, dragon, and Hippogriff. Unmistakable ones, at that. Shoving them forward none too gently, the stallion watched as the six rubbed where his magic had roughly gripped them, sending their own glares his way.

His response was a fierce snort, and a fiercer declaration. “Stowaways.”

Having marched them to the bridge, bringing them out of the shadows and under the spotlight, the sudden realization made the Young Six come to terms with what they now faced. The sudden shame washed over them like the multitude of expressions turned their way. Especially from their old professors, all the shock and heartbreak colliding to make the Young Six visibly cringe back against the onslaught they received.

Every action had a consequence, and they were about to face the coming fury from the Princess of Friendship, and a fury they were familiar with from their former professor and headmare.

“What… how… I…?” Princess Twilight mumbled aloud, and then her confusion morphed into a searing anger, and she began to approach them with heated breaths escaping her gritted teeth. “I can’t believe you six would do this! Going behind our backs, my back, and for what?! I told you the Elements of Harmony had this under control! All you’re doing is risking your lives for a fight you’re wholly unprepared for!”

While Ocellus and Silverstream cowered back as a genuine reaction to facing Twilight’s anger, others stood their ground. Sandbar was one of them when he retorted, “You gotta understand, Twilight, you need more than just your closest friends! You need the future Elements of Harmony! I-It’s the only way we’re gonna win this!”

“Don’t act like you didn’t need us to take down Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy!” Smolder argued as well, stepping forward and joining Sandbar. She jammed her claw accordingly, to Twilight and the rest of the Council. “This is no different!”

“She’s got a point there, Twilight,” Gallus added, stepping up with his friends. “I mean, you gotta admit, the more rainbow firepower you have, the more likely you’re gonna win, right?”

“We help Goji, too!” Yona declared, hopping and then landing fiercely on the floor, almost shuddering the bridge.

But Twilight was done hearing about it. She had already made up her mind.

Shaking her head, taking the first steps back to the radio, Twilight sternly made her stand and didn’t back down from it. “No, you know what, I don’t even wanna hear it. We’re turning around right now and taking you back to Canterlot.”

“What?! You can’t be serious!” Smolder shouted, flapping her wings and rising above the floor in clear agitation, an action that spurred a few T.I.T.A.N. agents to rise out of their seats as well. Just in case it escalated further.

“But, Twilight, we have to be here for this! Harmony said so!” Silverstream suddenly argued, having gained the courage to admit what was on all of her friends’ hearts.

And just as she thought her mind was made… something managed to halt it.

Turning back slowly, eyeing them curiously, Twilight narrowed her eyes and asked, “Wait… ‘Harmony’? What are you—?”

“As much as we would like to delve into this ‘Harmony’ matter, I think it’s important to mention that it’s not feasible to turn the Radiance around now,” Celestia interjected, stepping forward to join Twilight, even if she didn’t join Twilight’s reasoning. “Time is of the essence, and we shouldn’t waste it by turning back. We have already burned too much fuel to return to Canterlot anyway, and our reserves are meant for the remainder of this mission, as well as Shining Armor’s fleet.”

“And just as well…” Luna added, earning the attention of the bridge, “… we should not turn away from this path Godzilla and Kong are leading us toward. I feel… we are nearing a terrible disturbance. But an important one. One I recognize… and one I had hoped Godzilla nor Kong would have brought us. Yet we must face this.”

There was more Twilight wanted to argue, but she couldn’t find the right words to her reasoning. Teleportation was out of the question, as they were too high up and in uncharted wilds for Twilight to properly place a location. And they were too far from Canterlot, or any civilization for her to teleport or drop the students off to. Her friends seemed to share her thoughts, none of them really coming up with a safe and effective solution to go against Celestia and Luna’s reasoning.

The solution was right in front of her, no matter how much it hurt Twilight to admit it.

Groaning, rubbing her hooves tightly against her temples and then eventually giving in, Twilight shot her hoof above her head and exclaimed, “Okay! The students can stay.”

Their celebration was cut short by Twilight’s razor-sharp glare. “But you have to stay out of trouble. That means staying behind us and doing exactly what we say. No matter what. Got it?”

With some hesitation and reluctance—and a few sighs and groans to go alongside it—the Young Six eventually agreed, giving their word individually to Twilight. With a sigh of her own, Twilight held out her hoof to them, urging them to take a seat around the table with the other members of the Council of Friendship, as well as the other Elements of Harmony.

They did so cautiously, still uneased by every eye in the bridge watching every step they took, as if they were ticking time bombs just ready to go off at any second. Sure, they weren’t professionals when it came to harnessing their harmony magic, but they were far from destructive. They just needed to convince the remainder of T.I.T.A.N. that.

As they surrounded the table, Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared behind them, wrapping her forelegs around each of the Young Six in a tight hug. “Don’t you guys worry! I’ll protect you with my life if I have to!” she whispered sharply to them, a confident—albeit, slightly chaotic—smile gripping her lips. Perhaps the thought of more Elements joining the fight made her mind run wild with the possibilities, and she couldn’t wait to try them all out.

“Uh… appreciate it, Pinkie,” Ocellus managed to mumble, forcing a smile to Pinkie’s crazed one.

“Little rebels…” Rainbow snickered, holding out her hoof to Sandbar. “All right, kiddos… welcome aboard to the real fight. Just… try not to get in the way too much.”

She finished it off with a wink. He eventually succumbed to the temptation and smiled weakly in return, smacking his hoof against Dash’s. Applejack chuckled lightly, tipping her hat to the Young Six and leaning back in her chair to catch some shut eye. If it was going to be a long trip, she was looking to get some rest out of it before the scat hit the fan.

Despite the acceptance they received from their fellow Elements of Harmony, the Young Six just didn’t seem to quite fit in, nor did they feel entirely welcome. Seeing their downtrodden expressions, Rarity’s heart ached for them, and got an idea. A nice distraction from the wearied spirits that took over the bridge.

“Ehem!” Rarity cleared her throat, earning the table’s eyes. “Well… if you’re going to be involved in whatever ghastly business is undoubtedly waiting for us… might as well get a glimpse to ready yourselves. Have you all seen Kong or Godzilla yet?”

Seeing the Young Six shake their heads, Rarity grew a knowing grin. “Would you like to?”

Just like that, the childlike wonder suddenly filled their eyes once again, the spirit of youth and discovery still fresh in their veins and not forgotten. Rarity had hoped for that, and gladly led the Young Six over to the windshield, pointing down to the ape currently stampeding across the tundra. Then, to the mighty and fearsome Godzilla swimming in the ocean below them.

The awe and spectacle of the beasts earned several sounds of wonderment from the kids, and Twilight turned to thank Rarity with a soft smile and a nod, to which she returned with a fabulous smile as always.

Turning back to the radio and the microphone, Twilight sighed and recollected her thoughts. “Uh, Shining Armor… little update over here. Turns out my old students decided to hop aboard unaccounted for. They’re staying with us. We’re not gonna turn around because we all need this fuel now.”

Far off inside the bridge of the Tigerhawk, Twilight’s update certainly turned a few heads. Fluttershy in particular gasped aloud, hoof raised to her lips, shocked to hear what the Young Six had done. Certainly they understood the severity of the situation, and what was at stake? Twilight had to have made that clear to them. If anything, Fluttershy couldn’t fathom the thought of any of them getting hurt. Cadance and Shining felt the same way.

But they all understood why they couldn’t stop.

Sighing in response, Shining rubbed a hoof across his face to mend the growing migraine. Now there were kids involved, kids under their care, and kids whose lives they needed to protect. Kids who could wield the power of the Elements, but still... “Appreciate the update… We’ll continue on course. And thanks again for bringing those fuel reserves, Twily. We’ll fill up the fleet next time we stop,” Shining responded.

“Which will be…” Daring Do said and pointed to the windshield, to the two Titans heading to an uncertain location, “… whenever these guys decide to stop and duke it out.”

With that thought to add to his migraine, Shining shook his head and acknowledged it regardless. “Let’s just see where the big guys are leading us…”

So, they pressed on. Both fleets of the Radiance and the Tigerhawk and Silverbolt. They pressed on through the thick clouds, the coming storms, and every uncertainty on the board. An impressive fleet filled with some of the greatest heroes Equestria had ever known, onward to the journey and war that would undoubtedly determine the fate of their world, and every life within it.

There were certainly some remaining questions Shining Armor had about the Young Six joining. Would they be called to fight, to utilize their harmonic bond to help Godzilla or stop Ghidorah? Would he even be able to manage the possibility of any of them becoming seriously injured or, heaven forbid, lose their lives? He didn’t know if he could trust himself to keep the kids safe, let alone the army of T.I.T.A.N. he was helping to lead.

But he trusted his sister, and the more Elements of Harmony, the better, he came to conclude to himself.

Besides, Twilight needed to understand just what Silverstream meant when she brought up Harmony.

A King to a God

by JDPrime22

Chapter 1 – Hooves First into Hell

Interlude One

Chapter 2 – Sons of the Earth

Chapter 3 – Global Protector

Chapter 4 – Zenith

Chapter 5 – Where the Answers Lead

Interlude Two

Chapter 6 – Lock and Key

Chapter 7 – For Better or Worse

Chapter 8 – The Day

Chapter 9 – Mechagodzilla

Chapter 10 – The Shin

Chapter 11 – Black Summer

Chapter 12 – An Unexpected Party

Chapter 13 – Evolution

Chapter 14 – The Old War

Chapter 15 – What Was Lost

Chapter 16 – Titan Savior

Chapter 17 – Land of the Living

Interlude Three

Chapter 18 – I Saw You

Chapter 19 – Ace in the Hole

Chapter 20 – The World Needs Him

Chapter 21 – Next Generation

Chapter 22 – First Light

Chapter 23 – Home

Interlude Four

Chapter 24 – Round 1

Chapter 25 – The Doubter

Chapter 26 – Hope

Chapter 27 – Round 2

Chapter 28 – The Prophet

Chapter 29 – Reunion

Chapter 30 – Lullaby of the Shobijin

Chapter 31 – Zero Hour

Chapter 32 – By Our Hooves

Chapter 33 – Stowaways