Part Three

Monsters and Magic

The concrete canyons of Manehatten echoed with the blare of emergency sirens. Its streets were filled with lines of ponies all making slow, but steady progress out of the city.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had arrived a short time before and set up headquarters in the Equestrian State Building. Discord was there as well, drumming his mis-matched fingers and looking bored. The royal sisters stood over a vast map of the city, talking with their advisors.

"The city is being evacuated as we speak, your majesties," said Mayor LaGallopa.

"We're concentrating our forces along the waterfront," said General Pottok. "We intend to keep him out of the city as long as possible."

"I believe Discord may be able to help you with that," said Princess Celestia, turning to the draconequs.

He looked round as if confused.

"Oh, did you want me to do that now?" he said. "Oh, very well; as you wish."

He strolled to the window, considered the waterfront for a moment, and then snapped his fingers and a huge wall, hundreds of feet high, appeared around the city, topped with barbed wire and searchlights, as well as guard towers, each one manned by a Discord clone.

"I think that's just what the skyline needed," he said with sigh of admiration for his own work. "Assuming the city is still standing after today, I might just keep it up there."

Celestia was too busy giving orders to respond to this.

"Spitfire, are the Wonderbolts all assembled?"

"Almost, your majesty," she answered. "I sent Soarin to fetch Rainbow Dash. We're going to need a flyer of her caliber today. But so far, she's a no show."

"I have no doubt she will be here, and Princess Twilight as well," said Celestia. "In the meantime, have your pegasi scanning the skies for any sign of Mogu's approach."

"Consider it done," said Spitfire, saluting and flying out of the window like a streak of lightning.

"Sister," said Luna. "What can we do if he is immune to magic? How do you propose we save the city?"

"I don't," said Celestia. "Our duty is not to save Manehatten. Our duty is to hold it until Princess Twilight Sparkle arrives."

"Really?" said Discord. "You're just slumping off your responsibility on her?

"Not at all," said Celestia imperturbably. "If any of our subjects can save Equestria from this threat, it is Princess Twilight and her friends."

"Oh, of course; I forgot," said Discord. "The magic of friendship! Well, why didn't you say so? I was starting to get worried about the invincible dragon coming to destroy us all. But now that I know we have friendship on our side, I don't even know what I was afraid of!"

"It was enough to defeat you," Luna reminded him. Discord scowled.

"Touché," he muttered.

Princess Ember flew in through the window.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Thank you, Ember," said Celestia. "But we are doing all that can be done. You and your father should return to the Dragon Lands to be with your people. Mogu will be focused on Equestria for the near future, and you should take the chance to regroup."

"We're not going to abandon you…" Ember began.

"I don't expect you to," said Celestia. "If we cannot hold him here today, we will need the aid of the dragons. Gather your forces and be prepared them for a desperate battle."

Ember nodded, spread her wings, and took off. A moment later, the enormous shape of her father soared across the sky after her. Celestia sighed.

"I hope that was wise, sister," said Luna. "If Princess Twilight fails, Torch was the only creature who could match Mogu."

"He has already tried and failed," Celestia reminded her. "Torch cannot save us. The assembled dragons, perhaps, but I pray it does not come to that."

"I'm sure that will be a great comfort when we're all huddled in bunkers waiting for the fallout to die down," said Discord, appearing in a bright orange hazard suit.

The sisters cast him an annoyed look, but before they could say anything Spitfire zoomed back through the window.

"Your highnesses!" she gasped. "He's on his way! He'll be here in five minutes, tops!"

"The city is not nearly evacuated," said Luna.

"Discord!" Celestia said.

"What?" He said, now in a green army uniform and helmet. "Oh, really; now you're just abusing my good will."

He snapped his fingers and the long lines of fleeing ponies vanished.

"There, that should count as my good deed for the day. I mean, I already made that wall."

Celestia and Luna didn't respond. They were already flying to the front lines. Discord sighed.

"Oh, well," he muttered, shouldering a rifle he'd conjured for the purpose. "I didn't really want to live forever anyway."

---

Sirens blared as Mogu swept into Equestrian airspace. Cannons mounted on Discord's wall and manned by his own clones opened fire. The shells burst against his scarlet scales and he snarled in pain.

Make them pay for that, said King Ghidorah's voice in his head.

Mogu unleashed his heat beam. It swept across the top of the wall like a scythe, blasting the whole top half to bits. He flew over a guard tower and fired straight down, blasting his beam through the center of the structure and causing it to shatter like glass in the inferno. Roaring with triumph, Mogu flew on past the ruined wall.

Discord's wall had bought Manehatten less than one minute.

The E.U.P. Guard opened fire in their turn. The unicorns and Earth Ponies hurled rocks and bombs into their air at the oncoming monster, while the pegasi, with the Wonderbolts at their head, flew in close to bring their razor-sharp wings to bear.

Mogu twisted and whipped his tail through the air, swatting the pegasi from the sky. The missiles from the other ponies impacted upon his scales without causing the slightest damage. Roaring, he soared down, his mouth open as his beam poured forth.

Princess Celestia teleported in front of her soldiers and met the beam with one of her own. She could not harm him, but she could block his attacks.

"Fall back!" cried Princess Luna, soaring over the guards. "Everypony fall back!"

Mogu cut his beam and flew in, snarling.

Kill them, said Ghidorah. Kill them all.

He slashed one giant claw through the air and sent Princess Celestia flying. He swung back and knocked Luna through a skyscraper. Then Discord appeared, grown to match him in size and armed with a sword and shield.

"For Fluttershy!" he cried, and charged, swinging for the dragon's head. Mogu ducked the blow and unleashed his heat beam again. Discord raised his shield to catch the blast, but it shattered at once under the raw force and the Master of Chaos was blasted back into a high-rise apartment building, which collapsed in flames on top of him.

Mogu laughed. It was all so easy. He'd just beaten the best Equestria had to offer, and he hadn't even broken a sweat. Soaring over the city, he landed on top of the Equestrian State Building and roared in triumph.

"Is that all you've got?" he bellowed. "Is that the best you puny, pathetic ponies can throw at me?"

Good, said Ghidorah. Now kill them. Burn them to the ground. Leave nothing but flaming ruins.

Mogu was only too happy to comply. But just as he was preparing another blast from his heat beam, which would lay waste to several city blocks, a terrible, bell-like roar sounded from the ocean.

He'd never heard anything like that. But Ghidorah had. Mogu felt the spirit within him writhe in shock.

No…it said. Not here. He can't be here…

"What is it?" Mogu asked, squinting through the smoke towards the harbor. For a moment, he thought it was a column of ash rising from the destruction by the waterfront. Then, as the wind blew the smoke away and he saw it better, he realized what it was.

All of a sudden, Mogu felt very much like Garble the dragon again. He gulped as he beheld the monster striding ashore. It was bigger than he was; much bigger. Not only that, but there was something about the way it moved and walked that made him afraid to face it; a sense of raw power and indomitable will that made his spirit shrink within him.

Godzilla, Ghidorah growled. So they brought you here, did they?

"What do I do now?" Mogu asked.

There was a pause.

Kill him.

---

Godzilla's arrival in Manehatten was accompanied by a massive tidal wave as his bulk displaced enough water to swamp the docks and flood the whole waterfront. He strode ashore, streaming seawater off his flanks as his feet crushed the wharves and warehouses. He was as tall as most of the skyscrapers.

"Remember," said Twilight as she and Fluttershy flew close beside his head. "We need you to subdue, Mogu; not kill him. If you kill him, King Ghidorah's spirit will be set free and still be able to menace Equestria."

Godzilla snorted, then roared a challenge across the city.

"He understands," said Fluttershy. The two ponies retreated to the Ponyville balloon, with which they had led Godzilla to Manehatten and his showdown with Mogu.

"Well, now we see if this works," said Applejack as Twilight and Fluttershy rejoined the others.

"It will," said Rainbow Dash, who had been receiving magical medical treatment from Starlight and Twilight along the way. "I'm definitely betting on the Big G there to win. I mean, I've fought him."

"We all fought him," Applejack reminded her.

"I really don't think you can call what you did 'fighting,' AJ," said Rainbow smugly.

"Girls, that's not really the point here," said Twilight a little testily. She was nervous, and Rainbow and Applejack's usual bickering was not helping.

Godzilla roared again. From the top of the Equestrian State Building, Mogu gave an answering cry and sprang into the air.

The dragon flew straight at the monster, lifted his head, and unleashed his heat beam. It lanced across Godzilla's chest, and the monster roared in pain and stepped back, but stayed standing. His dorsal plates blazed blue as Mogu flew past him, banked, and turned to make another run. The Atomic Ray burst from Godzilla's jaws, slicing across the skies after Mogu. The dragon yelped and put on a burst of speed, trying to escape the destructive beam. The ray cut through a skyscraper, blowing off the top floors. As Godzilla cut his ray, Mogu banked and flew straight for him. The monster roared in rage and charged up Harness Boulevard to meet the oncoming dragon. Mogu struck him head on, sinking his claws into Godzilla's gills and pivoting around to dig his back claws into the monster's side.

With a howl of fury, Godzilla twisted his head around and bit hard into Mogu's arm, at the same time pummeling the dragon's body to dislodge him.

Mogu shrieked under the terrible blows and tried to fly away, but Godzilla maintained a bulldog grip on his arm, twisting and pulling him around and slamming him into a hi-rise apartment. The impact shook Mogu free of the monster's grip as the building collapsed about him. Godzilla closed in, seeking to finish him off, but Mogu's tail swept out and slashed across his face, giving the dragon the chance to take to the sky once more. The dragon banked and flew at him from behind. Godzilla twisted his head to follow his progress, but seemed to make no move to avoid the attack.

Idiot, Mogu thought. Looks like he's too slow to keep up.

Don't underestimate him, fool! Ghidorah snapped.

Come on; he's not even turning…

Then, just before he reached him, Godzilla suddenly ducked and twisted, swiping the air with his huge tail. It slammed into Mogu and sent him careening through the skies and into the side of an office building. Before he could recover, Godzilla's massive fist slammed into the side of his face, smashing it back into structure. Steel beams bent and concrete shattered as Godzilla pummeled Mogu, pushing him further and further into the building until, at last, it collapsed into rubble on top of him.

The fight might have ended right there if Godzilla hadn't also been caught in the collapsing skyscraper. He snarled in pain and frustration as the top floors came crashing down on his head, forcing him back and giving Mogu the chance to crawl out from under the falling structure.

Battered, bruised, and feeling like his ribs were broken, Mogu probably wouldn't have been able to keep going if the enraged spirit of King Ghidorha hadn't driven him onwards. He took off once more, flew out a dozen blocks, then turned back and fired his heat beam. But Godzilla's plates had already blazed with heat almost before the building had finished collapsing, and the Atomic Ray erupted from his jaws. The two beams met in midair with an impact that shattered every window in the city. Such was the power of the Atomic Ray that the heat beam was immediately overwhelmed. Godzilla's ray pushed Mogu's beam back and the two combined blasts struck Mogu full on, hurling him back into the Chrystaller Building, which exploded upon impact.

"Yeah!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "He's totally kicking his flank!"

"And destroying Manehatten in the process!" wailed Rarity.

"Uh, does anypony else feel like we shouldn't be up here?" asked Starlight. "I mean, one stray blast and we're done for."

"Yeah, I'm with Starlight on this," said Spike. "Can we go somewhere…safer?"

"I really don't think there's many safe places in Manehatten at the moment," said Twilight as a huge piece of flaming wreckage flew past them to land in the ocean. "But…yeah, we probably can find a better place to be."

They landed the balloon on the roof of a flooded hay packing plant. The sounds of the epic battle of monsters reverberated through the buildings all around them.

"I just thought of something," said Twilight as they climbed out of the balloon. "Where're Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"Sure you aren't forgetting anyone, Princess Twilight?"

Discord, looking distinctly bedraggled, came rowing into view on an inflatable raft.

"Discord!" exclaimed Fluttershy happily, giving him a hug. "Are you all right?"

"Nothing wounded but my pride," he said, patting her affectionately. "I must admit, I'm rather impressed by what you cooked up, Twilight."

"I'm glad you're okay, Discord," said Twilight. "Do you know what happened to Luna and Celestia?"

"Last I saw of them, they were being swatted by that thing," he said. "I'm afraid I rather lost sight of them after that, what with the building falling on my head."

Twilight felt cold dread seep into her chest.

They'll be fine. She told herself. Nothing can put them down for long.

"What do we do now?" asked Applejack.

Twilight pushed her fear for her mentor's safety out of her mind and tried to think.

"The fate of Equestria is at stake in this fight," she said. "We should be ready to do whatever we can to make sure Godzilla wins it."

---

Get up, Ghidorah's voice sounded in Mogu's head. Get up, weakling. Stop being so pathetic.

Mogu lay in the wreckage of the Crystaller Building, in pain all over. The direct hit from the atomic ray had nearly killed him.

I said get up!

"I can't beat this guy," Mogu groaned.

You pathetic, mewling child, Ghidorah snarled. Do as I say! We are not done here yet.

Godzilla strode to the wreckage and peered down to see whether his enemy would rise again. Suddenly, Mogu lashed out and raked his claws across his face. Godzilla shrieked in pain and surprise, drawing back. The dragon twisted and blasted upwards with the full force of his beam, then sprang up into the air.

Godzilla roared and struck out at the flying monster, but his blows only hit air. Mogu's tail lashed out and whipped him across the face, then he swooped in and slashed at his eyes with his back claws. Godzilla made a grab for him, but Mogu was already out of reach again. He twisted in mid-air and fired directly down onto Godzilla's head, then as the monster turned, his plates blazing, Mogu dropped onto his head, hooking his back claws into Godzilla's gills. The atomic ray erupted from his mouth, but Mogu forced Godzilla's head down and to the side, so that the beam ripped through the financial district, demolishing building after building. It struck the north tower of the Hooflyn Bridge and blew it to bits, sending suspension wires whipping through the city like enormous snakes.

Yes! Ghidorah said. That's it!

Mogu took to the air again as Godzilla, now blind with rage, grabbed for him, missed, and took another blow under the chin from his tail, then a cross from his front claws, then a point-black heat beam. Godzilla was forced back under this assault, unable to recover the initiative.

Keep it up! Stay on him!

He pressed the attack, darting and swooping like an enormous bird of prey, slashing with his claws and tail, then backing off and firing his heat beam when Godzilla seemed to get too close. He was feeling confident now; he could keep this up for a while yet, and surely even Godzilla had his limits. He'd wear him down, and then…

But Mogu wasn't quick or clever enough to overwhelm Godzilla for long. The King of the Monsters had fought more foes than could be reckoned, including many faster and stronger than Mogu. As the dragon flew in again, he missed his timing, and Godzilla's massive claw caught him in mid-air, dropping him down onto Maneway Station. Before Mogu could recover, Godzilla seized one of his flailing wings and bit hard into it. The dragon shrieked in pain and tried to claw the monster off, but to no avail.

Then, all of a sudden, a wave of burning gold energy surged out from Mogu's body, dislodging Godzilla and sending him stumbling against an office building, snarling in surprise. Mogu was surprised too; he hadn't known he could do that.

Yes…said Ghidorah's voice. At last, I have discovered the secret of your magic.

"How did you do that?" Mogu gasped as, unable to fly with his damaged wing, he climbed up the side of the nearest skyscraper.

So simple, said Ghidorah. It is powered by emotion; my hate makes us strong.

Mogu remembered; in one of Trixie's lessons, she had mentioned that magic was fueled by what you were feeling. He had used his own anger to achieve what little success he'd been able to manage. And now, he had the endless hatred of King Ghidorah at his disposal.

Godzilla came at him with a snarl. All of a sudden, Mogu felt the spirit within him rise like vomit, and he acted almost without volition. His front claw made a swipe through the air, and a jet of gold flashed from the palm and sliced through Godzilla's body. The monster stumbled and checked his advance, howling in pain. Ghidorah laughed, then swept the golden scythe through the air again. Godzilla stumbled backwards with a snarl that was like a shriekd as the magic sliced through him again. Mogu ascended to the top of the skyscraper, looked down on his enemy, and laughed.

"That's magic, Godzilla," said Mogu, but the words didn't come from him. Ghidorah was speaking through him. "Do you even know what that is? It's something unique to this world. Something you've never had to face before."

Godzilla raised his blazing gold eyes and his plates flashed blue. But when the Atomic Ray poured forth, a golden bubble appeared around Mogu and the beam was deflected into the sky. Mogu raised his claw and a huge pile of debris was lifted into the air, condescend into a massive ball of metal and stone, and hurled into Godzilla's face. Such was the power of this blow that the King of the Monsters was knocked off his feet and crashed to earth with an impact that shook the whole city. The condensed ball of debris was then brought crashing down upon his head again and again, crushing it to the earth until the ball broke apart over the dazed monster.

"You shouldn't have come here," Ghidorah snarled. "When we fought bodily strength, you barely defeated me. Now we fight with magic!"

He raised his claws, and in the sky above him there formed a great golden spear a hundred feet long.

"What magic do you have, King of the Monsters?!" Ghidorah spat as he prepared to hurl the weapon through Godzilla's heart. But before he could, something struck him from behind like a bomb, sending him flying off his pedestal in a blast of many colors. The golden spear dissolved as Mogu fell, roaring in fury. He landed hard on the top of a low apartment building, shook himself, and turned in search of the source of the attack.

Rainbow Dash, having hit Mogu full on with a Sonic Rainboom, now hovered in the sky above him, a little dazed, but defiant.

"No one treats my friend like that!" she shouted.

Mogu roared as fury at the pony's interference rose in his chest like lava.

"Uh oh…" Rainbow just had time to dart away before Mogu sent his heat beam after her, slicing through buildings as he sought to pin her down. But before he could catch her, there was a searing pain in his eye as a huge amount of hot sauce struck him. He shrieked in rage and pain, then whipped around, seeking to incinerate Pinkie Pie in turn, but before he could find her, a huge I-beam came hurtling through the air to strike him in the head. He whipped around, only to catch another one from behind.

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, each putting forth all of their considerable magical might, stood on the tops of buildings on either side and were telekinetically hurling huge chunks of debris at Mogu. Now nearly blinded with rage, the same golden blast erupted from Mogu's body, sweeping out from him in a wave of force that shattered stone and bent steel. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Starlight were sent flying by the blast, but Twilight shielded herself and held her ground, her face bright with sweat, her horn glowing like the sun as she faced the King of Terror.

"I know who you are King Ghidorah!" she shouted. She magically picked up another fallen steel beam and swung it at his head. Mogu ducked and melted it with his heat beam.

"You may be able to do magic," she went on. "But you don't understand it at all. If you did, you'd see that Godzilla has a magic you will never have; the magic of friendship!"

Mogu lunged at her. Twilight teleported out of the way, but Ghidorah had anticipated the move. He immediately swung around and seized her in his massive claw. Twilight gasped in pain as he squeezed her tight, her wings beating helplessly against his fingers.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," King Ghidorah snarled. "Your reign is at an end!"

And he opened his mouth to annihilate the Princess of Friendship in one blast.

That's when Godzilla rose behind him, grabbed his head, and slammed it down into a rooftop. Twilight suddenly found herself flying through the air and just managed to teleport to safety before being dashed against the concrete. Meanwhile, Godzilla swung Mogu around by his head and hurled him through a department store to land in a crumpled heap at the far end of Bridleway. With a terrifying roar of fury, Godzilla charged after him.

"Aw, buck me…" Mogu whimpered. The sudden assault had seemed to stun Ghidorah, and for the moment Mogu was just Garble the dragon again, too panicked to bring any magic to bear. He picked himself up and half-ran, half-leapt down Bridleway, trying to put some distance between him and his enemy.

At the other end of the thoroughfare, Applejack saw him coming and immediately had a plan. Her own rope would obviously be no good, but one of the narrow suspension cables from the Hooflyn Bridge was lying in the street directly in front of her.

"Rarity!" she shouted, bucking one end of the cable across the street. Rarity caught it telekinetically and tied it around one of the columns of the Manehatten Opera House.

"I do hate to do this to such a beautiful structure," she commented. "But desperate times do call for sacrifices."

Applejack, with Fluttershy's help, wound hers through the façade of Carneighie Hall, pulling it tight just as Mogu came hurtling past along the thoroughfare. His knees ran against the cable, and almost at once it ripped the pillar off of the opera house and tore half the façade off of the hall…but it had held long enough to send Mogu falling flat on his face.

"Yee-haw!" cried Applejack. "Now that's what I call a ropin'!"

Meanwhile, Godzilla stepped forward and seized Mogu by the back of his head, lifted him up, and then slammed him face-first into Carneighie Hall. Applejack and Fluttershy fled for their lives as the hall was demolished behind them. Godzilla smashed Mogu's head into the building again and again, until the hall was reduced to rubble, then hurled him down the street into a marquis, demolishing it in a hail of dust and sparks.

Snarling, dazed, and injured, but with the hatred of the spirit within him rising again, Mogu twisted around in the rubble and cast his magic golden scythe through the air again, intending to lacerate Godzilla once more. But just before it struck, it vanished as another golden beam of magic intercepted it.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both battered, but alive, soared into battle on either side of Godzilla, Princess Celestia's horn blazing as she strove to block Ghidorah's power. Howling with fury, Mogu fired his heat beam at her, but Luna blocked it before it had gone halfway.

While Mogu was momentarily distracted fighting the two sisters, Godzilla's spines blazed blue and white once more. He opened his mouth and unleashed the most powerful atomic ray he had yet used. The beam of pure radiation struck Mogu full in the chest, blasting him down Bridleway and straight into Madison Mare Garden, which exploded in a great orange fireball on impact.

"Princess Twilight!" Celestia called. "I believe this may be our chance!"

Twilight, overjoyed at seeing her mentor alive after all, nodded and raced to join them. Mogu was crawling out of the blazing wreckage, and the princesses arrived just as Godzilla reached him and placed one enormous foot on his chest, pinning the charred, battered dragon to the ground. Mogu shrieked, but Godzilla bent over and seized his face, pinning his jaws shut before he could fire his heat beam again.

He as subdued as he was going to be.

"Now!" cried Princess Celestia, and the three alicorns pointed their horns at Mogu and cast the exorcism spell at the same time. There was a terrible scream, and Mogu writhed and twisted, but Godzilla held him fast in an unbreakable grip. What appeared to be fire flowed out of Mogu's scales and ascended, caught in the interlocking beams of magic that came from the horns of the three princesses. The fire took on a huge, serpentine shape and gave a shriek that seemed to be pure hatred made sound. But it wasn't directed at the ponies.

Godzilla roared in reply.

A moment later, there was a flash, and the fiery image was gone.

Breathing hard, the three princesses descended, while Godzilla stepped back from his foe. Mogu was gone, and in his place was no one but Garble the dragon, looking distinctly worse for wear.

"You did it, Twilight!" Spike shouted as he came riding in on Rarity's back, accompanied by Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Starlight, and Discord.

"I don't think I can take credit for this one, Spike," said Twilight gently, looking up at Godzilla and smiling.

"That was," said Rainbow Dash. "The coolest thing I have ever seen in my life! Did you see how Godzilla just beat the manure out of that guy!? Oh my gosh; I would totally hoof-bump him for that if I didn't think it would kill me!"

Garble sat up with a groan, then noticed the seven ponies and Spike gathered before him. With a cry of hatred, he started forward. But before he moved more than two steps, Celestia and Luna stepped in front of him.

"I would think long and hard before you make your next move, Garble," said Celestia in a dangerous tone. He glared at the princesses for a moment, then lowered his gaze and backed down.

Leaving him under the watchful eyes of her sister, Celestia flew up to speak to Godzilla face to face.

"We are most grateful for your assistance, Godzilla," she said. "It is truly an honor to have you here in Equestria, and to count you among our friends."

He growled. It was difficult to tell, but Twilight thought he seemed rather pleased.

"So, what are we gonna do with Garble now?" asked Pinkie Pie, eying the subdued dragon.

"I have an idea," said Discord. "It starts with an 'S' and ends with an 'Ending him to another dimension.'"

"That's your solution to everything," said Applejack.

He shrugged. "Why change what works, am I right?"

Starlight and Fluttershy chuckled, but composed themselves as Princess Celestia landed before them.

"As a matter of fact, I have already given thought to that, Pinkie Pie," she said. "And I have decided to give him a choice."

"Oh, don't tell me we're supposed to make friends with him now," Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry, Rainbow," said Celestia, smiling slightly. "I'm not quite that merciful."

Rainbow Dash, who hadn't really intended her to hear, smiled sheepishly and blushed.

"Garble!" said Celestia, glaring down into the crater. "You have invaded Equestria and caused severe damage to one of our most important cities. This is an inexcusable crime that demands severe punishment. However, I shall give you a choice. You can either be returned to the Dragon Lands to face justice from Dragon Lord Ember…"

"The hay I will!" he snarled. "You think I'm ever going to acknowledge that pony-loving brat as Dragon Lord? She's never going to have the satisfaction of standing in judgment over me!"

"Very well," said Celestia, smiling. "In that case, you can go another round with Godzilla."

Garble's face took on an odd, slack appearance, as if his muscles had all stopped working at once. He looked up at the towering monster glaring down on him and swallow.

"I…what was the first one again?"

The ponies all laughed.

"Discord, if you would…"

"Your wish is my command, Celly old dear!" he said. He snapped his fingers and Garble was gone.

"You did send him back to the Dragon Lands, right?" said Rainbow, a little nervously. "I mean, you didn't just make him…disappear?"

"And deny the dragons the pleasure of dealing with him?" said Discord. "Really, Rainbow Dash, sometimes I think you don't know me at all. His cries for mercy are going to be my new ringtone."

Rainbow didn't know what a 'ringtone' was, but you had to expect that sort of thing from Discord.

All at once, Twilight went rigid and her eyes blazed white.

"And here we go again," said Spike.

The vision was different this time. The shape was still akin to a giant moth, but now it seemed composed of pure, radiant light of an infinity of colors. Princess Twilight Sparkle saw that which few mortals had; Mothra unmasked. Such beauty she had never seen or imagined, and she bowed low.

"I commend you, Princess Twilight Sparkle," said Mothra. "Few have been able to work alongside Godzilla as successfully as you, nor shown him such kindness."

"I don't think I did much," said Twilight. "He did most of the work, and it was Fluttershy who talked him into it."

"And it was you who treated him as a friend and ally. Thanks to your leadership, King Ghidorah is again safely contained in the borders of my world."

The beautiful spirit smiled on her.

"Now," she said. "I think you will want to send Godzilla back as well. When you are ready, I will help you."

The vision ended and Twilight found herself again in the ruins of Manehatten.

"Well? What'd you see this time?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight smiled.

"Mothra commends you all for your bravery," she said. She looked up at the towering monster overhead. "And she says that it's time for somepony to be going home."

She, Fluttershy, and the two other Princesses flew up to face Godzilla.

"Thank you for your help and your courage," said Twilight. "We never could have won that fight without you, and we owe you a great debt. But…I'm afraid the only thing we have to offer is to send you back."

He snorted.

"He says that's fine with him," said Fluttershy. "And that it wasn't much of a fight anyway."

"Whether in Equestria, or in the world you call home," said Twilight, flying in closer. "You will always be our friend."

She touched his cheek under one blazing gold eye twice the size of her whole body. His rough hide was hot to the touch. He growled and blinked.

"Godzilla is grateful that we consider him a friend," said Fluttershy happily. "But he is ready to go home."

Twilight nodded and called for Starlight. The unicorn and the three alicorns stood around the monster and cast the gateway spell.

"Mothra! It is time!" Twilight called aloud.

Godzilla lifted his head and gave one final roar as the portal opened. There was a tremendous flash of light, and the King of the Monsters vanished from Equestria, his last roar still echoing across the city.

---

"Do you know, I think I've done more charity work over the past twenty-four hours than I've done over the past two millennia," Discord lamented to Fluttershy. "I helped fight Mogu, put up the wall around Manehatten, removed all the civilians, fought him again, sent that little delinquent to take his medicine, and restored the whole ruined city all by myself. Do you believe that Celestia still wasn't satisfied after all that?"

"Well," said Fluttershy. "The city isn't much without the ponies to live in it."

"Yes, but after all I'd done I was exhausted," he moaned, gesturing energetically with his teacup. "I don't see why we couldn't have waited until tomorrow."

They were in her cottage, having their weekly tea party. After having such an exhausting time the day before, they were both eager to relax.

"Where did you send them, anyway?" asked Fluttershy.

"Oh, you know; around," he said vaguely. He winked at her.

"Goodness, I hope you didn't send them anyplace scary!" said Fluttershy, clasping a hoof to her mouth.

"No, no! Nothing like that!" he said. "Though…come to think of it, they may have some interesting stories to tell. I'm told the Mushroom Kingdom can be an exciting place at times. You and I shall have to visit one of these days. Still, they're all back, and dear Celestia is happy. But do I get any thanks?"

"Now Discord!" said Fluttershy reprovingly. "I heard her thanking you with my own ears! Besides, we're all treating ourselves to a celebration this very afternoon, and you always have a good time at Pinkie Pie's parties."

He grumbled.

"Well, at least all this monster madness didn't prevent you and I from having our nice little tea party. And that's the important thing, isn't it?"

Fluttershy giggled. There was a knock at the door and Rainbow Dash entered.

"You two still here?" she said. "Come on! The party's just getting started!"

"Au contraire!" said Discord. "The party only really get's started when I arrive."

He snapped his fingers and the three of them (now wearing party hats) appeared in the midst of the celebration. The town square had been repaired for the occasion, with help from Discord, and was hung with streamers and balloons courtesy of Pinkie Pie, who bounded by with a plate of cookies in the shapes of Godzilla, Mogu, Mothra, and several other creatures they didn't recognize, such as a bird-like creature and another with a horn and a shell covered in sprinkle spikes.

"Hungry?" said Pinkie. "Just out of the oven! There're all monster cookies! Look, this one's a sort-of crab monster...maybe Rarity would like that. Rarity!"

Rarity came over, dressed in a brand new outfit.

"Do you like it?" she said. "I got the inspiration from our new friend: charcoal gray, with bright blue highlights, just like that beautiful ray of his. It'll be the talk of Manehatten this season; I can feel it!"

"Yeah, you wouldn't think that ray was so pretty if you'd almost gotten vaporized by it," said Rainbow Dash, already cradling a glass of cider. "Though it was totally awesome!"

"Not bad," said Applejack, arriving to pass out more drinks. "I actually kinda like that one; nice and simple."

"Well, I think it looks beautiful," said Spike, gazing at Rarity with hearts in his eyes.

"Aw, Spikey, you're my favorite fashion critic," she said, patting him on the head. Discord and Rainbow Dash made gagging expressions behind her back.

Meanwhile, Twilight, Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie were all seated around a table discussing the implications of the incident.

"This other world of monsters opens up a whole new line of possibilities," said Starburst.

"I know!" said Twilight. "I've been to another world before, but I never imagined anything like this. I wonder what it's like there."

"Ugh," said Trixie. "If it has things like that I don't want to know; we've got enough monsters here for my tastes."

"Come on, Trixie," said Starlight. "Are you a little curious to know what else is out there?"

"Not if looking for it brings evil super-dragons," said Trixie. "Anyway, I think I've caused enough trouble in that department for now."

Twilight smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Trixie; nopony blames you for what happened."

"I know I don't!" said Starburst.

Trixie smiled sheepishly.

"The Great and Apologetic Trixie…promises not to do anything like that again."

Twilight laughed, then decided it was time. She stood up and tapped her glass with her fork. "Attention, everypony! I would like to propose a toast."

The party fell quiet and all eyes turned on the princess.

"First, I want to thank you all for being so brave during this crisis, and for all your help. I know that we never could have won without everpony's support. I especially want to thank Sunburst and Starlight, for their magical help, Rainbow Dash for her selfless courage, Fluttershy for her kind words when they were needed the most, and, of course, Discord for basically putting everything back together. "

"There you go," said Fluttershy, nudging Discord.

"But, as you all know, the most important role was taken by someone who cannot be here today; a friend who stood up to be our champion when all looked bleakest, to whom we all owe our very lives."

She raised her glass.

"To Godzilla," she said.

The party all raised their glasses and echoed the toast, "To Godzilla; the King of the Monsters and a true friend."