Today was not a good day to be in the South pacific, more specifically it was a horrible night to be anywhere near the Mu Island chain, particularly the lead landmass of Solgell Island. It was night, a storm of thunder and lightning brewing alongside explosions and sirens. A war was rumbling, one with so much raw power the shifting could be heard as far away as Hawaii and Japan. The entire island, its surrounding sea, and its air space had turned into an all out battle royale. Tanks, missiles, even some nuclear weapons would be fire crackers to the assaults being launched. Assaults not by man, but by the island’s residence and their invaders. A massive, taloned paw crashed through the evacuated research building and smashed the only human structure on the landmass. The human onlookers via spy plane cameras or satellite imagery were all too reminded of their mortality. They say in ancient times there were giants that roamed the earth in days past. Now, they were roaming the present… and were at war with one another.

Monsters
Titans
Behemoths
Leviathans
Kaiju

Take the name that you please …

---------------------------

Anguirus charged through the remains of the human structures at full speed, bulldozing through debris and explosions like a bull through a lego set. It was good that the humans had pulled out, now he didn't need to worry about fighting with restraint. Engineered by an ancient civilization through a mix of mysticism and lost science, the Guardian Beast took aim at his target. Letting out a roar louder than thunder, the ankylosaur-like kaiju flexed his limbs and launched himself into the air. Quickly, he curled into a armadillo-escue ball, spinning at high speed as the back spines that lined his shell glowed red hot with searing heat. The ‘Thunderball’ as the humans nicknamed it, setting forth a trail of sparks and fires behind it as it found its mark.

Spinning around like a massive, heated buzz saw Anguirus’s spines clanged and slashed into another Kaiju’s back. The target screeched in rage and pain, stumbling forward as it was forced to drop the dinosaur’s ally. Vibrant wings shown through the lightning lit sky as Mothra recovered from the grapple she’d been in, glad to be free and now capable of counter-assault. The co-leader of the native faction to the island and the last in a long line of mystical protectors, the most proficient magic user on Terra naturally had thrown herself against the stronger opponents when the fighting broke out. Chirping a thank you to her armored ally before she flew upwards. He former captor wasn’t so happy. Crimson red armor whipped around as a horn of fiery red energy crackled and swung down; parrying Anguirus’s attack with so much force it slammed the dinosaur into the ground. Destroyah spread her wings and the demonic titan flapped once as she jumped back a bit to gain some distance. The crests on the sides of her head crackled with energy as an orb of purple energy fired out and flew straight into Anguirus’s shell. The dinosaur’s armored hide shielded him from being vaporized by the Oxygen Destroyer, but the pain ripped through his body and blasted the kaiju back a clear 1,000 feet, digging a deep trench into the ground. Anguirus groaned as he lay on his back in a daze, his thinly armored stomach exposed. Destroyah knew this well, and relished the chance to off one of a rival faction’s higher ups. Cackling out, she reignited and reenergized her central horn into a hellfire, charging forward with each step thundering the earth below her many clawed feet.

Destroyah was easily one of the most powerful kaiju in existence, and born from the same super weapon that killed the first Godzilla in 1954, a bloodthirsty juggernaut. Able to, abet barely, survive the old King when he was at the peak of his power, she'd returned years later and was a force on the battlefield. If it wasn’t for some small sliver of loyalty the Precambrian life form had for her cohorts amongst their ‘faction’, she’d have usurped power from their leader and try to kill him long ago. She was durable, extremely potent both up close and at range, and thanks to flight, mobile. If there was but one flaw to her other than her slow speed, it was something ‘death incarnate’ was no good at psychologically. She didn’t work well in teams. Anguirus and his allies did.

Just as Destroyah was about to gut the still groggy dinosaur alive, a pair of golden beams accompanied by enchanted thunderbolts brighter than lightning itself struck her square in the face. Destroyah let out a screech of pain as she was blasted back again and again by the unrelenting assault, as Mothra lowered herself down to between the monster and Anguirus as he got to his feet, the insect repeatedly blasting the demon with divine energy.

War was raging all around the island. It all started suddenly at midnight as Xenilla, once dubbed Spacegodzilla, landed without warning onto the island. The bastard offshoot of the Godzilla lineage had returned from the dark side of the moon, leading the charge with his cohorts the humans had nicknamed the ‘Mutations’. The island’s inhabitants were quick to respond. Dozens of ‘Terran Defenders’, another nickname by the UN, proof the world's leaders weren't always imaginative, rallied behind the current Godzilla and charged into a titan-sized gang war. More and more kaiju kept pouring in on either side. Mothra flew in from Infant Island, Gomora was deployed by his master from a nearby base, Yonggary awakened from his slumber outside of Seoul and joined into the fray. A whole flock of Gyaos had drawn in, hoping to devour any corpses they found, with Gamera following them in tow. The alien Xilien Empire and their allies even took notice off planet and revved up their teleporters, deploying their own Monster X, the Nebulans Confederation' cyborg brothers, Gigan and Megalon, alongside the Millennian Collective's Orga in the hopes the chaos would be a grand chance to off a few of the thorns in their side from the last failed invasion. After an hour, the UN finally noticed about 80% of the world’s kaiju and half of the known alien monsters had converged on one point, and activated the Mecha Units; Kiryu leading the flight to the island, flanked by Mechagodzilla 2 and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Originally stopping at the battle zone’s fringes to try and contain the fighting, they were soon targeted and the mechanical trio was forced to engage.

All and all, over 50 beasts, aliens, cyborgs, and machines were fighting in a 2 square mile area, and it was pure chaos.

-----------------------------

High up in space on an orbital platform satellite, a machine resembling a massive barrel was stirring to life. Inscribed on its side was the Global Defense logo, along with the weapon’s name; ‘Dimension Tide’. It was a prototype weapon, possibly more powerful than any other not because of pure destructive capabilities, but what it did. It destroyed nothing; matter cannot be created or destroyed. It imprisoned anything it hit. Or at least, that was the best theory behind the ‘Black Hole’ launcher’s action that the world’s scientists could guess to. It had failed back in the early 2000s, allowing its target to escape. It had since been rebuilt, modified, and grown into a massive launching platform. The hope was the larger canon size would ensure the Black Hole would crush anything it enclosed over, or move it to a faraway plane. Given how vast the universe was in comparison to the livable landmasses, it was considered a good tradeoff for not knowing where it sent them or in what shape. It seemed to be now capable of destroying or permanently remove the monsters, and that’s all the science teams and public cared about. Little did anyone know however, outside of one or two cases of personnel involved with a certain giant dragonfly incident, the additions did nothing to change what Dimension Tide really was. It had never been fired, but given the mass concentration of kaiju in one area with acceptable losses, a prototype shot was ordered and the machine revved to life as it charged.

Deep within the war zone, two-of-a-kind were trying to tear each other apart. Glowing backspines lit up the night as blue and red beams of pure energy made contact with each other, spurring a massive explosion that made the valley they were in a few dozen feet deeper. Rain fell in torrents as two pairs of red eyes glared into one another, energy glowing out from their maws. The leaders of the Mutation and Defender factions circled each other. One was a dark navy blue, two tall crystal spires jutting out from his shoulders as rows of fin-like crystals that ran down its back, ending in a trident shaped spike on the tip of its long tail; which crackled with energy. The beast hissed, its two sets of small tusks mounted on the sides of either jaw flexing as lightning crashed, the skyward light gleaming on its golden head crest. Born of a Black Hole, the usurper to the throne and easily one of the most dangerous living beings of all time; Xenilla.

Across from him, a charcoal grey leviathan let out a roar that shattered any remaining glass left at the research compound after Anguirus charged through it. A massive tail smacked down onto the tree line behind it, topping several hundred foot tail oak trees like tooth picks. The first modern Godzilla as the world had known him since his emergence in 1985 was long dead, having gone into nuclear meltdown in the mid-90s and dying as a result. That’s to say however, the throne wasn’t vacant. Lighting crashed and struck a battery of dorsal fins that lit up in the electrical glow that evaporate seas of falling water whilst leaving the beast itself completely unharmed. He may have grown to look slightly different than his predecessor, his adoptive father, but to all that knew this titan there was no question. What was once an egg hatching in a laboratory, raised by kindly soul was now the mighty thirty story leviathan who'd served as humanity's protector since his ascension. The King of the Monsters, the new Godzilla, Junior, was very much alive; and in way of raw power he was his father’s son.

Two so alike both in genes and appearance, yet so radically different in origin. One, a bastard child born alone in space; the other, a natural birth growing with the protection of the mightiest kaiju of all time as a parent. Both with the same progenitor, the same ‘parent’.

No psychic humans were present, so none would know what the goliaths were saying, but the glare they gave one another spoke volumes over the torrents and rain and crack of thunder.

A rain drop fell and the two charged one another.

Godzilla Junior rushed full sprint across the gorge, shaking the earth with each 60,000 ton stomp; as Xenilla’s shoulder crystals glowed with raw power and rocketed the special saurian forward via telekinesis. Both crackled with blue and red energy, raw nuclear power that roared throughout every cell in their bodies, causing minor explosions in the air, rain drops, and ground around them as matter’s physical structure ripped apart into plasma under the intense energy. Both saurians were glowing bright enough for the glow to be visible from the horizon as they collided together in an explosion that leveled the mountain side.

Rain drops, tons of stone, and even whole trees where launched up in the air in a vast bubble as the explosion rang out, forcing all in the valley but the two quarrelling brothers up into the air. Floating up into the air, the debris call came crashing down in the valley, the ruined remains of the mountainside; and in the sea around the island. The warzone was covered in a cloud of debris as two massive forms fought up close in the storm as lighting struck both of their bodies.

Godzilla snarled, digging his foot into the ground and spinning around; swinging his massive tail in a spiral that ended in a direct hit square in the face to Xenilla. The spatial beast screeched in pain, the blow having fractured his skull bones briefly before his regeneration took effect, painfully healing the injury in a matter of seconds. Pain in harm, pain in healing; between the two, Xenilla was now pissed. Collapsing backwards some distance in an after-strike daze, the cosmic kaiju put his hands together and spread them as his shoulder crystal’s glowed a bright white glow. A perfect, double pointed crystal several hundred feet long formed in the space between his paws. Xenilla cackled with glee as he gripped the crystal like a club and spun around. Godzilla didn’t have time to react before Xenilla smashed the crystal into his face, and then swung again, bashing the weapon with glowing brilliance across his stomach. Fighting through the pain, the King of the Earth Kaiju lashed out as fast as he could with his right hand as Xenilla was about to bring the club down again on his skull, catching the blow. Godzilla pushed up as Xenilla pushed down, neither able to wrench free the weapon from the other’s grasp.

Two pairs of red eyes flashed colors, one blue, one crimson; as energy crackled through their bodies. Like a mirror image, both saurians balled a quasi-fist with their free hand that the energy condensed into. Limbs glowing, they both threw a punch aimed at one another’s face, only for the fists to connect mid-swing and two hand-held nuclear pulses went off at the same time. The attacks smashed together and a brilliant white light grew between the two and absorbed both in a crack of an energy driven explosion. The crystal club shattered as both Godzilla and Xenilla were sent sliding across the ground, both of their front halves of their bodies badly burned but rapidly healing. As long as they both had energy to expend, they could heal. And as long as they could heal, neither could kill the other. So long as they had any of those occurring, they would fight. Xenilla was the first to roar, slamming his long tail into the ground as lightning crackled. Godzilla stomped into the ground, shaking the earth as a second roar accompanied the sound of thunder. The message was simple.

As long as it took to complete, even if it destroyed the whole island; this fight was till the death.

------------------------------

High above and to the East, the shimmering silver body of a mecha flew through the air, pursued by several beings resembling giant bats. M.O.G.U.E.R.A’s pilots, Koji, Kiyoshi, and Yuki looked behind themselves as the Gyaos trio’s maws began to glow with a brilliant golden light. Grabbing the lead directional control, Yuki craned the stick back, ordering the Mecha to deploy its air brakes and spin around.

Kiyoshi’s helmet’s heads up display beeped as several red circles appeared over the central screen, hovering over each Gyaos. “Axillary Maser cannon locked!”

One gyaos’s maw flashed a yellow light and a golden, straight beam fired out, slicing into the trees to M.O.G.U.E.R.A’s side and craning its head over to strike the robot with its assault. Yuki yanked the stick to the side, forcing their mecha to flank to the right to avoid being sliced into by the ray.

Yuki grunted, “Well what are you waiting for? McDondalds drive through!? Shoot the b******s!”

Koji flipped several switches and gripped a control stick, squeezing down on its trigger. M.O.G.U.E.R.A’s conical arms rose up and purple color energy sparked along their smooth surface before twin neon fuchsia beams of energy fired out from the tips. The two beams hit two of the Gyaos dead center and searing plasma burned through the lower kaiju’s torsos, shooting off into the night sky. Shifting its arms, the beams crossed right into the third Gyaos before it could react; engulfing it in a massive fireball that soon crashed to the earth below.

“Works every time…” Koji chuckled before spying the duel of the nuclear saurians below, some of their systems were still rattling from the last explosion. All three pilots were getting dejavu to the tenth power. Kiyoshi was the first to speak.
“Damn they’re really going at it! Looks like Junior can still brawl just as good as his old man. Think we should give him a hand?”

Yuki looked on at the conflict for a time, before hiding back old memories as he groaned and rolled his eyes, “We're staying out of that one, we're needed elsewhere."

The aged soldier's gaze hardened at the flashes of light and raw power bursting forth from a battle involving someone he'd seen grow up over the decades from a round, docile youth into one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. Warrior's respect was cast, "That's his fight…”

The younger pilot was about to retort when the hardened face of Akane Yashiro, the G-force mecha commander and Kiryu’s pilot flashed onto their monitors. M.O.G.U.E.R.A’s pilots instinctively flinched. Hell has no fury like this woman’s scorn.
“WHAT are you three doing down there?! I ordered an evac 4 minutes ago! Get away from the island!”

The trio looked at eachother in a half confused, half worried manner. Only Yuki had enough courage, stubbornness, or just plain stupidity to retort.

“While you were busy running we were busy killing three of those damned giant bats! Half our com systems got knocked offline by an EMP released by Godzilla and Xenilla fighting below. How many kaiju did you even down on this run?”

“Nine.”

Yuki shut up immediately. Koji, still trying not to provoke a superior, radioed in

“Why was the evac sounded?”

Miki, the pilot of the other remaining Mech Unit chimed in.
“Headquarters has readied the Dimension Tide 2 and is about to fire! Get out or you’ll be sucked into the Black Hole!”

Kiyoshi’s eyes widened as he pulled his microphone closer, half in shock.
“BLACK HOLE!? BUT! THE GOOD MONSTERS ARE STILL ON THE ISLAND!”

A small sniffled crying sound was audible on Miki’s end and she went silent, unable to speak. How could she when she knew what was coming from high orbit. Akane snarled and barked back.

“That’s an oxymoron soldier, you can’t put ‘good’ and ‘monster’ in the same sentence. Now GET AWAY from that damned island! THAT is an order!” Akane barked out loud enough to bust an eardrum before she cut off her feed.

There was silence in the cockpit. Yuki was the first to break it, regretful as he was to do so. Cold as the old soldier was, he had half the mind to try and fly in and grab his once-charge, only for the earthquake bursting forth from the battle to show he was woefully ill equipped, “Come on, you heard the lady. This place is good as dead.”

He craned on the flight control and M.O.G.U.E.R.A’s thrusters ignited to full strength rocketing the mecha off to the safe distance to join its sibling units. On some level, they were praying. Kaiju were impossible beings before, surviving what they shouldn't have time and time again. This time, the hoped so.

Energy surged within the two brothers, eclipsing their beaten, bleeding, and bruised bodies with every last ounce of power they each had. If their foes’ plan of assault didn’t kill them, exhaustion just might. The next attack was a make or break shot. A pair of blue and crimson suns grew out from the crater. Both stomped into the ground and roared over the thunder as the suns drew down and were absorbed by their back fins, which crackled with energy like they never had before. So much heat was being put out the forests hundreds of feet behind them had caught on fire and rain was evaporating before it could even hit the ground. Two balls of energy hotter than the surface of Earth’s core formed in their throats.

Miles above, space and time were twisting as a black sphere formed at Dimension Tide’s tip, physically sucking in any bits of spatial debris that floated by for miles. A black hole had formed, and with the push of a button as G-force Headquarters, it fired with a soundless boom and rocketed to Solgell…

Two pillars of glowing light shown likes miniature suns against the night sky, so much raw power being shot up into the air the clouds were beginning to split apart and curtains of rain were pushed aside. All at once, dozens of monsters ceased combat like a freeze frame and dispersed, knowing they had to get away from something they instinctively knew was coming. Godzilla was known globally by man and beast alike as the ‘King of the Monsters’, and Xenilla was his equal, the ‘Challenger to the Throne”. Two kings were about to give it their all, and all knew to get out of the way when they did so. That is, all but a certain trio of titans who were engaged against a hell beast not far away, a combination of loyalty and comradery on one side and demented psychosis on the other keeping their 3-on-1 duel in a deadlock. All were unaware of certain doom that broke through the stratosphere.

Godzilla and Xenilla’s bodies glowed in dueling blue and crimson light as they put all power into their limit for one final assault with their signature beams, one of a nuclear hellfire and the other of a star's coronal wrath. As they charged, both knew one factor fully well. If this next blow landed, either they’d hit and kill their foe, or they’d keel over from the effort. It was a slow race to who would charge up first. One neither of them won. Just as the brothers unleashed twin blasts aimed at one another, two that would collide with the force of several of the most powerful nuclear bombs crashing into each other and liquefying the rocks below them; Dimension Tide’s black hole impacted the island and its six remaining inhabitants. In a soundless expanse, the force of the crushing blackness fused with the force the twin leviathan’s energy and brought forth Dimension Tide’s actual power…..

Solgell was wiped clean of the presence of six of the most notorious Kaiju in history. The beasts once fighting to the death watched on in awe as it was all over in a moment, before unanimously deciding it was time to stop. On the mutant side, dreams of conquest and becoming the new leader of the faction quickly took root as they departed and bedded down for the night. Monster X snorted as he levitated himself to slowly fly alongside Gigan and Megalon with Orga wading into the surf after them, retreating Southward with the disgruntling feeling he'd been cheated out of his final battle. On the other side, many cries of mourning sounded through Solgell through the night as many Defender kaiju looked upon the places their comrades once stood; taken from them before any could react.

Humans around the globe either bowed their head in sadness at the loss of guardian beings such as Mothra, but cheered and celebrated in the streets over Destroyah and Xenilla’s apparent demise. For many more, it was somewhere in between. Deep in their cockpits, the Mech pilots were speechless; all were silent as Yuki quietly cast a small salute and Miki shed a small tear.

All however were more wrong then they could ever imagine.
Matter cannot be created nor destroyed, only moved, displaced, changed into energy; or morph into a new state....

All four just happened….

It was near 5 am in Ponyville and all but a few souls were still awake at the late hour. On the balcony of the library, a purple alicorn adjusted her telescope as she scanned Luna’s nocturnal skyline with her telescope, an unsure look spread across the princess's face. A tiny groan echoed out behind her, accompanied by the plip-plop of small feet. Spike walked out towards the balcony and opened the door way, sleepily poking his head out with sleep deprived eyes.

"Urrg.....Twilight? Why are you still up?"

Twilight ceased her magical spell and put down her notepad, the hum having roused her assistant from his sleep. The alicorn lowered her head and flopped her ears. She was sorry she had taken the baby dragon's rest, but she couldn't shake the oddest of feelings.

Owlowiscious hooted, flapping his wings and flying inside through the cracked door.

"Sorry Spike... I just...... couldn't shake this feeling and it kept me up..."

She uttered with a sigh, glancing up at the night sky. Spike tilted his head, his will to assist his adoptive sister kicking in as he walked out onto the balcony, stretching his arms and yawning to try and shake off his sleepiness.

"Like what kind of feeling?"

Twilight sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"I have no idea Spike.......Just...... concern..."

Spike stood up on the tips of his toes as he looked through the telescope, trying to maybe figure out what she had been looking at.
"Concern?.. For what?"

Twilight turned and looked out over the horizon, hoping she'd spot what was wrong in an instant.
"Just....concern.... that something is about to happen."

A deep groan sounded off as a crimson red body slumped itself out from a river and onto the bank, half covered in weeds. Gagging up water, it weakly dragged itself ashore and fell down on its stomach before rolling to its side, kicking up a dust clouds at the disturbance. Consciousness flickered as Destroyah tried to flex her wings to no avail. They were still attached, but drastically weak; something she regretfully could tell from her whole body. Her mind however was still fresh and active as she struggled to move.

-uurraaag.....What the hell just happened?……. Xen and that brat going at it and then that black light...... where am I?-

Trying to move again, Destroyah soon ceased as not only the feeling of weakness held her back. The instant she moved her forelimbs she knew something wasn’t right. She couldn’t feel her fingers. She had none. The crustacean-like kaiju snarled…

-Great… probably back to juvenile form and lost my hands… Damn dinosaurs, it’ll take weeks to absorb enough matter to regain full form!-

Contemplating finding the nearest nuclear plant and trying to speed up the process while fighting the blackness of unconsciousness, Destroyah tried to lift her spear-like juvenile limb over her eyes to block out the sunlight shining above. Then she knew something was definitely wrong. Her limb wasn’t jagged and sharp anymore. It was wide, smooth, round and…..hairy?

Just before she blacked out she distinctly heard, and for the first time understood, a human-like voice, a young female based on the pitch; and the sound of several footsteps approaching her.
“Oh my gosh are you ok ma’am? Scoots! Go get the wagon!”

Fluttershy
Scootaloo
Apple Bloom
Sweetie Belle
Xenilla
Destroyah
?????

---------------------------------------

Fluttershy was bedding down for the afternoon after a long day of looking after a troublesome bear cub. Poor thing had gotten itself stuck in a honey tree after eating too much honey. The whole ordeal had taken hours to try and safely squeeze it back out. Sighing away her exhaustion calmly, she gently plopped herself down on her couch. Smiling warmly, Fluttershy reached for her knitting basket she had on her table. Maybe now she could finally relax.

Fate on the otherhoof had no such plans. That’s when a massive flash of black and white light ripped through the airspace above the table. Before the Pegasus could react the flash dispersed, dropping a navy blue pony out of thin air and sending it crashing through her table as it fell.

"EEP!"

Fluttershy ducked behind the couch in surprise, an explosion of broken wood and splinters sails over her. After a few moments she slowly poked her head up from the cover and looked at her intruder.

It was a very large stallion, and judging from the way he was splayed out on his stomach and not moving, clearly out-cold. Questions poured in. How in the world did he get in here? What was going on with that white and black flash? Was it an invasion? Recalling Twilight’s teleportation spell, Fluttershy ruled out the possibilities and tried to think the poor fool just had a magic mishap and had accidentally warped into her house. It didn't calm her nerves much. She walked out from the cover of her couch.

Only as she got closer did she begin to realize just how massive this pony was. Even splayed out she could tell he had to have been a full head taller than Big Mac, one of the larger stallions in Ponyville and definitely an above average sized pony. Judging from his long limbs, at this size this new guy may be on eye level with one of the princesses. Had the stocky build not clued her in, she might have mistaken him for an Arabian horse. The coat was navy blue, only a shade or two duller and lighter than that of Princess Luna. Judging from the horn he was a unicorn, but this pony’s horn was the strangest she’d ever seen. Rather than conical, it seemed to have a more octagonal shape, with twin smaller horns shooting off from either side of the central horn to form a V shape near the base of the horn. The color was also wrong. Rather than match the coat color, it was near pure white with some amber tinting. It looked less like a part of the body and more like a something stuck onto the body. The mane behind the horn was crystalline white and spiky, almost like batteries of pointed gemstones in the way the hair strands held together. The rest of the upper body seemed more or less normal, except for the odd shoulders and back. The hair along the spinal cord and shoulder blades was the same color as the mane and stuck to the body in tight formation, giving a minor glossy look similar to the mane; comparable to if the hair was wet. The tail was the same color as the mane and with identical appearance and texture. That same glossy, crystalline white. A pony having a multicolored body was rare enough, but this was downright strange. Was he a hybrid perhaps? Something of a cross between a unicorn and some other ungulate? Fluttershy tilted her head and gave the stallion a once over, making sure there was no apparent wounds large enough to draw blood and his body was free of sizable shards of debris.

-Hm….. Can’t leave him laying around like that-
Fluttershy stuttered over her thought and looked around. She leaned down and tugged at the unconscious mane to no avail, quickly realizing he was far too heavy to lift and dragging him might just drive the shattered remains of her table into his stomach. Fluttershy let go and rubbed her chin, thinking things through. A light bulb went off in her head, and the Pegasus smiled before rushing out of the door.

====================
a few minutes later
====================

The mother bear gently set the giant pony down on Fluttershy’s couch, the yellow mare smiling and patting the ursid’s shoulder as she hovered above.
"Thanks for the help, be sure to drop by if you need anything~"

The bear smiled happily and nodded. She carefully took her still honey covered cub by the paw, ducking down; and walked out the front door. Fluttershy smiled as she closed the doorway, thankful the large beast hadn’t bent the door frame on its way out. Hovering back over to her couch, she inspected her guest, who still seemed out cold. Other than a few small splinters the veterinarian quickly removed, he was no worse for the wear as far as she could tell physically. Putting a hoof to his neck to check his pulse to assure nothing was wrong internally other than what she presumed was magical exhaustion, Fluttershy nodded each beat of blood she felt for several moments before she assured herself his heartbeat wasn’t irregular.

Shrugging to herself as she tossed a blanket over the guest, barely fitting his large frame, Fluttershy headed for the kitchen to make herself some tea. She didn’t notice a red and amber eye pry itself open slightly, following her movements. Angel had been watching it all from behind a bird house, still shuddering. So attentive Fluttershy had been to her patient she failed to notice many of the small animals that occasionally frequented her dwelling were all gone or in hiding, her pet rabbit being no exception. Angel squeaked near silently, deathly afraid of what was laying on his owner’s couch just 10 feet from him. The rabbit gulped and tried to take a hop closer, holding a tooth pick in his paws in meek defense against the being that stood between him and the yellow Pegasus. He dared not move past it to the safety of his owner.

The slitted eye locked on the disappearing Fluttershy briefly, before they darted over and glared through the bunny. The pony’s strange eyes, a doubled iris of blazed red and amber yellow eyes looked almost as if they were on fire. Twin, tiny portholes into hell itself.

A tooth pick rolled across the floor as the sound of rapid hopping sped off and out the front door.

=====================
Several miles away
=====================

Scootaloo huffed as she beat her wings as fast as she could; even then she was only able to move the wagon along as a walking pace. Craning her neck back, she barked out to her friends.
“Could you two push a little harder? I’m starting to lose feeling in my feathers!” Scootaloo said as she choked for breath.

Applebloom popped her head up from behind the wagon, she and Sweetie Belle were pushing and shoving the kart from the rear.
"Ah’ put a cork in it Scoots, not our fault this lady weighs more than half my family! We’re pushin’ hard as we can!", the youngest apple sibling grunted as she pushed harder.

Sweetie Belle gasped for breath audibly, wiping sweat from her brow.
“AGH! WHAT was this lady EATING?! Bricks?! If my sister ever saw a mare this heavy she’d flip!”

The ‘lady’ in question was clumsily splayed out in the wagon, only her main body even fitting with her head half stuffed in and half lying atop the wagon’s wall. All four of her limbs were sticking out of the wagon, dragging along the ground with her sharp hooves cutting small grooves into the dirt road. The moment the girls laid eyes on her they knew she wasn’t your average pony. For one, if her not fitting the wagon was any clue; she was enormous. If standing up, she'd easily a tower over your average mare and stallion alike. It had been months since they’d been in Canterlot, but Sweetie Belle could swear she was at least equal in height and dimension to the solar princess herself; if not even taller. That wasn’t the only resemblance they noticed though. Somehow, despite only four of the species being known; she was an alicorn!

So exuberant were they in the idea they rescued a Princess from some far away land, none of them noticed just how strange her horn and wings were. The horn was crowned in a ring of bony, dark, scale-like protrusions that were partially hidden by her haggard mane. Its shape was also all wrong. Not matching her main body colors of dark crimson and ivory at all, it was more of a fiery orange. The projection wasn’t tubular at all, rather curved and shaped more like a saber with a definite edge. They had failed to notice just how sharp it was. The horn had already effortlessly sliced an inch or two into the wagon’s rim just from the rocking of the wheels shaking her head. And rather than bird-like and feathery, this mare had broad, angular bat wings more like those of Princess Luna’s guard. The mane was medium length and was mostly a dirty brown with red tinting, aside from a few strands of black here or there. The style was wild and completely unkept.

“Almost there! Just to the top of this hill and it’s all downhill to the farm!”

Scootaloo huffed as she flapped as hard as she could along with her friend’s effort, knowing that if they could get over this literal uphill drag it would be smooth sailing from here on out. The sun was beginning to go down and the pressing darkness only motivated them more to get their rescue effort back to the farm as fast as possible. The elementary aged trio put their backs into it, huffing, sweating; pushing and pulling as hard as their bodies could muster. The front wheels of the wagon just barely broke the peak of the hill, the center of gravity shifting and promising relief. And then a howl sounded off. All three of the Cutiemark Crusaders jumped up and clung to one another, a shuddering wreck. The lupine howl sounded off again, this time much closer than before. Darting their eyes too and fro, praying not to see what they feared was approaching; a factoid dawned on the fillies’ heads.

“A-a-applebl-oom….. wh-when’s Zap-Apple season?....”
Sweetie Belle stuttered out as a pair of glowing green eyes peered right at her from a dozen or so meters away in the shrubs.

“S-s-starts toni-i-ight….” Applebloom croaked as her eyes were wide as saucers as she locked onto the eyes as well, noticing they were getting bigger as perspective became closer.

“A-and th-that means…..” Scootaloo gulped as her limbs were taught with muscle tension, ready to spring out into a sprint at any moment. The tightening of the hug showing her that her friends’ bodies were doing the same. It was the equine response to danger, a long held tradition, one they were about to enact at any moment. The emerald green eyes were now just 3 meters away.

Almost like on cue, the monster composed of fallen leaves, sticks, twigs, branches, and fallen wood that gave it its name snarled like a rabid dog and pounced out, aiming right at the fillies with splinter-covered fangs. The CMC scattered while screaming, as it impacted the ground they once stood on. The beast crashed into the wagon and dumped its contents onto the ground beside it. All three fillies darted out in all directions.

“TIMBER WOOOOLF!”

==========================
Back at Fluttershy’s cottage
==========================

Fluttershy had just finished pouring her tea, blowing over the steaming hot drink to cool it enough to make it safe when she heard a massive crash and the sound of splintering wood coming from her living room. Half worrying another migrant had somehow had an identical accident and fighting deja-vu, Fluttershy rushed to the living room, not caring about spilling hot tea over half her china set and table cloth.

Nothing could have prepared her to expect what she saw.

Twin, ivory tinted crystals sharpened to points on the tips had ripped through her floor, splintering and snapping the wood like a pair of cavalry driven spears. That however didn’t curtail most of her attention, the hovering form between them did. The stallion was hovering high above with his back to her, his horn nearly scraping the ceiling as faint beams of energy similar to electricity flowed out of the crystal pillars and onto the patches of hardened fur on its shoulders, which along with his mane, tail; and back ridge glowed with a similar light. He shifted in midair, turning and facing her with a vile grin on his face. The eyes of hellfire were alight with pure energy that Fluttershy could feel radiating out into the room, chilling the temperature like the icy solace of the high atmosphere. A deep chuckle echoed out.

“Hmhmhmm….. So… This IS a new world….”
The stallion said as he looked down to Fluttershy with a fiery gaze, the energy only growing each second.

“And its inhabitants….. Such an odd form… I wonder if it is as susceptible to harm as the humans…"

A cackling mass of energy formed in the stallion’s closed jaws, raw crimson red energy seeping out from between every tooth. Fluttershy took a step back, wide eyed at the sight before her. She knew full well this being, pony or not, meant her harm. And if it meant one who showed it compassion harm so easily, there was no doubt it would do the same to almost any other who crossed his path. Anyone who crossed his path who he thought was weaker than him. Anyone like the towns residents, her animal charges…. Her friends. Fluttershy shut her eyes, the thoughts going through her head being nearly unbearable. He’d hurt them all, just because he could. Just like any other bully or criminal….

That word floating into her head…. Bully… Thug……. One stronger who preys on those weaker, not because of some need but because they could…. Just like the Cockatrice, Dragon, even Angel on a bad day.

Fluttershy’s eyes flew open in a determined, unblinking glare right into and through the stallion’s orbits and the effect was instant. While he was still convinced he could have obliterated her with one blast of the Corona ray, that…stare… stopped him. He was taken back at first, his will to attack killing itself off as quickly as the charge for his ray dissipated. Reaction rapidly evolved from unknown horror to surprised, and through it all thoroughly impressed and eager to reconsider. He had no clue what the hell this creature just did but he did NOT want be on the receiving end again. The crystals ceased their charging and he hovered down to the ground, gently setting himself down right in front of the mare with a stern look to try and hide his exasperation and fear of what had just hit him.

At that instant Fluttershy herself canceled her signature ability, looking up with a stern but much more relaxed expression. The stallion's mind mind was absolutely livid. He knew this was a whole new realm than his own, but he had no idea of its inhabitants. Some may call him a conqueror but he was by no means a moron. This individual had just displayed something he found both entirely alien and yet so entertaining in nature. Were all of this world's denizens so strange? And if so, how many had ‘gifts’ that made them combat capable? Enough to be a threat perhaps? There were two ways of figuring it all out. One was something a destruction crazed brute like Ghidorah would have chosen, and another was one more to his intellectual tastes.

-1. Going at it solo and finding out this world's dangers bit by bit overtime, risking retribution in his weakened state
2. Keep calm, cease attacks, and let the denizens of this world do the informing; then act accordingly-

He bowed his head, he decided the latter would do best, especially insight of possible retributions. Recalling his position when he awakened and feeding it into column B's setting, Xenilla drew up a plan. Opening his eyes, he spoke out in an echoing voice.

“Are you the one who set me on that bedding and tended to me?”

Fluttershy kept firm and slowly nodded. The stallion that was easily twice her height lowered down, picking up her hoof and kissing it.
“Xenilla at your service…”

===============================
On the outskirts of the Apple Farm
===============================

Scootaloo pumped her wings as she drove about in random circles as fast as she could on her scooter, trying to keep the Timberwolf’s attention as long as she was capable. Judging from the loud snap and near miss of her tail between a pair of wooden jaws, she was doing the distraction part well enough. Applebloom was making a mad dash for the farm through the apple orchard, sprinting as fast as her short limbs would carry her. Still she kept constantly looking back to her friends before remembering to look where she was going, and nearly missing a face first impact into an apple tree. Sweetie Belle was going to be running alongside her to get Big Mac and Applejack, but another idea had dawned into her head. Circling around the snapping beast she darted over to the downed ‘Princess’, skidding to a halt. Frantic with fright, she put her hooves on the mare’s face and shook it as much as she could. Given the dark colored pony's huge size, she only manages to rattle her head some . Alicorns always seemed to have great power, more than enough to deal with a Timberwolf.
“Wake up! Come on, wake up miss! We need your help!”

No response came. Sweetie Belle, on the edge of tears backed up and rammed into the crimson pony’s chest, body checking it in a relatively meek manner to rouse her to consciousness. Not even a twitch came in response.

Scootaloo was having her own trouble, trouble that just got miles worse. The Timberwolf swiped at her scooter with its paw, managing to catch and tear out the back wheel with its sharpened bark. Scootaloo’s scooter was thrown completely off track, the remaining wheel spinning out of control as the metal bracket that held its counterpart dug into the dirt. Still speeding, Scootaloo called out as she came barreling in towards her unicorn friend. We wasn't able to change her direction, only able to scream out.
“W-W-W-W-WOOOAH! LOOK OUT SWEETIE!”

Scootaloo jumped off her ride as Sweetie Belle dove to the side, the two colliding on the ground in a heap as the transportation crashed into the unmoving mare's face. Both fillies were seeing stars, only conscious enough to scream out as the wooden beast lunged for them.

Without warning a basketball sized ball of purple light shot over the duo and smashed into the TimberWolf’s head. A small, bright, swirling mass of energy dissolved away half of the beast’s face with an element unknown to Equestria. Micro-oxygen. The monster, still alive, fell back with a painful yelp as it kicked up a dust cloud on impact. A shadow loomed over and walked over the youngsters as they slowly looked up, still panting from surprise.

Destroyah hissed at the downed creature. She cared nothing at all for the lives she had accidentally spared, she was only attacking the biggest threat in the area, snacks could come later. The dog-like barks and snarls rang out as two more Timberwolves emerged out from the forest to aid their wounded packmate, glaring at the strange mare. Destroyah couldn’t be happier. Indeed, snack time wouldn’t be now….

-Now… -
The former demonic crustacean charged up her magic-less horn, readying the cutting edge.
-Now comes the fun part-

=========================
Meanwhile at the Library
=========================

Twilight’s feeling had only intensified since last night, so much to the point her horn was beginning to physically ache as it registered unknown powers nearby. Filtering through a book of spells to cure the raging migraines she felt coming on, the young alicorn rubbed her eyes to try and make sense of texts with her fuzzy vision. Groaning to herself, she was nearly ready to call up Spike to read the passage for her when she felt a gentle tap, barely heavier than a feather; on the tip of her horn. The pain vanished instantly, as if healed away by the feeling of warmth that suddenly washed over her. Opening her eyes, Twilight spotted the source of the tap.

A tiny, fuzzy little moth was perched up on the tip of her horn, twitching its antennae about. Not even caring the damage its kind did to books, Twilight Sparkle smiled at the little creature, puzzled at how her pain had alleviated so fast and even more curious on how the insect had caused it. A pressure point perhaps? Pure luck of it landing at the time the pain relented? The questions were given a higher magnitude when the moth vanished as if made of dust and blew away under a small draft. Twilight’s eyes popped out as she looked around the place her horn had been, hoping the headache hadn’t just been playing tricks on her head.

She stopped as soon as a flash of light with a silent source burst out behind her, a calm, female voice spoke out.
“I am sorry you were in such pain, are you well now?”

Twilight turned around and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight of rainbow colored wings…

Twilight Sparkle
Fluttershy
Xenilla
Destroyah
Mothra
Moll and Lora, the Shobijin
Princess Luna
Godzilla
Apple Jack

===========

Twilight clumsily flapped her wings to try to gain some distance as her jaw nearly dropped. Draped in a rainbow spectrum of light, a tall being, greater in height to the Princess of the Night, herself settled its hooves down on her floor. The lights dimmed, and the being's horn seemed to draw the brilliant beams of light in like it was absorbing them. Smooth, polished chitin glimmered with radiance as the newcomer lowered her wings against her body. She smiled pleasantly at the unicorn, but Twilight was near ready to cast a concussive spell. It might have a horn and wings, but the hole filled hooves, exoskeleton, and draping mane clearly told her this was no alicorn. She was a changeling, and a queen at that. In the unicorn's mind, presumably a queen she knew well.

The changeling nodded slowly, not at all reacting to the young alicorn’s spiteful glare and her glowing horn as Twilight put herself between the intruder and the still sleeping Spike.
“Please, I must have a word with you Miss Sparkle.”
The changeling said in a bell like voice.

“Not today Chrysalis!”
Twilight barked out as she mentally clicked on the spell to fire a blast that would hopefully blow the intruder into the next century, only for two tiny voices to cut off her concentration mid-thought.

“Her name isn’t Chrysalis.”
“She is Mothra!”

Twilight instantly ceased the glowing charge of magic and looked around for the source. The voice sounded almost as if it was right next to her, yet no one was present. The changeling, apparently named Mothra, giggled as she spoke.
“Lora, Moll, I think it’s best she could see you before you start confusing her, “

Mothra ignited her horn briefly into a gentle glow, casting a brief wave that reached across the room like a bubble as her horn glowed a brilliant rainbow of hues, revealing two tiny sparkling balls of light, one blue, one red; hovering before the bewildered Twilight. Twin tiny voices, speaking in unison chimed out.

“Hello friend!”

Twilight looked wide eyed at the sight before her. She’d studied as much about magic as she possibly could, according to Celestia’s word even surpassing Starswirl in a few categories. But NEVER had she seen anything like this. The orbs didn’t seem to be pure energy, as a faint outline of a figure was visible if one looked hard enough. But no features at all were visible; just a vague outline. It was almost as if something wasn’t fully there. That is when she finally looked the changeling monarch over.

For one, her chitin color was all wrong for Chrysalis, being a near pure white with a slight greenish tint; rather than the dark gray Chrysalis bore. The mane was in a much more well-kept, uniform manner as it draped down; and was a light green hue. The tail was in identical condition. The eyes were beautiful in a strange way, even for a creature as odd as a changeling. This being, Mothra as the orbs called her; had twin double layered irises with emerald and sky blue rings around the pupils. Looking to her back made the differences all too noticeable. Instead of hole filled, sharp, see through, fly-like wings; this changeling had a barrage of colors clad across a pair of butterfly-like wings.

Mothra's calm, gentle voice whispered to the alicorn.
“I am known in my home realm as Mothra, Guardian of Earth. This however is not my normal state; I apologize if I alarmed you.”

Twilight caught her breath and stood firm, looking up into the green and blue orbs, not quite knowing what to make of all this.
-She looks and sounds convincing enough… But what was all this about realms?! What are these two bright, talking lights? How did she even get in here?..... Hm….. Changelings CAN disguise themselves as other ponies they see, perhaps they could even make a unique design?... Better safe than sorry-

Twilight held her hoof out as she spoke.
“There is a certain queen you resemble that’s a shape-shifting monster I’d rather to have never met. I’m not the distrusting type but she’d caused me and my friends calamity twice now… I am a student of magic and I’ve since learned a spell that reveals changeling disguises. May I use it on you so I can be sure this is your true form?”

The changeling nodded before replying.
“Of course, anything as needed.”
Mothra stood still and closed her eyes as Twilight’s horn glimmered with energy, hoping her own trust wasn’t misplaced.

=======================
Miles away in Canterlot
=======================

Princess Luna trod along through the lonely halls, banishing the last pangs of tiredness from her body. Celestia had been away on business, leaving her young sibling to manage the castle and celestial affairs. She’d gotten up some minutes ago after a nap to prepare to lower the sun and raise the moon, taking a stroll to stretch out and wake up. But not without a grumble in her stride.

-Celestia put up with this dual shift for a millennium? No wonder why she eats so many sweets, this much stress would put some ponies in a coma-

Rolling her eyes, Luna looked out onto the dimming horizon. Her horn was still aching slightly from last night, the same time Celestia and, according to a messenger scroll, Cadence, had their horns act up. The latter, poor girl, was hit so harshly she passed out. The aching wasn’t what disturbed her most though; this was a case where the ‘cause’ and not the ‘effect’ had her attention. Luna's horn flickered through the discomfort, the cosmos above beginning to shift to a sunset, a curtain of twilight and then night slipping over Canterlot to steadily spread over the whole of Equestria in a dark, peaceful wave.

-Three out of four alicorns with sudden pain… Add young Miss Sparkle to the ranks and that’s the whole group with seemingly no others sharing the experience…-

Luna looked out across the landscape, watching the distant forms of other ponies going about their business.
-Our kind always was more in tune with the world and its changes than the normal equines… If something just disrupted the realm…that coul-

A sudden, deep rumble shocked the palace, booming out from the east end, banishing Luna’s previous thoughts. Gaining her wits, the nightly princess galloped full speed down the hallways, bounding off the silken red carpet and taking wing, gliding down a flight of stairs. The sounds of conflict, yelps, bangs, thumps, and hollers of guards tore through the air as Luna passed the main hall of the East End. She stopped briefly and beheld the sight.

There was a massive hole, easily a dozen feet across in diameter that had ripped through the ceiling. Scattered pieces of metal roofing, concrete, wood splinters, and all that held the castle roof and floors together were strewn all across the floor. Several beaten guards lay about near an impact crater of shattered tile. The small groans gave fleeting relief that they were alive, but in need of medical attention. That’s when she saw the tracks. Hoof prints, massive ones, were leading out of the crater. They were set into the floor almost like they had burned through them. Passing a guard as she followed the gradually shallower and less burnt prints, Luna noticed the armor on her flank had actually been similarly burned, so much so the golden metal on the outside was even partially melted.

A yell drew up her attention, calling her out into the main hall. Racing forward, Luna ran past several panicking and bruised nobles and palace workers. A fight was still going on, with half a dozen guards rushing about and dueling with an absolutely monster sized stallion. Even Shield Crash, one of the largest guards on staff, was a full head or so shorter and easily half the mass of this pony. The closer Luna got, the more it became clear this was the largest stallion she’d ever seen, so much so she nearly mistook him for a horse at first. It seemed to be a unicorn, but it was fighting tooth and hoof rather than using magic; and doing a fine job at it even if his manner was unorthodox. Instead of focusing on bucking and kicking, he was mostly bashing away castle defenders with body shoves, bashing with his forelimbs, or of all things. But the strength disparity was obvious when Shield Crash's forward charge was stopped cold by the monstrous unicorn biting him across the back; armor sparing his from the enlarged canines and wolf teeth the newcomer bore, before he was yanked off his hoofs and tossed across the hall.

The unicorn's coat was a charcoal gray with a spiny patch of ivory fur along the back that stood up slightly. The mane and tail were a dull gray-green and very rigid, spiky. The tail especially, while clearly hair, resembled a spiny fin as much as it did an equine tail. The cutie mark was bafflingly odd. It was a symbol of some sorts she was unfamiliar with, a circle with three trapezoids surrounding it with the smaller face pointing inward.

Several more royal and night guards charged in and Luna, unable to magically blast the unruly stallion for fear of striking some of her guard, looked on. They piled up onto the odd pony, literally covering it from near head to toe in an attempt to drag it down. The force of numbers did seem to finally pull him down and they seemed to crumble for the floor. It almost worked...

The pony’s mane and tail flashed a blue light that blared out from the gaps between the guards, and a shockwave ripped through his body and all whom where touching him. Guards were thrown across the room like beach balls, skidding across the floor or impacting the walls before slipping into unconsciousness. The attack would have given Luna thought for pause had it been any other situation, for while it was definitely energy based the lack of glow from the intruder's horn and its odd sensation showed it to not be magic. The stallion stood unfazed before slowly shifting its head and looking at Luna, snorting like a mad bull with streaks of blue smoke streaming from his maw as he spoke.

Unfortunately, his attempts at calming his breathing and pulse to clear his dizzied head were complicated by frustration at his situation which worked to make him come off as more hostile than intended, “Pests… Even against this tiny form they fall. Be glad I didn’t kill them, I’m not in the best mood after being attacked so suddenly. Now, if your kind would be courteous enough to not try to dog pile me on sight, where-”

Luna was near her temper’s breaking point, her starry mane waving along in the windless room as she stood atop the stairs. Her voice was a chorus of anger.
“You…Who…do YOU think you are? Assaulting the Celestial castle, attack its staff and guards, and then have the audacity to bark forth at a diarch?!”

The stallion rolled his eyes, looking and talking back in a half disgruntled manner.
“I didn't start this you witch! If that group are the elite, then your minions best not be brought against me; least an accident happen.”

Luna’s eyes snapped into a white plane as a bright white stream of energy ripped out from her horn, yelling out in a voice often not heard for a thousand years.

“ENOUGH!”

The stallion didn’t have time to react before the beam slammed into him, sending him flying back and crashing into the wall. Luna canceled out her attack, her face still cast in a stern glare as she watched the darkness the hole in the wall her foe had crashed through provided.

Red and yellow eyes briefly glared through the darkness back at her before the entire hole was gushing out a brilliant blue and white light. Luna barely had time to dodge to the side, the tip of her wing feather’s being singed slightly by a stream of burning heat energy that smashed through the stained glass behind her and into the skies beyond. The beam continued for a second or two before it cut off like a silenced flame.

The stallion slowly walked out of the gaping hole in the wall, his mane and tail still glowing as flickers of blue sparks slipped out from his maw. His torso was still smoking from Luna’s attack, obviously having been damaged but the pain seemingly only adding fuel to his fire. His expression was pure rage.

He stomped a hoof into the ground, cracking tiles and shaking the room as Luna was unmoved, “I am Godzilla, King of the Monsters..…. And for these attacks, you and your kind have just managed to piss me off!”

====================================
Back at Sweet Apple Acres’ outskirts
====================================

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo screamed as they dove behind the wagon for cover, Destroyah charging over them and only barely avoiding crushing the pair underfoot due to her long stride. The two standing timberwolves snarled and split up, one charging to meet her head on as the other circled around. The charging wolf and the alicorn rammed into each other, rearing up on their hind legs in a massive ball of anger and rage. Hooves bucked and snapped branches, as splintered claws raked against equine hide, leaving green fluid to spill out.

Destroyah snarled through the pain and rammed her right hoof forward, bashing through branches, bark, and leaves; ripping out through the beast’s wooden backbone. The alicorn chuckled grimly to herself as she assured a paralyzing blow, only for her face to turn to bewilderment as the wolf, unfazed by the blow, clamped its jaws down on her left forelimb. The former kaiju yelped out in pain, staggering back as the wolf’s spine and torso reformed. Gritting her teeth, Destroyah tried to shake her attacker off.

-It reforms too easily to leave lasting wound....-

Her thought was cut off by the wooden lupine releasing her bleeding forelimb and lunging for her neck. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked on in horror, almost certain what was about to follow… And then Destroyah remembered a certain trait about her horn… one she used against a previous foe that regenerated …

The alicorn’s horn ignited with a hellfire as she swung down, leaving a red streak to fly through the air as she brought the horn down on the still lunging Timberwolf’s head. The wood was no defense against the energized horn. Searing hot energy burned through it as much as it did cut through the timbers. The Timberwolf didn’t even have time to yelp before its head was bisected, its broken halves smoking as they fell to the ground. The body stood still for a moment before crumbling down in a heap of twigs and leaves like a castle of cards. Destroyah snarled, spitting on the corpse as she heard a second series of charging footsteps behind her. The demonic being could almost giggle. She may be more vulnerable, but no less armed. And now that she won’t be caught by surprise by some cheap parlor trick, there was no doubt. One on One, Two on One, Five on One… they don’t stand a chance now.

Spinning around as her mane crackled with purple energy, Destroyah threw open her maw as a spray of white vapor and purple steam ripped loose from her jaws and impacted the remaining timberwolf. Its body was instantly enveloped by micro-oxygen that tore each of its cells to shreds. The corpse fell to the ground, its entire body, save for a few twigs and leaves, entirely turned to the same vapor Destroyah breathed in to feed. Destroyah hissed gleefully as she fed herself. Vaporized cells… Always a favored taste…

Shifting her gaze up to the last Timberwolf, who either in a foolhardy attempt to feed or flee and hide from its comrades' killer, was clawing its way over to the wagon and its two shivering forms. Just as it dove its wooden skull into the space of the overturned wagon and a pair of screams echoed out, Destroyah grabbed the beast by its hind leg and ripped it back. The wounded monster yelped, flailing about as the hiss of micro-oxygen sliced through the air. The Timberwolf flailed more and more as less and less of it was physically there. One last howl weakly eased out before all that was left was a pile of residue and vapor, the latter being sucked into the horned pegasus mare's maw.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, still shaking with fright, poked their heads out from under the wagon as Destroyah absorbed the last of her meal. She stood tall and fanned her wings to try and ease her muscles. Green liquid was leaking out for her neck, shoulder, and arms, making her already ragged appearance even worse. She however paid it little attention as she looked down at the fillies with a devil’s smile. Just as she was about to fire another blast of her signature oxygen-destroyer, a jolting pain ripped out from within her.

-WHAT'S!? WRONG WITH ME?!! ARRG!-

Gasping a breath and clinging to her gut, Destroyah barely had time to grasp at her stomach before doubling over, unable to move as she started shaking violently. The last thing she saw before passing out was two fillies rushing up to her, joined by a red haired equine of the same age tailed by an older mare and stallion that ran up from a path leading from the barn.

====================
Back at the Library
===================

The bubble of purple magic that cloaked Mothra’s body faded in a brilliant display as the anti-changeling spell dissipated. The royal changeling remained unchanged and a gleeful smile warmed over Twilight’s face as she spoke.
“Well, that should do it. Sorry about that miss.”

Mothra nodded before walking across the room and up to the young alicorn, “Don’t be, your suspicion was well founded. Odd sensation this world’s magic has. Familiar though.”

Mothra shot her an assuring smile and nodded.

At that, Twilight’s eye brow raised again, obviously both curious and confused. Her inner desire for knowledge was sparking once more, risking a flame.
“You keep saying you’re from somewhere else. Where? Is it in Equestria or somewhere distant? You don’t act much like a changeling.”

Mothra’s wings fluttered as her mind raced. As knowledgeable as she was, mostly due to the inherent memories of her predecessors thanks to Infant Island’s mysticism; this world was more foreign to her than anything she’d ever known.
“I fear the place I called home is very…very distant. I was transported here for what I can only believe to have been some sort of bizarre accident."

She paused to look at her form, speaking solemnly while inspecting a hoof, "The transfer somehow changed my body accordingly. If the others have arrived in the same place something similar must have happened to them.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as the sparks to gather more knowledge grew into a raging flame! Extraterrestrial beings?! Other worlds!? Foreign magic?! All questions she had since foal hood were standing right before her and there were MORE of her kind here?! Millions of questions ripped through her mind as a grin gathered upon her face.
“How many more are there?!”
“What spells do you know?!”
“Can they all do magic?!”
“Can you teach me any?!”
“Got any books?!”

Mothra giggled at the teenager’s glee. Seeing happiness of others always was something she rarely got to witness back home, and it never failed to please her. This young mare seemed near ecstatic!
“Patience! Patience Twilight, don’t burst yourself! Before we get into the details, I must ask if you have any star maps. If I recognize any patterns I might be able to tell you exactly where I am from. Do you have any?”

Twilight smirked, trotting off to the astrology section of the library with Mothra in tow.
“You couldn’t have come to a better spot in Ponyville!”

Spike slept peacefully through it all.

=======================================
Several minutes later at Fluttershy’s cottage
=======================================

Xenilla sat calmly on the hard wood floor, his horn and shoulder patches glowing as he levitated a tea cup over to himself and sipped it. Fluttershy smiled as she added a pinch more sugar to her cup, while she sat down on her couch. The pegasus swallowed her sip and tilted her head in curiosity as she asked her inquiry.
“So you say there might be six of your friends here as well?”

Xenilla flinched at the hot tea as much as he did at her words. Against this mare he dare not lie, least get that glare of hers again. Any inconvenience he could live without was well avoided. Still he could, bend the truth a little as he told his tale.
“Friends… would be a rough term… Destroyah would be the closest ally. But yes, there are six.”

Fluttershy was put a bit on the uneasy side by that name, but continued.
“And I take it they’d all be just as confused as you were?”

Xenilla glanced over at the patched up floor where his crystals once stood, deciding that label was best to keep things on the calm side.
“Likely.”

Fluttershy flapped her wings and hovered up, obvious concern on her face.
“Oh! Then we must go and find them all soon as possibl-“

Fluttershy was cut off by her front door being bucked open by a very frantic Applejack, who spun around to rush in so fast her hat flew off and needed to be caught.

“FLUTTASHY! We need ya’ down barnside a’sap! Fillies found some big red mare and she’s hurt bad! Docs another thirty minutes out so ya’ gotta come on down an-“

Applejack stopped her sentence short at she looked up at the massive form of Xenilla standing before her, obvious surprise clad on her expression.
“... Well…howdy”

Xenilla lowered down and looked at the mare on eye level.
“What shade of red would you say she was?...”

=====================================
30 minutes later at the Canterlot palace
=====================================

A mass explosion cued a shockwave that tore through the whole palace. In the commons hall, the wave and rattling foundations cracked and shattered half of the windows that still stood in one piece as two forms dueled in the main hallway. Luna and Godzilla had been fighting through several rooms and corridors, leaving the palace in utter disarray and wreckage in their wake.

Diving under a heat ray that burned through several walls behind her, Luna flapped her wings to gain speed as she charged the stallion head on. Putting her forehooves out, they connected with Godzilla’s torso and yanked the kaiju unicorn off his feet, still firing off his ray from his maw and narrowly missing the chance to fry the night princess’s back. They continued to sail through the air until they hit the massive wooden gate to the garden, the speed Luna was flying at and their combine mass being enough to smash through the latch in a shower of splinters and into the outside world. Arching her back, Luna kicked out with her hind legs and launched her foe away from her and into the pond. Quickly erupting out of the churned waters almost as soon as he landed, Godzilla stood up to his full height and glared at his foe that hovered about 15 feet above.

He'd been not at full form during his confrontation with the other, odd as it was to think it to him, equines, but even so he'd not been using everything he could must. Bash them around, throw them aside, bite the armored areas. Just knock them around till they'd yield but not maim. Yet this one, this one was unrelenting!

The kaiju king panted and cast a small smirk, “I must say… I am impressed…”

Luna only sneered in response, her anger making her modern accent slip.
“Keepeth thy compliments in thine maw, brute! Why hath ye besieged our lands and populace?!”

Godzilla snorted, glancing up at the still smoking palace. His memories after the blast on Solgell were very hazy. At first he was unable to see, but could tell he had fallen somewhere, and judging from the pain he felt coursing through his body; he’d just landed on something very hard. Before he could even react or figure out where he was, several groups of technicolored equines were charging him. He may not have been as quick to enrage as his father was, but even he was never one to give up and take assault laying down, and resisted. More got involved with the fight, the building he was in was getting trashed, this large blue equine attacks him; and now we’re up to the present.

Both of the two were nearly to the point of huffing for breath. After fighting for nearly half an hour now, both were fairly well bruised, scratched, and beaten. Godzilla grumbled as he glanced his eyes down at the frosted wound on his chest, inflicted by Princess Luna’s projectile assault some minutes earlier. Either the inhabitants of this world had some special quality or his powers were changed as much as his body had, but whichever it was he wasn’t healing as quickly as he should be. Both or neither be the cause, the pain only enraged him more as he swallowed it in.

“I acted in self-defense! You and your race are the aggressors here! I didn’t start this battle but I WILL finish it!”

Godzilla snarled as his mane and tail glowed a white light, just the same as waves of bright white energy collected in the Princess’s horn. Streams of starry white and a torrent of blue flame ripped through the air at the same time, and both missed, yet also found their mark….

Soon enough, the castle halls were alight with warfare beyond most were capable. Princess Luna rapidly appeared and disappeared in bursts of blue magic, teleporting about the room to dodge the oncoming salvos of plasma fired at her positions. She shot out of her reappeared location and flew towards the roof, arching around midair with her arched back skillfully maneuvering and rolling out of the way from another torrent of white-blue burning light. Spiraling down as she tucked her wings in, the alicorn's horn coils sparks and burst with radiance of their own.

Godzilla halted his breath weapon, needing to recharge after having swept it around the room and halls to try and hit the offending alicorn. His burning wrath had cut out large holes into the walls and ceiling, giving the castle some new skylights as dozens to hundreds of kilograms worth of construct rubble came falling down. He couldn't pay much heed to it, much as he wished to keep track of such things, because soon his forearm was pock marked and impacted by Luna's magical darts.

Some exploded on contact with transmitted kinetic force that rattled his bones, others seemed to stab into his hide before burning into him. The kaiju king held back and gasp of pain as he sagged to a knee under the onslaught from the diving alicorn. Unable to get out of the way, all he could do was try and heal back the damage and brace for what he did see coming. Princess Luna stopped her barrages and seemed to wrap her body in her own aura while rapidly pounding her wings and sticking her hooves before her.

Little as he could have possibly known, an alicorn was not just a winged unicorn or horned pegasus. Once experienced, they were all three races compounded together in a gestalt greater than the sum of parts. Pegasus high speed flight, unicorn telekinesis throwing her mass forward and bolstering defense, and earth pony constitution and physicality manipulation that could reinforce the body as easily as it could promote plant growth. All and all, it meant Princess Luna slammed into her foe like an oncoming train and he definitely felt it more than she did.

The loud 'SNAP' was from both the forearm her blow hit snapping internally as well as the crushing of the ground under his hooves crunching down hard enough to form a crater. For a briefest of second as she saw his face contort in pain, Princess Luna half worried she'd killed him on the spot. She'd hit harder than she would on a normal pony because this 'Godzilla' certain proved to be nothing of the sort, but did she just-

His eyes dilated and turned white with unbridled fury at whatever destructive force her foe bore that she could clearly tell wasn't magic. The monstrous unicorn lunged and body-slammed into the alicorn, shoving her into the ground and bear hugging her with his good forelimb. Godzilla's mane and tail crackled with power and there was a brief flash of blue from all points of his body in contact with the alicorn. Princess Luna was hit full force with the conducted nuclear pulse shockwave and was sent flying back like a pinball, fur smoking in trails behind her.

Godzilla staggered and huffed, grimacing while holding his broken arm as the bone inside tried to mend together. Perhaps mentally urging it to regenerate faster, his hopes were dashed when the alicorn again disappeared into a burst of blue magical light. At the same time much of the falling rubble was grabbed in a similarly colored blue magic aura, and hurled at his position.

Swearing Godzilla held his half-healed limb while ignoring the strain upon his energy reserves, dropping open his maw to spew out bursts of plasma to shoot down as many projectiles as he could. Then a burst of blue light behind him got his attention and he whipped around.

Princess Luna's eyes widened when she realized her foe had wised up to her teleportation flanking and had whirled around to greet her with a face full of fangs and fires. Her horn ignited and a shield was cast abruptly to hold back the onslaught, her carried momentum fighting against the kinetic force of the searing torrent. With her focus taken away, she'd lost control of the hurled debris, and with Godzilla's focus on the alicorn he'd turned his back to it.

Too caught up with each other, neither noticed a half ton slab of concrete crashing into both of them and sending the dueling rulers through a brick wall until it was too late.

Sweetie Belle
Fluttershy
Apple Jack
Xenilla
Anguirus
Rainbow Dash
Aero

=======================================
Meanwhile at Vacation Camp Evergreen
=======================================

Gentle Leaf beamed a smile as she ran out onto the forest’s trail. Her green summer camp vest practically glowing in the glints of soon fading sunlight that shown through the overcast. The camp was small and homey, close enough to a small city that it gave an easing sense of home nearby for some that staved off the feeling of isolation; while still being far enough away to get away from the urban life. It was perfect for camping. Close enough to feel safe, and distant enough to be free. The forest, lake, swamps, and distant mountains however were more than enough for any foal to feel as if they’d stumbled into a jungle Daring Doo would have passed through. Normally shy, Leaf had just gotten used to the freedom of exploration, and like the pith helmet clad heroine of the movies from last night, she had every intention of living the wilderness up to the fullest.

The counselor frantically running through the list of his charges was less enthusiastic.
"Gentle?!"
"Gentle Leaf!?"

Aero turned around a corner as he bolted around the cabins and tents, skidding to a halt to avoid crashing into the clinic so quickly his glasses whipped off of his head and into Nurse Redheart’s face. The stallion was sent skittering backwards and trying to force back blushing.

"S-sorry Nurse!", he said with a stutter.

Redheart chuckled lightly, shaking her head before picking up the fallen glasses and handing them to the counselor.
"Calm down Aero, I promise I don’t bite. You seem to be in a hurry. Where’s the fire?"

The memory of why he came was skittering out at best, his face was getting hot and his tongue was beginning to knot over itself.
"I-I-I-I-I uuu-uuummmm…KID! Yes a kid. Is Gentle Leaf here or did she maybe check in today?!" Aero nearly shouted before reigning his voice back in.

Nurse Redheart calmly shifted through her saddlebag and pulled out her clipboard, reading through the names of any who had arrived in her clinic, flipping to the current day’s page; eyes scanning the text.
"Gentle Leaf… Gentle Leaf… mmm… No, I only saw her admitted a few days back for a scraped knee but haven't had her since. Though I did see her about a half hour ago."

"WHERE!....Oh! Sorry didn’t mean to raise my voice there, eheh... Where did she go? Was she with anyone?"
Aero uttered, lowering his ears and backing up a bit.

Nurse Redheart outstretched her arm, pointing out like an arrow to the Eastern Swamp and Forest trail on the closest border of the camp.
"Over there, I saw her walking off onto the trail. She was alone but I assumed she was meeting you and your group there. Anywho do I need to report a missing cam-…"

Redheart cut herself short as she looked back to where Aero had been, seeing only a dust trail and the yellow blur of a frantic Aero bolting down the East Trail.
"-per?…"

==============================================
On the East Trail about 2 kilometers away from Camp
==============================================

Gentle Leaf bounced along the downhill path, mutely counting down a row of dew covered grass flowers. So attentive she was, the filly didn’t notice the tall shadow eclipsing the last flower until she crashed into a muscular hind leg.

A gleaming flower was crushed under a hoof as a tall earth stallion slowly turned and loomed over the downed filly. Gentle Leaf sat on her rump as she looked up at her overseer, half confused and half afraid. The stallion was a dull brownish gray, with multiple ivory colored spots on his face and back. He was an earth pony, his spiky mane and tail laying across a hornless brow and wingless back. Abnormally though were the ivory colored spines similar to a porcupine’s quills jutting out from his tail. With the turn flicker and sway of his tail, some of the quills had smacked against one another, a clacking sound reverberating out that continued when he fanned his tail. Clad on his forearms were some of the oddest articles Gentle Leaf had ever seen. They reminded her dimly of the greaves some of the royal guards wore, but instead of shiny metal bracers, his gauntlets seemed to be made of toughened, dull leather and bones, with sharp spikes jutting out in a manner that made his forelimbs resemble maces more than they did any legs.

Slowly, with sharpened fangs poking out from his maw gleaming in the lights above; he looked down at the filly.
"……The Daiei are you supposed to be?", the massive stallion grunted, lowering his head down to eye level with the half shocked filly.

Gentle Leaf’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, falling onto her back before trying to claw her way backwards with her arms. Her frightened and surprised expression was universal.

The stallion rolled his eyes.
"Hey, listen nestling, I ain’t not gonna skin you alive, calm down or you’ll give yourself a heart attack. Li-Listen can you tell me where where I am-", He was cutting off and on given how much she was thrashing.

Gentle Leaf didn’t change at all her expression or action, still trying to crawl away with her mouth open in a silent scream. The stallion was more annoyed than anything, rolling his eyes before taking in a deep breath.

"Oh for the love of- STOP CRAWLING AWAY AND SPEAK UP WELP!"

Gentle Leaf froze as she felt wind blow past her, starting to hyperventilate. The adult grumbled to himself and lowered his voice.
"Ooooye…… Yeesh even looking like this ridiculous, people still run away…… Aaaaaannnyways, I have no idea how I got looking like this nor where the hell I am. You seem to understand me, so you’re the only way I’m getting that information. So, do you know what I am?"

Gentle Leaf, still wide eyed, nodded her head.
The stallion shrugged, "That’s better…. Can you tell me where I am?"

Gentle Leaf, eyes relaxing a fractional amount; nodded slowly. Noting it a bit odd she wasn't be too talkative but thinking it was out of fear, he lightened up his tone to ease her, "Alright, spit ‘er out then."

Gentle Leaf sagged down a bit, her shocked facade shifting to slight sadness. The brown stallion tilted his head, curious as to the silence. He knew this song and dance well. Scare the daylights out of someone by default, and get the info you need. This works so well usually.
"Come on then, speak up welp if you wanna be heard-"

Gentle Leaf looked up at him, frowning dimly as she tapped her throat before making several gestures the abnormal pony didn’t recognize. She opened her mouth silently, mouthing some syllables, and by the time she shut it the message was clear.
"Oh…mute eh?"

Gentle Leaf nodded sadly, getting to her feet.
"Well, can you point me in a direction so I can find out where I’m at? Where did a tot like you come from anyways?"

Gentle Leaf quickly nodded, glancing about as childish innocence erased her fear second by second. She began to spin around as she tried to look for a recognizable path… And kept looking…and looking… and looking, obviously confused as she spun around in a circle. The stallion rolled his eyes, grumbling,
"Yooooooou’re… lost aren’t you?"

Gentle Leaf stopped spinning as the realization began to hit her. These woods were vast, and she’d run so eagerly she easily could be far from camp, and she’d never see her friends and family, never see her home again; and-and-and-

The tiny, heart rending squeak of mute crying exhale echoed into the stallion’s ears.

Pity overwhelming stubbornness, he shrugged slowly as he bent down and gently gripped the tearing up filly in his maw, who seemed too saddened to notice until he’d lifted her up. Careful not to prick her with his fangs, he placed her gently on his back; nuzzling her head gently as a father bird would his nestling. The monstrous stallion hummed softly as Gentle Leaf’s tears subsided. With that, he turned his head forward again and started down the forested game trail.

"Yeesh whoever you had watching you need a whoopin’. If my days on Solgell taught me anything it’s never leave someone’s kid unattended. Doesn’t end well… Come on, if we keep walking you’re bound to recognize something eventually."

Gentle Leaf sniffed once to clear her nose before nodded slowly, sitting down on the massive pony’s back, thankful his hair, as quill-like as it looked; wasn’t sharp.

"Names’ Anguirus by the way…"

==========================
Back at Sweet Apple Acres
==========================

Applejack and Fluttershy raced down the beaten path, kicking up a small dust cloud behind them. Xenilla was hot on their heels, but his unaccustomness to a quadrupedal form and larger size meant he lagged behind just enough to be caught up in the kicked up dirt and dust.

While thankful he retained the trait of not having to breath, an adaptation for deep space; not even one of his energy barriers would save him from getting coated in road grit. By the time all three came skidding to a halt in front of the barn, the massive unicorn’s blue and crystal colored hide was dull brown and black. At the urgency of the situation though, no parties seemed to notice.

"Fillies found ‘er outta town, got into a fight with some Timberwolves. Out cold by ‘time Big Mac and I got there. She’s in here."

Applejack uttered before pulling the slide lock aside and opening the barn door. Inside the barn it was impossible to not notice the changes the day had brought upon. Blankets and buckets of fresh water were strewn about. Granny Smith was ringing out a wet cloth, ridding it of excess water before returning to the center of the room, and to the most obvious change to the barn. Strewn out on of a tied hay bale made into a makeshift bed, was the largest pony any in attendance had ever seen. Her crimson face cringed up a bit as the Apple Family matriarch gently laid a cool towel on her forehead. Spotting the mare’s wounds at an instant, Fluttershy raced forward, digging into her saddle bag full of medical supplies. Xenilla looked on as Applejack tracked his gaze upon the ill mare knowingly.

"Xenilla, you know ‘er don’t yah?"

Xenilla craned his head back and looked out to the forests, trying to spy any obvious crash site his fallen ally had impacted, "That I do. She’s from my home realm. ”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Home real-‘Oh fer’get it, who is she?"

Xenilla looked back into the barn, slowly walking towards the center of the barn with Applejack following alongside.
"She had no parents to christen her; though some peoples referred to her as ‘Destroyah’ so she just adopted that label."

"D-estroy’ah?..."
Applejack’s eyes narrowed in the same manner she would look upon someone like Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon. There were nice names in this world, that was not one them. She hadn’t even met the mare conscious, but her looks and name were already putting the earth pony on edge. An edge Xenilla could detect.

-Hm….She’s uneasy… Smart mare… Knowing Destroyah, when she wakes herself up it’s not going to be a good day for these ponies… Considering what Fluttershy has told me about this world and its powers, and our diminished state; that won’t end well for either of us. If even some suspicion is raised due to that witch’s actions we both could get done in. Destroyah., you always were a ‘Kill first, ask questions later’ type. Perhaps it’s time I put the attack dog on a leash-

"I know, not the friendliest name, but she is an old ally of mine. Don’t worry though, she has a lot more bark than bite. So long as no one annoys her, she’ll be fine. Don’t expect her to show up to any parties though. I thank you for rescuing her, who found her again?"

Xenilla’s words hardly put anymore ease into Applejack’s mind, but before she could answer, three small forms bolted in from the barn doors. Darting across the barn floor, two forms weaved their way between Xenilla’s legs and shot towards Fluttershy. The third arched around and came grinding to a halt in front of the massive stallion. Looking down, Xenilla didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed at the glaring eyed, white filly blocking his path.
"WHO ARE YOU?-YOU’RE HUGE!-HOW’D YOU GET HERE?-YOUR HORN IS AWESOME!-YOU HAVE FANGS! ARE YOU EVIL!?-"

Applejack decided to cut Sweetie Belle’s question barrage short. "SWEETIE, one at a time please. This fell’rs a pal of your friend the’r. He just came to see how she’s holdin’."

Xenilla lowered his head down into the now grinning filly, obvious annoyance starting to show through that he quickly bit back. Good first impressions if it were.
"Greetings, I presume you’re one of the fillies who found her?"

Sweetie Belle nodded rapidly.
“Mhm mhm! Over by the stream. Then she saved us from some Timberwolves!”

Xenilla’s eyebrow cocked up before the realization hit his mind, he walked harmlessly over the filly and towards the downed Destroyah, his horn beginning to glow.
–Saved you?...Heh… little one you have no idea…-

===================
Back at the forest
===================

Aero was not having a good day, not a good day at all. To say he was anxious was the understatement of the decade. One of the fillies he specifically was put in charge of had disappeared down a trail she’d never been before and had a good head-start on him. The unicorn was frantically darting about, looking behind every shrub, stone, and tree in hopes to catch a glimpse of Gentle Leaf’s little form, hopefully in good condition.

So concentrated on his hunt, the stallion didn’t notice the streak of cyan that darted overhead, and barely heard the frantic cry before a streak of blue and rainbow nearly slammed into him.
"gaaaaaaaaAAAAANG WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

A scrambling form slammed into Aero dead on his center mass, knocking the wind out of his lungs and turning his world black…

Several moments passed before his vision began to return in a blurry mess of light blue, the piercing ringing in his ear deafening the world as his vision spun. He could hear a mare’s voice, but the ringing in his ears distorted the voice so much he’d have better luck trying to discern her words underwater.
"Oh my g- -ou OK?! I’- -orry!"

The lack of a slight weight on his muzzle at least told him why his vision seemed so blurred. Instinctively his horn ignited and readjusted his fumbled glasses, putting them into their proper place as his mind and senses returned.
"-And I c-uldn’t pull up –n -ime and the down draft kinda shoved me into you."

The cyan blue mare cracked a nervous grin as she rubbed the back of her head. Her multicolored mane was recognizable nationwide and Aero’s newly adjusted eyes widened.
"Anywho, name’s Rainbow Dash."

The mare, who was hovering just above him with steady wing beats, extended her forelimb to offer him a hoof up. A half dumbstruck Aero obliged. The Pegasus helped the unicorn to his feet and continued on.
"Still sorry about that, I swear that draft came out of nowhere! I didn’t think I’d land on another pony all the way out here. What you doing all the way out here anyways?"

Aero stood himself up to his full form and dusted his vest off, shaking out his mane and tail from anymore loose particles. All it took was one look at a mare with less than perfect definition of personal space for his stutter to kick up.
"I-I’m-m-m Ae-ro … I’m a Va-cation Camp Coun-nselor, I was o-ut looking for-…oh Faust….GENTLE LEAF!"

Aero’s hair nearly stuck up on end at the remembrance of why he was out here, frantically jumping up and darting at every shrub or tree nearby and calling out the filly’s name. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before flying over to the screaming Unicorn, grabbing him by the shoulder and gently but firmly smacking him across the face to snap the poor stallion out of his panic. Aero stopped instantly, rubbing his cheek lightly, thankful she avoided hitting his glasses.
"Thanks….Sorry."

Rainbow Dash sighed and set herself on the ground in front Aero.
"No need for you to lose your head in the middle of the woods. Now, who or what is this ‘Gentle Leaf’ that’s got you flipping out?"

Aero’s eyes lowered in a dual sensation of shame, concern, and a very adult fear.
"She’s just a young filly, barely past foal age, and one of the campers I was in-charge of. She’s an eager explorer and ran off on this trail when I wasn’t with her. She’s lost somewhere out here… If I don’t find her soon she might be…"

Aero closed his eyes before he felt a hoof on his shoulder.
"Hey, I’m sure she’s fine. Tell you what, I’ll throw my hoof into this little search party. Between the two of us she’ll be safe ‘n sound back at camp within the hour!"

An honest smile under her magenta eyes was enough to give sense him some sense of ease. Aero exhaled slowly to ease his heart rate as he walked past her and down the trail.
"Well, got a lot of ground to cover… Not exactly a game of Hide and Go Seek."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a chuckle, giving Aero a friendly punch in the shoulder.
"Ah put a cork in it, I’ve saved runaway carriages before. One misplaced filly is no problem!~"

Anguirus had been walking for some time and his charge hadn’t given the former kaiju any indication she recognized anything for a while. The added weight of her head on his back and the near silent sound of light snoozing confirmed one reason why that was so. Glancing back at the curled up form of the filly, the fanged stallion signed and continued walking, now relying solely on his senses to try and find where this filly had come from. Crossing a shallow stream, Anguirus gave a freighten look at his new reflection.

-This place is weird…. Just… weird…. Many things, the trees, the creatures, the feelings all seems vaguely familiar, but different. The sights and sounds all reminiscent of back home, but distinct. Everything is close enough to be recognizable, but something just made them all see so odd they seem alien. Even the air smells funny here…’Least walking is still the same-

Wading out of the stream, Anguirus closed his eyes and put his snout into a breeze to try and detect any similar scents, fanning his ears to pick up any sounds. After a short time, the stallion convert shrugged in failure.

-Yep, you’re definitely not in Solgell anymore.-

"Gentle Leeaf?"
"Gentle Leeeeeaf?"

Anguirus’s eyes shifted slightly as he homed in on the direction of the voices, the differing pitches and growing volume showing their were at least two and they were growing closer. Walking up to the trail that should be been in their path, Anguirus drew up a plan and put it into motion. If this world mimicked his well enough, only a few races would be sentient enough to talk and understand speech. So far the only one he’d seen in this world was his own, the same race this filly belonged too. Chances were, those voices were equines as well, possibly searching for something. If the cards played out right, both parties could benefit. They get the child; he’d follow them back to a settlement and get his bearings, maybe try and find any others who got flung into this messed up world along with him. The former dinosaur kaiju smirked at the thought of some monster like Destroyah being stuck in this form.

Craning his neck around and gently gripping the sleeping filly by the back, Anguirus picked Gentle Leaf up and set her down in the middle of the path; the search party’s voices growing louder and louder. Noting their greatly increasing volume and the fleeting glimpse of cyan blue through the trees ahead, Anguirus turned and hid in a thicket of shrubs and a fallen tree trunk just off of the trail, peering out through a small hole in his camouflage. Intuition paid off.

"Over there!"
"Gentle Leaf!"

It took several minutes and Aero fretting over if the now groggily shaken awake filly had so much as a paper cut on her before the trio setback for the camp, Gentle Leaf waking up enough to walk alongside. Questions abounded in the two young adults’ heads. They had found the filly just past a deep brook, yet she was perfectly dry. They had found large hoof prints, but she seemed totally alone. The mute filly herself seemed occupied with something on her head. Near every step they group took, Gentle Leaf was off looking in seven directions, as if she was looking for someone. Finally after 2 minutes of walking the first indication they weren’t alone became obvious. A deep shake echoed out from the shrubs, masking a large form wading through the foliage. Gentle Leaf shot up in mute glee and darted at the form, sure she knew exactly who it was.

Rainbow Dash reacted first as Gentle Leaf disappeared into the greenery, internally begging that SOMETHING would happen to alleviate the utter bore this trip had been so far. Flapping her wings into a boosted jump, the mare sprang over foliage and landed in a small clearing.

"Alright, shortstop, what’s got your attention-o-on!"

Gentle Leaf’s mouth and eyes were agape in fear, frozen in place atop wobbling legs as a bipedal form twice the size of most stallions loomed over her, grinning behind batteries of razor edged teeth meant for cutting through gem stone. Yellow eyes glared over to the Rainbow Mare as half a dozen young drakes with a plethora of shapes emerged out from the tree line.

A stomach growl made intent clear.
"Well well well, look what the manticore dragged in."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in defiance of fear as she lowered down to the ground, Gentle Leaf hiding between her legs.

"Garble"

Due to school and my research project over in the lab my time has been very divided and the story has suffered. One factor is that, unlike a majority of stories on FiMFiction that have chapters about 1,500 words long, I try to make sure mine are 3,000-4,000 words. There is no shame in writing shorter chapters, none at all, it's just a habit of mine to do otherwise. So recently I've been thinking on changing that and dividing up my chapters for more frequent releases. What do you all think? Should I stay my course and keep up the larger chapters, or trim things down for more frequent releases?

In the meantime, I've put together somethings for you. One of you [ ;) ] said they'd love this tale if it was a TV show...well... TV shows need openings. It's a rough draft but here ya'll go~

There is now another, much smaller video in the 1st chapter for you all to view if you wish to understand just what Xenilla and Godzilla were saying before they attacked. I've also updated the Q/A as I've recently gotten alot of outside questions through my email and a few from here on FiM by several who choose to remain anonymous

--------------------

Q: Why are the kaiju ponified? Couldn't they just stay normal or maybe be shrunk down?

A: Bluntly put, they won't always be (spoiler, they DO change back while still in Equestria later on), but it is more than any else it deals with interaction. Having them still in kaiju form, even shrunk down; they'd be far too prone to the same old growls, roars, and chirps for vocalizations. One can make conversations around that, even animalistic 'primative' conversions. But the language barrier would be so great that any interaction conversation wise between they and the pony characters could only consevably be understood by Fluttershy, neglecting the other main MLP characters. Ponifying them gives chance for more character interaction and forcing the kaiju out of their comfort zone.

If it was just kaiju in Equestria, or even incredibly Kaiju-escue Ponies, I'd feel it be too much like Copy-Paste Godzilla from Tokyo to Canterlot. In that case we all know that song and dance, and it's been done before by other authors; I wanted to try something different. Also, changing them gives a more even ground for the MLP caste. I don't want this to be a 'X character gets to Y universe in crossover Z and is sole focus of the story', as I personally look down upon unbalanced crossovers. A equal billing crossover that makes one side look significantly less capable or less important is a bad deal in my book. And while I won't lie and say the Kaiju character aren't a major focus, I defintely will not give the MLP cast the shaft. If I wanted the Kaiju cast to be the 'gods' they were with little opposition I wouldn't have changed them.

Q: Why is Destroyah/Desotroyah/Destroyer a mare and why do you call it female?

A: This debate has been beaten back and forth across the G-fandom for decades now. As of yet, Toho has only confirmed the gender for a small handful of kaiju (Mothra, one or two incarnations of Godzilla, Biollante, etc.) and Des is not one of them.

YES, it was a Precambrian life form that in theory had no gender [possible artistic licensing, evolution wise gender evolved several times, in animals, fungi, even some plants; the notion an early life form would have one is not out of the box], but the move explicitly stated that since 1954 it had been evolving on a path we see is similar to arthropods. In other words, if Destroyah didn't have a gender at the start, which is debatable; as it advanced and became a higher life form; it likely did by the end. So what is it? Well if we define female and male according to who reproduces (not all animals use the same XY-XX system humans use, ESPECIALLY not arthropods), Destroyah exhibits clear signs of asexual reproduction via a method in zoology called 'Parthenogenesis' .

Parthenogenesis is the action of a animal reproducing viable offspring without a mate. It's even seen in some higher vertebrates like some lizards, snakes, and birds; but Arthropods, which Destroyah resembles; are the aces. Along the movie we do see Destroyah multiplying asexually. Since all Destroyah look identical [no sexual or individual dimorphism] and can form together, which would require identical genetic make up, this lines up perfectly with parthenogenesis, as many species that can do it can only create genetic clones of the original. If a female Komodo Dragon who undergoes the process has a clutch of daughters, they are all genetic duplicates of the mother. The fact Destroyah's body has different characteristics per body part (its horn had traits couldn't be duplicated on its hand for example, as the case would be in a hive body) and distinct bodyparts like blood, it clearly has evolved to a state it is no longer a micro-organism anymore and is much more like a standard multicellular animal. Knowing that, it seems these micro-organisms are now presumably taking the role cells do in our own bodies, can function like this means which they must all be genetically identical. Thus if one Destroyah 'cell' has a gender, all of them would. The swarm grew and grew in asexual procreation due to a method similar to parthenogenesis. And the only gender that can do that reproductive process, or any for that fact, are females.

So even if Destroyah had no gender to begin with, it likely developed one based on how it was multiplying and combining. Even if different microscoptic pieces had different genders, for them to all merge seamlessly they'd had to have been genetically identical.

That along with it's body resembling a female crustacean, is enough for me to say that at the very least, Destroyah is anatomically female and thus this anatomy transferred over to the Ponyverse and made her look like a mare. I still might make it so it has no gender and just looks female, I may not. This is all theory, but until Toho says otherwise, I'm using my zoological study and the kaiju's anatomy to make my best guess. And that study and review has made me conclude a female kaiju is a far, far more likely outcome than a male and a more plausible outcome than no gender at all.

via Kaiju and Pony Fan
Q: Is there going to be any emotional material involving Godzilla Junior's backstory like him trying to come to terms with his father's death?

A: I cannot give away much, but Junior coming to grips with his family history as well as being the successor to the throne are going to be a large part of his psyche. The opening to this story takes place roughly 4 years after his father's demise, and some wounds of pain and doubt are yet to be sealed. As is the cost of sentience

via Dartagen
Q: If and when they become normal, are they going to duke it out, like they normally would, or work together to find someway home? Also, Godzilla is based of a Japanese Sea dragon, so shouldn't he be a dragon, like Spike?

A: I really can't give away much when they all change back, but there WILL be a classic styled Kaiju brawl. And while you could certainly make the case Godzilla is a dragon, I wanted to keep the core group about on the same level and on similar circumstances. Destroyah is a micro-organism turned crustacean-like monster that feeds via vaporizing food and she still turned into a pony (*laughs*).
If we are going to get technical, Godzilla may have some resemblances to the mythological Sea Drake Ryujin, but the real origin for his dinosaur-like appearance is a 1953 American monster film called 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms', which had a saurian monster. When it came out in Japan, Toho's creators were underway with the first Godzilla film (Gojira, 1954) but had no name or final design for the creature. Some ideas shifted from a cephalopod, to an ape, to a fish. Then the creators saw the American film and decided a dinosaur-like design was best. So while the local mythology, especially considering the country of origin, and what the in-movie natives of Odo Island thought Godzilla was (a sea dragon); it's generally accepted his major inspiration was real world nuclear weapons and prehistoric life. Hope that cleared up some stuff without rambling too much, if I missed anything please do tell me!

via Twilight Mercer
Q: Can the 'kaiju ponies' hop back and forth between there normal forms and pony forms (or changeling in Mothra's case)

A: Yes, and the first change is coming. However to enact the change a certain requirement needs be met which otherwise bars them from doing it at will with no outside influence. There was something in the action of transferring them from their world to Equestria that stripped them of their size, form, and a majority of their power; putting up a 'block' that is alone unbreakable. Something will come into play that allows holes in the block to be opened, but exactly what I won't say for now.

via Torvosaurus428 on email
Q: Who will be the first of the kaiju to revert to their full form?

A: I'll drop a spoiler here and say that we'll have 2 fully formed kaiju in the next chapter, one of which will be Anguirus and the other will be withheld for now :P

via Lennalemurr31 on email
Q: What sort of fights are planned? Are Godzilla and Xenilla gonna throw down? Also will there be any sort of conflicts in pony form?

A: Can't give full details yet, but yes those two are going to fight. As for equine formed conflicts, let's just say one of the kaiju ponies is going to lock horns with a certain king

via Vampychick84 on League of Legends (HOW THE HECK DID YOU TRACK ME THERE?!?!)
Q: What sort of Equestrian villains can we expect to share the spotlight with the kaiju villains?

A: Won't say too much but I can definitely say that Chrysalis will be making an appearance, along with a certain bad dream for the royal family

via RickyRoll5921 on email
Q: Will Spacegodzilla/Xenilla be the main villain?

A: Bluntly put, he's certainly not going to have noble intentions, but Space-a-saurus is not the biggest thing to worry about

via Alpharaptor on skype
Q: Are there going to be any use of fanon material in this story?

A: Not noticeably. Other than some OCs belonging to FiMFiction members appearing in cameos, I'm sticking as much as I can to canon material. There is one headcanon I will be using, but its not hugely significant and I can't give it away without big spoilers as of yet, so that will have to wait. As for anyone worrying I'll go OOC on canon characters to insert fanon ideas, don't worry. One thing I try to keep on target is staying true to the source material. Yes some characterization can and does happen in circumstances like these, but they won't be big at all

via Nima67 on email
Q: Will there be any sort of shout outs to kaiju films?

A: Plenty and from all across the genre. They won't be overly spammed and most of my stuff will be entirely original, but I will be nodding to works or scenes I thought were very effective, both from kaiju films and some other movies or books.

via Anonymous
Q: What other kaiju might be showing up in this fic?

A: While the core cast kaiju wise will likely stick to the six I have selected, Gamera, Godzilla, and other kaiju film monsters will be making appearances

via Twilight Mercer
Q: Why did you make Godzilla unable to use magic?

A: It's not a matter of unable as unknowing. Godzilla just found himself suddenly in a new body with new rules. His old powers are there so he's making use of them. He might be able to learn how to use magic, but without the knowledge to know do to cast spells he has no idea how to use, he can't do spells unless taught. Remember that magic was a very rare occurrence in his world and he was not one who wielded it, the same goes for Xenilla. Someone like Mothra on the other hand could probably cast spells similar to her original abilities just fine. The only one of the 'horned' kaiju ponies who has no magic is Destroyah, as she's technically a pegasus (since her final form is a mutated version of her flying form) but retained her horn from her original body

via TheShaggyPitbull on Minecraft [Ok seriously HOW are you guys following me these places?]
Q: Once the kaiju transform, will they go back to their old ways? And is the transformation permanent, because if it is wouldn't that go against that character development thing you talked about earlier?

A: While personality wise the converted kaiju will be still themselves, even in pony form, certain 'restrictions' will be in place once they go big. And for a very good reason, the change is only temporary and they revert back to their pony form within a few hours and the change itself can only occur under one very specific condition which will be a key plot point

---------------

Well, that's all for now, be sure to drop any more questions you got ladies and gents. Next chapter is almost done, see you soon~

Rainbow Dash
Garble
Anguirus
Aero
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Vex
Puff
Clump
========================

"Low and behold, Rainbow Rash remembers my name. Now if you’d kindly leave my dinner on its plate and get off my turf, I won’t burn your feathers off just yet."

Rainbow Dash glared back defiantly, wrenching back a realization of horror once she realized what would have happened to the filly now cowering behind her leg if she hadn’t shown up. The cyan mare put her forehoof to her side to further shield Gentle Leaf. Rainbow Dash raised her wings and backed a snide insult.

"What do you mean ‘Territory’, don’t you brats still live in your mom’s nest?"

The bluish purple, heavy set drake named Vex jumped up in an disgruntled fit, his thagomizer unshealthing.
"Hey! Leave my mother out of thi-"

Garble brought down a hammer fist to his cohorts skull to cut him off, making a cutting motion across his neck to silence the idiot. The red dragon turned back to the ponies as Aero looked on in horror from the shrubs.

"AS I was saying… THIS from now on is our turf and hunting ground. YOU are trespassing AND interrupting our dinner plans."

The albino drake, Puff, leaned over to a whispered the Garble.
"Uh, boss. I don’t know how to phrase this but… We’ve been travelin’ for days to get here, I don’t think one filly is gonna do it for all of us, Clump is about ready to chew on our tails out of spite if he doesn’t eat somethin’ soon."

A deep bellow echoed forth from Clumps’ gut.
"I am pissed and starving, you are right to fear me."

Garble turned and whacked his subordinate on the side of his head, cursing out threats and expletives in a language no pony understood. Rainbow Dash nearly rolled her eyes at the sheer level of idiocy she could feel rising before Garble whipped back and glared daggers at the mare.

"AS I was saying…AGAIN, give back our food and we won’t change our dinner plans to make her just the appetizer..."

Garble smirked, making a ‘come to me’ motion with his middle finger, an insulting tone that did not sit well with an already angered Pegasus. Garble licked his lips, curling them back to bare his fangs as he stepped forward. That was all the reasoning Rainbow Dash needed. She grabbed Gentle Leaf by the filly's midsection as she spun around with a flap of her wings.

"AERO THINK FAST!"

Aero barely had time to fire up a telekinetic spell and grab the “screaming”, airborne filly in a magical aura. Rainbow Dash turned, shooting up into the air with the flap of her wings and slamming her hind hooves into a lunging Garble’s face, sending the drake staggering. Rainbow snorted and readied her hooves for what she was sure would be a retaliation attack on her, her intent being to lead the drakes away to buy the duo more time to flee.

"I’ll hold them off! Get to the camp and get help now!"

"RIGHT!"

Aero nodded, securing the filly and bolting down the forest trait towards camp. Garble rubbed his jaw, spitting out a bloody loose tooth as he glared at the Pegasus.

"Camp huh? Boys we found the all you can eat buffet! AFTER THEM!"

Rainbow’s mood sunk as she saw most of the group completely ignore her striking their leader, and bolt after the fleeing unicorn like a pack of ravenous dogs. Garble gave her a snickering, malign cackle before joining the chase.

-…Ah crap bags…-

Rainbow Dash quickly left in pursuit circling around at high speed to cut the drakes off. Not far behind, Anguirus emerged from his leafy shroud, having seen and heard everything in the confrontation. Sounds of snarling and a pony screaming echoed down from the path ahead. Once again, Anguirus was conflicted. Back home, he and his allies looked out for their own kind, aside from maybe Mothra or Caesar; they could care less about other smaller beings like the humans. In this place, wherever or whenever it was, it’s equines with talks of settlements were now sounding an awful lot like humans, or at least an equivalent. Old habits should die hard and he only needed to find some verbal ponies to get his bearings. If that camp was going to have a half dozen hungry dragons raiding it, it was more trouble than it was worth, he couldn't fight them in a state like this. He was made to protect Terra, not an alien world. If the locals could fight like that blue pegasus, then they would be fine and not of his concern. He would just keep moving and find another town to get what he was looking for…

Anguirus turned to walk back into the forest when the splash of water and the sensation of wetness on his hoof gave him pause. Looking down into the rippling waters, the ankylosaur like kaiju stared down… and saw an equine face staring back at him. The distant roar of Garble and the frantic calls from the cyan mare rang in his ears.

For the first time in years, the kaiju felt shame, and it strung at his heart. Shame turned to courage welled up inside him as his face hardened, turning his head back to the trail leading to the camp.

-No… THAT camp will be the place I get my answers-

Anguirus turned and rushed down the path, rapidly catching up to the fleeing chaos with the same bravado he felt the day prior when charging into the fray at Solgell.

-After I deal with a pest control problem…-

=========================================

Garble pounced out at the fleeing Aero, claws drawn and aimed for his back to rake away the terrified filly, who was frantically trying to climb away from the oncoming dragon, her mouth agape in a mute scream. Just as his talons would have raked across Gentle Leaf’s spine, to likely brutal effect; cyan fore hooves trailed by a streak of rainbow rammed into his gut. Dense muscle and hard scales softened the blow, but the power forced out a yip from the red dragon as he was thrown back a few yards.

Rainbow Dash landed between the stunned Garble and Aero as the counselor entered a now alerted and panicking campground. The Pegasus mare was not in top shape. Repeated high speed blows had left her legs bloodied slightly. Her body was riddled with bruises and cuts, her wings were missing a few feathers, and her whole body was coated in a thin layer of dust that stained her fur slightly. To say the aching mare was roughed up was a gross understatement. She’d been successful though, and despite half her body screaming for rest after frantically fending off a pack of drakes for a quarter of an hour, she didn’t intend on stopping.

Garble fell to a knee as his pack rushed past him and Rainbow Dash, both beings panting hard from the exertion. The tired eyes of Rainbow Dash might have missed it, but something was different about the teenage dragons. Their arms were getting longer, they were running as quadrupeds more and more; and their speech was growing more and more brutish as they pursued their prey. They were getting greedy. The frantic call of a camp pony ripped away Rainbow Dash’s attention, and in a painful effort the Pegasus beat her broad wings and took off to try and save another life. Garble only glared at the leaving pony. Punching a fist into the ground, fires pooled up inside the drake as his pupils became slitted. The aching pain of his bruises was fading rapidly as new pain from growing limbs ripped forth. His mind was beginning to numb, but the craving for what he desired grew only stronger. He came here to have equine flesh, and his greed and lust for it was reaching an apex. Before his body began to shift, the red drake managed to utter out two last words.

"G-arble WANT!"

===========================================

Anguirus rushed out of the tree line and made a bee-line towards the campgrounds that had become pandemonium. All around ponies were running for cover, dragons chasing their query amidst the scattered cabins and tents, screams echoing through the air; and several large structures were beginning to catch aflame. The formed kaiju looked at the sight briefly before shaking off the eerie sense of dejavu and rushing into the fray. He focused on the nearest drake, a tall, spindly, purple beast that was chasing several colts and fillies down a path of tents. Anguirus looked at the image of the dragon in his mind as he circled around. Something about it seemed different then when he saw it before.

-Last time that thing was only a bit larger than that mare, and why is it running on all fours now? Ah screw it, musta just not been looking close enough. Focus Anguirus!-

Brushing aside off thoughts, Anguirus turned the corner as he readied all his muscles and quills. It was time to see if this new form of his could be put to use.

Fume licked his fangs as he cornered his prey against a particularly large tent that spanned to either side of the lane they were in. The two young ponies huddled together, braced against the side of the tent. Quickly, the colt frantically tried to find a zipper or door to open the structure up as a bold pink filly glared at the ravenous drake, small sparks of magic erupting from her horn. Fume let out a bestial chuckle as red flames flickered in his throat. He always did like his meat well-done…

His dinner plans would need to wait however. A flurry of movement ripped forth from behind the tent, accompanied by a very deep whinny that sounded more like a growl than anything an equine could utter. A high speed object ripped forth from the structure. Sailing through the air as it barely missed the colt, it tucked its head and limbs up into its stomach as its mane and tail puffed out their spiky hair and quills; the airborne pony quickly and bafflingly shifting into rapidly spinning ball of quills. A wheel of spines that slammed right into Fume’s sternum. Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration, and what hit him was very large and moving very quickly.

Fume felt the wind and fires get knocked out of his chest and blown skyward as his spinning attacker’s spines scrapped and tore at his chest, even managing to painfully tear off a few scales and stab into bare skin. The drake yelped in pain before being sent flying back and through the window of an empty cabin. The younglings’ savoir ceased its spinning and dropped to the ground on all four hooves with a short skid. Anguirus glared at the cabin briefly before looking down at the dumbstruck colt and filly. He spoke with a snort as he nudged his muzzle to the exit of the chaotic campground.

"… Get going..."

With a rapid nod the fillies, still half dumbfound at what they just saw, rushed off to the exit that was fortunately not far away. The former kaiju grumbled as he almost casually turned back and walked further into the chaotic camp ground.

-Why can’t they just save their own Tanaka damn selves?-

Anguirus snorted, rushing back in to try and re-enter the fray. If he was going to get the answers he wanted he couldn’t have his sources getting eaten. In his haste however, the former dinosaur failed in one grievous regard. He didn’t notice a pair of wings beginning to push their way through the cabin roof.

===============================================

Rainbow Dash meanwhile was rapidly darting about as fast as her tired body could carry her, picking up endangered ponies and getting them to safety in a rapid moving, colorful blur. Depositing a wounded counselor into the arms of his coworkers and heading back into the now half destroyed camp, the cyan mare barely had enough time to catch movement out of the corner of her eye. Rapidly beating her wings backwards to change direction, Rainbow Dash narrowly dodged a house sized red tail slamming to the ground in front of her, shattering a cabin and forcing the mare to shield her eyes from a shower of splinters and rubble. Flapping her wings to clear away some of the dust on her face so she could see, the cyan mare soon almost wished she remained blinded.

Her vision was greeted to the sight of a crimson red dragon standing on the crushed remains of a nurse’s office, flames broiling in its maw and licking their way through its fangs. The pegasus instantly knew who it was and pure dread washed over the typically bold mare. Red wings spread with hurricane force as a fully grown Garble roared with pure rage, dropping down on all fours and crushing another cabin underfoot. All across the camp, more and more growing forms emerged, some ripping their way through tents and buildings as their body mass increased ten fold. Rainbow Dash beat her wings to rise up to a safer altitude and try and take in the sight below her. Before she could devote her full attention to the now rampaging drakes, a rapidly moving green form stole the weakened mare’s focus away.

Down below, Gentle Leaf was running around in circles amidst the burning chaos that was her beloved camp grounds just a short while earlier. Frantically whipping her bruised and muddied head back and forth to try and spy an exit through the tall tents and cabins, the filly barely had time to jump back to avoid a massive set of red talons. Letting loose a silent scream as she reeled back, she looked up as the crimson face of the adult Garble emerged from the smoke and flames. Gentle Leaf quickly got back to her feet and ran in the opposite direction, only for a second clawed paw to cut off her exit. Peering down like a cat that had trapped a mouse, Garble ran a forked tongue over his fangs. So far it seemed none of his gang had managed to catch a meal, having gotten too caught up in setting the campground ablaze. He was going to change that. Gentle Leaf quivered against the side of a destroyed cabin, streams of tears flowing down a terrified face. Garble lunged forward with is jaws bared…. Before a high speed streak of cyan and rainbow slammed right into his face hoof first.

Rainbow Dash held back a yelp of pain as she push through her flying drop kick as much as she could before she was sent flying past by her own momentum. Garble stumbling back as Rainbow Dash tumbled across a small stream, kicking up spurts of water as she rolled and fell until she met her halt just under the old stone bridge. Cold water running over her battered body, the mare weakly tried to get to her feet.

-Gotta…get… up! Still need to.. hold them ba-aa-AAAACK!-

With a jolt of pain in her wing and lower leg, Rainbow sat back and clutched the limb, panic over taking her face as memories flashed back to a flying accident about a year earlier. She was grounded.

-No no.. no no no no No! Not now!-

Holding back tears as she held her broken and dislocated leg, she barely noticed the deep rumble of foot steps shaking the water. Looking down into the reflective brook and upon the image of white fangs and yellow eyes, Rainbow Dash’s heart sunk.

Garble was back on his feet, now sporting a noticeable bruise over the left side of his face and missing quite a few fangs in that area. His bestial facial expression betrayed malevolent intent as flames licked out from between his remaining teeth. The drake could wait for his meal. This mare had caused him enough trouble as it stood and his battered face was a testament to a bruise pride. Such was a dangerous offense to a dragon. Now was not the time to eat…no, now was the time to kill. In spite of his animalistic nature, Garble hissed a single phrase in a voice that could freeze the air.

"Raaaaaaaainbow…Daaaashhhhh…"

The pitter patter of small hooves rushed up to Rainbow Dash as Gentle Leaf rushed through a brook she could barely wade across. Voiceless begging rushed out of her mouth as she tugged and pushed at the fallen mare, desperately trying to get her rescuer out of the oncoming dragon’s way. Rainbow Dash tried to push her away in spite of the filly’s efforts.

"N-no f-forget me! R-r-run!... Run!"

Gentle Leaf never listened as she tried to pull Rainbow’s forehoof over her shoulders in a vain attempt to support her. Garble increased the intensity of his flames as he took aim at the stone structure above them, cackling in perverted glee. Gentle Leaf spotted the growing light out of the corner of her eye as the realization of her inability struck home. The filly shed a tear as she let go of Rainbow’s leg, and in a spark of courage that would put all to shame; threw herself in front of the mare while slamming her eyes shut. Rainbow’s eyes shot over as she reached forward, not even noticing the slamming of large hooves on creek stones coming up behind her.

Then it all happened in the span of seconds.......

Rainbow grabbed a hold of Gentle Leaf, yanking her back and pulling her back to shield the filly with her own body as she shut her eyes.

Garble threw his jaws open and unleashed a carriage-sized fireball that impacted the stone bridge, shattering it.

A large stallion galloped behind the pair, lunging forward with his forehooves outstretched to try and tackle the duo out of harms way.

And a magnificent light shot out from the pegasus’ cutie mark, a second beam of rainbow colored light emanating from her chest, arching back and striking the stallion in the chest.

Several tons of falling bridge fell down in torrents as Garble cackled in malevolent glee. The tumbling rubble kicked up a mass of dust in its descent, obscuring all in the area for nearly forty square yards as the entire structure came down. Anypony under the structure short of an alicorn would have been easily crushed. Something however, was amiss. An aura settled upon the now adult drakes, causing them to cease their destructive joy and congregate around their still laughing leader. Something wasn’t right, and they could feel it… They couldn’t have been more correct.

A beam of white light shot out skyward from the dust cloud, splitting the darkened heavens above like sword. The burst was visible for miles, hundreds of evacuating ponies stopping to gawk at the spectacle. Garble finally stopped laughing…

==============================================

Mothra and Twilight’s horns crackled with power, forcing the duo’s heads to shoot up in unison as their eyes widened, their attention ripped away from the star chart they had been going over. Twilight’s voice quivered as she felt more and more energy passing by her.

"M-mothra... You feel that?"
"Indeed… Is this, normal for your world?"
"Not outside of something very important…"

Light filtered through the drapes on the balcony window. The changeling queen and young alicorn needed only give each other one wide eyed glance before they rushed upstairs as fast as possible.

Outside Ponyville was an anomaly. All action had halted as ponies stood and looked on in a mix of fear and confusion at the brilliant beam of white light that was ripping out from the forest behind the hills not far away, many unicorns’ horns crackling or surging from the waves of invisible magic being put out. Twilight watched in silence as the beam reflected in her large eyes.

-It’s been years since I felt so much power being put out. It’s similar to the elements or one of the princesses but… something’s off… What in the hay is going on over there?…-

Mothra’s expression however, warmed, a small smile creeping out of her cheeks.

"I know that aura."

Twilight looked over at her new friend, her face nonverbally begging for an answer.

"He always did want to play the hero…"

===============================================

Rainbow Dash finally took a breath and tried to force her eyes open. She half expected white clouds with singing breezies and a long red-haired alicorn to greet her. Instead she got a lungful of dust and burst into a small fit of coughing. It was after several moments of coughing did the realization dawn upon her.

-Wait a minute… Spirits don’t cough! That means I’m stil-

Her thought was cut short by the tugging cling of little forehooves around her chest. Shifting her eyes down as the booming of stonework harmlessly falling to the sides of them, the cyan mare was able to make out the gawking figure of Gentle Leaf, who was busy looking at something over her shoulder. The dust was cleared away almost fully now. The old stone bridge was gone… and something Equestria had never seen before had taken its place…

{If in-site link is broken, video viewable here}

Anguirus
Princess Luna
Godzilla
Xenilla
Applebloom
Sweetie Belle
Scootaloo
Fluttershy
Soarin
Spitfire

A massive, broad paw shifted. Claws the size of carriages shoveled into the ground beneath the pair of gawking ponies, before they felt the ground under them rumble. Roots and foundation were torn free from the earth as Anguirus scooped the riverbed and left it sift through his fingers, leaving the pegasus and filly soon sitting in up in his palm. Benign intent revealed itself through a pair of door sized eyes that were still locked on the drakes ahead, the kaiju holding the pair behind his mass in a protective manner, and Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea what this creature was, but it was clear what side it was antagonistic to. Gentle Leaf meanwhile was feeling her spirits, which had sunken to a new low in the minutes prior, soar. She mutely cheered as she waved her hooves, only needing a glance at ivory colors and purple eyes to know exactly who this being was.

Anguirus shifted his arms, turning his torso around, turning his paw to gently set down the pair on the roof of a thankfully intact counselor building behind him. Garble snarled as the other dragons formed up in a semi-circle around their leader, a chorus of bellows, roars, and cackles ringing out as muscles flexed and flames shot into the air. The spiny titan grunted lowly as he glanced at the ponies, ignoring the dragons’ display. Expanding his lungs as air was sucked into the kaiju’s body like a vacuum, Anguirus charged his signature ability

-Now you stay right there… I'm gonna show these clowns how it's done… -

Just as Garble himself had started his own booming call, Anguirus snapped his head and body around towards the dragons and threw open his jaws to unleash a roar that eclipsed anything Equestria had ever seen short of record size Mother Ursa. The drakes instantly silenced as they felt a hurricane gust of air slam into them, shorting out their fires just as it had their roars. Anguirus stepped forward as he reared up on his hindlegs in a manner not far removed from an enraged bear. Although not magnitudes larger, the kaiju was clearly a full head or so taller and a good deal bulkier than even the larger dragons, evening out any sense of advantage the gang’s numbers gave them. Anguirus snorted, waiting to see if his little show would dismay the group from something he knew was coming. The crackling of licking flames in Garble’s maw gave him all the answers he needed, leaving the ankylosaur to rolled his eyes.

-What an idiot...-

Dropping down on all fours as a ball of red fire impacted his shell, Anguirus disappeared briefly from the drakes’ view in a smokescreen. For a split second, it was quiet. Garble pulled a fanged smirk as the smoke swayed in the wind. The sound of crumbling stone underfoot reigned in the drakes’ attention before massive hind legs kicked off, Anguirus, barely even blackened and not bearing a single burn, launched himself out of the smokescreen and pounced forward, eyes ablaze and fangs bared.

===================================================================
Diakaiju Universe, Global Defense Force Headquarters, Arsenal Control Room
===================================================================

Amidst a hall of computer systems and viewing screens, dozens of GDF personnel went about their work. Monitoring everything from insurrectionist groups like ‘Red Bamboo’, to extraterrestrial enclaves, to over three dozen active daikaiju. The task required an around the clock full staff. Atop of monitoring any potential threats there was the matter of this facility’s responsibility in keeping tabs on the force’s impressive weapons stock. Squadrons of combat vehicles, nearly a dozen mech units and jaegers; and more miscellaneous arsenals had entire wings of staff devoted to them, directed by the people working in this building. No one wanted another Kiryu incident with a rogue A.I, or anything possibly magnitudes worse, so everything was protected and monitored to brace against such a scenario.

Unfortunately, such was about to happen.

A computer monitor flickered with red alert messages as alarms sounded throughout the room, instantly averting the entire staff’s attention as the image of an all too familiar satellite weapon that flickered onto the main viewing screen. Hijame Kudo typed feverishly at the controls in a vain attempt to fix any errors and shut down the systems that were trying to force themselves online, but too little avail. Every attempt he made locked him out more and more of the system he and his colleagues were attempting to reign in. Commander Pentacost’s voice barked through the intercom.

“Kudo what the hell is going on?!”

Kudo was sweating bullets as he jerked forward and grabbed a microphone and set it to the side of his keyboard as he feverishly mashed at the keys.

“It’s Dimension Tide commander! Half its systems just went online on their own! Something is accessing them remotely!”

“What?! Did our systems get hacked into?!”

Kudo frantically scanned over all of the GDF system’s numerous proxies and firewalls.

“Negative sir! The servers have increased traffic coming from the outside, but all the fiewalls are in plac-“

Hijame stopped short when he saw something that made him freeze in place. The image of Dimension Tide on the central screen flickered briefly, before arguably the most powerful weapon that had ever existed began to shift in orbit. Images and values spat across the computer monitors, projecting information that made the team’s blood run cold.

[-Dimension-Tide-Targeting-]

The satellite map of the world flashed onto all the computer screens despite the tech team’s panicking efforts to avert it. The image fizzed into static briefly before a list of locations lit up on the side of the screen, red targeting circles highlighting locations the weapon’s targeting system was locking onto.

[6, -167, South Pacific]
[39, 133, Sea of Japan]
[14, 113, South Chinese Sea]
[11, 142, Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench]
[23, -73, Caribbean Sea, Samana Cays Island]
[43, 142, Hokkaido, Japan, Mount Tokachi]
[-84, 81, Antarctica]
[52, 172, Bering Sea, USA, Attu Island]

Hijame futilely mashed at the controls, rapidly typing the shut down commands in over and over again.

“Officer Hijame please respond, I heard that command; where is it firing?!”

Tendo Choi took over for his colleague as he typed away the coordinates to his superior, trying his hardest to keep a cool head through it all. Dimension Tide took aim at the planet below it like a cannon trained upon a besieged castle.

“Eight locations sir, sending the Lat by Longitude now. They’re nowhere inhabited thankfully and Tide should burn itself out after all this."

Pentacost didn’t know whether to be relieved their ultimate weapon wasn’t pointing itself at any population centers, angered that the effort would likely put their trump card out of commission and stick them with a repair bill big enough to make a new mech. Or, if he should be horrified that someone had managed to hack into the most secure network on the planet. One other unsettling fact greeted him as he rushed from his office to the command center to meet with his colleagues.

-What kind of terrorists steals a system like that and neither makes any demands nor points it at anything they could threaten with?-

The mechanical, female voice of the base's AI chimed through the intercoms.
[-DIMENSION-TIDE-FIRING-]

===================
Apple Family farm
===================

Granny Smith and Fluttershy shared a calm sigh and nod as they placed the last cool rag on the enormous mare’s forehead. Destroyah’s blood red fur was crisscrossed with bandages coating dressed wounds. Xenilla looked over his ally and could only shake his head. In their world Destroyah was a bloodthirsty psychopath who’d try to kill anything in her way, and had the power to do so. Now she was a wounded patient, several ribs broken, bruises coating half her side, with bite and claw wounds on her shoulder and chest. Bandages and cool rags that warded off fevers almost covered her more than her red fur.

-Either her entry to this world was even rougher than mine, or we are much more underpowered than I thought…-

Xenilla’s eyes shifted as he saw a trio of white, orange, and yellow walk up to the fallen mare, the latter two crawling over and gently snuggling up to and nuzzling Destroyah as the former trotted up to a bemused Xenilla.

“M-mister Zenallia sir?”

Xenilla elected to ignore how badly the filly butchered his name as he glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Hm?”

Sweetie Belle looked over sadly at the sleeping Destroyah as Scootaloo slipped under her wing and snuggled up against the fur on her shoulder. Xenilla didn’t know if he should burst out laughing at the irony or roll his eyes at the accidental idiocy.

“Princess Desotroyah, is she gonna be ok? I’ve never seen a pony so bandaged up.”

Xenilla couldn’t help but chuckle, both at the mispronounced name and the likely single most horrendously misplaced title he had ever heard. Sweetie Belle’s sadden face warmed at the laugh, not even coming close to guessing the true intent and only thinking the best.

“She’s had far worse, you need not worry.”

Xenilla closed his eyes and nodded with the statement, still weighing his options about this world’s populace. His thoughts were cut off by a bundle of plush toy soft mane and fur rubbing up against his leg. His eyes snapped open and he rapidly had to avoid the instinct to fire a Corona blast at any being that touched him, let alone put their forelimbs around his right upper limb and was rubbing their tear stained face against it. Muffled “thank you”s were barely audible as Xenilla could almost feel any all mighty deity that might exist laughing at him. Sinking his face into a neutral pose, Xenilla craned his other forehoof around and patted the filly’s head, the thought of smashing open her cranium not eluding him; desperately hoping it would get the filly to let go.

-GETOFFOFME!!!!-

Thankfully, the more gentlemanly option paid off and after a few moments the little unicorn let go, soon joining her friends snuggling up to death incarnate.

-Good Tanaka of all the realms we end up, we find the one that would have given humans diabetes in about five seconds. How in the Nine Circles of Daiei do these ‘ponies’ have such power like what I felt back at the cabin, and then feel the need to try to coat everything they see with several tons of sugar? What kind of twisted supreme being would condone such irony?-

Thoughts shifted away from the fillies and to the crimson mare they were snuggling up to. Xenilla’s face hardened. This world had great power, some of which he sensed exceeded their own. Yes, the realm was placid unless pushed too far. And he knew the instant Destroyah waking up in the persona she was, she'd push it far too much for his liking. Unless he did something, as soon as his ally awaken, she’d kick off a bloodbath the likes of which few even had the stomach to think of. If she did that any attempt to strike back at this world in this state they were stuck in, it was a futile fight. Even the sun and moon here gave off a power he could sense, indicating someone he'd yet to meet had control over the celestial bodies themselves.

Xenilla nodded to himself slowly as he drew up a plan
-Yes, now was definitely the time for civility until I figure out how this world works. Time to make sure you do the same Destroyah..-

Turning away from the small group of equines, he walked into an empty stall in the barn. Glancing around to ensure he wasn't being followed, the former kaiju shrugged, knowing what he had to do. His horn ignited with power, energy crackling amidst his shoulder patches and mane, trailing down to his forehoof as he held it out. Simple crystals were an easy concoction, the space fairing dinosaur able to create a whole field of them in an hour with ease. Surge crystals however, were a whole different matter. Each strand of the gem had its own making, and even the slightest deviation could result in a myriad of effects. Some would grant great powers beyond normal capability, some would provide a boost in energy or heal wounds; and others would alter personality, making one attack their own allies. It was something akin to the latter, but of opposite effect which Xenilla was aiming for. He'd made this sort of crystal before, but only a much milder strain. Many in the world before had wondered how he managed to get so many previously mindless, rampaging kaiju under his command. If they saw him now then they'd know why. It took much effort then, and that was at his full power. Now? Now he was in a weakened form, trying his hardest not to accidentally make a surge crystal over ten times more potent not blow up in his face. Gritting his teeth as he strained, sparks of pink energy began to flicker before him, taking solid form.

Effort paid off and after a brief flash of light that made the ponies inside the barn jump back, Xenilla trudged out of the stall with a small, pink gem hovering in front of his head, held by a strand of telekinesis, half dragging his hooves over to the fallen Destroyah. Strands of energy crushed the crystal dozens of times over until it was a fine powder. Barely catching his breath as he let the surging dust fall into a tray of water, Xenilla's telekinesis began to falter. Slumping back on his haunches, the kaiju looked down at the bewildered Cutie Mark Cruaders.

Huffing from the straining effort, Xenilla could practically feel his energy plummet to an all time low as he rolled his eyes.
"Med-icine... I can make healing crystals, pour it on her wounds and it'll make her recover faster."

The previously grim and saddened facade the trio bore on their faces instantly brightened as they jumped up in a gleeful fashion.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MEDICAL HELPERS!"

Xenilla felt a sweat bead fall down the side of his face as he could physically feel the stupidity in the room rising. Sitting back and leaning himself against a bale of hay as he closed his eyes, the pinging of approaching hoofsteps caused his ears to perk up. A glimpsing yellow and pink greeted his sight just before his vision blackened.

"Are you o-?"
"Wake me up when she starts stirring..."

==================
Back in Canterlot
==================

Godzilla and Princess Luna stood several yards away from each other, across a small field of shattered tree limbs, rubble, and churned earth. After so much time spent in this duel, both had more places on their bodies with injuries than they did places without them. The stallion wheezed as a patch of fur and skin on his chest sizzled, burning badly from a blast of lunar magic he'd been on the receiving end of earlier, his ear was bleeding steadily from a buck to the face; and one of his legs was in a limp from an aerial slam he'd gotten up from just a few minutes earlier. Pain rocketed up the limb, constantly reminding the former kaiju he'd manage to break it in several places, putting his face in a permanent mix of a snarl and wince.

The Lunar Princess was hardly better off. Her once regal mane was matted and twisted, several portions blackened from being burnt off. One of her eyes was blackened and near shut from a cross she wasn't prepared for earlier, blurring her weakened vision. Worst of all was a streaking burn mark that went down her entire left side. In some places just the fur was burnt off, others it had scorched through several layers of skin; but worst of all was her wing. Though the limb thankfully was still intact more or less, the skin had been charred and every single feather had been roasted off, grounding the alicorn despite her best efforts.

The two were huffing and gasping for breath as they stared each other down, refusing to fall. Godzilla weighed his options.

-My healing is definitely reduced, so I can't keep this going... She looks just as banged up, if I can land just one more beam I should be able to at least force her back long enough to recuperate. I just need to draw in enough energ-

Godzilla's attention was ripped away from the alicorn by a wave of power he felt surging past the castle. Jolting his head to the side he could just barely see a great, white light shooting up from the horizon. He felt an energy and a conscious wash over him. The source of the power was alien to him, but the conscious, the 'aura' was evident, bringing both relief and bewilderment are the immense raw power he was feeling.

-Anguirus?!-

A jolt of motion demanded his attention, but even the king of the monsters was too slow to react to the blur of dark blue.

"HRRRRRAAAAAAAUH!"

Forehooves dug into the ground as magic surged into a pair of powerful back legs. A slender body swung around at its anchoring before Godzilla could even get the thought to duck, two magically charged hooves bucked him square in the face. Godzilla was sent flying backwards, smashing through a tree back first as Luna fell to the ground in exhaustion.

The monster king skid across the ground before flopping against the alabaster castle wall, his vision going black as he lost consciousness.

=============================================
Several hours earlier, South Equestrian Night Skies
=============================================

A gale force of yellow and red flames ripped through the night sky as a streaking blur tore across the moon lit cloud tops. Hovering just about Mach 1, Spitfire sighed a calm relief. Had been awhile since she was able to get away from the academy, even if just for a night, and she was enjoying every second of it. While many were awed by the Wonderbolts as trick fliers, many of the crowds forgot they were a military wing. Some had gotten on the team for their field records as much as they did for their speed, and neither group had any love for a deskjob. To her, the sky wasn’t the limit; it was her freedom. Aside from the occasional hum coming through her radio earpiece from the base, playing some of her favorite songs into the night sky, she was totally alone. Just the way she liked it.

She’d been flying at near top cruising speed for several minutes, clouds, mountain peaks, and towns passing away under her wing beats. Then the music began to die down… That was when an all too familiar voice buzzed through her ear piece.

“Spit, you flying solo tonight right?”

Spitfire put a hoof to her ear to focus the sound.
“Roger that Soarin, needed to stretch my wings out. Something up? Over.”

Soarin put down his coffee and looks closely at the radar screen as signature, registering as his wingmate when she flew through the detector field the unicorns of the royal guard had set up. He thought he saw something on the previous screen, and was looking intently to make sure what he saw was right. The blip tagged as Spitfire was almost a quarter of the way in the screen when a second blip appeared on the edge, moving in the same direction. Soarin’s eyebrow cocked as he pressed the communications button to Spitfire’s earpiece.

“Spit, I have no other way of telling you this, but you got an unidentified speeder going about Mach 0.25 about 1 click to your east heading in the same direction. Gryphon maybe? Over.”

Spitfire glanced off into the distance in vain to spy the flier, before replying with a mundane headshake.
“Negative, no known gryphons that fast for 200 clicks; and the Thunderbirds would show up on the radar…. Want me to investigate, over.”

Her earpiece hummed as Soarin scanned the screen back at the base.
“Go ahead. Bank and get within half a click, but keep safe distance. Over.”

“Roger, tell me if it does anything, over.”

Spitfire tilted her wings into a soft bank, changing her direction of so slightly to intercept the unknown. She drifted for about half a mile before leveling back out. Before she could ask Soarin if the UFO had changed its course, Soarin tore through the communications link, obvious panic in his voice.

“SPIT! The UFO just flew through another detector field and it's over 80 meters long! Keep your distance that thing is a-”

Spitfire’s eyes narrowed, not needing to pay attention to the last word for her to know exactly what was behind her now.
-Dragon…-

“-Spitfire! The Drake’s just changed its course, it’s coming right at you! 4th of a click away now! Speed up to Mach 1! Over!”

Spitfire’s eyes widened , looking behind her as she pumped her wings harder as a mach cone began to form in front of her, followed by the quick pop accompanying breach of Mach 1, closing rapidly to 2. She saw nothing.

“Soarin I’m almost to Mach 2 but I don’t see anything! Where is target?! Over!”

Soarin watched as Spitfire’s blip noticeably sped up past Mach 2, giving a glimmer of relief knowing she was far too fast for a dragon or any age of size to keep up. That glimmer was dashed when he saw the blip slow down briefly…. And then speed up fast enough to begin closing on Spitfire.

“SPIT! That things going over Mach 0.5… No.. 1! That’s the fastest Dragon on record! 5th of a click away now and speeding up!”

Spitfire strained her wings and ripped out with new speed, rapidly accelerating to Mach 2. Frantically looking back against the air rushing past her, she still saw nothing.

“Soarin! Where is target! I have no visual! Over!”

“SPIT! Its right ontop of you! Get to your top speed and get out of there! You hear me!-“

Spitfire’s attention was shattered from her wingmate’s voice as two massive, pointed wing tips, over 150 meters apart, ripped forth from the clouds below her, cutting through self created waves of cumulus like dual shark fins through water. A massive shadow began to lift out of the silvery cloud surface.

“DO YOU COPY SPITFIRE!? GET OUT OF THERE NOW!”

A black beak tore through the air beside her and Spitfire looked into emerald green eyes larger than some houses. A cackling howl louder than thunder ripped through the air as they sped along, before wings that generated hurricane gales at a single flap went to work, and the titan sped off into the cloudscape ahead, it’s sonic boom ripping the smooth surface apart. Spitfire halted, barely able to keep her heart from tearing out of her chest.

“This is Spitfire…. I’m ok… We got a problem...."

The Wonderbolt leader huffed and gasped to try and dispel the sense of shock washing over her at what she'd just seen.

"....over…”

[Video Format]

Braeburn
Anguirus
Rainbow Dash
Mothra
Gentle Leaf
Twilight Sparkle
Xenilla
????
---------------------------------------------------

{-Cue up the fight song!-}

Anguirus charged through volley after volley of fireballs that harmlessly exploding on impact with his reinforced scales, not paying them any mind as the kaiju leaped up into the air. Tucking his legs and head in as he wrapped his tail around himself while puffing out his back carapace, Anguirus rolled himself into the thunderball. Closing in on the dragon flock in a spiny, blurry wheel, the ankylosaurus threw his full weight and momentum into his rolling death ball. Vex didn’t have enough time to react other than widening his eyes while his cohorts dove to the side or took to the air, before the thunderball slammed into him full force and running him over. Halting his advance, Anguirus spun at high speed while the drake was pinned below him. Recurved batteries of spikes slashed at the gem eating beast’s chest and stomach, ripping off scales harder than solid rock and stabbing into the exposed skin. Vex wheezed and roared as the wind was knocked out of him and his blood was spilt. Puff cackled in a mix of horror and rage at his friend’s assault, tucking in his wings to dive bomb the dinosaur. Anguirus already knew the outcome of this battle. This gang of dragons would give him trouble if they were trained adults, but he knew exactly what they were. A group of young delinquents who got a power boost. To put it in terms he knew, a pack of Gabara, vile little cowards who's ego was four times their size. He on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing, it was his purpose after all. This wasn't a fight. It was a seasoned veteran doing pest control.

Launching himself off the near unconscious Vex and uncurling from his ball, Anguirus pounced at the descending Puff amidst a mutual roar. It was mutual no more when the dinosaur buried his forepaw in Puff’s face and grabbed his head. Anguirus twisted his torso in midair and put the dragon beneath him while outstretching his arm. The two’s combine multi-ton weight came crashing down with a reverberating boom right on Puff’s head and chest, half the albino dragon’s teeth shattered on impact.

Growling as he almost casually tossed the albino away, Puff crying out as his body skid into the camp’s kayak dock and lake, kicking up torrents of water and wood splinters, Anguirus caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Quickly shifting his shoulder forward, the dinosaur kaiju’s armored carapace blocked Clump’s swung thagomizer with an almost metallic crash.

The roars and bellows of battling kaiju and dragon didn’t detract Rainbow Dash’s attention for longer than a few instants, only looking up every few moments to ensure the fight hadn’t gotten close to their building. Still shaking and wincing with every step, the pegasus mare was frantically looking around the edges of the counselor building they’d been set on, trying to spy any ramp or stairs they could use to get down. The spiking pain in her wing every time she tried to stretch it out told her she shouldn’t even try gliding, so climbing was the only option. The bellowing call of the pony’s savior caught her attention.

-It might have protected us, but if it loses or the brawl gets closer I don’t want us anywhere near it or the drakes… What the hay takes on a whole flock of dragons alone?! I’m not sure if you can beat all of them alone, whatever you are, just… just hold them off a little longer until we get down!-

Glancing back to the rescued filly, Dash was about to call out and ask Gentle Leaf to help her in finding an escape route. What she saw left a feeling of embarrassment sinking in with a bead of sweat dropping down the side of her face. Gentle Leaf sat on the edge of the roof top, waving her arms and shadow boxing at the air in mute cheers, mimicking Anguirus’ motions like a giddy sports fan.

-GET EM ANGY! KNOCK THAT B*****D’S BLOCK OFF!!-

Anguirus, oblivious to the two ponies, had grabbed Clump by the tail and yanked the fat dragon back and into the air. Cocking his shoulder back, the ankylosaur hissed before burying his forepaw in the brown beast’s large belly in a single punch strong enough to crack Clump's lower ribs and knock the wind free from his gullet. Staying reared up on his hind legs to charge forward while knocking the dragon back, Anguirus snarled as he twisted his shoulders to and fro, repeatedly striking Clump’s stomach and face in a series of punches, smacks, and shoulder rams too quick for the brown dragon to counter or too powerful for the drake’s untrained attempts at blocking to make any difference. The air itself was filled with booms and cracks as scales were knocked loose, muscles bruised, and bones cracked. Anguirus opened his jaws through his assault and began to take a deep breath. Landing one final, booming tackle into the beaten and battered Clump's now bloody stomach, Anguirus spun around as the largest of the dragon gang was sent toppling through a water tower. Still taking in a breath, the kaiju shoved his arms upwards and intercepted the diving forms of Fume and Shakes. Locking his forepaws with drake's outstretched talons, Anguirus gritted his fangs as he slid back into the ground, his feet digging trenches through cobblestone. Hissing through his inhale, Anguirus hopped up slightly, using the dragon's own momentum to shoot them below himself. Turning himself around mid-drop, Anguirus let go of their hands as he let his multi-thousand ton body use the pair as landing gear, dropping his spike covered hip into Shakes' back as he greeted the back of the now wheezing Fume to his elbow.

A flicker of red caught the kaiju's attention as he got to his feet, stepping off the gasping and choking Fume. Before he had the chance to move, diamond hard claws slashed at his face. Shutting his eyes behind armored eye lids, Anguirus held his breath as talons raked across his face in a shower of sparks as they met his scales. Stumbling back and shaking his head, Anguirus glared at his attacker. Garble snarled as flames ripped out of his maw and streamed out like a tidal wave from hell. The fire was the hottest the drake could muster and it eclipsed the entire top half of the kaiju's body. Maintaining the assault as he roared in victory, Garble's eyes widened as the dinosaur before him advanced forward through the inferno. Anguirus marched closer, still just a black shape in the blaze, as his lungs filled to their maximum capacity. Thoughts briefly flickered back to a familiar blue ray of heat. The kaiju nearly laughed at the comparison.

-I've been hit with an inferno a hundred times stronger than this-

Garble's pupils shrunk in shock as what he intended to be a barbecued dinosaur reared up out of his blaze, only slightly singed. Anguirus's chest puffed out. Intuition flared up in the ponies, Rainbow Dash and Gentle Leaf quickly covering their ears. The dragons were not as attentive.

-Time to show you how I responded back then-

The kaiju threw his jaws open as a hurricane of wind and sound erupted from them in a roar hundreds of times louder than the strongest lightning crack. Anguirus had unleashed his sonic roar... right in Garble's face.

The shear gale force and sound shouted the dragon's fire out quicker than it ruptured his ear drums. The powerful gust firing out from Anguirus' maw impacted and dented in Garble's chest, throwing him backwards with more force than if Anguirus had rammed into him. Anguirus ceased his roar before dropping down on all fours to pursue the falling drake. Thundering the ground with each step, the ankylosaurus lowered his head and pounced forward. The kaiju head-butted Garble in the back, plowing them both into the lake with a monstrous splash as the recovered Puff and Vex tailed them to try and aid their leader.

A flash of purple magic grabbed Rainbow Dash’s attention as the familiar form of her friend Twilight settled down on the roof several feet away from her. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes ripped open with shock and surprise as she threw herself forward and embraced her wincing fellow element.

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash cringed but returned the hug, glad something good had happened today in her life.

“Eh-eh-ey Twilight, I think I have a few broken ribs, would you mi-nd?”

Twilight quickly took note of the pegasus’ state and eased her hold on her. Concern warped the alicorn’s face as she began checking over her friend.

“What in the name of Faust happened to you?!”

Rainbow’s macho and pride overrode her previous weakness.

“Eh, crashed into somepony, saved a kid, and got into hoofticuffs with a dragon, you should see the other guy.”

A tall form walked up beside them.

“I believe that ‘other guy’ is indeed contending with far worse.“

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as the all too familiar shape of the hole filled legs, crooked horn, and towering height behind the young alicorn however nearly caused the heavily damaged pegasus to attempt a aerial tackle. Twilight read the quickly growing expression of surprise and anger forming on her friend’s face and quickly shifted herself between them.

“WAIT-WAIT-WAIT-WAIT! She’s a friend!”

Mothra looked down and nodded to the wounded pegasus with an assuring nod and smile.

"I know my appearance is only the most recent of the odd events entering your life recently, but I'm sorry I don't have much time to explain. My name is Mothra and I am no threat."

Rainbow Dash's face relaxed a bit, still more flabbergasted and confused than she was relieved.

-Rainbow Changelings and giant monsters... just when I thought this day wouldn't get odder... Then again compared to that Chocolate Milk incident this is still only a close second-

Mothra eyes calmly shifted upwards as a small smile etched across her face.

"Rainbow, what all happened? We saw some beam of light all the way from the library!"

Twilight frantically resumed trying to check over her athletic friend's body, mentally going down a mental list of healing spells she could try. As her gaze shifted, Twilight's eyes locked onto movement and glanced to the side. It was only now she'd noticed a green filly, joyfully throwing her hooves through the air in what the young alicorn could only guess was inaudible cheers, sitting several feet away from them. Twilight looked up to match Mothra and the filly's line of sight, and what she saw made her eyes expand into dinner plates.

A massive, grey-brown creature stood bipedally amidst camp ground ruins as it hoisted up a pair of dragons Twilight recognized as the greed-grown Vex and Puff by their necks, its paws grasping their throats. The dragons struggled in its choke hold, blowing dual jets of amber flames into their attacker's obscured but seemingly unharmed face. The choking grew tighter and the flamethrowers grew weaker.

"Eh, my guess, probably him."

"WHAT is THAT!?"

Mothra chuckled lightly to herself as she saw the injured and recovering forms of several other dragons in what had been for the last few minutes the most brutal beating of their greed and pride filled lives, the latter trait surely was being broken.

"THAT would be one of my friends from my home realm, an Terran kaiju. Guardian Beast of Fire, Anguirus."

Puff and Vex's flames weakened to embers as they gasped for breath; their limbs beginning to slack, the weakened flames revealing Anguirus's snarling maw. The dinosaur kaiju uttered out a single, powerful roar before tossing up the duo of dragons and spinning around. A spiky tail tipped in a hundred ton thagomizer ripped through the tree line, snapping and hurling up 6 foot thick oaks like tooth picks. Anguirus slammed his tail into Puff's back, jolting the dragon forward into the still falling Vex as the attack shoved them forward, sending both hurtling into the trees on the opposite end of the camp ground.

Mothra gave a bemused nod after making sure there were no ponies in danger of getting caught in the crossfire, watching her friend work.

-Huh... This is actually the most fun he's had in months-

"Don't worry, he's far more benign once you get to know him."

Gentle Leaf gave a single, agreeing nod to the changeling's words, beaming happily.

---------------------------------
Back at the Apple Farm
---------------------------------

Xenilla’s eyes twitched and his lips cringed slightly, baring his noticeable fangs as the blackness that was once the Apple Family barn and Fluttershy’s concerned face warped and twisted. He wasn’t able to move as the world reshaped around him. The space born kaiju knew this realm well, it was the only form of entertainment he had on his sometimes near-half decade long flights through the cosmos. Right now though, he could deal without it.

-Oh look, a dream… And I was just ready to try and sleep peacefully. What’s happening this time?-

Just as he was ready to embrace the vague and twisting realm of his subconscious, the world around him was filled with detail, far more than he was accustomed to. Waves crashed all around him as he stood hip-deep in the nightly seas. The cold water and distant ice sheets told him he was somewhere in the northern or southern reaches of Earth’s oceans, or at the very least in a mental realm that closely resembled them. It was in the dead of night amidst the gales of a polar storm, 4 story tall waves, torrents of rain; and hurricane force winds all harmlessly slamming into him from multiple angles. In the far distance a small island’s outline was visible in the dim light, but almost everything else in the storm was a blur.

Suddenly, Xenilla felt his leg shift from the inside and his body began to move on its own power. It wasn’t an uncontrollable muscle spasm, but a stable, slow walk that advanced him through the shallows of the storm. His head moved despite his commands to reign in its control, scanning the dark waters with a glare.

-Wait a minute… This is no fiction… The details are too precise, my body isn’t under control; and I’m at a task. This isn’t a dream, it’s a memory. But why can’t I recall whe-

Xenilla’s thought was cut short when he felt his jaws open and a roar echo loose from his throat, calling out in a rage filled tone to the storm.

“Show yourself! You will not escape me!”

Xenilla raised an eye brow. Something about his voice was off, it didn’t sound right but he couldn't put a claw as to what was wrong with it. Before he even had time to contemplate what in the realms of Tanaka he was calling out to, a haunting cry cut loose through the gusts of wind and water. To a human, it was a hellish scream. To a kaiju, it was a demonic, echoing voice.

“What have I done to wrong you beast?”

Xenilla felt his body whip around, his tail smashing through an ice flow as he looked quickly through the storm. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw something moving in the darkness before it ducked down into the surf. A few moments later, it called out again, this time from his side.

“Why do you wish to destroy me?”

Xenilla’s eyes narrowed as the memory kept talking under its own control.

“It’s not what you’ve done it’s what you’re going to do!”

“That hardly seems like the choices of a beast.”

The crystal dinosaur’s mind was alight with shock and confusion.

-This is definitely a memory, but where was this!? When was this?!-

His own voice called out again, but this time, either through the roar of the storm or some fading to the memory, the on-looking Xenilla couldn’t catch all the words.

“Neither is murdering every soul in my territory, and since you reek of ________ essence and the _____ told me that was its goal, I know you intend to do that as well!”

The seas were silent of voices for a moment Xenilla almost wished lasted longer. A slow, deep laugh boomed in through the storm. It was in the gradual, mocking tone that would have made many souls' blood run cold. The voice called out again, replacing the hellish cackling.

“I underestimated your intuition beast; I thought you too primitive to figure out my motives.”

Xenilla’s eyes locked onto a distant form rising up from the surf, its vague, completely foreign outline visible against an iceberg it was standing in front of. Bright yellow energy crackled along its body like arching bands of electricity as its eyes glowed the same color.

“But since you have, I have no choice but to silence you!”

The beast roared a midst the thunder and threw its arms out. Before Xenilla had time to dodge, a beam of yellow energy shot forth from its torso and launched forward. Eyes widening, Xenilla put his arms up to block the attack with an energy barrier. Despite his best efforts though, no projection was brought forth and the blast surged into his arms. The energy was as cold as the dead, but burned against his scales. The crystal kaiju gritted his fangs as he held back the beam, despite his arms becoming alight with pain, his footing beginning to slide back across the ocean floor. Eventually the assaulting beam ceased, Xenilla’s arms were left smoking and burnt down to the rapidly healing muscle, igniting more pain to shoot through his body. The mutant Godzilla was enraged in both mind and memory. Energy surged through his body and Xenilla could feel the seas heated up and boil as he felt his back spines begin to flicker to a glow. Still, as raging thoughts ripped through his mind, he felt a familiar heat begin to build up in his throat.

-When did this happen?! Who is that?! Territory?! I never lived at the poles! What’s going on?!-

A roar ripped forth from his body under its on admission, shaking the air and blowing back rain drops.

“You can try, you can fail!”

All of Xenilla’s thoughts were silenced as a beam shot forth from his maw and struck his attacker dead center on the chest, blasting them through the shattering iceberg in brilliant display as the fragments of ice reflected the light. It wasn’t the act that silenced him and left him internally gawking, it was his attack. Gone was his beloved beam of beautiful, spiraling, red corona. In its place was a straight, streaking, blue ray of nuclear fire.

Xenilla’s eyes snapped open as he awoke in a cold sweat.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Defense Headquarters, Central Command situation room
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The points of argument and tension were so thick in the room you could cut them open with a hacksaw. General Taizo Tachibana studied his PDA while his colleagues debated amongst themselves. He only needed to casually listen in to know exactly what was being discussed, though as tempers flared he could physically feel the professionalism shoot out of the room at an accelerating pace. Flicking some data logs and maps onto PDA, the general looked up briefly to make sure the projector was working, the flickering green light indicating the files had been sent. Just as he felt Pentacost about to get into a shouting match with Akane, Tachibana calmly stood up and smashed his PDA on the hard wood table with enough force to shatter the tool and silence the room in the resounding crack.

"Now..."

Taizo walked around the table after pulling out the projectors remote. Standing at the front of the room the war veteran pulled down a white projector screen as the projector itself flickered to life, spewing forth the image of a globe.

"We all know and discussed the ramifications of Dimension Tide's misfiring, the last batch of which is still going on right now. Some of you believe our systems were malfunctioning with the A.I., similar to the Kiryu event several years back. Others say it was a hacking attempt by the Red Bamboo. I don't know exactly what to make of it all, but there's a correlation I'd like to note."

The map flickered, several red dots appearing on several locations across the globe, most at sea.

"These are the areas Dimension Tide has targeted. The Challenger deep, Hokkaido, Antarctica, and the Caribbean have already been hit. At first the locations seem hopelessly random and in areas of little importance. This wasn't a terrorist attack. If it was they'd know Dimension Tide would be taken out of commission by this overuse. They can't be warning shots and they are too far away from population centers for groups like the Red Bamboo to benefit."

Waiting several seconds amidst the thankfully silent room, Taizo clicked the remote once again. Dozens of black dots were summoned forth, some replaced their red brethren.

"According to satellite mapping and GPN tracking systems, the black dots are known kaiju locations. Several of which have already been hit and the remaining three in the process of being locked onto. This is far too precise for it to be an A.I. system or a series of misfires. Whoever took control of Dimension Tide showed obvious intent to target and eliminate several groups of kaiju, regardless of affiliation. Anteverse portal from the Challenger Deep, an infestation of an unknown insectoid species in Hokkaido; even a possible Xilian outpost in the extreme South have all been hit."

Shin Hayata guided his eyes to the upper extent of the map, keying in the sole remaining red dot in the Bering Sea.

"And Attu Island? It's a US wildlife preserve, nothing else. No base, no kaiju, no outposts. If this is a conscious culprit to this misuse of Dimension Tide, who? The island must have some hint to it, but what motivation could there be to firing upon that location? If they were aiming at kaiju and knew exactly where the monsters were, why waste a valuable shot in what's otherwise an empty island when so many kaiju were left unmolested?"

Taizo took in a deep, slow breath before he shook his head slowly.

"I can't say I know the culprit, the pattern is unknown to me. But Hayata is right-"

He looked up at the red dot and narrowed his eyes as a cursor indicating Dimension Tide's targeting computer homed in on the mid-Pacific.

"Attu holds the key."

[-DIMENSION-TIDE-LOCKING-ON-]

-----------------------------------
Back at the Campgrounds
-----------------------------------

Anguirus had just twisted himself around to hurl Clump into Shakes when he heard the air begin to shift, a distant hissing sound growing louder rapidly. Garble paid it no heed as he dropped down on all fours, charging the ankylosaurus from behind, intending to lock his jaws down on the relatively unarmored throat. Fate was most certainly against the dragons today.

High above, the air split itself in two as a beam of purple energy sliced itself downward and hit the ground in front of the dragon, forcing Garble to halt. The heat ray broiled the air and melted the dirt and rock on impact, igniting a semi-circle of fire around the red drake. The clouds above shot open as a high speed blur of red larger than a 747 shot down and put its feet forward, landing on Garble and plunging the red dragon into the dirt and stones while it skid to a halt.

Mothra rolled her eyes as taloned feet calmly stepped off the now still Garble, crimson wings spreading.

-Show off...-

Anguirus called out to his ally in an almost chuckling laugh, and Rodan answered in full.

-------------------------------------------------
Outskirts of Appalossa after nightfall
-------------------------------------------------

Braeburn yawned to himself as he stretched his neck and cracked his joints after a long and arduous day of work. After quickly taking a mental checklist of the apple pie ingredients he and the town's folks had gathered, the tired stallion took his hat off and puffed out the flickering lantern.

-Yeeeeeeep, Ol' Thunderhooves and Miss Strongheart gonna have themselves a heapin' helping come dawn-

Ignoring the slight blush that formed on his cheeks from the last name, the Apple cousin had just shut his eyes when he heard something outside the cabin. It was a swishing sound, akin to somepony swinging around a tarp or blanket in different directions. Getting up out of his cot, Braeburn rubbed the back of his head as he looked out of the small window that was in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, he could make out something moving outside, but it was moving too erratically and too quickly for him to make out. The sound shifted to his roof and four loud thumps pinged through the top of the cabin, heavy footsteps knocking dust loose on the wooden roof. The pings continued as something walked itself towards Braeburn's front door.

"Now what in tarnatio-!"

Then it all happened at once.

The front door screeched as something rammed into it with such force it began to crack the framing.

More of the flapping sounds rang out all around the cabin with cackling shrieks ripping through the night sky, like an entire flock of hell had descended.

And a monstrosity with an arrowhead shaped skull with a flat top rammed its head through his window, cackling maniacally.....

Rainbow Dash
Rodan
Anguirus
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Marigold
Unknown
Shadow of Red
??????
------------------------------

The dust began to fully settle as the night sky rolled in. Rodan cackled in a chuckling tone as he almost casually walked off the barely conscious body of Garble. The deep red kaiju insultingly letting his short tail slap the drake in the face as the pteranodon paced over to Anguirus. Any ponies looking on might have been worried it was the start of a new brawl, as the two allied kaiju's friendly banter only came off as a chorus of growls and snarls. Intent fully showed through when Rodan walked beside Anguirus and turned around, standing side by side with the ankylosaur. The pterosaur flapped his broad wings and screeched into the air as Anguirus reared up, and tailed the call with his booming roar. The threat display to the dragons was a clear show of force, backed by the two kaiju unknowingly putting themselves in front of the ponies in a protective manner. The two colossi of Rhodes called the drakes out, the latter party was in no position to counter.

Puff and Clump slowly limped over to the groaning mess that was their leader, leaning down and picking the red drake up after some effort. The entire gang was a complete wreck. Puff was missing half his fangs, Clump's torso and chest had more bruises and broken ribs than scales, Vex's entire front half was still bleeding, Shakes' face was so battered his eyes were nearly shut alongside having a dislocated shoulder, and Fume, amidst several bite wounds was grounded from a pair of broken wings. Garble himself was arguably the worst of the lot. In the last hour between Anguirus and Rainbow Dash he had over two dozen broken bones, two ruptured eardrums, a half rung neck, two broken arms, lost most of his teeth, several shattered ribs, and a broken wing. And all that was before several thousand tons of pteranodon decided to use him as landing gear.

Still, pigheaded stubbornness didn't die easy. As soon as the red dragon's vision shifted from pure blackness to the blurry shapes of the two kaiju; the gang leader opened his swollen jaws in a pitiful attempt at a roar before lurching forward and freeing himself of his allies' grasp. Rodan rolled his eyes and hissed the kaiju version of a shrug before holding up his left arm. In what could be described as a titanic scaled, backhanded slap, the elongated finger that held up Rodan's wing smacked into the dragon's face and promptly reacquainted Garble with the dirt and cobblestone road below. The pterosaurs beak opened slightly and like a furnace’s hatch, and strands of fiery plasma began to rise out and lick the air. The strands of purple and red energy, dozens of times hotter than any open flame; ripped forth in a concentrated beam that fired out in front of the dragonetic crowd. The 'Uranium Ray' as the humans had dubbed it seared through grass and slashed through stone like a hot knife, cutting a line between the two parties. Rodan ceased his show of force, the very air broiled hot enough for the temperature to be felt by both sides. The threat display was obvious, and the mere sight of it and the snarling Anguirus were more than enough to instantly murder any sense the dragon gang had to keep fighting. Clump slowly leaned down and grabbed Garble’s tail, dragging his groaning leader backwards as all the drakes backed away in pure fear. Anguirus, their tormentor for the last few minutes, bore only shallow cuts on his brow and some near invisible burn marks that looked no more significant than a scraped knee. He’d taken them all on at the same time, was still in prime condition to keep fighting; and now had an equally powerful ally arriving to aid him. If the gang risked defeat earlier, now they flirted with extinction if they so much as made a wrong move. The broken face of Puff glanced at the small group of ponies on the roof top behind Rodan, mental conditioning already setting in his bestial mind. If THIS is what happened when trying to hunt ponies, it was nowhere near worth it.

Similar thoughts pinged through the gang’s mind as they bid a hasty retreat, shrinking in size as they ran off on broken and bruised limbs in the same manner a rat runs for its life from a cat. Anguirus slammed his forepaws into the ground with a reverberating boom, before chasing it with a thundering roar alongside a cackle from Rodan; shaking the air in the cries of victory.

A calm voice inside their heads snapped them out of their cheering.

-“Are you two done yet?”-

-“Wait a minute I know that condescending voice…”-

-“…Mothra?”-

Anguirus and Rodan glanced around to their sides, both looking upwards with the expectations of 747-sized rainbow wings raining radiant light upon them. They saw nothing and the look of confusion via raised brows was apparent.

-“Where are you? Telepathy stuff again?"-

-"This another long distance call?”-

-“Turn around, look down. And tuck your wings in Rode or you’ll clip the roof.”-

The pair shifted multi-ton feet and turned, still looking at their eye level. No sooner did they hear a chorus of tiny screams did a loud, blaring yell roared through their heads loud enough to rattle their teeth.

-”I SAID TUCK YOUR WINGS IN YOU BEAK FACED IDIOT!! LOOK!-DOWN!”-

Rodan instantly obeyed as he and Anguirus peered down to the rooftop, a barrage of technicolors greeting them as they crouched down for a closer look. The three adult mares and filly uncovered and uncurled their head and necks, having ducked and covered to avoid getting nicked by the tips of Rodan’s wings. The two mares looked up with a gaze of startled fright and confusion at the duo as Gentle Leaf expression quickly shifted to joy, sitting on her rump and waving her hooves at the two. Both kaiju instantly locked on to the rainbow color wings of the being in the front, the largest of the four on the roof, as it walked up to them.

“Next time listen closer please.”

Rodan’s eyes were wide with shock as his beak began to slack open into a low hiss, his brow cocked up asymmetrically.

-“…what... in the name… of… Tanaka-?!”-

The mental message was cut short when both kaiju were engulfed in a piercing light that forced the ponies in attendance to quickly cover their eyes from the blinding ignition. Purple energy crackled along Rodan’s body as rainbow colored streaks wrapped around Anguirus. Both became but silhouettes in the white light, rapidly shrinking. In the span of a few seconds, the streaks of rainbow collected together and shot out of Anguirus, harmlessly striking Rainbow Dash in the chest, for a split second forming a glowing emblem resembling her cutie mark, before quickly dissipating. The arches of purple ripped out of Rodan’s body and shot off into the sky. Before long, both kaiju were gone, disappearing over the edge of the roof top. All three mares were flabbergasted. Rainbow rapidly pawed at her chest with a forehoof, almost expecting to feel something amiss along the normal fields of soft blue fur.

“What was!- How did?- Why did it?- WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”

Twilight was breathing heavily as she caught her wits.

“You feeling ok Rainbow?”

“Y-Yeah but what was the light show about?!”

“We have a theory, one we’ll have to alter now thanks to what just happened. It's a long story. I’ll tell you soon as things have simmered down ok?”

Rainbow was still wide eyed, but nodded slightly. Mothra meanwhile walked over to the edge of the rooftop, next to Gentle Leaf who was already looking over the edge. The filly’s mixed expression of confusion and happiness at familiarity was coupled with a bemused smirk from Mothra as she shook her head slowly. Butterfly wings fluttered and levitated the changeling to a pair of new forms, a trail of beautiful gold dust following her wing beats until she touched down. The beings were both instantly familiar and instantly alien. The broader of the two was a dull gray-brown stallion, an ‘Earth-Pony’ as Mothra had come to know it from Twilight’s overview. The spiny gauntlets, quill-filled tail, and purple eyes that became visible as the pony picked itself up clued her in to it being the transformed Anguirus. The being to his side however was completely foreign to the equine world, yet still bore the sense of similarity.

Like a pegasus it had six limbs, but the resemblance stopped there. The forearms still bore curved talons; with the hind limbs had a closer resemblance to the legs of a feline than any pony. The head was tipped in a long beak as oppose to a muzzle, with recurved horns shooting off the back of the skull. The saurian wings that shot out of the body a short distance past the shoulders however were instantly recognizable. Whatever it was now, the raising form before her was her ally Rodan just a minute ago.

Rodan rose up to his now greatly diminished full height, still a full head shorter than the royal changeling, trying to strike a hardened pose as if to show there was nothing wrong….

… and then promptly fell into a mess of limbs as he lost all sense of balance. Anguirus burst out laughing as the transformed Rodan fumbled around in what could best be described as someone with banana peels on their feet trying to walk across a wet, soapy floor. After several moments of endless tumbles, a gentle, magical aura wrapped around the poor kaiju and lifted him up.

The moment of bewilderment made Rodan’s limbs go slack and straighten, before Mothra slowly lowered him back down on his limbs and released her magical hold on him, the aura around her horn dissipating. A quick, glaring glance from blue-green eyes silenced the cackling Anguirus enough to finally bring some order to the trio. Rodan gulped, afraid to try and move his hind legs, still unused to having four legs as oppose to two; the pterosaur convert gathering his wits.

“M-mothra… what happened to us?...”

“This place is reacting to our forms. You were flying above Solgell when the black light hit, yes?”

“Y-yes, I was about to dive bomb Destroyah and got sucked in.”

Mothra gave a nod as she looked up, scanning her thoughts.

“Would explain the delayed reaction, you must have come through this realm's barrier after we ruptured most of it.”

Rodan gave the changeling a frazzled look, one Anguirus shared.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Time out. Barrier? Realm? What are you on about? This isn't just some magically, dreamy, time warp thingy?”

“Haven’t you noticed how different everything has felt until a few hours ago?”

Anguirus casually glanced around the war torn campground, eying the leveled buildings and trampled vegetation.

“Thought for awhile I was just in some unknown land as I traveled. I knew there was some magic at work but I couldn't think too hard on it, 'spell stuff' is your forte. But, I could tell something was off. Sights and sounds are definitely different, aside from everything being so.... peaceful. Even the winds here smell funny-“

The stallion glanced up at the large eyes of the horned, purple mare Mothra had been standing next to previously. She looked back down at him with curious eyes as he still couldn't help but not be used to such a colorful sight on such a form.

“- and I don’t recall much of her type back home being anywhere near that color.”

Rodan raised a forepaw, barely able to hold himself in a tripod stance after some shaking, to scratch his chin with a claw amidst his pondering.

“Come to think of it, I somehow outran the night sky on the way here. I might be quick but I wasn’t even going near top speed until the very end… And that flying horse I saw while speeding up definitely wasn’t normal.”

Far up the path sirens ripped through the air. The kaiju trio turned towards the offending noise and quickly spied a line of carriages and ponies heading down the road leading the camp, the flashing red and blue telling Mothra they were the emergency sevices Twilight had told her about earlier. A stream of firefighters, police, and ambulances streamed into the camp entrance, as the aforementioned young alicorn hovered herself down to the trio, magically levitating Gentle Leaf and Rainbow Dash with her. The purple alicorn quickly looked over the confused forms of Anguirus and Rodan, looking at the latter much more intently as she rubbed her chin as a happy grim stretched across her face.

“Fascinating! You appear to be some sort of gryphon morph. It seems equines aren’t the limit of transformation!”

“… Did that horse just talk and I understood it?”

"You'll get used to it, first one I bumped into was mute."

Twilight and Rainbow both broke into a half droopy-eyed, unamused look for a moment when a flurry of moments caught everyone’s attention. No sooner than Gentle Leaf had been set down did she jump up like a giddy puppy and bound over to Anguirus in a happy blur of green. Hopping up on the stallion’s back before she rubbed her little head against his, her smile couldn’t possibly have been beaming more. Anguirus lowered his head as a bead of sweat ran down his face, Rodan lifted an eye brow, as Mothra and the mares, forgetting the previous comment, couldn’t help but giggle.

“Seems like someone’s settled in with the locals well.”

Anguirus reached up with a hoof, minding his spikes; unable to resist giving the eager filly a little pat on the head.

“She’s just bein’ affectionate. Nothing I’ll complain about though.”

“She seems to know you fairly well.”

“Bumped into her before, I found her in the woods earlier and kept her around until I saw some more equines coming. She had fallen asleep as I was carrying her around so I left her for them to find her. ”

Rainbow Dash combed through her memories before the realization dawned on her.

“So that was you who took her across that stream and left those hoofprints… aaaaand I take it you followed us back to camp?”

“Against some of my better judgment, Y’eh. ”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed, opting not to voice her disapproval of the strange stallion’s words and actions.

-Where the hay was he when I had to fend off those punks on my own?!?....-

She sighed quietly, trying to let the thought go for now.

-Okay, obviously there's a lot of stuff going on right now that I got no clue about... just TRY to be patient RD..-

“Well that explains a lot...”

After several moments of silence and exchanged looks amidst the group, the elephant in the room finally dawned on those in attendance.

“… And if that big lizard monster was you, why the Tartarus are you a pony now?”

Anguirus and Rodan’s eyes widened briefly and there was silence, before the two turned in unison to Mothra and Twilight, expression demanding an answer.

“….Mothra, why am I still a horse?” - “Mothy why is he still a horse?”

Mothra chuckled as she raised a hoof to speak.

“Well, Twilight and I have a theory. We mentioned barriers and realms earlier, but there seems to be alot more in play. We think tha-“

The sudden flash of green and white magic silenced the former earth guardian as a glimmering mist shot between the group, hovering before Twilight. In a flare of brightness, the mist instantly disappeared into a hovering scroll that hovered mid-air as it unrolled itself. The writing was illegible from most angles, but the crescent moon seal was more than enough for the alicorn princess to know who sent it. The saurian duo had cocked eyebrows while Twilight’s expression shifted to one of pure shock.

“What..the..Daie-“

“There was an attack on the castle! Princess Luna is summoning us! She's injured! We need to go, NOW!”

Twilight jumped to the center of the circle as the emergency crews closed in, her horn rapidly gaining a strong glow that encompassed all in attendance.

“Wait-What?!”

The four ponies, the changeling, and the griffin disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing miles away.

------------------------------
Zenith, Red’s Realm
-----------------------------

Choruses of hellfire and rivers of blood lined the walls and landscapes into a grotesque image that could only be compared to Dante’s Hell. To any observer of this ‘pocket dimension’, there was not a single pleasant thing to be found about this nightmarish realm. The air and sky were blackened and hazy, cloaking nightmarish horrors both mobile and immobile. The lakes and rivers refused to run water, instead trailing streams of sickening blood, gore; and burning lava. The denizens of this land were its demons, monstrous and sadistic. And where there are demons, there was their Satan, their Iblis, their Káli; their ruler. He had been slain years ago by guidance from afar and the power of the Golden Light. But all light casts a shadow. Where there is good there must be evil. And so, a shadow had been cast; and it was mobile.

The Shadow of Red trod along in his eight legged form, stepping over a mound of twisted bone and red stone. He would rather have shifted into his flying form to speed this patrol along, but for now energy needed to be conserved. After his original death and revival, the demon lord might have been strong enough to easily throttle any of his realm’s potential challengers; but even he could tell he was but a fragment of his former self. Each day he felt stronger and stronger, but still nowhere near the level he once boasted. So Red bided his time, waiting and strengthening. The more energy he saved, the more energy he could devote to regaining his former power. And once that day came, he knew exactly who he was going to pay a visit too. The ever frowning maw of the hellbeast refused a smile despite the pleasing thought.

So far though, the Shadow of Red almost wished he could have some entertainment. A battle to be fought and won, a victim to torture and then consume; just as it was in the days before. Truth be told, the odd sensation the demon kept getting as he moved closer to his realm’s perimeter made him wish he had such entertainment coming. What he saw next made him pause in both confusion and bemusement.

Along the plane of blood red stone in front of him, seemingly starting out of a lake of blood was a wide, black line. The surface contrasted heavily with anything in Zenith’s burning, sharp, jagged landscape. The line’s ground was incredibly smooth, almost a glossy black akin to polished obsidian in the firelight. Red extended a talon tipped finger and pressed it to the line’s surface to inspect it, almost instantly to retract it as a sharp, bitter cold snapped at the extremity.

-What!? What’s this?!-

Red extended his hand again, slowly pushing his fingers close to the line. Sure enough, the hellbeast’s claws crossed some invisible border in the air above the line. In an instant, the torturous, blazing heat of his realm was replaced with a lonely, strangling cold.

-Some sort of area-bound hex on the trail…..-

Red looked out across the landscape the trail covered, heading towards one of the more crowded areas of Zenith. After a brief pause, his multiple legs strode forward parallel to the icy black line.

-… interesting…it seems my day will have some entertainment after all, assuming the horde hasn’t gotten to my guest just ye-

The screeching howl of one of Red’s minions caught the crimson lord’s attention. The black trail was leading around a large hillside, up to the temple. Suddenly Red knew what was screaming, and his mind spattered as the screech was cut short. It didn’t take a genius to know what happened to the screamer, and it made the demon pick up his pace, quickly rounding the bend and rushing towards the temple. Red’s black pits of eyes flickered with hellfire, enraged at the thought of one who’d dare invade his temple.

The sight of the temple nearly made the Shadow of Red both tilt his head in confusion as well as roar in rage. The black line was evident, leading up to the now transformed temple steps. The temple itself was, in Red’s eyes; a bastardization of its former self. The red and black, rough bricks and cobblestone that formally composed the floor and walls was changed into the same glossy blackness that composed the trail, which now resembled a road leading up to the temple. Gone were the gaping, glowing eyed, tribal mask-like gargoyles. In there place were the less numerous craned necks and heads of reptilian monsters, akin to Western and Asiatic dragons; streams of dark red smoke billowing out of their black maws. And yet the smallest change, one free of transformation; was the most disheartening. It dealt nothing with the temple itself, but it's attendees.

Red's minions were all over the premise, covering it near entirely, but not in whole pieces. The bodies were often mangled beyond recognition, but strewn about in a way that told Red of an epic battle that had occurred possibly minutes earlier. The hordes of demons laid dead, having failed to halt some intruder’s advance on the temple. The scream’s owner however was not amongst them… or at least it wasn’t after few seconds… not after its lifeless body was thrown out the temple gateway and rolled down the steps.

Red hissed as he looked down at the still, bleeding body of the curator of the temple, the one who likely summoned the other, now fallen demons to her aid. The Dark Angel’s skeletal maw lay open as blood flowed out of her gaping chest wound and onto her face. Peering at the wound, Red determined cause of death instantly. Claw wounds had torn into her sternum and shattered her ribs while rending layers of muscle, before grasping and tearing her lifeblood out. Her killer slew her by ripping her core, the essence of her power, out of her screaming body. The tormentor of Zenith and one of Red's chief lieutenants was dead...

The ground around the fallen demons and angel began to blacken as the obsidian flooring spread like a pestilence, beginning to consume their bodies. The booms of foot falls echoed out from the temple as a haunting, echoing voice whispered out.

“Interesting servants… they could have been of good use… A pity.”

The Shadow of Red looked up and as the intruder held up what he instantly recognized as the dark angel’s shining, gem-like core; before rows of recurved fangs came down upon it. After several sickening bites and crunches, the beast had entirely consumed the core, its multiple eyes flashing with power as the angel’s might was added to its own. The intruder cackled again in a chuckle.

“Aahh, this realm’s power is as useful as it is delicious… I’ll make good use of my new home…”

Already the black pestilence had spread to where Red’s Shadow stood, chilling the air. The demon’s frog like maw churned down in a gaping, grimacing frown as his eyes filled with hate and fire. Flames began to lick out from Red’s maw.

“You dare….”

The intruder stopped its cackle, the flash of a fang filled grin piercing the darkness as blood red colored energy collected up its body, several sets of glowing eyes narrowing.

“YOU DARE?!”

“Yes…”

Red’s throat ripped open in a howl that shook the very foundations of the world as a stream of hellfire spewed from his maw, a burning skull spearheading the assault before a blood red beam of energy loosed itself and impacted the assault in a deadlock. So focused Red was on overpowering the enemy energy projection, he barely saw a flash of movement to his sides.

------------------------------------------------------
Southern Manehattan, Train station
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Raindrops fell in a gentle symphony across the darkened city. The day had come and gone, and the night life was beginning to wake up across Equestria’s metropolis. On the edge of the train station, one pony paused under an overhang as she put her rain coat on. The rain may have been but a gentle massage on anypony who was out an about, but Marigold ‘Mari’, the social worker, was not about to let herself get soaked before a meeting. The date had been a busy day with every sign of being a busy night. Still, her smile refused to fetter as she checked her watch to ensure she was going to arrive on-time. Marigold loved her job because she loved helping everypony, foreigner or native, be they pony, or gryphon, zebra; or minotaur. Her joy of bringing aid to any and all was about to be tested.

Just as she passed by the alleyway to catch the train across town, the flash of movement caught her eye. Peering down the dark alley, a large figure was hunched over with its back to her. It was shifting, but the sudden movement and shifting of some sort of cloak on its back told her it had just covered itself. Through the darkness and the rain, the red mare saw the being’s cloak for what it was, a crumbled old tarp with more cuts and disgusting smears of grim and dirt than she cared to count. Pity instantly eclipsed any sense of fear she might have had. After a brief moment of hesitation, Marigold trod down the alley, coming up behind the unknown.

“E-excuse me? Are you ok?”

No sooner did she get the last word out did the tarp wearing entity whip around, the glimmer of crimson eyes peering through dark hood. The being stood to its full height as it reeled back in surprise, towering over the mare. To most anypony, its height could seem frightening. Fortunately, Marigold had spent a good many hours around minotaurs; well accustomed to the imposing stature bipedalism could give someponies. Even then, this figure would have easily been a full head taller than most minotaurs. Marigold leaned up on the edge of her hooves as she stretched her neck upwards, hoping for a response.

A deep voice that sounded almost like a growl at points answered her as the figure leaned back, making sure to cover itself fully.

“Where am I?”

Marigold blinked twice before tilting her head, not expecting that sort of question. True, it was considered impossible to live in Manehattan without knowing the city’s name; but they were close to the train station. Judging from the questioner’s pitiful dress and location, some thoughts sprung to mind.

-Maybe he got drunk on the train and stumbled off in a daze, poor guy must be impoverished or had his possessions stolen-

“Manehattan, you might have stumbled off the train and got turned around. Do you need any hel-”

“Are you a threat?”

Marigold craned her head back in confusion, now just as much bewildered as she was concerned.

“N-n-nooo, I'm not a threat to anyone. I just want to help you; I’m a social worker.”

A fleeting glance back at the raged tarp yanked at Marigold’s heart strings, instinctively causing her to dig through her saddlebags. Gripping a very large, brown cloak in her teeth, she pried it loose of the bag before flopping it onto her hoof. The golden maned mare broke a small, sweet smile as she held her hoof out.

“Here, take this. That tarp looks filthy. This should fit you close enough to keep the rain off. It’s a good thing I was meeting with a minotaur and was coming prepared. It was for them, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you needed it.”

The hood portion of the tarp shifted, showing its wearer was looking at the cloak and understood intent. Slowly, one portion of the tarp shifted, and, aside from brief flash of black skin, an otherwise unseen hand reached out under the cloak and took it from Marigold’s hoof.

“I appear much smaller now, you are fortunate.”

Marigold smile, calmed down a bit. Her confusion about the odd statement mostly being downplayed by the assumption the poor soul was still not in his right mind.

"What's your name?"

What happened next shocked the mare to such an extent she couldn't scream. The tarp was removed and in time her memory would recall the form she saw under it, but only in flashes. Recurved fangs, demonic horns, piercing eyes, abnormal protrusions; and whip-like tails. It stood tall and slipped into the large cloak, obscuring most of its form again in darkness.

"I can not remember..."

Then in a flurry of movement, the figure leaped to the side, partially running and partially climbing up the brick wall to the alley's side. Thick claw marks cut into the building's side before the beast launched itself off the side and onto the roof of a passing train. Marigold stood there, breathing heavily as the fleeting glimpses of white and black on the train roof disappeared into the storm.

King Caesar
??????????
Clover the Clever
NotReallySpoilersifYouWatchShow

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Naha, Okinawa Island, Japan; several days before the Solgell Island Attack
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Streets cracked and windows shattered as a titanic form fell backwards, having been shoved through the roofing of a boat warehouse. Torrents of dust clouds kicked up into the evening sky and obscured several city blocks as emergency vehicle sirens ripped through the air. The entire city was locked in a state of chaos as its citizens frantically dropped everything they called home to flee for their lives in the evacuation. Several battalions of Japanese SDF and US Military attack helicopters and armored divisions were on sight in minutes, but their use alone was lukewarm at best. There target was no foreign invasion army, it was something every city in the world dreaded a visit from.

Leviathan
Titan
Kaiju
Sea Dragon
Dagahra
Any title worked….

Dagahra snarled as several hellfire missiles exploded on the back of his head, prying his attention away from the boat house. The assault only managed to blow off a few scales, but it was enough for the sea dragon to loose several waves of energy blasts from his maw and dorsal fins, forcing the chopper pilot to disengage and dodge for her life to avoid being disintegrated. Dagahra bellowed as it crawled after the helicopter, crushing dozens of abandoned cars and apartments underfoot. It didn’t take long for the beast’s attention to be drawn back to what he came for. Noxious gases and fumes spilt out of a running, abet stalled car; the revving of its engine acting like a mass scaled dinner bell for the pollution eating sea demon. The car however was different from the others. The doors have been slammed shut and partially dented in from another car, sealing its occupants inside as they screamed and beat on the windows to try and free themselves. Dagahra’s fanged jaws opened wide, the fleeting images of the trapped humans through the tinted windows being icing on the toxic cake. In his eagerness to feed however, Dagahra forgot about the boathouse; nor did he think that the family’s screams would fall upon deaf ears.

A blur of movement tore itself free from the docks. Twin paws tipped with sharp, stone talons grabbed Dagahra by the mouth as a leonine roar ripped through the air. King Caesar dug his feet into the ground as he wrestled and struggled to hold the now thrashing kaiju away from the humans. Throwing his hips and shoulders in one direction, the giant shisa hurled Dagahra several blocks down the street and into the evacuated city park. Gemstone eyes quickly shifted down and the same powerful limbs that hurled a 25,000 ton Dagahra several hundred yards eased down and gently grasped the car. Sticking the very tip of a claw through the passenger window, Caesar pulled back and tore the door off its hinges in the same manner a human would tear the tab off a soda can. The fleeing family, thankfully unharmed, spilt out of the vehicle in a rushed fashion. After several of them took a moment to gawk at the calm shisa looming over them, they quickly took each other by the hand to run down the street towards the evacuation vehicles the military had set up several dozen blocks away.

King Caesar rose back to his full height as he stood with his back to the Shuri Castle, former residence of the Ryukyu royal family; trying to brush aside memories of days past as he glared down at the recovering Dagahra. The vaguely monitor lizard-like kaiju shook its head free of several tons of rubble before bellowing an enraged challenge to the shisa. King Caesar only responded by raising up his paws in a guard stance akin to a martial artist, as the military helicopters buzzed past him. Normally two kaiju brawling in a city would lead to the local military raining down everything they had on the two of them. But Caesar was different than most. The moment the guardian beast appeared on scene, all of Okinawa breathed a sigh of relief. He was one of the few kaiju humanity never turned their arsenal on, and today was not going to break that tithe. Both kaiju tensed their muscles, preparing to charge.

A pebble dropped into the pond in the Shuri palace.

King Caesar charged forward, leaping over an apartment complex as Dagahra pounced at him.

----------------------
?????????????
----------------------

Hooves silently trod across a glass-like floor as the starry void squirreled around in a peaceful symphony. A horn glimmered with magic as a curtain of light opened up before the horn’s owner. The curtain draped down into a window, the images of the massive Shisa and sea dragon struggling playing before the viewer almost like movie screen.

-His strength and power may be lacking compared to the others of his realm…-

As the shifting tapestry of vision shifted to the sight of Caesar freeing the trapped humans, a smile crossed a pale face.

-But... He may be just what is needed…-

--------------------------------
Back in downtown Naha
--------------------------------

Caesar snarled as Dagahra locked his jaws down on the shisa’s forearm in a manner akin to a rabid bulldog. Almost backpedaling into an office building, Caesar forced back his pain as he flipped his arm around, twisting Dagahra with it and exposing the demon’s belly. Ripping his maw open in a roar, Caesar lifted the drake up a short distance before dropping 20,000 tons of kaiju, belly first into his rapidly rising knee. Bones cracked and muscles taught as the air was pried free from Dagahra’s lungs, his jaws opened in a gasp. Caesar quickly freed his arm as he minded not to let Dagahra land on a smaller apartment complex they were fighting next too. Fighting inside a city was something the guardian very much would like to avoid. Every foot fall, every attack, every tumble he had to try and make sure it wasn’t going to land on someone. It was like trying to fight in a room full of card castles while trying not to let any fall and risk crushing an ant. Dagahra and others like him had no qualms; they only fought to win or fought to kill, no matter where it was.

Still, fighting for the humans gave Caesar something else.

In a great show of strength, the shisa hoisted up the choking pollution monstrosity above his head, letting the military rain down missiles and tank fire upon the beast as he turned towards the harbor.

Fighting for something other than yourself was a great motivator to fight harder.

King Caesar braced himself and lurched his arms forward, hurling Dagahra hundreds of yards through the air, before the drake came crashing down into the sea. The waters churned into tidal waves from the multi thousand ton cannon ball, shaking docks, boats, and piers to their foundations. Caesar walked to the edge of the harbor, stepping down into the throbbing sea as he scanned the water for movement.

-He took quite a beating just a moment ago, and he knows physically he cannot win. Still, this would be a quick retreat…-

Helicopters buzzed high above, beaming down rays of search lights that scanned along the raging surf. King Caesar eyed the dark waters, before his vision locked onto a small movement to his right. The waters stilled, and then the world was filled with slow motion.

Dagahra ripped forth from the surf like an erupting geyser, light collected into a ball housed behind his fanged maw. King Caesar’s instincts kicked in as he shifted his head to the exact direction the sea dragon was pointing. Water droplets flew everywhere as the world itself slowly shifted back to normal speed. Dagahra fired his assault beam near point blank, right at Caesar’s face…. right at his eye. The energy attack continued amidst Dagahra’s bellowing roar, pouring into Caesar’s right eye like water down a drain.

-Didn’t even try to aim away from my face… Imbecile…-

Caesar grabbed his foe by the throat, squeezing down with his powerful paws with enough force to half choke the kaiju, cutting the last of the beam off as it was siphoned into the shisa’s eye. Dagahra hissed and struggled as the guardian beast’s eyes glimmered with a brilliant aura, Caesar’s leonine face curling back its lips into a snarl. Twisting his hips like a judo master, King Caesar spun around and hurled the dragon into the air and away from the city. Dagahra roared and bleated as he tried to steady himself in the air enough to fly, but just as soon as he had halted his fall and avoid tumbling into the surf, Caesar’s eyes flashed a familiar glow. Twin beams of power, identical but of an even greater magnitude than Dagahra’s, shot forth from King Caesar’s eyes and slammed into the drake’s chest. Flesh and scales were burned away on impact as the mirrored beam pushed the demon further and further back. Dagahra screamed as he was blasted thousands of feet backwards, cutting a trench into the sea’s surface before being pushed under.

After ten whole seconds of assault, King Caesar’s stored power ran dry, the beam cutting off into a smoky haze that permeated from his ruby eyes. Helicopters buzzed through the air as King Caesar stood idle, still as a statue, in the calming sea, waiting to make sure his enemy wasn’t bound to return for round 2. Fortunately, the sea remained placid as Dagahra fled back to whatever dark chasm he crawled out from. Emergency vehicles roared down from the streets as fire fighters and ambulances scrambled to repair that of the city damaged in the rampage. King Caesar shifted, glancing back at the palace as memories flashed back. The shisa’s gaze glanced back to the humans down below as he stood tall.

Yes he had caused some property damage in driving back Dagahra, but nothing that could have been avoided. The humans knew well enough the merit of their guardian’s character, and that the damage would have been far worse if he hadn’t arrived. Caesar knew this was well, and a calmed exhale overtook him. He’d saved lives today, and for that he couldn’t have been happier.

-The humans can handle their clean up well, best not give them additional work walking back home through the city-

With that, the ancient shisa turned and waded through the knee deep waters, going around the island’s shore and back to his chambers.

----------------------
?????????????
----------------------

She had seen it all, pride and hope swelling up inside her chest.
“Yes… you’ll do nicely.”

A glowing horn flickered as the viewing screen before her shut, a glimmering light resembling the outline of a closed door replacing it. Like an opening stage curtain, the glow slipped across and encompassed the whole of the outline. The summoning spell was prepared.

---------------------------------------------
Unknown cavern, Okinawa Island
---------------------------------------------

King Caesar remained silent as the entrance to his chasm closed off behind him, cloaking everything around him in a soothing darkness. The cave was very tall and very wide, able to comfortably fit its denizen’s massive form even while he was standing. It was here Caesar remained until times he was needed, which thankfully was not as often as one would think. Remembering days of ages past, the kaiju sat down cross legged, resting his arms as his eyes dimmed into deep meditation. It was closest thing to sleep the guardian had, a state that could only be broken when he need defend himself or upon times another summoned him. The small, soft voice he heard as soon as he lowered his dog-like ears told him the latter was occurring.

“Guardian Beast, King Caesar of the Ryukyu islands. Your services are needed.”

As soon as he heard those words, Caesar instantly felt something amiss in the world around him. The hard, uneven floor of the cave was gone in an instant. Replacing it was a solid, firm, flat ground akin to the polished wood and tiled floors he hadn’t sat on in centuries. The shisa opened his eyes slowly before gazing upon the glowing form standing before him, only realizing as soon as his vision returned that he was in his cave no longer. The still, rocky décor was replaced with a brilliant, encircling cosmos. As distant meteors shot past and peaceful stars glimmered, King Caesar couldn’t help but feel both awed and warmed to a heart’s glow at what he saw around him. Truly, this land he was in now was peace and harmony painted onto a canvas. Unsettling however, was that for some reason the guardian couldn’t shake the feeling that he seemed much lighter than before, but he opted to put that idea aside for now. The illuminated shape of his host stole all of his attention.

Immediately he got the impression he was looking the being in the eye, telling him either this was a fellow kaiju whom summoned him, or the magic he was sensing had altered his size. The lightened sensation across his limbs seemed to indicate the latter. The shape itself was more or less obscured by the brilliant, white-purple aura that cloaked it; glimmering so bright at times the shisa had to cover his eyes with a paw at one point. Through the light he thought he could make out a single, long horn on its head and four broadly tipped limbs; vaguely similar in overall shape to an equine or deer. An eyebrow rose for a moment, but soon settled back down as the shisa nearly hung his jaw in awe. Before him was a creature unlike any he had ever seen, but it resembled one sacred beast he knew of. One sacred beast he was forever to respect. Caesar shifted to a kneeling position, slowly catching a fist into his open palm as he bowed respectfully, keeping his head down.

“You don’t seem to be shocked to see my form.”

Caesar didn’t rise as he spoke in what were mere growls and hisses to a human, but what he knew would be comprehensible speech to his guest. He knew not still who or what exactly was talking to him now, but his respectful tone to the feminine voice was the same as if he was addressing a queen.

-Judging from her presence in this starry void, queen she very well may be….-

“I have lived for many years, more than enough to know a being of magic when I see it. What task would you have of me kirin?”

Caesar crossed an arm across his chest, having referred to his host by the closest description he could imagine, hoping it took no offence. He could physically feel her power radiating off her in a welcoming, warm aura. A kind of aura that was the hallmark of benevolence, but the amount raw energy he was picking off was…imposing to say the least. Still, hope proved advantageous. A hoof was outstretched, calmly placing itself on the guardian’s stony crown. The voice was of a chiming bell. With its sound the very room seemed to be filled with positive feelings and contented calm.

“Rise, mightiest of the shisa.”

Caesar did as requested, looking forth at his summoner. She still radiated like an angelic kami, so much so he still couldn't exactly get a good look at her features.

“I come to you not for aid to myself, but to the world I watch over and the mortals who constitute it. A grave danger has come to them from a distant land, one they may not be able to stand against alone. While you are not powerful enough to defeat this evil alone, your duty and character make you the perfect aid for them. I ask of you to go to that world, help save its mortals, aid its heroes, and tip the balance in their favor.”

Caesar leaned his head back, half surprised at what he was hearing. The last time he encountered beings from another world led to him having to fight their massive war weapon in an incident he’d much rather not repeat… Still… there were some things a sworn guardian couldn’t turn his back on. For that creed, Caesar kept listening.

“I cannot act upon them directly aside from the briefest of moments, but I can send them one to do so. That is why I call to you, guardian. I know you are distrusting of outsiders, but you may be the only one who can help my beloveds save themselves. Will you aid them?”

Caesar’s gemstone eyes glimmered as thought flashed through them. Century old memories floated to the surface as an ancient creed, last recited aloud at a kingdom long since past. Slowly, the ancient shisa nodded.

“…. For hundreds of years I was sworn to protect those in need from forces outside of their own, and for millennium I have answered whenever I am called without fail. If mortals whom praise no evil are in danger of evil, I will help them. To where shall I go to assist?”

Though he couldn’t make out his guest’s face, the warm, loving wave he felt wash over him told the great shisa his words had been received with a smile.

“…. Over five centuries of protecting and you are still the same, astute royal guardsmen you were all those years ago… I can see now why the mortals of your realm are so trusting of you. I will send you with my power to my realm, from there you will find my charges and fight the encroaching evil-“

King Caesar nearly jolted up in surprise.

-The priestess at the temple don’t even know that, how did sh-?!-

“Now, Go!”

In a brilliant flash of warm, purple light that illuminated the entire chasm like a miniature sun, all in attendance vanished.

--------------------------
Northern Equestria
--------------------------

King Caesar didn't know how long he was unconscious. He might have merely nodded out for a few moments, he might have been stuck in meditation for decades. Laying on the ground on his right side, King Caesar stretched his limbs before shifting to try and get his feet below him. The instant his limbs touched the ground however, something was wrong. He could feel his paws, armor, and hair just fine; but his limbs themselves seemed to be shaped different, almost contorted. His paw seemed to be out of proportion, with his arms seemingly now slightly longer than his legs. No sooner had that revelation crossed his mind and his vision cleared was the shisa left completely confused. A strange creature was looming over him, one unlike any he'd ever seen in his life or myth. Its eyes were enormous, giving it a gentle, child-like quality. It was covered with a short, white fur across its body outside of a long, green mane of various shades on its head. Just when the thought he was looking at some kind of equine, he noticed the being bore a single conical horn on its forehead unlike any he'd ever seen. The observer seemed to have an equally perplexed look on its face as well.

Immediately, the beast's expression warmed.

"Oh good you're up! Are you OK mister?"

The being, female again based off the voice, outstretched a hoof in Caesar's direction. Though confused for a moment, either by misunderstanding the gesture at first or by sheer bewilderment of his acquaintance, it took him several seconds to recognized as her offering the equivalent of a hand up. An offer Caesar, after some awkward movements with his new proportions took her up on.

"Wh-who... and.. what are you?"

The being smiled as she fully helped the confused stranger to his feet.

"I'm a unicorn pony of course. My name is Clover, Clover the Clever. Though personally I hate to sound prideful."

Clover giggled to herself as she smiled. Caesar didn't know whether to be confused more by the fact he just heard this 'unicorn' speak his language, or that the size change he detected in the kirin's realm seemed to still be in play. Judging from the tall trees looming over the both of them, which must have been thousands of feet tall in all but the latter scenario; he had indeed been shrunk.

"You're an odd looking Diamond Dog, I didn't know canines could look so varied! What are you doing so far from the Denlands?"

Caesar's confusion was quickly reaching new heights.

"...Diamond...Dog? Denland?"

Clover tilted her head to the side in a universally curious manner.

"Y-yesss that's where I assumed where you were from. I was on my way to the palace when I happened upon you on the side of the road."

Caesar shook his head to make sure he was seeing and hearing straight, and that he hadn't received a blow to the head and was somehow knocked silly. Sure enough though, the image of the perplexed mare failed to yield.

-So the kirin's realm is populated by talking horned horses... Though, this 'Clover' seems benign enough. Equine guardian means equine nation? Sentient mortals that aren't humans... And all this time I considered the Elias odd.... Mercy of Tanaka I will never understand magic...-

"Aaare you ok?"

King Caesar remembered his audience and shrugged.

-Best take it as it comes Caesar-

"I'm fine just... shaken... You mentioned a palace, I take it you have a monarch?"

"Weeell.. kiiiind of.. the Unicorns do but the Pegasi and Earth Ponies have their own leaders that meet with Princess Platinum to pan out the decisions."

"Can I accompany you? I have some... business here and I need to figure some things out."

Clover nodded happily as she started on the trail she had previously been on.

"Certainly, follow me~ What's your name anyways?"

King Caesar lifted a paw up to give his slightly changed body an additional once over. Content that the changes, while great in some areas, seemed relatively minor; the shisa turned diamond canine smiled as he looked upon the mare.

-Well.. For second time around with aliens, at least I found the benign ones and not more black hole apes-

He took a step and tried to follow her but quickly found the faster he went to catch back up, the faster an awkward sensation kept going down his half wobbling legs. He could still walk at a brisk pace, but his odd proportions had clearly affected his ability to run on his hindlegs more than he originally though. His shortened legs and long arms made bipedalism feel awkward, like trying to walk on one's knees. Possible, but something told him traveling another way long distance would be more comfortable. Thankfully, the shisa had some preparation from his old body. While he was mainly bipedal in the past, he was build lengthy enough to permit quadropedal motion from time to time without it being awkward. Dropping down onto his forelimbs in a manner skin to a bear, Caesar instantly felt relief. Noting that running in this manner felt natural, the guardian was content to keep it up; rapidly gaining on Clover and soon walking along side the slightly perplexed pony.

"I am called, King Caesar."

Clover the Clever turned her head as she nearly paused.

"King? I didn't know the Diamond Dogs in Denland had royalty too. Is that why you want to meet the princess? Some sort of diplomatic meeting?"

"No.... Despite the crown, tis just a title. I am the strongest of my kind, so I was referred by to some as their 'king'. I'm not from this 'Denland', never heard of the land. My home was in Ryukyu, known as Okinawa by another name; but I fear I am a long way from there."

"You fear? Don't you know how you got here? How did you get in Equestria?"

"The exact method I... do not know. Someone of great magic seems to have brought me here. She said something about a dangerous invader arriving, so I volunteered to lend aid."

"Well I have no idea who 'she' could be, but the danger part would be accurate. Why I'm actually a bit relieved neither of us is traveling alone now, some roads aren't saf-"

The mare instantly cut herself off as her eyes grew wide with fear. Just as Caesar was about to inquire what was wrong, he sensed it. When one is a guardian for decades, let alone centuries, you know it. You smell it, taste it, see it; feel it. Evil... King Caesar's hairs started to stand up on end as his fangs bore themselves on instinct. There was something very evil nearby, and it was getting close. The transformed diamond dog reared up on his hindlegs, facing the direction he sensed whatever demonic force that was nearby was approaching from.

Something not far ahead was pushing aside forest foliage as it approached. Cloven hooves clicking on the ground as curved horns broke through overhanging branches.

"Is he friend or is he foe... the travelers wonder..."

Caesar let out a snarl, now knowing exactly whom he was sent here for....

"I assure you I am no friend..."

What's this? King Caesar has been transported to Equestria's distant past?
How will he aid the ponies in their desperate struggle?
Whom is his new adversary?
And just who is this being he mistook for a Kirin?
HOW MANY ?????? AND CLIFFHANGERS IS THIS AUTHOR GOING TO HAVE IN THIS STORY!?!

Some of this a more! Next time on 'The Bridge'!
-----------------------------------------------

Made this special chapter in celebration of the recent 2014 Godzilla movie by Gareth Edwards. Saw it last night, and I must say that for longtime fans and normal movie-goers alike, it's a hit not to miss.

This One-Shot's story that will eventually tie into the main story. If you guys like it enough, I or a writer I give permission too may flesh it out into its own full story, a 'prequel' of sorts. Who knows what the future holds, or the past for that matter...
-------------------------
Shisa - The Okinawan counterpart to the Chinese and Japanese Guardian Lions, often seen in front

of temples. Sometimes called 'Lion Dogs' or 'Foo Dogs' by Westerners
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/63/31/a5/6331a59afda269299a801d6ca1c6daed.jpg

Kirin - The Okinawan/Japanese equivalent of the Chinese Qilin, a mythical beast resembling a

scaled deer or antelope. Because it sometimes has a single antler on its head, and are

magical, they are sometimes called the 'Asiatic Unicorn'
http://www.orientaloutpost.com/asian-art/kirin.gif
-------------------------
Once again, proof reading and artwork by my good friend Faith-Wolff, extra characters by ....well... you'll just have to find and put together the hidden links I scattered in this chapter to know them now don't you?~

Godzilla and related kaiju property of Toho studios
Gamera and related kaiju property of Daiei
MLP:FiM property of Hasbro Studios
Starfall owned by Faith-Wolff, used with permission

-------------------
Kaiju Amalgam Universe Timeline (recommended reading)
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

In the next chapter~
-A less than pleasant reunion at Canterlot
-The duel between our unknown nightmare and the Shadow of Red reaches its finale

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Roughly 300 Nautical Miles from Honolulu, 6 minutes before GDF hacking incident
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bow of a speeding, yacht sized boat sliced through waves as it kicked it's engine into a burst of speed to reach its maximum pace. Not a single human hand was on deck outside of some remote, EMP shielded cameras giving the only view points to the ship's overseers. The engine and steering wheel were mechanically set to a course with a series of mechanical arms and ropes. The entire operation looked both highly technological and highly jerry-rigged. To any looking at said operation, that would not be the first thing they'd notice however. The real catch to the eyes was on the main deck of the ship. Strapped to the surface was a large cargo of material clad in the same iconic yellow and black radiation labels. It was a mix of disarmed warheads, stocked waste from power plants; and several dozen barrels of heavy water. The pure radiation emanating from the boat could have killed any human pilots and was leaving a trail of contaminated water that could spoil the waves for miles until the days had passed enough to disperse it. Sacrifices were being made, all for the plan.

Gaira, the green, sea going gargantua had been sighted heading straight for the Hawaiian capital two hours earlier. It was the worst possible timing. Having been one of the first active kaiju incursion in progress, after the incident at Solgell; the GDF and US forces were caught completely unprepared. Most of the fleet was far out to sea investigating a possible Gyaos swarm forming off the coast of Indonesia, and no Mech units were stationed in the island chain at the time. Normally there would be enough time to evacuate the citizenry and call in the armed forces and Mech divisions to fend off the attack, but Gaira had managed to evade the outer perimeter undetected, presumably by diving low and walking on the bottom. There was no time, from the first instant the inner perimeter sensors had detected him, the man-eater was less than 3 hours from civilian vessels and half an hour more from the jewel city of the islands. The few military assets on hand would have been ineffective against a foe who was just as adept righting in the deep sea as he was on land, and intense winds from a typhoon made transporting a mecha neigh impossible. Bluntly put, the state of Hawaii got caught with its pants down at the worst possible time. Thus the plan was put into order.
It was a suicidal, idiotic, and outrageous plan. But it was the only plan that seemed workable at the time.

The island of Hawai'i, often called the 'Big Island' for its size and to avoid confusion with the state's moniker, housed something. It had awakened several months earlier, and after some devastation, landed on the island. The passive radiation given off by Mount Hualālai and Kilauea had attracted it, and by routinely dumping loads of waste from Yucca Mountain and other similar facilities from across the world; it had stayed there. Friend to humans it most certainly was not, so the entire island was quickly evacuated to avoid incurring it's wrath. For the second time in history, humanity had given way to a kaiju in the name of study, making the entire island something of a nature preserve to learn everything they could about it. If it attempted to leave or attack, special precautions had been made to minimize damage, with lethal force to the subject if needed. For once, those precautions were turned off, both for fear the oncoming Gaira might damage them, and for the plan to work. Sometimes when a coyote is advancing on the sheep, it's best to unchain that aggressive dog one kept contained in a barn, and let it run free.

Speak of the devil however, and he might just appear.

A mountain of green broke the surface as an enormous hand lashed out at the boat. Jagged, black, claw-like nails cut into the hull as Gaira brought the boat into his grasp, the scale between making the transport boat resemble a toy more than anything. Shrieking, hate filled snarls filled the air as the sea going gargantua thrashed the boat to and fro. He knew what he was here for. He had previously been on his way to the human city to entertain a feast for himself, but had heard the boat coming and opted to take a small detour to enjoy an appetizer. That was, if he could find any hands on deck. Despite his frustrated thrashing of the boat, tossing radioactive material all across the deck, Gaira's gaze refused to gleam even a single soul.

--------------------------

Back at headquarters Dr. Io Shinoda frantically attacked at the control keyboards and joysticks, trying to keep the boat's onboard cameras on view. Every other muscle twitch she loosed to bat the controls, she glanced over at Dr. Graham, hoping and praying for word about a telltale blip or pinging on the radar and sonar screenings Graham was manning.

"The boats not going to last much longer! Several ruptures on the hull, motors is knocked out, some of the bait is being sloshed overboard. Has he showed up yet?!"

Graham nervously eyed the paneled screens displaying a myriad of short and long range sonar and radar. Then she smiled. Not at any blips that she smiled at, it was what happened to the radar and sonar themselves. Static. Heavy, thick, steadily gaining in strength static. First the long range radar shorted out, then the medium range; and then final the short range as something flew over the buoys, heading on a path straight at the boat. Straight at Gaira.

"The buoys are being EMP'd from the north.... he's there."

Io turned the one camera on the far side of the boat northward, seeing a familiar black shape flap it's wings as it flew straight at Gaira, partially obscured by the nightly clouds. She held her breath, hoping that Pele was offering her blessing.

-------------------------

Gaira didn't know the boat was automated, that it was without his food. But it was loaded with something else's food, and it was not happy about him manhandling it.

The gargantua didn't have time to look up before a pair of twin recurved talons stabbed into his shoulders, yanking him away from the boat before they released, sending the giant tumbling into the sea. Banking hard, the winged HokMuto cackled as he came around for another pass. Gaira snarled, getting back up and after a moment to wipe one of his wounds and look at his blood, charged the winged monstrosity in a rage. Swinging his forearms down, the mutated humanoid brought down dual hammerfists upon the HokMuto's plated skull with an audible bang. Dazed, the ancient parasite couldn't react before another fist was brought down on the side of his skull with enough force it could topple a building. Gaira grinned vilely, grabbing the lanky kaiju by an arm and bringing him close enough to sink his fangs deep into its black and white shoulder, his weight forcing the two of them underwater amidst much thrashing. There might have been no humans on board the boat, but this replacement would do nicely. The sea began to fill with dark color ichors. Gaira eagerly drank down the blood, relishing a new meal. The HokMuto on the otherhand, had other ideas.

The eyeless line of lights on the side of its head ignited once more and the primordial demon roared back to life. He was wounded, and he was enraged. The smallest pair of arms, often used for handling small objects, arched back before baring their claws and slashing Gaira repeatedly across the chest, cutting deeper and deeper grooves with each cut. Adding pain to agony, the HokMuto's main arms raised amidst the tidal wave of bubbles and gouged into the titan's back, raking across it and filling the seas with the gargantua's blood. Gaira screamed and roared as he stumbled back, his world alight in pain that only increased as some of his teeth broke off from ripping away from the Muto so quickly. The HokMuto had intended to attack Gaira enough to drive him off and away from his food, but now the sea beast had tried to make a meal out of him. It wasn't a matter of territory and resources now. Hoofed feet kicked off from the ocean bottom, wings flapping in slow motion through the sapphire realm like flippers. Now it was a matter of hatred.

Gaira was not so easily beaten however. Though the wounds still inflicted mountains of pain and hundreds of gallons of blood loss, the wounds closed rapidly. Gaira grimaced as he grabbed and tore off a spire of sandstone, wielding it like a club. While he didn't have enough energy to keep his healing factor going for as long as a pair of radioactive saurians, he thought it more than enough to outlast this spindly aggressor. Belching out a torrent of bubbles from an undersea roar, Gaira brought the club down again and again on the charging Muto's chest and head. Loud crashes were audible through the waves as stone chipped and reinforced exoskeleton began to crack. The Muto jolted down from the sharp pain and beating. Half knocked silly, his vision locked onto the first moving object and in a flurry of motion, locked his jaws down on it. It so happened the object was Gaira's ankle, and the HokMuto clamped down with his beak and fangs with enough force for the audible cracking of Gaira's cartilage and bone to send fish scattering. Gaira shrieked in pain, dropping his club and falling back onto the sea bed as the tendon controlling his foot was hamstrung.

HokMuto however couldn't afford to capitalize on his success. Aside from sporting a gnawed shoulder, fractured skull, and cracked exoskeleton; he was no aquatic. He could dive deep and hold his breath for quite some time, but getting knocked silly by Gaira's brute force had been a shot to his lungs and he was running on empty. Releasing the mauled limb, the black beast spread his wings and attempted to kick off the ocean floor with a mushroom cloud of sediment, looking up to the surface as he swam up. He shot up roughly 100 feet before a barrage of pain shot up his leg as he was yanked back. The Muto cackled in pain and surprise as he looked down, beating his wings rapidly in the dark waters. Gaira snarled as he held the Muto by its leg, stabbing his nails into the limb between the exoskeleton's plates to gain a grip. The green gargantua's leg was slowly healing but he was still half crippled, and yet he simply refused to let go. Perhaps sensing his foes oncoming drowning, the sea beast cocked back his other arm and swung out, raking his nails across the Muto's chest to try and speed matters along. Instantly though, Gaira's sight was shut out when HokMuto's free leg swung its hard hoof down with murderous intent, smashing into his skull each time Gaira's fist contacted his foe's chest.

Neither of them noticed the mass sphere of black energy crashing through the waters above them....

-------------------------------------

Io nearly fell back at her computer in shock at what she saw.

"What! Was! That!?"

Graham answered her colleague as she frantically tried to call up her superiors at what had just happened.

"Dimension Tide shot. Unregistered. Getting something on the sonar, due east of the boat!"

Io regained her composure and cracked the camera's controls over to the left just in time to catch HokMuto exploding out of the sea like an erupting volcano. The primordial beast was bleeding from numerous wounds and obviously hurt, but otherwise in decent health. He'd live. The black titan hovered above the patch of ocean it rose from, as if catching his breath before flying back from whence he came. As it passed over the boat, dark colored blood splattered the last surviving camera, shutting out Io's view in a disgusting display.

Io couldn't help but both wince and roll her eyes at the same time, spinning her desk chair around as she rubbed her temple.

"Well Bug Boy's had a bad day, he'll be eating more to heal sooner. Best double his lunchbox this week to keep him on the island. Where's our not-so-jolly green giant?"

Graham bit her lip as she typed away at the keyboards before her, the sonar reading coming back online as the Muto left the vicinity. There wasn't a single blip on the readings larger than six feet.

"Absent, not even a body.... He must have been sucked into the vortex."

Io shrugged as she took up a tally for the costs of cleanup operations needed to recover the radioactive elements, as well as make a new shipment to keep their 'pet' contained. The numbers already weren't looking good, but comparing it to the damage estimates of Gaira arriving at Honolulu; the latter should shut the governor up.

"Then he's not our problem anymore..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Present time, several miles outside of Hollow Shades
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starfall was not an adventurous stallion, but that didn't stop him from journeying deep into the forest glades. Dusk was afoot and it would be night soon. However the exact time and place were in order for him to put his talent to use. Starfall was a pegasus, but his talent dealt only with the sky in regards to source. He was a collector before he was anything at all resembling an athlete. He was out for star dust, glimmering fragments, no smaller than beads of sand, that befell to portions of the forest as night fell. They were small and shiny, sparkling not unlike their sources when put to the right light, and often gathering up in mounds that he'd gather up each night. Uses ranged from potions and medicine derived from their composition, to fashion designs making use of their glimmering light. Starfall was the chief supplier for the merchant center of the town, and he knew he'd have plenty of orders coming up. Though he had enough to meet demand, hunting for the sparkling treasure was a past time he enjoyed and tonight would be no different.

As he passed an embankment of ferns, thoughts shifted to recent events. Odd goings-on had been occurring around town and a particularly bizarre happening had occurred earlier that day.

-Mr. Mosaic definitely was torn up about the robbery. Then again with a theft like that who could have seen it coming. What kind of whacko-crook would have thought a full ton of broken glass shards would be worth stealing while leaving the stash of gold leaf untouched? Why is it this town has to have the thieves who are always off their meds? What's next, is someone's cache of rubber ducks going to go missing? Probably some sporadic middleschoolers playing off a weird bet-

When he fully turned around a bend in the dirt path he was on however, the shimmer of something shiny in the road caught his eye. The pegasus raised an eyebrow as he trotted over to the offending object.

-A bit early for stardust, what is that?-

He tilted his head as he reached and loomed over the shiny fragment. He raised a hoof and brushed aside the dirt, revealing it to be a small, bit sized shard of fractured glass. Looking up the game trail it happened to be on, he spied another tiny fragment glimmering in the dimming sun about eight meters up the trail. Instantly the realization as to what exactly he was looking at hit him, and after a moment of hesitation; he started up the path.

-I don't remember this trail being here earlier, but the thief must have gone through and dropped a 'bread crumb trail'. I-I'll just follow it to see where they are and report back to the sheriff-

Opting to avoid flying over to gain a better vantage point but risk his wing beats giving him away, Starfall proceeded on foot and slowly followed the tell tale hints that someone had moved through the area recently. Hoping his hypothesis about some prankster kids was right, he took extra mind to avoid brushing into any foliage; keeping as silent as he could be as he walked for several minutes. Whoever had stolen the glass was being very careful about moving it. Despite the trail being bumpy enough to make any wagon rickety, he was only finding individual shards over a very spread out interval. To move such a large load down such an unruly and narrow path and lose so little pieces seemed impossible. As the trail came to an end, turning around a large fallen tree, Starfall heard something. Turning his ears as he halted behind the tree trunk, he could detect the occasional drag and shifting that gave away movement on the other side.

-The thief must be on the other side! M-Maybe it's somepony I'll recognize-

He slowly began to peer around the trunk.

- Pleasebejustsomekids- Pleasebejustsomekids- Pleasebejustsomekids-

It was a group, but it wasn't just some kids. There were four of them in total. Four identical, wagon sized forms. The closest thing the terrified pony could compare them too, sighting their numerous spikes and horns; were enormous, demonic looking beetles. They were primarily black in color, with stripes of yellow trimming the edges of their exoskeleton. The one that was facing towards him enough revealed a single, alien red eye at the center of a three pronged head. They hissed and uttered a ticking sound to eachother as one of them dug its way into a gaping tunnel entrance at the base of a tree. To their side was a small mountain of assorted objects. Mirrors, windows, sand, all mixed into the recognizable small mound of glass shards that seemed to be the leftovers of Mr. Mosaic's order. He'd found the thieves, and what he saw terrified him. Scattered along the ground were bones, animal bones. The wings and tail of a manticore, some deer antlers and ribs, the arms of what used to be a bear. But what he saw at the center caused his black coat to turn white. A unicorn's skull, the horn having been broken off as something jabbed into the head for a quick kill. They weren't just glass thieves or carnivores, they were pony eaters. Starfall held in a scream as his entire body shook.

-Sheriff would be way out of his league... I-I-I need to call the princesses! Alert the royal guard and army! I need to-

Starfall froze as he heard the crack of a branch to his left. Quickly looking up he could see one of those nightmares, holding a glass statue in its blade-like forelimbs as it glared at him with its single red eye. Though the pegasus didn't know the creatures' name, they were not of this world. They arrived from their queen, who arrived from the burst of a weapon that shouldn't have ever existed. They were the swarm, the Legion Soldiers whom symbiotically served their monarch. And the one who just saw the horrified pony just signaled its entire company.

-------------------------------
Some distance away
-------------------------------

A cloaked, hooded figure retracted its claws from the punctured and bent metal of the train roof. It's covering flapping in the wind, it took only a small glance at a nearby patch of tall grass before kicking off the roof. Much to the surprise of the train attendees below it whom happened to have been looking out of the window at the time, the figure flew through the air and hit the ground with a skillful roll. Within a flash of a second, it had disappeared into the tall grasses. After taking a few moments to let the train pass, the towering figure raised back to his full height and waded through the foliage, his height being so large the grass only came up to his shoulders. It was a quiet field, cast in a gentle amber tone from the evening sun. The entity hardly paid it mind as he walked over to a stream. After taking a moment, as if to judge the depth, it let out a low shrug. Mist or smoke billowed out from where a maw would have been, the very air around the being becoming still as its body shifted. If one squinted, they'd see a faint line border the being's figure as it began to rise a few inches off the ground. Twin tails slipped out of the cloak as their owner began to use his telekinesis to levitate himself up, intent on hovering over the stream. He had moved forward a few inches when something halted his advance. The being looked down, and into the waving eyes of his own reflection.

Instantly, concentration was ruptured and the figure fell down feet first into the cold waters, unchanging in posture. He stared down at the being that stared back at him, the image clearing as the ripples from his splash dissipated. In a few moments, it was like looking in a mirror. A hand shifted, reaching up and gently touching a face that was obscured to any onlookers. Retractable claws ran over hard bony plates and craggy spines as eyes narrowed and a jaw filled with recurved fangs quivered in a mix of anger, confusion, and shock.

-This face... How did I become like this?...-

His eyes widened as memories and visions hit their recipient like a block of dropped concrete. Scattered, shattered shards of recalled events came at him in a unorganized flurry.

A gray planet. Fires, fires everywhere. A monster, that nightmare, a three headed demon setting everything ablaze. A crowd of beings, obscured by bright lights, looking at him at eye level. Enormous pain. Fire in his veins. The same crowd, now appearing as ants would appear too a lion. A battle. The demon leaving. Entrapment. A meteor. A weapon of war. Blackness.

His mind had become a hateful, raging maelstrom. The reflection in the stream morphed as the nightmarish visions replaced reality. It spoke in a cold, echoing, hateful voice, staring back at the being with three sets of red eyes. It laughed at him.

-There is no controller here. No one to keep me away and from probing further...-

-SHUT....UP!-

The nightmarish visions worsened as icy cold and mocking gold began to surround his vision. A cackling roar ripped through his mind like a gong, heralding pain that soared through every cell in the cloaked one's body. Snarling and sneering in rage and agony, he grabbed at his head as he stumbled back.

-You bear my blood, my life. For an eternity, your mind shall be mine....-

The specter chuckled a hellish laugh as he closed in. Golden light sparked amidst the hooded figure's red eyes, their owner whipping around to face the stream as trails of gold followed his movements. Energy built as the agonizing soul screamed and roared into the still air.

"SILENCE YOU FIEND!"

Torrents of light ripped out from the figure's body and repeatedly struck the stream in barrages. Hundreds of gallons of water were blown up into the air with the same force as a depth charge explosion, growing stronger with each blast. The visions ceased and the voice silenced.

-So... nearly... free-

The figure huffed and snorted to catch his breath, the reflection reverting to normal as he got to his feet and turned away. He refused to look at his image any longer. Just as he was about to proceed across the stream, he heard something that made his head perk up and face the forest.

A scream....

-----------------------

Starfall was in an erratic panic. Ripping past shrubs and ferns, he barely had time to steal a backwards glance, regretfully assuring him his pursuers were hot on his trail. The legion soldiers were shredding every scrap of foliage in their way, cleaving through shrubs and shredding through the overhanging branches in their relentless pursuit. Gasping for breath, the black stallion spread his wings and took to the air. It increased his pace, so long as he could move in a straight line. Had it been an open plain he easily could have outsped his pursuers, but the winding, twisting forest kept him at a slowed pace. And whereas the insects were barely slowed down by the dense overgrowth, Starfall couldn't risk even clipping a tree for fear of being knocked to the ground. The dense overgrowth in the canopy and the speed at which the alien insects climbed barred him from merely flying up and away to safety. At best, he was keeping about two meters from the forest floor.

-I have to lose them first! If I head back to the village with them on me I'll just lead these things to the townsfolk. There has to be a clearing somewhere!-

There was a clearing a few dozen yards ahead, but it wasn't the only truth. Unfortunately, the two other truths played out against the pony's favor. For one, not all of the Legion were behind him. Secondly, Legion Soldiers can jump three meters into the air with ease. He found out the first part in a few moments, he found out the second when the hidden Legion Soldier leapt out from the shrubbery and swung out its sword-like arm, slashing the poor pegasus across the side of his back leg. Starfall barely had time to yell out in pain before he was sent tumbling across the ground in a heap, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt for several yards before falling to a stop in a clearing.

His vision was blurred and distorted as he weakly careened between consciousness and unconsciousness. The landing had knocked him senseless and he couldn't muster a muscle beyond his blinking eyelids to move.

The bugs were getting closer, and he couldn't muster the strength to get up.

They stopped, looking up at something Starfall could sense was coming up behind him.

A flash. Light, golden light. Streams of golden light shot over him and impacted the nearest insect, combusting it in a miniature explosion of exoskeleton and hissing gas.

Something leaping over him, a brown cowl or cloak obscuring its form beyond some bits of black and white. It was attacking the monsters.

Some of the insects tried to fight back, but were cut down easily from a mix of physical attacks and golden flares.

The remaining bugs were soon either dead or scattering, running like frightened mice before a hungry cat.

The hooded form turned, walking over and looming over him as the sun set. It stared down at him with glowing, evil, ruby colored eyes that chilled his breath and horrified the mind.

Then Starfall passed out.
..........
.......
....
..
.
------------------------------------------

The creature he was carrying over his arms was surprisingly light weight for something of its size and height. Wading through a familiar patch of tall grass, the cowl wearing rescuer approached a patch of a clear stream. The peacefulness of the waters betrayed the blast marks and patches of sand turned fused glass, let alone the lashes of gravitons and plasma that scorched the waters less than an hour earlier. In spite of all he'd thrown at it, it seems this world was quick to reassert itself. Still, the stream's returning visitor paid it about as much mind as he did his reflection this time around. Needless to say, next to none.

Avoiding the fused glass, charcoal black hands set the wounded stallion down on the shore as their owner crouched down and looked Starfall over. Eyes drifted down to the bloodied leg, it's muscle twitching every now and then in spasms. The cut wasn't very deep, but it was blotted with as much dirt and dust as it was scabbing blood, surely to get infected if undressed. The answer to the last part's outcome was a matter of if the wound's onlooker cared.

-Legion attacking a foe that couldn't hope to stand a chance to fight back....deplorable-

The entity rose back to its feet and paced over to the stream. Minding not to look into its reflection, it grabbed a corner of its cloak with one hand and held the other out over the cloth. A recurved, razor edged claw unsheathed itself on the tip of the index finger in a manner akin to a switchblade. Nodding to itself briefly, the figure slashed at its own clothing, cutting two strips of fabric from the cloak. After kneeling down to soak them in the clean waters, it walked over to the still twitching pony.

-Be glad you are no fighter kid...-

As soon as the first rag touched the wound, the cold waters and smooth cloth wiping away the dirt and grime, the muscle spasms ceased. Tossing aside the dirtied wipe, the black beast retracted his claw and with the same hands that crushed in a Legion Soldier's exoskeleton minutes earlier, picked up Starfall's leg and bandaged the wound, keeping the binding tight to halt the bleeding and let it clot up.

The pony's benefactor rose up to his feet, nodding at his handiwork.

-You will be alright now...-

The squeaking of wagon wheels caused him to whip his head up and glare down the trail that went past the stream. Several dozen yards away a cart, a carpenter's based off the supplies onboard, had just come across the bend and into view, a large earth pony stallion and unicorn mare pulling it. The hooded one knew when to make an exit, and that time had come. Telekinesis boosting his movements, he bolted up hill and into the forest. In his haste however, the bindings to the cloak Marigold had given him came loose and slipped off. For a split second, the carpenters saw the creature running off the path before them completely unobscured. What they saw made their heart stop for a moment in shock.

"What in Faust's name!"

"I don't think Faust has a-anything to do with that thing..."

------------------------------------------

He'd been running full sprint for some time, rushing past patches of woods and fields. He was heading no particular direction, so one could say his actions were akin to high speed wandering. He was only looking for one thing: Familiarity. The flash of red light gave him that, and he skid to a halt. Twin tails and red eyes snapped around to face the dark figure standing before him, leaning against a tree with its arms crossed. Instantly, the runner's arms dropped in a laid back manner and a deep chuckle uttered out while he turned his head to the side.

"Thought you might be around here somewhere."

"Well between you running around every which way and me teleporting about, we were bound to bump into eachother eventually."

"You picking up any others on your sensors?"

"Hm...."

A light flickered on a red visor, options clicking to life on an internal heads up display.

"Well my 'baby brother' was in the blast radius, and if both of us ended up in this loony land so he'll probably here too... He's probably on his way here now that I think about it... Spotted some Gyaos on the way here coming up southward about 200 clicks out. Picking up a large cluster building up about 50 clicks southwest from here, Godzilla and Mothra definitely amongst them. You?"

"Least we now know where that mongrel ended up... I took out some Legion soldiers that were in my way so that queen bug is probably here too."

"So there's about ten or twelve of us all together on a continent full of talking ponies. And either this planet is filled with kaiju sized life forms or we've been shrunk down to about 3 meters high... This is almost as bad as that radio incident with the Kilaaks at the race meeting. What has the world come too?"

The runner staggered out a shrug for a moment in what could almost be taken as a chuckle at memories past.

"We'll find out soon enough. Might as well keep moving though until we do."

He turned and began to walk calmly down the forest path, passing through a moon lit glade. Gigan shrugged, rotating his mechanical, scythe tipped arms as he walked after his wartime comrade.

"You never stop moving do you X? Got nothing better to kill time on."

-------------------------------------------------
Starfall
Monster X
??????????
Gigan (Millennium)

Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Anguirus
Rainbow Dash
Rodan
Princess Luna
Captain Blueberry Frost
Cached Ire
Hammerbolt
Incognito
Blade Dancer
Bold Rush
Godzilla
Shadow of Red
????

--------------------------
Canterlot Castle
--------------------------

The five of the six teleported into the middle of the palace's main hall were beyond bewildered. Rodan leaned between Anguirus and Mothra to try and keep his footing as all three kaiju looked at their new surroundings with a mix of awe and alien fear. Anguirus was a bit in both boats.

-So... this is what it feels like inside a building...-

Anguirus eyed the walls and stained glass with a mix of fascination and uneasiness. Rodan stared up at the ceiling for a few moments with a slightly saddened look.

-A sky without a sun, clouds, or the other celestials.... I don't like it-

Mothra's kindly voice chimed into the pterosaurs mind, reassurance strong on her tone.

-"You'll get used to it. If the monarch of this land summoned us here it must be something important..."-

A powerful voice instantly drew everyone's attention to its source, the head of the staircase leading up to the royal chambers.

"Welcome, Elements of Magic and Loyalty."

Princess Luna stood at their peak, tall and proud despite the bandages coating half her body. One of her flanks was completely covered in magic-charged wrappings, a cast was formed over her lower right hoof, portions of her waving mane bore remnants of burn marks; and bruising encircled half of her right eye. She was clearly healed from her ordeal, but the idea such a powerful being could appear even in a worse shape than she was now was a frightening prospect for the ponies in attendance. The lunar princess strode down slowly, limping slightly due to her wrapped hoof. Her voice was strong and dignified, though her occasional wincing did fumble it slightly enough to not bother with royal formalities.

"We-.. I apologize my letter was on such short notice. With Celestia tending to Cadence, you were the only one I could request assistance from."

Twilight stopped being slack jawed from the sight before her and scrambled to respond. If Luna was deciding to drop her voice it had to be serious. Rainbow Dash managed to hide her fear at seeing one of her rulers so bandaged up a bit more. It wasn't normal seeing someone so regal and powerful in a state like this.

"Y-yes of course Princess! You said there was an attack on the castle! What happened?! Are you alright?!"

"Looks like something did the number on you, are you going to be ok?!"

Luna closed her eyes and held up an assuring hoof.

"I am fine now my little ponies, just wounds from a previous duel with the castle's attacker. The mages and doctors did their work and we alicorns heal rapidly, I'll be fine in a few hours... As for the attack, I fear a most dangerous individual had assaulted the castle....."

The dark alicorn narrowed her eyes and cast her gaze over towards the odd trio standing to the side of the two elements. Luna's face remained unmoved as her horn began to glimmer casting an archaic spell, making the aura, the life-force or spirit of a being; visible to her. To the outside eye, they were an odd looking Earth Pony, Gryphon, and Changeling standing close to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. One their aura was in view, Luna only saw a trio of alien creatures being idle next to her ponies. A spiny quadruped, a broad winged bird-like dragon; and a curiously shaped butterfly exposed themselves next to the auras of the elements.

"...I see he was not alone in his number."

Rodan was a bit wide eyed, glancing back and forth between Mothra and Luna with a cocktail of confusion and fear. He tried his best to whisper despite trying to reach out to his ally via her telepathy.

-"Mothra I don't like the way that pony is looking at me..."-

-"She's been through much Rodan. She knows what we are and it's made her tense. I'll handle this."-

Mothra strode up to the alicorn. Noting she was apparently about half a head taller, the changeling quickly bent her forelimbs and craned her neck down, bowing respectfully to the diarch of the night.

After shooting a brief, hard telepathic shout to her cohorts, Anguirus and Rodan also bowed down... Or at least Rodan tried too before slipping off his balance and face planting into the floor.

"........ow."

Anguirus broke his bow and quickly shifted to help his friend up.

"You really need to get the hang of this. You're flopping around like a fish out of water."

"Shut it before I peck you..."

Mothra held in a shrug, rolling her eyes with a chuckle as she raised her head back up, looking into the eyes of the night princess.

"If the race you speak of is 'kaiju', yes we are of their numbers. My allies and myself mean you no harm."

Princess Luna remained unmoved for a moment, her mane flowing forward in magical radiance. Slowly, she nodded.

"A better greeting than your predecessor to say the least, still... a threat could be posed..."

Luna's horn glimmered as he eyes narrowed slightly, not liking one bit how close these 'kaiju' were to her subjects. Rainbow Dash cut in instinctively, wincing a bit from her injuries as she spread her unbroken wing in the direction of Anguirus.

"They're no threat! The changeling is just as big an egghead as Twilight and the Spiky one's a good guy. I was in an campground that came under attack from a gang of dragons. He somehow turned into this giant alligator thing and beat the snot outta the drakes!"

A flash of green shifted and popped out from Anguirus' mane, rolling down his back. Falling onto her rump, Gentle Leaf shook her head to clear it before looking around. Upon seeing one of the rulers of her land, the wide eyed filly could only wave her hoof as she smiled. Anguirus was quick to shift his focus, shrugging as he patted the happy filly's head as he shook his slowly. Mothra glanced back at the pair.

"It's true. Had Anguirus not been there to fend off the dragons, many more lives would have been lost."

Princess Luna raised an eyebrow at the tale being pitched to her. The spiny earth pony before her looked well built, easily a match for many of the guards, but fending off a whole group of dragons singlehoofedly? A lovely dream, but one that was all but impossible... unless the Element of Loyalty's words about some giant crocodilian was true.

"If you traveled here amongst the elements and have their trust, I trust in their decision. As for the methods behind the feats they claim, that will need to come later."

Rodan stood up to a more natural stance, slowly gaining a better sense of balance. Amidst the hall and permeating from Princess Luna herself, he smelled something. Something familiar. Someone familiar.

"Your Majesty,-"

Rodan said with a calm voice as he took a shaky step, flapping his broad wings to both help propel and steady him. Princess Luna looked over to the odd looking gryphon.

"-where is Godzilla?"

The lunar princess blankly responded.

"I've sent for him to be escorted here."

=============

Heavy hoofsteps, surrounded by a barrage of lighter hoofsteps creaked down the hall leading up from the dungeon. Heavy chains rattled against the floor as deep breathing echoed out from a thick muzzle. The rattle of armor and weapons creaked as off glances looked over recurved fangs, a frizzled mane; and bent horn. The entourage of guards was as silent as they were varied. Due to an...incident... earlier, half the guard staff that had been on shift was on medical leave for at least a week. The remaining guards on hand had been away at the time and had suddenly found themselves escorting one of the most powerful prisoners in recent memory.

Needless to say, between that knowledge and the fact that said prisoner easily was a full head taller than the largest of them, yet had been next to passive throughout the ordeal, was putting them at enough unease it could be cut with a knife. Still, Captain Blueberry Frost stayed firm as she took up point, her lance standing tall into the air. To her right was Major Cached Ire, a subordinate who was not afraid to give an unending glare at the unresponsive prisoner. Major Hammerbolt was the largest in their party, giving some relief to Private Incognito. Had the massive crimson stallion not been at the new recruit's side, being the only one on the prisoner's left flank might have been hair raising for anyone. Bringing up the rear and keeping watch on all in front of her was Lieutenant Blade Dancer, who's long mane did not obscure her constantly keeping a wing on the handle to her cutlery. Blueberry Frost glanced back in annoyance at the last member of their posse, who was walking up beside Blade Dancer. The scowling face of Private Bold Rush was one of the last things she wanted to see. The unicorn was tall, lean but powerfully built behind his dark coat and mane; and bristling with rage as his spider cutie mark gleamed.

-Blade Dancer is on a hair trigger and Ire's still torn up about this guy putting half her squad in the infirmary. Please don't be stupid again, Rush.-

"Keep it moving everypony, glancing at him is not going to make us move any faster."

Blueberry Frost tried to keep looking forward as they marched on, but couldn't help but shoot back off glances to make sure her platoon was keeping to the escort.

-This guy took down over twenty guards in one burst. Still, he's been keeping very calm so far and if he's strong enough to smash through a wall it's a miracle he didn't put anypony in critical... I wonder if?... No, just focus on the mission for now, you got appearances to keep. Just hope the others keep calm. Last thing we need is an incident to flare on in transit... Come on keep your lids on guys.-

Bold Rush didn't follow expectations, and killed the calm.

"Should have just executed him on the spot. Striking the Princess like that." he spat, as if there prisoners couldn't hear him.

"Quiet Private."

"What? It be quick, just a slice through the neck. We could even mount the beast's skull on the guard chambers.... Besides, doesn't need to even be an execution."

Cached Ire rolled her eyes, glaring back at what had to be her least favorite guard in the world. Her voice was barely any more polite than a grumbling growl.

She grumbled lowly, "And what are you on about now? Another scheme to try and get yourself in Luna's chambers?"

Bold Rush growled. He was a stallion known for three things. The strive for legendary heroism, adoration for beauty and wish to surround himself with the latter. Captain Frost was half convinced he only joined to ogle the female guards or get closer to the princesses. The captain could already feel her fur standing up on end in prayer what she was expecting to build would stop. But she knew such hope was pointless. Godzilla had disrupted Rush's peace and harmed someone Bold had made no secret he saw as an apex for his desires. This wasn't going to end well, and Captain Frost picked up her pace to try and hurry the group along as the guards muttered among themselves.

".... As I was saying... we cooould have a 'prisoner escape' in transit and had to use lethal force. Already a plausible scenario and would remove a threat..." Bold Rush said with a sly tone.

Hammerbolt bluntly retorted, trying his hardest not to back kick the snob behind him, "You know damn well we don't do that to other ponies, or anything for that matter. Princess Luna ordered him over alive and I will not abuse my code to harm another of Equestria out of some jealousy spat."

"And have you even looked to your left?! This thing is no more an Equestrian than a nightmare monster. Wouldn't even be execution, just pest control....Hey, you even listening?"

Bold Rush lifted a hoof and smacked it against the midsection of the prisoner. Heavy muscle and unnaturally dense tissue stopped the blow in the same effect to as if the unicorn had tried to punch solid rock. The target was unmoved, not even apparently noticing. Bold Rush, not one of great mind, sneered, grabbing the end of his baton and smacked it against a ribcage that had previously shrugged off magic blasts from an alicorn. Needless to say, no matter how hard he hit, it was a no sell. He might as well have been trying to chisel away a granite bolder with a rubber duck. Blueberry Frost ignored the first few blows, but finally she had her duty to perform, personal views or suspicions regardless. Duty needed enforcement. Without even looking back, she barked her orders in her thick country accent.

"GIT' back in file Private, now!"

Bold Rush gave one last strike, one about as harmful as a fly landing on a airship; before he begrudging got back in file. That is, while his body got back in place, his mouth didn't. His mumbles were audible to his entire platoon, as was the quiet skid of his sword being drawn.

"Have a good look at the walls demon, Princess Luna will like a good spot to mount your head as an ash tray when I hoof it over... For attempting to murder her guards of course..."

The insult was just as audible to the prisoner. Halting in place, the massive stallion raised his horned head, red and yellow eyes flickering. The entire group of guards halted, even their movements to tug on his chains not budging the behemoth of a unicorn. Burning red and gold eyes glared through the transgressor. Bold Rush reacted on impulse, trying to bring up his sword and swing at the prisoner's neck. Just before impact, Godzilla released retaliated full force.

Effortlessly snapping the chains around his forehooves as if they were made of plastic, the king of the kaiju pushed aside Incognito and Ire to get them out of the way. Eyes flashed and a spiky mane glowed with neon light as he swung out a forehoof and smashed it into the unruly guard's chest. Armor dented in as he was hurled back four feet and straight into a wall. Bold Rush's sword skittered across the ground, Godzilla stepping on it and bending the steel underhoof. A low voice growled with a deep rumble in the back of their throat.

"I don't kill who's not a threat..."

The unicorn groaned as he slumped against the floor, looking up in shaky breath as Godzilla towered over him. Blue and white flames tore free from his maw, melting and burning the muzzle away until nothing but cinders fell to the floor. The kaiju convert planted a hoof on Bold Rush's stomach, pinning him down. A hardened, enraged voice spoke out through the embers.

"Don't....push me..."

Godzilla felt the chill of cold metal on his neck, glancing to his side.

"Step. Away... from him..."

The former kaiju cast a glance down at the recurved steel put to his throat, trailing up to the determined face of Blade Dancer. The pegasus mare that hovered before him was not alone, the gleaming tip of Blueberry Frost's lance being all too visible as it pointed at his chest. The remaining three were forming a line around the former kaiju, making themselves ready and armed as well. Godzilla only eyed the group before giving a bemused, approving nod, taking his hoof off of his would be abuser.

"You ponies are impeccable in your resolve. Admirable... Now that the issue is settled."

The stallion held up his hooves before nodding at the spare hoofcuffs Incognito had on his armor.

"I think you lot were escorting me somewhere?"

The silence was enough one could hear a pin drop, everypony who wasn't actually a kaiju was half dumbstruck. After a few moments Blueberry Frost shifted her lance back to a neutral pose.

"Private, 'cuff the prisoner. Majors Hammerbolt and Ire w'll take Bold Rush to the Docs'. After your done Incognito, you go help them with that klutz and check on the other guards."

"Yes ma'am!...."

Incognito cautiously approached Godzilla with slow steps. He got a few shakes coursing through his body as he approached the same hooves he saw bend steel. Swallowing his fear, he spoke out in a whisper.

"These might be uncomfortable but I mean you no harm. Please don't attack me, it's just my first day..."

A voice Incognito recognized in pitch but foreign in tone uttered out calmly. Godzilla nodded slowly.

"You've done nothing to give me a reason to attack, I will not harm you unless you change that."

Blade Dancer overheard the exchange, raising an eyebrow but keeping quiet as she held her position.

The two stallions gave slow glances to the stern face of their captain, before slowly nodding and going at their work. Incognito set the hoof cuffs to their largest diameter before putting them on Godzilla. Blade Dancer keeping her weapons to the prisoner's throat gave the now confused private some assurance, keeping calm despite seeing the unicorn smash his way through chains twice as thick just moments earlier. Hammerbolt and Ire passed by the trio as they picked up and carried off the beaten down private, slinging him over Hammerbolt's shoulders as Ire steadied them from above. Hammerbolt and Ire both gave near identical thoughts.

-Brave, bold idiot...-
-Dumb*** had it coming...-

Incognito looked back to his captain, the new recruit giving a honorable salute before running after the Majors to clear their way. The captain gave an approving nod.

-Good kid that Incog'... Now..-

"Lieutenant Blade Dancer, at'ease. We'll escort the prisoner from here."

Blade Dancer narrowed her eyes before slowly lifting her namesakes away from Godzilla's unmoved neck. The tall pegasus mare sheathed her blades and folded her wings, taking up formation on Godzilla's flank, the captain on the other side.

"Right, now let's get moving."

"At your will captain."

They had walked silently down several corridors and headed down a long hallway, Blade Dancer leaning over to whisper something the kaiju couldn't hear to her captain before Godzilla broke the silence.

"I probably just bruised half your underling's ribs right in front of you. Thought you'd be more angered than this."

Blueberry Frost dropped the stoic face she'd been holding for some time, rolling her eyes in an amused manner before chuckling lightly.

"Had it happened to anypony else I would have probably run you through. Private Bold Rush however had more strikes on his sorry flank than any in my platoon eva' did. He'd be more inclined to run off to the girl's club than file in his rank. Would'a demoted or discharged him long ago if his family wasn't them fancy snobs they are. 'Sides, I could tell you just roughed him up; he'll be fine once the medics get to em. Heck, Blade Dancer here probably would have done worse to him in the past if I hadn't held her back."

Blade Dancer cracked a smirk as she giggled, nodding.

"With amount of times I had to throw his rear out of the mare barracks' showers, he had it coming. Someone was going to break a few of his sorry bones eventually, I'm just bummed you probably just bruised that thick skull of his."

Blueberry Frost laughed a bit under her breath, lifting a hoof and lightly punching the enormous unicorn on the shoulder.

"Maybe he'll get so scared silly he'll resign. And dun get torn up about what he said about your head on a wall, he's just been eyeing Princess Luna like a love drunk colt. Half the reason I think he signed up."

Godzilla could only lift an eyebrow at the oddly friendly behavior.

"You two seem... oddly amicable for someone who sent half the guards to the infirmary and struck your monarch."

Blueberry Frost looked ahead, guiding the trio around a turn and down the stairs; her country accent ripping through as she spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Diarch actually, her big sisters outta' town at the moment. Listen I'm ah' good judge of character, and Blade Dancer told me a few words she overheard. I've seen and heard the things you can do, and if you meant us harm you'da done a lot worse. I saw how easily you broke out, so if you did want to lash out, you'd have done it earlier. If you meant to kill anypony, you'd have done so earlier too. I'm no oblivious hopeful, but I know a vile soul when I see one; and vile you ain't. Call me hopeful, but I reckon' there's been some heapin' of misundertstanding about. Y'er definitely not soft, but not some crazed sociopathy' headcase. I had an incline on what was going on so I was bit more lax than I normally am, despite the amount of wallop you can pack. Why else did you think I was fine escorting you with just a few other guards and not the whole squad in the first place?"

Godzilla Junior glanced over at the Captain as she turned her head, sharing a look before both looked forward to see where they were going.

"Then why the sudden call to arms when I broke out? I distinctly recall the feeling of cutlery on my neck."

Blade Dancer smirked at the last remark as Blueberry Frost shrugged.

"Eh, knee jerk reaction. You get it after a few years. More or less wasn't a conscious thought."

"Nothing personal big guy."

Godzilla glanced at their weapons briefly before continuing on, the captain's more than friendly tone of voice beginning to get to him.

"If you're all so benign, I am sorry for harming your kind. I just remember waking up in the ...throne room did you call it?- And being surrounded by guards. One of them grabbed my hoof and I thought I was being attacked, so I fought back. One thing led to another I guess... I just hope this 'Princess Luna' understands that."

"Eh, don't get ye' worries in a bundle. Medics fixed her and the others up nicely and alicorns heal quick. Luna and the afternoon shift always were a bit quick to the lance, so I can vouch that what your spinning is possible. Just tell the truth and she'll know."

After a time, Blade Dancer glanced over at the stallion that was a full head and a half taller than her high form.

"If you're not the villain type, why not break out if you felt wrongly imprisoned?"

Godzilla looked back at her, not knowing what in the realms of Tanaka of what to make of her changing face as he felt her looking him over.

"Because I didn't know what was going on. Besides I didn't want to risk harming any innocents if it did turn out to be one big misunderstanding with you ponies. I felt I could still break free if I felt I was in danger, but thought staying nearby was the best way to find out what was what."

A smirk became visible on Blade Dancer's face, one Godzilla could tell was part confidence and another part something he couldn't trace. He knew one thing. Her looking him over was unnerving. She however was looking over his dark color, tall, draught horse-like build with an agreeing eye.

-Let's hope your telling the truth about the being good part, I'm liking what I'm seeing~ -

-Good Tanaka lady, stop looking at me like that. I don't know what you're doing but it's weird.-

The trio neared the entrance to a familiar hallway.

"And if Princess trusts yah and you end up stayin', don't be afraid to talk to a recruiter."

Captain Frost quipped, shrugging her shoulders and letting herself hope for best case scenario after all. Meanwhile Blade Dancer smirked, winking at oblivious stallion as she got a last word in before straightening up for royalty. Godzilla felt a wing gently smack his back as she passed, Blade Dancer smirking contently with a minor blush.

"Don't be shy, I'd like to see more of your cut in the training hall."

Godzilla only had one thought as he walked into the chamber.

-First I get kicked in the face by an equine princess, then being offered a role by the Captain... and now I think that blade happy mare is trying to signal me for Tanaka knows what... By my father's spines, this race's females are strange..-

-----------------------

As the two guards and their prisoner entered the room, a barrage of words were all yelled out almost in unison due to Luna recognizing the guard staff and the kaiju present recognizing Godzilla Junior.

"Greetings guards."

"GOJI!"

"Chief!"

"Hello Junior."

"Junior?"

"Another one! And he's a unicorn!"

"Geez calm down Twilight."

Blueberry Frost and Blade Dancer couldn't help by share a small laugh at the banter they heard. They bowed to their ruler.

"As you requested Y'er majesty."

"Thank you, you may leave us now."

"As you wish Princess Luna."

The duo rose back up to their full height and departed, but not before Godzilla caught a wink from Blade Dancer out of the corner of his eye. The former kaiju didn't know whether to shrug in annoyance or embarrassment as the chuckling of the large stallion in the hall below told him he'd seen the mare's signal. Godzilla felt a bead of sweat run down his face. Then something occurred to him...

-Wait a minute.... three of that group called me by name-

Godzilla's eyes trailed over red horns, brown spines, and rainbow wings before his face slowly shifted to a large smile. The massive stallion's entire mood shifted to joy as he rushed right past several of the native Equestrians before anyone could stop him, and ran up to his old comrades. Twilight and Rainbow didn't know what to make of the sight, but couldn't help but giggle. They had expected a hardened, sociopathic assailant to be escorted in; not some giddy soul who was embracing his friend's like a colt meeting his classmates at school. Princess Luna, despite being puzzled by the spectacle, was more worried with the reinforced hoofcuffs Godzilla had snapped midstride without even noticing. She also noticed the wounded state she'd thought he'd be in, or lack there of.

-He was riddled with wounds and received minimal medical attention in the dungeon, but his strength seems to have returned full force. The one called Mothra seems to be the most placid of their group, let's hope she can reign in that monstrosity...-

Godzilla and his group however couldn't have been happier. Much had happened, but numerous conflicts and war had reforged each of them into steadfast allies. For as puzzling the thought might be to some, the four kaiju were to each other exactly what the analogy Twilight and Rainbow Dash had thought of. For them, they were each surrounded by three of their closest friends.

"How did you all get here?"

"Magical ponies."

"Tell me what's new..."

"Why were you in chains?"

"Misunderstanding with the guards, got into fight with that diarch."

"Dammit Goji what have I told you about getting into fights with unknowns?"

"Hey they attacked first!"

"Godzilla... crowned king of the kaiju, attacked by magical technicolored ponies and forced to fight back..."

"...Nooot the most awe inspiring of your duels Chief."

"Compared to the random alien, dragon, and alien dragon invasions have fought weirder before..."

Mothra smacked her hole filled hoof into her face as a flurry of green bounced up to the group. Gentle leaf popped up from among them, perching on Anguirus's head, waving at Godzilla with a perky smile on her face. The King of the Monsters gave the other Terran Defenders a half confused, deadpan glance.

"...Who's child is that?"

Their greetings and banter however were cut short by a booming voice above them. Princess Luna held a stern face as she looked down at the stallion who'd been her foe just a few hours ago. Godzilla returned the look.

"What's this I hear about a 'misunderstanding' sending half my guards to the infirmary?"

Luna's look was very unamused, but before Godzilla could reply a gentle but firm voice chimed into his head. Mothra Lea was sweating bullets and anxiously whispering to her ally via telepathy.

-"Bow to her, NOW. She's on edge both for herself and for the ponies around you. There now being four of us isn't making it any better. Bow and show you respect her and mean no threat, or we might get Cross Dimensional Royal Rumble Round 2."-

Godzilla shrugged as he swallowed his pride as he looked back at the nightly princess, bowing his forelimbs as he lowered his head close to the floor, looking down. Princess Luna needless to say was not expecting this, but reigned in her surprise as she waited for her answer. Godzilla rose back to his feet and all noise in the room ceased.

"It is true... I crash landed in your palace on accident. I do not know how I got here. When your guards approached, I was in a daze. When one grabbed my arm, I thought I was being attacked and shoved them back, causing the fight to break out. More and more came in and one thing lead to another. I am sorry for the harm I've caused, but in my eyes I was only defending myself."

Princess Luna held her head high and looked down upon the kaiju, weighing her mind if the apology was genuine or not. Twilight nervously bit her forehoof, hoping the idle stare the alicorn and unicorn were giving each other truly was contemplating thought and not them sizing each other up for another fight. Luna's decision was ambiguous.

"Your damages can be repaired, and the captain seemed amicable enough around you... I'll find out the full truth later and measure if your word holds up, but for now, I believe a more pressing matter is at hoof."

Luna let her voice echo through the large hall as she looked towards the balcony and window.

"Before I ask where you all came from, how many of you are there?"

Twilight and Mothra shot each other a nervous glance as the alicorn's gaze came upon them. Mothra nodded to the purple alicorn before speaking up.

"We aren't sure how many of us might have ended up here your majesty, but we believe we have a spell that can answer that... abet... you may get some house guests if we're right."

============

Red was beyond enraged and not having an enjoyable day. His domain was invaded, some of his minions and lieutenants lay dead on the ground; and his hellish realm was slowly but steadily being overtaken by sheets of cold blackness. The entirety of Zenith was being changed before his dark eyes. Where there was once bloody, craggy spires of rock was now clean, smooth, pillars of black glass. The burning rivers of blood and torrents of lava were shifting to black seas that chilled the air. Even the air, once a blazing, sweating heat; was becoming a cold, lonely, biting shadow. Zenith was becoming a hell of a totally new category. It was once brimmed with torture, legions of hell beasts; and disgusting chaos that fueled one with agony and fear. Now it was becoming a lair of isolation, darkness, uniformity, and cold. What was once a domain where the greatest fear was everlasting pain, was becoming the nesting place of possibly the most hellish fear of all. Being frozen. Being lost. Being helpless. Being all alone...

True, Red was no weakling. The latter part wouldn't be as much of a concern of his if he didn't feel his strength being sapped every time he stepped on that gleaming obsidian realm. When he kept to his remaining domain, he was holding his own just well in the fight itself, the oncoming energy barrages inflicting relatively light wounds that pushed his insectoid body around more than it did harm him. There was only three problems that kept the hellish lord from finishing what could have been an easy fight quickly. For one, the obsidian was surrounding him and growing, giving him less room to dodge or fight without feeling drained by the very ground or air he trod upon. Secondly, the black pestilence kept growing back quicker than he could destroy it, and his enemies kept diverting his attention; so he couldn't halt the spread. Thirdly, enemies was a plural word.

Opening his gaping maw to hose down the foe before him with hellfire, The Shadow of Red didn't have time to divert his flames to his flank as a massive form burst from the rivers of blood turned dark water. The glimmer of crimson burst out and a beam of plasma smashed into the side of Red's carapace and knocked him back. Blasted back into the icy blackness, Red groaned. More of his energy was sapped every passing second, and he barely had enough time to smack back one oncoming attacker with his tail before he managed to leap out of the zone of influence. Had he enough time to fight his foes individually he could easily overpower them. But time was against him. The black pestilence spread quicker and quicker and he kept getting attacked from every angle. He needed to reduce his attacker's numbers quickly, and he thought he knew how to pull it off.

Leaping over an onslaught of plasma, Red reached the still intact steps of his temple. Energy trickled out from the bloodied ground, emanating from the remaining corpses of his fallen forces; as it flowed up his spike-like legs. The glow drew itself into Red's arm, shimmering amidst his claws. Red glared back into the red eyes of his main enemy, as it slowly walked down from the temple. Red's gaping maw drew a smirk before he threw his limbs out. There was silence for a moment, and then there was a vacuum.

About 200 meters out in the direction Red had thrust his arm, a black oval opened up like a curtain behind his foe. Inside it's tapestry was a myriad of sights. Hundreds of worlds, hundreds of stars, thousands of dimensions. A portal to an entirely new realm. Air, both blistering hot and biting cold rushed past Red as his foe began to slide backwards towards the portal behind him; the rip between realms was a greedy maw as it sucked everything it could reach back. Red smirked, assured his plan had worked.

-It is the leader, cut the head off the snake, and the body stops moving...-

However, the beast cackled in rage, slamming its arm down into the obsidian below it, stabbing the rest of its claws downward to anchor itself. It's backwards descent slowed in spite of the portal's pressure. Fortunately, Red was not one to wait for the portal alone to whisk his foe away. Flames licked out from his massive, bloodied lips and ignited hollow cavities where eyes should have been.

"Beeeee gooooone..."

Just as Red was about to send his foe away, a slow, mocking, dark chuckle called forth from his would-be victim's breath, echoing across the cavernous walls of Zenith as it if it was being spoke by a thousand voices. The intruder opened his eyes, the orbs glowing in the darkness.

"....yooou first..."

Before Red could unleash his attack, a piecing shriek split the air behind him. A winged, serpentine body, glowing from tip to tail in crimson energy slammed into Red from behind. Scorpion-like legs lost their grip and the hellbeast was hurled forward, flying past the still form of his dragonetic foe as it outstretched a hand and caught the serpent to keep it from being sucked in too. Red didn't have time to slash at his surroundings to try and gain a hand hold, before he was sucked through the portal. Banished from his own homeland, the scowling, enraged face of Red screamed out as he landed in a storming sea of an unknown realm, not of Equestrian and likely not of man. A mocking, fang filled grin closed the portal behind him, and the intruder of Zenith became its new master.

Anguirus
Rarity
Destroyah
Pinkie Pie
Apple Jack
Rainbow Dash
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Scootaloo
Apple Bloom
Sweetie Belle
Rodan
Godzilla
Xenilla
Princess Luna
Princess Celestia
????

--------------------

Twilight, Mothra, and Luna's horns all glowed in unison amidst a barrage of different colored aura's. The light in the hall cast a rainbow sheen across all in attendance as Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, Rainbow Dash, and Gentle Leaf looked on. It was a mass scrying and teleportation spell, meant to find and transport specific targets. In this case, both the remaining elements and any... 'abnormal' ponies. As he felt the forces radiating off the mares reach its zenith, Godzilla braced himself, trying to make ready in case of his most distant fears coming true. When the clustered group of ponies dropped onto the hall before them, he should have prepared more.

Everyone nearly jumped up as a full size bath and shower crashed into the hall floor, sending tile shards everywhere. The white mare inside it couldn't possibly have widened her eyes more, instantly freezing in place and letting the faucet drip on her purple mane. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but let loose a burst of laughter as Rarity quickly covered herself with her shower curtain. Anguirus and Rodan looked at each other, and then back at what was before them with only a eyebrow raise.

"Oh look a white one.", Rodan said with a tilt of his head; still intrigued at how colorful the locals could be. Rarity's flabbergasted response was less coy.

"WH-WH-WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA!?!"

Eyes guided up and past the reddening Rarity and more forms becoming visible. A dizzy Applejack slumped against the wall as a confused Fluttershy quickly looked around her new surroundings. For the kaiju-turned equines though, all eyes locked on two large forms amongst the ponies. Halfway between laying down and getting back up onto his hooves was, outside of coloration and an even more headscratchingly odd horn, a mirror image of Godzilla. A few feet away from him was an absolutely enormous pony, the CMC visible amongst bat-like wings and a fiery orange horn.

Godzilla began to shake as rage built, those around him moving away a bit as they felt the temperature in the air around the stallion rise. His voice was as much of a growl as it was comprehensible speech.

"You..."

Xenilla shook his head to completely clear it, his eyes widening at the stallion glaring at him. His expression shown surprise, but only for a moment before it melted into confident bemusement. He recognized that voice and those eyes anywhere. He responded to the monster king with a callous, sly tone.

"Hello Icka'brod."

Godzilla's mane began to flicker on and off with a light that was all too familiar to Princess Luna. His temperature and temper were both spiking at being called that word.

"Don't....call me... that!"

Mothra's eyes widened both in anger and shock. She called out as she stood beside Godzilla, ignoring the heat he was radiating.

"Xenilla!"

The crystalline kaiju briefly cast the guardian of mortals a fleeting glance, not raising his tone in the slightest.

"Oh hello Mothra, didn't see you there."

Xenilla kept his central vision on his doppelganger as his mane flickered with a red gleam. He saw whom was before him, and what was coming. Fortunately, judging by the groans he heard behind him, his back-up had just woken. A still groggy Scootaloo was gripped by her shoulders by a large, fanged maw. Picking her up gently and carrying her off a crimson stomach before being set down next to the slowly waking forms of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Massive limbs stepped down, crushing shards of tile under hoof as Destroyah hissed back into consciousness, walking up beside Xenilla and towering over him. Bandages fell to the ground as gargantuan bat wings spread themselves. Gentle Leaf hid behind Rainbow Dash's leg as the mare larger than Celestia herself snarled.

"Seems this world just keeps wanting to hand me more and more 'play time'..."

One couldn't have counted a second before Anguirus and Mothra took up full battle position to either side of Godzilla, Rodan hovering overhead as they all formed up to what surely seemed to be an oncoming threat. Glares cast between could have cut glass. Then it all happened.

Luna’s eyes became wide as dinner plates before she yanked Twilight into her hooves, teleporting them and the other ponies into the back of the hall. Without speaking a word she, Twilight, and a still shell-shocked Rarity poured their energy into a bubble of shield magic.

Rodan shot up and then dive-bombed forward as Anguirus charged. The saurian duo barreled at Destroyah amongst a short barrage of magic blasts from Mothra flying past them. The mass scaled pegasus mare reared up briefly, shrugging off blast after blast as she bulldozed forward. Xenilla and Godzilla's manes flashed with opposing light as they slowly walked towards each other.

Trembling the floor with each step, Destroyah grabbed the incoming earth pony and gryphon by their collars and kept moving forward. Mothra's eyes widened, diving out of the way as three former kaiju slammed into and rammed through the wall behind her. Mothra rolled across the floor, shaking herself free of some rubble. A second rumble shook the grounds behind her, the changeling getting back to her hooves and rushing through the now gaping hole in the wall.

"Handle Xen! I'm going to help them!"

Godzilla didn't verbally respond as he and Xenilla closed in on each other. As the energy built, small crystals began to push through the floor tiles as other tiles began to melt underhoof. Red and blue sparks crackled when four meters became three meters...two meters... one meter. Mirror images reared up and kicked forward, a shockwave ripping out that split the air. Energy pinged off of the pony's shield despite the distance, as two mass scaled unicorns began slugging it out.

------------------------------
Canterlot Back Garden
------------------------------

Anguirus was hurled backwards, crashing through several rows of potted plants. Destroyah snarled as she marched forward, her horn flaring to life. Before she got in range however, a burning purple ray slashed across her back, staggering the pegasus. Rodan flew over head, violet flames still flickering out of his beak as he taunted.

"Over here yah plus sized palooka!"

Destroyah obliged, spreading her wings and kicking off the ground. She shot up with surprising speed, catching Rodan by surprise and knocking the gryphon out of the air with an aerial tackle. Spiraling out of control, Rodan soon found himself reacquainted with the ground with Destroyah pinning him down. Purple energy gathered into Destroyah's mane as she leaned down, Rodan barely having time to grab and shove her head to the side to dodge a ray of Micro-oxygen cutting through the cobblestones beside him. Destroyah smacked Rodan's arms aside and was about to test if second time was the charm when the high speed, energized body of Mothra slammed into her and tackled her into the pond.

Anguirus shook himself back to his senses, rushing over to help up Rodan.

"Where's Mothra?!"

Both quickly shifted their view to the pond as Destroyah erupted out of it like a volcano. She was bruised up on her side but her strength had not yielded. Mothra's tail clenched in her jaws, Destroyah twirled the royal changeling around overhead.

"GUUUUYS!? LITTLE HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!"

Rodan and Anguirus were quick to respond, sprinting forward and moments away from dog piling the offending mare.

"HANDS OFF THE BUG!"

"Okay~"

Destroyah hurled Mothra into the pony and gryphon before rushing them herself.

====================
Canterlot Main Hall
====================

Godzilla and Xenilla were rolling around in a heap of kicks, bites, nuclear pulses; and often misfired sparks of breath weapons. Xenilla broke out of a pin, biting down on Godzilla's leg and hurling the equal sized unicorn away. The glows on both manes reached their zenith as Jr oriented himself midair and fired. A flash of light ripped through the hall as nuclear and coronal wrath slammed into each other. The force of energy was too much for such a short distance however, an orb of white energy swallowed rays of red and blue, growing in size. However, all bubbles pop. And pop it did. A few thousand more bits were added to the castle repair bills, the shield spell put up by two alicorns and a unicorn began to crack; and both Godzilla and Xenilla were hurled across the room and left imprints in the walls. Both fell down to their shaking hooves, fur singed and skin bitten and burned.

Mutual growls reached across the room as they rose. Xenilla smirked as his throat stopped bleeding and fresh skin overtook the bite wound.

"I see you're always eager for round 2 Icka'brod..."

Godzilla's face couldn't have possibly looked more enraged at that word. He snarled as he regrew a missing tooth.

"Stop...calling... me that!"

"Why, tis an accurate description, little brother..."

"You know damn well we're not family..."

"Father wasn't your parent by blood, you are adopted. Didn't stop you from calling him such."

"And you tried to kill him!"

Xenilla's calm demeanor snapped, more tiny crystals emerging from the floor around him.

"I tried to make due what was right!"

Before Godzilla could attack or retort, four familiar kaiju converts found themselves rolling back into the room from the self made exit they'd left from. Anguirus was wrestling with Destroyah, having sunk his teeth into her forehoof as Rodan and Mothra smashed and pecked at the demon's back. Destroyah spread her wings, throwing the two flighted kaiju off before wrenching the earth pony off her leg. With strength that far exceeded any pegasus should have, she hurled the brown stallion away and across the room. Anguirus slid across the floor, halting next to Godzilla. He slowly rose as Mothra landed alongside and Rodan hovered overhead. Destroyah walked up beside Xenilla as the two lines reformed on opposite sides of the central carpet.

Inside the energy shield, Twilight bit her lip, hoping they could hold the barrier up after what she predicted was coming. Behind her however, three pairs of eyes slowly opened as a trio of little forms came too. All attention, however was made unto the kaiju.

The six didn't budge, only made ready.

Destroyah's central horn became alight with flames
Godzilla's mane became a fiery broth of plasmatic blue
Xenilla's hairs shimmered and flashed with waves of neon red
Rodan held his beak open as purple and pink energy collected in his throat
Anguirus dug his hooves into the floor, bracing like a sprinter to launch forward in a thunderball.
Mothra's eyes and wings became a flurry of glowing lights as the patterns on her wings shown with a rainbow.

And the split second before rays of micro-oxygen, uranium ions, plasma, and mystical energy could be launched, a voice loud enough to shatter half the glass in the palace rang out and plates of golden energy cut between the two sides before spreading out and slamming them into the walls.

"ENOUGH!"

A warm glow akin to the sun shone brightly in the airspace above the base of the stair well, slowly lowering down. Golden horseshoes silently touched down as white wings remained flared. A waving, rainbow mane became visible as the miniature star shrunk down and revealed the equine inside it. The voice, a royal Canterlot voice at least twice as loud as one uttered at a certain Nightmare Night incident, was as unyielding as it was commanding, even as it's volume winded down.

"This hall has seen enough conflict for today."

"S-Sister!"

Celestia glanced back at Luna and her little ponies, making sure they were safe before nodding to them. Slowly, the monarch walked towards the hall as she kept the kaiju converts pinned against the walls. The radiating magic was many times stronger than Twilight had ever felt outside of the combine elements, making the beams the solar royal had used at her brother's wedding seem like a fire cracker in comparison. Luna knew the reasons why Celestia was so much stronger. It was because they grew in power when they were close in proximity. Because there was nopony to get hurt in the crossfire. Because Celestia wasn't holding back...

Stomping her hoof, Celestia dropped the walls of energy and all six kaiju fell to the ground. The solar royal dropped her booming voice as she looked over both sides.

"I don't know what conflict you all have with each other, but I will NOT permit it to endanger my subjects. You are lucky there were no staff or visitors nearby to be caught in the crossfire..."

The kaiju were slow to rise, still groggy from getting hurled around the room. Anguirus and Rodan were still shocked at what had exerted such force. Mothra was quickly trying to gather her wits to the new situation, and both Godzilla and Xenilla stopped glaring at each other and stared in-awe at the monarch. Godzilla gritted his teeth, remembering Blueberry Frost's words.

-Captain said Princess Luna had a 'Big Sister'...ooooh...s******-

Luna gasped slightly to regain her breath, already feeling her own power rising due to her sister's proximity. Her wounds began healing noticeably faster than before. In a few minutes, she might be fit as a fiddle. With a nod to the ponies, she lowered the barrier as a large form to Celestia's left rose.

Destroyah, more bull headed than the other kaiju, shrugged off any pain or lingering magic as the titanic pegasus mare rose to her full height. If there was one thing the Serizawan legacy never tolerated, it was being attacked. Energy was always crackling along her horn as purple sparks filled her mane. Celestia turned her head, casting a glare amongst golden light gathering on her horn. Xenilla's eyes widened in shock, trying to quickly rise and call off his cohort or risk taking another hit like the last one. If getting hurled across the room alongside five other kaiju was anything for the space-born dinosaur to know, it was that this white alicorn was NOT to be trifled with. He might have given Destroyah the crystal to keep her calmer, but they being struck gave Xenilla the worst realization of his life...

-That mare is easily twice as powerful than any force I've sensed in this world. It was her power I felt radiating off the sun in the sky, and being close to that darker blue one only seems to make her stronger. I can't risk a fight with her, not now with those four around! And since she struck Destroyah the inhibitor crystal was deactivated! Des is going to attack!-

Just when it looked as if the ruler of the sun and the Serizawan legacy were about to square off, three small forms rushed up out from between Princess Luna's legs. The elements of Loyalty, Honesty, and Generosity lurched forward after the fillies, but were slowed down in having to shove past Luna and Twilight. Before a word could be uttered, Destroyah froze as she felt little hooves coil themselves around her.

The living Oxygen Destroyer broke her glare at Celestia, looking down to the teary faces of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo; whom were trying their earnest to wrap themselves around her broad legs.
"Don't fight!"
"You can't fight each other!"
"PLEASE!"

The fiery glow on Destroyah's horn extinguished itself as her mane returned to normal. She slowly looked down at the now crying CMC as the room ceased action, looking slightly annoyed but more or less immensely perplexed. The little fillies, terrified that two beings they looked up to looked like they were about to fight to the death; clung to the kaiju's body. Scootaloo looked up at her after thoroughly soaking Destroyah's left forehoof.

"P-Princesses aren't supposed to f-ight each other..."

The young pegasus cast a look over to Celestia, half choked with tears.

"R-Right?..."

The only words that could have possibly halted every immortal alicorn in the room had been spoken. Celestia cast a glance to her sister, painful memories flashing through her mind before she looked down at Scootaloo.

"No... They aren't."

Scootaloo buried her head in Destroyah's broad leg, the latest event having only been the apex of what had turned out to be a very traumatic day and now night. Destroyah entertained dark thoughts for a moment, before her mind ceased and slowed. The alicorn sized pegasus glanced around, then down again at the CMC, and then back to Celestia. Her voice was gruff, cold, and... oddly placid, as she gently put the tip of her wings on the fillies' heads.

"...I don't know what she's on about with 'Princess', but I'm not in the mood for a fight, so long as those morons keep to themselves...."

All of the kaiju convert's ears betrayed their mind, completely flabbergasted at what they were hearing and who it was from.

-She was about to go berserk... those fillies calmed her down enough for the crystal to reassert itself-

Destroyah gave the paused forms of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash a half annoyed look.

"Now can you three take them off."

Xenilla felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face.

-or at least most of it...-

The trio of mares obliged, abet with some difficulty. Scootaloo especially was hard to pry off, almost like she was sure her favorite princess and previous rescuer were about to slug it out if she let go. Xenilla walked up beside Destroyah, looking forward at his audience but not showing any signs of resuming the fight. Across the hall, it became decision time as the four felt Celestia and Luna's glaring gaze upon them. Mothra swallowed a gulp as she shot a very hesitant message to her allies.

-"...Stand down... If we attack again we'll incur the wrath of them and the diarchy"-

-"WHAT!?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"-

-"Right now that rainbow colored one sees ALL of us as a threat to her subjects. She WILL strike the first side who fires a shot and unless you'd like to start a fight we cannot win I suggest you do it!"-

-"Goji if we get taken out here we leave the ponies alone with those two! I hate it as much as the next kaiju-"-

-"Darn straight!"-

-"-but we need to use our heads here. Want those pretty guard friends you made to get struck with Destroyah around?"-

-"I know that look on his face, Xen definitely has something planned, and we need to be around incase it's what I think it might be..."-

-"...fine..."-

With some reluctance in their movements, the three saurians and the guardian ceased all signs of combat preparation. Soon, all the kaiju were standing in two lines and trying their best to remain calm, with two clear sides having formed up on the sides of the hall's central carpet. Celestia stood in between them as Luna walked up beside her. The entire room was tense as five of the elements and the fillies grouped up behind the princesses. Celestia cast her glance along all in attendance as a faint glimmer lined her horn and eyes. She saw the auras before her, and what she saw both confused and unnerved her. She tried her best to not show either.

"I can see what Luna sees. I know you are not ponies or any other species I've ever seen. Where did you all come from?"

Twilight paced over to Mothra, concern for her friend evident in looking at a large bruise the changeling had on her shoulder. Mothra read it and put a hoof around the young alicorn reassuringly, whispering to her.

"I'll be fine, had worse."

"Who are those two?"

"I'll explain later... Now I think it's time for something else."

In spite of what happened, the prospect of a presentation did lift Twilight's spirits a bit. The other two kaiju ponies might have left her unnerved, but the show of force from both her mentor and her new friends left her with the assurance they wouldn't try anything. She'd fought evil in the past, they couldn't be that different from what she'd experienced at all right?

"If Mothra and I can have your and everypony's attention Princess, we can explain."

An off question racked through Rainbow Dash's mind.

"Hey, hold up a sec. If your spell was meant to bring these bozos and the rest of the elements here, where's Pinki-"

A flashing zoom of pink crisscrossed the room as balloons, confetti, and streamers crisscrossing the room appeared before most anyone could blink. Applejack's expression flattened

"Never mind we found her.."

"WELCOME HOPEFULLY BENIGN INTER-DIMENSIONAL INVADERS PARTY!"

Anguirus soon found himself getting lifted slightly into the air from the numerous balloons tied to his legs and tail.

"Hey what the f-"

Anguirus was cut off as a party hat touting mare puffed a party blower into the air as she offered a batch of fresh cupcakes for a greatly confused Destroyah. The ankylosaur frowned, lifting up his spike covered gauntlet to the balloons before the shower of rapid popping sounds erupted.

"MY BALLOONS!"

-----------------------

The dark titan brushed himself off after banishing Red, reabsorbing his aspects to heal from his injuries. The blackness would overtake the rest of Zenith soon, and with Red gone there was nothing that could stop it. Perfection was being reached. He chuckled to himself in isolation.

"Now that the problem has been settled..."

Clicking his talons against the smooth darkness, the invader slowly walked along his new domain and inside his new temple. Energies akin to Red's crackled amongst his fingers, lining a massive claw as he readied it. Letting his now glowing claw light his way as flickers of unnatural flames flickered out from lanterns and statues, the demon stepped into the interior hall. Steps slowly appeared under his feet as an elevated platform emerged from the floor. He had chosen his throne room, and stood atop it.

Not taking a moment to behold the sight of his chamber, he swung out his energized claw. The tear in dimension, a portal, near identical to Red's formed in the space before him, before hovering backwards towards the entrance of the room. The tear morphed and grew, splitting into others, and surrounding the entire room like panes of painted glass. The floor began to reach up. As an orb of darkness formed around the titan, the portals locked onto their target dimension. The portals flickered to life, showing images of roughly one dozen locations on Equestria, and quite a few...'foreign' individuals.

-------------------------

Getting the five kaiju to sit down calmly near each other was almost as hard as getting Pinkie Pie to sit still. Xenilla was more or less keeping calm despite the glares he kept getting from a very disgruntled Godzilla, whom was putting himself between his doppelganger and a majority of the ponies, with an on looking Luna and Celestia between them. The CMC insisted on sitting next to a slightly annoyed Destroyah, despite some objections from the latter. They made sure to put themselves between the crimson mare and Celestia. The mere fact the Oxygen-Destroyer incarnate wasn't killing left and right kept Rodan and Anguirus from protesting, as well as fear of stirring up conflict's flames in front of the alicorns. Godzilla and Xenilla both knew the circumstances at hoof and didn't dare lift a hoof to resume their fight. While the two kept physically civil, Celestia and Luna could almost physically feel the hatred being thrown between the two kaiju. And amongst all this, the remaining mane six were caught in a void of confusion, alien fear, and bits of intrigue at the prospect of what was going on. Needless to say, all eyes were on Twilight and Mothra as they set up a simple illustration on the chalk board Pinkie had...somehow brought. Twilight cleared her throat, and began.

"As we all know, six of us in attendance aren't quite from around here, but come from an entirely different world. In their original state they were not Equestrian species, but had been transformed into them. For all intents and purposes, aliens."

Four of the mane six’s eyes widened slightly at the words being spoken. Though Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had some inkling as to what was going on and Pinkie was, well, Pinkie; the revelation did cause some odd glances at the large forms sitting next to them. Godzilla almost rolled his eyes at the last comparison, bad memories of the Xilian invasion coming to mind. Still, he minded his manners. Mothra began to draw a simple illustration.

"First we begin with the worlds we came from. Judging from the star maps our worlds occupy roughly the same place in the solar system, so the planets, Equestria and Terra are counterparts of each other rather than two planets in the same universe; existing parallel to one another in different dimensions or 'realms'."

Mothra added a distinct line to the picture.

"Normally, we hypothesize that there is a barrier that keeps jumping from one dimension to another all but impossible, this 'shield' especially seems to safeguard Equestria from outside realms' intrusion."

"However some event occurred on Terra that grabbed the kaiju from their world, and flung them at Equestria. However the barrier got in their way."

"But because of the huge masses being slammed into it, as well as a mass energy discharge from Godzilla and Xenilla, the barrier was partially ruptured."

"Which caused the six kaiju sent to proceed into Equestria. However, the barrier was still strong enough to cause an adverse reaction to the kaiju's Non-Equestrian make up. Like a cell membrane only letting certain particles in and out of the cell, it only would let native forms pass through. So at the expense of its structural integrity, the barrier let the kaiju in but forcefully changed them into native species."

Xenilla interrupted the lecture.

"What happens if more objects pass through this damaged barrier of your's after the first six kaiju went through it?"

Twilight nodded her head to the side as she pondered the thought.

"Well we've had no sign that has occurred, but in theory each passing transport would weaken the barrier more and more. Each time something passed through it would retain more traits of its home dimension. Knowing kaiju it'd be keeping their old bodies,-"

"-no diminishing of their powers;"

"-and lastly no shrinkage in size. Fortunately we think the barrier can heal, if given time; so let's hope that never happens."

Luna cast a off glance at Godzilla as he sat to her right.

"Let's..."

Anguirus at least had the courtesy to raise a hoof.

"So why did Rodan come in fully formed and how the Daiei did I find myself in my old body again?"

Mothra erased the old drawling and began to make a new one.

"Rodan was further away than the rest of us from the central place radius of whatever happened, so he came through the barrier last. This ties in with a theory Twilight came up with about energy levels. Obviously kaiju are stronger than the average pony, but keeping up such a huge size requires a lot of energy. In our world we'd have our own sources to sustain us, but here in Equestria we are still subject to the barrier's lingering influence. This influence means we slowly are drained of energy until we normalize at the points we are now. We think it was the barrier itself that stripped away our energy until we reached a point of comparable power to the strongest native lifeforms, such as the alicorn princesses."

Mothra stopped and pointed at Rodan.

"Rodan was able to keep his form for awhile because less of his energy was stripped away, so he still had enough to maintain his form for a while before it was siphoned away."

Twilight was busy adding some details to the final image.

"We also hypothesize that any extra energy the kaiju get is slowly depleted as they act. Anguirus was hit by some sort of activation of Rainbow Dash's element and allowed him to function in his old body for about twenty minutes. We think that the maximum time that can be allowed to is roughly two or three hour. Past that might be dangerous."

"We said earlier that large amounts of magic cause the shift, but to cause proper charge it must be benign magic. This is why Celestia slamming us into the walls or Luna's fight with Godzilla didn't cause a reversion."

Luna felt her skin paling slightly at the thought of one of her attacks suddenly causing a much greater calamity in the palace. A reassuring wing she felt around her along with the warmth of white feathers put her at ease.

"Considering what had happened earlier and what sort of benign magic sources seem strong enough for the tasks, I'd say an element of Harmony, large amounts of Unicorn or Alicorn magic, considering Cadence's forte Love magic might work; and certain magical artifacts like the Crystal Heart could function."

Mothra picked back up the chalk, drawing out a clear message and underlining it for good measure.

"Despite all Equestrian races having some magic in them and we now being in their ranks, this is relevant. A quick experiment with myself and Twilight seemed to confirm that under all circumstances the magic MUST come from an outside source. This is because the only forces in Equestria that come from the outside seem strong enough to charge one of us up either don't belong to us, such as an Element of Harmony; or are emotions and feelings given from one to another, such as love or friendship. Not even myself, Godzilla, or Xenilla could self-charge with a cast spell, no matter how strong we still are in these forms."

Rarity raised a hoof, Twilight nodding to her friend to cue her questioning.

"Now excuse me if I am not quuuiiite as versed in mathematics are you Twilight, but I do know my basic sciences. If these, kaiju, were so gigantic in their original bodies; why are they not so dense that they weigh more than an Ursa Major in their new bodies? Wouldn't all that mass just be compacted down?"

Twilight rubbed her chin for a moment, giving a small shrug.

"We're still figuring out the exact mechanics of what's going on, but the best we can figure is that the energy disruption of going through the barrier instantly stripped away their excess mass and converted it into the energy that ruptured the barrier. Alternately it may have been crashing into the magically rich barrier while hailing from a magically deficient environment that played around with their anatomy and stripped away excess mass while shaping their new forms. Only reasons I can guess as to why Mothra here isn't so dense she falls through the floor by breaking it."

The young alicorn rubbed the back of her head as she gave a shared chuckle with Mothra. For a moment there was quiet in the hall. After some time, Destroyah let out a half annoyed shrug as she broke the silence.

"So in a nutshell, we got thrown into ponyland, magic barrier made us ponylanders, we can go back to our real bodies but only temporarily and we need a pony to change us."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"In essence yes."

Destroyah thought back to the original picture.

"So how are we supposed to get home?"

Mothra nor Twilight gave a verbal response, only awkward glances to each other.
"...."

Now it was the audience's turn to give each other awkward glances, both hoping for a response and dreading what was the correct answer.

"Don't tell me, we can't."

"For the moment, we have no method of returning."

==================

The portals in Zenith showed their targets. Scythe-like arms, skeletal armor, rotating drills, golden scales, green fur, bioluminescence, a sky filled with wings, toxic sludge; and an ivory exoskeleton.

"Time to draft the army..."

=====================

"For better or for worse."

Anguirus
Destroyah
Apple Jack
Rainbow Dash
Mothra
Captain Blueberry Frost
Rodan
Godzilla
Xenilla
Princess Luna
Princess Celestia
????
Monster X
Gigan (Millennium)
Megalon
King Ghidorah
Legion
Hyper Gyaos
Blade Dancer

--------------------

Celestia rose back up to her hooves as the Element of Magic and the Guardian of Mortals concluded their presentation. She walked a few steps forward before spreading her wings, and with a few gentle flaps she ascended up to the head of the staircase.

"Luna, to me."

Luna rose and with a few mimicked movements, joined her sister. They spoke in hushed voices that utterly betrayed the booming yell they were both capable of giving. Celestia glanced back at the small crowd in the hall below. Destroyah was staying still as a statue, looking down in a blank expression at the three fillies bouncing around her. Anguirus was backed up into a bemused Applejack to lean away from Pinkie Pie whom seemed determined to enter her party pooper's personal space. Mothra and Twilight repeated some of their findings to a curious Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the latter clad in her red sewing glasses seeming more interested in Mothra's wings than the blackboard. Xenilla and Godzilla stayed nearly unmoved from the whole ordeal, trying their best to ignore each other. Celestia didn't know what to make of Xenilla's small habit of smirking. When they had sat together, she sensed far more rage coming from Godzilla than the other way around. The solar royal cast a worried look to her sister.

"The elements trust them, but if their power is to be believed; they are a huge threat... And the one called Xenilla is definitely planning something."

"I know of their power when just restricted to Equine form. Alone I was just barely able to triumph over Godzilla, and that was after he rampaged through half a regiment of trained guards... Even with your presence increasing my strength Celly, I'd shudder to think of the sheer force one of them could reap in their true form."

"Let alone in their forms when together... They have alliances, if we start a fight with one we'd only bring more in."

"And if they fought each other group on group with the ponies would be caught in the middle... Sister there are only a few powers in Equestria that can keep them in check."

"Then if they are to stay free, it's best we keep them scattered. Close to those we trust to keep an eye on them, far enough away they will be unable to form together and try to resume their conflict."

Luna thought back to two memories. One of Godzilla walking through almost anything the guards could throw at him, and another of her and the element's shield barely holding from the aftershocks of the monster king and Xenilla's duel.

"Are you certain this crowd should be out with our citizens? There are few powers could keep them in check. Maybe we should consider petrifying a few?"

Celestia nodded slightly, thinking matters over. In all her centuries of rule, little had prepared her for this... Still, she had to make due with what she had.

"Equestria is a place for change. Second chances. Discord may be still unruly, but he's no longer a tyrant. And we already saw evidence on how even unsuspecting sources can pacify one of our guests."

Luna could sense the happiness emanating from the now rambling fillies, sensing little in return from the giant mare her sister mentioned; but not detecting any negativity either. Quite the contrary to the unstoppable rage she felt earlier. Even she had felt the glow of acceptance from the modern Equestrian, despite her past deeds. While many possible scenarios spoke contrary, Celestia had a point. If there was one soul in this world or beyond Luna trusted, it was her elder sister.

"Yes, I agree... We'll distribute them amongst the citizenry to keep them sated. We should be sure it's near those we trust however, both so we know who can counter them and be sure they are kept under eyes that will alert us if there is trouble... But are you SURE we shouldn't try to imprison them instead, at least until an option that is less of a risk comes forth?"

Celestia only needed to glance at the ruined hall, at the smashed tile, torn-into walls, and burned floors. She also saw the kaiju mingling relatively peacefully with her beloved Elements.

"Pacification and naturalization may be our only options, I doubt we could find anywhere that would hold them all anyways... Besides, I know the ponies' would object, having bonded with some of them after all. Doing so would not be the moral choice. We aren't tyrants after all."

Luna exchanged a nod with her sister before the two turned back around. The motion of the two rulers facing their audience slowly silenced all conversation and all eyes were upon the pair. Celestia lightly stomped her metal clad hoof into the ground with a firm clack, akin to a judge's gavel hitting their base.

"From hence forth until an option to return the kaiju home has been found, the six beings from Terra are placed under a refugee plan put forth by the Royal Sisters of Canterlot. In exchange for harbor and freedom in Equestria, all kaiju will be distributed across the lands of Equestria's interior and the Crystal Empire. Princess Twilight Sparkle and Mothra shall be put to the task of researching a method to return you all home, and until then you will be expected to live and work amongst the populace."

The news was getting mixed reactions amongst the kaiju. Xenilla however raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the news of a certain empire. Luna continued from her sister's speech.

"All of thee will abide by Equestrian law. Unless in cases of self defense thou shall not harass, steal from, physically harm, or kill anypony. This extends to the transformations young Twilight has informed us about. Unless in dire situations or under a necessary research purpose by Mothra and Miss Sparkle, none of thee, either by will or by force; are to revert to your true forms. And seeing what had unfolded just previous to my sister's arrival, all previous transgressions over events in thine's home world are to cease. That means all personal quarrels, no matter by what party, cease, NOW. Failure to meet these rules will result in just punishment to the caliber I assume all know. I warn thee, an alternative to this plan would be most preferably avoided."

Celestia added onto the last statement, capping off the speech.

"All six of you will be put under the eye of a select few who will report to us should there be any trouble, and to aid in the naturalization process. After a week you all will be brought back here to Canterlot's halls to see what progress has been made, and for any changes to be dealt with if needed. You all best hope the words of your equine contemporaries are not negative..."

Despite some uneasy glances, none of the six foreigners objected. Many may have not liked the plan. The idea of being stuck in a furry equine body any longer than her true form was utterly infuriating to Destroyah. Still, there was one universal constant amongst kaiju, the same constant that lead to Godzilla and Xenilla being faction leaders. They respected power. And in their diminished forms, the alicorns were the highest power in the land. They didn't talk back, only bowing slightly or not responding either way.

Xenilla however, did something different. He had the gall to make a request.

"You say we are to be put amongst the denizens of this realm, yes?... Then I make a request to be settled in this Crystal Empire you spoke of."

Celestia and Luna gave each other and the questioning unicorn an off glance.

"Reasoning?"

"The name intrigues me. And if it's a whole empire, it must be a decent distance away. Would keep me from resuming my conflict with my contemporary now wouldn't it? I get to fancy some curiosity, you all have one less kaiju to worry with resuming the battle."

Xenilla said as he walked a few steps forward, craning his head down and curling up one of his forehooves to bow in a way the other kaiju couldn't tell was honest respect or a lying gesture. He waited several moments for their reply.

"Granted. Though be aware... Forces in Equestria are not limited to those before you in this chamber. Just because you are not under Canterlot's shadow, do not assume you can try anything without repercussions. That goes for all of you..."

Mothra kept her objection in her mind. She knew full well Xen had something on his mind he wasn't telling them, and knowing his intellect and adeptness to plot, she didn't like it.

-Still... The distance would keep him from including Destroyah in any preplanning if he's off and away. We'd have a numeric advantage if she tried anything so long as we were close enough.-

Luna took the stand, casting her vision down upon a gray unicorn.

"The both of thee are leaders of your parties and amongst their strongest. If Xenilla is to stay in the Crystal Empire under the guard of its rulers Cadance and Shining Armor, it only seems fair we take the neutral route. Godzilla will undergo his naturalization process in Canterlot Castle's premise under myself and Celestia's watch. This is not negotiable."

A familiar voice called out from the corner of the room.

"I was hoping it’d be like that."

An armor clad mare stepped out with a pleasant look on her face as she eyed the damage to the hall, giving an impressed, slow whistle.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, seems like you kaiju know how to throw a reunion party. Haven't seen the hall this torn up since that Chocolate milk incident."

Blueberry Frost walked up to her rulers, passing by Godzilla; exchanging a simple greeting.

"Godzilla."

"Captain."

The captain of the guard knelt down for a few seconds before rising back up.

"I came when I started to hear the rumbles from the 'incident’ and overheard the naturalization plan on my way in. I'd like to request Godzilla be put into the Guard training program under my supervision."

"...An odd request all matters considered, but if thou is to think thou can handle him, we suppose it could be arranged. He does seem calm around you."

Godzilla's eyelids lowered slightly as a most certainly not inaudible grumble echoed out. Attention craver he was not, but he did not like being a point of discussion like this, let alone being described in the same vein one would describe a pet. Still, both for respect for the Alicorns and the not so subtle telepathic messages Mothra kept screaming over to him to remain calm; he kept his mouth shut with Rodan and Anguirus following his example. Celestia fortunately shifted the topic.

"It is settled then, the leaders of the groups will be kept in the capitals. The rest will be scattered across the local settlements under the eye of my advisors and the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia lowered her head, looking over the mares in almost the same way a concerned mother would.

"My little ponies, I can't force you to accept this task. If you wish to decline I will try my hardest to keep you away from them."

Twilight and both the remaining Elements and CMC shared a beaming, assured smile before saluting the elder alicorn.

"We're on it Princess!"

RD elbowed a bemused Rodan.

"Sides we've put up with worse... No offense bud."

Rodan chuckled, lightly tapping the pegasus on the shoulder with his wing.

"None taken."

Celestia and Luna shared a calm sigh.

"Alright, then let's get to the train statio-"

No one was expecting the doors to the hall to slam open with a high speed form flying in. Godzilla had to try his hardest to resist the urge to charge and fire a beam due to getting flashbacks to his fight with a certain giant dragonfly. A gray bodied, yellow-maned pegasus came barreling at the crowd at a pace that was roughly twice as erratic as a drunk cat trying to drive a three wheeled truck down a bumpy road. Needless to say, she managed to narrowly avoid crashing into half the attendee's present and would have plowed into a thoroughly confused Rarity had the mare not leapt onto Anguirus's back. Hooves somehow skidded to a halt midair, reaching into her mail-mare bag before handing a note to the Princess.

"Delivery from Aaaaappaloosa!"

And then with a quick salute, she was gone as fast as she came. A wide eyed Anguirus, almost not noticing the shaking and startled mare on his back, summed it up best.

"W'at..."

Luna levitated the envelope before her, pulling out the scroll. Applejack's attention perked up at news of the location, looking closer with slight worry. Sure enough, the fact the town's name was written with no less than five "A"s confirmed to her who had sent it.

-Braeburn wouldn't send no small regard to the Princess unless it was serious!-

The night princess' eyes widened slightly as she quickly scanned over the letter, conflicting moods of cheerfulness and descriptions of destruction making it hard for her to tell if it was written with any urgency or not.

"There was an attack on Appaloosa!"

All of the Mane 6 couldn't help but jump up a bit, Applejack had to resign herself from leaping out and yanking the parchment away to read it herself.

"Attack! Wha' happened?!"

"Little information, but some matter about a flock of giant birds or bats appearing over the town, causing mass structural damage before they all disappeared in a flash."

"Any deaths?"

"Several townsfolk were attacked and injured but no word on fatalities."

Celestia was quick to act, marching down the stairs and spreading her wings.

"Luna, write up a reply, I'm heading for the frontie-"

Applejack put her hoof down as firmly as she could, throwing herself in front of Celestia.

"Please your maje'ty, let me go instead!"

"Applejack I appreciate your eagerness but my subjects are in danger, I cannot leave them."

Applejack didn't budge, shaking her head as she held her hooves out.

"Appaloosa is an Apple family settlement, so this is my family we're talkin' about. Cousin Braeburn would be expectin' me to come. With Luna still recoverin' and all these kaiju folks around Canterlot and Ponyville, we'll all need you here 'case somthin' happens."

The earth pony sat up, taking her hat off and bowing before the alicorn, hoping her words were fulfilled to some degree as the warmth of a worried Applebloom rubbed up against her to show some support. Luna pondered the thought for a moment, before voicing her idea.

"Dame Apple has a point to her plan. The danger had passed according to the letter and this is her family whom was endangered. Send her as an envoy along with aid workers. If more issues arise she can write to us quickly."

Celestia's still face flashed a dreaded look of fear briefly before she sighed, folding her wings back. She bowed her head slowly before rising back up.

"Very well, I will send several groups of aid ponies and guards to Appaloosa with you as my envoy. But at the moment trouble arises I want you to write to me immediately. Understood?"

Applejack couldn’t have smiled wider, putting her hat back on with a confident nod.

"Ah won't let you down Princess!"

Rodan, still a bit wobbly in his legs, half walked and half fluttered over; landing with a slight fumble.

"Your majesties."

"Hm?"

"This 'Appaloosa', what sort of town is it?"

"A distant settlement in the frontier. Small buildings, large expanses around it."

Rodan nodded slowly, liking what he was hearing. He looked over a confused Applejack before looking back to Celestia.

"We are supposed to be surrounded by your common folk to 'fit into’ society for our stay. Well this mare- Applejack right?- She is going with an assortment of others to this town. I'd like to volunteer myself to go with her. Might seem sudden but being inside some place like this palace like this is... off putting... I feel I'd be both more useful and more adept in a place with some elbow room."

"....Applejack, do you object?"

Applejack looked over the gryphon for a few moments. Being the Element of Honesty, she could spot a liar in an instant. So far, she hadn't felt so much as a fib out of his beak.

-He does seem to honestly want to help...-

Applejack smirked, putting out her hoof in a playful punch into the red kaiju-convert's shoulder.

"He seems right chumly enough. 'Sides we could use a flier to help out, since it is mostly an Earth Pony town."

Rodan smiled, looking over at Mothra and Godzilla to receive approving nods and smirks. Celestia sighed contently, her new 'guests' were all powerful enough to be treated with some caution; but this display of benevolence put her at ease somewhat. She may have not known this 'Rodan' much, but she could tell one of her beloved Elements would be safe around him. Keeping her smile brief, she cleared her throat and turned to the last matter at hoof.

"That leaves two kaiju left."

Destroyah and Anguirus both perked up a bit, knowing who she was referring to. Applejack and Applebloom rubbed their chins with a hoof, looking the two kaiju over. The sisters looked at each other, sharing a nonverbal agreement.

"Yer' majesty, we think we know where them two can go. With me gone to Appaloosa right before Zap-Apple season, farm's gonna need a few hooves. Plenty of room for them to have their space and with the fillies around, they'd not be getting into any hoofticuffs. Both of them look strong enough for bucking, and Big Mac could use the help."

Needless to say, the prospect of Destroyah staying in Ponyville, let alone in a spot near their clubhouse had the remaining CMC grinning ear to ear as they bounced up and down all over an unmoved Destroyah. The latter's response was as blunt as it was honest.

"...If it gets me out of here, fine."

Anguirus rolled his eyes slightly, thinking it over.

-Would be best to be at least somewhat nearby to keep an eye on Destroyah. If Mothra's sticking around that purple one she may want some back up near by if Des tries anything. Farm sounds better than a town or city anyways, never was an urban type-

With a slight shrug, the dirty gray stallion gave an agreeing nod. Celestia returned the gesture as she stomped her hoof once more.

"Then it's settled, court adjourned."

==========
Zenith
==========

There was a very cold. That was the first thing the monster only known as X noticed. For all his years across the cosmos, on frozen moons or chilled black space, he never noticed the temperature. But this place, this place was biting cold. The very air was ripping away any heat his body generated, as the chill crushed into him like a suffocating blanket. A weaker being would have maybe given in, but if decades of warfare had taught the Xilian champion one thing it was to ignore things. Shaking his head to clear his vision, X shifted his feet below him and stood up. The ground was smoother than polished glass, and as black as the void. All around the landscape was entirely featureless for hundreds of meters, before it slowly elevated up into what appeared to be stairs. Where the stairs lead to was obscured by a mist that glowed from distant, purple light. In all the worlds X had stepped foot on, this one was the most bizarre. As soon as the blurriness cleared he realized he wasn't alone. Gigan propped himself up on one of his scythes, trying to clear his haywire sensors. As soon as the cyborg's visor lit itself back to life, he cracked what had to have been the closest a metal beaked monstrosity could crack to a slack jawed, confused look.

"What the-...X? Where are we? What happened?"

"To Daiei if I knew... We were in a forest one moment, then blackness, then here. I just woke up."

"Why is it this day just can't stop getting more bizarre?"

"Picking up anything on your sensors?"

"...Yeah, DIVE!"

X obliged, both he and Gigan leaping to the side and rolling back to their feet in time to dodge the flock of terror that shot past them like a swarm of bats from a cave mouth. X knew the arrow head shaped skulls and recurved talons well, eyes following the flock of Gyaos as they flew past them. The bat-like demons completely ignored the duo as they flew up the steps and into the mist, parting some of the shroud as they passed through it. If he squinted, X thought he saw some sort of mammoth structure on the other side of the fog. The flock passed them, flying off into the structure's gaping mouth. Gigan and X got back to their feet, walking back to each other.

"You see what they were flying into?"

"Yah, picking it up on my radar. Some sort of temple-like building few hundred thousand yards ahead."

Gigan mentally shifted through his scanners until he got to one displaying several groups of blips on a wide range. One was standing to his side, and a whole flock of them were moving into the temple ahead of him. Most of them were heading in the same direction, except one. One was barreling right at him. X felt the ground begin to shift, akin to how one feels the rumble of a drill. A distant voice cried out in a muffled call as something rapidly burrowed closer.

"Biiiiig broooootheeeeeeer!"

Rolling his red eyes, X side stepped in time to dodge a high speed Megalon pouncing out of the black earth and tackling Gigan, half crushing him in a bear hug. Gigan thrashed almost helplessly.

"GAK! MEGALON! LET GO!"

"OKAAAAY!~"

Megalon obliged and dropped Gigan flat on his beak. Megalon bounced up and down on his feet like a giddy child, clapping his drills together.

"Hello Mister X!"

"Greetings."

Gigan shakily got back to his feet, as he had to readjust his sensors again. The cyborg's grumbling was all but inaudible.

"So where are we?"

"Well to be fair we don't know."

Monster X looked up at where the temple was, taking point in the trio.

"But we're about to find out."

It took a bit of coaxing to get Megalon to follow them, but Gigan's signature readings showed the only notable structure for miles was before them. If there was anything that could point them to what was going on, it lay before them. Once they climbed up the steps, they passed through the front gate, and walked into the vast chamber at the end of the hall. The chamber was wide and vast, with a large sphere in the middle. Granted, the three didn't quite expect the premise to be so crowded. An entire flock of gyaos roosted upon the ceiling, chattering amongst themselves as they eyed the crowd below with hungry eyes. Gaira and what Gigan recognized as one of the Anteverse kaiju known as Leatherback were sizing eachother up in the corner. Three more Anteverse beings, logged in the cyborg's data banks as Slattern, Knifehead, and Otachi were not far away, eying the insectoid Legion as a swarm of the latter's soldiers corralled around her.

More and more kaiju were present or arriving, the rancid stench all in the room could smell telling Megalon that Hedorah was amongst their numbers. After a short while, it seemed like all had arrived, no small miracle a fight hadn't yet broke out.
And then, the miracle was nearly shattered by X when a very familiar voice called out to him.

"Hello X...."

The Xilian kaiju balled a fist so tight his knuckles were white through his black skin, not even caring he forgot to retract his claws fully and blood was trickling down from his palm. Gigan and Megalon wisely stepped aside as X turned around. Four red eyes glared back at six more as Grand King Ghidorah walked into the chamber. Near invisible strands of telekinetic energy built up around Monster X as his usually calm demeanor ruptured. Now he recognized that voice from the river reflection.

"You..."

The golden dragon's expression was as smug as it was vile, fanning his vast wings. By feeling the building power or hatred coming off the two, all previous action ceased as the other kaiju watched the two aliens.

"Pitiful display back at the river. You completely lost all sense."

"You're the one who kept trying to get in my head! What do you even want?!"

"Temper, temper X... I merely wanted to test the waters. A mind such as your's is such an interesting toy..."

"I AM NO PLAYTHING!"

X lunged forward before Gigan could step in to stop him, strong legs and telekinesis launching him forward. Ghidorah's eyes widened in surprise for a nanosecond before enclosing his wings to form an energy barrier. The golden shield flickered as a wave of energy passed through it while X launched a telekinetic charged jump kick. A resounding, gong-like crash echoed out from the blocked dropkick before X was deflected off, kinetic force reflecting off the barrier and launching him back. Flipping mid-air, X landed against a wall, driving his claws into it to anchor himself.

"Let's see if a closer proximity yields a bit more success getting into that stubborn conscious of your's..."

Ghidorah's eyes narrowed as an invisible force clamped down on X's mind. Malefic images ripped through his conscious as the hybrid grabbed at his head. Sheer will power was clashing with vile influence as memories and conscious were threatened to be torn asunder. The former won out and the Xilian warrior's eyes flashed with raw power before streams of gravitons fired out. Golden rays impacted a golden shield, forcing Ghidorah to slide back on his feet until he was forced back into the opposing wall with a resounding crash. The dragon restrengthened his shield, chuckling to himself.

"Pathetic, your memories are as scattered as my blood is in your veins."

X was most certainly not amused, not caring at all what in the world the dragon was talking about. He braced himself against the wall before preparing to launch off.

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART!"

The skeleton clad kaiju pounced off of the wall as Ghidorah fired streams of his lightning-like graviton rays from his mouth, destroying the wall behind X as the black and white fighter dodged mid-air. X rolled across the floor to his feet, rushing forward as Ghidorah dropped his shield and lunged with bare jaws. Just before recurved fangs and balled fists could connect, something thunderous spoke.

"STOP!"

The very floor between X and Ghidorah shot up, forming a wall between the two; forcing both to halt. The sudden action drew all attention to the voices source, as the newly created wall slipped down into the floor. The giant sphere in the center of the room glowed with runic markings that flared every time the voice called out.

"Marvelous display, but I'd prefer you direct your might towards more useful endeavors..."

The voice was loud as it was demanding, yet despite apparently coming from the sphere it was not natural. It was everywhere at once, half within each of the onlookers minds and half emanating from the entire chamber itself. X faced the new speaker as Megalon and Gigan came up beside him, all looking at the same entity.

"Welcome..."

A flap of white and purple wings threshed the cold air as something dropped down from the ceiling. A large Gyaos, an albino variant based on her pale color and pink eyes, landed before Gigan's posse. The mutant known as 'Hyper Gyaos' to the humans spoke up.

"And just who may I ask, is addressing us?"

The sphere lit up again with a runic display with each word.

"I... am a god. The new ruler of this realm and eventually all others. I brought you here to be my angels, to serve me and my goal...."

Needless to say, two self titled 'royals' were none to be pleased with the last part. King Ghidorah and the Queen of the Legion both cast hellish glares. The Legion soldiers wisely got out of the way as their queen's central horn opened, crackling with blue plasma as Ghidorah's three maws ignited with golden light.

"Queens, do NOT serve!"
"You will pay for this insolence!"

The speaker did not react kindly. A screeching, piecing, psychic shriek akin to an entire country full of grinding metal or nails across a chalk board; completely directed into every kaiju's mind. All other sound was shut out instantly in the entire chamber, the mental scream only growing in strength. One by one, each of the kaiju's minds were shut out in agony, forcing them to fall down to their knees in pain. A voice called out over the shriek, a voice of hell.

"Y̜̞̗̩̲͉̠͘O̖̱U̲͎̫͙̳ ̥̙͓̪̰̺̪WI̷̹̼̖̞L̶͎̳L ̱͕̼N̟͍̘͙̖͜ͅO̝͓T͏̯͚͖̟͎ ̦̼̯̟̕D̸̺͎A̫R̳̖E ̠͠D̨̫̲E͙̲̰̬̪F͚̩̼͈͎Y͏̟̦̭ ̨̲M̬̰̼É͍̦̺̫͖!͚͎̙̞̱"

The mental torture ceased and all the kaiju were noticeably slow to get up. In the chamber were living weapons, bloodthristy gluttons, galactic conquerors; and super soldiers. They all didn't dare launch an offensive. They were afraid...

The sphere's glow began to dim, but didn't diminish. The voice chuckled.

"Know where you stand... What is a king or queen to a god? Nothing but a soul in a shell. I could strike you all down in an instant...."

For a split second, Hyper Gyaos' eyes narrowed as she stood up beside Gigan. She didn't know if it was the pain still residing in her head or her attentiveness to detail returning, but something about the god's speech was off. She couldn't put her talon on it, but she knew something was amiss. Something was not truthful. Regardless, for aversion to be on the receiving end of something more than a scream, she kept quiet.

"You are alive because I have a use for you as my army.... However, that's not to say I don't reward those who serve my well..."

Ears and audio sensors perked up at the speaker's words. King Ghidorah approached slightly, trying to bandage his centuries-old pride.

"And what are you offering as a reward?"

"The only things your type would ever want, the only things your kind ever knew. All under my aid and patronage..."

"Destruction and obliteration,-" King Ghidorah grinned, clearly interested as Hedorah hissed approvingly.

"Conquest,-" Legion clicked her mandibles, planning matters over while the Anteverse kaiju made animalistic salutes.

"Endless feasts,-" Gaira curled his lips back in a vile smirk as the flocks of Gyaos erupting in vocal applause. Hyper Gyaos tipped her head downward slightly, putting the back of her hand to her stomach.

"Constant repair, no fear of going offline,-" Gigan's head shot up slightly, nodding with some hesitation while Megalon clapped his drills together happily.

" and Freedom of mind, restoration of memory." X's eyes widened slowly, shifting with a bit of unease.

"You all served at some point, why not do it again for your own gain?"

Zenith's halls burst with noise as feet stomped and throat's bellowed in approval. Amongst the rousing cheers of several kaiju, King Ghidorah spread his wings and bowed his three necks. One by one, the other kaiju joined in. The choice was clear, even if Hyper Gyaos could practically smell the treacherous gears working in Ghidorah's head. It was either take up the genuinely good offer, or risk seeing what their summoner could do besides scream at them.

"What is your first command..."

"To launch a campaign.... and remake a world, the first of many."

=============

Gentle Leaf was sent off under an escort to reunite her with her parents, Anguirus giving her one of his quills as a memento. The little one was so giddy at the gift that it took another few minutes to pry her off and send her on her way. Rainbow Dash didn't know whether to guess if her parents or Aero had the heart attack first upon noticing she was gone. The effort to get the kaiju on the train was a whole different endeavor, and much had gone awry. While Anguirus, Rodan, Godzilla, and Xenilla could pass as a normal citizen, and Destroyah would mostly turn a few heads, Mothra was a whole issue in herself. Canterlot's citizens didn't need to see a Royal Changeling for the 2nd time in their life and start running for cover. The Guardian of Mortals had to go through her first tour in Canterlot half covered in a tarp and being rapidly teleported around empty spots across the city by Twilight until they could reach the train. And that necktie incident involving Rarity's bathtub didn't make matters any quicker.

Godzilla closed the door to his guard quarters, that last memory firmly convincing him on how bizarre this world was. Still, Mothra did break the bad news. They were probably going to be here awhile, and seemed like he had a lot to adjust to. And this whole naturalization process was on top of him wanting to keep an eye on a certain two. Needless to say, he was not happy about being quasi-imprisoned in this castle, even with room and board.

The knob to his door began to shift again, and on startled instinct Godzilla whipped around to face the entrance. His mane was flickering to life and he braced himself well, only for a familiar voice to call out from behind the floor.

"Easy on the charge there chief."

Godzilla half rolled his eyes, both relieved and slightly annoyed he recognized the source; powering down. Blade Dancer stepped inside, carrying a training uniform in her hooves.

"Someone's edgy. Cap' sent me to drop off your gear for tomorrow. Should have seen the seamstress's eyes when we told her how big the suit needed to be."

The pegasus shook her head with a muffled laugh, setting the clothing down.

"Xenilla is out there planning who knows what and I'm put under house arrest here."

Blade Dancer raised an eyebrow, nudging the door shut behind her. She shrugged, plopping down on the cot.

"I don't know the history between you two, but you need to chill. The princesses knew what they were doing and judging from how Celestia floored you all, they or Cadance can handle it."

She looked up at him, eyes trailing along his form as she smiled slightly. Godzilla felt only more confused at her actions.

-There goes that eying again. Lady, what the Daiei are you doing?-

He shrugged, opting to just do his best to ignore it and use the only audience he had.

"Speaking of the princesses and this world, a friend of mine said I needed to learn about it."

"Why's that?"

"Naturalization. Mothra doesn't know how long it will take to get us home. Knowing that... I might be here for quite awhile..."

-Perfect~ -

Blade Dancer smirked with slight reddening on her face. Godzilla couldn't stop himself from looking up at any deities out there, begging to know what he could have possibly done to put himself in this situation. He tried to think of other matters.

"Why did the captain draft me?"

Blade Dancer looked up, idly playing with a strand of her mane.

"Caps a good judge of character. Talk to her for half a minute and she can tell hooves or tail of a situation or pony. So I suppose your little chat in the hall gave her some reason to trust you.... Probably a good move."

Godzilla raised an eyebrow.

"What are you on about?"

"I don't know about back home, but in Equestria we believe everyone has a role to play. If you need to stay here for a bit and 'naturalize', something tells me 'Godzilla the Donut shop baker' is not the job opportunity of choice for someone like you."

The stallion could only nod. She had a point. True, he didn't necessarily delight in combat, but he was not adverse to it and considering it was something he'd been doing for the past 10 years; was something he was good at. Maybe in some way, this was the captain trying to help him settle in?

"Well, that matter aside, since you dropped by would you mind parking yourself there and telling me a bit about this, Equestria?"

"Fine by meeee, what do you want to know?"

"History, current events, society; etc. Anything I'd need to know."

"Alrighty then, get comfortable; it's a long story."

Blade Dancer stretched out, reclining a bit as she thought up all the matters she'd need to go over. To her thanks, it was getting to be a long list. She didn't take her eyes off the stallion before looking up at the ceiling. She shut her eyes and smirked, finishing the list

-Oh I'm gonna be here awhile~ -

-STOP.SMIRKING.AT.ME.LADY.WHAT.ARE.YOU.DOING?!-

Unbeknownst to both of the ponies, they had an eavesdropper. Hiding herself in the darkness outside, Luna put her ear to the wall outside and listened intently, her trust in the newcomer still rocky at best.

????
Gigan (Millennium)
Megalon
King Sombra
Princess Cadance
Shining Armor
Flash Sentry
Xenilla
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle

-------------------------------------
Outskirts of Crystal Empire
-------------------------------------

Amongst the swirling rage of the snowstorm blowing over the frozen landscape, the air began to shift. A gale of frosty wind, colder than any blizzard, tore through the air. Like a claw rending flesh, a spike of black and red energy ripped a hole through the space above the ground. Like a gateway to another plane, two figures stepped out of the portal and fell foot first into the storm. Metallic claws dug through the snow as the portal closed. Cybernetic plating and exoskeletons meant to survive travel through space's void shut out the cold as Gigan and Megalon got their bearings.

"What are we here for again?"

Gigan would have rolled his eyes if he had any biological optics, his visor flickering up with his scanning systems; looking over the snow and ice like a heron hunting for fish.

"Our 'lord' detected something here we needed to pick up."

"What?"

"We'll know it when we see it..."

Alert blips signaled across a red visor, showing a small object buried several meters under the snow, permafrost, and ice. The fact it looked a good distance away despite registering under ten meters away subtly reminded the annoyed cyborg of his diminished state. With a thought, he transferred the data to his sibling unit.

"Get digging."

"Ok!~"

Megalon jumped up into the air, putting his drill-like arms together above him. Folding his legs up and tucking his head in, the cybernetic beetle rapidly spun his body around like a drill and dove down. Plowing through snow, ice, and earth like it was water, Megalon rapidly dug his tunnel down to his target. After arriving at the appropriate depth, the younger Nebulian creation converted back to his normal form. Gigan looked down the dark pit, seeing Megalon's signature right next to the highlighted target. The young cyborg called back up in an echoing voice, the tunnel distorting his vocals like he was talking in a barrel.

"Found it!"

"Then pick it up and bring it back up here."

There was silence in the darkness below Gigan. His scans showed him Megalon was trying to get at something, but kept fumbling. After a full twenty seconds of repeated motion, Gigan finally got a reply.

"Big brother.... I don't have any hands, how do I pick it up?"

Gigan put his face to his scythe, grumbling in annoyance. He could practically feel his cognitive CPUs failing.

"Put it between your drills and carry it up."

"Ok!~"

"And be careful not crush it!"

"Ok!~"

Reverberating rattles seeped out from the tunnel. Megalon soon hovered out of the tunnel, fanning his insectoid wings under his rhinoceros beetle-like exoskeleton. Shifting forward to clear the gaping hole in the ground, Megalon landed in the snow before the bemused Gigan, still holding his drills together before offering up their 'target'. The object was small and shaped like a stretched out, curved cone. The bottom portion was gray, but the jagged and irregular base made it seem like the object had been snapped off of something. The upper portion curved back into a fine point, and was a contrasting fiery red. Scans on the composition were limited, but just eying it told the cyborgs it certainly wasn't metal or stone. Though he had never seen anything like it, Gigan felt he could best describe it as some sort of broken off horn or claw. He knew one thing though. While his scanners couldn't pick it up, he felt something radiating from the object.

Call it a vibe, but he did not enjoy being near it one bit. Turning back to the portal, the elder cyborg transmitted back to his new base.

-"Gigan calling in, I think we found it."-

The dimension tear leading back to Zenith flickered briefly. Like a hellish mockery of a snake, a stream of dark energy slithered out of the portal and dribbled onto the darkening snow below.

-"You have done well. The task for today was small and is completed. Drop the horn on the snow and return to Zenith now..."-

-"Ooook!~"-

Megalon nonchalantly tossed the horn aside, reopening his wings and flying back through the portal. Gigan stayed for a moment to look at the odd tendril of energy as it wormed its way closer to the horn. He didn't know what was going on, and wanted to know. He shrugged, turning back to the portal.

-You're a merc Gigan, not in your business to ask questions-

Igniting his anti-gravity jets, Gigan kicked off and flew through the closing portal after Megalon. Had he stayed to watch, he would have seen dark magic afoot. The tendril, a fragment of the lifeblood of the master of Zenith, coiled around the horn before absorbing into it. Flashes of purple, green, and black shot through the blizzard as the horn levitated up. Shadows of storm were drawn across the ground like shards of metal to a magnet. The very darkness of the shadow leaped from the ground and began to take shape under the horn. Bone, muscle, skin, and hair melted out from the blackness before being cloaked into metallic armor and a regal cape. The horn mounted itself on a regenerating forehead, encircled by a red and silver helmet. Broad hooves stomped down into the packed snow, red and green eyes snapping open.

Cold breath hissed out from a dark maw.

There was a low growl as he looked to the distant glimmering of a glorious land.... his land...

He need not know or ponder why he was alive again. His studies of dark magic showed him it was a mysterious subject at best. Perhaps he had somehow managed to pull himself back together? King Sombra didn't care. Cape flapping in the wind, he glared through the storm with pure hatred flickering in his eyes as violet smoke seeped out from them. Slowly, like a melting wax statue, the dark unicorn shifted into a shadowy haze and sifted down just beneath the snow and ice.

-The Crystal Princess has returned and the crystal heart still poses a threat. Siege didn't work, perhaps assassination will...-

The dark shape, no more apparent in the dark blizzard than a thief in the night; barreled straight at the Empire. King Sombra chuckled lowly as old memories flickered forth.

-It's how I killed the last one...-

-------------------------------------
Crystal Empire Train Station
-------------------------------------

The blizzard outside the empire's boundaries hissed in the distance as a small crowd waited at the train station. It wasn't a cheery, happy group of family and friends ready to welcome the train riders, but almost half the crystal guard staff without a single smile amongst them. Despite the late hour, word had gotten around fast that something secret was afoot. Over four dozen guards and both of their rulers being present at the train station in the middle of the night, well past when normal trains were supposed to arrive; kept many awake and alert. Already the glimmer of telescopes peering out windows flickered through the rows of crystalline houses, curious eyes trained on the station. Princess Cadance had to keep herself from pacing to ward off some anxiety. The message from Celestia was urgent and told her exactly who and what was coming. Between what she knew and the residing pain in her head from the earlier day, she wasn't having the best night. The gentle pressure of Shining Armor's hoof on her shuddering shoulder halted her movements.

A subtle rumble passed through the ground as the train passed through the blizzard's cloak, shaking off the built up snow like a shed skin. Suddenly Cadance felt herself needing to pace again. As the train grew closer, a streak of yellow and blue flew over to the Crystal monarch and landed next to her. Flash Sentry removed his helmet and saluted.

"Mages report they have a small group ready at a moment's notice to activate the crystal heart at the command. They are all prepped near the heart's chamber to be ready within a minute should anything go awry."

Shining Armor nodded to his first lieutenant, a small smile visible under his helmet.

"Thank you Sentry-"

Shining Armor looked to the train as it pulled into the station, its breaks screeching to a halt.

"I think we all could use the assurance..."

The door to the only occupied car swung open, revealing its darkened cabin. The tension throughout the station could be cut with a knife. All the guards made ready, hooves, wings, and magic wrapping around the handles to their arms. The loud thumping of heavy footsteps echoed out of the cabin. Cadance and Shining ignited their horns as they built up a magic burst strong enough to knock out a manticore as a last resort. The foot falls grew louder, reverberating through the wooden planks and chilled metal, a shadowed form stepping into the doorway. Strands of telekinesis wrapped around its user, lifting his large hooves off the floorboards and hovering out into the night air, before settling down in front of the Crystal royals. Eyes widened slightly across the empire as the largest stallion many had ever seen towered over both Prince and Princess. Xenilla eyed the pair before him, noting the crown atop the pink one's head and remembering what had been told to him.

"I take it you are the Crystal Empress, Mi Amore Cadenza."

"Cadance works, Princess Cadance."

Many in attendance were prepared for Xenilla to do something extreme. Yes they knew of the "Refugee Plan's" conditions, but just hearing about how much raw firepower was inside one of his kind was not putting them at ease. Fears ranged from him exerting a show of force, to making demands to seize the empire, to even launching an all out attack the moment the train door opened. His resemblance to a most hated, former ruler was not helping calm any fears. But instead of unleashing hell, the massive unicorn merely cocked an eyebrow in honest confusion at the title his host had.

-That place called Canterlot had 'Princesses' but that had to just be a fluke due to their co-rule. Surely not everyone on this planet is as scatterbrained about royal titles-

"But... this land is an empire, correct?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"And Empires are ruled by Emperors or Empresses, correct?"

"Innnndeeed.. Your, point?"

"Sooo, there must be an Emperor or Empress to this empire as its central ruler. Your parents perhaps? May I request an audience with them?"

Cadance didn't know whether to be flabbergasted at the goliath of a pony's choice of topic, or confused as to what he was getting at.

"No, my parents are not ruling; I am the ruler of this land along with my husband."

Xen looked to the white unicorn standing next to Cadance. What he saw didn't match what he thought was being implied.

"So, then you must be the Emperor. Explains your wife's choice of title if she married into the monarchy."

Cadance's face flattered and her eyelids dropped. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was doing her best to hold in a grumble.

"No, I am Prince Shining Armor. Cadance is the royalty, I married into the family."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute.... So you, Cadance, are the royal?"

"Y-Yes..."

"And there is no one higher ranked or elder royal that stands above you in this country?"

"Y-Yes, I am the highest position."

"And this country is an Empire, a land ruled by an Emperor or Empress?"

Cadance almost grumbled at how many circles this conversation was going through.

"Yes it is, Mr. Xenilla, what is your point?"

Xenilla's response was blunt as it was true.

"So if you rule an empire from the top ranking throne, why the Daiei are you just a Princess?"

There was a silence amongst the crowd. The guards ranged from thoroughly confused to deep in thought. Shining Armor put a hoof to his forehead as Cadance looked up, pondering in a bewildered state. Flash Sentry opened his mouth and raised his hoof, like he was about to retort. Whatever he was about to say died in his throat once he figured out it would do no good. He stayed frozen like a statue for a moment before he closed his mouth, rubbing his chin with his hoof as he thought through what had been said. Two minutes in the empire and it seemed Xenilla had asked the one question no one could answer.

A slow breeze blew past the silent station. Xenilla grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Regardless of title qualms, I assume the other two ruling alicorns informed you of my 'situation'?"

Cadance snapped out of her thought, jolting a bit back to reality like everyone else.

"Yes, Celestia and Luna sent a letter detailing what was going on. We came to escort you to the palace."

"Staying in the palace am I? I expected to be lodged in the capital but I see you ponies have quite the hospitality. Shall we depart then? I'm eager to see this.. crystal empire of your's, empress."

-Hospitality my flank, I'm not letting you anywhere near my citizens without me knowing-

"Princess!... And yes, it's late and we best get moving."

Shining Armor raised a hoof and waved it to his troops as Cadance and Xenilla began to walk towards the main street.

"Guards! Fall in!"

In unison the crystal guard turned and advanced back to the palace, combing through the empty streets as they flanked and tailed the royals. Needless to say, the 'parade' drew a lot of attention from the on looking shops and windows, most eyes falling on the shape standing a head taller than the other's in the crowd. As they walked, more and more crystalline structures came into view.

"Welcome to the Crystal Empire."

Xenilla gave a bemused smirk.

"Hm... For an alien realm this actually feels quite familiar. Yes, I think I'll be right at home here..."

With each step Xenilla felt the perfected earth under hoof. Lines of invisible power were streaming through the ground each time Xenilla passed a gemstone, spreading like an invisible web. Crystals were his element, his affinity. Everything around him was crystals, the houses, the furniture, even the ponies. Everything was crystal, and thus he could sense everything around him. The height of the apartment down the street, the number and locations of the doors in the bakery one block ahead; even the hidden crystal pony to his left, a mare judging from the build, hiding behind the pillar to sneak a peek at him. He humored himself, glancing over in the pillar's direction and sending the skittish mare ducking for cover. Xenilla couldn't help but chuckle. Shining Armor however, while unaware of exactly what was going on, was clearly not amused and broke the silence.

"We planned on getting you into the palace unseen due to the lateness and a called curfew, but judging from all the wayward glances I'd say that strategy is forfeit. We'll have to think of a cover story to explain your timing."

"Timing?"

"At this time of night and with this many guards, I doubt the citizenry would buy your an old college friend Cadance and I came to pick up."

Cadance sighed, noting Xenilla's large build and familiar nasal ridge, reminding her of ages and rulers past.

"And the last time the empire had a giant unicorn with fangs in it, it didn't have good results. Some ponies might panic now that they've seen you and didn't get an explanation."

Xenilla glanced up at the houses, just as many crystal ponies gasping and ducking for cover as there were some staring at him wide eyed.

"I have seen your maps, there are other kingdoms with other denizens. Could I not pass as a different sort of unicorn from a distant land?"

"Could work, but might require a bit of role play to ensure you fit the part of 'important foreigner'. Not everypony might require a guard escort so large."

"Then I am important enough for it. One could say I am the first ambassador from ...'Terra', come to study the re-emerged empire. One wouldn't be lying to say so."

Cadance shrugged slightly, the visitor's slightly snide and deadpan attitude already beginning to rub her the wrong way.

"And if somepony gets too nosey about your life, 'ambassador'?"

"I won't give them the courtesy, I already seem to be giving you a negative vibe. I can manage my distance fine from most unless I need to speak."

"And what sort of skills can you employ? We have a role for everyone in the empire, but unless you're about to tell me you are crippled, ill, or elderly, we won't tolerate you being a free-loader to feed off of everyone else's hard work."

Xenilla couldn’t help but chuckle, both at the dry humor and the thought he'd be any semblance of weakness.

"Yes I believe one condition of Celestia and Luna's plan was we be a benefit to the society during our stay?... Well, we kaiju all have individual powers. One of mine is crystal generation and growth. Considering the architecture of your land Consort-"

"Prince."

"-Prince Consort, I'd say my talent might be useful in any construction projects..."

Shining Armor's eyes narrowed.

"We have some every few days. Could add to the cover story. If you already had crystalline abilities it could explain why you chose to come here."

"My thoughts exactly, Empress."

"Princess!.... And what, pray tell, do you plan on spending the rest of your time on?"

Once again, Xenilla completely ignored the title correction. Already he could tell he was getting on quite a few's nerves as they closed in on the palace, even if he was merely calling matters as he saw it. The kaiju looked up with an honestly impressed look, eyeing the beautiful spire.

"An empire this size, it sure must have a imperial class library. I would prefer to spend most of my time there."

Cadance didn't know what to make of her guest's gaze towards her homestead, unable to tell if it was some sense of awe a visitor from Ponyville might feel, or a sense of greed akin to another giant unicorn she knew of.

"Why so? Are you the scholarly type?"

"Despite my size and strength Empress, I do prefer to act with my brain before my brawn. If I am to stay here I best know of the land. Customs, etiquette, history. In addition it pertains to a goal of mine. One of my fellow kaiju is currently in a research project with the youngest alicorn to get us back to our home realm."

Both royals’ eyes widened and looked at Xenilla quickly, concern for family breaching professionalism. They may not have been crystal ponies, but it didn't take his sensory powers or the knowledge of their relation for Xenilla to feel their concern. Overabundance of concern could lead to irrationality, an outcome he'd preferably avoid as of now.

"Fear not. Aside from the conditions of the plan barring us from harming anypony, the kaiju with her, Mothra, is a very gentle soul. The two already seemed to be friendly towards each other when I last saw them. The alicorn is perfectly safe with her."

The married couple shared a calmed, hushed sigh, stepping into the entrance of the palace and out of view of the populace. Xenilla, after a moment's hesitation, followed suit.

"To return to my point. While I believe that pair's search should bear fruit based off their previous study, I much prefer to have some research on my own. After all, if I am an 'Ambassador' seeking knowledge; why wouldn't I attend your nation's reservoir of knowledge?"

Cadance thought matters through as she lead their small party up a flight of stairs, leading to one of the higher chambers.

"Would aid in the cover story, on charge the same rules applied to you in the palace apply to you in a library. You also will not be permitted to leave the palace for any reason without our knowledge and will leave with an escort; understood?"

"As you command..."

After several silent minutes of walking, they arrived at an isolated chamber. Turning the knob with a glimmer of light blue magic, the door opened up to show a medium sized room. Didn't take being told so for Xenilla to figure out he had been shown to his room and stepped inside. It wasn't an extravagant chamber and he knew what a bedroom was from his hacking into Terra's computers, but the fact it was his first room made it quite a new experience to be had. Eying the interior with a mix of fascination and inquiry, the former kaiju soon found himself looking out the window to the empire.

Cadance nodded to Shining, her husband nodding to report to the guards the full situation as she stood in the door way.

"...'Ambassador' Xenilla."

Xenilla broke away from looking upon the lands below, turning around.

"Empress?"

Cadance's eyes narrowed at her 'guest'. She could sense the hearts of those around her, and this being before her was constantly varying shades of gray. Either he was a superb liar and was masking his emotions like a champion, or operated on a morality system unlike almost any other soul. She didn't like it.

"I knew of what my aunt did to you all. I know not if you can sense my strength, but I will admit I am not as powerful as she or Luna. If you acted out now, I'm not sure if I could restrain you."

Xenilla raised an eyebrow, the words pricking his curiosity. He had many thoughts about this empire. Why were its rulers not made of crystal? Why was most of the populace not winged or horned? Who came up with this hair brained royal title system? How did this empire spring about? But now he was just focused on one weird inquiry.

-I can tell she fears for the ponies with me around, but if she is the strongest being in her land, why confess to being weaker than one of the few beings in this world who could put me down? Usually the memo is to bluff and exaggerate about one's power to keep something in line-

"And you admit this why?"

Cadance took a breath, still able to sense the crystal heart's power running through the air of her beloved empire. The pink alicorn looked the space born monstrosity dead in the eye with a glare that would do an angered Celestia proud. Xenilla respected it.

"Because this is MY empire with MY ponies under MY protection. I would fight the prisoners of Tartarus for them. And I am not the only one who'd fight. The empire has its defenses and we've fended off threats just as powerful as you... Don't try anything."

Xenilla smirked, tipping his head a bit.

"Wouldn't dream of it Empress."

Cadance nudged the door with her magic, it slowly fanning shut.

"Princess..."

Xenilla stood in silence, waiting for the hoof steps to walk away from the door a sufficient distance. Slowly, he nodded his head subtly.

-The mare has resolve, I'll give her that... Any sort of stunts right now would be more trouble than they are worth, a fool's gambit-

He turned, walking back to his window. He looked at two things at once. Both his own reflection glowing in the moonlight, looking over his equine form; and back to the vast city of an empire below.

-And a fool and his head are easily parted. But I am no fool.... Now... Let's see about this 'palace' of theirs-

Xenilla closed his eyes and concentrated, his energy traveling down his hooves and into the entirety of the castle and the other areas of the empire he'd covered on foot. He could sense the powers within his region of influence. One traveling down the hall to his right, likely Empress Cadance. Another standing before a large group of crystal ponies, probably her consort. There was something else though. Xenilla winced a bit as he directed his attention to it. It was stationary, and judging from his detection, not living. But it had more power than almost anything he'd sensed in this world.

-Seems the rulers weren't bluffing when they said 'other powers' -

Xenilla sighed, shifting his attention to the ambient crystals. With all the magic, a concept he still couldn't understand well, going about he didn't dare try to gain any power from the unknown source. For now, it’d just be good old fashion crystals; and he certainly wasn't going to run out of supply here.

-On Terra I'd need to set up a crystal field or run the risk of running out of energy too quickly... Doesn't seem to be the case here. Now let's try plan A...-

Invisible strands of energy flowed through the floor as Xenilla siphoned off ambient power from the surrounding crystals. He didn't take much from any single source, but the sheer range was slowly building up and replenishing his reserves. Sure enough though, as soon as he felt the power he'd expended fighting Godzilla return, he hit a cap off. The crystal kaiju gritted his teeth and strained, but try as he may he couldn't charge any further. As soon as he drained away more of the empire's passive energy and inched closer to his true form, not only was the empire's reserves instantly replenished but the extra energy immediately spilled out from his body like liquid in an over filled cup. Xenilla stopped, releasing the excess power and gasping under strain. His goal of reclaiming his full power shut away as thoughts shifted back to Mothra's presentation.

-Damn it... Seems the 'no self charge' theory is correct. There goes that plan...-

Xenilla growled under his breath, looking back into the empire outside. He wasn't feeding off of anymore energy, but could still passively sense it.

-All this power in this world, and I have a harvesting cap. What a cruel irony of life...-

For a split second though, amongst the wave of benign energy he detected; there was something else. Xenilla looked down at the city, scanning the darkened streets. He couldn't see it clearly, but for a brief moment before it hid back into the shadows; red and green eyes were looking back.

Xenilla curled back his lips and growled lowly as the dark force departed from his field of influence, his mood indistinguishable from a predator who had its territory intruded on. He knew there was something out there, and it knew he was there.

---------------------
Ponyville Library
---------------------

Spike shifted comfortably in his bed as Twilight softly nuzzled his scaly head. Purple magic cloaked around the little dragon's blanket, Twilight pulling it up and tucking her surrogate little brother into bed. It had been an awkward train ride back to Ponyville in the middle of the night. Aside from herself and Mothra, there had been a bandaged and recovering Rainbow Dash, fashion sketching Rarity refusing to be pried away from Mothra's wings, an already after-party planning Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy skittishly hiding in Rarity's bathtub, and an overactive CMC all tucked into the same train car as a thoroughly annoyed, much rather be sleeping Anguirus; and a stoic as a statue Destroyah. Between all the chaos, the general unease Twilight felt around Destroyah and the sense of distress she could feel Mothra and Anguirus were getting from the giant mare's presence; it was a less than stellar trip. On one level the young alicorn was glad it was finally over, on the other hand she did still feel unwell about all that had happened.

-Six visitors from another world show up, carrying mountains of new knowledge, and are on par with the celestial sisters in power-

Thoughts shifted back to the devastated main hall. Canterlot Castle hadn't had as much damage done to it in even the Changeling attack. Broken glass, snapped wood; and crushed tile coming to her mind.

-and they are at war with each other...-

Twilight looked down the staircase to the main library, a familiar set of butterfly-like wings glimmering in the moon light that cast through the window as Mothra slowly and silently flew around in circles. It didn't take an expert to tell the changeling queen was anxious. Minding her charge, Twilight fluttered the tips of her wings to lighten her steps as she made her way down the stairs and into the main library. Mothra sensed what was going through her friend's mind, hovering down to the floor with a tense look on her face.

"Mothra, it's past midnight and you're still pacing... What's wrong?"

Mothra chewed on her lip for a moment before sighing, keeping her voice hushed to mind the sleeping dragon.

"Xenilla leaves so he's out of sight by us and doesn't mind leaving his only ally behind to do so... He's definitely up to something."

"You sure?"

"I'd bet my both of my wings."

Twilight shrugged, walking over to the small stack of books she'd gotten ready for their research project. Her horn glimmered, levitating several volumes as she looked through them.

"At least he would still be stuck in his pony form, we did determine your type can't self charge."

Mothra paced over to the window, looking out into the distant, solemn night.

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't try..."

"Well, between Cadance, my brother, and the entire Crystal Empire; they should be able to keep a lid on him for awhile."

"Still, faster we can get all of us home; faster your kind won't be risked getting caught in the crossfire..."

Twilight's brow raised as a wave of sadness hit her. True, she had spent less than three days with the changeling; but they had managed to hit it right off from step one. Similar interests and complimenting personalities made it almost seem like the former kaiju was something of an elder sister to the mare; a feeling not unlike what she got from Cadance. Twilight knew the kaiju should go home and it was her duty to help them... It still didn't change the fact she was feeling some regret over it already. The alicorn turned to the page she was looking for, an old map to the Everfree forest with an all too familiar location marked.

"We've combed through my volumes here, tomorrow we can head out to the Castle of the Two Sisters. It's an older structure, once used by Celestia and Luna. A few of the older tomes there may offer a spell to help solve this problem."

Mothra turned back to her friend, nodding her head.

"Archaic knowledge is still knowledge, we can head out in the morning if you wish."

Twilight slipped the marked novel into her saddlebag and trotted over to the still visibly worried changeling, outstretching her wing and putting it across Mothra's back. The changeling sighed, but smiled.

"And I thought my friends said I over worried, hehe..."

"Sorry Lady Twilight. I do not necessarily oppose your princesses' decisions, but the fact I now know Xenilla is loose in your world and not in my sight to keep track of; your race is in my concern."

Twilight's ears perked up a bit, any sign of tiredness ebbing away at a stray thought entering her mind.

"Back in the castle, when you all started fighting, I'd never seen signs of such hatred. I doubt Equestria had so much violent rage in it since Tirek's campaign or the age of divided tribes."

"I am sorry you had to see that, I'm glad no one was hurt in the crossfire..."

Mothra sat down, looking back out the window.

"Your world, Equestria, is relatively at peace, Terra is not. Maybe once the war is over we will have similar circumstances..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, sitting down next to Mothra.

"You didn't have time to tell me a lot about Terra or your kind until that fiasco with Anguirus kicked up. I'm all ears now."

"Well it's better you learned least the basic parts now than later... I guess one could say the driving force behind our world's events is Godzilla."

"That giant unicorn that fought Luna?"

"The same, the humans of my world even gave him a title, "Godzilla - King of the Monsters". It is arguably he and his family that are the root of all actions occurring on Terra today. He however is not the first of his kind to bear that title nor that name, only the latest incarnation. First there was his father over 30 years ago. And then there was the first kaiju of the modern age, his grandfather..."

================================================================
Fan Works

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the fans, especially those; if by commission or their own effort; did things that warmed my heart. You're always guys and gals!

By TGBjerga, comissioned by fan IceStormy

By BlackFreya, commissioned by fans

By xXBlueFireDragonXx

by Moonsong18, commissioned by fans

{beginning to get the distinct impression someone out their likes a shipping...}

By Gsamalot

Applejack
Rodan
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Spike
Braeburn
Little Strongheart
Chief Thunderhooves
Gamera

============================

The train cart hobbled and shook, creaks shooting through the metal and floor boards as anxious claws tapped against the latter with each step. The train had been en route to Appleloosa since last night, and Rodan was increasingly festered each passing hour. If there was one constant he'd discovered in this new world, it was that he most certainly was not an indoor soul. He felt no breeze, the scents were clustered, the sky above was blocked out; it all felt so ungodly unnatural to him that it was beginning to make his scales crawl. Not even looking out the window into the passing landscape gave him a respite, and him sticking his head out a window nearly resulted in a face-first impact with a railroad sign. Best he could do was pace, only thankful he'd managed to get walking in this new body down. He hoped pacing would speed the hours along. So far success was scarce.

Applejack had spent the last few hours with her hat over her face to try and wink away a bit of the night. She managed to rest for a grand total of forty minutes before the creaking of floorboards roused her awake and refused to yield her to sleep. For the first hour she ignored it, but now she was about half ready to shove candle wax in her ears. When she lifted her hat up, having half a mind to smack the first thing she saw, she got a look at Rodan's frantic face. Seeing him in such a state caused the mare's face to soften. A hoof wrapped around Rodan's wing, and before he could react, Applejack had yanked the Gryphon back and plopped him down on the seat next to her. The calm face but raised eyebrow on AJ's face kept him from protesting the seating. Rodan shrugged.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be, you're the one who's been neck high in the willies for hours on end. You seem right more skittish than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

Rodan didn't understand the analogy, but opted not to question it and just keep talking. Perhaps a conversation could help him take the edge off.

"Guess I just don't like being indoors…."

AppleJack noted the gryphon's broad wings, ignoring their alien appearance. She recalled how trapped some pegasi could feel when indoors, giving her a true assumption.

"Judging from the back gear I take it you're a 'free bird'?"

"You could say that.... Today’s been my first time ever being inside actually."

Rodan looked around at his surroundings, cringing for a split second.

"Feels kinda suffocating actually...Trapped. Too used to seeing the sky over my head I guess."

Applejack put a hoof on the gryphon's shoulder, easing him a bit.

"Don't get too bound up, we should almost be there and if there's somethin' Appleloosa is, it's being waaay outta ways. If it’s got anything it’s plenty of elbow room."

Rodan sighed, a bit relieved. The conversation was helping out already.

"So… about this attack of the giant birds. Is that normal around here?"

Applejack took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to try and keep calm as she shook her head.

"I've been a'ways around Equestria. I've seen giant dragons, crocodiles made outta rocks, gorilla-dogs, whatever the hay Discord counts as; and canyons full of eels that swim in rock. But nothin' on some large scaled feather dusters, definitely no big fliers out and about around Appleloosa. It's nothing but plains and desert of couple days walk as the crow flies."

The mare leaned back in her seat, looking out at the passing mid-day desert.

"Just hope this doesn't mean anything about relations with ol' Chief Thunderhooves and the Buffalo herds… hopin’ they didn’t go array."

With a flick of her ears, Applejack decided it was her turn for some inquiry. The train came around a broad bend, Dodge Junction passing by in the distance.

"Speaking of unknown critters, that drawling Mothra made of that Anguirus partner of your's wasn't any beast or critter I recognized. And from what I understand all six of you didn't look like you do now, so what are you supposed to be really?"

Rodan fanned his wings a bit, stretching the half taught limbs out.

"Well I definitely didn't have this many limbs before, nor did I walk around like I had wet squids stuck to the bottom of my feet-"

Applejack got two thoughts in her mind. One the awkward, wobbling gate Rodan had on the way to the train being so bad she offered carrying him. And another about the hilarious mental images she was getting involving cephalopods. Rodan ignored the chuckling and continued.

"Your friends got a good look at me at the campground before I...downshifted... My head and wings look close enough, but bods' completely different. Guess you could best call me a giant bird with scales instead of feathers."

The earth pony couldn’t help but cock a suspicious eyebrow at the last sentence. Her thoughts were shifting back to the Princesses’ letter, visions of voracious death from above trying to claim her cousin. The thoughts and visions weren’t sitting well.

“Giant ‘bird’?...”

Rodan could read the narrow eyed expression and tensed body like a book, reeling back a bit and putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

“Ey ey ey! I had nothing to do with any attacks, okay? Only things I did before getting in with your posse was buzz some pegasus and use some drake as a landing pad before the change happened! Judging from the moon and sun I came from north of here, not south."

Applejack kept her face firm as she held onto her hat with her free hoof, fanning it a bit. Slowly, she half shrugged and half sighed. Relieved at the truth she could detect, she grew disgruntled at not being any closer to the cause of the nightmare her cousin was put through.

"Sorry, still tense."

"Happens. This is your folks on the line here. I know I'm prooobably not your typical sort of company anyways. Unless you want to tell me your kind is some sort of ground dwelling dolphin or sentient hot rocks, you have nothing to fear from me eating anyone. 'Sides I'd rather not get on that Celestia's bad side with the shape I'm in now."

Applejack read the honest and was content with her answer. They still had a ways to go until they reached town, and she still needed to be a bit surer of her cohort's intentions. She knew he meant well and wasn’t a threat, but she was the kind of pony who wanted to know more about who she was trekking with. Time to really put her element to work.

"Why were you so quick to volunteer to lend a hoof back at the palace?"

Rodan looked out at the wide countryside beyond the window, yearning to fully stretch his wings out. After taking a moment to eye a few rock pillars that would make excellent perches, he looked back to the inquisitive mare.

"Well, aside from the previously established clause of me hating being indoors and wanting to find some space; I try not to be a nasty chum believe it or not. I mean, I'm a..gryphon did you call it back then?- And I take it they are welcome amongst your lot?"

Applejack nodded.

"Ye. There aren't too many of them around in these parts, but they can settle in like the rest of us just fine."

"Well then, if I am welcome into your country by your leaders and into your town by you; by logic I should be welcoming to you ponies. Being welcome makes you part of the flock. And if a flockmate is hurt, I will go to help them."

"Flock?"

"You know, group you trust. Like how me, Goji, Mothra, and Anguirus are in the same lot. They're my flock. And if I got no reason to distrust you or any other pony, you're part of the flock too."

Applejack thought over his words for a moment, analyzing his face. Full trust was something hard earned and no one could trust a total stranger overnight. Still, his sincerity was near beaming. The earth pony smirked, playfully punching Rodan in the shoulder.

"Rodan, welcome to Equestria. I think we're gonna be glad to have ye’ and we’ll get a'long just fine."

---------------------------
Everfree Forest Road
---------------------------

Twilight trotted along the old dirt and stone path, her saddlebags jingling a bit from their bloated loads as Mothra kept up behind her. They had opted to walk on three counts. For one, the younger of the two hadn’t quite nailed flying yet. Secondly, it be harder to spot the castle through all the tall trees and difficult to land properly. And lastly, the third member of their party couldn’t fly. Spike quickly paced alongside his adoptive sibling, keeping her between him and the changeling. It was nothing personal against the Guardian of Mortals, but the poor little dragon couldn’t help but look at her crooked horn and hole filled hooves and not get flashbacks to a hair raising encounter. Spike wanted to come on this trip, but he had a phobia to deal with, one that caused him to spring out from bed so high he nearly hit the ceiling when he first saw Mothra. It would take time to get over it.

Still, points to the changeling for trying. Catching an idle glance from the little drake in her multi-colored eyes, the royal changeling attempted to shoot him a friendly smile and a subtle wave. Unfortunately this just sent Spike diving for cover underneath Twilight’s legs; hiding under her like a startled foal. Mothra’s face drooped a bit, looking back ahead before sighing in defeat.

Twilight did her best to ignore it all, not objecting to Spike hiding underneath her. She learned the hard way about trying to force friendship issues, thanks to a certain incident with Smarty Pants. The ball was in Spike’s court for now. The young alicorn shifted her attention to other matters, thoughts churning in recollection to back at the castle.

“You said back at Canterlot you’d tell me a bit about a certain two and you gave me the basic run down last night, but we ran out of time. Mind giving me the details now since we got a ways to go? I don’t mean to rush a conversation but… you were all so quick to fight… and Godzilla and that blue one especially looked like they were trying to kill each other!”

Twilight’s eyebrows curled up, fear evident in her expression. She was no stranger to conflict, and fully supported the need to defend oneself, both from having to save Equestria multiple times now; and some of her BBBFF’s combat training and tales having rubbed off on her. What did disturb her was the unbridled ferocity and hatred she could almost feel radiating off all of them when both sides faced off. To a Princess of Friendship and camaraderie, it was like looking straight at the pits of Tartarus. Mothra looked to Twilight with a pained expression, it was evident a topic she didn't like discussing had just cropped up. Twilight read the negative expression, but before she could quickly try to change the subject, Mothra lifted a hoof and replied.

“Knowing those two, that is likely exactly what they were trying to do... Don’t ever take the peace and good in your world for granted Twilight-”

Mothra looked up at the forest ahead, trickles of sun light slipping through the canopy.

“-my home is a cold war; with those two as two of the biggest heads of it. Xenilla for prepetuating it, Godzilla for trying to stop it. As I said last night, their family is the leading cause, but mine also arguably drove the events that lead up to this conflicted war zone of home I had.”

Twilight tilted her head and flicked her ears, looking back to Mothra’s face. The expression of guilt and sadness was evident. One of the words hit Twilight like a jackhammer.

-Previously she just said "Godzilla's family"...-

“Their family?” Twilight muttered with a perked brow, "I mean, they do look similar. Large size, thick build, the nasal ridge... And if I were a betting mare, I'd say they were both spewing variants of plasma considering it didn't look like magic to me."

Mothra's heart quickened when she realized the word had slipped her tongue. But, the inquisitive look on the smaller mare demanded an answer. There was no beating around the bush now... Mothra slowly nodded, sadly.

“There is a reason Xenilla looks so much like my ally, yes. Just like I was proceeded by my mother, the Godzilla you and I know is not the first; being the third to take up that name."

Twilight nodded along, recalling some of the stories Mothra had told her at the library. Ones that cast images of living titans and masses of nuclear fires, "Y-Yes I remember, the first, Junior's adoptive grandfather, lived and died over half a century ago. A dinosaur mutated by radiation, much like his son which followed him. The second was Godzilla Senior, who first made his presence known thirty years ago. He was the current Godzilla's adoptive father."

Mothra hummed, "Correct. I told you a bit about Senior's battles and trials during his active decade, against the horrors of man and beasts like Destroyah, but I guess I didn't have enough time to cover one important detail. It was how Xenilla's birth was caused by my family, my mother.”

Twilight shifted all of her attention to Mothra as they entered the darkest patch of forest. The dark surrounding matched pained memories.

He submitted to the void of time and acted as its voice, “It was because of the battle Godzilla Senior had against my parents…”

Mothra Lea’s face became pained over past memories.

Every member of her lineage was their predecessor’s replacement. Each Mothra would serve her term as a protector, and then lay an egg when she was beginning to weaken so her daughter could succeed her. And so each replacement was stronger than the last as to give rise to better and better protectors, knowledge was passed on in the blood. While each was their own individual, each new daughter inherited some of her foremothers’ memories and experiences. Lea however had matters a bit more severe. The modern Battra, her mother’s male counterpart of armored moths, had fallen in battle in a time the planet was in no condition to make a replacement out of the mana and life force of the world itself. But a protector was needed nevertheless. So, the power of both lines converged on her mother’s egg. In a way, this made the newborn guardian a hybrid; twice as powerful as both of her forbearers. On the side effect, she didn’t remember just her mother’s fate in the hell-fires of DesGhidorah and cold of the ocean; nor the deaths of her grandmother, great grandmother, and so on back to the Cretaceous generation by generation. She was the first Mothra to have a father, but she was also the first Mothra to lose more than one parent. Each time she thought back to the time she and her greatest ally’s family lines first met, she knew how it felt when an enraged and out of control Godzilla Senior sunk his fangs into Battra's neck. The splintering of chitin from the gnash of fang.

She shook her head, feeling what her mother felt. Seeing the living mountain of walking thunder that was Junior's father. Similar in form, if different in shape and build. Smaller, rounded dorsal spines that looked partially melted, keloid scars from atomic fire from the warheads that rebirthed a creature that should have lived a humble and ignorant life as a predator of whales and fish without knowing true sapience. True hatred. But the uplifting had left its scars, ones Junior was spared by being irradiated while still in his egg. The Old King's wrath was bore of knowing what had been trust upon him while knowing malice, for that was all mankind had ever given him. In many ways, even as horrifying as he was to behold, her mother pitied the former King of the Monsters. Especially when he'd been suddenly driven mad by an outside force and sicced upon her and Battra seemingly without cause. Little conscience, no choice, just destroy.

Mothra sighed quietly, “Senior was not like Junior. He was wronged by both the world around him and the sapient races who lived on it, lashing out at anything he saw as hurting him. He wasn’t an evil beast, but no less guilty of his own wrath. Even so, something else was inside him; building over the years. It burned through his veins like hellish venom and drove him mad. To this day I still don't fully know what it was or how it came to possess him, but it turned an already aggressive and hate filled kaiju into a would-be walking hurricane. Upon the awakening of my mother, Senior flew into a rampage. He charged right into the path of my quarreling mother and-"

She almost hesitated at the word. It wasn't just the matter of the Godzilla's conflict all those years ago. Senior's arrival had coincided, almost too perfectly, during a quarrel that started 70,000 years ago and bled into the modern day at the previous Mothra and Battra's awakening. The Guardians of the Biosphere, her father and grandfather, against the Guardian of Mortals, her mother and grandmother. Two incarnations with the same debate. If sapient life had the right to exist and alter their world, even at the cost of other species. With a debate and conflict between demigods, the modern day monster came charging in.

"-father... Seeing what was wrong, they put aside their differences and fought together to fend him off. Under their combined power, they won the night and Senior was driven off while being freed of his mania..."

Mothra's face winced, flashes of gnashing, blood stained teeth and glowing spines blotting her vision briefly. For a split second, the Guardian of Mortals and paragon of benevolence, looked terrified. Twilight saw every bit of it, drawing close to try and comfort her friend. She couldn't have imagined a simple question could have hit such a nerve, foreseeing something painful was about to come out.

The memories of her father ceased at the moment he did, when a gore covered Godzilla, just before he was cured by her mother's spell, tore Battra's throat out and fired his burning lights point blank into the wound. Sparks of fire and searing lanterns spewed out from between his fangs that remain embedded in Battra's chitin, the beam tearing its way into the demigod and firing out the other side of his neck. The Guardian of the Biosphere's eyes went dim.

"But not before he tore my father's throat out... My mother performed a seal on Senior to free him from the presence and dropped him in the sea, my father’s corpse sinking into the ocean depths with him. Senior did not resume his attack and retreated.

Twilight's brow perked and her mouth dropped agape slightly at the tale, practically able to see it before her as vague as some details were. She didn't know this world, know this history. But she knew a tragedy when she heard it and so, listened intently.

Mothra shook her head, remembering the gaze cast to her mother from beneath the ocean waves she'd dropped Battra's corpse and Godzilla into. The seal of magic had faded and yet the gaze remained. Godzilla was still very much alive, and very conscious. But, it was as if he bore her witness with his own eyes for the first time. The look was of confusion. At her and his surroundings, as if waking from a dream for the first time in days, if not weeks. They looked upon one another, one flying above the ocean's still surface and one passively hovering below it. Slowly, though surely, the Monster King's visage softened to neutrality. His conflict had been with the humans, be it his enemies of old or those who'd continue to antagonize him instead of leaving his lovely soul to persist in peace. They'd already taken his kind, his home, his body, his mind from him.... But this entity, this almost angelic moth, had done no such sin or slight. For the first time to not of his own breed, the Monster King felt regret. He sunk deeper into the depths of the ocean, not taking the chance to swim past the Mothra to attack the nearby city in retribution for whatever slight had been handed to him this time. To someone consumed with hate, it being the human's fault only made sense.

But instead, he slipped away into the void and turned his back on the Mothra as Battra's corpse was interred by the darkness below. They had no quarrel, so long as she left him alone. The current Mothra's mother hovered above the surface, her wings beating ripples into the surface slowly as the sea dragon departed. In some minor way, she knew he felt sorry.

She turned her gaze to the heavens above, to the distant flicker approaching the planet from far out in the void above even blacker than the sea below.

"With the task complete, my mother departed the planet and flew into space to avert a meteor on an impact course. She didn’t know some of Senior’s blood and scales were stuck to her claws.”

Mothra looked up at the pinpricks of sky visible through the thick canopy. Somewhere beyond Celestia’s glow was deep space. She couldn’t help but wonder if Xenilla looked to the same sky as if it was his crib.

“We may never know what exactly happened, but Senior’s tissue broke off in flight. They somehow reformed, mutated in the darkness of the void; and bore forth the beast you know as Xenilla. The humans speculated it was exposure to mass energy that kick started the cell’s healing factor. Others say it was remnant magic from my mother. Xenilla himself may not even know.”

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly. What had been popularized by fiction, theorized Equestrian science for decades, and personally banned by Celestia herself; had been standing amongst all of them in Canterlot Castle and now roamed the Crystal Empire. Complete replication of life, more so than the Mirror Pool could ever hope to achieve.

“He’s a clone…”

“Yes, a heavily altered one. One with enough traits to distinguish him from his progenitor while retaining numerous similarities, akin to a child resembling their parent. In a way, he is the Old King’s bastard child,” Mothra muttered, "Ignorant of this, the Second Godzilla later adopted an orphaned juvenile he'd found some time later, after they had been raised by humans. That juvenile would grow into his successor... And my best friend."

“So, if Junior is the adoptive son of Senior, that makes him and Xenilla brothers?” Twilight whispered with her brow drooping, "And when he returned to your home world, you told me of how Xenilla tried to kill their father and take over. Explaining why Junior despises him."

Mothra nodded, “Now you know what Icka’brod means, an olden term of origin in their kind, and why it set Junior off so much... I don’t think I need clarify why Junior violently denies it, it’s not a happy family dynamic. Even to this day we never did figure out the reason Xenilla sought dominion of the planet but his personality leaves little to question why.”

"And the conflict only got worse with time. I could imagine giant monsters fighting could lead to catastrophic losses if a fight spilled into a city," Twilight grimaced, not wanting to even think of such an event in somewhere like Canterlot or Manehattan.

"You're intuition befits you, young Princess," Mothra hummed as they trotted through a darkened patch in the wood, befitting the tone of their discussion. Even the calmest of this realm still looked so pristine, inflaming the worry their war would spoil such a place, "But legacy has a way of reversing. The first two Godzilla were destroyers and yet; humanity, Equestria's closest counterparts, still thrives in their cities. The current Godzilla has been nothing but tireless in seeing to it the battles are intercepted before such calamities happen. Always taking the fight outside the limits, always out to sea again in the end, always running to another defense with that innate keenness to know where he must be. He is, and always has been, my greatest friend and one of Terra's champions despite no calling to be so."

The brief glow of pride about her however, faded with other recollections. All the times she and her oldest friend had been bruised or beaten after a battle only to find him rushing off to another while still bleeding all over the place. Stubborn fool insisted he'd heal on the way there.

"... Sometimes, many times, I've tried to make him slow. Insist someone else can shoulder the burden. At other times I worry it is out of guilt for what his predecessors had done. One time," Mothra paused in breath to retain her composure, for a second risking it to falter. To force levity she scoffed, "Fool tried to crisscross the continents all in the span of a few months just to patrol. And this was after a massive brawl where I know for a far he got multiple scars from!... I finally had enough. Forced a sleeping spell on him so he'd rest! And do you know what he did?"

Twilight wasn't sure she wanted an answer, but frowned and perked her ear, "What did he do? Get angry with you?"

Mothra shrugged long and she shrugged hard, "Oh he was enraged... at himself. And didn't show it, but I knew. Because Anguirus instead intercepted an attack and not him and got bruised up in the process.... He's just as obsessive. And I know my family set this on him and yet he'll not stop until he's-... Stopped."

Her head drooped as the seconds passed, "I don't mind suffering. But I can't bear seeing my friends or world suffer much longer."

Mothra’s expression saddened considerably, looking down at her hooves as they walked the rarely trotted path. Twilight remembered the tale Mothra had told her of Senior and Xenilla’s duel, of the human war machine who intervened, of a child aged Junior’s imprisonment by his brother. She knew Destroyah who was also Junior’s enemy, his would-be executioner whom fought the Old King until he met his demise after fending her off. But now it made all the more sense why Mothra’s ally emanated so much disdain for Xenilla in particular. It was personal to him as it was her. And on top of all this, Mothra’s family was also involved in this mess.

-She flinched up when talking about Senior, like he's a phobia. Junior and Xen must be bringing him up in her mind constantly. One an enemy, the other a friend she feels worry for. And yet, either side of that conflict she's reminded of her father’s killer no matter if she looks at her closest friend and harshest enemy. And it was by her mother's actions that the brothers' feud started in the first place. No wonder their world is never placid, it's all one interconnected conflict after another! Her time here might be the closest thing her entire lineage has had to peace in years!-

Twilight stretched out a wing, putting it across Mothra’s back slowly as the mare shifted to walk closer, rubbing up against the changeling supportively. A flicker of green and purple moved out from under Twilight’s legs, and before a second could drop, Spike had taken up his walk alongside Mothra’s other flank, unafraid. A small arm reached out and hugged Mothra’s drooping wingtip, the apologetic look on Spike’s face needing no words. Flashes of grief turned into small pangs of happiness. Stretching her free wing around Twilight, Mothra leaned down and gently nuzzled Spike’s head. The little dragon almost reeled back when her snout loomed over him, but held firm and soon was shivering ticklishly at her touch.

Mothra finally stilled, now realizing how wound up she'd gotten and resolving not to let that happen again. Somehow, around Twilight and company, there was a sense it wouldn't, “Thank you little one, and you too young Princess…”

“Ah shucks... Hey, listen. I know things are bad for you at home, but for now, Equestria is home. And maybe we can help each other out beyond just returning you from whence you came,” She tapped Mothra's back with her wing, "We've had our own share of massive problems in the past, particularly about 1,000 years ago. And yet, we managed to make a world this peaceful."

Spike finished her line with a wink, "Totally, if it could happen here; it could happen on Terra. And if there is any place to learn how to fix family problems, it's Equestria! Nobody has to suffer."

Twilight beamed happily before looking ahead. The forest was parting to an all too familiar wood and rope bridge. The traveling trio halted as the distant sight of thousand year old cut stones, half broken statues; and archaic designs.

“Mothra… welcome to the former residence of Princess Celestia and Luna, the Everfree Castle of the Two Sisters.”

===========================
Appleloosa, what's still standing that is
===========================

The train screeched to a halt, the relief effort teams departing. Between Applejack's rush to get into town and Rodan's eagerness to finally get in the open it was hard to tell which one of them had gotten out of the door first when they exploded out from it. The sight of the humped backs and recurved horns of the Thunderhoof bison herd amongst the town caused the poor mare to worry her worst fears come true for a moment, forcing her to rush into town ahead of near anyone outside of the gryphon flying after her. She most certainly didn't expect Braeburn to pop up in front of her from around a corner.

"Howd'y Cuz! Welcome to Aaaaaappleloosa!"

"GAK! BRAEBURN!"

Before she could give the bandaged up stallion another broken bone for startling her so badly, Braeburn lurched forward and gave Applejack the strongest hug he could with only one arm. The on-looking Rodan was stuck wondering if this was normal for them. Applejack returned the hug for a split second before pulling back to see how banged up her cousin was. Braeburn had seen better days. His entire right forelimb was bandaged up from hoof to shoulder, held in a splint. His trademark hat was roughed up and had several holes in it, with a large portion of the rim torn off. Bruising encircled his left eye and right cheek, dueling with a kindly smile as to whether the face would show pain or glee. The tattered remains of his vest stretched across his shoulders, several large slashes over the back of it ending in the entire lower end having been ripped away. More bandaging striped both of his back legs, green cactus salve staining one of them that apparently had been bloodied.

"You gave me a scare right to Tartarus and back! Are you okay? Anything hurt? Bandages too tight? Are you ok to walk?!"

"Cuz cuz I'm fiiiine, just needed a little patching up."

Braeburn's condition was an allegory for the town itself. Appleloosa had more damaged buildings than it did ideal and intact ones. Ponies, both from Canterlot and the townsfolk themselves, and bison moved to and fro from buildings; carrying everything from supplies to injured ponies. The saloon's roof had been crushed in, windows at the doctor's office shattered, homes torn asunder; and the sheriff's office and jail looked like it had been sliced in half. Braeburn's footing began to falter, but before AJ could lurch forward to help a blur of bronze moved to his side. Little Strongheart held herself up against the stallion, re-steadying him. Near everyone caught a momentary flush of red on Braeburn's face amongst the bruising as a mountain of a bison walked up to them.

Chief Thunderhooves looked over at the shattered remains of what had been a bakery.

"We saw smoke coming from the horizon this morning. When Strongheart noticed nopony in the orchards and came to see what was wrong, we found the town like this."

Applejack took off her hat and put it over her chest, relieved her fears turned out to be the exact opposite of reality. She bowed a bit.

"Mighty thankful for the aid Chief."

Rodan was a short distance from the conversation that was following. The wind was shifting slightly, blowing all of the towns scents into him. He smelled it all, old wood, dust, equines, bovines, blood, coals; and a enormous amount of apples. But there was something else here, something vaguely familiar. The gryphon hovered up higher into the air, looking the town over from the vantage point while sifting his nostrils through the breeze.

"What all happen 'round here?!"

"Bunch o' big buzzards came in just after sundown. Tore half the place apart before they all vanished."

"Vanished?"

Braeburn nodded, rubbing the back of his head with his cast.

"Here one secon', gone the next. Everyone was indoors in Sheriff Silverstar's basement cellar. When the noise stopped all the sudden I poked my head out and wasn't a bird in sight."

Little Strongheart adjusted her position to keep Braeburn from tipping himself over, obvious concern on her face.

"We found some tracks when we arrived, they were far too big to be any birds we know of."

"Weird lookin' things too, not a single feather on 'em; kinda like y'er friend over there."

Rodan's head snapped forward straight at Braeburn as he locked on to the scent. Closing up his wings the gryphon dropped down right in front of the stallion and dove his nostrils at Braeburn's bandaged forearm. He was sniffing at the limb like a bloodhound on a trail.

"Um... what’s he doin?"

Rodan ignored the inquiry, eyes gaping at the scent he was picking up.

"What did this?!"

Braeburn craned his neck back a bit.

"One of them birds got a hold of my leg in its mouth before I could slam a door on its head. Bugger bit down so hard I still can't walk straight on it."

Before he could give a response, Rodan took back off into the air and through town; following something. Applejack and the others were quick to follow, abet at a slow pace until Little Strongheart practically hauled a blushing Braeburn onto her back, turning to Applejack as she kept up easily despite the load.

"Who is this gryphon?"

"He's new around these parts, but I think he might know a thing or two about what's going on. What's this way Braeburn?"

"That bird that bit me musta said something about the other's Ma's because the other ones turned on it immediately after I hurt it with the door. We found the body outside of the saloon."

By the time they arrived at said saloon, Rodan have already dove down and shoved his way through the small crowd. Getting up to him, Applejack soon found herself standing before the rotting and near picked clean skeleton of a beast unlike anything found in Equestria. Giant was an accurate description, the entire skeleton easily being the same size as Chief Thunderhooves. The skull was capped with an arrowhead shaped plate, with large sockets fitted under the ridge. The wings were more like a bat than any bird she'd heard off, with several long fingers supporting the strips of what she had to presume were once wings. And more grossly unlike any living avian, the jaws were packed with a row of recurved, serrated fangs. She had no idea what she was looking at, but the blood drained face of the gryphon beside he told her he did.

"This is bad... this is very very bad..."

"R-Rodan.. do you know what this is?"

"Y-Yes... and I need to get a message to Mothra NOW!"

------------------------------------------------

The pink and purple aura surrounding several strands of ivory colored mane subsided, the stray hairs falling into a large, liquid filled petri dish. Much to Twilight’s delight and Mothra’s relief, the clear liquid changed its hue into a pool of passive blue as opposed to a stop-sign red. Mothra half bit her tongue, practicing her own levitation magic with a rainbow cloak wrapping around Godzilla’s hairs to lift them into a dry dish. Twilight quickly scrolled their findings down on a notebook.

“Phew, not toxic.”

“Thankfully, seems any ambient radiation Junior gives off won’t harm any of your kind.”

Twilight inspected the indicator liquid, which changed color according to what kind of energy or magic it was exposed too. Blue was for wild and uncontrolled magic, but thankfully not harmful.

“It seems this energy he gives off, certain types of ‘radiation’, is very similar to unprocessed magic. Would explain why he could hurt Princess Luna. Aside from being larger and stronger, the two immortal alicorns heal very rapidly from all but certain types of magic attacks.”

“Would also account for why her dark magic shut off his own regeneration; if radiation and magic have similar properties.”

Twilight tabbed her quill to her chin, looking over the test notes.

“Least we now know he won’t make anyone in Canterlot sick by just walking around, same probably goes for Xenilla at the Empire. One question though, if it’s harmful to a lot of things in your home world when in large doses, why would it be relatively harmless to Equestrians?”

“Well he might be safe to stay around, but I wouldn’t try chugging his heat beam anytime soon. Reason miiiight be because Equestria is used to dealing with large amounts of free energy flying around. Terra does have some magic left in it, but it had much more in the past than it does now. Maybe the loss of magic in Terra meant most life forms might be harmed by similar sources, like radiation types"

"Like how a disease is more dangerous if you have no resistance to it."

Mothra nodded approvingly, trotting back over to a not so small pile of tomes and books the two had managed to read through in the past hour.

"Now that the science experiment is done, you said you thought you had gotten an idea from one of these?"

Twilight flapped her wings, mentally praising the new asset to help her get around, and landed alongside. Horn glimmering, the alicorn quickly levitated up half the books and was busily scanning the titles and subjects.

"Yes, one of them mention something, let's seee....no, no, no, no , definitely no... ummm. Spike-"

Eyes darted over to the little dragon, who was plopped down on a small comforter pillow and thumbing through a comic book. He looked up as the alicorn felt a wave of mental relief wash over her knowing it one she got him for his birthday and wasn't another enchanted graphic novel.

"Yes Twilight?"

"You know where the tomes on distance clearing magic in the lower library are?"

"Yeah I spent half a day putting labels on the shelves while you were studying last time we were here. Need something?"

"Could you grab me 'Methods and Spells of Distance Dilation' by Clover the Clever? Should be on the lower shelf."

With a hop, skip, and a salute; Twilight's Number One Assistant shot up, put his comic to rest by his can of root beer and tray of rubies; and set to work. Half hopping and half jogging down a hall to the sound of Mothra and Twilight's echoed voices, the little dragon jumped up on the stairwell's railing and slid down the obstacle like a slide. After sticking a landing he half expected Pinkie Pie to jump out from and yell 'TA-DAAAA', Spike fumbled with a tall door for a moment before entering the castle catacombs. While he could see just fine more or less amongst the darkness, any chipper courage he had was waning slowly amongst the clawing shadows and vast expanses. The catacombs were part natural structure and part castle, having been a large cave system when the Princesses built their castle over the entrance. The walls and floor were all cut, polished, and aged stone alongside bits of tiles and the remains of carpet; but the ceiling itself was a mass expanse of natural stalactites and hollows that flickered in and out of view in the dancing torch light. In the shimmering light, long shadows of tall spikes gnashed the ceiling while a whispering breeze slipped across the cavern. Spike did his best to hurry his pace and bite his tongue.

-Ke-Keep a lid on it Spikey, you volunteered and Twilight showed you there is nothing down here to be afraid of last time. No bats, no bears, no monsters, no Angel. J-Just a biiiig room with some pointy rocks. You can do this..-

Rushing slightly despite taking a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart, the little dragon hobbled onto a rolling stool and kicked off. Riding down a line of tome packed aisles, Spike quickly read the author names as they trailed by. Just looking at the sheer number of decorated labels he made was reminding him all too much of just how bored he'd been at the time.

"Let's see... Lady Amal'thea, Silver Scout, Esperanza, Masked Tornado, Dame Epona, Shadowfax, Ebony Beauty… Ah!”

Spike stuck out his arm to grab onto the aisle, skidding his ride to a halt before a small shelf of scrolls and novella sized tomes. The paper label decorated with a Hearth’s Warming tree decoration heralding its author. After a brief scan over the titles, the object of his search was soon in hand.

“'Methods of Spells of Distance Dilation', by Clover the Clever and King Shisar?..Seesaw’er? um…Oye what was his mother thinking..uuuh.... King Cae-”

Just as he was about to give another crack at trying to pronounce the clearly foreign name, a distant flicker of noise ripped away the little dragon’s attention. A whooshing, whipping noise echoed down from the ceiling high above, repeating a few times before halting. Spike looked up, but even with his sharp eyes and light from his torch, saw nothing. The sound seemed to be coming from a particularly high location in the cavern’s ceiling, where if he squinted, Spike could just barely make out a large crevice in the roof leading to a dark unknown. It seemed the noise was either coming from in there or had echoed into there. Spike was more than a little quick to pack the book away with him and getting rolling again on the stool, heading for the exit. The clacking and humming of the stool’s wheels on the hard floors drowned out any other sound he could have possibly heard, and it was hard for him to decide if that was better or worse than before.

-B-Breezes blow through from the caves sometimes, might have just caught a curtain the r-ight way and made it flap a bit. Yeah that’s it! That's exactly what it sounded like. The cave just plays around with noises a lot Spikey, there’s nothing here to be afraid of! Nope-nope-nope!-

Despite his assurance and quick pace, it took another nail biting minute for him to get back to the entrance. Scaling back up the stairwell with book in hand, Spike looked back into the darkened library with a relieved sigh. Nothing, there was absolutely nothing down there.

-Phew, maybe Twilight's right. You’ve just been reading too many spooky comics Spike…-

He turned and walked back into the castle halls, oblivious to the gleam of reddened eyes that had been following him from the ceiling; their owner crawling out of the crevice and across the cavern’s roof towards the exit.

Spike kept his little heart attack to himself upon returning, earning a nuzzle and a thank you from his big sister before plopping back down to enjoy his, thankfully non-horror related, Power Ponies comic. Mothra didn’t get a chance to see both of the authors’ names before Twilight flicked the tome open and quickly fanned through to the page she was looking for.

“Clover the Clever was a unicorn that lived way back in a time before the princesses ruled. She was the front runner in distant communication through magic. It was she and Celestia who invented the scroll teleportation spell you saw back at the camp.”

Mothra mulled over the thought for a moment, remembering how Luna’s message had come to them. It was a fascinating application of magic, but she didn't see how it would help out in reaching back to Terra.

“I see. Now, how does this pertain to us?”

“Two parts. For one, sending a message is easiest to do when you are sending it to someone from the land you native to. For instance sending a note to Saddle Arabia that was written by a Saddle Arabian would be easier than if the note was written by an Equestrian or Gryphon. And two, you can talk to your allies out of earshot via Telepathy right?”

Mothra’s eyes flickered with a loving glow for a split second, and her warm voice echoed into Twilight’s mind like a bell, despite her mouth not moving.

-“Correct.”-

Twilight grinned and had to resist the giddy urge to playfully demand a lesson in how to pick up the skill, giggling before continuing.

“Well, since you are from Terra and can talk through telepathy, maybe we can use one of Clover’s spells to ‘patch’ you through to someone back on Terra? Proper use of the magic might be able to extend the range and power of your telepathy juuuust enough to cross over. With our hypothesized barrier ruptured, there is nothing blocking it so we might get through!”

Mothra’s face lit up with anticipation. True, they hadn’t found a way to return themselves home just yet. But a link back home, even just the dimensional equivalent to a long distance telephone call; was more than a small victory.

“Let’s do it!”

Twilight closed the book with a snap, her horn lighting up with raw magic as she gave Mothra a smirking grin and a nod.

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Back on Terra, Bottom of the Pacific Ocean Shallows
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Gamera was not having a very pleasant week. True, the conflicts for now had stopped; but to say it had been through peaceful means was the biggest lie this side of the century. Several days ago the humans decided to use their shiny new weapon on the island numerous kaiju called home, removing the leadership of two of the largest factions on the planet. Then half the same scourge he’d spent years keeping down all try to act up at once, almost as if either in celebration of the apparent loss of the likes of Godzilla and Mothra, or in mad power grabs due to the vacuum Xenilla and Destroyah left. With two beings they saw as their king and queen gone, many of the more benign kaiju looked to the giant turtle as their new leader. With reluctance, the shelled ‘Regent’ launched a full scale counter attack, dispatching a fighter and defender to every assault they could find. Yonggary engaging and driving off Pulgasari to defend Seoul, Raiga fending off an incursion by a second Knifehead she sensed coming at Manila; and Zilla jr. battling it out against Buraki at Port Jackson. Gamera himself had been engaged against a large flock of gyaos before the humans decided to put their new toy to work and make the whole flock disappear in a ball of darkness. It had only been through sheer luck that Gamera had a stony spire to grab onto that he avoided getting sucked in himself until the black hole expired. Already he’d gotten word his brush up with Dimension tide was just one of an entire volley of shots fired in a short span of time. While all the kaiju hit were most certainly not his allies, two facts about it all troubled Gamera.

The giant turtle ceased his walk across the ocean bottom, looking up at the glimmering sun shining through the sea above in a radiate brilliance. The word he received from his human ally about what was going on had only compounded the mixed thoughts he was getting.

-Having so many villains out of the way is good… But Asagi says the weapon was hacked into and controlled by an outside force for those extra shots. That weapon doesn't kill though, I know for sure they are all taken to somewhere-

Gamera shrugged, letting out a torrent of bubbles as he went back down. He was tired, having been fighting near all week. He had to stop for a moment, to heal and recover soon, and now with a calm after the chaos it seemed a better time than ever. Kicking up clouds of silt, he laid down on the sea floor.

-Despite what the humans say, I know those scourge are alive and out there somewhere…-

Gamera closed his eyes as he tucked his limbs and head into his shell. Lines of light traced over all his wounds, numerous cuts, scratches, bite marks, nicks, and slashes across his shell and limbs. Within a few moment the burning light ceased, the wounds closed.

-Least that means Mothra and the others live as well…-

The guardian heard a single sound. It was a subtle, soft, chiming voice slipping through his head before he felt the soothing restfulness of nocturne take him.

A voice of someone he knew well was calling his name.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight gritted her teeth and flared her wings as a glowing orb of her magic hovered before Mothra. The changeling’s horn shined in unison with Twilights in a rainbow sheen, her mane beginning to stand up and wave as if held up underwater. The entire chamber was filled with dancing light as the glowing ball that was Clover’s archaic spell began to take shape. Mothra uttered a single word, focusing all her power into the window the alicorn had opened.

“Gamera.”

Both spellcasters’ magic halted as they breathed with a slight heaviness from the effort. Before thoughts of failure could take hold however, the orb refused to wane and grew in shape and size. Arms emerged, tusks protruded, and the outline of a shell became obvious as the ball of magic took the outline of the Water Guardian of Terra.

The astral image of Gamera blinked its eyes, looking around in confusion as Twilight and Spike failed to hide their gawking expression at the terrapin beast.

“Am I in a, dream? What’s going on? Where am I?”

Mothra waved a hoof as she flared her wings.

“Welcome Gamera.”

Gamera's eyes shot open at the voice of familiarity, eagerly looking around to and fro so rapidly he couldn't have possibly spun around more without using his jets.

"MOTHRA! YOU'RE OK! Where are you!? How is this possible?! What's going on!? Are the other's there too?!"

"Down here-"

Gamera spun back in the direction of the mares and looked down, eyes shifting from surprise to bewilderment. Gamera cocked an eyebrow.

“I'm in a new place and yes, Godzilla and the others are here too, but not on hand. I contacted you through telepathy with local magical help, but seems we managed to pull an astral projection.”

One would almost expect wise, morale giving words of nobility from someone with a title like Gamera’s. And true, the turtle did have quite the mouth piece on him at times. It’s just that right now however he was too puzzled at what he was looking at to say anything with any remote grandeur.

“… Mothra, why am I hearing your voice out of a brightly colored horse with butterfly wings?”

“I AM a brightly colored horse with butterfly wings.”

“… Magic?”

She nodded with a flat expression.

"...Dimensional travel cause the shift?"

“When in Rome…”

Twilight expected kaiju to look diverse, Anguirus and Rodan being two of the strangest creatures she’d ever looked at short of a chimera. But for all the word on giant reptiles, three headed dragons, and enormous butterflies she’d heard, seeing a bipedal talking turtle with tusks was a tad unexpected.

“You’re a …. talking turtle... with teeth... You look kinda like a monster costume.”

Gamera looked over at Twilight and nearly reeled his head back at what he was seeing. Seeing the alien sight that was currently Mothra was odd enough, but seeing something he thought would look right at home in the children's section at a store was just as weird looking. It was adorable.

“And you look akin to a brightly colored children’s toy. You must be the company Mothra is keeping.”

Mothra let out a very verbal shrug that a being across a dimension could hear. Gamera snapped to attention as she trotted over to Twilight's side.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, this is an old friend of mine, a guardian from my world named Gamera."

Brushing aside any confusion, disbelief, or internal giddiness at how well the spell was working; a smile crossed Twilight's face as she bent her knees and bowed while flaring her wings lightly.

"A pleasure to meet you."

A small grin entered a tusked maw as Gamera returned the bow lightly, crossing an arm over his shell.

"Your majesty."

The young alicorn couldn't help but giggle, nearly bouncing up once she rose. Gamera nodded his head and looked back to Mothra, still eyeballing her new form with a mix of fascination and bafflement.

"It is good you are safe. You said the others are there, but where are they? Who all is there?"

"We're a bit scattered at the moment. Rodan is off on an aid mission, Anguirus is in a town nearby; and Godzilla is at the capital for now. Both Destroyah and Xen were transformed and residing in this realm as well."

Gamera's eyes shot open like spotlights. He was hoping that wasn't the case, and the fact it seemed his allies were so spread out only seemed more dangerous. Mothra sensed the thought and quickly continued.

"BUT they are contained. The rulers of this realm are more than capable of keeping a lid on it for now."

"And I take it this means Xen and Goji aren't throwing it down right now?"

"Don't think they didn't try... You know those two."

Gamera's expression flattened the best it could.

"Irony.. takes getting hurled into a world of talking ponies for them to not try to kill each other."

"Well for the moment we can't take anything for granted. Xenilla is planning something, I know he must be. And I don't want this world caught up in our conflict."

Twilight put her wing on Mothra's shoulder, the last words reminding her that much more of what kind of mare stood beside her. It took someone of very great constitution to volunteer for conflict for the sake of others' peace. It was something she knew well enough, and she respected it. She turned back to the bipedal turtle's aura.

"We were working on a way to try and get the six returned home, and thought to try this communication spell as a start. Do any of you know how they got here to begin with?"

Gamera's face noticeably darkened. When he thought of that night he could only think of two things. The grief he felt when he slowly walked across the blast crater on Solgell, slowly leading the remaining islanders back to their dens; and the sheer unbridled rage and betrayal when he found out who fired the shot. For the first time in his life, Gamera hated some humans.

"When the battle on Solgell broke out, the humans decided to take advantage of the fact so many kaiju were clustered together. They fired Dimension Tide. By sheer luck Godzilla and Xenilla's mass power output had driven many kaiju back from their duel in the valley, so most of us were busy fighting on the coast or shallows. Only you six were sucked in."

Mothra was near speechless. She had expected maybe some freak astronomical event or odd magic to have been responsible. But instead the same beings she had been protecting for over a decade had done it. Her heart was sinking.

"World all thought you and the others were dead... Trust me, despite some celebrating for Xenilla and Destroyah's departure, the high command got hell for you four. Asagi tells me they were already being pressured to remove Dimension Tide when it was hacked into and fired at other kaiju."

Speechlessness gave way to shouting. Mothra lunged forward as her wings flared up and her orbits shot open. One of her worst fears was beginning to come to fruition.

"WHAT!?!"

Gamera had to resist not to step back a bit to give her space.

"Something took control of the systems and fired numerous shots before the weapon crashed."

"Wh-Wh-Who w-w-was hit..."

"None of our's, only some of the Mutates and alien monsters."

Twilight jumped up, partially in front of the shaking Mothra. The blood was visibly draining from both mare's faces.

-If they got hit and were all sent on a similar path to the first six... that means... oh Faust no..-

"How m-many!?"

"At least seven, probably more."

Spike had jumped up like a cat when Gamera showed up, and couldn't help but start backing away from the center of the room. By chance, he passed by a large crack in the stone wall, the dimly lit hall visible through it. Motion caught his eye. Far down the hall, something was moving. It was large, not quite as big as a manticore but easily the size of Celestia. It was crawling forward, but it wasn't the click of claws or arrowhead shaped plate on the top of its head that was startling Spike the most. It was the fact it wasn't crawling forward on the floor, but the ceiling and walls. A low hiss echoed forth. The little dragon's pupils shrunk to pin points as his tongue twisted over itself.

"Tw-Tw-Tw-Tw-Twi-Twi-Twi-T-T-Twi!"

"I was pursuing an entire flock of-"

Spike jumped back into the center of the room, diving through Gamera's astral projection and clinging to Twilight as a blood red and bronze beast rammed through the wooden door after the little dragon. Exploding into the room in a shower of loose pebble and splinters, a cackling gyaos screeched at the two mares.

"GYAOS!"

Twilight recognized the threat the instant she saw it, reeling her head back to charge her magic before firing out a mass barrage of magic bursts. The roaring gyaos reeled back in squeaks and squawks as it was hit, blown back each time it was hit until it stopped moving and dropped to the floor. There was silence for a few seconds. And then, Gamera's astral image faded into a mystic smoke as the worst sound Mothra possibly wanted to hear shot out all around the castle. Wing flaps, screeches, hisses, and screams. The light of Celestia's sun began to be blotted out as wingspans ranging from 8 meters to 80 meters clotted the sky, with a dark haze emanating between them. The Shadow of Atlantis had arrived, with over five dozen members strong. Twilight grabbed Spike and threw him onto her back, she and Mothra running out of the chamber as several more gyaos came down the hallway, the gleaming eye of a giant member of the flock, a Super Gyaos, glared through the window.

The terrified trio raced through the halls. All around them were screeches of hell ripping out as dozens of Gyaos flew around or tried to crawl inside of the castle. A deep rumble creaked through a large chamber before a massive talon ripped through the cobblestone wall. Mothra grabbed and yanked Twilight back to avoid the snapping jaws of a 60 meter tall Super Gyaos driving its head into the hallway amongst a shower of pebbles. The retreat was hair raising, all three doing their part to keep the others from getting slashed at, bitten, or crushed. Spike belching a green fire ball right into the face of a gyaos attempting to lunge at Mothra through a window, Twilight using her magic to collapse the hallway roof on several of their pursuers; and Mothra launching wave after wave of mythic energy beams into the flaring wings and gaping jaws of an attacker launching itself from the ceiling until it was a pile of charred bones. But for every gyaos struck down or left behind, two more took up the chase; until the three found themselves herded into the court yard.

Twilight collapsed the hall behind them, sealing it away as they tried to catch their breath. The hellish chorus outside was growing stronger, and the shakes throughout the castle told all three the larger members of the flock were tearing through thousand year old walls with increasing vigor. Massive batteries of wings and dark haze blotted out the sun above, forcing the sky in a blackness to match a New Moon night. Amongst the dark crimson and bronze, a flare of white churned through. Truck sized, pearl white talons dug into the stone work of the surviving roof as the alpha of the flock, the albino Hyper Gyaos glared down at the Equestrians. She spread her wings while letting out an almost mocking, laughing cackle as the flock swirled around the castle airspace behind her.

-She wouldn't be here with this many for just two morsels if she's here for food, she came for something-

Pink, albino eyes glared down at butterfly wings.

-And I have a feeling as to what...-

Mothra quickly turned to Twilight.

"Twilight, charge up and hit me with everything you got!"

"Wh-What?!"

Mothra grabbed the alicorn by the shoulders. It was their only chance, and time was running out rapidly.

"It's time to put the chalkboard theory to the test!"

Twilight's expression went from shock and terror to a blank, affirmative stare as she reigned in her fright. The Princess of Friendship nodded. After getting a quick, commanding glance from his big sister, Spike on instinct jumped off her back and took cover. Mothra backed up a bit as Twilight gritted her teeth, focusing all she could.

What followed next was a burst of light so bright it sent Hyper Gyaos reeling back into the flock.

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Monster X
High Beam
Mothra
Twilight Sparkle
Spike
?????
Xenilla

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Archival Vault, Celestial Museum, Fillydelphia
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High Beam let a long, drowsy yawn echo down the dark and isolated tunnel he patrolled down; likely not a single soul to hear it. The dim halls and cold air were the only company he had other than the occasional co-worker amongst the vast expanse. His limbs were getting more sluggish as time went on, a quick check of his watch thankfully informing him his near nocturnal work hours were nearly over. A shift down below the museum was a whole different experience than its counterpart. The staff was a skeleton crew over a huge area, with all the sights and sounds of the bustling city around them falling into the shade’s lull and stillness. It was a matter of interpretation on whether the quiet and darkness was better or worse than the beaming lights and crowded surroundings of the above-ground shift. High Beam paced down a long dark hallway, his hooves clicking on the cement and tile floors being the only noise in the artificial cavern. It was his turn to patrol the archives and vault, the hidden realm underneath the museum where the public wasn’t allowed. It was for their and everyone else’s safety; for what lay down here was priceless.

High Beam flicked on his magic and rays of luminance akin to a flash light shot out from his horn as he looked over said priceless artifacts. Each was stored away behind glass and metal vaults that lined the walls of the long chamber like hotel rooms. Occasionally one or two of them was put out for public display, with a heavy guard staff of course; but most of the time they lay here. High Beam glanced over some of them as he passed by. A gown from the original Crystal royal, an original edition of a massive tome by the great Starswirl, Commander Hurricane’s helmet and armor; and a pair of scimitars, a gift from a 2nd century Saddle-Arabian Sultan. None of them may have contained any inherit power, but the cultural worth of any of them was near a fortune.

One item here however did go against that ‘no inherit power’ description, and High Beam was on his way to check on it. After it had been given away at a glorified pawnshop, it had come into Celestia's possession after a mysterious Zebra passed it off to her. The official story was it was buried somewhere in the Everfree. The actual truth was it was buried under several layers of guards, concrete, and gates after the Solar Diarch had it locked away in the deepest and most isolated chamber in the vault. They had only put it on display once, and despite the heavy guard staff, an attempted theft quickly taught the museum to lock it away. Publicly they treated it like it was never there, privately they put it as mandatory watch every shift. High Beam yawned again.

-Well, hours almost up. Might as well give it another look before I head up top to clock out-

Turning the corner, High Beam saw something that instantly made his eyes snap out and banished any tiredness left in him in an instant. The gate way to the lowest catacomb was torn open. The heavy-wrought iron, magic proof bars that blocked all but those with an access key from entering had been torn or blasted open and peeled back like an open can of cat food. Large, wide foot prints lead to the darkness deep inside. High Beam’s breath quickened as he quickly grabbed at the panel on the wall to his right, slamming his hoof down on the silent alarm. Soon, maybe in a few minutes, the rest of the staff would be down there.

-------------------------
-Few minutes Later-
-------------------------

High Beam gulped back a disorderly breath.

-Not soon enough.-

Taking his own regarded safety and hurling it out an imaginary window, High Beam reignited his light magic and took off down the long hall. His hooves crashed and pinged off the still tunnel surface for some time, following the tracks until he spotted the familiar bend in the tunnel. Taking in his breath, the unicorn slowly crept up on the turn, still slightly fearful of what lay just out of his line of sight. The crash and smashing of glass confirmed what he suspected. It was now or never. High Beam jumped around the corner, lighting up his horn with a beam of visibility as he charged a magic burst.

“FREEZE! HOOVES IN THE AI-“

But what had its back to him had no hooves to speak off. Whip-like, black tails trailed across the ground, ink black skin and white body armor that resembled bones gleamed in the magical light. The back of its head turned at the noise behind it, and soon the whole body followed as the nameless looked to the named. Monster X’s red eyes glared into the awe shocked orbs of High Beam. High Beam’s voice died in his throat as he looked the demon before him over, its hiss slipping through the air. Between its hellish and other-worldly appearance and the fact it was holding something in its hand he was all too familiar with, High Beam’s hooves shifted and he made for his sword. X’s eyes narrowed as yellow energy built up in them every passing millisecond.

-He’s armed, a possible threat-

High Beam drew his saber and was about to charge when a flash of gold heralded a burst of the Xilian vanguard's signature weapon.

“I don’t have time for you…”

Energy ignited as time slowed. High Beam's magic wrapped around his saber as X locked on. Just before he could give the mental command, a feminine voice echoed through the corners of his mind. Soft as a breeze blown chime, personal as a whisper. It caught the kaiju off guard.

-"Don't do this.. There is no need to kill him..."-

-"?!"-

Whether he was taken but surprise of unknowingly following the command, X craned his head down at the last second and redirected the graviton flow. Regardless of not taking a direct hit, High Beam didn’t have the time or knowledge to react to a barrage of gravitons slamming into the ground in front of him, the kinetic force transferring back and hurling High Beam into the wall from the concussive explosion. He hit his head hard against the metal paneling, consciousness drifting away in flashes. He didn't hear what his attacker said next. Monster X stood in silence, looking around him rapidly as he thrashed his tails in frustration.

"Who said that?! Show yourself!"

There was no one there. There was only the isolation of his own voice, and his own mind. X couldn't hold back an annoyed growl as High Beam's eyes began to fall. The last thing the guard saw before the medical team revived him was something dangling from the monster’s fingers as it walked past him and out the door.

Official report detailed large tracks found heading into and out of the tertiary vault with the theft of one item from said vault. One guard was given paid medical leave for a concussion and fractured ribs. Tracks found began and ended mysteriously just outside the vault’s magic barrier with no sign of entry from any other area or flight. Several thousand bits worth of damage was done to the tertiary vault's gate, which needed complete replacement.

All historic and cultural relics, some of which had repeated theft attempts due to astronomical value were untouched…. but the Alicorn Amulet was gone.

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Everfree Forest, Castle of the Two Sisters
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Golden lights streaked across Mothra's broad wings before arching out, lightning spewing out of her body as if she was a massive Tesla coil. The skies became filled with shrieks and numerous smaller members of the gyaos flock were electrocuted and fell to the forest floor in a barrage of fire balls. The Guardian of Mortals could sense all of them to an extent. Across the castle and forest surrounding it were at least three dozen car sized but normal Gyaos, about one dozen Super Gyaos ranging from 30 to 60 meters tall; and the albino alpha, the Hyper Gyaos. Mothra flapped her wings, giving off a barrage of gale force winds to keep back some of the smaller demons away from her and the castle. If she could keep it at ranged, she had a chance against the horde; but she absolutely couldn't let them pin her down. This was a battle she couldn't afford to get knocked out of the air or surrounded. She screeched a telepathic shout to the gawking alicorn below as batteries of energy fired out from her forehead and pierced through the wings of an oncoming Super.

-"GET INSIDE! QUICKLY! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!"-

Twilight didn't need to be told twice. Running over to scoop up Spike and plop the dragon onto her back, the alicorn rushed off into one of the still-intact halls. There may have been some gyaos inside the castle still, but there was far more on the exterior. The airspace outside the castle was hell on earth, so indoors was better than nothing. Mothra still cast a silent prayer as she shifted her attention back to the maelstrom of shadows surrounding her. Dozens of gyaos, ranging in size from the scale of a carriage to the mass of a train swirled around her like a sea of hungry piranha. Flickers of yellow shown through the black shroud before legions of piercing gold rays of sonic energy screamed through the night. Most, in their owners' chaotic thrashing, missed entirely and scourged the landscape around the castle. Trees were bisected, boulders slashed into; and trenches gouged into the ground. A shimmering light grew over Mothra’s scales like a spreading wildfire as several beams struck her. For a split second a silvery aura wrapped around her form like a cloak, before the golden rays were reflected off like a laser striking a mirror. Numerous attackers screeched and shrieked as their own attacks cut into them and sent several plummeting to the ground. Mothra reignited her wing born lightning strikes, trying to thin out the flock a bit more as well as keep several Super Gyaos from dog-piling her.

A flash of white ripped away her attention. Knocking aside several Supers, Hyper Gyaos dive-bombed the guardian with her jaws and talons outstretched. Turning midair, the moth barely managed to dodge getting her back shredded by extended claws and gnashing fangs, escaping with one gash across the back of her thorax. Spinning around to both fling off a few members of the flock trying to latch onto her and re-steady herself, Mothra soon found herself glaring back at the glints of pale that shimmered through the sea of darkness like a shark. Hyper Gyaos spread her wings to brake mid-air, the wing membrane between her bat-like fingers glowing into a hummed purple as members of her flock wisely got out of the way. The Atlantean creation's jaws flung themselves open and gathered energy. Sparks of power lit themselves on Mothra’s antennae, ushering forth dual beams of raw energy as Hyper unleashed her violet, hyper cutter ray. As the two beams crashed into each other, a miniature sun formed in the spot where divine magic and energized sound collided. Both kaiju fought to keep her energy flowing stronger, causing the bright, glowing orb of light in the struggle’s apex to grow stronger as it drank in both funnels of power like a siphon. The intense light and raw power drove back a good portion of the flock that would have otherwise been ganging up on the preoccupied Mothra at the moment.

Both kaiju poured more energy into her own output, but the glowing mass of energy forming between them swelled to a blinding light. They had initiated the beam fight too close to each other, a failure with explosive results. The ball of energy exploded into a miniature nova in the air space above the castle. The stony exterior of the surviving tower was incinerated and portions even turned to glass. Thankfully the shock wave expanded horizontally more than it did vertically. Good for the lower portions of castle and its occupants, very bad for any kaiju in the air. Multiple gyaos shrieked in pain, raining down into the forest in fiery infernos as numerous Supers were sent sprawling onto the forest floor; up heaving showers of dirt and stones. Mothra and Hyper both screamed and yelped as they were send hurtling backwards. Hyper Gyaos was sent flying down a canyon, snapping an aged and ragged rope bridge like a string of yarn before she collided back-first into the canyon wall. Mothra meanwhile was ushered into a backwards spiral, desperately trying to keep airborne despite numerous spots on her body having been ignited from the same sheer energy burst that near knocked her senseless. Crash landing on several quickly uprooted oak trees, Mothra groaned; trying to stop her vision from swirling so much.

A jolting pain quickly rushed through her body from her shoulder, green eyes darting over in the vertigo of vision, making out the shape of a recovered Super Gyaos. The beast had jumped onto her back, using its weight to try and keep her pinned as it dug its fangs into a lower section of her wing. Mothra shrieked out into the forest as the demon’s gnawing managed to breach her scales and usher out a trail of green-blue blood. The pain forced Mothra’s delirious senses back into action as more gyaos flew in to try and pile up on her. Craning her head over as energy sparked across her forehead, Mothra screeched before triple rays of piercing energy shot out and impaled the Super’s head. The malfunctioning creation of Atlantis barely had time to shriek before the beams came slicing and searing their way out of the back of its skull plate and into the blotted sky. Rolling the now burning corpse off her wing, Lea barely had time to get airborne and dodge two more oncoming Supers. Darting to avoid their lunges, Mothra took a moment to fry several normal Gyaos with her antennae beams before slamming downward on the Supers and driving her energy charged body into them. She may have preferred to fight at range and while she wasn’t as good in close quarters as her allies; the Guardian of Mortals was no pushover. But if she was going to win this, she had to thin out this flock, and fast.

Hyper Gyaos had taken a larger brunt of the explosion more than Mothra had, requiring a few more seconds to recover. After leaving a sizable imprint in the rivers of sandstone and granite, Hyper dug her claws into the canyon wall to climb her way out. After scaling up the cliff-face, the albino alpha felt something. A strong, ambient power not coming from any of the kaiju was present, and it was close by. It was further down, in a cave that connected to the crevice. Looking back to the ongoing battle a short distance away, Hyper spread her wings and let out a subsonic shriek to her flock. Against something like Mothra, the now greatly thinned normal members of her flock were basically cannon fodder. She and the supers on the other hand, could give the guardian trouble. So far their entire plan had been thrown a massive curveball since the benign titan showed up, but she had to improvise. Without all of the flock present, she had to.

The subsonic shriek rang out, barely audible to any but the members of her kind, and gave its orders. After looking to their alpha as the albino beast fanned her wings and retook the air, several of the smaller members of the Flight nodded and exited the battle. They flew down the crevice and headed straight for an isolated, glowing cavern. Hyper, having just dodged a barrage of wing borne lightning that fried another Super; slammed into Mothra. The crashing together of over 50,000 tons of kaiju split the air before the two began clawing and swiping at each other in a mid-air duel.

Meanwhile in the castle itself, Twilight was having a less than stellar time amidst the sounds of the warzone outside. Namely, running for her and Spike's life. Bolting down a long hall so fast the damage her hooves caused to the carpet would give Rarity a night terror, Twilight nearly launched herself off the wall to round a turn. One of her pursuers, the front runner in a small pack of gyaos, wasn't able to make the bend as sharply and crashed into the age stonework behind Twilight. Spike clung to Twilight's back and mane for dear life, his eyes darting up to the ceiling. The old wood was splintered and on the edge of splitting so badly it would bring the whole section of roof down on the hall behind them. Bravery swelled up in the drake as he took in a deep breath. Had it been any other situation, Twilight would have asked her little brother to excuse himself for such a loud belch before a brazen green fireball shot out of Spike's mouth.

The emerald flames struck one of the gyaos square in the face, sending the predator sprawling and reeling back as it clawed at its still burning face. Minding to keep Twilight's mane out of the inferno, Spike tilted his head up and trailed a stream of flame along the weak roof. It took a nanosecond for the wood to catch fire, it took a second more before it started coming down on their pursuers. Boulders and bricks fell from the ceiling behind the duo, the trail of destruction beginning to catch up to both they and the final gyaos chasing them.

"RUUUUN!"

"HANG ON!"

The gyaos was gaining on them despite Twilight's best efforts to put as many obstacles between it and them, but it just crashed through any table she leaped over and knocked aside any suit of armor she threw in its way. The collapsing roof was on both runners' heels, crashing down in a chorus of destruction. The gyaos was right behind Twilight, panting so coarsely the alicorn could practically feel its breath on her neck. It lunged forward, Spike acting fast and turning around, grabbing his sister's tail to yank it out of the way of the bat demon's lunges. Drooling, fanged jaws snapped at the air repeatedly, not caring about the crumbling hallway and only dreaming of warm blood on her maw. The doorway to the tunnels, to safety, was a few meters ahead. But the latter was a scattered dream with this monstrosity chasing them. Panting hard but stealing a glance back, Twilight didn't need a moment to think when she saw the gyaos change targets from her tail to its holder. Protective instincts flaring, the young alicorn seized a moment to rock both her hind legs back with as much force as she could, bucking the gyaos square in the jaw. Yelping in pain from a pair of purple hooves knocking several of its teeth out, the bat demon reeled back and was crushed under the avalanche of falling ceiling.

Not daring to seize another moment, Twilight partially spread her wings and shot forward with a flap assisted dive for the open doorway. Spike grabbed the door’s handle and slammed it shut behind them just in time to block the falling canopy behind the gate that came crashing down into it. Twilight tried to stick the landing but ended up half tumbling around in a circle upon her hooves hitting the floor. Several seconds passed before both of the Equestrians could pick themselves up from the tossed up mess of carpet and overturned tables. Spike rubbed his temple, trying to get the world to stop spinning.

"oooyyye... You ok Twi?"

Twilight had a hoof over her chest in desperate attempt to slow her racing heart. Success was minimum.

"I'l-I'll be fine..."

After a quick check over to make sure her younger sibling was okay and thanking Faust that dragon scales were tough enough to withstand a crashing table, Twilight lifted herself up. They were in one of the chambers dug into the cave tunnels leading down to the Tree of Harmony, one that was thankfully sealed on one end by the blocked door and on another by a bolted metal door. In the first good observation she had since Mothra transformed, there wasn't a single gyaos in sight. She could still hear them, their piercing shrieks ripping through the air outside as Mothra battled the swarm, cries of war giving a muffled echo through the reinforced walls. There was a single window in the darkened room, peering out to the forest lowlands below.

The sky may have been darkened by the flock's shroud, but between the occasional burning tree, blazing remains of struck down gyaos, and rays of power flying every which way, everything was fairly well lit. Mothra soared high above the tree line, grappling with the same enormous white gyaos Twilight had seen earlier. The guardian managed to free herself from a hold and after dodging a close bite to her neck, grabbed onto the demonic bat's head. Energy akin to lightning coursed through rainbow colored wings before conducting into the Albino's body, shocking her repeatedly. The pale monstrosity's cries rang out as mystical electricity arched across her body, burning it in several places. One by one, the membranes of skin that made up her wings ignited with a purple light to rival Mothra's. Throwing her head up to dislodge the moth, Hyper Gyaos activated her shield and deflected the lightning off in different directions. Twilight instinctively closed her eyes for a moment upon feeling a bolt strike the foundation of the castle and send a rumble through the whole building. Hyper Gyaos screamed in primal fury, forcing the energized shield forward to bash Mothra away before it dissipated. The guardian was sent reeling back, frantically flapping for a bit to re-steady herself as she hovered above the castle. Hyper Gyaos glared at her rival as she held position above the remains of the rope bridge. Taking in a deep breath, the bat threw her head up and let out a near subsonic shriek that was more audible to her flock than it was anyone else. One could practically see the waves of moving energy coursing through the air as the remaining members of the flock listened and listened well. Mothra didn't take her eyes off the swarm's alpha member, thankful none of the flock was still assaulting the castle as of now.

The dark flock shifted, the remaining few Supers flanking Hyper as most of the normal members grouped up between then. What Mothra didn't see was a small detachment of normal gyaos circling around and diving into the crevice surrounding the castle. She didn't have time to notice either, having to quickly put up her own barrier to deflect a salvo of sonic rays aimed at her and the castle. Twilight saw the detachment, and knew right where they were going. Knowledge lead to dread. There was only one thing that crevice lead to that was worth going after.

-The Tree.... They're going after the Tree!-

Frantically, she looked to the battle ongoing outside. Mothra had her hooves full and lacking any telepathy, Twilight couldn't call out to her. The sound of her own heartbeat's pulse snapped Twilight to her senses with a realization. Her heart beat again. The alicorn's face slowly hardened as her pulse slowed to a confident beat. Dread changing to something else.

-I am a Princess of Equestria, protector of the realm. I can NOT stand by!-

Twilight stomped her hoof into the ground and shot a glare at the bolted door. Looking over, Twilight barked her orders.

"Spike, some of those things are going after the Tree and Mothra's fighting for her life out there, I'm going after them. I need you to bolt the door behind me!"

Twilight barely made it two steps to the door before Spike shot up like a rocket.

"WHAT!?!? BUT THEY- YOU CAN'!- DON'T GO!"

Twilight kept her face firm as she could, she couldn't falter right now. She outstretched a wing and partially wrapped it around the dragon's quivering form.

"We've dealt with dire threats before, but I need you to stay safe right now. Mothra and the Tree need my help right now just like we needed her's. I'm just going to go down, get it done, and then I'll be right back up here for you ok?! I'll be right back up but until then you need to stay safe so lock the door for me."

Spike's shivering slowed somewhat, but he was still clearly terrified. The alicorn could hardly blame him, this was easily more nerve wrenching than the changeling fiasco and Sombra put together. Least those two weren't in gigantic swarms AND trying to eat them at the same time. Still shaking, the little dragon nodded, but not before giving his big sister a small, clinging hug on her foreleg.

"B-be back ok?...."

Twilight nuzzled his head briefly as he let go, making for the door as her magic wrapped around the locks and opened it for her. Already she could hear the distant echoes of several gyaos down in the chambers below.

"I promise..."

Twilight didn't look back to see the door shut behind her, taking off down the caverns as fast as she could. After several dozen nerve racking seconds of sprinting and gliding, she found the tell-tale glow of light she was looking for. And upon entering the chamber, she saw exactly what she was dreading. The Tree of Harmony, the paragon of Equestrian magic; was shielded against many things. Dark enchantments, chaotic magic; even less inherently malefic spells such as changeling hexes. One thing it wasn't protected against was something as mundane as near magic-less, flesh and blood creatures. Like the three gyaos flapping around and assaulting it's limbs. One of them perched itself on the limb containing the Element of Honesty like a wicked gargoyle. The beast held its jaws open and gathered energy to the sound of a screech in a manner that was by now all too familiar to the princess. Acting quick, the alicorn took to the air and ignited her horn in an enchanted aura, blasting back the hellish bat with a kinetic magic flare before it could finish revving up a sonic cutter.

The gyaos screamed and was sent sprawling across the floor with her chest and face smoking. Another hiss of compressed sound rang out and Twilight barely had time to duck behind a boulder and put up a shield spell before a ray of golden energy slashed through the stone like a hot knife through butter. The brittle stone fell in two pieces, but thankfully the enchantment Shining Armor had taught his little sister held and deflected the ray away. By sheer luck the ray happened to strike one of the other gyaos, who was busy gnawing through the Element of Kindness' stem, square in the chest and into the heart. The brown beast was dead before it hit the ground. Relief had no time as the gyaos Twilight had hit on her way in had recovered and was charging across the cavern floor, right at the alicorn as her shield dropped. She swung out her talons and just when her fangs would have meet an equine neck, Twilight called out in pain and disappeared in a puff of purple light. The gyaos wasn't able to halt its own momentum and crashed into the cave wall. One of the large gemstones that lined the roof of the cave was jostled loose from the impact and feel to the floor on top of the invader. A squashed yelp rang out before being smothered in shattered remains of the gleaming geode.

Twilight reappeared on the other side of the chamber, panting hard both from the effort and from the gash she'd gotten on her right shoulder from the beast's claws before she could warp away. Warm red trailed down her forelimb as she quickly looked about for the last gyaos. She'd lost track of it after she'd blocked the beam and had to teleport. The cavern was silent outside of the distant sound of the dueling kaiju outside echoing in. Twilight quickly looked about the illuminated chamber's airspace. She saw nothing and heard no wing beats, so she knew it had landed. She knew it was stalking her.

Backing up to the tree to keep in the light and put her back to something solid, Twilight held as firm as she could, ready to throw up a shield or concussive burst at a moment's notice. The sound of falling rocks caught her attention and drew it away, eyes darting over to catch the sight of a few pebbles bouncing across the floor. The alicorn didn't have time to look up when the swoosh of churned wind caught her mane, the gyaos springing out from a crevice in the ceiling with its jaws bared. It was much closer than Twilight had expected, too close and too fast possibly for the shield she was rapidly constituting.

A voice like a chime echoed through the alicorn's head, gentle as a mother's lullaby, but demanding none the less due to its sense of urgency.

-"Close your eyes!"-

Putting up her spell up, Twilight unconsciously obeyed.

Through the cloud of haze that was her eyelids, she saw a massive flare of light coming from behind her. The gyaos yelped in pain and judging from the thud the mage felt through the floor, crashed to the ground some meters ahead. Twilight opened her eyes, the writhing body of her attacker flopping on the ground before her like a fish out of water, swatting at its own eyes. The whited out orbs told her enough, pricking another question for the answer. It was blinded, but by what?

-That light was magic, massive amounts of it. Had Spike managed to get a letter out and have Celestia teleport in somehow? Had Luna sensed the trouble and arrived? And who said that?!-

The gyaos' flopping ceased at it lay still, struck down or knocked out by an unknown force. Noticing the large amounts of light emanating from behind her, Twilight turned around and expected to find her answer. What she saw almost made the alicorn question if the previous gyaos had struck her on the head and not the shoulder.

There was a tall figure, bathed in light standing before her for a split second. All she could pick up through the still radiant light was a forked horn and hints of a purple hue. Then, as the light dimmed, so did her rescuer; vanishing like a specter. All that was left was the Tree of Harmony itself and a flabbergasted Element of Magic. The sharp cry of another protector rang out, and Twilight's gaze shot up to the cavern's entrance. She prayed it was a cry of attack, not of pain.

She was half right.

----------------------------------------------------
Terra, several years ago during Final Wars
----------------------------------------------------

An idle, foreign craft hovered up just above the planet’s atmosphere. The shape, a bent, elongated pyramid; was all too familiar to the Terran forces fighting for their lives below. Just as the wood and mast sailing ships of old bore similar form, a small sloop having an outline akin to a titanic frigate; the alien craft all bore family similarities. If the 20 meter fighter ships below were sloops, than the 200 meter weapon platform orbiting the planet was the frigate. Lights streaked across displays and tiny windows as the Xilian warship took aim, the large cannon port on the underside of the forward point beginning to rev to life.

Inside the control room, the center viewing screen homed in on the planet. Alien characters lined the borders as the screen zoomed into the outskirts of a ravaged city. Giant forms of extraterrestrial and Terran kaiju alike were brawling all across the landscape amidst a storm of military crossfire from both sides. The point of view tracked to the bay area where three giants were locked in combat. The golden form of King Ghidorah thrashed his three heads and necks, spewing out torrents of graviton beams at his two foes before taking to the air and flying inland. One of his opponents, logged in the spy records as Gamera, retracted his limbs into his shell before they were replaced with jets of fire. The turtle took to the air like a spinning buzz saw and took off after Ghidorah and leaving his ally behind. Jagged, sharp back fins glinted in the sea water as Godzilla fully surfaced and began wading back to the city to rejoin the fight. Terra’s champion didn’t see the near invisible red targeting reticule taking aim at the back of his neck.

The captain of the frigate did, and she grinned.

“Take aim at that one. He’s one of the more powerful and seems to be the leader. Cut the head off the snake and the serpent ceases to strike.”

The ship’s crew rapidly tapped away at bizarre looking control panels, the viewing screen homing in on Godzilla’s spinal cord. The ship’s main cannon, a positron maser, revved up its charge. The invaders knew of the beast’s incredible durability, but taking hundreds of millions of charged particles to the neck and spinal cord was a death sentence to near anything. At the very least, it would punch through the bone to cripple the titan long enough for Ghidorah or one of the others to finish him off. Godzilla waded back to shore, oblivious to the tiny red dot and line on his back. The countdown clock spewed on screen, Xilian characters gradually diminishing.

Then the radar pinged and everyone in the room’s attention snapped to it. One of the crewmates rapidly typed at his controls as the screen before him pinged audibly a second time.

“Target on radar rapidly ascending to our altitude!”

The captain barked her order.

“Where from and how fast?!”

“Mach 1 and speeding up, coming from the planet’s surface it’s…. It’s following the aiming reticule!”

“Onscreen NOW!”

The central monitor switched away from the back of Godzilla’s throat and to a small glow rapidly ripping through the clouds. Sure enough, just as the helmsmen had warned, its path was exactly parallel to the aiming laser… Which meant it was heading right for the ship. The object lacked any of the combine fleets’ call signs, it wasn’t one of theirs. And that made intent seem all too clear.

“Terran aircraft?”

“Negative Captain, no exhaust or propulsion valves. Moving at mach 2 now and closing!”

The object was getting larger and larger as it approached, its length seeming easily on par with the frigate. Its exact form however was disguised by the reflective surface that coated it, cloaking the oncoming target with a glittering glow from the planet’s sun light. It breached the upper atmosphere, entering the void of low orbit without slowing down or changing course.

“RE-AIM THE CANNON! SHOOT IT DOWN NOW!”

The red targeting icon trailed up from the planet’s surface and briefly onto the oncoming threat. But for every millisecond they had a lock, the glimmering form shifted or banked and they lost it. The distance was closing, and the object was getting bigger.

“I SAID RE-AIM!”

“It’s moving too fast, we can’t get a clear shot! Breaking the atmosphere at mach 3 now!”

The red icon briefly flashed green, indicating a partially locked on shot. The gunner didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Innumerable numbers of positrons left the cannon in a ball of light equal to the sun. The ship’s crew was momentarily blinded by the immense light. In that split second what they didn’t see was the UFO banking to the right just before the shot was fired. Thousands of degrees and millions of joules of heat and energy singed dark blue, reinforced scales as their owner dodged the shot. The maser shot impacted the pacific ocean below, instantly evaporating and ionizing thousands of gallons of sea water, but leaving the frigate’s pursuer relatively unharmed… and still coming right at them. Blood drained from every soul on board’s face as soon as the sight of enraged eyes and snarling fangs entered the viewing monitor. The captain’s terrified voice was one of the only things to call out as the object’s radar signature and the frigate’s nearly overlapped.

“P-PUT UP SHIELDS! BRACE FOR IMPACT!”

The ship ignited its entire hull as the energy shield charged. Such an action however took five seconds, they only had two. Another engineer instinctively and futilely put her arms up over her face.

“TOO LATE!”

There was a flash of red light along glittering crystals before coronal wrath ripped through the ship’s hull, impaling it before arching back around and striking the frigate multiple times until it and its attacker were enveloped in a quick, silent, and massive explosion. When the debris cloud fanned away in the dark void, shattered remains of the hull bounced off the healing hide of the destroyer. Clawed hands balled a raised fist, crystals siphoning off the excess energy of the frigate’s remains and sprouting all amongst the ship’s corpse.

Xenilla hissed silently into the blackness he was born into, batting a quick glance back at the mass war zone miles below. No other but he would know exactly what he’d just done, who he had just saved, and why he did it. Exactly the way Xenilla would have liked it. The cloned monster looked back at the blue and green world below.

-Not today Icka’brod…-

The crystal saurian shifted his gaze and glared at the remaining orbital stations with fiery eyes. Several smaller Millennium and Kilaak turned around to face the new threat. The kaiju knew what to make of their cautious movements backwards. He’d just taken down their strongest and they were afraid because of it.

-Second wave forces huh?… I’ll make it quick-

Streams of telekinesis wrapped around the rapidly sharpening crystals around him, Xenilla holding them alongside him like a spear formation.

-This is MY planet…-

Several hours later, NASA reported mass energy discharges in low orbit. The remains of nearly a dozen alien warships formed one of the largest debris fields every seen before most of them fell into the Atlantic Ocean several weeks later. The loss of one of their secondary fleets is often attributed to one of the leading reasons the invaders lost the ‘Final War’.

Mothra Lea
Twilight Sparkle
Godzilla Junior
Blade Dancer
Captain Blueberry Frost
Starlight
Spike
Princess Luna
Princess Celestia

-----------
Everfree
------------

Mothra shrieked as she rapidly flapped her right wing to stay airborne. She was still in decent health, but having a heck of a time flying with several thousand tons of gyaos grabbing onto her. Hyper had recovered from her latest tumble, her stomach still smoking from being acquainted with several of Lea's prism beams before she could put a shield up; and had ambushed the guardian while the moth was busy fending off several Supers. The Super gyaos' dying cries rang out into the sky as their burning bodies tumbled into the forest, Hyper coming up behind Lea and sinking her fangs into the moth's left shoulder.

Flapping her own wings backwards, the albino demon dragged Mothra into the darkness of the haze as her entire flock came bearing down on the stunned guardian. Hyper gnawed at Lea's shoulder, beginning to break through the outer scales and earning trails of green blood. The claws of Supers and the sonic beams of the smaller flock members raked across Lea's stomach and free wing, trying to open up more wounds. Lea's mind was in a full state of panic. She had gotten caught out and was rapidly being whittled down. If she didn't do something quick... the guardian didn't like thinking about what would happen. She WOULDN'T let that happen. The albino one was the main force of the flock, if Lea could disable her then she had a chance again. Unfortunately that had been easier said than done, due to the pale monstrosity's deflect shield reflecting any outside energy. Time seemed to slow as the thought hit Lea's mind.

-Outside energy, shields only reflect outside energy away...-

Quickly putting her plan into motion, Lea frantically waved all the limbs she could. The air became a mix of golden dust and swirling gyaos as the guardian moth shed every spare scale she could, not caring if it left her more vulnerable to attack. Soon the airspace above the castle became a swirling mass of darkness and light, more and more gyaos piling in every second. Biting back her pain, Lea's eyes, wings, antennae, and forehead ignited with energy. It was now or nothing. Lea screamed and unleashed everything she had into the scale-filled cloud. Prism beams, energy rays, and wing lightning struck everything around her, ricocheting around amongst the energized scales like laser pointers in a room full of mirrors. Dozens of gyaos cried and screamed, wrenching free from their would-be feast as they were ignited, electrocuted, and impaled by the wild masses of energy. Hyper let go of Lea, the moth quickly letting herself drop to the forest floor amongst the falling and flaming bodies of the swarm to avoid being hit by her own attacks. Fireballs of the dead rained from the sky as Hyper's wings glimmered with purple light. She instinctively put her shield up amongst a maelstrom of ricocheting energy. Exactly like what Lea wanted her to do. A physical shield is useless against attacks from the inside, and a one way energy shield is even worse in the same situation.

A massive explosion engulfed the entirety of the aerial warzone, the shockwave tearing one of the castle's towers off its foundations and uprooting trees all around. The last of the flock were either vaporized or had their burning corpses thrown about for hundreds of meters. Hyper Gyaos, engulfed in biting flames, was sent flying and tumbling off into the forest. The demon ripped forth one last shriek before she crashed with a reverberating boom. Aside from the crackling flames, there was silence.

Lea's eyes flickered back to life as she let out a loud groan. After taking several moments to recover, the guardian limped her way back into the air. She hovered above the castle, slowly flapping her burned and weakened wings. There were no more gyaos to be seen.

-"Twilight? Are you there?"-

A glimpse of purple swimming through the air confirmed the guardian's question before a little voice did the same.

-"I'm here.... did you, get them?"-

-"I... I think so."-

Twilight looked up proudly despite still being shaken, having to resist the urge to gawk at the titanic form hovering above her. Lea was busy scanning the bonfires that had sprung up around the forest. She needed to make sure none of the flames' sources got back up. Unfortunately, the fall of a large oak tree confirmed her fears. Talons dug into the ground as a pale form propped herself back up. Hyper Gyaos had seen better days. One of her legs was obviously broken judging from her limp, forcing the albino to prop herself up on a nearby hill. Burn marks dotted her body, several holes having scorched their way through purple wing membranes; and burns and bruises forced her left eye closed. All in all, her awkward stance was a dead giveaway that the alpha was beyond expended. Yet still, defiantly, she stood.

Twilight gasped, hovering backwards some as Lea put herself between the alicorn and the demon, glaring down at the latter. The wind blew between the two kaiju, carrying the scents of burning flesh and charred forest. The albino titan returned Mothra's glare for some time before she began to shift. The alpha gyaos turned around, knocking over several more trees before weakly spreading her wings. After a half dozen flaps, the beaten and bleeding gyaos managed to take to the air and begin to weakly fly away. Lea could have sworn she saw the albino beast smirking as she left.

Not wasting a moment, Lea flapped her tired wings to try and pursue her foe. Wing gales kicked and energy crackled amongst her antennae as she took aim. But time was not on her side. A new sensation coursed through the guardian’s body, devouring the energy given to the attempted attack. The world in the moth’s eyes became a spirally delirium, forcing her to flap erratically to try and stay airborne through the dizziness. A stream of golden light wrapped around Mothra like a ribbon, engulfing her freezing form in mere moments. Time was up; Lea had used up too much energy. The glimmering cocoon rapidly shrunk, losing mass every nanosecond. The wrapping shot out a tendril of energy that flew into the shocked Twilight. The golden beam harmlessly slipped inside her body, leaving behind the glowing outline of the Element of Magic on her forehead before the light faded. The alicorn would have felt an exhilarating rush if she wasn’t so focused on the dimming cocoon in front of her.

The light faded into nothingness and Mothra, the changeling queen; fell out from it. Her eyes were half lidded and swirling, clearly in a daze of consciousness. And she wasn’t flying. Lea tumbled through the air and towards the forest floor as a streak of purple frantically pursued her. Twilight beat her wings as hard as she could muster, closing the distance between the two. Grabbing her friend by the hoof, Twilight changed her direction and pounded her wings up and down rapidly to the memory of Rainbow Dash’s coaching. The alicorn grit her teeth and grumbled through them. She’d have a hard time lifting up another pony, let alone an alicorn sized changeling. Still, the Element of Magic stubbornly refused to let go. They were still falling, but her efforts were slowing them down. A slow groan seeped out from the former guardian, Mothra blinking her eyes and shaking her head to try and stop the world from spiraling around her. The ground was getting closer and Twilight doubled her efforts. Effort paid off and the duo landed relatively softly on castle courtyard.

Upon touch down, the changeling was still half in and out of consciousness. Mothra, still in a daze, would have flopped onto the ground the second her hooves hit it had Twilight not caught her head and propped her up. She held the large changeling up, the alicorn not caring if her previous efforts had given her a sprang wing.

“Mothra?! MOTHRA?!”

A groan beckoned consciousness and Lea put a hoof to the side of her head. Finally, the world stilled itself. Twilight clung to Mothra as small tears trickled from her eyes. A tiny voice squeaked out.

“Miss Sparkle, you’re hugging me too tight…”

Twilight quickly let up, Mothra raising her head and neck up. A weak smile showed itself on her lips before she put her hoof to the top of Twilight’s head and playfully ruffled up her mane. Mothra chuckled tiredly.

“Stronger than you look Twilight, hehe.”

Twilight sniffled a bit as her eyes dried, returning the chuckle. The two took a much needed minute sitting in the courtyard to catch their breath, both quickly fretting over the other’s injuries. After managing to get off a telepathic message to signal him, Spike joined them in the courtyard for one of the most varied group hugs in recorded history.
“Lea...”

“?”

“Name my mother gave me, it’s Lea.”

Twilight’s smile reappeared in full, putting a wing around the changeling. She knew a word of trust when she heard it.

“That a beautiful name Lea.”

--------------------------------------------
Canterlot Castle, Training Hall
-------------------------------------------

Two forms glided down the long halls and sharp bends of the barracks, tailing the larger groups ahead of them as they made their way to the training hall. Blade Dancer bore a content smirk on her face, swishing her tail to and fro with each step as she relished the moments she had before they entered Training. The large stallion walking beside her was part way bemused and nearly entirely confused. The first part over the prospect of wearing a uniform for the first time in his life, the second part was due to current circumstances. The odd garb was a mix of flexible weave with some padding and bits of armor for what Junior could only guess was for protection. It had been over twenty years since he’d worn any clothing at all and the last time was just some medical cloak he had at the institute for some tests. The feeling was very alien, but Godzilla managed to get used to it once he got it on straight. Poor soul took nearly ten minutes trying to get it on, only succeeding when his escort lent a hoof. However he wondered if the feeling would be more accustoming if his traveling companion stopped doing what she was doing. Aside from brushing against his leg with her tail flicks, Junior needed not look backwards to know the pegasus had wrapped her wing around his midsection since he left his chamber and had refused to remove it since. He could practically feel her feathers through his uniform every step of the way.

Junior cast an odd glance at the pegasus as she was busy chatting with another guard. He rolled his eyes and looked ahead, snorting and ignoring the conversation.

-Oye, the day I figure this mare out is the day I manage to fly…-

The unicorn stole a glance out the window, vaguely in the direction of the cloud cloaked Everfree Forest.

-Felt that same power spike from when Anguirus must have transformed. Guess Lele and that purple one called Twilight must be doing some sort of test-

Godzilla shrugged, reverting his gaze to in front of him.

-At this point I'd volunteer for that...-

After another minute or so of walking and then waiting outside the doorway, they finally were in. The training hall was impressively vast, being built partially inside the castle premises and partially on the outside grounds. Scattered about were various stations, each offering what Godzilla presumed were unique exercises. Some had large racks of training weapons and targets, odd wooden and hay built mock ups that he quickly figured out were combat dummies, a jogging or sprinting circuit; and a large flat area with blue padding on it. Still noting the red maned mare to his side, Junior quickly found himself letting out a hushed sigh of relief to see the familiar face of the captain walking up to them as the other guards spread out to the stations, though it took a moment for him to recognize her without her helmet and heavy purple armor on.

-Note to self, work on memorizing color palettes-

"Ah, good to see y’e decided to join us after all ‘Ziller.”

Junior had to resist the urge to cast a wary glance to his side. The wing on his back still hadn’t budged.

“Didn’t have a-anywhere better to be Captain, cooonsider-dering...”

Godzilla wanted to bite his tongue off for it getting twisted up and tied so badly. Blueberry Frost thankfully could read ponies more attentively than she read parchment. The earth pony broke into a chuckle, playfully punching Blade Dancer in the shoulder.

“Got ‘em tong’e tied and stutterin’ already Bladey? Might wanna let him simmer for awhile Lieutenant, I think you’re scaring him.”

Blade Dancer’s smirk grew, casting a sideways look into Junior’s eye that sent the king of the monster’s head craning back.

“N-NO! I'm fine!

“Oh so you wouldn't mind me being your training partner for today?~”

Junior’s breath died in his throat and Blueberry Frost had to resist bursting out laughing.

“Bladey I think some of the new Privates need some wingblade instruction for today, can you cover that?”

The pegasus giggled lowly, finally freeing the former kaiju’s back from her wing as she saluted.

“On it Captain.”

Junior quickly found himself debating if it was a good choice or not to watch and make sure she was leaving, as catching the image of Blade Dancer looking back at him with that same weird smirk and swishing her tail sent his mind into a near daze of confusion. Thankfully the recomposing Frost pulled him out of it.

“Now that we know what’s on BD’s menu, allow me to introduce ye’ to the training hall. This is where the guards come when off duty to train and improve the skill they’d need in the field.”

Junior combed his mind to scattered memories from back at the institute, back to a few drills by the JSDF he’d seen through the window in his enclosure.

“Like combat drills?”

Blueberry Frost nodded.

“Precisely, that and other stations for first aid and fitness to keep in shape. You see some of the rank going to the stations? That’s what you and your partner will be doin’.”

Junior cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. True most of the ponies he saw at the stations were far from alone, but he just assumed he’d mimic what they were doing with some instruction and call it good. Blueberry sending Blade Dancer away only made him think more at first that he’d be training alone. Blueberry Frost turned to a small group just entering and waved at somepony to come over.

“Hey Second Lieutenant, need you over here.”

Seeing a red palette nearly sent Junior praying to Tanaka, but relief came when he realized the colors were different with ruby hues bleeding over the entire body. A fire engine red earth pony stallion with a brown mane trotted up and saluted his captain. He was a bit below average size, slightly shorter than Blueberry Frost so Junior got the inclination he was a younger male, probably of a low rank due to age. The mark on his side reminded him a bit of Luna’s, abet less ornate and without the black splotching, being a simple crescent moon with a blue colored star between the prongs. One thing Junior picked up quick was that the Equestria’s markings often tied to a key trait about them or some sort of hobby or occupation. Now he was a bit curious how such a mark had anything to deal with being a guard, being related to something else this newcomer did perhaps?

“Yes Captain?”

“Need you to group up with our newest draftee, take him to the strike bags ‘k?”

“Okay, pleasure to meet yooooooooooooou…”

The stallion kept slurring the last syllable when he turned and had his eye level to the lower part of Junior’s shoulder, looking up slowly.

“….Well… this is new.”

“Godzilla, this is Starlight. Starlight, this is your training partner for today.”

Starlight was half frozen for a second before replying, shrugging off most of his worry before tentatively holding out his hoof. He held an honest smile regardless.

“Not used to looking ‘up’ to any recruits newer than me, nice to meet you.”

After some brief thought, mostly at the peculiar motion that he thought best to copy, Godzilla shook his hoof.

“Likewise.”

The captain chuckled before walking off to her own matters. Starlight motioned for Junior to follow and the most proportionately mismatched training duo set off. As they walked past the other teams, both were quick to notice some sideways looks Junior was getting. Some gasps, some stares, and some the kaiju even registered as glares. He wasn't unsettled by any of them, but he did notice.

“Seems I’m not too popular around here.”

“Weeell you did send about twenty graduates to the infirmary… N-Nothing critical I promise!” Starlight piped, perhaps guessing at how his first remark eliciting close attention.

Godzilla Junior hummed and pondered back to right as he came aware for the first time in Equestria.

By whatever process transported them here, through all the dimensional barriers or breaches Princess Sparkle and his old friend spoke of, he'd blacked out when it happened. One moment he was on Solgell in a beam lock with Xenilla and overcome by a force beyond sight, the next he was feeling the sensation of being sprawled across an uneven floor. It was an odd awakening, each sense coming back one at a time. The air smelled of rubble, ground felt like chipped rock, and there was a metallic tinge on his tongue. Information apiece. Some structure had been broken and he inhaled the dust. The surface he lay upon was a crater of shattered tiles and flooring. And he'd bitten his tongue. But it was the sensation of pain, namely a massive, pounding, gong-between-the-ears headache that took away much conscious thought.

No doubt he'd gotten it by crashing likely face-first, explaining his bitten tongue, through the castle roof after appearing high above it.

As the ringing in his ears began to settle, something else came to attention. Voices, almost human-like. He could understand them but, strangely they didn't seem to be speaking Japanese like at the Institute he hatched at. It was off putting. And when one of them grabbed his arm and he saw whatever it was clearly wasn't human, instinct kicked in. He'd just come from a fight for his life, he was wounded, dazed, and surrounded by something he didn't recognize that had grabbed onto him.

He thought he'd been defending himself, the guards thought they were defending the castle after the last entity to come crashing into Canterlot was an army of changelings. In hindsight, he could just be glad his conscious kept him from using his trademark fires or possibly lethal blows. He was monster enough already...

He hesitated, sighing his vision downcast, “I am, sorry about that. I was in a daze and thought I was being attacked.”

To his surprise and hidden relief, Starlight seemed to pick up on the direness in his tone and shifted away from it, “Yeaaaaaaah, Cap explained what happened to the rest of us, how it was all one big mistake that just kept blowing up. Even if everypony knows it was a misunderstanding and you didn’t hurt anypony too badly, it must still be troubling to a lot of guards seeing you walking around here.”

Godzilla looked back ahead to what he guessed was the station they were at. It was an odd set with a large, bulky bag suspended from an overhanging pole by a chain. If he had spent any time at a gym or seen a picture of one during his days at the institute, he’d recognize it as some form of punching bag.

“And are you troubled by my presence, regardless of it all was a mistake?”

There was a pause in Starlight’s speech when they reached the station, before looking back with a homely smile.

“Well, Cap’s a very good judge of character. For you to be put through the stuff you did and not be vengeful makes it seem to me you’re alright. Not everypony can get kicked in the face by Princess Luna and not try and return it soon as they were up.”

Godzilla's tone was blunt as can be, “Mind you I did fry half her feathers off and I think I broke her collar bone.”

Starlight shuddered but chose not to dwell on it, “Eh let’s just think of the ‘after’ and not the ‘before’. She DID do quite the number on you.”

Junior’s brow lowered slightly. Some of his old would were itching, “Don’t remind me…”

“Well then, let’s think more of the ‘now’ as oppose to the ‘then’, shall we?”

Starlight stood beside the punching bag and nudged it with his hoof.

“This is a target sack, also called a bucking bag. We use it to practice striking force and working those muscle groups.”

Junior looked over the heavy looking, thick skinned sack with a nod. The principle idea seemed straight forward enough. True he was more used to sparring, but this wasn’t that far off.

“Seems simple enough, but why two per bag?”

Starlight pointed to another pair of guards, two Junior recognized as Cached Ire and Hammerbolt, working at another bag. Cached was practically dancing about, unleashing what looked like impressively powerful strikes as Hammerbolt held a stance right behind the bag and absorbed the kinetic force that pulsed through it each time.

“The sack gives practice with both offense and defense when in a team. One pony practices on toughening and strengthening their attacks, while the other practices on dealing with such forces in a safe manner. You can’t always dodge or fully block a strike, so it’s a good thing to learn how to take a hit.”

Godzilla was nodding approvingly. It appeared to be a fairly practical way to get that lesson through. Anchoring was as important to defense as blocking or dodging. He'd learned that long ago. Maybe these whole Equestrian shenanigans wouldn’t be too complicated after all?

“Want me to do the striking first?”

Starlight’s ears drooped a bit. True he hadn’t been there when the giant before him landed, but he learned well enough on what had happened. If there was one thing he’d like to avoid for today, it was taking a blow from something that could kick an alicorn through a wall. Still, had to be courteous.

Starlight took one glance at the build on the massive unicorn in front of him and felt a bead of sweat drop. Still, he was a guard and kept his nerve, “Uuuum… yeeess, why don’t you try hitting the bag first so I can see how hard you go. Still kinda new at this myself.”

“Well okay then. So want me to just strike with all I got or lower than normal?”

Starlight shrugged, “Whatever you feel like.”

Godzilla Junior titled his head to the side and shrugged a bit, loosening up. Several of the guard cast a glance at the situation and watched on. Rearing up he lashed out with both his forehooves with about the same force as he’d used when dueling with Xenilla the day before… and promptly hit the bag so hard it burst asunder, ripped off its chain and went flying so hard it ended up lodging itself in the wall above a ducking Starlight.

--------------------------------
Several Minutes Later
--------------------------------

Starlight’s blood was still seeping back into his face as he set up another bag after another round of deadly dodging.

“OOOOKaaaay, for the sake of the equipment room, I’m on striking duty for today,” Starlight muttered as he wiped his forehead.

"I am sorry," Godzilla grunted, "I'm still getting used to holding back in this form. Hard to control."

"You said you held back against the guards though," Starlight perked.

"Crisis situations make me focus better," the kaiju king replied matter-a-factly.

Shrugging and accepting it, Starlight moved about to the bag, "Well all in due time. Anyways, brace for me."

Godzilla nodded, agreeing with the notion for the sake of the small collection of ruptured bags he was accumulating. Bracing a hoof against the far edge of the sack, he held firm as Starlight began to practice. After several minutes of controlled striking, the red stallion addressed an elephant in the room that had been combing his mind since last night.

“Sooo, apparently Blade Dancer was in your chambers last night. That true?”

Godzilla withstood Starlight's blow without budging, “Indeed.”

Starlight half gulped, exhaling and praying to Faust for being the one about to ask what a lot of guards wanted to.

“…She get you in bed?”

Junior grunted a bit, more from the subject matter than from taking the force of Starlight’s kick.

“Well she got in the bed quick once she got away from the wall. I stayed standing most of it.”

“Huh... I mean she's not the reserved type with good folks. Gets to the point she wants. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves. Seems pretty quick for her to go to that extent in one night, but it's not too unusual for her. You two do anything in particular? Hate to prod somepony, but I'm morbidly curious," Starlight piped as he launched another no-selled kick.

Now Junior was beginning to get puzzled. Starlight wasn’t prodding or poking him at the moment, he was kicking the bag. He thought it best to ignore it and just answer the first part.

“Well she talked for awhile.”

Starlight’s brow raised, nodding.

“Huh, never took her as the chatty type when doing that sort of thing. How long you two go at it?”

Godzilla’s brow furrowed, confusion building. This pony wasn’t making any sense. How could someone not be ‘chatty’ if they were talking to someone? Blade Dancer gave him such a run down on the founding of Equestria he thought she’d never end it. The nuances of manners of speech were as elusive as ever.

-Go at it? Is he asking how long her lecture went?... Oh well, best go with it.-

“About two hours before she finished.”

Starlight nearly hiccuped, raising an eyebrow.

“WOW…. Got some stamina on you I see. W-well since you're open about this, is that some sort of record?”

Godzilla could only tilt his head as he tried to remain passive, giving an air of unconcern Starlight mistook for confidence, “Record what?”

“Um… you know… time with a gal?”

Godzilla looked up, combing through his memories. Since he was asking about any time he’d spent with a female, he might as well try and remember everything. Still didn’t know why the already red stallion’s face seemed to be flushing more and more red every moment.

“Well… that jaunt with the one called Luna lasted nearly all night after she pounced on me.”

If Starlight had been drinking anything, he would have spat it all over the place in front of him.

“W-WHAT! The Princess?! She ‘pounced’ on you?”

Godzilla nodded, remembering that battle royale. If she hadn’t been trying to kill him he’d actually have looked back on the time and thought it a good fight.

“Indeed. Kept trying to pin me down I think.”

Starlight’s face was cherry red, “Oh good Faust no…”

A light bulb went off in Junior’s head when he remembered back on Terra.

“Ah, actually the ‘record’ is this one time on Lele’s shores.”

“Lele?”

“Nickname, she’s an old friend of mine named Lea that arrived here like I did. Anyways she had a lot on her mind and I had stopped by to check in on her so I stayed with her on her shore for who knows how long.”

"Sooo.. on a beach?.. huh... Sounds nice. How long?"

Godzilla nodded and poor Starlight’s face turned beat red.

“Lost count after the moon rose to set, so at least 12 hours. Was a pleasant conversation.”

Starlight's eyes dilated and his jaw dropped slightly, “DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMN SO-…. Wait… ‘conversation’?”

Godzilla blinked, looking over at Starlight from around the bag, “Yes, what about it? I said she had a lot on her mind. Took her at least 4 hours before I could even speak.”

Starlight’s face was still burning under his skin as he put a hoof to his forehead and pointed the other out to his partner. He was shaking.

“Okay okay….” He took a deep breath to try and slow his pulse. “What exactly do you mean, with no word play, when you say ‘conversation’?”

Godzilla’s level of confusion was rapidly reaching the same levels as Starlight’s embarrassment. It was about as subtle as an train wreck.

“I mean two beings just talking to each other. Like what you and I are doing right now as I try to figure out why your face is turning even redder. It’s what Blade Dancer was doing half the night.”

Starlight's eyes twitched from the sheer stupor of it all, “JUST TALKIN-……okay… So… when you say you got Bladey in ‘bed’ quick, what do you mean?”

The kaiju's face flattened into a deadpan, “I mean she walked in and got into my bed before I could stop her, meaning I had to stand up for most of her lecture as she told me about your country. Why do you seem so surprised?”

Starlight stilled his breath, feeling like kicking himself in the flank for letting his mind wander to places like that. Shaking it off, he continued on, “Aaaand the two hours part?”

“Took her awhile to get everything out after detailing the Chocolate Milk incident.”

Starlight shuddered, not wanting to risk bringing THAT up, less said the better. His face was beginning to not feel quite as hot.

“S-Sooo… nothing happened?”

Godzilla shrugged his shoulders. This pony was obviously trying to hint at something, but what exactly was beyond him at the moment.

“Other than the aforementioned talking, no. She did keep looking at me oddly and doing these weird poses while shifting.”

Starlight’s eyelids lowered and his mouth flattened in near bewilderment as the truth dawned on him. This monster of a unicorn might be powerful enough to square off with a princess and hail from an alien world, but absolutely everything he’d been hinting at Godzilla had been completely flying over the gray stallion’s head. Maybe some more innocent wording would get the hint through.

“Yoooou do know she is definitely digging you right?”

Godzilla's confusion only increased with each word.

“I never saw her excavate anything, let alone me.”

Starlight tried to change the wording up to try and get the hint across without drawing too much attention. Last thing he wanted to be was mistaken for a pervert.

“Those poses and winks, that’s her trying to hit on you. She’s probably been doing it since Princess Celestia gave you a pardon since she saw a challenge.”

Godzilla combed back through his memories of Blade Dancer. What Starlight said wasn’t making any sense. Blade Dancer wasn't on duty when he crashed through the roof. She never fought him, let alone hit him.

“Hit me? She never struck me. Last I checked she wasn’t one of the guards I fought.”

Starlight grumbled loudly, trying to be as crystal clear as possible and raising his voice as much as he could without someone overhearing it and giving HIM the weird looks.

“Oye..okay… listen… She came to your room on the off chance you'd end up going down and dig into her!”

Starlight huffed for a bit after grumbling more, punching one hoof into his other arm. Godzilla was unmoved, the perplexed statue of a face still retained itself. His jaw slowly lowered as his eye twitched in sheer befuddlement.

Godzilla grumbled from frustration crisscrossing his mind and shook his head, “… Wha?... You are confusing me. Just WHAT is it with your race and this digging obsession? Aside from digging into flesh being grievous, wouldn’t the size difference between me and her hurt a lot if I went into her? if you haven't noticed, I'm twice her size!”

Starlight’s blush instantly returned and he half doubled over, nearly fainting. Junior could only stand there and wonder to the heavens above what on Terra he just said that could get such a reaction.

-Yeesh I don’t think 'Tunnel Trap Prince' Baragon brought up digging this much. Starting to think the male equines are just as weird as the female ones here!-

Starlight was gasping hard to try and catch his breath as Junior helped him back up to all four hooves, “You don’t-… literally-… DIG- into somepony I meant ha-ving se-“

Godzilla motioned to him with his hoof, “But you just said-“

Starlight practically shot up and threw his hooves to the sky above. He knew when to quit.

“Oh for the love of- NEVER MIND!”

Godzilla shrugged, mumbling something incoherent. He still had no idea what they had just been trying to talk about, and something told him he shouldn’t have even bothered.

“Oooye... I am sorry. I was trrrying to hint at something but apparently I need to be more precise because everything I said just flies over your head right now.”

Gods of jesting couldn’t have cued it better when Godzilla looked up after the statement ‘’fly over your head’’ came out. By the cock eyed look on his face, it was easy to see he was half expecting to see something soaring over him. In a world of magic and brightly colored ponies that looked like some kid’s toys, it was slang that was confusing the king of the monster’s most. Starlight just planted a hoof to his face.

It took several seconds for the not so dynamic looking duo to notice they had an onlooker walking up to them.

"Gentlecolts, what seems to be the problem?"

Blade Dancer, apparently having finished training her class, stood half cockeyed with a damp towel thrown over her shoulder. Godzilla clamped his jaw shut from the fact she'd shown up again after an hour or so reprieve, and Starlight was in a similar position as he silently swore and prayed to his deities that she didn't hear the conversational subject matter. Blade Dancer tapped her hoof.

"Well? Seemed there was a problem between you two."

Starlight managed to summon his courage as Junior could only stare at the face that now seemed to be waggling its eyebrows at him.

"Ap! Nothing Senior Lieutenant, just some cli-CHIT chat! We're fine!"

Blade Dancer looked down at him, blinking in a slightly confused manner.

-Meh, best not nose my way in, doesn't seem to be any issue-

"Ok, nice to see you two get along well enough despite costing us about five bags and some wall repair."

"Sorry about that. Property damage seems to happen a lot around me."

-Understatement of the century there Junior...-

Blade Dancer sighed as she flicked part of her mane out of her face.

"Well just be a bit more careful, I'd rather not see you leave the program any time soon~"

With that she turned to walk back to the barracks, but not before both of the odd team out caught a wayward tail flick and wink aimed at the larger of the two. Junior could only think of what had been discussed earlier about burrowing and hitting. It still made no sense to him at all.

"She has odd tastes."

Starlight rubbed his temple as he looked down.

"If she's going after you, she'd better."

Junior's senses pulsed a warning. Something with a lot of power was close, his subconscious feeling its eyes upon him. The unicorn's head snapped up and to the right as he kept a blank expression. Red-Yellow eyes met orbs of pure turquoise, the King of the Monster's vision locking with that of the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna had perched herself high up in the shadows of an overhanging tower, barely visible unless one knew she was there. She held firm as a statue, but was clearly surprised for a moment that she had been noticed. Godzilla was as still as a mountain, his expression just as emotionless. It might have been just now he sensed her, but something in the back of his mind told him she'd been shadowing him for some time. The nonverbal communication between the two was crystal clear. She trusted him around her ponies about as far as she could throw him, and he knew she'd be there even if she tried to hide it. For a split second, both were intimidated before regaining their composure.

A breeze sifted through the training hall, no other soul noticing the visual tug of war. Any moment, it looked like one was about to pounce. Junior let a small sigh out of his nostrils, closing his eyes. Then he did something Luna really didn't expect. He nodded at her, then went back to Starlight. He'd bowed to her earlier but at the time the alicorn sensed it was at the urging of someone else. That nod, however small a gesture, was his own will. He didn't want to fight.

Princess Luna shrugged and hovered her way back inside. She knew where the beast was in case she had to keep tabs on him again. Was an odd sight for her none the less, seeing it intermingling passively with her beloved ponies. Hard to imagine the being that disabled some of those same guards and blasting her through a wall was indeed all one in the same unicorn in the halls below. Still, if the blue alicorn was one thing; she was patient. If this juggernaut, this, Godzilla, had any dreams during his stay here; she'd know. And dreams never lied. She'd hang back and passively observe, find any clues she could on the subject to ensure there was no threat to her beloved ponies. So far he'd been a hard book to read.

-----------------------------------------
Canterlot Castle, Solar Wing
----------------------------------------

Celestia groaned as she rubbed her throbbing head, half trudging and half slumping into her bedroom before half harshly kicking the door shut without an ounce of her typical grace. She wasn't having the best day and it had taken its toll. The solar diarch had been up all of last night with Luna, trying to keep her sister from walking herself up the ceiling; and then spent half the day so far in what had easily set the record for the worst court day in recent history. Begrudging nobles wanting compensation for the damages of the chocolate milk incident, mayors demanding tickets to the upcoming gala, Blueblood calling for the arrest of some impersonator, and then the big elephant in the room. Their new 'guests'. Obviously some ponies already knew. The Element bearers, Cadance, Shining armor, and that young trio of fillies knew for sure what was going on; and some ponies at that campground along with most of the guards had an inclination what had happened. If they could manage it, she'd prefer it stay that way. If the whole country knew about half a dozen individuals, already who are already extraordinary powerful, who could shape shift into skyscraper sized behemoths, there easily could be a mass panic.

The white alicorn grumbled, already getting a headache over the thought. If there was one thing she hated about the modern world, it was sensationalist news. That was exactly what she was trying to suppress and with limited success. Rumors spread faster than the Element of Loyalty, causing her to make a lot of demands and tell a lot of half truths to a very invasive audience to silence them. Trudging over to her bedside, Celestia's golden aura wrapped itself around her crown and regalia, levitating it off her as she slipped onto the covers. The day was over half done, but she needed a power nap. Just to close her eyes for a bit to rejuvenate herself. No sooner did her eyelids cloak her vision in the shadows, did images flicker before her amongst the dreaming subconscious. She'd have no rest in this slumber.

She saw Canterlot, standing tall on the mountainside as the sun began to set. Something in the air wasn't right. Looking to the steep plateaus and mountains that neighbored the city and valley, there was only blackness. Crawling over the mountains like a dark horde, blackness spread like a pestilence. Earth and sky were devoured by the oncoming tidal wave of choking shadows. Nightmares advanced.

Luna's silver moon was eclipsed by the dark haze that swallowed up the sky. Celestia gasped and reeled back at what she saw, the darkness rapidly bearing down on Canterlot and her beloved ponies. Then something fell past her window. Rushing to the balcony, she saw it as it fell down away from the castle. It was a glimmering, blue-white spark that hit the grounds just beyond the city. Celestia looked up to the oncoming nightmare. Through the mass of black rang out the sound of shrieks, screams, and flapping wings. Just before she could make out the forms amongst the haze, darkness shifted to light. Flying up from the forests below was a blinding pillar of blue fire that shot up between the darkness and the city, parting the sky. The shadows shrank back, as if afraid of the mass of pulsing blue and white. The white alicorn had to partially shield her eyes from the brightness before her. Just before she woke up, Celestia caught one last detail from her vision. The pillar of light, the ray of blue fire. It roared, and the air and shadows trembled.

The diarch was fast to rise, bolting off to find her sister. She wasn't tired anymore.

---------------------------------
Castle of the Two Sisters
---------------------------------

“That lead gyaos, she got away.”

Twilight sighed, obvious worry showing through. True, the flock might have been eradicated, but something that dangerous flying around wasn’t doing her fears any favors. The fact some of them clearly seemed to know what the Tree of Harmony was and went after it wasn't adding any ease to the situation. Still, she was waiting until a calmer time to bring that fact to light; her companion was fretting enough as it stood. She'd wait until this topic had finished.

“Lea you ran out of power, it’s not your fault. It’ll hopefully not act up any time soon anyways, you really did the number on her. I'm surprised she could even still fly.”

Spike, perched up on a nearby boulder that had once been a piece of the castle wall; chimed in.

“Besides, how could the Princesses NOT track something that big flying around? We'll get it soon enough.”

Mothra would have been comforted, had she not remembered Gamera’s words. Her hair and ears drooped down grimly.

“She’s only one of the group though. Others could be scattered all across Equestria. You remember what Gamera said. This changes everything! Your nation, your planet as a whole may not be safe right now!”

Twilight couldn’t disagree. Still, if she’d learned anything from hanging around Pinkie so much; it was that optimism never hurt. Even in the most dire of situations, possible besiegement by giant monsters included. She put a hoof on Mothra’s shoulder.

“Hey, Equestria has dealt with threats before and we’ll deal with them again. Least the danger has passed for no-“

The alicorn was cut off by an echo. A distant, faint, distinct echo that permeated the air like a haunting specter. All in attendance’s hair and scales stuck up on end. More echoes followed the first, more shrieks and screams. Gazes shot to the direction of the noise, to the setting sun. When they saw what was coming over the mountains, what Twilight was about to say was quickly proven wrong. With the lowering sun at its back, an inky black carpet stretched itself across the sky.

The darkness slipped over the horizon above the distant White Tail Woods in spite of the evening light, draping over the sky like a shadowy curtain. Echoes heralded the shrieking amongst hundreds of flapping wings. Lea's voice died in her throat. There were hundreds of them, hundreds of gyaos. Gnashing their teeth, beating their wings; and screaming battle cries into the sky like a legion from hell. But they weren't heading near the Everfree or its castle. Truth be told, it was almost like they didn't even notice the structure and the occupants within it. Instead the ravenous hive remained on a perfectly straight path, heading due east. Mothra knew why the albino one had been smirking. She had split the swarm up, taking two equally potent forces to separate areas. Why this was so was beyond Lea’s understanding, but the mere fact it was happening did her no favors.

Twilight's ears fell against her head as the blood drained from her face when she saw the direction the gyaos were flying. She realized exactly where the flock was heading, towards the only thing in that immediate direction worth heading for. The alicorn’s eyes exploded into dinner plates, her pupils shrunk to pin points. She whipped her head around to Mothra, the horrified look speaking volumes.

"Lea, they're heading for Canterlot!"

"WHAT?!"

Mothra, the guardian of mortals and co-leader of the Terran Defender faction; was hyperventilating. Her frantic surprise obvious as the poor changeling looked near ready to have a panic attack. Having the flock that big around was a nightmare by itself, but the alicorn’s observation only magnified it.

"NO! NO! NO-NO-NO-NO!"

The changeling rose to her hooves and spread her wings to try and begin to fly. Her duty to protect was outweighing any sense of self preservation in light of her own expenses. Twilight was quick to notice and teleported in front of the changeling in a blink of purple magic, bracing herself against her friend.

“Lea no! You’re already burned out. We don’t even know if the transformation can work twice so quickly!”

The realization dawned on the changeling and her heart was crushed. She froze like a statue to the sound of one of the demonic bat’s screams. The hive of death was flying right past her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In spite of her grimness, amongst the darkness in her mind, a word Twilight spoke caused a flicker of light.

-“You’re already burned out”… Nothing I can do…But…Yes, yes that might work!-

There was no time to waste, the flock was moving quickly. Mothra Lea looked back at Twilight with as much urgency as she could.

“Twilight, can you teleport us to Canterlot?”

Twilight Sparkle matched the look, her mind scrambling for an answer as her face stood still.

“We’re about to find out! Spike!”

She looked to the side and held out a hoof. The little dragon didn’t need his sister to tell him twice, scampering off his perch and racing over to the duo. Twilight wrapped her hoof around him, putting her other forehoof around Mothra’s shoulders as she closed her eyes. Spike buried his face in Twilight’s side, the alicorn’s horn crackling and sparking as she concentrated. Simple teleporting for a single pony to move themselves a few meters away was easy. Twilight moving herself and Spike across town was a bit harder. Moving herself, Spike, and easily twice her weight in Changeling was a whole different league. The passive echoes flowing into her ears was all the encouragement Twilight needed. Hairs began to stand up on end as an aura of purple wrapped around the trio. All the Element of Magic could think of was the carpeted floor of the main hall, and the brilliant way the setting sun cast itself through the windows. She prayed amongst a flash of light that window wouldn’t be blotted out by the winged darkness when they got there.

------------------------
Canterlot Castle
------------------------

After managing to teleport on top of and crash through several antique tables, the dynamic trio were quick to bolt off into the halls of the castle in a mad search for the Celestial Diarchs. Their haste was only increased when they nearly crashed into an equally frantic Celestia, who surprised Twilight by looking even paler than normal once she was informed on what was coming. It wasn't a minute later that all four were sprinting full tilt up to the lunar wing, Celestia practically kicking open the door to Luna's chamber. The solar alicorn forgot to turn off her Royal Canterlot voice.

"Sister! A grave emergency is upon us!"

Luna, who had been busy writing down some sort of notes; sprung up like a cat. She snapped around, wings bolting up.

"What is it?!"

Lea, still winded from her previous endeavors and the dash to the wing, stepped forward, exhaustion and worry evident in her voice.

"There is l-little time to explain! An army of monsters from my realm attacked Twilight and I in the Everfree. We fought the first flock off, but another is heading right this way!"

"And are you sure they are heading for Canterlot?"

Twilight forced her way up, brushing aside the thought to bow first.

"Positive, Princess. These things live to feed and Canterlot is the only major food source for miles!"

Luna cocked an eyebrow, the last part throwing her off.

"Food source? W-well if they intent to raise our food stocks, we could lead them away with some stores and-"

Celestia's terrified expression lead to a shaking voice.

"S-sister... they mean the populace.."

"Gyaos are pure carnivores..."

Luna's eyes slowly widened to dinner plates, all lingering sense of the night princess' typical stoic facade was vanishing into a horrified gape. The mental images she was getting only added fuel to the fire.

"W-we must alert the populace! Put up that barrier shield you taught Shining Armor!"

Celestia nodded and was about to say something but Mothra cut them off.

"Your majesties, Twilight told me about the shield. It COULD keep them out for a bit, but a swarm that big with such dangerous members... This is leagues above the changeling swarms. The barrier would work, but someone would need to hold off the gyaos flock outside to keep them from focusing on it."

Mothra winced, crumbling a bit into a slump until Twilight to could prop her back up. There was a silence as the celestial sisters looked each other in the eye. White wings spread.

"I'll do it... Luna prepare to put up the barrier and call the populace into their homes. I'll try an-"

"P-Princess..."

Twilight's courage welled up as all eyes turned to her.

"There is somepony else here who could do it."

"Who?!"

Mothra caught her breath.

"You'll need someone durable, and very, very powerful.... You'll have to trust me..."

---------------------
Moments later
---------------------

The posse of three alicorns and a changeling stood before an isolated door branching off from the guard chambers. There was now a small group of half shocked onlookers peeking out from around the corner.

"He can do it, you just need t-"

"-We… Do not... Trust him..."

"He's done this before, it's the best chance you got."

"Luna.... listen to her."

Twilight held her breath and knocked on the door. There was silence for a moment before the thump-thump of heavy hooves heralded the room denizen.

"Blade Dancer I swear if that's you aga-"

"Goji it's me!"

"...Lele?"

The door whipped open and Godzilla Junior soon found himself looking into the less than stable faces of the Princesses of Night and Day, the Element of Magic, and the Guardian of Mortals. The tired look of the latter quickly caught his attention and Junior sprung up, putting his hooves on his best friend's shoulder.

"Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Lea put a hoof on his cheek, nodding.

"I'll be fine, I was attacked."

Junior stood still for a moment, and then did something none of the three ponies saw coming. He leaned forward and sniffed at Lea's neck and shoulder as she stood still. He sprung back up, stiff as a board. Lea looked him in the eye.

"Gyaos?"

"Yep."

"Fight them?"

"Yep."

"Transformed?

"Mhm."

"Win?"

"Yep."

"But there is a problem?"

"Yep."

"There was more?"

"Yep."

"How many?

"Hundreds."

"Heading this way?"

"Yep."

"Can't fight anymore?"

"Yep."

Junior glanced at Lea's companions briefly before looking back up to her.

"And you want me to get them?"

"If you can."

Junior slouched back, entertaining the thought briefly before reorganizing himself.

"Well it's a bunch of rampaging monstrosities running amok with a city in their way and me in front of it. It's de ja vu all over again."

Twilight, after getting over some confusion from the odd dialogue, had heard the first good thing in what felt like days. The young alicorn barely knew this stranger. But if he was a friend of Mothra and she believed he could pull it off; then the best chance of her beloved home town to still be standing in the morning was standing before her. She shot up into the air, looking the massive unicorn in the eye.

"You'll do it!?"

Godzilla nodded affirmatively.

"Now where are these gyaos?"

"Heading over the mountains any minute now!"

"Take me to the highest spot in the castle."

Celestia spread her wings, hovering up into the air.

"Then we must hurry."

Unfortunately for Luna, the highest spot in the castle in the direction they needed happened to be her tower. Still, she accepted this was no time to hold onto grudges. Alarm bells rang out throughout the Equestrian capital, the city becoming alight with the sights and sounds of its inhabitants getting into their homes and shelters as fast as they could. There had been no time to explain what was going on, but hearing the sound of the Solar diarch yelling the orders to seek shelter in her booming voice was more than enough motivation. Luna walked out onto her balcony, looking out and studying the dimming horizon.

Just as the last slivers of sunset crossed the mountains and the air became draped with night, she heard a noise. A chorus of shrieks. The voices of death. Darkness began to seep over the mountains, devouring the view of her star-filled night sky. She began to see forms in the darkness. Flapping shapes with arrow shaped heads. There was a dozen, no, three dozen, no, five dozen, no, even more!

Luna's eyes widened as her count breached triple digits. She knew now why the shield she and Celestia were going to put up might not have been enough. Now she just had to figure out what in the tartarus this unicorn's plan was!

Almost on cue, Godzilla walked up next to her, looking out into the oncoming flock.

"You remember how the transformation works?"

Luna didn't take her eyes off the gyaos, focused on the legions of gnashing fangs as the screams of her city rang out after seeing what was only a mile away now.

"Yes, yes, we hit thou with a large amount of good magic, thou changes and become gigantic. What does this have to do with our present being in my tower?"

"Needed a good vantage point, and so you could throw me as far as you can from the city."

The sheer randomness of the statement momentarily caused Luna to confused shoot a look over at the unicorn hard enough to break her speech pattern.

"...You want me to what?!"

"I can't fly, at all. You're going to have to throw me out as you blast me so I'm far enough away from town when I revert... If this work anyways... Just use your magic ok? Besides."

Junior looked over at the dark alicorn with a confident smirk. Luna was about ready to smack him for making such a face in such a serious situation.

"Something tells me you'd enjoy the thought of hurling me off a building."

Luna could only grumble as she built up a charge of energy, putting in as much spare power as she could. The lunar princess focused on a memory, one of her most treasured of all. Warm feelings flowed through her and blossomed with power on her horn, days of youth and a voice like a chime calling through her mind before her horn began to crackle with energy. The borders of the city began to glimmer with a golden light, Celestia's shield slowly rising up from the edges of town like a bubble popping in reverse. It was now or never.

"Here they come... Sure you can make the shot?"

"Hmp... can I..."

Junior raised an eyebrow and glanced over.

"...Can yo-"

"Of course I can!"

Godzilla rolled his eyes and backed up some steps, pawing at the floor once before breaking into a full sprint towards Luna. Whipping around, the alicorn grabbed the kaiju with a tendril of magic and hurling him over her head with a grunt. The unicorn flew through the air in an arch for a few seconds, before the piercing light of a stream of pure magic, thick as a carriage, engulfed Godzilla's form. The unicorn's body drank in the massive amount of energy, draining it in like a sponge until his form became obscured by a brilliant pale glow. Celestia saw him fall past her position, Blade Dancer covering her mouth with a gasp when she began to grasp who just tumbled past her. She would have bolted from her position to dive down in pursuit had the outstretched wing of Celestia not halted her. The alicorn looked back out to the darkening skies above, holding as firm a face as she could despite the fear she was feeling for her city. Her only chance just flew past her.

-There goes the spark... let's hope it becomes a flame...-

The gyaos closed in just as the barrier began to encompass the entirety of the city and castle. Godzilla, glowing like a cast ember, fell past the city and into the valley below. One group of normal gyaos screeched out into the night as they raced ahead of the pack. They were eager to get first bite.

What they got was a blinding light. The air trembled to the sound of thunder.

==============
FAN ART SHOUTOUT

By Pyrus Leonidus

Link

Link

Link

by ForeshadowART, comission by IceStormy

Destroyah
Xenilla
Mothra
Anguirus
Godzilla

Proofreading by Skylark, ThePMB-Brony, Brony1984, and Faith-Wolff
Artwork by Faith-Wolff

Mothra and Godzilla, as well as related roster property of Toho studios
Gyaos property of Daiei
MLP:FiM property of Hasbro Studios
Blade Dancer property of Fiddlesticks
Blueberry Frost property of Akashic Brony
Starlight property of Omega Wing

KAIJU'VERSE TIMELINE
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

NEXT TIME ON THE BRIDGE:
Gigan gets assaulted with hair care products and Megalon has a run in with Autumn Holidays

PLEASE READ
OK before someone tries to crucify me by my pinkie toes, this is a BONUS chapter I made for the holiday. It's meant to be an extra little treat and is more or less a comedy chapter. The Godzilla vs. Gyaos battle will be in the next STORY chapter and will be covered from beginning to end. There WILL be battle. Me making this did not delay the Canterlot fight, I am still working on it, and once exams finish on the 6th I should have a lot more downtime to make it. Be a bit patient please.

Proof Read by Skylark and Faith-Wolff
Artwork (coming soon) by Faith-Wolff
Monster X, Gigan, Megalon, and Gaira property of Toho company
Gyaos property of Daiei
MLP:FiM and all related characters property of Hasbro Studios

The Bridge:
Cyborg Duo's Autumn Holiday Shenanigans

Monster X
Gigan
Megalon
Pipsqueak
Mane-iac

*Day after Canterlot Incident*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Downtown Maretropolis, parallel dimension
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the still evening airspace above the port, echoes of the city life hummed through the low sky as pigeons and seagulls peacefully flew through the air. It was a calm evening, one without obvious deviation or conflict that was visible. Least it was until a streak of purple energy cut a hole into the very sky itself and a metallic chimera emerged out of it, sending the birds scattering. No sooner did he arrive through the closing window that connected this world to Zenith however, did Gigan realize the portal hadn’t opened up near the ground. Keeping a sharp wit despite his tumbling, the Nebulan cyborg’s back ignited with a low light as he activated his thrusters. The air roared lowly as his fall slowed, Gigan righting himself midair and soon halting his tumble about five meters off the ground. Hovering in place, Gigan looked the city before and below him over.

It was a large settlement, extending for what seemed like several miles ahead of the cyborg; but either everyone in the general area was indoors or away from downtown as he saw very few shapes moving about in the streets. Thankfully, no one had noticed him yet. Given that, much to his displeasure, it seemed he had shrunk down to a bit over two meters tall again. Size changes aside, he had work to do. The cyborg kaiju had come here for several reasons. For one it was to investigate. His ‘boss’ had noticed this small realm running parallel to Equestria, like a stream branching off from a river; and wanted it checked out. And secondly Gigan had been so ungodly bored at the base that he volunteered at the drop of a hat to go out no matter where said deployment was. Helps he was the one with the best tracking skill set. Still, if this place was anything like ‘Loony Land’, as Gigan had come to refer to Equestria as; he should have expected some trouble.

When he flicked on his visor and turned on his different vision settings he should have expected more trouble. No sooner did he flick it on did his entire vision become a blotted out mess of chaotic static and hopelessly random readings. Effectively blind and shocked with informational overload, Gigan barely managed to keep his thrusters angled right to slowly levitate him down closer to the ground. Mentally clicking off one setting after another, he whacked himself on the side of the head with the blunt flat of his right scythe to try and clear his mind. Finally after some strain, he managed to set himself solely on his thermal vision and the world came back into relative clarity. Gigan grumbled, the experience reminding him all too much of his first few moments on Equestria; with the very air being enchanted enough to play haywire with his hardware.

-Magic, oye…-

Hovering a few feet above the ground to the gentle hum of his thrusters, Gigan took the moment to have another look around. The feeling he got from this new place was very close to Equestria’s ambiance, but he couldn’t shake off the sensation something felt off. Brushing the thought aside, his thermal vision confirmed the assertion that not many folk seemed present. The tell tale residual heat left by hoofprints was present on the sidewalks and streets nearby, but more or less the trails were few and far between. Most were isolated, alone, and fading from being old. That said, most was not all. One trail caught Gigan’s attention. Or rather, said trail being plural. It was a big mess of hoof prints leading down a back alley way. All very fresh judging from the heat, made by a large group judging from how numerous hoofprints were partially stamped atop one another; and judging from the spacing, made with a decent haste. Curious, he drew closer. And the closer he got, the more he was picking up another reading in addition to the heat. It was electricity, lots and lots of electricity. Electrical power seemed to be a rarity with these ponies, most of their machinery running off some form of magic. Given how X’s recent mission with that amulet churned out so well and how their master had said that the retrieval of powerful artifacts was now a priority, the electrical energy spike was enough to warrant Gigan going after it.

Intuition panned out well, for as he followed the tracks the readings for the electrical source grew stronger and stronger until Gigan reached the backdoor of a large warehouse. He stopped and looked over the door. It was a sturdy build by most standards. The main body was made of good grade steels with a concrete and metal frame, bars crisscrossing it to reinforce the structure. Gigan only looked at it with as much of a smirk as his beak could make.

-Built tough to keep out intruders…-

He raised his scythes and revved up his buzz saw.

“That’s cute~…”

Inside the warehouse, another villain was prizing over the efforts of her own hunt. Wrapping a green tendril of mutated hair around the shimmering orb of entrapped lightning, Mane-iac grinned. Leaning back and supporting her form on more strands of hair, like she was reclining on a couch, she let her mobile tail walk herself over to her machinery as she beheld her prize. Busting out of Balkham Asylum and snagging the Electro-Orb had been surprisingly easy. She got her henchstallions back into her thrall pretty quickly, her spare base was in the exact state she left it, the Orb was relatively unguarded; and her outfit had just been dry cleaned! Her plan came together exactly as she’d hoped, and all without the slightest hint of Power Pony issues.

-It’s a good day to be bad indeed-

Climbing up her invention, which could best be described as looking like a giant mortar cannon crossed with a hair dryer, the super villainess was just about to begin putting the orb into the power core when an ungodly racket screeched through the warehouse. It was the shrieking of twisting steel mixed with a scraping scream akin to hooves on a chalk board. Everypony cringed automatically, several henchponies needing to cover their ears and Mane-iac would need a new pair of reading glasses. The noise died down slightly and the purple and green mare needed not a moment to think before barking her orders, a random, crazed giggle sputtering out with it.

“It’s the Power Brats again! I need time to set this up so you lot go up and hold them off, no quarter!”

After a quick salute, her small legion of subordinates bucked and smashed open a few nearby crates to arm themselves with their weapons of choice, all products their boss used to make before her power granting accident. They raced up the stairs and got to the elevated second floor just in time to see two large blades stab through the now smashed up and weakened door. The blade trailed down diagonally, crossing on another and leaving a large X in the door. Then all was quiet. After some moments of silence, one henchstallion slowly walked forward as fading footsteps were audible on the other side of the door. He reached the door and looked through the cut X. His eyes widened just in time to see something otherworldly charging at the door from the other side. He didn't have time to get out of the way when Gigan crashed foot-first through the door as it was torn off its hinges.

-Knock knock!~ -

Mane-iac rapidly mashed at the console’s controls to prep her ultimate weapon, the crashing of metal and sounds of battle up above telling her all too well that the door had been torn off its hinges, and the attack had started. Still, as she worked to prep the machine and fit the orb into the core; even her twisted mind couldn’t help but feel something was off.

-Don’t hear any battle cries or Saddle Rager roaring, and typically isn’t Fili-Second popping one-liners by now?-

The noise above died down, but just when Mane-iac was about to bypass the safety and shove the Electro-orb into the core by force; something flew past her. It was one of her henchstallions, face planting into the glass window behind her and slowly sliding down the wall with a smearing hiss that sounded like a slowly deflating balloon. Motion out of the corner of her eye caught her vision and she looked back up to the stairs.

Gigan stood tall, resting a foot on the guard rail… looking like he got attacked by a rampaging hair salon. Shampoo and conditioner were splattered all over his upper body and scythes, a towel stuck in his saw, and what looked like the half shattered remains of a salon dryer was crammed on top of his head with his horns poking out of it. Grumbling as he lifted a scythe to knock the dryer off himself, then wipe shampoo off his visor and flick it away. Gigan had the most disgruntled and confused look his face could muster.

- Bar none, weirdest fight I’ve ever had. Who the Daiei tries to assault someone with a can of hair spray and tube of shampoo? And what was with trying to cram that infernal dryer on my head?! I've heard of bad weaponry budgets, but this is ridiculous!-

Picking a hairbrush off him and shaking off the towel and remaining shampoo, he quickly noticed the gaping Mane-iac. If his visor would widen like an eye, it would have. Both stood still.

-… Demonic, metal coated, cyclops chicken?…-

-… Octopus haired, spandex wearing, purple equine?...-

Beings from two worlds spoke in unison.

"What in the name of McCarthy are you supposed to be?"
"What in the name of Tanaka are you supposed to be?"

Mane-iac looked the intruder over again, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re… not a Power Pony…. at all…”

Gigan rolled his mechanical eye, starting to dislike this world more and more by the second.

“Lady I don’t even know what that is.”

His attention reorganized itself as his scanner flared back up. It locked onto the shimmering ball the, thing, was holding.

-Target acquired-

“But I’ve wasted enough time, I’ll take that now.”

He raised an arm and took aim, the pronged protrusions below his scythes firing out in a small puff of smoke with long cables trailing behind them. They sailed right for the orb, about to grab onto it when a green hued tendril grabbed onto the cable leads mid-air. Mane-iac put the orb into the machine’s compartment and held onto Gigan’s cables with her mane, keeping them far away from the prize. A crazed grin parted her lips and the mare giggled for no clear reason at all.

“I beg to diffeeeer~”

Giving a firm yank with her tentacle-like hair, Mane-iac managed to rip the confused and surprised Gigan off the railings. The cyborg ignited his thrusters before he could hit the floor, trying to reel in his cables as well as fly backwards. The sudden force shifted the tug-of-war in his favor, forcing Mane-iac to wrap her tail around the base of her cannon as an anchor. Both tugged, yanked and pulled; but neither was able to either free themselves or reel in their foe. Gigan’s visor began to glow with a red light. The aiming reticule in his vision locked onto Mane-iac and her machine. A crack of light shot out, followed by a thin, bright red line of energy shooting through the air and raking down across the cannon’s side. Metal hissed as a line was burned into it and nearly hit Mane-iac had she not let go of her anchor and dove to the side.

Giggling and cackling to herself, the mare used her prehensile mane and momentum to reel herself into Gigan. The cyborg was forced to cut his beam off and put his arm up in defense to block several more strands of mane and tail that began to wrap around him.

“Figures the Power Brats would send some monster thug to try and take me in!”

The cyborg shot her an offended look as he thrashed against her mane and tail.

“HEY! I’m a merc, not some thug you bleedin’ whacko!”

Mane-iac clearly read the last word differently than intended, tends to happen when your brain gets a chemical bath. She smiled with a slight blush as she reeled herself in fully, despite now trying to buck the cyborg in the face.

“Awww thank you, you flatter~”

“GETOFFOFME!”

Gigan spiraled around in flight and fought to stay stable in the air as his arms, legs, chest, and neck were soon coiled up in green hair. Mane-iac was only squealing and giggling from the ride, attempting to buck and box the monster in the face despite his thrashing. The cyborg was blocking best he could, and typically he had a plan to counteract or at least cope with most fighting styles. But this? This was the one bizarre power set that was difficult to counter. During Final Wars he once hacked into Terra’s technological library called the Internet while he was on downtime. He found out a great many things, but once he tried looking up ‘tendrils’ and ‘tentacles’ he realized he’d made a horrible, horrible mistake. Some things took a while to be ‘unseen’, and he did his best to stay away from the subject for sake of sanity.

Long story short, he avoided the word ‘tentacle’ like the plague and didn’t research anything relating to it at all so he had no clue how to fight this sort of stuff. Now as he was blocking another hoof punch to the face best he could with the blunt of his half tangled scythe did he realize how it was coming back to bite him.

He analyzed his foe and noticed something. He might not have spent much time in Equestria, but he spent enough time to notice some trends. Like what races of equine could do what, and what they couldn’t do. Only one race could fly. It gave him an idea. He looked out the nearby window into the amber clad skies outside. Then he got an idea on top of his previous plot. Now if only he could get this clingy mare to stop laughing like a demented hyena and let him concentrate for a moment. Reeling his head back and smashing it forward into a head butt that landed square on Mane-iac’s brow, he got his moment. Gigan disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared over forty meters in the air outside of the warehouse, Mane-iac having been teleported with him.

She was clearly more surprised than he was to suddenly be floating, her shock quickly turning into a growl. She coiled several tendrils around Gigan’s neck.

“WHAT TH-…Take us back down NOW!”

Gigan smirked, cackling as he diverted more power to one of his weapon systems.

“Ladies first~”

His buzz saw roared to life and after a short moment of getting painfully caught on Mane-iac’s mane, revved up and spun around at full speed. Sparks flew for several moments as the rushing blades slashed through the enchanted hair strands. Gigan, feeling his limbs becoming less taught, freed an arm and swung down with a scythe to slice through the remaining tendrils of mane that clung to him. Mane-iac shrieked in shock and surprise, her tail losing its hold on her opponent’s legs and firm kick to the gut by Gigan quickly sending the earth pony tumbling to the ground below.

Gigan didn’t wait to see her shocked face hit the ground, disappearing in another flare of light back inside the warehouse. He still had a prize to claim.

-----------------------------------------------
Near Trottingham, Equestria
-----------------------------------------------

Megalon was remaining as focused as he could as he marched through the tree lined path. He had a mission to do! Or at least he had a mission that he gave himself to do.

-Big Brother is off exploring and scouting the terrain ahead for artifactoids, but Nebulans never take up a mission alone! Fear not Gigan, I shall take up the same charge. Divide and conquer!-

Batting the flat of one of his drills into his other drill with a metallic clang, Megalon's mental credo was cut short by one of his own observations. He had no idea where he was. True he could always call up a portal and head back to base to talk to 'Boss Ball', as the insectoid cyborg called his new employer, for directions. Or maybe he could go and ask Mr.X? He had always seemed calm...ish...

-Nah, he's too busy with the Bat Lady and the Not-So-Jolly-Green-Giant. Well, guess I'll just keep moving until I see something besides trees.-

Still, lack of direction wasn't the dim witted cyborg's only problem. But truth be told, in addition to being lost he had not a single clue how he'd even recognize an artifact worthy of recovery when he spotted it. Wasn't like there was a shop selling a bunch of those pendant things X brought back.

-Or maybe there is? This is magical pony land, anything's possible. Maybe they give away valuables during a holiday or something?-

He'd been walking for a good hour and judging from the noises he was picking up in the far distance, getting close to a settlement that was nestled inside of, or bordering, the woods. It was a good sign. He knew X had found the treasure near ponies, so finding ponies was a good start. Soon finding himself up at the top of a hill near the forest clearing, Megalon soon was looking down into the lowlands below at the town of Trottingham. Taking a moment to at least attempt to think, Megalon rubbed his chin with a drill. It just dawned on him that his creators never typically sent him on anything even remotely resembling recovery missions. Most times they just pointed him at something and said "Have fun" before he smashed it to bits. Maybe he could wreck the buildings enough that he'd find the goodies inside?

The half robotic bug was still deep in thought when a little voice spoke up from behind him.

"Gee that's a great costume mista'!"

Megalon turned around and spotted a pony standing a few yards away from him, wagging its tail. It was a tiny little thing, a child-aged male based off the size and voice. The body coloring was mostly white, but he had some light brown splotches on his form, most notably a patch over his left eye. The mane was a mix of dark and light brown, and he lacked wings or a horn. The colt was wearing a deep blue shirt with white cuffs, an eye patch with a skull on it covering his right eye; and a pure red bandana over the top of his head.

Megalon didn't know what he was talking about, but he was adorable. He crouched down to try and get on eye level with the colt, finding little success.

"Names Pipsqueak the Pi'rate! What are you?"

The three words 'What are you' yielded an automated response. Megalon replied with a distinctly robotic voice.

"Nebulan-Hunter-Line-Prototype-Cybernetic-Beta-Series-2-Arthropod-Based-Lifeform-Megalon-!"

Pipsqueak blinked a few times, looking up at the odd bug-like creature which he assumed still was somepony in a costume. He didn't understand half the words that had just been spoken.

-Uuuum... maaaybe he's really into some kind of act for the holiday? Oh well-

"Eeeeh hooow about just Megalon? That's a cool name! Sounds like something out of a Neighpon monster movie!"

Megalon gave an affirmative nod.

"You here for Nightmare Night too?"

"Nightmare Night? What's that?"

Pipsqueak felt a bead of sweat drop down the side of his head, half rolling his eyes.

-Yep, definitely one of those things cousin Octavia talked about..coousplayer? Tosplayers?... Cosplackers? Guess I best play Make-Believe a lot too-

Raising his rubber cutlass, Pip gave the fiercest 'yaaaarrrg' he could; morbidly confusing his host at the sudden change in tone.

"A'vast ye landlubber! Nightmare Night be a feastly time for me pirates and I. I might have cast me' anchor in the lands of me Grandparents this year, but the loot will yield new heights all the same when we plunder the wee folk of tha'r treasures!"

Megalon still didn't get the 'yaaarrg' part, sounded like one had something stuck in their throat and was trying to hum it out. The last word caught his attention however.

"Treasures?"

"'Aye! Much loot to be had for a pirate, this township be stocked with candy!"

Megalon titled his head. Khandy? Pirates? What were these words supposed to mean? Best he could put together was a pirate was what this little one was, and the local treasures were called 'khandy'. Perhaps this is what he had been looking for all along?

"I'm looking for treasures myself, how do you loot this 'khandy'? Demolition?"

"Yaarrg it be called CAAAANDY and all ye' need ta be ah'-"

Pip shook his tied tongue out and cleared his throat. He could only pull off his salty sea dog talk for so long.

"-Bleck! Sorry about that, haven't quite got it down yet. Anyhoo. We loot like everyone else on Nightmare Night. You go door to door in your costume and trick-or-treat the homeowner to get some of their candy. Get a little from each house and by end of the run you'll have a sack full of treasures to enjoy year 'round!"

The cyborg rubbed his chin with the blunt side of a drill, liking what he was hearing. In a rare moment of astuteness he inquired further.

"Soooo no smashing up houses to get the Khandy?"

Pipsqueak would have questioned the morality of who he was talking to about the matter of blowing up his hometown, had child naivety and previous assumptions not made him determine it was all part of some act to stay in-character. Still, he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled best he could to defuse any tension.

"Umm... Noooo, all you need is a costume and a bag to just walk up and get it for free. No smashing required."

Megalon grinned at the prospect the best way a creature with only sideways moving mandibles could. The entire scenario being pitched to him almost seemed too good to be true. He'd come for treasure and found a town that was literally giving it away for free!

A side thought did dawn on him however.

"Buuuut, I don't have a costume."

Now Pipsqueak was sure there was something up with this weirdo. Still, he seemed nice enough, must have just really gotten into the holiday's spirit. After his mum and pop sent him back here to his grandparents after that battle at Canterlot, he could use a friend to hang around this holiday.

"Ehehe, well I guess a costume on-top of a costume looks interesting enough. I do have some spare bits of other pirate gear I threw together back at me' homestead."

Pip held a hoof up and held onto the tip of Megalon's drill, tugging on it slightly to tow the massive cyborg along best he could. Megalon leaned his shoulder down significantly so Pip could reach well enough, and the two most unlikely looking friends made their way towards the outskirts of town.

"Come on, we'll get ye' a costume alright! And you can try some of Granny's roasted pumpkin seeds as we suit yourself up!"

---------------------------------------
Downtown Maretropolis
---------------------------------------

Inside a crater caved into the pavement, a spandex clad hoof felt around for a solid purchase before pulling its owner up. Mane-iac groaned, rubbing the side of her head. Had she been in another realm, not had inherit magic to cushion the blow, the fall might have seriously wounded or killed her. Instead, in a world of twisted physics and bizarre nature; she just got a mild concussion and a bad headache. But even that wasn’t her biggest concern. Rather it was the streams of emerald green floating down to her from high above, the slashed remains of her mane. Trembling hooves held themselves out to catch the stray strands, only for a stray breeze to slip past and scatter the thin lines of emerald into the wind. Mane-iac’s voice began to choke up. She grabbed her head and shot up, red and green eyes beginning to wet.

“N-NO! MY BABY! YOU WERE TAKEN TOO SOO-…”

Her melodramatic outburst was cut short when a reflection in some sheet metal caught her eye. It was her, or at least her with a significantly different hairdo. Her mane was much shorter than before, having frayed ends similar to Zapp's mane. Mane-iac settled herself down and pawed at it, testing and verifying she was still able to control the mutant hairs like before.

“Huh… Actually this getup looks rather nice on me, a bit like my old mane.”

After a bit more manipulation and grooming she’d gotten it to how she liked it. A spark of light lit up one of the warehouse windows near her. Mane-iac felt her chest begin to swell and she grinned like an idiot, heading inside.

Gigan was not having an easy time prying the Electro-Orb out of the machine. True, he could hack through the metal just fine, but the cyborg need be careful to not rend the orb in two while doing it. The fact that his saw was still half jammed up on that whacko’s hair wasn’t doing him any favors. He tried to rev up his buzz saw to wrench out some of the mane, only for mechanical clicking to reinstate the jam.

-Diiisgusting, going to take me hour to get that stuff out!-

Tearing out a clump of mane from a saw tooth, Gigan grumbled and got back to his work.

“Shampoo Warfare, Hentai Hair; and even crazier equines than before? This world can eat itself for all I care, I’m done.”

Tearing off a metal panel, it seemed he’d finally gotten to seize the treasure when he noticed a form walking up to him. When he turned around however his mechanical eye began to spazz at the sight of something he thought was dead. Mane-iac had somehow managed to walk right up next to him without him noticing until then, stretching her neck out to look the cyborg at eye level. She was displaying a prominent smile, her eyes partially fluttering and half lidded. Gigan was quick to give a rocket assisted leap back to get some distance.

“WHAT TH-?! But I!- I dropped you an!- Who broke physics?!”

He’d dropped her a good thirty five or forty meters, easily three times the height he thought was needed, onto hardened pavement and somehow her mane looked worse off than she did! If he still had an organ based eye it would be twitching feverishly in confusion and rage. Mane-iac was already slowly walking towards him, a sly smile crossing her face as she looked over Gigan’s razor edged metallic parts.

“You’re the-”

“… Why are you looking at me like that?”

"The perfect barber~..."

"...."

She started walking closer, Gigan was backing up. Just when it seemed like he was about to back himself up into the back wall she bolted forward and tackled him. Gigan slammed back into a crate, thrashing to try and get her off him while she was trying to wrap her tail around him. Mane-iac softly trailed a hoof across his cheek as Gigan frantically tried and failed to rev up his buzzsaw; which was still jammed on her hair.

The glimmer of dark purple light and the opening of a Zenith Portal made Gigan mentally sing praises to Tanaka above. Grabbing a hold onto the crazed mare in a bear hug, Gigan tossed her away best he could and clicked on his thrusters. Getting into the air fast as possible while trying not to let go of the Electro-Orb, a flurry of movement to his right heralded the return of the insane.

"WAIT! Take me with you! We'd be unstoppablllle!"

Gigan hovered up to safety and tried to give a good retort. Something jarring that would slam this lunatic back into any senses she had. Something to make her understand that he had been trying to kill her not three minutes earlier. Instead he shot out an optic flare, crossing a line of heat into the floor in front of her to stop her charge and mustered out a single word.

"NOPE!"

He cared not for the fact he could feel his mental processors going stupid from the statement, focusing just on flying through the closing portal fast as he could. If he had fingers, he'd be giving her a distinctly Terran gesture with a single digit as he left. Instead he just kept repeating his one word retort like a moron.

"NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE!"

-----------
Zenith
-----------

Gigan was half stumbling half trudging down the temple's long halls, Electro-Orb under his arm, when flash a movement in front of him caught his attention. Up ahead two kaiju were locked in a brawl at the doorway to a chamber. Or rather, brawl in the sense that Monster X was dragging a now one handed Gaira out of the room by his throat. The green gargantua attempted to free himself, swiping at the alien's bony helmet several times with his surviving hand. X let go of Gaira's throat, grabbed his arm, and promptly smashed the limb between a raised knee and downward going elbow with an audible 'CRACK!'. Gaira didn't have time to roar in pain before the Xilian weapon yanked him over his shoulder by his broken arm and tossed him down the hall a decent distance. The garantua was slow to rise. True, he had a healing factor so he'd be back to full strength in a day or two, but didn't mean at all that the number X did on him didn't hurt. As slow as he was to get to his feet, Gaira nearly broke a land speed record retreating. X snorted before turning around.

"Welcome back Gigan."

"What was all that about? Is it Tuesday already?"

X cracked his knuckles and wrist, walking back a short ways into the chamber he'd just exited from.

"Caught him intruding. Glutton saw a feast if he had his way."

"Soo you broke his arm and cut his hand off."

"And fracture several ribs, ruptured ear drum, and bruised his knee caps. But actually she cut his hand off before she passed out."

"She?"

X titled his head in the direction of the dark chamber. The cyborg looked past X, who was now leaning against the doorway, going back on guard duty. The chamber was a simple, more or less a large box of with the walls and floors made of the same dark obsidian that composed most of the temple. The sleeping form of the injured Hyper Gyaos was visible atop an elevated platform akin to a table or bed, laying on her side and with her back to them. The severed hand of Gaira was still on the ground twitching, having been amputated cleanly by a sonic ray. Gigan nodded with a tired grumble.

"How's she holding up?"

X cast a look at the still bruised back that was turned to him, watching it rise and fall steadily to make sure she was still breathing right. The alpha of the flock's pale body was still stained slightly with some dried blood. Thankfully, her lung's rhythm was steady and normal.

"Stabilized and healing, good that I found her when I did."

Monster X glanced over at Gigan and noticing the jammed strands of hair in his saw and smelling the shampoo, before looking at something on Gigan's head with a raised brow. The Nebulan opted to ignore the Xilian's odd look, thinking he might have just had an 'Assault Hairbrush' stuck on his horns or something.

"And what happened to you?"

"What DIDN'T happen would be a shorter answer. Good news, I found an artifact we can use. Bad news is I think I found a dimension I'll never intend to enter again."

"That bizarre huh?"

"You don't know the half of it..."

It was only now Gigan had noticed he'd been back for several minutes and still hadn't received a tackle born bear hug. It almost felt strange.

"And where's Megalon?"

"Off on a mission of his own, he wouldn't stay still after you left.... and Gigan?"

Gigan notice X hadn't stopped looking at a spot on his head throughout their conversation. The cyborg grumbled, already on a thin temper.

"WHAT?!"

Monster X nonchalantly raised a hand and pointed a claw at the peculiarity he'd been looking at.

"Are you aware that you have mouth shaped smudge on the corner of your visor?"

Cursing himself for not noticing, Gigan looked to the corner of his 'eye' and almost immediately wished he hadn't for the sake of sanity.

Mane-iac had been wearing lipstick, and she left her mark.

-----------------------

Soarin enjoyed Nightmare Night for a variety of reasons. Fond memories of his foalhood, lots of sweets both for himself and others; and this year, a chance to leave Cloudsdale for a while to visit his aunt and uncle, a pair of earth pony bakers. It was fortunate that the holiday had spread quickly after the Night Princess' return, for now he could enjoy Uncle Quick Bake's pumpkin pies and have the season be fitting. Faust knows after the scare with Spitefire's 'giant bird sighting' and the fiasco at Canterlot, he could use some monsters that were just younglings in disguise.

There was a knock at the front door just as the Wonderbolt finished off his pie slice, the Pegasus quickly donning his Batmane cowl and gliding over to the door. Candy bowl in hoof, Soarin jokingly held up his cape with a wing, draping it in front of his face to try and give the Trick-or-Treaters a spook.

It was a good thing he covered up his face or Captain Pip and his “First Mate” would have seen the Wonderbolt go pale as a sheet as he looked up, and up, and up, and up into a pair of golden compound eyes looking back at him. Megalon adjusted the pirate hat perched atop his head to keep it from falling off, before trying to utter out the best 'Yaarrrr' he could. It sounded more mechanical than anything from the seven seas. Pip, riding on top of the dressed up cyborg's shoulder recited their credo.

"Nightmare Night! What ah' Fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"

Soarin nearly dumped the entire candy bowl into the large bag dangling from Megalon's drill and slammed the door shut.

"A'vast ye' First Mate Megalon! The take is good tonight! Now let's go plunder the Hardhoof galleon!"

"Lead on Captain Pip~!"

Mothra Lea
Twilight Sparkle
Godzilla Junior
Blade Dancer
Cached Ire
Captain Blueberry Frost
Princess Luna
Princess Celestia

--------------------------
Outside Canterlot
--------------------------

Streams of nuclear radiation and heat seared through the midnight air and lit up the airspace like a barrage of firework. The burning lights fried anything they hit, roasting their way through a dozen or so gyaos that attempted to charge its owner head on. There were tales in Equestria, tales of behemoths and monsters, giants of fables who moved like living mountains. Yet in a world of dragons and ursine, none in Harmony's realm had seen anything like what was unfolding outside of Equestria’s capital right now. The days of titans had returned, and they were at war with each other.

Streams of yellow light sliced through the air, the beams of visibly condensed sound screaming into the night as they raked across the valley floor. Boulders were slashed in two and trees were bisected, but the towering figure half obscured by smoke refused to be cut down. Sparks flew out whenever the gyaos flock’s rays hit a scaly hide that had withstood the wrath of his home world's nuclear fires. The few rays that did manage to slice through a few layers of scales were shrugged off like paper cuts, any bleeding near instantly halting from the juggernaut’s healing ability. Pain, both from the few injuries sustained and the rapid mending of them; only fueled his inner fires.

Unleashing a roar that eclipsed any thunder crack, Godzilla charged forward to meet a diving portion of the gyaos flock head on; the earth below his feet pounding at each footfall. Lunging forward, he grabbed a cackling Super Gyaos by the neck as he ducked and raked his jagged back spines across another to a shower of gore. Ripping his hand to the side, he batted away another score of gyaos with the one he'd grabbed onto, the cracking sound between his fingers signaled he’d snapped the first Super’s neck like a dead twig even as he bludgeoned others with the corpse. Tossing aside his improvised club, the monster king continued rushing headlong into the flock, his back spines began to glow with burning might.

All over he was getting surrounded, hit with cutting rays that deafened him, raked with claws, and suffered dozens of teeth gnashing into the opened wounds.

---------------
Canterlot
---------------

Canterlot had always been a city of admixture. Varying fashion trends, dozens of different professions, innumerable travels from every nation under Celestia’s sun and as diverse as Luna’s stars. But for the moment, every single soul in the city save for a single changeling and a few alicorns had the same expression. Nothing but shock. Pure, unadulterated shock as their eyes stayed glued to the sights occurring beyond the golden barrier that encircled the city in a bubble. Gnashing fangs, sparks of fire; and bloodied claws held all of their attention in a death grip. It took the blaring voice of Celestia and Luna, both calling out in a voice of older days that yelled down at the entire city from castle’s peak, to rip everyone’s attention away.

“CITIZENRY OF CANTERLOT, NOW IS NOT A TIME FOR THOU’S RATIONAL AND WIT TO FALTER! A SWARM OF MONSTERS CALLED GYAOS ARE ATTEMPTING TO BESEIGE THE CITY! ANOTHER CREATURE CALLED GODZILLA HAS AGREED TO FIGHT ON CANTERLOT'S BEHALF AND HAS ENGAGED THE SWARM, BUT YOU ALL MUST SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS A ROYAL DECREE!”

Many were wise to follow through, quickly seeking the sturdier buildings of the capital such as the barracks and castle. Still, no small amount of chaos was beginning to break out. And for every soul who lost rational and panicked, two more were frozen in place where they stood; looking upon the war zone outside that had previously been the steps to harmony itself.

Dark forms outside the golden barrier shifted as Godzilla battled it out against the main body of the flock. Rising up from below to hover before the barrier, several gyaos hissed and cackled greedily as they looked down at the terrified ponies behind the fortification. One of them snarled, clinging to the side of the barrier before furiously pecking at the shield of solid magic. Waves and ripples coursed through Celestia’s shield as the crowds scrambled to get away. The barrier was holding, but as more and more gyaos joined in on the attack; the eldest alicorn was beginning to grit her teeth. Distant energy flowed through Celestia’s body, Luna’s presence reinforcing her prowess far beyond anything she could muster alone. Still, fending off an attack on this scale while making certain not to weaken the barrier at any inch of its span was strenuous even for her. But if there was one thing Celestia had a lot of, it was will. And in a realm of magic, will was power. She had a city, a citizenry, and a sister to protect. She had been prepared to fight the swarm in Godzilla’s place earlier, and still would if needed. For now though, the solar diarch would settle for not granting this ravenous flock a single foothold in her city, and not get within an inch of her beloved ponies.

Sparks of golden magic ripped forth from Celestia’s horn and impacted the barrier, drastically reasserting her power into it. Pure energy ripped across the entire force field and coursed into any soul from the outside who dared attack it. The gyaos, who had been so previously hell-bent on clawing their way through the shield, where shocked and burned repeatedly by strands of magical wrath. Several additional gyaos broke away from the main battle and attempted to try their luck at forcing their way inside the bubble of energy, only for a beam of white energy shot out of the Lunar tower to join Celestia’s in further charging the barrier to withstand and repel more of the assault. Luna looked down at her sister with a knowing nod and a smile, fueling more of her power into the barrier.

-I might have lent most of my power to the beast, but doesn’t mean you’re alone in this Celly-

Celestia stole a moment to smile, before the roar of more gyaos and their gargantuan attacker stole her attention back. Mighty and voracious as the newcomer was, the flock numbered in the hundreds. This was going to be a nail biting night.

Lea and Twilight watched on from a separate balcony. Several doctors and nurses were beginning to arrive to tend to the changeling’s shoulder, not bothering to ask why one of her kind was present. Seeing an ongoing conflict of giant monsters battling it out in front of one’s capital tends to distract someponies from the native strangeness, such as a changeling in the castle; at least for now. Twilight couldn’t rip her gaze away from the stream of burning blue and slashes of yellow. Lea said he was big, but she didn’t say he was something that could swallow a bus.

“So this is… what he normally looks like?”

Lea took a calmed breath, being the only soul in Canterlot probably used to seeing what was unfolding before her.

“Since the day I met him.”

Twilight was speechless. Even after seeing four different types of kaiju now she should have been a bit more used to the sight. She still wasn't. After several silent moments however, she finally managed to steal a glance down at the city below at the hundreds of ponies streamed into the barracks and lower regions of the castle itself. There were still those who looked upon the battle. Reactions were mixed. Some ponies stood mortified at the carnage unfolding just beyond a wall of magic, not caring who or what was fighting for whatever reason. Upon hearing the word ‘ally’ from their rulers, some ponies even were taking moments to cheer for the saurian creature. Most however, stood in silence; caught between shock and awe. It was a fact of life that most of the more dangerous events in the realms, a thunderstorm, a volcano, a wild fire, or an enraged alicorn; all held a visual draw to them. Perhaps it was the visual sight of so much raw power, perhaps it was the subtle fear inspired by that power. One way or another, it was hard to look away.

Twilight had fear, but for something rather than of something. She feared for those she was looking at. Their fate was in a leviathan's hands. And while there was no pale alpha to fight here, there seemed to be no end to the flock.

“Can he do it? Is he strong enough?”

Lea closed her eyes, able to sense the status of her best friend even from the distance. He was holding well, ushering the changeling to give a nod.

“I know him, he’s strong enough.”

The guardian opened her eyes, unable to quench the feeling of longing to aid in Junior’s fight as tiredness from before began to catch up to her. The changeling queen half fainted before Twilight and the doctors could catch her, the last image she saw in the flickers of her eyelids was Godzilla roaring defiantly at the hovering flock. She remembered the conditions of the transformation, of how it was temporary. She prayed Luna had given him enough of a charge to make it count. Otherwise her friend’s fight was with both the gyaos horde and against time itself. He couldn’t afford to lose either. Lea's vision faded, shifting into unconsciousness at the trumpeting of her oldest ally.

-Just please be fast enough too… Goji…-

Back up at the Solar wing, Captain Blueberry Frost had been glad she issued earplugs to everyone before the ruling alicorns let it rip with the Royal Canterlot voice, otherwise the world likely would be more muted and ringing than it was already. After giving the motion to pop the plugs out, the earth pony mare’s face hardened up. She addressed her lead formation of guards, ironically made up of the same members who’d escorted Junior to Luna earlier. The captain of the guards need only a brief glance to and an exchanged nod with Celestia to know the solar diarch was going to be fine, freeing up her little posse for other matters.

“AttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenTION!”

Cached Ire, Incognito, Blade Dancer, and Hammerbolt all snapped into attention. Hearing their captain in this snappy of a voice would rip their attention away from anything. Captain Frost’s normally amicable expression was all gone as she looked back at them.

“Alright ya’ll, no standin’ ‘round lookin’ wide eyed and slack jawed at the big lizard and bats on my watch, we got a job to do. So congrats, you lot are getting some overtime hours! Right now Canterlot's going to Tartarus and back with all these ponies running scared, ya’ll and I need to get the other guards on duty and sort this mess out best we can. This is an A-rank mission detail!”

Incognito shakingly raised a hoof at the last part.

Captain Frost snapped around towards him, “Whaaaaaaat is it, Private?!”

Incognito quivered, “Ma’am sir- ma’am! A-rank?! That’s a bit ab-ove me. I mean I WANT to help a lot! I really do! But I’m just a private! What if I screw u-”

One could practically see the fire shooting out of the captain’s eyes as she gave her response, “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF CORPORAL! This is no time falter!”

Incognito’s eyes widened. Some self assurance was trickling back in.

He still sputtered, “C-Corporal?”

Frost was unfased, “You damn well heard me right, I’ll give ye’ the new badge and star later if you pull this off. But for now I need you to go get Second Lieutenant Starlight, head down to the barracks and clear it out for all these refugees. Heck with it, tell him he’s promoted too if he goes with you, just get hustlin’!”

Incognito practically jumped up and saluted before bolting off. Blueberry turned to Hammerbolt, completely ignoring the stallion’s height overstepping her own.

“Sergeant, I need you to go round up some of night-watch and go help Kickback and the other medics clear out the hospital. Escort them all back here as fast and smoothly as possible. Got it?”

Hammerbolt saluted, brushing aside the half joking request for a promotion as well but sensed this was no time for even his dry humor.
“On it ma’am!”

As the stallion rushed off with speed betraying his size, Blueberry Frost turned to the two pegasi mares, “A’right you two. Special task. Luna was ‘posed to make an appearance at the School for Gifted Unicorns but obviously that’s been scrapped due to 'weather'. However the night class is still probably there and on lock down since the shield went up. I need you two to round them up, and escort them back here to get them with their parents. Bring any teachers ye’ find too, Lord Bonnie knows we’ll need the magic help.”

"Ma'am yes Ma'am!"

Blueberry Frost stole a look out into the battleground outside before rushing off to the front gate herself to aid in the evacuation, throwing on her lucky overcoat as she went. The air shook as the leviathan roared, roasting several demons with its blue flares before head butting another to the ground.

-Come on big guy don't let us down...-

--------------------------
Outside Canterlot
--------------------------

Godzilla quickly had to fight back to keep his footing as he stumbled forward due to 15,000 tons of Super Gyaos having dive bombed and slammed into the back of his head, dazing him and making the world tilt sidewards. Managing to glimpse the beast before it ducked back behind the dark shrouds emitted by the horde, the king of the monsters snarled. Flocks always had an alpha, and in the absence of the Hyper Gyaos that Mothra had taken out; the largest Super was a likely candidate. Heat and light crackled across his spines, roasting several smaller members of the flock who foolishly tried to gnaw at his back. The burning corpses rained down his body and into the forest below, igniting parts of it. Just before he could lock onto where he presumed the alpha had flown, several large forms blindsided Junior from the right at full speed.

Godzilla had to try his hardest not to fall over as four other Super Gyaos rammed into him and went on the attack. One clamped it jaws firmly down on his wrist, another began clawing at his upper thigh, and two more grabbed onto the back of his head and shoulders to try and yank him off his feet. Pain shot through the dinosaur's arm, heralding trickles of blood to signal the demon had managed to bite through his hide. Judging from the pain in his legs and the shriek of sound in the air, the second Super had fired her beam in a stream at a claw wound with enough concentration to cut into his muscle slightly. His healing factor would quickly patch the wounds, but he needed to get them off first. Ignoring the claws and fangs gnashing at his neck and shoulders, Godzilla snarled and grabbed the gyaos locked onto his arm. Fishing his claws under her top jaw, he bit back the wince inducing jolts and yanked back. The bat-like beast yelped briefly from the whiplash before being cut short from the loud crack of a broken neck and skull. His arms freed, a firm hammer-like fist collided with the skull of the second gyaos, cutting off her attempts to slice into his abdomen before he promptly acquainted the ravenous beast's head with the bottom of his multi-ton foot. A bony crunching sound was very audible.

The hissing in the air behind his head signaled one of his remaining attackers attempting to charge up her beam while poised at his throat. A similar sound to his right shoulder signaled her cohort had a similar idea. Junior braced his legs and flexed his tail. No time to charge a nuclear pulse, no range for his claws of beam. No problem. Jumping up and turning around midair as his attackers held on, Junior demonstrated why attacking a creature with sharp spines on its back was a bad idea, as he hit the ground back first. Gasping hisses behind him were all he heard as the charging beams were silenced. Rolling out of the way of several more sonic beams as his now crimson spattered spines burned with heat and evaporated their liquid coatings; Junior growled at the flock. Rising to his feet before smacking aside several fliers with his tail, he took aim.

-Four down-

The night was re-lit with burning lights. He swung his head around as another Super Gyaos lunged at him. It was either too slow or too determined to pull away in time as the side of his face caught it across the midsection. With a feral snarl, fangs tore into and pulped the hard sternum with a sickening crack of bone. Thrashing back and forth to ensure it was dead, in a manner not unlike a fox with a rat, Godzilla whipped around and hurled the gyaos into several other of its kind with so much force they impacted the mountain bedrock like a mortar!

The Monster King chanced a tired shrug, trying to ignore the pain he was in while bleeding all over.

-About one hundred and ninety four to go-

--------------
Canterlot
--------------

Blade Dancer and Cached Ire hovered above the ground as they held the school gates open, ushering the School for Gifted Unicorn's denizens out into the night a small parade. The captain's intuition had proved valid, the entire academy having gone on lock down and hiding in the auditorium as soon as the golden shield spell went up. Some of the staff and students hadn't known why the barrier had been put up exactly, only having heard noises through the walls or caught fleeting glimpses of blue-white light through the windows. As soon as they were outside however and became acquainted with what amounted to ring-side seating due to their placement on the city's edge, any speculations were squashed. Most adults were shocked or horrified at what they were seeing. And while some of the colt and fillies shook and cried at the sight of what was happening in front of them, upon hearing the words 'Monster Fight', most of the school children were giddy to watch had the adults not been quick to usher them out. Cached Ire kept a mental tally of the last group heading out.

"Aaaaand forty nine students and fifteen teachers. We're one kid short."

"Did you miscount any?"

"Probably there wa-"

An earth trembling boom and reverberating roar vibrated the ground and shook the air. All eyes cast themselves to beyond the barrier in time to see Godzilla slamming his tail down on a fallen gyaos repeatedly, before spinning around to fend off another lunging at his head. Cached managed to keep a flat look and tone regardless of the situation.

"... You always did chase after the odd ones but I think this one is a definite record setter."

Blade Dancer chewed on her lip with a dipped expression. There was a lot of things going through her mind right now, and if she focused on any one of them she could almost feel her mane drooping. Pursuing a strange, foreign unicorn was one thing. Finding out that the true form of said unicorn was the size of a battleship, had fangs as tall as she was, and was currently killing everything in its way was a whole different level; even for her. Her friend's words, intended for her feelings or not; only helped slightly.

"Well... least he's still on our side..."

Cached gave a half nervous chuckle, looking out into the city itself. The initial panic had definitely taken its toll. Emergency sirens blared into the night almost as much as the monstrous roars, as small firefighting teams and ambulances crisscrossed the city. Canterlot had been attacked by giants they couldn't have hoped to have prepared for and all hell had broken loose before the emergency crews managed to restore order.

"Talk about not in the training manual huh?"

"I doubt even Frost could have thought up a drill for this sort of stunt."

"Well best we can do is keep at it. This groups gotta roll out soon as possible. I'm going to escort this group over to the main halls. Sturdy walls, lots of guards; they'll be safer there. What about you?"

Blade Dancer rubbed her chin for a moment, glancing back at the school.

"Hmmm.... Can you handle the group by yourself?"

Cached Ire smirked, playfully punching her friend in the shoulder.

"Do you even know who you're talking to?~"

Blade Dancer couldn't help but chuckle, thankful she got what translated to a 'yes'.

"You go on ahead, I'm gonna do another sweep of the classrooms and make sure we got everypony. Don't wait up for me."

Cached Ire nodded, some worry being all too obvious on her face. Given the roaring echoing across the skies above, it was obvious why.

"Hey, Bladey listen. Tonight's going south at rainboom speed. I'd hate to come back to another terror tonight. So take care of yourself, okay?"

Blade Dancer didn't need to verbally reply. Raising her hoof and returning Cached her classic shoulder punch with a smile was clue enough. She promised. Cached's face warmed with relief before she turned back to the small crowd, hovering out above them before taking point.

"Alright fillies and colts, everypony step lively and keep a cool head; you're all getting a field trip. Looks like you lot might see Princess Luna tonight after all."

Blade Dancer sighed as Cached Ire spirited away the small parade into the night before flying back inside. She sailed down the darkened main halls, scanning empty room after empty to make absolutely certain and put her conscious to rest. The flares of blue and yellow light outside that shown through each window constantly reminded her of a subject she'd rather not think about at the moment. She had a duty to perform, and the sound of a tiny whimper amongst the screeches and roars reminded her all too much of it. Reversing her wing beat and rapidly flapping backwards, the pegasus halted herself before a small class room at the end of the hall. A small cry echoed out of the half closed door, confirming her suspicions. Nudging the door fully open, she entered and quickly spied how badly the room had been turned over in the initial evacuation. The teacher's thick desk was the only thing still on all four of its legs in the entire chamber, most of the student desks having been knocked over on their side or clumped together in crude masses. It was behind one overturned desk, next to some precariously tilted bookshelves that she heard a small, half shushed sobbing seep out.

The source was easy enough to spot. A bright yellow little foal, not even close to double digit age, was curled up next to the bookshelf with his head held between his hooves. The poor little colt was a shaking wreck, obviously having been alone and crying for awhile.

-Must have accidentally gotten left behind in the initial panic-

Blade Dancer pushed the desk aside a bit, speaking up.

"Hey, little guy, up here."

The colt was quick to shrink away at sudden noise and gasped, but looked up none the less. In the low light however, all he saw was the gleam of golden metal looking down on him. Fright obvious on his face, he backed up more into the base of the shelf. Blade Dancer thankfully was just as quick to wise up, and slipped her helm off just in time for a blaze of light outside to illuminate her calmed, smiling face. She held out her head armor away from her.

"See? Just a normal pony. I'm here to take you back to your teachers and parents okay?"

The little colt stopped backing up, swallowing back some drying tears as he nodded. At that sort of age in this sort of situation, any kind adult tended to calm a kid down some. Blade Dancer chuckled a bit to herself, setting down her helmet in front of him before kicking it over to the colt.

"Why don't you hold onto this for me while I get you out?"

His eyes lit up at the new treasure, eagerly pawing at it before attempting to pick it up. His fear was quickly dispelled.
"Coooool! Okay Miss."

She had to resist the urge to squeal at seeing the little one try on the armor only for it to be grossly too big and heavy for his head; causing the helmet to swallow up most of his upper body and make him flop over. Unable to reach the colt by hoof, she nudged the desk aside. However, due to how the tables, massive bookshelf, and desks were overturned; a lot of them had semi-locked into place. Moving one was like trying to move aside all of them. Grunting, she finally managed to shove the principle desk out of the way; only for a woody, creaking sound to screech out from the bookshelf above the colt. Trailing her eyes up, she was quickly met with the sight of several hundred pounds of wood shift several inches forward before stopping. Blade Dancer stayed trained on the shelf for several moments to make sure it wasn't going to tip any further. Few inches more was all it would have taken for it to lose its base it and have tumbled over on top of them. Thankfully it moved no more.

"Oh thank Celestia..."

-----------------------
Canterlot Valley
-----------------------

Godzilla was not having a pleasant night. True, he'd had harder times. Final Wars, fighting the specter of a previous namesake, Xenilla's surprise visit. And then there always was that time he died nineteen years ago. That hurt a lot. But this, this was quickly rising in ranks as one of his least favorite outings. Charging his beam, the successor king unleashed another tidal wave of radiation and pure heat into the shadows. Still, as he swept it to and fro into the spiraling horde above, ushering another avalanche of burning gyaos to plummet to the ground dead and dying; the darkness seemed without end. With each and every terror he cut down, two more went on the assault. Every moment he kept alternating between healing up his injuries and accumulating more of them, unable to dodge the torrents of yellow rays raining down on him every second. Turning aside to bat away a diving Super with his tail, Junior hissed.

-Note to self, thank Gamera for dealing with these things most of the time when back home-

Just as he spun back around to keep the city at his back, he spied what he was looking for. The presumed alpha Super Gyaos. It was flying under cover of the flock at most times, but yellow and red eyes tracked it through the darkness as it was busy shrieking orders to its cohorts. The flock being oddly more organized as of lately despite that big albino one being absent only confirmed the dinosaur's suspicions. Jagged back spines flickered with blue light, Junior ducking out of the way of another charging Super to get a lock onto his target. Throwing open his jaws with a booming roar, he would have hit his quarry dead center. He would have. Had five smaller Supers and at least a dozen normal gyaos not barreled into him from a blind spot at the last possible moment. Godzilla's beam swung wildly and missed its aim, only nicking the alpha on the side of its crest and earning a shriek of pain, before firing off erradically into the sky. Junior fell over onto his back with the ravenous horde on top of him, and 60,000 tons of dinosaur crashed down right into the base of Canterlot mountain.

---------------------------------------
School for Gifted Unicorns
---------------------------------------

Blade Dancer only had time to register a flare of light shining through the outside window before a thundering crash shook the building like an earthquake. Paintings and posters fell off their mounts, windows cracked from shifting frames; and a sizeable piece of wood framing tore itself free from the wall. Unfortunately said chunk of wall was right behind the row of bookshelves. She could have flown back in time, but the colt was still grounded. There was two seconds to act, and process of time slowed down. Ripping a wing-blade from its holster at her side, Blade Dancer tossed the sword up into the air several inches in front of her. Twisting her body around with a flap of her wing and aiming just right, her kicking hoof met the blunt of the hilt at just the right angle to send the blade rocketing forward point first. Slicing through the top of a binder, the sword buried itself into the back of the bookshelf and forced its way through the wood and out the back. Now having nailed the shelf to the wall and holding it back for a moment, Blade Dancer was quick to hustle. Not minding at all now about what as in her way, she threw the remaining desks aside and grabbed the colt. Jumping back as creaking wood hissed, she barely managed to dive out of the way before the shelf freed itself from its impalement and came crashing down where they had been. Splinters flew every which way as the guard darted out of the room.

Hovering outside the doorway, she took a moment to catch her breath as the colt clung to her shoulders. The school room was a complete wreck but the situation could have been worse. Had her aim been a bit off, had she been a bit slower, or had she not kicked hard enough; something told her there wouldn't be two ponies outside the classroom right now.

-Woah, thank dad for being an earth pony...-

She sighed to try and slow her heart down.

"Well that happened, phew! Next time how about you pick a hiding spot that's a liiiittle closer to the door, heheh. Now, how about we get you back to your class, okay?"

Still trying to wear her helmet best he could, the little one gave a tiny nod and salute before they were on their way out. Darting out of the school as fast as she could, Blade Dancer kicked open the front door. Cached Ire had listened up and was nowhere to be found, having headed off to the castle as requested. Looking up and around to try and find the best flight path to take up to the castle to join up with the main group, Blade Dancer felt a tugging on her neck. She looked down at the wide eyed colt, who had his gaze firmly planted on something behind them. A tall, dark shadow cast itself above them and swallowed up the front half of the school. Putting her free hoof on her remaining wing blade, Blade Dancer turned around and looked into eyes of pure blood.

It was a Super Gyaos, a massive one, standing just outside of the barrier with a fang filled grin. Half of its head crest was charred, blackened, and smoking; as if that part of it had been blown off. Bigger than almost any adult dragon, the Shade of Atlantis greedily eyed the pair in front of it. It was less than twenty feet away from them, close enough for the pegasus to feel the bat's hot, dank breath slipping through the barrier. Blade Dancer tried to keep her breathing and heart slow, backing up a bit with every wing beat while keeping her blade on a quick draw. She'd seen the power of the combined sisters in action, and knew the monstrosity couldn't get to them. Knowledge however couldn't quell how unsettling it was, seeing crimson eyes stare down at you with clear intent to devour. The barrier held, but judging from the gyaos' puffing chest and the steadily growing hiss that signaled an oncoming beam; the demon was about to test it. So focused on the prospect of a meal, that the alpha didn't notice an even larger shadow eclipsing its own. Blade Dancer recognized the outline in the darkness.

The flicker of blue light clued the gyaos in and it quickly turned around to try and meet its threat. She didn't have time to react when a bloodied and enraged Godzilla lunged down at her and clamped his jaws down on the kaiju's throat. Snarling and roaring, the dinosaur thrashed the smaller monster around in his jaws like a perverse parody of a dog playing with a rope toy. Spines glowing brighter and brighter despite several other gyaos diving down to try and rescue their cohort, Godzilla threw the alpha down out of Blade Dancers view. Curling his lips back and ripping open his jaws, the dinosaur hosed down its fallen foe as the heat from his spines drove back the other attackers. The beam continued for several seconds, the shrieks of the alpha being cut off midway. He stopped, the glow of his sails slowly fading. Blade Dancer was paused in midair, frozen. Trails of smoke seeped up from below the titan and the pegasus smelled something burning. The blood spattered across his jaws evaporated into wisps of smoke.

The living mountain stayed where it was for a moment, the death of the alpha having pushed the flock back slightly. They would resume their attack soon, their shrieks still calling out into the night heralding it. But for now, Junior had a moment to catch his breath. He lifted his head back up and noticed someone he hadn't, red-yellow eyes meeting blue ones. He paused for just a moment as his breath returned, looking down at the small form before turning back to return to battle. In that moment though, Blade Dancer shared a stare with and looked over the creature she'd known and not known over.

The comparison was jarring. She'd been used to the oversized, socially awkward; somewhat shy unicorn. Not this walking mountain of a juggernaut. Gone was any semblance of fur or mane, with only color being consistent with memory as familiar hues stretched themselves across cobblestone sized scales and scutes. All with a head and back not capped with a crooked horn or caped with a white shoulder patch, ushered out batteries and rows of sail-like spines that heralded unworldly fire. But it wasn't just the natural state that caused her eyes to widen, but what had happened to make him the way he did now. Claws and fangs, that were frequently spattered with red. Judging from the numerous cuts and scrapes across his hide, some that closed right before her eyes, it was as much his own as it was his foes. The fangs were what caught her attention most. Each curved, sharpened, and at the close distance she could even tell they were serrated. She'd seen first-hoof what they were for, when they buried themselves into the alpha's throat and half near tore it out. Teeth of a predator. Blade Dancer's mind would have sunk into fear had she not noticed something just before Godzilla turned away. She noticed it when he noticed her and the colt before going back to his battle.

His eyes. Two big, red and yellow eyes. For a split second when he'd calmed down to catch his breath, his pupils had uncontracted back into circles. Back into the eyes she had seen. Eyes of intelligence, of the amicable; of the benign. She'd glimpsed two windows back to a certain unicorn she'd known, one she'd so far been attempting to court. Familiarity mounted on the head and body of a creature she nor any Equestrian had ever seen before. A form she was afraid of. It was a mixed sensation, and Blade Dancer didn't know what to feel.

Instinct and mind in conflict, her reaction was mixed. She didn't know how long she'd been hovering in place when the voice of the colt snapped her back to her senses.

"Do you know that big lizard?"

Blade Dancer could only sigh. The truth was as clear as tar.

"Maybe..."

She started back on her duty, flying up through an alley to get back to the castle. The flare of light behind them indicated another burst of their protector's might, as the colt watched on from over his rescuer's shoulder. He adjusted his helmet, waving goodbye at something that could never have hoped to notice.

"Gooo get 'em big guy!"

--------------------------------------------------
Later in the waning hours of night
--------------------------------------------------

The battle had been raging on for hours now, and though war still brewed outside the barrier, a sense of calm had returned to Canterlot. Well, as calm as a city could be watching giant monsters fight it out just outside of a inch thick wall of alicorn magic. A duel to decide the city's fate. The slight calm quickly lead to many resuming their tasks. News cameras flicked on and reporters were put on live across the country. Soon, all of Equestria was watching what was unfolding at its capital's doorstep. Luna grit her teeth as she focused as much as she could on the barrier, shocking its surface and forcing another gyaos that had managed to get past Godzilla off it. Her night was not being kind.

Her city was under attack, the citizens she'd sworn to protect for the next millennium were under constant threat, Celestia's plan to try and keep the kaiju truth contained was dead the moment the gyaos showed up, and effectively extinct once the news cameras started rolling. She and Celestia had been toiling under constant assault for awhile now, keeping the barrier up to deflect multi-ton impacts and rays of energy that could slice a steel pillar in half. Even with the two sisters reinforcing each other and doing most of the brunt work behind the shield, the lunar diarch's power was beginning to wane. And having used up a sizable portion of her power to super charge and change a unicorn into a thirty five story tall monstrosity had been taxing enough.

A sound of thunder caught her attention, catching a glimpse of Godzilla stampeding over a few fallen gyaos to tackle another of their rank out of the air. The duo soon came crashing down into and flattening the outer portion of the hedge mazes, the impact shaking the mountain city with another small tremor. Not wasting a moment, the giant rolled to his feet and tossed away the crushed gyaos to turn around and fry another diving at his head with a stream of blue and white light. Princess Luna's nose scrunched at the memory of the burning light roasting her wing.

After watching the creature for several hours, she came to the conclusion his title of 'King of the Monsters' was accurate. So far he'd manage to prove to be far larger and more powerful than near anything she'd ever seen. Was hard to imagine the unicorn and the saurian were one and the same. She should have been more wary now. And true, every time flames danced across his spines she held her breath least one of his torrents of burning wrath hit her city. If he was a powerhouse before, he was at least a hundred times stronger. Still, some relief was present in her mind. The battle had been raging and at least the titan was keeping his word so far that he would protect Canterlot. The fight against the flock had been a valiant effort, and despite having all the strength to exact the revenge she still suspected he harbored towards her; not one flare of his flames or one vengeful claw had impacted the shield or city. At the very least he was honest.

Luna and Celestia shared a strained expression as they winced a bit from exhaustion. Reinvigorating the barrier to deflect a few sonic beams impacting its surface, ripples were sent flying across the bubble of magic. Victory was approaching. The flame was overpowering the shadows. But, it wasn't over. About forty or so gyaos remained, the battle was still joined.

Outside of the city, Godzilla turned and crushed a diving set of gyaos into the ground under his tail as his back spines flickered back to life. It was taking noticeably longer than normal for him to even summon a minor glow. Truth be told, even the King of the Monsters was not without his limits. He'd been fighting tooth and nail against a very unorthodox foe for what was quickly amounting to the longest battle of his life. Between constantly being attacked from all angles, accumulating wounds that required more and more energy to heal, and keeping his beam charged at near all times to shoot down foes beyond his reach; he was tired. And slowing down considerably.

-Only a few more left Junior, you're almost home free-

Trying to conserve power, he lunged at the nearest Super and ravaged it the old fashion way. Just after he'd managed to set it fumbling into the ground with a punch to the face and a stomp to the spine however, the desperation on the side of the gyaos flock became obvious. Rather than attack the kaiju in small groups like they had been, partly to avoid hitting each other and partially because too many had previously been distracted by the barrier shield; the sky above Godzilla blackened as all thirty nine members of the flock rushed him at once. Unable to get out of the way in time, Junior struggled to stay up right from the bulk of thirty something car sized and ten freight train sized kaiju piled onto him from every angle. Teeth gnashed and claws held firm as all members got a firm grip on his form. Struggling to loosen the coating of demons upon him, Junior quickly busied himself with grabbing two of the Super's by their necks, even resorting to biting another on the shoulder as he thrashed his tail. Anything to try and free himself. He managed to kill the first two, but not before all the flock began to flap in unison. Trees below were flattened and uprooted from the gale force winds that blew down in a single direction. Godzilla slowly began to feel his connection to the ground lightening under his feet. The flock shrieked and cackled, halting any fruitless assaults to further breach the dinosaur's hide and focusing everything they had into flapping harder and harder. Soon enough, Junior felt his body leave the ground, and begin to levitate higher and higher.

Relentless in his assault, Godzilla roared into the waning night air, thrashing and slashing every which way to cut more and more of his attackers down. Yet still, however many he killed, he continued to rise up. When a vulture wants to eat marrow but can't break open the bone it has; it will pick it up and fly off. Once it has risen high enough and is over a hard surface, it will drop it to crack the bone open. This is what the gyaos, lacking any other option they had in mind, planned to do. And Junior knew it. Lord knew he didn't take falls well. One killed him once. Brushing aside memories of destroyers and meltdowns, the dinosaur's mind raced.

-Almost out of energy, I can feel it. Have to get them all in one shot. I can't let them get back at the city! -

Rising above the level of Canterlot's highest tower, Godzilla's back spines began to slowly hummed into a blue glow. The light grew and grew with power as it slowly spread along his spikes and eyes, then virally spreading to his back. He was charging as fast as he could, all too conscious of his altitude.

-Come on come on! Can't let them drag me too high up!-

Godzilla ceased his thrashing, devoting all power to his growing charge up. By now the glow was seeping into the scales along his shoulders and hips, moving down his limbs. The gyaos began to cackle with glee as they broke the low cloud line. Low hanging stratus and cumulous swallowed up their forms from view. Cackles turned to shrieks of burning pain when the glow spread along the entirety of their captive's body. Still, they refused to let go. Bad idea. Very, very bad idea.

From Canterlot's perspective, all was quiet for several moments as the hole in the clouds patched itself. The glow amongst the atmospheric shroud ceased to falter, growing larger by the millisecond. It suddenly shrunk and near completely vanished for a moment. And then, a fragment of a moment later; there was a blue sun in the night sky.

Clouds were torn apart in an erupting shock wave that burst down from above, their fluffy masses being torn asunder. The black mist of the gyaos that had so long surrounded Canterlot was abolished, being scattered about every which way into strands so thin they evaporated into the sky. Following the shockwave was the single most enormous, explosive bang any of pony kind had ever heard. It violently shook the air in and outside of the barrier, breaking numerous windows, cameras, and glassware throughout the city. The thundering rolled off into the distance, and there was calm.

Little by little, ash began to fall from the sky. Then bits of flaming materials. And then, a downpour of burning, barely recognizable, almost entirely vaporized bodies of gyaos. Smoking pyres rained down on the valley floor like a batch of falling flares. A slow groan rolled across the air as something big tumbled through the air after them. Godzilla, riddled with wounds, partially blackened and smoking from his final assault. His eyes were shut and his falling call wasn't an imposing, thundering roar. It was a slow, pained, tired bellow. He made no effort to stop his fall, looking like he was barely conscious. His eyes closed.

Princess Luna's expression slowly changed from shock to dread by default. She remembered something. One of the last words she heard out of the beast before he went off to battle.

-"I can't fly, at all..."-

Godzilla's groan was cut short when he hit the valley side first, kicking up a massive dust cloud of upheaved dirt and rock. The impact of his fall rattled the earth in all directions for a kilometer. Finally, there was quiet. A lasting quiet. The gyaos flock lay scattered across the foothills and basins surrounding the capital, most burning away into ashes. There was no movement in the dust cloud that refused to wane.

The rattle of the monster king's impact partially woke the local changeling, rousing her momentarily to the realm of the awake. Lea's eyes flittered for a moment, earning her the quick attention of a frantic Twilight. She couldn't hear what the alicorn was saying, the world was still spinning and ringing. She muttered only one sentence before exhaustion took her again.

"Where's... Goji?..."

----------------------------
Half An Hour Later
----------------------------

The barrier still hung over Canterlot, most of the city still holding its collective breath. The story was raging across all of the major news lines flowing out of the city, a tale of monsters and emergencies. The dust cloud stubbornly refused to thin at anything resembling a speedy pace, obscuring the fate regarding the biggest topic on everypony's mind.
Celestia looked on from high in her tower, the captain and her returning company of guards surrounding her. As much as she wanted to be thankful in the survival of her city, and she was, sadness was trickling in. She'd succeeded. She'd protected her ponies again. But so had someone else. Someone whom she'd foreseen in a nightmare and prevented one from happening. The pale alicorn closed her eyes, deep in thought.

-Flame of my vision, have you burned out?...-

Maintaining the shield for safety's sake, Celestia managed to scrounge up enough energy to shift the sky itself. The moon kissed the horizon before it and its silvery glow departed. Skies above shifted from light purple to growing hues of orange and yellow, warmth trickling in from the horizon. The growing light was a beacon of hope and relief to most of Canterlot that the end of a chaotic night was over, but it was a signal of pain to another group. A group that showed the sisters' decision to leave the barrier up for a bit was a wise move. Movement stirred in the valley below as numerous forms dug themselves free of their resting places, sometimes shoving aside the burnt ashes and skeletons of their fellows. A little over a dozen normal gyaos, ranging from bear size to carriage sized, screamed in pain from the growing light. Apparently having only been knocked out or partially crippled as opposed to killed, the tiny fragment of the once mighty flock wasted not a moment before taking to the air and beginning a retreat over the mountain range from whence they came.
Almost as if their pained, retreating shrieks summoned her back into the conscious world; Lea's eyes snapped open as wide as dinner plates. She sensed something was amiss. Not minding at all what was going on or who was in her way, the changeling sprung up like a popped cork and began bolting for the balcony with a surprised Twilight in pursuit. The bandages on her wing unraveled with each step and wing beat, revealing fresh epidermis and scales having replaced her now almost invisible wounds. When the duo reached the balcony, halting as the sun peeked over the horizon. The changeling's heart was pounding, despite not fully knowing the events of last night. She knew something was wrong, quite possibly terribly wrong, looking around the valley frantically.

The gyaos retreated over the mountains while a welcoming sun rose further into the sky. Celestia and Luna, confident the danger had past, relented their power over the barrier. All eyes were on the dust cloud as it began to dissipate.

Godzilla, still riddled with injuries that were slow to mend, began a slow march back to the steps of Canterlot. Some citizenry held their breath, some dove for cover; and some roared into the air with cheering. The passive radiation he reabsorbed from the battle ground as well as the trickles beaming down from the sun was a warm comfort to him, seeping into his spines like a gentle hug. It wasn't nearly enough to restore him, he was far too exhausted for that. But it would help patch matters up. At this point it was nearly the only thing keeping him on his feet, the draining of having to heal half his ribs and pelvis from the fall having sapped all of his remaining stamina. His march was slowed, almost with a notable limp; but still he kept his head held high and relaxed. He'd won, and because he did; they had all won. Granting them a tomorrow for the pain of a yesterday was always worth it.

While the crowds who'd taken shelter in Canterlot's castle and barracks were slow to exit, a small group was far outpacing them. The moment she'd seen her oldest friend rise and advance, Lea shot out like a rocket. Twilight, half eager to welcome the kaiju at the gates herself and half wanting to make sure the changeling didn't hurt herself, pursued. Behind her Luna and Celestia, both shrugging off their own exhaustion to tail the young alicorn. Before long, all four had made it to the front gate, far ahead of any others; as they watched the King of the Monsters march up.

As he paced up towards the front gate, a surge of blue and white light overtook the kaiju's body in a wave. In a fragment of a second, the light shot out of Godzilla's form and into the chest of a flabbergasted Luna. As the light left him, the dinosaur's body grew smaller and smaller. With the fading flare, the kaiju was gone, and a unicorn with a bent horn limped up to Equestria's capital. A confident, smiling smirk was clad on his face despite blood trickling down from his lip and his eyes being half closed.

Less than four meters away now, the unicorn's hoof caught on the ground under him. He half fumbled over his legs, and would have fallen if a light green changeling not caught and helped hold him up. The alicorns approached as Junior chuckled, patting Lea's shoulder; looking his closest friend in the eye.

"You look like you'd been crying."

Lea's face scrunched up, her left eye twitching.

"Oh and I'm sure you'd be just peachy if these shenanigans were reversed?! Don't you dare scare me like that again you big dolt!"

Junior's ears flattened and despite bruised ribs, he couldn't stop laughing at watching the changeling spas out.

"Leleeeee~"

"Oh don't you 'Lele' me mister! You pull a stunt like that again and I sweeeear!"

Junior jokingly put a hoof up to protect himself.

"Okay oookay, I'll gladly leave the airborne stuff to you and Rodan!"

Lea grumbled, hugging the unicorn lightly as her wings fluttered. Junior smiled, returning the gesture lightly. He could feel her heart beat, previously racing, starting to slow. He chuckled before breaking the hug and trying to stand back up on all four hooves. He failed horribly and required the changeling half holding his form up to even stand straight. The unicorn looked up at the city as it looked back down to him at a distance.

"Is everyone alright?"

Princess Celestia sighed in relief, the previous exchange indicating her city's defender was in decent health. There was a great many things on her mind. A cleanup operation would be mandatory for the several thousand tons of ashes and charred bones in the valley below, there would no doubt be a press conference soon or she risked news sensationalism running out of control; and they might need to do something quick about the changeling before someone saw her. From a distance she might pass as an alicorn or large unicorn, but as the paparazzi undoubtly would be getting closer now; hiding her might be necessary. Canterlot had just had a giant alien attack, last thing the citizens would need to know is a royal changeling in their midst after the wedding fiasco. Still, despite the thoughts of troubles to come; she smiled. Some gyaos had gotten away, but the plan worked. Canterlot was saved without a single life taken. And thankfully, her city's champion still stood. There was no loss tonight on either side of the shield today. She approached, nodding her head slowly; unable to hide a smile.

"Yes, everypony is fine outside of some initial chaos. Thank you."

Even the King of the Monsters knew honesty when he heard it. He sighed contently with the new knowledge.

"Don't mention it...."

Exhaustion hit the unicorn like an oncoming train. For a moment his eyelids flittered, his legs wobbled. And then he was out like a light for some well deserved and much needed rest. A white aura partially wrapped itself around half of Junior's body, Luna walking over to his side and aiding Lea in holding him up. There wasn't a hint of hostility in her face or movements. She may not have fully liked the situation at hoof, but it had churned out far better than she'd hoped. Time for insight would come, but that would be later. For now she only looked over at the now sleeping unicorn with a tiny smile.

"Here, we'll take him to the Lunar wing and get the royal physicians on him. For one who has aided Canterlot, it's only right Canterlot shall aid him."

Lea sighed in overdue relief, a gesture Celestia and Twilight mentally shared. She knew full well how the dark mage felt about her friend. Seeing her magic around him without any ill intent was a godsend for her worry. Just as they began to advance up through the gate and walk back to the palace, Twilight's eyes widened for a split second upon spotting an approaching crowd coming down the distant streets. Apparently having shared one of her teacher's worries, Twilight's eyes darted around until she spotted something to alleviate her worry. A large cloak that had been discarded at the gate's head during the evacuation, possibly left behind by someone making haste. Taking a moment to levitate it up and clean it off, she draped it over Lea's shoulders. The changeling may not have known the alicorn's reasoning, but she trusted it and didn't reject the gesture.

"Just trust me on this one, I think Canterlot's seen enough for today."

The small group started their way up the main street in a silent parade. Far ahead the guards did their duty and herding the crowds to the sidewalks to keep the street leading to the castle clear. Some eyes were on the cloaked form standing beside Luna, whispering amongst themselves questions of mystery and speculation. Many more were on the limp body between them. It took only a few whispers and a couple observations about color for most of the citizenry to put two and two together.

If Celestia could have, she'd be rubbing her temple to passively ebb away an oncoming headache she felt coming. The masquerade she'd planned to try and avoid as much issue as possible for both the kaiju and the ponies' sake was dead and buried, and she could read the expressions of Canterlot's populace. A young yellow colt smiled and waved, tugging on his mother's leg while whispering something to her with an ecstatic expression. A news reporter chewed her lip as she jotted down notes, occasionally peeking up with frightened grimace. A familiar, red haired guard's face was broken from any signet of stoicism with obvious concern after stealing a glance at an ivory hued mane. Glee, cheers, fear, uncertainty; and worry. The battle was over, but something told the ruler of the day that this was only the beginning.

===================
FAN WORKS!

It never ceases to amaze me the hard work a lot of you put out. It never ceases to make me blush and jump for joy
So here's to you all!

Pyrus Leonidas
"Blade Dancer is grinning and the smile will never cease."
"QUICK! SOMEONE GET LUNA! WE NEED DREAM AID!"
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Icelance669
"I play this, in attack mode!"
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Mayozilla
"And now we know what could happen if Dimension Tide worked in reverse."
Link

Xian-Russell
"Kaiju Converts! Roll Call!"
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IceStormy
"And now I know who's pony design is a fan favorite."
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xXBlueFireDragonXx
"Now that's what I call 'Rainbow Power'~!"
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BlazingPheonix17
"For those curious what may be going on across the barrier."
Link to FanFic

What is it with me and saying I'll make the chapters shorter so I can shoot out more of them, then turning around and making them the largest yet?
Ok BEFORE the Blade Dancer shippers come out of the woodwork with torches and pitchforks for her reaction in-chapter, lemme explain. She was aware a certain weird unicorn was far from a normal pony. She wasn't prepared to see a 350 foot killer dinosaur, let alone up close. She still recognizes some features, but the rest of it conflict with both her memory and her instincts as to what's safe. Sorta like an equine version of 'Uncanny Valley'. It causes a mixed reaction. I am not torpedoing you shipping, I'm just trying to give it a realistic reaction.

Proofreading by Skylark and Faith-Wolff
Artwork by Faith-Wolff

Mothra and Godzilla, as well as related roster property of Toho Studios
Gyaos property of Daiei
MLP:FiM property of Hasbro Studios
Guard OCs by Fiddlesticks, Akashic Brony, Vadram, Bluemoon1996, and Omega-Wing
'Waiting for Superman' song by Daughtry, used under fair use

KAIJU'VERSE TIMELINE
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

NEXT TIME ON THE BRIDGE:
Odd days in Ponyville when Anguirus runs an errand and Destroyah can't get a trio of fillies to leave her alone, rain ensues.

Anguirus
Destroyah
Hyper Gyaos
Rarity
Pinkie Pie
Sweetie Belle
Scootaloo
Apple Bloom
Monster X

================================
Ponyville, Day After Canterlot Incident
================================

Destroyah almost rolled her eyes as she smacked the side of her forehoof into the trunk of a thankfully spry apple tree, earning a downpour of apples. As she watched the fruit tumble into the preset baskets resting around her, the former kaiju shrugged.

Destroyah grimaced as an overwhelming feeling washed over her in a despised mood. She wasn’t vengeful right now. She wasn’t bloodthirsty or wrathful. Heck, she wasn’t even angry or enraged. It was something far worse. She was absolutely bored out of her skull. The only reason she’d even agreed to roll out of bed in the morning and start harvesting was in a vain hope that repeatedly striking the trees would help her vent off any lingering rage she held over her current circumstances. It was a limited success at best. The fact she couldn’t hit the tree with anything more than a firm tap and not snap the trunk in two wasn’t aiding in any attempt at venting. At this point not even projecting certain faces onto the trunks when she hit them was helping much.

Her attention was pried away by a loud grumbling echoing out from her gut. Destroyah’s face sneered. If there was one thing about this world she disliked, it was how easily she got hungry now. A chipper, youthful voice squeaked from the fence line near the giant mare.

“Howdy Princess! Thanks for hittin’ the big trees!”

Destroyah’s face flattened considerably, clearly not amused.

-Make that two things about this world I dislike…-

She turned to the grinning Cutiemark Crusaders as they looked at her from the fencing, her tone having a minor hint of a growl.

“What do you runts want?”

The little trio crawled up and over, through, and under the fencing and trotted over to pegasus that was easily twenty times their size without a hint of fear. Scootaloo was carrying a picnic basket in her mouth before setting it down in front of the kaiju and digging through it.

“We were on our way to explore and heard you were working out here, so we packed you a lunch.”

Smiling, the little pegasus unwrapped a hay sandwich and a carton of apple juice before setting them down on a napkin.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle didn’t make it.”

“Hey!”

Destroyah craned her head down as Scootaloo backed up. She eyed the food. Typically she was used to snacking on fish, whales; and the occasional human. Then again, it wasn’t exactly a typical situation she was in. The pegasus glanced up at the grinning young trio and momentarily felt a spark of something inside. It was a bafflingly odd feeling inside her ribcage, one of odd warmth for a moment’s passing. It felt weird and she hated it. Snorting, she eyed the small assortment of food before her mane and tail began to sizzle and crackle with strands of bright purple energy. Opening fang filled jaws, Destroyah exhaled with a hiss as bubbles of micro-oxygen gushed over the food and evaporated it into a ball of purple light. Condensed and evaporated biomass morphed into oxygen destroying particles, an old favorite. Destroyah widened her jaws and was just about to inhale when a voice caused her to pause.

“Hey um, Miss?”

“Eh?”

“Cool as that is to watch, didn’t you keel over last time you did that?”

Applebloom rubbed the back of her head with a nervous chuckle.

“Y-yeeeeeaaah, Granny Smith said you right near wrecked your stomach eatin’ that stuff last time with the Timberwolves.”

Destroyah closed her jaws and rose up, taking a moment to think the situation through. She’d been eating this way since she could remember eating at all. Spray, dissolve, absorb, repeat; killed quick and left no useful scraps. But as much as she loathed thinking it, the fillies that made her want to yank her mane out had a point. Last time she tried that was with one that one wooden wolf, and if there was one thing the kaiju didn’t want it was to knock herself out again. The orb of dissolved mass that had been Destroyah’s lunch faded away into nothingness. Her stomach angrily yowled loudly at the observation.

Thankfully for the kaiju, Scootaloo was quick to dig through her saddle bag and whip out a similar meal to those past.

“Here, I had a big breakfast anywho.”

The snarl of her stomach caused Destroyah’s instincts to fire off, the giant mare swinging her jaws down and snapping them shut on the sandwich and drink in one swift motion less than a half second after Scootaloo set them down.

The Pegasus filly jumped back as recurved fangs slammed shut like a vice less than an inch from her hoof. The fillies all backed up a bit as Destroyah chewed her food behind closed lips. Her brow leveled out as she glanced down at them. Her stomach had stopped rumbling. Between the food in her mouth and no small measure of reluctance saying a word she hardly thought of, much less spoke; it was hard at first to understand the two words she spoke.

“Th-Th-Th-Thaaaaan’k… yooou….”

The giant mare turned and went back to her work after swallowing her lunch whole. The CMC took a moment to catch their breath before trotting off back to their course.

“Pretty untidy for an alicorn princess.”

“Did you SEE her teeth?!”

They walked for a moment more, and then promptly exploded into a burst of glee and excitement.

“That was AWESOME!”

“I know right?!”

“Did anypony else see her teeth?!”

“IIIIIII like her!”

===============
White Tail Woods
===============

Hyper Gyaos flapped her wings best she could to try and slow her decent, but her exhaustion had long since caught up to her and the best she could manage was a gentle crash landing. The battles of before had taken their toll on her, she'd only been only flying for about an hour at the longest after retreating before she expending the last of her master's energy boost. Now she was only about the size of the smaller members of her flock.

Hauling herself out of the small trench of dirt her crash had dug, Hyper Gyaos slumped against a tree trunk to catch her breath. She'd failed. She wasn't successful in retrieving this 'Tree of Harmony' nor did she manage to capture the Element of Magic. To her credit, she did the best she could upon suddenly finding herself fighting a ticked off angry moth thrice the size of a 747.

The sunlight was strong, forcing the albino to shield her eyes before picking herself up. Still worn out, she limped off through the wood, trying to find a patch of forest with more shade.

-Least I wore out Mothra enough for the second flock to make it to that city. The master probably has the alicorns right now-

Finally finding a darker patch, partly due to some clouds rolling in up above and partly due to the large, solitary cedar tree having broad branches; Hyper took a seat to catch her breath.

She'd been sitting there for some time when an isolated screech caught her attention. It was extremely distant, barely a whisper in the winds. But she knew that call, as well as the small chorus that followed. The meaning was clear, 'Where are you?'. Taking in a deep breath, she stood upright and shrieked back loud enough to send the nearby birds and squirrels scattering. 'I'm here.'. There was silence for a moment, before a similar, higher pitched scream replied, 'We're coming.'.

Squinting over the tree line, Hyper Gyaos quickly spied dark forms coming over the mountains. Broad wings that flapped without feathers as about a dozen normal gyaos glided over the mountain peaks and straight for the forest below. It was then that Hyper Gyaos remembered her situation. She was the same size as them for the moment and sporting numerous wounds. Wounds that smelled of blood that could send the flock berserk. Their kinds blood driven feeding frenzies put the most vicious sharks to shame. Hyper Gyaos screeched to the approaching flock, ordering them to stay back just in case.

But fate had other ideas. The winds shifted, and the scents from the wood trailed up to the high lands. All at once the flock erupted in crazed, gluttonous shrieks as they increased their pace. Hyper Gyaos slowly stepped back, shrieking again to order her flight to stay back. Words fell to deaf ears, the flock being close enough now the albino could see the craven hunger in their eyes. They were starving, and they smelled food. Her eyes widened in fear, mentally begging for a portal to Zenith to open for her, pull her away from this situation. None came and she had to dodge to the side to avoid a beam of sonic energy that sliced the cedar tree in two.

Unable to fly from weakened wings, Hyper Gyaos ran down a game trail full sprint; the berserk flock hot on her heels. One of them lunged at her leg, chomping down on her ankle before the shriek of wrath and a purple sonic beam to the head ended its life.

========
Ponyville
========

Anguirus was both mentally and physically grumbling something incomprehensible to himself. When he was told he wouldn't be a 'free loader' on society and should lend a hoof, he had expected much. He wasn't strong armed into the agreement, but he still agreed on his own terms. One thing he didn't expect was to be running an errand for a senior citizen. He pulled the note impaled on one of his quills and looked it over again. Thankfully, Equestrian was miraculously close enough to what his creators had instilled into him, so the hardest part was less mistranslation and more correctly understanding Granny Smith’s odd chicken scratch.

-Standard 1 centimeter bolt and nails, two dozen each-

The old mare had been very insistent they were needed for some repairs. Apparently Destroyah had lashed a few times in her sleep when being taken back to the barn and a stray kick knocked the door off its hinges. Given how the Apple Family’s matriarch had mumbled about the barn needing a fix up “again” in a very annoyed tone, the kaiju began to wonder just how often that building was torn up.

-They got magical hocus pocus and plenty of metal, should consider some bronze enchants. The Mu Empire had that knocked.-

As tedious as the task seemed, he had agreed to it. Didn’t help though that Granny Smith fell asleep not two seconds after handing him the note, and Anguirus quickly found that elder seemed nigh impossible to wake up. Still, as he approached the outskirts of town; the kaiju turned earth pony was having second thoughts. True, he knew more about civilization than most kaiju. Partly through observation and partly because his creator’s wanted him to recognize his charges, he was well aware how a society worked. Anguirus knew what a hospital, what a library, and what a restaurant all were. What he didn’t have the slightest inclination of was how this town was laid out, and Ponyville was no small settlement. Anguirus’s expression flattened.

-Buried in the woods or knee deep in a township, why do I keep getting lost?-

Grumbling, he started down a street. It was a brisk day with a slight overcast that might herald future rain, so many ponies were out and about to get their errands done in case they were stormed in later. As the kaiju walked down a street though, he couldn’t help but notice some wandering eyes. A trio of earth pony mares operating a florist stand kept staring at him, whispering amongst themselves in what Anguirus could tell was slight concern. It almost made him frown. He was no looker but he wasn’t THAT ugly was he?

The familiar mental tug of Terran magic quickly ripped his attention away and the familiar voice of a fellow guardian seeped into his conscious.

-“Anguirus, you there?”-

He needed only think the words to respond back.

-“Ah, Lea, was wondering when you’d give an actual long distance call.”-

-“Very funny, anyways do you recall what a newspaper is?”-

-“Those weirdly folded pamphlets the humans use to update each other?”-

-“Right, well Equestrians apparently use them too. You need to get one.”-

-“Ah come on Lea, I’m already running one weird errand. What's is so important?!”-

Lea’s tone paid no effort to hide a fatigue driven, tranquil aggression.

-“Anguirus… I had QUITE the day yesterday and can’t hold this telepathy up much longer… I REALLY recommend you get that paper before I need to teleport over there myself.”-

-“…Wait, you can do that?”-

And goodbye tranquility. Lea’s voice could have been shooting flames out of her mouth.

-“I’M ABOUT TO TRY IF YOU DON’T READ THE ******* PAPER!”-

Anguirus couldn’t stop himself from widening his eyes and talking out loud with his thoughts, thoroughly confusing anypony who looked over to see a frantic stallion reacting to absolutely nothing.

-“OK OK OK! I’m on it!”-

He could hear Lea sigh, her tone lightening back up.

-“Sorry just, something pretty big happened that you’ll need to know about. Pass word to Rodan when he gets back into town.”-

Anguirus’ heart thankfully was slowing back down now that he didn’t have an enraged and annoyed changeling mentally screaming at him.

-“Alright but what’s the news I’m looking for, can’t you just tell me?”-

-“Not without cutting out mid-conversation and confusing you. Best you read it in full. I have to go now so take care. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.”-

Anguirus shrugged to himself, adding another line to his mental checklist and putting it at the top. Now he had two things to look for in a town that he had no clue how to navigate. After wandering around without a hardware dealer or newsstand in sight, the kaiju was quickly beginning to get annoyed. Given the odd looks he kept getting from some ponies, something told him asking the locals might be out of the question. On his own and thoroughly lost, not a very peachy situation.

He’d just passed by a pottery store’s alley when something caught his attention. A small vase set on the ground was violently rattling when he walked past it, only to stop when he departed. Raising an eyebrow, Anguirus backed up only to find the vase resuming its shaking with increased fervor. He was just about to look inside it, half expecting some sort of small animal to be trapped within when an explosion of confetti and pink burst out of the vase. The Element of Laughter, Pinkamena Diane Pie burst out of her hopelessly undersized hiding spot to the heralding forth one of her celebrations. Confetti burst into the air and trickled down like rain, streamers flew everywhere, and a small banner with the word ‘WELCOME’ stenciled onto it flew like a flag. Anguirus nearly jumped out of his skin and had to quickly resist the instinct to lash out after at first thinking he was under attack.

“Happy Welcome-to-Equestria Kaiju Partyyyyyyy!”

There was an almost cinematic, musical trumpeting when the mare announced the celebration, despite the two being alone in the alley. Pinkie Pie stopped herself mid-jump, beginning to rapidly babble on in a manner Anguirus could barely understand as she rubbed her chin with her hoof.

“Well,ActuallyDoesItCountAsAPartyIfOnlyOneOfYouAreHere?!NotToDegradeAnyponyAtAllNoNoNo! ButItWouldBeBestIfWeGotYourFriendsTogetherToMakeItAFULLKaijuParty. Ooh!Ooh! IKnow! ThisWillBeAPrePartyAndI’llMakeAFullOneLater! That’sIt!”

Pinkie Pie braced herself to the sound of a spontaneous drum roll before shooting up into a gleeful jump to the sound of trumpeting.

“Happy Welcome-To-Equestria-Kaiju PREE-Party!!!”

Anguirus had no clue what to do first after wiping the blinding amounts of confetti and streamers off his face, trying to comprehend what in the world was going on with this pony or try and find out who kept playing that music. He chose the latter and glanced around, but was unable to find anyone or anything nearby that had been playing.

“How did yo-…”

He looked back to the hopeless small vase that had somehow been the mare’s hiding spot only to find it empty. The banner and celebration accessories still flew, but in place of Pinkie Pie was a note and a slice of cake on a plate. Several odd moments and a gentle breeze passed before Anguirus gave up trying to understand what just happened. Taking a bite out of the cake, he read the second note of the day.

“Pinkie sense detected diaper emergency with Pumpkin Cake, will see you later.- Pinkie”

Anguirus stopped chewing his bite of cake and looked at it with a blank expression. Given the note’s content and his bewilderment at what the pink one was capable of, he was questioning if he should eat food that mare was handling or not. Thankfully his reading of the note did make him look down at the right angle to see something inside of the vase. No return of the pink yet, but the recognizable grayed pages of a newspaper restored some faith in destiny. Putting the now suspicious dessert and note aside, he pulled out the pamphlet to hopefully get to whatever Lea had been trying to tell him about.

What he saw on the front page under the title “Canterlot Under Siege! Monsters Among Us!” made his eyes wider than dinner plates.

================
Sweet Apple Acres
================

Destroyah wolfed down a whole apple after gnashing it amongst her teeth. Quelling hunger was good, arguably the first good thing in her mind she’d had during these equine shenanigans; but she still couldn’t shake the off feeling she got from eating this way.

-Eating this is like walking backwards constantly. Do-able but… awkward-

She’d just finished gobbling down her morsel after clearing several trees of their fruit when a trio of high speed streaks zipped up to her. A trio of voices that cued an annoyed grumble called out as the high speed flashes of orange, white, and yellow dove under her tall form.

“PRINCESS DESTOROYAR!”

Destroyah maintained a blank expression, opting to ignore what was likely the most horrendously bad case of royal titling in recorded history. She lowered her neck and looked upside down at the three fillies hiding under and behind her legs.

“Get out…”

The Cutiemark Crusaders all shook their heads feverously from side to side in unison, shaking and shivering as they clung to hooves bigger around than they were. Destroyah snorted out of her nose as her brow lowered. Her hissing grumble was very audible. The stench of fear coming off the three was nauseating.

“What are you three runts up to this time? You’re about to wet yourselves.”

Sweetie Belle, still clinging to Destroyah's left forelimb in a death grip, spoke up as loud as she could with her face half buried in crimson fur.

“S-S-S-S-Slendermane!”

The goliath of a pegasus raised an eyebrow, her response devoid of emotion.

“…Who?”

“A t-t-tall monster pony with no face. H-H-He lives in the woods and snatches little po-ponies up!”

“…And this concerns me how?”

Apple Bloom managed to catch her breath and slow her racing heart enough to speak a bit more coherently, though she refused to leg go of Destroyah’s back left leg.

“W-Well you right beat the tar outta them timber wolves sooo…”

Scootaloo was in a similar to state to Apple Bloom, looking up at the kaiju from behind her other forelimb as she finished her friend’s sentence.

“We figured you were enough of a flank kicker to be a monster hunter!”

Sweetie Belle managed to compose herself again, perking up a bit at the last two words.

“Yah! Like the Whinnychester brothers on TV!”

“So will you do it?”

Destroyah blinked, most certainly not amused.

“So let me get this straight. You runts got scared of some deformed no-face on stilts and want me to take him out?...”

All three nodded in unison as rapidly as they had shook their heads before.

“Will you do it!?”

“We can help you find him!”

Destroyah was motionless for awhile, only blinking and staring blanking at the begging faces of the fillies. This excursion sounded hopelessly idiotic, but given her current bored and awkward mood; maybe getting into a fight and having some blood on her horn might cheer her up a bit? Was something she was good at after all.

“Alright, where’s this Slendermane?”

The CMC let go of Destroyah’s legs at last, and jumped up as they held their hooves in a three way high five.

"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS ASSISTANT MONSTER HUNTERS!”

The giant mare loudly growled and grumbled, snapping the three back to attention. Sweetie Belle rubbed the back of her head and chuckled.

“Heh, oh right, sorry. This way!”

The little unicorn took point with Destroyah walking behind her, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tailing them close behind. Apple Bloom turned to the young pegasus with a bemused expression.

“…’Flank Kicker’? We’re in private ye’ know, you coulda said it.”

Scootaloo shrugged with raised shoulders.

“Sister Rosary and Mother Superior don’t like us to cuss.”

========
Ponyville
========

Anguirus was good at a great many things. He could roll around at high speed. He could swim through lava and magma. He could walk through enemy fire like a champ. He had quite a few skills. Successfully sneaking around a town of sentient ponies despite his best efforts was not one of them. He was mentally kicking himself for not being more aware earlier. He felt the bursts of energy coming from the Everfree and Canterlot, and even saw some of the distant lights last night. But he’d been naïve enough to think it was just Lea and her new friend running some tests. After he had drove off what had to be most of the local dragons, what threat possibly could have warranted a transformation to deal with after all? That expectation as well as so many others had been shattered by a triple digit flock of gyaos.

The jig was up and Anguirus knew it. There had to be more kaiju in Equestria than the first six, that was for sure. He didn’t know how or why, but now it was almost like nowhere was fully safe anymore. The reaction from the natives wasn’t helping one bit.

Equestria’s opinion was split directly down the middle. One side was wary but thankful for the arrival of the big gray goliath. They cheered and applauded when he walked back to their city in victory. The other half however, noting Junior’s power and methods, were terrified. Parents saw violence they sought to shield their children from, other groups were livid at the damages Junior caused and could potentially cause; and numerous politicians were calling out what they saw as a menace to society their princesses were harboring. And adding fuel to the fire, the image of that dark blue alicorn carrying a tired out Junior confirmed that the ponies knew the bigger secret, monsters in disguise. Suddenly it all made sense.

-After seeing Godzilla change into one of them, the scared half of the populace is running around paranoid-

He looked out into the street goers as he hid behind an oddly circular shaped building.

-They see a weird looking pony and they might start suspecting things…-

He just rounded a corner when a familiar flash of pink erupted from a barrel.

“HIYA!”

“WAAAAAAAAA!”

Once again he had to resist the mental urge to lash out upon being subject to a benevolent ambush. Pinkie Pie evidentially had the stealth skills to impress a box wielding commando. It took a few moments for Anguirus to catch his breath again, with no small amount of annoyed growling. Pinkie Pie hardly noticed, smiling honestly with a titled head.

“Why yah sneaking around town all of the sudden?”

“Did you read the paper you left in the vase.”

“Mhm! I had to pass the time while waiting for yah silly!”

“…You were waiting for me? How did you know I’d-…”

Anguirus looked at Pinkie Pie as the words died in his throat. Something told him he shouldn’t even try touching that topic.

“...Never mind, did you read the front story?”

“After the Funnies and crosswords.”

“Then you know about Canterlot and there being a bit of a panic.”

“Yeppers! Fitting that monsters pop up right around Nightmare Night of all holidays, and someponies are running around spooked because some monsters can turn into ponies and-”

Anguirus just looked at Pinkie Pie blankly, motioning to himself. The truth dawned on Harmony’s element.

“-Ooooooooh, you don’t wanna possibly draw much suspiciooooon, I gotcha. I’ll make it a super secret private welcome party for you all then!”

Anguirus nodded his head affirmatively.

“Yes thank you- Wait party? I meant!… Urg never mind just go with the first part.”

The stallion crossed his hooves and sat down behind some cover, trying to think up a way to get through the now growing crowds all around him. Pinkie Pie rested her head on a hoof, puffing a bubble pipe Anguirus half suspected she pulled out of her mane; pondering as well. A minute and a breeze passed by before the mare got an off thought.

-Hmmmm no Nightmare Night costumes till dusk, so he might not pass off much like thaaat… wait a minute here! Costume! That’s it!-

Pinkie Pie sprung up in excitement.

“Aaaaah ha! I’ve got it!”

Anguirus cocked an eyebrow and actually felt a tad hopeful. This pink one was very… distinct, but she obviously meant well. Maybe she had a plan to help him out after all. He turned to look over to her as she was busy digging through the barrel she’d shot out from.

“What do you have in mi- MMMPHIPHHM!!”

He was cut short by a flurry of movement and before he could so much as count to two, Anguirus was covered in something. He looked down at his hoof, seeing it now cloaked in a covering of pink plush cloth that went up and coated his whole body outside of his face. He felt something very large sitting atop his head. Something inside told him he looked ridiculous.

"WHAT is this?!"

"My Pinkie suit! Now nopony will recognize you if from head to hoof you look like me!"

Anguirus looked into a low hanging window to check his reflection. It looked like some giant headed monstrosity that resembled the mare was swallowing his face. He couldn't hide a frown, eyes frozen.

"... You can't seriously expect me to walk around wearing this..."

Pinkie gasped with a frown, waving her arms before rapidly shifting to a joyful tone.

"But it's faaaaantastic! And it completely covers you, no CHANCE anypony would freak out seeing you now!"

"Yes and if I take one step into public with this thing on my head, I'm going to attract the attention of everything in town."

"Why is that?"

"BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE I'M GETTING EATEN BY A GIANT PINK PON-"

An accented, distinct voice cut the ranting kaiju off as a third party joined the conversation.

"What in the name of Celestia is going on out here?!"

Pinkie and Anguirus looked to the source and saw Rarity half standing in the open doorway with a bewildered look on her face. She looked back at the awkward sight before her, blinking in sheer confusion.

"Would, you two like to step inside for a bit?..."

============================================
Sweet Apple Acres Outskirts, in the Fruit Bat Reserve
============================================

Destroyah had expected something of a shelter when the fillies told her more and more about this so called 'Slendermane' they claimed to have seen in the woods. A long forgotten cabin or broken down house maybe? What she didn't see coming was a gaping cave burrowing halfway into a tall hill inside the trees that lead down underground. The entrance and cavern tunnel itself wasn't especially large, and had several holes in the roof where light filtered through. It hardly looked like the lair of a reclusive monster.

"So, this it?"

Apple Bloom nodded, pointing to a patch of ground just inside the cave.

"We saw 'em standing there. Ya' can see some hoof prints on the ground too!"

Destroyah glanced down and did indeed see a patch of grass and dirt that had been crushed down by a light weight, forming a vague hoofprint. She put her front hoof next to it, dwarfing the imprint. No blow to confidence taken, just some disappointment. She expected something bigger. Scootaloo tugged on Destroyah's tail, peeking past the mare and at the cave ahead.

"How can we assist?

Destroyah grumbled, flickering her tail free of the filly's hooves.

"Don't get in my way..."

She approached the cave with a self assured, powerful gait that thoroughly impressed the unwanted posse that followed suit in their own march. Reaching into their saddlebags and backpacks, the CMC whipped out their armaments. A shovel, a softball bat; and a particularly menacing looking broom. It, along with following what they still was convinced was an alicorn princess into battle dispelled all fear in the young trio. Destroyah didn't notice or care. At this point the only thing she was hoping for was this Slendermane having a lot of blood in him.

No sooner did they enter the cavern did Destroyah's eyes lock onto something moving in the darkness. It was moving too quickly to be identified and was diving amongst cover. Still, instincts flared and Destroyah knew a threat when she saw one. It didn't smell like any pony. Not wasting a moment, energy cracked amongst the giant mare's mane before she spat out a high speed orb of bright purple light. The basketball sized bolt of micro-oxygen rocketed through the air and briefly lit up the cave before impacting something down around a corner in the cave. A gust like shriek echoed out as the tell tale flash of light indicated the orb hit something. Once the CMC got over the shock of the sudden attack, their hearts were racing a mile a second.

"He screamed! You got him! You got Slendermane!"

Destroyah slowly approached the edge of the corner, not so sure. She sniffed the air. There wasn't even a trace of blood.

"WOW! You vapori'zied him!"

Something wasn't right. She was sure she'd hit someone, but such a relatively small orb couldn't have completely taken out something as big as she was told this monster was.

"I don't think so, something like that wouldn't disintegrate it entirely..."

Sweetie Belle worryingly looked past Destroyah with this new knowledge. The cave was very dark, and very still. She wished she'd brought her flash light. After several moments her eyes trained upon some movement around the corner. Stretching out like a ghastly specter was a tall shadow against the back wall. It looked like a pony with elongated limbs.

"There!"

All four braced themselves, the CMC cringing in fear as a large grin stretched across Destroyah's lips for a moment. But as a half second past, the latter faded. Destroyah relaxed, looking the shadow over with a raised eyebrow. Something wasn't right. Scootaloo, whom had been hiding behind the kaiju's tail half this time however felt a surge of courage. She adjusted her bicycle helmet with a snort, held high her softball bat and rushed out past her posse before anyone could stop her.

The little pegasus' shadow joined Slendermane's on the wall, only for the latter to not move at all. Scootaloo's battle cry spiraled down to a confused grunt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAaaaahhh-huuuh? What the?..."

Scootaloo looked at the shadow and followed it across the wall to its source. What she found wasn't a tall figure lacking a face. Instead the shadow shrank and shrank the more she followed it, seeing it was coming through a small hole in the wall that led back to the surface, the light streaming through it and casting the shade. Right outside the same hole was a tiny figure. The rest of the CMC and Destroyah came around the corner as Scootaloo turned around with the culprit in hand. A small, kitten sized, patchwork doll.

"IIIIII guess the light caught it funny to cast a big shadow eheh."

Sweetie Belle tilted her head as she combed her memory.

"Hey isn't that the weirdo doll everyone was going ga-ga over a few months ago?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"Yeah but what is it doing all the way out here?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, knowing the reason. Her brother had probably brought it out with him awhile ago while doing chores and dropped it. They had all been terrified by Smarty Pants. She walked over, taking the toy from Scootaloo and quickly stuffing it in her bag.

"IIIIII think Ah'll take it back with us, Ah know where it goes."

A guttural, annoying grumble echoed out from behind them. The CMC slowly turned around to see a very disgruntled looking Destroyah sneering before she turned and started storming out of the cave. It didn't matter she somehow didn't feel quite as angry as she felt she should, the confusion swirl of emotions only making her more unhappy. The CMC's collective ears flopped against their heads as they ran after the giant, catching up to her at the cave entrance.

"Huh?! Princess where you goin'?! Did we do something?!"

The crimson pegasus looked back with a snarl before trekking off into the woods.

"I'm NOT some princess! Next time you runts get spooked by a shadow, don't waste my time!..."

Scootaloo sadly looked over to her friends.

"What's eating her?..."

========
Ponyville
========

Anguirus sighed as he sat down on some plush carpet. Being indoors still felt a bit awkward for him, but he was mostly grateful for getting out of the open and was praising Tanaka to be out of the Pinkie suit. Rarity hummed as she walked over to the Element of Laughter and the Fire Guardian, levitating over a porcelain tray with some steaming warm tea atop it. Anguirus crossed a hoof over his chest and bowed his head respectfully.

"I appreciate you allowing me inside."

Rarity beamed through her red glasses as she poured several cups of tea from the kettle.

"Oh don't mention it all darling, you looked like you and Pinkie were in quite the conundrum outside."

She set aside a cup for herself before levitating one over to Anguirus, nudging it at him via levitation magic to offer him some. Anguirus held up a hoof and shook his head slightly. Pinkie however was quick to look up from the party planning sketch she was working on to hold up her hoof and nod rapidly. The white unicorn chuckled and dropped in a few sugar cubes before giving her friend the cup. Anguirus could smell what the cubes were and raised an eyebrow as Pinkie gulped down the drink.

"Uum... are you sure that's a good idea?"

Rarity rolled her eyes slightly and shrugged with a chuckle. She leaned in and whispered to the kaiju.

"I've seen her guzzle down at least a baker's dozen worth of sweets a day. When you stay around Pinkie you learn she can't get any more hyper if she's already in a perpetual sugar high.

Anguirus nodded, shifting his attention to look the interior of the boutique over. Between the sketches, the mountains of fabric, large amounts of plush, some random feline, and the mannequins he didn't have much of an idea as to what he was looking at. Still, if his host was kind enough to invite him in he should least be courteous.

"Guess we weren't formally introduced, names Anguirus."

Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder.

"Juliet Rarity Belle~, though personally I just go by Rarity."

She held her arm out to him, not knowing if she had a gentlecolt present or not and seeing if he'd shake or kiss it. When he just looked down at it with obvious confusion, the Element of Generosity just giggled and retracted it. Anguirus looked back up, or rather he looked less down than before given the height difference, at her face.

"Greetings. Though if you'd forgive my cluelessness, what is up with this place's layout? Is it meant for something?"

He motioned to his surroundings. Rarity smiled.

"Why I am a seamstress, considered best in Ponyville if I can risk a small boast. Haven't you ever seen clothes design in progress before?"

Anguirus knew clothes came from somewhere, his creators nor the humans weren't just born with them. Still, he didn't know the process and shook his head. Rarity raised an eyebrow.

"...Have you ever, worn clothes before?"

"I've seen things wear them, never had myself."

Now Rarity was the curious one.

"Oh why ever would that be? I understand most ponies go around nude most of the time, why just look at me and Pinkie right now-"

"Birthday suit's the best suit!"

"-but for special occasions and all those matters we feel like it, we prefer to dress up. I mean after all that Changeling friend of yours would look simply DIVINE in a dress with those wings and eyes of her's!"

Anguirus waited a few moments before spelling it out as bluntly as possible.

"For all but the last few days of my life I've been a 90 meter tall giant monster that looks like a cross between a lizard, an armadillo, and a porcupine. They never really had any shirts or shorts in my size back home."

Rarity blinked for a few moments, recalling just what she was talking to right now.

"Oh, pardon my confusion then... Well that size issue might not be much of a problem now that you're here in Equestria. Could aid in some of that whole 'blending in' parts you were worried about earlier. Just drop in if you need anything, I'm sure I could whip up something to your liking!"

Anguirus sighed but smiled. He knew kindness when he smelt or heard it.

"Thank you, that offer is very generous."

Rarity nodded approvingly.

"Tis my element my friend."

Anguirus's mind wandered back to a previous topic and previous sentence.

"So if you know about this whole 'me blending in' part, I take it you can guess why it's a concern?"

Rarity sighed, removing her glasses and nodding a bit sadly.

"Yes, I had read the paper. I was just finishing it when I found you and Pinkie."

Anguirus leaned back a bit with a disgruntled shrug.

"Your country is divided right down the middle on this whole 'Kaiju Emergence'. After all of the capital saw Godzilla in full and then not only had front row seats to a war but also spotted him change into a unicorn, a lot of ponies are walking around spooked. If they knew someone they passed in the streets was really a multistory monstrosity, there would be a panic."

Neither Elements of Harmony could really disagree with the assessment. They had enough problems with an immigrating zebra and the changeling fiasco. Rarity and Pinkie shared a look with an affirmative nod before straightening back up.

"Well, until your friend and Twilight can get you all home, we're going to help the public front then."

Anguirus fought back a quick smile before suspicion took route. It was one thing to stuff him in a giant costume and then take him inside for a bit. It was another to offer long term aid to a stranger. Such was not something he was used too.

"Why would you go to all the trouble on my behalf? You knew full well what's going on and even saw a brawl me and the others had right in front of you."

Rarity was thinking over her response for a moment, rubbing her chin. Pinkie just grinned and gave the stallion a giggling pat on the shoulder.

"Because we're nice silly!"

Rarity chuckled, adding on her part.

“Well when you’ve been on as many ventures as we Elements have, ones with changelings, living nightmares, tyrants, pirates, dragons, chaos beings; you tend to become accustomed to out of the ordinary. Besides, generosity means giving even when some parts of your mind say otherwise. True, you’d probably set the record for oddest house guest I've had short of Discord dropping in. But I know a good pony, er, kay'iju, when I see one. A bit vicious as he might have been in doing it, but your friend Godzilla putting himself in harms way to save Canterlot was a noble cause if I ever heard one. And if your description of yourself is accurate, you’d be the one I have to thank for saving Rainbow Dash back at the camp ground.”

Anguirus sighed contently, thinking it all over and half wondering now if these Equestrians were just born kind or if he'd lucked out. Pinkie Pie popped up beside Rarity with a small shower of glitter.

"Besides, everypony is entitled to a bit of laughter and joy from time to time. You might be a bit of a grump, no offense, but you seem nice enough. What kind of happy go lucky, party planning, cheer spreading Element of Harmony would I be if I turned anypony away from the start?~"

Anguirus was touched for a moment, before quickly squirming from a wet, fleshy feeling on his ear.

"Awww! See? Gummy likes you!"

================
Sweet Apple Acres
================

Destroyah hissed and snarled to herself as she trudged through the fringes of the orchard and towards the natural forests. Decade old apple trees surrendered ground to century old oaken wood. Small birds chirped and flapped amongst the glade, rabbits and opossum scurrying in the brush; as deer waded through the foliage to browse. The scene was serene, but Destroyah hardly even noticed. She was too busy trying to figure out whether she wanted to be enraged or not. Try as she might to strike up the flames of anger which she'd utilized since she could remember anything, it was like drawing a blank. Ungodly amounts of boredom and some small vibe she kept getting in the back of her mind kept keeping her from settling on any one emotion for longer than a second's breath.

She paused, noting her surroundings. Plenty of life around. Maybe she should try and be herself. Do what she'd done since the day she knew what was going on around her. The kaiju convert cracked a fang and molar filled grin as she curled her lips back, her horn humming and igniting to life.

Letting out a shrieking wail half way between a banshee's scream and an equine whinny, Destroyah lashed out at everything around her. She turned and gutted the oak tree behind her, burning and slicing through the wood with her horn. The song birds cried out and fled after Destroyah whirled around and fired several rapidly expanding pellets of micro-oxygen, tearing the shrubs the birds had perched on asunder. Destroyah snarled, planting her front hooves on the ground and bucking the slashed tree behind her. The roar of splintering and cracking wood filled the air as the tree trunk was completely snapped in two, sending the oak tumbling backwards. Energy crackled in the mare's mane before she looked up at the shocked herd of deer before her. Throwing open her jaws, a violet stream of power shot out of her in torrents. It ripped the ground apart and caused the foliage it hit to explode and disintegrate. A dark laughter rang out of the mare as she intentionally fired at the cervids' feet, making them dodge and run for their lives every second before they got out of range. Not feeling like giving chase and rage broiling, Destroyah roared into the sky above before assaulting the fallen tree. She bit, slashed, shot, punched, kicked, and smacked the tree with everything she had. Showers of splintered and partially vaporized wood flew out in every direction as the tree itself began to vanish. Destroyah didn't care at all, she was too busy projecting her hatred to kindle more wrath. With every blow she imagined faces, the images of her foes. Of that moth, the pteranodon, the dinosaur; that mongrel runt of a successor. She imagined each blow hitting them, showering blood and crushing bone.

She didn't know how long she'd been striking at what was below her, but with one last exhausted stomp; Destroyah stopped. Huffing badly for breath, she stood in the center of a sizable trench she'd cut into the ground. She stayed like that, her mind darkening. The feelings were still there. If she had a weaker constitution she'd probably be far worse off, but her resolve barely held. Killing, rending, breaking, and being a butcher were all things the Serizawan legacy was very good at. It was what she'd been doing for over a decade. It always made her feel better. But right now, she didn't feel better at all. Destroyah hung her head as her wings drooped. She only felt worse.

The fleeting surges of emotion were quick to fade when a damp cold tapped her nose. The sky was darkening high above, and a gentle drumming called out all around her. It was beginning to rain. Destroyah climbed out of the trench, briefly standing idle before grumbling and trudging off into the storm. Despite being amphibious, she despised the cold. And this rain was freezing. Attempts to raise her wings to shield herself only resulted in a chilled breeze broad-siding her and making her left flank begin to numb.

-As if my day couldn't get any worse...-

===============
Carousel Boutique
===============

"So you actually think I'll be okay out there?"

Anguirus had to keep from mumbling the words as he looked himself over in the mirror. He already wasn't used to having hair period. But having hair more neatly combed down to the point it looked more like a mane and less like a mass of quills was a whole new ball game. Rarity finished off organizing his tail in a similar manner, a bit of a challenge given the actual quills present.

"Hmm... Yes I'd say so. You can excuse these spines off as some sort of hair pins. You definitely look more like a normal pony than some of your acquaintances. I'd say you can pass. I'd say pose as a foreigner if you need to explain yourself, but just don't draw too much attention and you should be fine."

She looked up in the mirror, immediately noting the gleaming ivory poking out from Anguirus' lips.

"Though as for the um, fangs, I'd suggest keeping them under your lips most of the time. If need be you could pass it and the quills off as some sort of outfit, given the time of year."

She'd just finished up when the tell tale pinging against the windows heralded the rain. Pinkie Pie shot up before scooping up Gummy and her plans, stashing them away in her mane and tail.

"Ohp! That's my cue to sca-doo! Rain tends to wake up Pound Cake and he'll want to fly around!"

Stopping briefly in a flash of pink to hug Rarity, Pinkie shot out through Opal's kitty door by means neither Rarity or Anguirus wanted to ponder. It took a few moments for Rarity to snap back to her senses.

"Well I guess I best be heading out as well. Sweetie Belle is out with her friends and wouldn't want any of them to get soaked before Nightmare Night later today."

She went for the front door, slipping on some rubber boots and a cloak before opening her umbrella. She glanced back at Anguirus.

"Storm should blow over in an hour or so. You can borrow an umbrella if you need."

Anguirus bowed his head a bit in a quick thank you, but made for the door anyways.

"Kind offer, but rain never bugged me much any who. Thanks anyways though for all the help."

"Was my pleasure.~"

The duo headed out the door before splitting ways.

==============
Whitetail Woods
==============

The gyaos shriek was cut short, falling into a coughing wheeze before it slumped over. The purple beam that sliced through its heart and out its back silenced its hissing and dissipated. A weak groan sounded off over the rain as a soaked, battered, and bleeding form shifted the falling corpse off of herself. Hyper Gyaos fell to her hands and a knee, wheezing and choking on her own breath. The rain borne mud along with caked blood and bruises dirtied much of her pale skin. She looked up around her as the rain poured.

Gyaos lay everywhere in a 20 meter radius. Some crushed under a fallen tree, some with their throats torn out; and others sliced apart by sonic rays. They were all dead. All gone. She knew this. She was the one who killed them.

Hyper Gyaos looked up at the storming sky as the ramifications settled in. She never liked her flock, she hated them. Monstrous automations who’d been a threat since the day she hatched. She had spent more time fighting for her life against them to keep them in line than she ever did fighting other kaiju. But, they were all she ever had. All she ever had to share an unending hunger with. For a social species, she needed company. But that company would never come; there would be no more flocks. Their kind had always bounced back from oblivion. All it took was one adult female to self reproduce a clutch of her own before she expired, her daughters doing the same, her granddaughters following suit, and so on. There would be no bounce back now. She'd just reduced her species to a single individual. A single individual who was a sterile albino.

Her limbs were weakening, already numb, but she still looked to the sky. A tear joined the rain drops in soaking her face. Hyper Gyaos took in a deep breath and screamed back at the storm, her nose filled with the smell of death all around her. She was starving, a hateful pain gnawing at her stomach and nearly causing her to writhe in agony before it drained the last of her power. Her arms and legs lost all their strength and the albino demoness fell to the ground on her back. All she could look at as her conscious flickered away was the storm above, and the painful truth of what she knew. She was completely alone, with none to roost around. She was hungry, and there was only one thing around her to eat when she woke up. A small voice chimed into her head, lulling her to rest like a lullaby. A warm presence surrounded her, lulling her quicker into a comforted, sleepy state.

-"Sleep... Poor soul... Help is coming..."-

She obeyed, blacking out. The last conscious input she detected was footsteps approaching her rapidly before darkness took her. A tall figure stood over the fallen albino as the rain poured. It knelt down, bracing his arms under her shoulders and hips before slinging the unconscious Hyper Gyaos over his shoulder. Monster X's calm voice betrayed a strong sense of urgency. A mysterious voice calls out to him and directed him to the right location in his search for her, but that wasn't a concern of his right now. Gyaos was alive, but she needed attention pronto.

"I have found her, open the portal again NOW!"

===============
Sweet Apple Acres
===============

The Cutiemark Crusaders had thankfully made it back to their clubhouse after the cave fiasco before the rains came. Fortunately the planning of their next big endeavor managed to take their minds off just how their last adventure ended. Currently they resigned themselves to playing a few board games to pass the time. As much as they loved playing out in a gentle storm like this, none of their party wanted to get soaked or muddy before Nightmare Night. Such would lead to a statistical loss of candy after all!

The sound of footsteps approaching quickly caught their attention. All eyes were at the front entrance as a rain cloak clad Rarity poked her head into the clubhouse.

"Figured you three might be up here. Sweetie Belle, I came to see if you or any of your friends wanted me to pick you up to wait out the storm back at the boutique or not."

The youngest unicorn present got up and threw her saddlebags back on her back.

"Guess it would be best to get ready for Nightmare Night. You two wanna come?"

Apple Bloom mulled over the thought for a moment before packing up too.

"Well plannin's all done and we've played Go-Fish fourteen times in a row. Would help. Can you walk me back to Granny Smith Miss Rarity?"

Rarity beamed and nodded.

"Certainly! And what about you Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo sat up from her game board, but didn't pack up. She began to put up the game while waving off to her friends.

"You guys go ahead, I got some things I want to handle before I head back. I brought my umbrella."

"Are ya' sure Scoots?"

"Yeah yeah I'll be fine! See you all tonight!"

Scootaloo smiled before exchanging goodbyes with her friends, waving at them from the clubhouse front door until they were out of sight. Her smile slowly faded with each step they took away from her. The sight of a big pony walking fillies home inherently killed her mood a bit. She turned and headed back inside after shutting the door, her own thoughts being her company and time waster. Scootaloo was a filly that had a good life over all. Sister Rosary was a great caretaker and Rainbow Dash had recently proven to be an excellent big sister figure. But, sometimes you can't quite substitute one of those for something else Scootaloo wanted. Something her friend's had. Something this day of the year reminded her of.

Some time had passed as Scootaloo doodled on a few pages of a sketch pad, trying to get her mind off things. The sound of beaten air heralded wing beats just outside the front door, making Scootaloo's eyes widened. Rainbow Dash wasn't in town at the moment, but maybe she got back recently? Maybe Rarity pointed her to the clubhouse! Scootaloo eagerly dropped her pencil and ran to the door, whipping it open. But instead of cyan blue and rainbow streaks, she got messy crimson and ivory. Destroyah stood in the doorway, getting rained on as she looked down at the filly with an emotionless expression.

"Oh... H-Hi Miss Destoroyerah..."

The kaiju didn't feel like correcting her, only ducking down more to get through the door.

"Move."

Scootaloo obeyed and got out of the doorway. It was a bit of a cramp, but once she was past the door the giant mare managed to, abet barely, fit inside the clubhouse. She still had to crouch a great deal. Shaking herself off a bit, whipping her tail outside the door to wring it free of some excess water, Destroyah tried to dry herself off some to reduce the biting cold that enveloped her. She wasn't succeeding much until a small tap on her elbow caught her attention. She whipped her head around to see Scootaloo sitting down next to her, holding up several large towels.

The kaiju shrugged, taking one and wiping herself down; finally managing to dry off and begin to feel warm again. Destroyah set the towel aside and laid down on the center of the room, looking out into the rain. She noted the small shape of orange and purple next to her and something caused her to blurt out two words she was obviously straining to say still.

"Th-ank you..."

Scootaloo laid down a short distance from the older mare, still partially astonished a pony could be this enormous. She looked out into the rain like the kaiju had. Several moments passed, as did the filly's attention span.

"So, what brings you here?

Something in the back of Scootaloo's mind was getting its hopes up. Her conscious on the other hand was just trying to make sure the kaiju wasn't angry at her still about the Slendermane fiasco. Destroyah's response was blunt and devoid of feeling.

"I hate getting cold and found this cabin on my way back to the barn. Didn't think someone would still be in it."

"Y-Yes this is mine and my friends' clubhouse."

A word in that sentence perked up some minor interest, even if Destroyah's voice didn't show it at all.

"Why are you still here? I saw the other two runts heading down a road during my fly over."

The word 'runt' would have been insulting in most contexts and to most persons. The CMC however just figured it was their new princess's way of saying kid. It made the little pegasus smile a bit for a fleeting moment before her face drooped in memory of the topic.

"I guess I... I just wanted to stay for a bit. It's a, special, day of the year I like to take some alone time on before going trick or treating. Call it an anniversary."

"Still, would think a whelp like you wouldn't want to be in the woods alone. You and your cohorts keep talking about monsters."

"Weeeell you DID kill the timber wolf pack, and disproved Slendermane. Guess there's no monsters left around here to be afraid of."

"I suppose. Still, if it's some sort of holiday most mortals I know go home for it. Least that's what the other two seemed to be doing. Don't you have one?"

Scootaloo lowered her head and pawed at the ground in front of her, trying not to think much about it. She had a place to sleep, a private room, warm suppers; and kindly aid. But she didn't quite have that five letter word nailed down just yet. She curled up into a small ball, sighing to keep bad thoughts and memories away.

"It's a bit complicated. I just like to go out on this time of day. Mother Superior will just think I'm with the Apples or Rarity at the moment... I'll head back after the storm."

Destroyah didn't take any sympathetic hints, either by lack of notice or choosing not to. She just rolled her eyes a bit and shrugged. Melodrama was never something she liked.

"I asked a yes or no question, not your life problems."

She looked back out into the rain before a tiny voice spoke up again. The kaiju looked over to Scootaloo, who'd nudged herself a bit closer to Destroyah either by intent or on accident.

"S-Sorry about dragging you over to that cave. Sweetie Belle was so sure she saw Slendermane standing in front of it and when we thought we saw him in there we freaked out."

Destroyah sighed this time, replying in a much calmer tone. Despite the annoying memories, she couldn't feel much anger right now. Her voice was still very blank and emotionless, but came off more as disappointed advice than it did an annoyed growl as it normally was.

"Next time just don't be so quick to jump at shadows in the dark. You scare too easily."

Scootaloo perked up a bit, raising her ears and looking up at the kaiju convert.

"Y-Yeah I suppose. But you didn't seem scared at all."

Destroyah looked down at her.

"Wasn't."

"How though? You didn't seem hesitant or cautious at all. I mean, that place was so dark in spots, who knows what could live in there!"

Destroyah titled her head as she lifted her head up a bit more, crossing her forehooves in front of her. Even laying down her massive horn nearly scrapped the ceiling.

"For one, I easily could have killed probably anything that could be in that cavern with my bare hooves. And besides that, you assume far too much just because something is dark and hard to see. There are just as many threats that walk in the daylight as those who roam upon nightfall. Danger is real, no matter time of day or circumstance. Being afraid of possible danger however, is a choice."

Scootaloo rubbed her chin, thinking over the words to summarize the meaning.

"So, don't choose to let fear of what you can't see or perceive control you?"

"If you'd rather put it in such words, yes. Fear leads to panic, and nothing good ever came for those who panic."

"I see."

Destroyah and Scootaloo both looked outside the open front door, watching the rain drops drum against the world outside. The kaiju didn't know how much time had slipped by before a little yawn sounded off. A short time later, she felt something brush up against the side of her stomach. Grumbling near silently she craned her next to the side to see the Scootaloo, dozed off and leaning against her flank after apparently rolling to her side a bit. A tiny smile was on her little face, sleeping contently against a warm tummy.

Destroyah didn't respond to it much at all. In truth, her annoyance at the fillies gave her half the mind to grab and toss the runt away, preferably through the wall. But her mood was against the thought. A small tightness in her ribcage bound away any insistence to shove Scootaloo away as much as she fancied the thought. After some thought and grumbling to herself, Destroyah resigned that she just must have just been too bored to bother. The runt was no threat after all.

Electing to ignore the odd flickers of emotion and the urge to maim, Destroyah laid her head down. The activities of the day had taken some toll and she could use a power nap. The gentle pressure against her stomach grew slightly as Scootaloo rolled in closer in her sleep. The kaiju still didn't bother with shoving her away as her own eyes began to close.

-You're lucky I'm not in a bad mood kid...-

========
Ponyville
========

Anguirus walked down along several shops, not minding the rain much at all despite its chill. The cold rain had worked wonders for his plans. Though confident Rarity’s handiwork on him would disguise him well enough, the downpour had helped ease his conscious somewhat by driving most of the town goers inside. Still, he was regretting not taking the unicorn up on the offer of an umbrella. Back home he’d moved through everything from sleet filled glacier fields at the South Pole to magma chambers kilometers beneath the surface. Temperature extremes, especially heat, never bothered him much. Least they used too. While he shrugged it off, he couldn’t lie and say this storm wasn’t uncomfortable right now with what was rapidly becoming water logged hair. The earth pony grumbled, mumbling a small curse to himself for being so bull headed. He spied an awning hanging over a building front up ahead, trudging over to it and getting under its cover. All the building’s lights looked like they were out so there thankfully wasn’t likely not a soul inside.

Anguirus plopped down in front of the door and tried to wring himself out best he could without spoiling Rarity’s efforts from earlier. It was taking awhile but something stopped him right in the middle of it. The kaiju convert felt a presence behind him, his suspicions being confirmed by a feminine voice talking about a meter behind him.

“Do you intend to sit under there all through the storm or do you plan on coming inside?”

Anguirus whirled around and saw the speaking pony, or least he thought it was a pony, standing cock eyed through a half open door. When he got a good look at the speaker he was almost questioning if he was looking at another transformed. The tea green fur was natural enough looking, given the color palettes he’d seen so far, but the ivory colored scales on the nasal bridge and chest stuck out like a sore thumb. And while he had so far seen equines with bird wings and spiraling horns, he hadn’t met one with antlers before. She looked almost more like an antelope or deer than a horse. The assumed store owner titled her head and snapped Anguirus out of confusion and back to attention.

“Well are you coming in or leaving?”

Brushing his theories about it somehow being another kaiju convert aside, Anguirus shrugged and tried to act natural. If this was her property she’d probably grow suspicious from him sitting down on her front door step for awhile. And despite Rarity’s words of assurance, he didn’t want to risk drawing attention any more than he had to. He should get going.

“Sorry, I was trying to pass the storm by. Didn’t mean to cause a bother.”

He turned to leave when he felt a tug on his shoulder. Stopping just short of sticking his head in the rain, he looked back to see a cloven hoof pulling him back slightly. The store owner looked at him with an honest smile.

“No bother at all. Please do come in and dry yourself off some. This time of year brings the cold gales upon us sometimes. Some ponies can get chilled to the bone in rain like this.”

Anguirus looked back at the odd creature. He really should leave, just to be on the safe side. He should have departed. But, subconscious acted on kindness. Nodding, he followed the store owner inside.

Soon as he was indoors he realized two things. For one, the windows had their blinds partially down and appeared slightly tinted. Explained why everything looked dark earlier despite being fairly well lit on the inside. Secondly, his host was most definitely not anything he had seen in Equestria so far and certainly wasn't a normal mare. Besides the aforementioned fish-like scales, antelope styled antlers or horns, and cloven hooves; the green and ivory shop owner had a long tail like a cow or lion’s, ending in a dark green tuft. And to add to the oddity, her height was quite tall and easily was the tallest mare he'd seen short of the two elder alicorns as she seemed even a few centimeters taller than him. If he had to put a description on it, she looked like a vaguely reptilian cervid. Definitely mythological. He swore he’d seen something similar before but exactly where eluded him. The long haired host looked back at him with a raised eyebrow and a giggle, causing Anguirus to realize he was staring.

“What, take it you’ve never seen a kirin before?”

The word ‘kirin’ jogged his memory, flashing back to centuries past. Back when magic was plentiful on Terra and myths of old were true. He remembered now and was kicking himself for not realizing it earlier. Still, wasn’t exactly like he could outright say “No I haven’t seen one in 77,000 years.”, not without rousing more questions than he cared to answer. Rarity said he could blend in as a normal everyday Equestrian if he acted the part right, so a normal Equestrian is what he’d pretend to be. He could tell the truth, just maybe not the whole truth. Lying never was a strong suit of his anyways. He spied a menu laying nearby with the title of the shop written at the top, along with what he had to guess was the shop owner's name.

“Nnnot in awhile, no. Thank you for allowing me inside Miissss See-ooong?”

The kirin put a hoof to her chest and bowed her head a bit, causing her long tassels of hair to drape down. She was fighting the urge to giggle.

“The 'e' is silent, it's pronounced 'Song'. My name is Seong, Ki Seong.”

Trying to pry out some more information, Anguirus went on. If he was going to blend in he needed to try and figure out as much about this world as possible. If there was another race he needed to know about, so be it.

“Doesn’t sound much like an Equestrian name. You an immigrant?”

The question caused the Seong to snicker. She rolled her eyes jokingly.

“Well I don’t look very much like your average pony now do I? The ponies around here tend to call me ‘Tea Song’ as well. Probably the local custom of name matching the cutie marks along with some mispronunciation.”

Anguirus had to nod. He’d learned what the symbols on the hips meant and how they were acquired. Still, he couldn’t help but find it a tad eerie that many ponies’ birth names or nicknames matched their future marks before they even knew what the latter would be. He glanced at Ki’s hip and saw the image of a steaming cup atop of a leaf.

“I can see where they got the ‘tea’ part from.”

Seong walked over to behind a counter, rummaging through some things out of the kaiju’s sight.

“Well we all do have our talents, and I don’t mind the title. My restaurant is known for its cup brews after all. New home, new name I guess.”

Anguirus looked around at his surroundings. The restaurant was fairly small, having a few tables with assorted chairs, and a single built into the wall surrounded by several cushions, door leading to what he presumed was a kitchen in the back; and a counter beside said door that reeked of sea weed, rice, and kelp. The building’s constitution was completely different from anything in this new world he’d seen so far, having a lot of wooden beams with no coverings. Like the kirin it all seemed vaguely familiar.

“I take it then you are a foreigner then? Excuse me if I’m prodding, I just haven't seen a kirin around these parts before.”

“Oh no problem here. I haven’t had any customers since the rains kicked up, so any conversation is good company.”

She apparently noticed Anguirus’ fascination with the store’s architecture.

“Like it? I enjoy taking some of the motherland with me. I’m from Carrea.”

“Where’s that?”

“It’s a peninsula near Neighpon.”

-‘Neighpon’… Neppon… Japan! Alright so if it’s a peninsula with a name like that near Japan, must be Korea. So this world must have an equivalent to eastern Asia.-

Anguirus sat down on the booth next to the window. He decided to feint knowledge, hoping his memories of life back on Terra would help him keep up the act. Even if it was risky, it was better than looking like an idiot and risking something far worse.

“Oh, near Neighpon eh? Long way from home aren’t you?”

“One could say that. I guess I kept traveling until I found a place I enjoyed well enough. Crossing an ocean is no blockade to finding happiness.”

Seong came up from the counter, her antlers glimmering slightly with a yellow light before walking over to the table with a tray of something wrapped in a golden aura. Anguirus added the mental note of ‘can do magic like unicorn’ to his mental description of kirins. Seong sat herself down across from him, lowering the tray to show two still slightly steaming cups of tea next to a kettle. Realizing he was being offered something by a store owner, Anguirus reached from the small coin pouch Granny Smith had given him before a cervid hoof reached across the table and stopped him. Seong smiled warmly.

“No need, it’s on the house. Besides, I was going to have a cup myself and tea is best served when it’s shared.”

The stallion relented, shrugging and bowing his head a bit before taking his cup to sip. It had a very distinct taste, but the heat ignited his core and banished off any lingering cold. Seong took some sips herself before looking at her guest in an inquisitive façade Anguirus dreaded.

“If you pardon my turn for questions and answer, you don’t seem to be from these parts either. Haven’t seen a face like your’s in Ponyville before.”

Anguirus had to bite down on his tongue to keep his eyes from widening a bit. He was a nervous wreck, and he didn't know why.

-**** **** **** **** **** ****! Make something up!-

“Yeeeaah, one could say I’m a bit of a traveler as well. Just came into town.”

“Oh? Where from? Judging from your dense build I’d guess you’re from a more rugged country. You from the frontier?”

Finally a spot in this newfangled world he knew about. Anguirus made the mental note to thank Rodan when he got back or otherwise he’d have no clue what the southern lands were like at all.

“YYYeeeeessss, down south a good distance. I never came into towns or cities much.”

“Do you have a name then or are you like that Eastwood character and have none? Apologies ahead of time, but I like to address my guests properly.”

-*************************************!!!!!!!-

Anguirus hid his panic well. If he just established he was from Equestria, having a name that translated to ‘New Hope’ in a centuries extinct language was a no sell. He fanned his tail, causing some of his quills to rattle against the seating. His eyebrows perked up, getting an idea after recalling Equestria’s uncanny ability to match names to traits.

"My name iiiiisss... Quill Coat!"

Ki Seong smiled, peeking over the seat and noticing the name sake.

“Pleasure to meet you Quill, I can see the fit.”

She looked back up at him, smirking.

“Though it’s a good thing I pulled you in when I did. Not sure what Nightmare Night costume you have on, but rain might have ruined it. The tail spikes and fangs are very convincing.”

-***- oh screw it I don’t even feel like cussing anymore. Just go with the idea!-

Anguirus kept his mood stable, shrugging.

“Guess I enjoyed the fit enough.”

Seong smiled, holding up her cup in a small toast. After some awkwardness to recognize the gesture, Anguirus opted to copy it.

“Well, original or different can be good. Here’s to today and new acquaintances~”

==============================
Sweet Apple Acres, Fruit Bat Reserve
==============================

The rain began to lessen to a mild drizzle as the forest slowly came back to life. Still, in the darkened corner of the woods, something unnatural stirred outside of a cave. It staggered out of its hollow, assured its attackers were gone. Rain drops fell down across a blank, pale face as its tall form stretched out. Slendermane's eyeless face looked out into the forest around itself to assure that the demon was indeed alone. The slit legged monster grabbed at its head as greenish fire raced across its form. Towering height shrank rapidly as the magical aura vanished. A clean suit and pale skin turning into hard, black chitin forged exoskeleton. The changeling grimaced and cringed painfully as it pawed at the blasted stump that had once been its horn before a burst of micro-oxygen evaporated it.

-Thought the monster pick be good for Nightmare Night! What in the realms of Tartarus was that thing?!-

The changeling stumbled off into the forest and away from the orchards. After some effort to fight through the downpour, it managed to buzz its wings enough to fly away. It had a lot of ground to cover, but the Queen had to be informed!

===========
FAN WORKS!
===========

You all never cease to amaze me and touch my heart with your endeavors

Xain-Russel once again proving himself a master of his craft, both for the expect and completely unexpected!
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Mayozilla proving attacking the fanbase's waifu is a very bad idea! This is gonna be goooood...
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Pyrus-Leonidas, Man GOD DAMN! If I put every piece in here I'd double the chapter size. So I'm gonna throw this gallery link down and tell everyone to get over there.
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CLICK ME

Icelance669 says it's time to DU-DU-DU! DU-DU-DU-DUEL!

CLICK ME!

IceStormy, AnAppleforgotten, and Fluttersquee6 giving the shippers fuel for the fire with a Lunilla child.

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Genesis2014 exploring some romantic angles in his first story on FimFiction!
Junior's Secret

BlazingPhoenix17 brings us a new chapter update for the Bridge spinoff taking place across the barrier!
Humanity's Stand Chapter 2
Humanity's Stand Chapter 3

Figured we could use a slower chapter with some build up for later after the roller coaster that was Chapter 15.

Proofreading by Skylark and Faith-Wolff
Artwork by Faith-Wolff

Destroyah, Monster X, Anguirus, and ?????; as well as related roster property of Toho Studios
Gyaos property of Daiei
MLP:FiM property of Hasbro Studios
Ki Seong owned by Me

KAIJU'VERSE TIMELINE
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

NEXT TIME ON THE BRIDGE:
Blade Dancer comes face to face with something she never expected in the midst of confliction, and some odd happenings in both of Equestria's capital cities

PS: Here's the Seong reference on DA if anyone missed it
http://faith-wolff.deviantart.com/art/Ki-Seong-Tea-Song-the-Kirin-488887872

Key Ring
Xenilla
Godzilla Junior
Princess Luna
Blade Dancer
Captain Blueberry Frost
Monster X
Grand King Ghidorah
Hyper Gyaos

==================
Crystal Empire Library
==================

"Alright, class adjourned for today. We'll continue with Post-Modern enchantments and spell casting when we return. I'll see you all next time tomorrow!"

Key Ring waved goodbye to his small class of twenty something crystal ponies as they filed their way out the door. This certainly had been an interesting month for the young stallion. Not one week after he got his teaching degree, and he was already employed in an empire that had effectively been a myth until a year ago! And his task was no small one at all. The Crystal Empire had been lost for 1,000 years and much had changed since then. Somepony had to help catch the citizenry up on magical advances and discoveries made in the past millennium, while also documenting their own native magic that had since been lost to history. Needless to say he found it quite the important task for he and his colleagues, so much so the unicorn was probably one of the few ponies who wasn't fretting over the news headlines coming out of Canterlot. Giant monsters could wait, he had an entire culture to help.

Key Ring levitated up and began packing away his teaching satchel, collecting up some of his student's notes. Crystal ponies certainly were a fascinating breed. A vast majority of them were built more or less like earth ponies, but their spell casting was more like a mesh between earth ponies and unicorns. And of course their gemstone working magic was a whole unique field in itself. And that was just from the earth pony majority he'd met so far, the crystal pegasi seemed so scarce he hadn't met any personally yet. Though, in his days inside the empire, he hadn't even so much as seen a single crystalline unicorn.

-I know they must be around right? Could have sworn the original crystal princess was a unicorn, so they did exist. Are they just naturally rarer than the others? Genetics perhaps?-

He collected up his slides and began packing them away, shrugging to himself.

-Well Ring you've only seen some of the empire in the past few days, first time here at all actually. Maybe by pure chance you just haven't met one yet.-

The doorway behind him clicked open as Key Ring had his back to the entrance. Immediately just thinking it was one of his students coming back for a question, the brown unicorn smiled and turned around.

"Hey how can I help yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooou-....."

His eyes kept trailing higher, and higher, and higher until he was soon looking into eyes of the tallest stallion he'd ever seen. Yep, definitely was NOT one of his students. The blue and white pony had to be at least a head taller than Prince Shining Armor himself. But that wasn't the only factor behind the newcomer's bizarre appearance. Small fangs poked out of its lip line where the canine teeth were and mounted on its forehead was the most baffling horn Key Ring had ever seen. The pony said nothing as it loomed over him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Um.... hi?"

"Are you one of the staff that was sent to the empire to teach modern Equestrian magic courses and give study materials?"

Key Ring was still a tad wide eyed, nodding a bit. The odd equine smiled, flashing his fangs accidentally. Key Ring already didn't like being around this newcomer, the blue stallion giving him a very poor vibe.

"Royal Ambassador Xenilla from Terra."

The word 'royal' made Key Ring instantly snap to attention. He remembered a small memo put out by Princess Cadance about a foreign ambassador visiting, so he figured this must be the one he heard of. Even though he had no clue where this 'Terra' was, his guest's strange appearance and title probably meant he was just from a very distant country. Global geography never was a big forte of his any who, so he just presumed 'Terra' must be one of the kingdoms from across the ocean like Neighpon. Key Ring backed up a bit to clear some space, but smiled none the less as he adjusted his glasses.

"Nice to meet you. Need something?"

"You are adept in Equestrian and Imperial magic are you not?"

"Yes that's why the Princess sent me here. I teach magic classes to the crystal ponies and recommend study materials, history know-how and all helps out."

"Perfect."

Xenilla smiled slightly, walking over to a seat. It took some effort to sit down in it comfortably given his large frame but he managed.

"You could say I came here on my, diplomatic pursuit, as a bit of a knowledge exchange. I am unfamiliar with your kind's magic and knowledge of it might help in a small pursuit of mine. Would you be opposed to giving a quick goings over and directing me to the right materials for my study?"

Key Ring mulled over the thought for a moment, checking the clock. He hadn't packed away that much of his teaching tools and he had some spare time to burn.

-Eh, why not?-

"Well my lunch meet isn't for another hour. How much you know about Equestrian magic?"

Xenilla's face flattened a bit. Key Ring couldn't tell if he looked bored or disgruntled. His response was flat as board.

"Absolutely nothing."

Key Ring chuckled a bit nervously as his ears flopped against his head, holding in a groan. The number of books he was adding to this Xenilla's 'To Read' list was quickly stacking up.

"Ooooh boy, ok let's start with basic spells."

Xenilla levitated a pen and parchment before himself as he began to jot down some notes, mentally praising Tanaka above that he knew how to read. When one spends a good chunk of their time bored and passively observing humans through your crystals, they tend to figure out some things.

========
Canterlot
========

Blade Dancer was breaking about half a dozen rules at the moment. Amongst other matters, for one she wasn't in uniform, she was away from her post in the main hall, and she had no business being in the Lunar Wing at the moment without being deployed in there. The princesses had been very adamant. Unless one was medical staff or special assigned guards, any and all ponies were not to enter the inner section of the Lunar Wing, especially the tower. It was to keep as many prying eyes out of Princess Luna's quarters as much as possible, as the last thing she or Celestia wanted was some camera trigger happy and irrational reporter to worm their way inside. Blade Dancer hadn't been picked by Captain Frost to guard the wing, and she thought she might know why. When the pegasus had asked why, Frost just closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing an answer.

That refusal along with a churning storm of mixed emotions was what had driven the guardsmare to slip her way into the wing. She'd slowly made her way, hall by hall, room by room, deeper inside Princess Luna's domain. She peeked inside any room she found open, unable to find what she was looking for, who she was looking for. It was a very odd feeling, seeking out something you were terrified of. Every time she tried to think of a flabbergasted face and crooked horn, she couldn't brush aside a towering height and burning lights. Lack of sleep wasn't doing her situation any favors at all. She didn't know what to do, she just wanted to find him and hopefully put her head at ease.

Once she happened upon one of the largest rooms she'd seen in the entire wing, one that had no less than four of the largest night guard she'd seen on the force guarding the halls leading to it, Blade Dancer knew she had the right place despite the crest on the room door implying otherwise.

-All or nothing now...-

Clinging a bit to the roof, Blade Dancer timed her advances with every wayward glance by the guards to avoid being spotted. One of them just barely moved away from the door enough for her to manage to slip her narrow frame inside. Once inside however, she hesitated to open her eyes and look around. After mentally crossing her heart, she approached the interior of the chamber. The room was very dimly lit, but thankfully she saw no dark alicorn present. What she did see however hardly put any nerves at rest.

A massive, dark colored form lay down on the room's single bed; casting a long shadow despite the low light. The only noise in the room was a quiet, coarse breathing seeping out from the bed. Sleeping breaths. It took the guardsmare a moment to swallow back her fear, slowly approaching the sleeping mass. Every step to the bedside was hesitant as she saw more and more features, and remembered more and more. She saw an ivory colored mane and remembered burning blue spines. She saw charcoal gray fur and remembered cobblestone scales. She remembered an odd stallion confused at her advances, one who made her smile. She also couldn't brush aside the memory of the towering leviathan, one who terrified her. It was that fear that drove her inside, it was fear she had to try and put to rest.

Blade Dancer shut her eyes when she got to the bedside, holding perfectly still. She heard nothing but the sleeping stallions slow breathing and the pounding of her heart in her head. Innumerable moments passed before she finally mustered the nerve to open her eyes and look down. What Blade Dancer saw however caused the surging plethora of emotions in her head to silence, ushering out a surprised gasp. Her heart beat slowed as she leaned in slowly. The lighting was poor, but she could see well enough. What she was looking at however was one of the last things she expected. Whispers of sympathy spilled out as she smiled slightly.

Blade Dancer gripped some of the bed covers in her teeth and pulled it over him a bit, before turning and making for the window. How exactly she felt about the situation, about him, was not fully decided. But, at least she could try and think straight now. Her course was set after she stealthily flew out of the window and made her way to the guard office. Not bothering to pause and knock before entering, she soon spied an old friend with a blue mane sitting behind a large desk. The pegasus mare saluted her superior officer.

"Captain."

Blueberry Frost perked up from her paperwork, half surprised at the sudden entry. She perked up an eyebrow and set down the folder she'd been going through.

"At'ease Lieutenant. What's up?"

Blade Dancer lowered her salute and took in a deep breath. Despite calming herself down earlier she still couldn't stop herself from talking a tad quickly.

"I'd like to request a temporary transfer."

"Reh'ason?"

"City has been a bit overly lively since the... incident. Too much press and other craziness around here that I can't really think straight. Think a bit of time with some change of scenery would help me clear my head."

Blueberry Frost sighed, getting out of her chair and standing up fully. Some might think she wasn't as sharp witted as others on account of her accent and laid back attitude. But the earth pony mare was much more clever than she occasionally lead on. And one thing she knew well was how to spot a lie. Captain Frost knew full well what was causing this change in Blade Dancer. She frowned briefly, but knew what was best.

"Well 'den, you've been due for a vacation for quite some time. Any druthers?"

"No vacation needed, please put me on duty somewhere. I'd like to be kept busy. There is one place I've been wanting to see for a while though..."

"...Well, I hope you enjoy yourself over there; colonel."

==========================
Later that night
Canterlot, Lunar Wing
==========================

Several ponies, two mares and a stallion, exited an isolated chamber of the tower. The gleam of stethoscopes and white coats in the silvery moon light detailed them as a trio of doctors or nurses. A orange unicorn mare was jotting down her notes on a pad. The expression of her face flip flopped from perplexed to concerned.

"His vitals are stable and the wounds closed up this morning, so the bandages came off. But, where did all those new marks come from?"

The stallion, a green earth pony, was shuddering as he glanced back at the room they exited.

"Never think I've seen a pony so roughed up before. What did he do to get those?"

The final doctor, a magenta pegasus hovered above her colleagues with a fearful expression never leaving her face.

"We all know this is no 'pony' we are talking about."

"Still, some of those looked a decade old at least. But others seemed fairly fresh, a year or so at most."

"So many of them too..."

"What sort of messed up life did this guy come from? I'd had friends in the armed forces in service most of their life and he's got more than five of them put together."

The pegasus groaned as they turned the corner, their voices echoing back out from the stairwell.

"You saw him last night, you tell me THAT'S the result of a healthy upbringing. Probably retaliation marks from prey for all we know..."

Despite not a soul, not even a member of the night guards, being present in the hall; the departing trio's words were not falling on just their own ears. Something in the shadows was listening closely. It cocked a curious eyebrow before it slowly slipped out of its hiding place. A tall shadow cast itself on the door, as magic slowly twisted open the door knob. The newcomer slipped into the room without even a whispers' worth of noise, majestic moonlight streaming across navy blue fur and a short, dark blue and purple mane.. Aqua blue eyes scanned the room and hall before their owner shut the door behind herself. The chamber was decently well lit as Luna slightly adjusted her control of the moon to ensure she had good lightning. The dark alicorn slowly approached the large bed in the back of the room with hushed steps. Her gaze was studiously trained on the large form laying across it.

Princess Luna got to the bedside, looming over it. The dark alicorn herself looked in good health, other than being a tad worn out. The ethereal flow of her hair and tail was completely absent, causing both to lay down slack against her like a normal pony's. Between charging up a kaiju, helping hold up a besieged barrier up for a full night, and then raising the moon; she was far too expended for her normal appearance. Least her power was returning, or else her mane would be back to bright blue like it was earlier. Princess Luna peered through the darkness of her night and studied what was laying down before her. She recognized much. She remembered the ivory pale mane, noticeable canine tooth fangs that seemed a holdover from his true self, charcoal gray coat, muscular and menacing frame; and crooked horn. It was the brand new items that forced her to inhale sharply before biting her tongue.

The monster in the body of a goliath unicorn, Godzilla Junior, lay before her. Unconscious and completely riddled from head to tail in scars. Long trails lined his shoulders and side, puncture marks dotted his collar and stomach with a broad slash mark across the torso. One hoof was covered to nearly the elbow in what she could tell what was once a massive burn keloid, and the other bore the tell tale marks of multiple healed bite wound. The ones on his face was no different. Far from a small dueling scar on the cheek or neat slice across the eyebrow often seen in film, there was barely a few square inches of Godzilla's head looked like it hadn't been sliced up at some point. Most notably were several marks that lined his face from his brow to across his cheek and lips. Those marks looked the freshest out of most all of them, and the alicorn knew what caused jagged cuts such as these from her times with manticores. These were claw wounds.

Sympathy welled up as she eyed the painful looking menagerie. What she was seeing and what she remembered didn't match up. She remembered the near unstoppable juggernaut of a kaiju, one who charged into an unworldly horde of ravagers without a hint of fear. She remembered the self assured, behemoth of a unicorn who had the gall to take on and fight the second most powerful alicorn in the world to a multi-hour stand still. But what she saw in front of her was no fighter, no monster, no titan. It was a peacefully sleeping, but horrendously injured looking pony. Her breath was absent as she subconsciously stepped out of her shoe and extended a hoof. She reached for the smooth scar going from his side to his jaw.

Slight movement and a soft, familiar voice broke her attention away just as she was about to touch him.

"You.......You don't smell like Lea..."

Luna's focus of vision quickly shifted upwards to a half open, burning red and yellow eye calmly leering back up at her. The King of the Monsters didn't move but was obviously tensed up. The alicorn Princess of the Night didn't budge either, only retracted her hoof slowly without any fear.

Godzilla grumbled under his breath, obviously having a hard time doing so, "Didn't expect you to show up, come to try and finish me off while I'm groggy?"

Luna held firm and didn't waver. The kaiju's tone was mild, but lacking any ounce of respect for royalty she typically heard from nearly any voice other than an excessively rude noble. In most situations this would have angered her, but one look at the scarred face peering back up at her blotted any urge to retaliate. She kept her tone flat, but with hints of kindness still trickling in.

"No."

Junior's body unwound and his muscles relaxed. He still didn't move much, looking at her with a half open eye. Least he didn't feel threatened any longer, but was now curious as to the alicorn's arrival.

"Then why come here?"

Princess Luna sighed, recomposing herself and standing up straight. Even with a blank expression on her face, Junior would admit that the moon light streaming through the window behind her made for quite a sight.

"Firstly, you're in my bed.... and.... secondly..."

The dark alicorn closed her eyes, slightly dipping her head.

"Thank you, for saving my beloved subjects."

She reopened her eyes, a tiny smile visible to red and yellow eyes used to seeing in low light.

"Was quite an impressive display."

Junior's own expression softened, a light, slightly pained chuckle leaked out of his throat. His voice had relaxed considerably, no longer vaguely antagonistic but not overly respectful either. It was a more personable tone, one Luna almost never had addressed to her by anyone short of her sibling.

"Glad you enjoyed the light show.... "

He lifted his head up, grunting in effort as he dragged his body up to a semi-sitting position. The groggy unicorn shook his head a bit to try and clear his blurry vision. The first thing he saw of himself in detail was his burn scar covered right forearm. Despite its painful appearance, the former kaiju's expression was more mild annoyance than cringing as he looked the limb over.

"Not again..."

Now it was Princess Luna's turn to be curious. As saddening as it was to see a potential ally covered in so many old wounds, it was outright baffling that said wounds were even present. She motioned with a hoof to the burn marks.

"How, did this happen? You didn't have any wounds or scaring when we brought you into the castle, she muttered, not saying how she always noticed how he looked completely fine even after fighting the guards, "These aren't from the battle last night."

Junior only grumbled, testing his burnt limb as he looked the rest of himself over as it taking a headcount.

"I can heal very quickly and usually completely, but it has its limits. Lele tells me that my healing can't completely remove some scars, just suppress them. Must have used up too much energy last night and don't have enough to keep them at bay."

Luna couldn't take her eyes off a circular, puncture like scar on the base of his neck. It looked like the oldest of the wounds given how much it faded, though was still prominent.

Her lips curled downwards into a slight frown, "Is this, permanent?"

Junior shrugged, leaning back on the bed's broad headboard, "Given some time to recharge, I'll be fine...."

Several very long moments passed in the lunar wing without a sound. Godzilla noticed something that made him roll his eyes. Luna's point of focus hadn't shifted all this time.

"...Princess? ....You're staring."

The alicorn's wings popped up in surprise and she jolted up slightly, quickly recomposing herself after clearing her throat.

"S-sorry! No disrespect intended. My mind must have drifted off. It's just...-"

Junior shook his head with a passive chuckle. He had a pretty good guess what was up.

"Yeah yeah I know I'm even less of a pretty sight right now than I am normally."

Luna sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"N-no! It's just, odd to see a 'king' so..."

"-Scarred?"

"....."

Junior shifted in his seating, propping himself up some more despite a small cringe induced by movement. His body was still spent and tired out.

"Comes with the job criteria I suppose, it's no small miracle if I go through a year and don't get a new one."

Luna's brow curled upwards behind her bangs, "From what?"

He shrugged like it was the most normal thing ever to say, "What else? You saw last night, it's always something trying to kill me."

Princess Luna's mood sunk somewhat, looking over to a large slash mark going over his cheek. Some slow moments passed before she repeated the failed action of before, slowly reaching out without saying a word. Godzilla looked at her right in the eye without moving, until her hoof nearly touched him and caused him to lean away slightly to avoid contact. Aqua blue looked into yellow as the seconds ticked by. Luna didn't retract her hoof, and after a short time, Godzilla moved back to his original position. The fine edge of the alicorn's limb gently touched the scar. Luna trailed it very slowly across its length, a sad expression crossing her face. This mark in particular looked harsh.

"How did that one happen?..."

Junior closed his eyes, trying to ignore the odd warmth he felt on his snout and passing it off as the scar getting touched. Old memories of storming seas and thundering roars called out to him.

"Another monster, Orka. It was trying to get at a boat filled with beings called humans. I grabbed the boat and got it out of the way when the beast took a swipe at it. I didn't get myself out of harm's path fast enough."

Luna sighed, nodding. She held back her hoof a bit, before motioning to the elder scar at the unicorn's collar.

"And, that?"

Junior had a hard time seeing his own scar due to the angle of his head, but he didn't need to see it. He knew that one all too well.

"That? Bite wound from about twenty years ago. Got that one from my first fight in a city, was trying to drive a rampaging kaiju out of it," he bemusingly thought back, "That big red one you saw earlier, the bat winged mare, was the one who gave me it."

Junior glanced his scarred form over, remembering each and every one.

"Bitten, cut, stabbed, burned, gored, slashed, take your pick I suppose... probably had it happen about half a dozen times to me by now."

Luna tilted her head, her expression still saddened at what she was hearing. She knew what years of tribulation could be like, and wouldn't wish it on anyone. This unicorn had been through quite a lot.

The alicorn tilted her head, "Why fight so much? Seems each of these are from others of your own kind. Is your rule unpopular?"

Godzilla took in a very long breath through his nose, his head drooping noticeably as he closed his eyes.

"You're the real royal here. The 'King' part is mostly just a title, I mostly kept it because Lele told me it was imposing and sometimes that was all that was needed, he frowned, "Only some kaiju follow my lead. Many, many more do not. I fight because few others could have, many more couldn't."

"You are a guardian then?"

Junior just blinked at her plainly, "If last night wasn't a hint. I am, of humanity and those that deserve it."

Princess Luna hadn't blinked, studying him and his word, "... Why? Why should someone like you concern yourself so much with those that aren't your own kind?"

The unicorn sighed, shifting his head to the side and looking at the glimmering moon shining through the window.

He flinched briefly, frowning as he laid back; visibly tired or more than just his most recent wounds, "Lives would have been lost if I did nothing. Lives who did nothing wrong. What else was I supposed to do?"

He looked into the silver glow, recalling distant words spoken on a cool night back in the human lair he called his hatching place. Kyoto Institute of Biotechnics, or in other words, home. He remembered when he was small, it was the one time he could look his mother at eye level. He remembered snuggling up to her after the thunder had startled him awake, how she stayed with him until sleep overtook him. Most of all, he remembered her words. She had just been babbling to herself at the time, giving herself and her cause words of assurance. Dr. Gojo thought she'd been talking to a normal animal who'd imprinted on her. She didn't know her audience was sapient, and listening. She'd only figure that part out weeks later, and even then wouldn't have ever predicting how her 'son' had taken her words to heart.

Odo Island legend held the dinosaurs they called mythic sea dragons were shaped by mankind. The first of their number, in 1954, was given man's wrath and returned it in kind. The second of those dinosaurs, harmed by man and made lonely by them, lashed out in kind in 1984. But the third of their name, shown their best by a humble biologist, was shaped markedly differently.

Junior's mind continued to drift to the past, the only way he could know his mother again, "My mother once said, if there was something you had to offer to others. Something you did well, maybe better than anyone else.... Then it wasn't just a good idea to do those things, it was your responsibility to... I'm told the symbols your kind has exemplify that. For me; if I can fight off what other's can't, shouldn't I do it?"

Luna looked out in the same direction, sitting down on the edge of her bed. When she thought of millennia long since passed, the foreigner's words could easily have been her own. The alicorn turned and faced her right side to Junior, lifting up her wing. In the moon's glow he could just barely make out a long, jagged scar going across the base of her wing, being almost completely hidden under her fur and feathers. It was faded greatly, but he knew full well it was painful upon its birth. Junior reached for it slowly, very gently putting the edge of his hoof to the scar's line. His voice was a tiny whisper despite his surprise. True, the alicorn was a very potent fighter. But given his surroundings and her status, seeing any mark on her form was honestly unexpected.

He kept his surprise low-key in his voice, but it still seeped through, "How did you get this?"

Luna kept her voice low, a bit surprised at the contact but not negating it.

"I was very young. A teenager perhaps, was very long ago... Equestria," she reminisced to a bygone era, one with the likes of Commander Hurricane, Clover the Clever, and... Starswirl, "My sister and I got involved in a conflict our... caretakers, wanted to keep us out of. We were young but, even then we could tell we were far stronger than the norm. Such strength, demanded use. And given the enemies at the time, we couldn't stand by. There was... a battle, we invaded upon. A monster named Tirek was fighting a good friend of ours and I dove to save her. We did so, but Tirek caught me with his horn across the side."

Luna winced briefly from phantom pains as she slide her hoof beside her in a sweeping motion. The Night Princess shifted a bit, looking over her barely visible scar and distinctly recalling its birth. Her audience was captive and closely studying her more so than before, now that he wasn't anticipating any threat. Something told him she would be quite beautiful by her kind's standards but looking closely, he saw more. Ruffles in the fur, stretching in the skin, nicks in the soft tissue or muscle. More scars, more conflict. More like him.

"Your task isn't dissimilar from that of my sister and I's. We are called princesses and do rule, but only because the ponies wished it. Primarily we are Equestria's protectors, along with the new elements. Guardianship has its costs."

One of the alicorn's words did rouse up some interest in Junior, taking his focus away from her scar.

"Your sister, do you or her have any other family? I haven't seen many of your types around the castle."

Luna tilted her head back a bit to look at him out of the corner of her eye, before shaking her snout slightly.

"We alicorns are a rare breed. In our time there have only been four that I've known personally. Two of which were normal ponies whom ascended to their current status. Other than one of the ascended being adopted by Celestia as a niece, I have no other relation than my sister. Celestia is my only blood relative."

"No parents?"

"None that we know. We just sort of, popped up one day, a wizard named Starswirl helped raise us among others. "

Godzilla was a bit confused. She clearly hatched from no egg, least not that he knew of. But she had to have come from somewhere.

"Are you certain of that?"

Luna was silent for some moments, looking away from him and out the window as she zoned out.

"... I think, I might have heard my mother once. Not sure if was her or not but, I remember a mare's voice, one I've never heard before or since..."

"What did she sound like?"

Luna's face warmed greatly as she closed her eyes and relished the oldest memory she had. There was no sights or smells to recall, only the warmth of silky fur and a soft melody of a voice. It always made her happier remembering that.

"Soft, like a wind chime. Can't quite recall anything she said though. I never was sure if it really was 'her' at all but, somehow I know it.... All I can remember after that was us being raised by the group of ponies who found us in the woods."

She opened her eyes, glancing back to her only audience.

"And yourself? You mentioned your mother earlier. Are there others of your kind back in your home?"

Junior looked her back in the eye, his shoulder's shrugging.

"Similar circumstances to you I guess. I was found as an egg. Can't recall anything of my blood parents though, I'm adopted. Mother and father were very good in their own ways, so I never really cared. I was named after my adoptive father. Guess you could say he was the 'king' before I was."

Luna cast a small smile, nodding approvingly.

"Well, if what you all have said was true, I'd think he's very proud to have such a successor his 'prince' has grown up to be."

Junior's eyes widened briefly and he stopped breathing for a second. His vision moved downward as he slouched back. The scar on his chest was beginning to hurt with every pulse of his heart. Horrific images of demons and meltdowns blurred his vision briefly. He remembered the dusk when he had a father, and the dawn that he didn't. He really didn't like thinking about this and was trying to shun the memories away fast as he could.

"I hope he would have...."

The soft pressure on his shoulder and gentle cold seeping down from his horn helped dispel the remembrances. Princess Luna was quick to realize she hit a nerve and had acted upon it. She didn't need to know what exactly she'd said but judging from the reaction she had made an accurate guess. She put the tip of her long horn to Junior's own, seeping in a bit of her dream magic meant to cast away nightmares. She said nothing for a time as she held the unicorn in place by the shoulder, applying some more of her magic to keep him calm. After some time, his breathing relaxed as his hoof slowly cast itself on top of Luna's. The memories receded back into his mind.

Princess Luna slowly smiled before taking her limb away from the calmed unicorn. She knew a thank you when she saw it.

"You should sleep some more to restrengthen yourself, I've seen too it being a calm night. I'll send the doctors in at dawn to check in on you."

The alicorn and unicorn shared a smile before he slumped back down onto the bed. His tone still lacked reverence to his audience, but was devoid of gruffness or disrespect. He wasn't a commoner addressing royalty or a rival talking down to a foe. He was merely a friend talking to a friend.

"Alright then, good night Luna."

Princess Luna sighed, reaching for the door. She opened it slightly and turned her head. Her voice was barely more than a whisper in the shadows.

"Thank you, King of the Monsters."

Godzilla's eyes closed as he replied.

"Don't mention it, Princess of the Night."

========================
Noon the next day,
Crystal Empire, Imperial Library
========================

Blade Dancer adjusted her new, crystalline helmet as she paced through the library. So far her little plan had been giving her mixed results. Seeing her old captain, Shining Armor, again was a nice treat. Princess Cadance was just as amicable and kind as she remembered. The empire was a beautiful place and definitely was helping take her mind off matters. Still, her mind couldn't help but wander into a blur. Off thoughts she'd much rather not be thinking about kept seeping into her head no matter how much she tried to quell them. Lack of sleep from the night long train ride wasn't doing her many favors. Admittedly, she'd even had a hard time concentrating on what Shining Armor had told her in her meeting. Something about keeping a eye on someone with a weird name when they went out in public. Apparently the former guard got so fed up they quit.

Blade Dancer paced down a long aisle of books, looking around every which way. Situation wasn't looking very good.

-Oookaaay so I'm supposed to be guarding someone when I have no idea what they look like, in a place I have no clue how to get around in, in an empire I've never been too before. Way'ta botch a job you idiot...-

Worry was beginning to settle in, causing the mare to increase her pace. Unable to fly between the aisles well enough, she soon found herself lightly running down the rows and shelves of books. Looking every which way, she was looking down a hall when she rounded a corner and crashed into something face first. The object felt like a brick wall covered in light fur, and the impact's previous momentum caused Blade Dancer to stumble backwards. Tripping over her own tail, Blade Dancer soon found herself falling over onto her back with a loud grunt.

She grabbed at her head, her helmet knocked sideways and her vision being anything but clear. A blurry blob was approaching her. As her vision settled, Blade Dancer soon found herself looking up at a confused looking stranger. Or at least they would have been a stranger had she not immediately homed in on a ridge covered nose, short fangs, shoulder patches, and red-yellow eyes. Blade Dancer's eyes shot open with shock, crawling backwards a bit in fumbling attempts to get to her feet.

-WHAT!?! HOW DID HE?! WHY IS HE HERE?! WHY IS HE?!-

The crashed-into stallion just looked confused, advancing slowly to catch up to her as her latest attempt to rise caused a hoof to slip on her long mane.

"G-G-G-Godzilla?!?"

The stallion's confusion hit new levels. He had no clue what was going on or what was up with this mare, but he was about to find out. She knew a name, one he took great interest in.

-She's in on the secret if she knows Junior, must have mistaken me for him. But what does she know?-

Approaching the downed mare, he cornered her against a book shelf and leaned down. Blade Dancer froze in place as the 'Godzilla' sniffed at her neck and cheek.

It was only now she noticed that 'Junior' had blue fur and a very pale mane, along with a horn type she'd never seen before. Still, the invasion of space couldn't help but usher a small blush before he pulled away slightly.

"You smell like Icka'brod alright. Been around him haven't you?"

The stallion chuckled and backed up. Study from his given materials could wait a moment, this mare definitely had his attention. Blade Dancer meanwhile was a bit wide eyed, wondering what sort of situation she'd just found herself in and what this newcomer was talking about.

"Icka' who?"

The blue and white stallion sat back and smirked with a low key smile. Near invisible strands of telekinesis coiled around Blade Dancer and lifted her up before the pegasus could react. Before thoughts or fears of being thrown or crushed could come to her, she soon found herself gently levitated up and back down to her hooves before the sensations dissipated.

"Call it a nickname. But tell me, how do you know my baby brother?~"

The last two words made Blade Dancer's legs wobble a bit. The world was beginning to tilt again as the new realization smashed into her mind.

"Ba--aaaa-by- bro-ther?......oooy.."

Blade Dancer's vision blacked out after her eyes rolled up, and she went limp. Any flopping against the floor was averted by telekinetic energy wrapping around her and catching the pegasus mid-fall. Xenilla rolled his eyes and levitated the unconscious mare upwards. Shrugging to himself, he walked back to his study area, nonchalantly levitating the floating Blade Dancer behind him.

-Well there goes that entertainment. Hope you wake up quick.-

======
Zenith
======

A freezing cold breeze slithered through the long, dark halls. The only light within the black temple came from purple flames licking out of wall mounted torches. The cold bit into anything it gnawed at, but the owner of a tall shadow cast along the wall ignored it. Twin whip-like tails swayed in the chilled air as Monster X levitated a short distance above the ground. Legs bent as if sitting on his knees, the alien held his head down and arms crossed; completely motionless outside of his long tails' slow movement. He'd been like this for hours, possibly even a whole day so far. Killing time in a state like this was something he was particularly good at, given how often his previous 'masters', the Xilians, had him locked away so often inside that meteor. Why he was locked up so often was but one of his many questions to which he presumed had no clear answers. Answers was all in life he desired.

What exactly was he?
Where did he come from?
Why did he have no name?
Was he born this way or created?
Who was that voice that kept talking to him?
Why could he not remember anything past a point?

Why-why-why-why, it was a word he was quickly growing to loathe. The alien's eyes snapped open and he snapped back fully into the conscious realm, dropping to the floor as he skillfully landed on the balls of his feet. A small snarl seeped out from behind black fangs before he rose to his full height and turned. X stormed down the hall, not knowing if he should feel angered or saddened at his meditation's subject matter. Why was he even bothering to think about such trivial matters? He was a soldier serving his leader. That was all he ever needed to know. Part of his mind cried foul on his own credo, much to his disgust.

He slowly made his way down the temple's north wing, though the time had barely tampered his mood. The hall seemed to go on for miles at a time, and was near featureless during its entire length. He was on his way to check in on a familiar chamber, one he'd been to several times ever since he brought the albino gyaos back from Equestria. He'd been out for some time meditating for long enough, and was returning to check in on her progress. For all his time alone however, both for meditation and the long walk back; his mind refused to calm. At this point he was just hoping he wouldn't come back to find another attack in progress. There were things he wasn't in the mood for right now and one was having to break another one of Gaira's limbs.

-Then again Gigan could handle any situation with ease, I did tell him "do anything short of killing the moron" when I left him to the shift...-

He'd been walking for some time, the only sound in the long hallway being the click of his claws against the obsidian floor. Or at least it was until a low, serpentine hiss seeped out of a chamber to his right. Monster X halted and glared into the shadows, his blood red eyes looking into three sets of identical gazes. Golden scales crept into the light as Grand King Ghidorah stepped forth.

"Tell me whelp, do you remember what happened on your little home planet three hundred years ago?"

X retorted with a snarl, his muscles tensing up as he balled one hand into a tight fist. Not one second had passed around the golden demon and he already wanted this conversation to end. The answer to Ghidorah's question however only came to him as a barrage of more questions. Something about that date and age caused part of his mind to begin screaming at him for an answer. But try as he may, his attempts were as folly as attempting to read a book through a brick wall. Something barred his memory. He didn't like the monster talking about his home like this. He didn't want to be in Ghidorah's audience any longer.

Monster X averted his glare, neglecting to pay the three headed dragon any of his attention as he began to walk away. He had nothing to say to this monstrosity. Ghidorah's silvery tongue however had his ear in a choke hold.

"I could tell you, we have a lot in common you and I..."

X stopped mid-step and paused. The cold air around him hissed as he turned his head around slightly. The hateful glare coming out of the corner of the black and white kaiju's eye could have shattered stone. X's tails threshed the air like a pair of flails. It didn't take any mind probing for Ghidorah to know the black and white kaiju was fanaticizing about throttling him right now.

"No.We.Don't..."

With that, Monster X stormed off down the hall. His threatening tone and glare however failed to even phase King Ghidorah. The three headed dragon cracked a fang filled grin as he crept back into his shadows. He read the xilian creation like a book. Getting under that knock-off's skin and playing his emotions like an instrument was always so much fun. X might not have remembered, but Ghidorah did. He remembered the reddened twin moons of centuries past. He could still recall the gray planet burning to death. And when he beheld the memory of a three headed monstrosity going on a rampage as he watched on, Ghidorah almost cackled in demented glee.

-He doesn't even remember... Interesting~...-

It felt like almost an hour's worth of walking before Monster X's internal rage had quelled. After all, he'd arrived at his destination. Passing wordlessly by Gigan, X gave his old friend a small nod in thanks before entering the room. Thankfully judging from the lack of new body parts on the floor and not a drop of blood on Gigan's scythes, Gaira seemed to have learned from his previous failure. That isn't to say however that nothing had changed in the darkened chamber. X's red eyes glowed in the black shade, looking over at a pale form standing with its back to him.

Streaks of past slash wounds had long since faded to thin lines, and the burning marks had more or less vanished. Hyper Gyaos was back to her old health, and judging from the fact she was wolfing down something; Monster X could guess why. He'd noticed Gaira's previously amputated arm was missing when he arrived, but did well to hide any of his disgust upon seeing a flash of green flesh get gnashed between the albino's fangs. Hyper Gyaos was ravenous when she woke up, and meat was meat to her one way or another.

He waited until she finished, evidently causing the former flock leader to notice her visitor's presence. Hyper Gyaos turned around slowly to face him, wiping off some blood spilt across her snout with her wrist. Even as she tried to hold firm, Gyaos' body language betrayed her. She was distressed at something, but it wasn't at someone being present as much as it was something that wasn't. A nanosecond twitch of her pink eyes looked to her surroundings for something, frequently up at the ceiling. Up where things that could fly would be roosting if they were present. The Xilian vanguard was quick to figure out what was up. Social species hated being alone, and an anxious fighter was nothing but a liability. It gave him an idea.

"Have you recovered sufficiently to venture out?"

Hyper Gyaos tried her best to hold her voice firm, looking the alien right in the eye.

"Yes."

"Fair enough. The master had given me a scouting expedition for a parallel realm running alongside to Equestria. You are going to leave as well."

Monster X turned around and began to walk towards the doorway. He stopped at the halfway point, glancing over his shoulder.

"Well, are you coming or not?..."

The albino gyaos' mood refused to lift, as she stood there in silence. But something told her staying in a featureless, cold, pitch black cell wasn't going to aid in that observation. Simply put, she felt like she had nowhere else to go but away from here. Hesitating for a bit, she took a step forth before rising up to her full height. Her head drooped a bit as she walked, but nevertheless the last of the gyaos followed. She had nowhere else to go anyways. Out of the chamber, down the darkened halls, and to the gaping portal. They said not a single word to each other during the long march nor when they stepped through the paper thin wall to a new dimension.

The next thing Hyper Gyaos saw upon trailing Monster X through the dimensional gateway was the steps to a large building, with bipedal forms walking all around them.

Her body suddenly felt very weird....

-Why do I smell primates?...!?!?!?!-

Publishing a tad early so I can get to work on the next chapter, hope ya'll enjoy!

Proofreading by Skylark and Faith-Wolff
Artwork (Coming Soon) by Faith-Wolff

Godzilla, Xenilla, Monster X, and Ghidorah as well as related roster property of Toho Studios
Gyaos property of Daiei
MLP:FiM property of Hasbro Studios

KAIJU'VERSE TIMELINE
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

NEXT TIME ON THE BRIDGE:
Tis the season to be jolly, only Sunset Shimmer meets someone who has no idea how to be.

===================
Outside Canterlot High
===================

As soon as she and Monster X stepped through the portal, Hyper Gyaos noticed her body felt strange and noted two things. Firstly, it was much brighter here than back in Zenith and forced her vision to blur momentarily. Secondly, as she sniffed around whilst her sight was clearing; this place reeked of monkeys. It didn't seem to make any sense to the kaiju. If this was a parallel realm to Equestria, then she should be picking up equines.

-Why do I smell primates?...-

Both kaijus' vision cleared at the same time and they both froze up. They were standing beside a statue of some sort in front of a large building. It was snowing, with odd decorations strung about every which way. And there were humans everywhere! The dark duo stood still for a few moments and tensed up, bracing for one of the crowds to notice them and spur a panic. They waited ten seconds in a guarded stance, X putting his forearms up as Gyaos got on all fours to charge. But far from a scream, the only response the two got was a young blue haired man with oddly yellow skin glancing at them with a confused look and a raised eyebrow as he passed by. The kaiju stood still, Hyper Gyaos whispering over to her cohort after a moment passed.

"Shouldn't they be reacting a little more than this?"

"I don't know... But I feel small again. That blue haired one wasn't much shorter than me."

It took a moment's breath for Gyaos to notice how cold her hands felt in the snow. They were only numbing slightly but she couldn't even feel her claws. What's more, the kaiju had the oddest feeling something was covering her. Her eyes were slowly widening, noticing her snout was missing. She jolted up to her feet and stared blankly in front of her. Judging from the sound of X's arms dropping as he got into a similar pose, he'd reached a similar thought. The two slowly turned and looked at each other.

-"......!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!"-

The entity standing in front of Hyper Gyaos was no extraterrestrial. It was a tall man wearing a large overcoat and boots. The jet black skin, blood red eyes, and white-gray hair along with his clothes' black and white color scheme however registered who she was looking at, despite her memory calling foul. If she had to estimate physical age, she'd put him at mid twenties. However it was the only guess she could make based off size and build, given the man's face was covered in a white mask and scarf.

As Hyper Gyaos was looking up, X was looking down at both the foreign and familiar at the same time. The woman was tall for a human female, though still about a head shorter than himself. The hair was moderately long and straight, reaching down to the hoodie she was wearing. The rest of the female's attire was mildly ragged and worn. And most of it was all just as pale as she was. The only color on her aside from her eyes was occasional dashes of purple, be it a strand of her bangs, the gem mounted on her choker; and a particularly perplexing length of fabric attached to the upper body's apparel. Pink eyes looked back up at him with a mutually bewildered look.

The wind blew between the two as they stood there more frozen than the snow falling around them.

"WHAT....THE....F-"

An all too familiar voice pierced through their minds, addressing them in a telepathic beckoning. It was one they instantly dropped their confusion and paid attention to. It was the master speaking. The air around them instantly felt incredibly cold and dark, much more so than any snow or storm could muster.

-"This world is unique from the others, having another barrier all of its own. Even time itself flows differently in this realm. I had to force the barrier open as its cycle wasn't finished."-

-"Cycle?"-

-"I brought you two there because that world is connected to Equestria, a parallel realm. However it's only like this for limited periods of time, probably based on a lunar count. Because I willed it to connect, there may be some... changes... now that you've arrived."-

-"Y-Yes I'm looking right at one...."-

-"Pay it no heed, but make haste. I wish not to waste energy holding this realm in place. The cost of keeping the portal to Zenith open grows every second. You two have six hours at most to scout around. Bring back anything of value if you can acquire it, but do not get left behind. I sense three objects of suitable power nearby."-

-"We will do as you wish master."-

-"It is well then. Return to this statue within three hundred and sixty hundred minutes to report back to Zenith. You best not be late..."-

The cold presence left them and retreated back through the portal, leaving the two transformed kaiju standing alone in a crowd. Finally noting the cold through the lack of a hide to shield her, Gyaos couldn't help but curl her now wingless arms in and shiver slightly. Two minutes in a new world in a new body and she was already hating every bit of it.

X meanwhile was testing his fingers, thankful his new body was at least somewhat akin to his old one. It only took a moment to compensate his balance from lack of a tail.

"Well, if the artifacts are likely within this settlement's limits, a disguise would be useful for weaving in between the humans. Given the local's appearance we should blend in fine. Can you manage?"

The albino gyaos wasn't having as easy a time. True, she was able to swap between bipedalism and quadropedalism easily. But even when on two legs she was used to holding her body near parallel to the ground and letting her now nonexistent tail and wings balance her. She attempted to take a step, reaching out and supporting herself on the tall statue behind her. Monster X reached forward, offering a hand to help his teammate steady.

"Well? I asked if you can manage? If the new form is too muc-"

She smacked away his gloved hand with a swiping motion, hissing lowly.

"Give me a moment!"

The gyaos took a determined step, managing not to wiggle as badly as before. She stood upright and held her stance proudly.

"See? I'm fine."

She managed to take a few slow but steady steps to prove her point, rapidly adapting. The albino young woman snorted, looking at the red eyes staring down at her through a mask. Gyaos cleared her throat and quelled her spiteful sounding tone.

"Now... these 'artifacts', what are they?"

"Items that contain or can conduct large amounts of stored energy. Akin to a massive battery. If this place is anything like Equestria, expect magic of some sort. As for the container, if it's not obvious by look or title, expect it to be contained in a piece of jewelry or apparel. Can you sense energy sources?"

"Like a magnet if I'm close enough."

"Good. Then as a general rule; if it's radiating a lot of power, grab it."

The albino gyaos turned young woman looked around at the crowds and the nearby township. The buildings seemed to go on for miles. Shrunken down and grounded, that was a lot of ground to cover even with six hours. She couldn't hide a groan.

"So what, we just amble around until we sense something?"

"Sense or get clues to. More valuable the place looks, more likely it is to contain something. I found quite the potent artifact in a vault on my last run. Failing that however, I'd recommend we seek out the human population clusters."

Blood red eyes scrutinized the passing, technicolored groups passing around their owner.

"If one of the humans has an artifact on their person, being in a place with more of them should increase our chances. Time is wealth."

The pale female nodded and after taking some cautious steps, managed to walk off towards a crowd. When her cohort attempted to follow however, she needed only to glance backwards slightly before holding her arm out in the universal 'Stop' motion. Gyaos looked at the passing crowds, eying some as she tried to keep the nagging hunger pains in her stomach from flaring up.

"Best if we split up to cover more ground. If the master thinks there are multiple items here then they might be scattered... Besides I work best solo."

Her own lie was blatant as a beached whale, both to herself and her audience. After several moments however, a calm but low voice behind her replied. Her wishes were being respected.

"So be it, I will see to the south end of the town. Try not to make a big scene, it will only slow our effort's down. I care not for these humans, but only kill or maim if you must."

The hyper gyaos dropped her arm and took in a deep breath of cold winter air. Her heart and mind calmed but sunk, and tiny specks of regret fizzled up. Even in a crowd of humans, she hated being alone. Sighing, she closed her eyes and turned around to face him.

"...Sorry, I know you brought me along to help but I-...."

Her pink eyes reopened, but only saw several deep boot prints spaced out in the snow leading up to a building. A flashing blur of black and white vaulting itself over the edge of the roof signaled departure. Several passersby apparently had seen the escape and were mumbling to themselves, one of them typing something on their phone. The gyaos merely rolled her eyes, her mood souring again. Turning back around, she put her hands in her hoodie's pockets to keep them from freezing and walked off into the crowds; half mumbling and half grumbling.

"Show off..."

=================
Apartment Complex
=================

Sunset Shimmer grunted and grimaced as she finally managed to link in her artificial Christmas tree to its base after almost an hour of toiling. Wiping off her forehead, she stepped back and checked to make sure she hadn't accidentally put the tree up lopsided or crooked for the third or fourth time. Thankfully, this time it was both straight as an arrow and NOT so tall it was trying to go straight through her ceiling. That last thought gave her the mental note to not let Pinkie pick the tree model ever again, her apartment didn't have a four meter ceiling.

The former unicorn prodigy walked backwards and flopped down on her worn out couch to catch her breath. Four years in this world and Christmas, or any other December holiday for that matter, still didn't make much sense to her. The emotional side of charity and good will made enough sense, being comparable to Hearth's Warming and now had all the more importance to her now that she had friends to share it with. But the rest of it? Weird, just plain weird.

The humans put up fake trees in their livings rooms and put decorations on it only to take them down in about a month. You go out into the snow and sing at your neighbors' houses. And most of all was this Santa Claus figure. Nearly half a decade as a human and Sunset Shimmer was mostly convinced he was merely mythology, but the way everyone treated him so importantly did leave her wondering. From the best she could understand he was some sort of burglar who breaks into ones house via a chimney of all places, eats all your cookies and milk, and then leaves presents or coal behind depending on if you're nice or not. Never mind the issue of him giving already rotten people highly flammable material, the part about how he supposedly knows one's mortality creeped Sunset out to no end. What's so jolly and comforting about some magical stranger who can see you when you're awake or asleep at all times?

Taking a sip of some coco she'd brewed up earlier, the red and yellow haired teenager couldn't help but smile as she looked at her tree. Weirdness aside, Sunset couldn't help but admit the cheeriness of the holiday was rubbing off on her. And why not feel a bit happy? Raging she-demon episode behind her, life had been good. Twilight Sparkle's pack of friends had accepted her into their fold, schooling was a bit rough but manageable, and while she still got a few odd looks around town; her adoptive world was growing on her. True, there was some issues. She still hated going off alone for one thing, drew too much attention than she ever wanted to bear without some support.

Regardless, The most notable of all of her remaining problems however was a feeling. It was a small sensation, lodged in the back of her mind. Usually choked and drowned with the joys in life, but still refusing to go away entirely. Call it a vibe, but as she sipped her warm drink, Sunset couldn't ignore it. Something felt like it was amiss. Despite the winter holiday cheer, an invisible sliver of strife seemed to have wormed its way into town. Some people had been acting very strange lately, out of character. Rainbow Dash mentioned some of the soccer team sporadically getting so over competitive and angered at eachother one minute; and then completely fine and normal the next like nothing happened. Some of the animals at the shelter had been freaking out all week despite holiday adoptions and Fluttershy's best efforts. And all this was a drop in the bucket compared to a sporadic Black Friday brawl that kicked up out of nowhere in the mall. That place turned into pure anger driven chaos at the drop of a hat despite the shopping crowds having been peaceful just prior. Well, least as peaceful as Black Friday shoppers got. Numerous episodes of people getting competitive, angry, and argumentative for no clear reason kept popping up around town at random.

Sunset put her empty cup down and moved to her small dresser, fetching some of her thicker clothes.

-If this was Equestria, I'd be the first to call magical shenanigans. But here that would make no sense. This world had no inherent magic aside from things influenced by Twilight's element.-

She slipped on her coat and boots, throwing her small backpack over her shoulder as she made for the door.

-Maybe it's just humans being humans?-

She headed out the apartment and was soon on her way to the fair grounds. Applejack was quite insistent she join the five on their trip to the carnival's opening day. There would be lots of crowds, but thankfully with five friends there to go with; the trek there should be the most nerve wracking part right?

Trying to chuckle a bit, Sunset's mind inevitably fumbled over to the last topic she was thinking of. If spell casting was at work, no matter how improbable it was; the enchanter could be causing the problems in town via manipulation. There was one other detail she remembered, one Rarity mentioned before her fashion show turned into a miniature riot.

-Singing, someone was singing when it happened.... Celestia told me once some spells can be cast through voice....-

============
Downtown
============

X looked down into the passing crowds as he crouched down and rested his chin on a fist. In the past hour he'd managed to circle the main downtown district and so far wasn't having much luck. There was a museum nearby, but unlike his previous endeavor a quick walk through confirmed the artifacts there were magically inert. He was getting similar findings from the town hall and other buildings that might contain something valuable, so if there were worthy artifacts nearby they likely weren't stashed somewhere. If they were indeed within the local area, they were mostly likely on someone's person. Thus he's resigned himself to finding the largest crowds he could to increase his chances.

So far his observations from up on his perch had bore some fruit. The humans seemed to be moving in patterns and trends, with many passing by below him as they funneled into the mall entrance. If he stayed around a bit longer, he might begin to pick up something from the crowds passing below. Still, crouching down on top of a street light like a perched vulture had given him some odd looks. Thankfully, nothing had spurred from any of them outside some passing perplexed glanced. He didn't want to cause a scene and was happy nothing had come of any passersby. If it did that would just complicate matters more than he cared for.

The alien kaiju turned human looked down at the shoppers as they passed. An analytical mind, he saw and noted nearly everything before him. Women, men, adults, adolescences, sub-adults, juveniles, children; and every category imaginable was accounted for. Many of them moved in groups, be it families or friends. Some were silent and merely walked forward, others wrapped up in conversation between one another; and others still occupied themselves with their own devices. Several juvenile males running by and racing each other up the mall's steps as they laughed, a pair of women seating themselves at a bench sharing a smile as one rubbed the other's swollen stomach, a man and woman walking to the front doors hand in hand with several younglings surrounding them. It all looked so familiar for something entirely new.

It was the first time the Xilian's personal weapon of mass destruction could see a living and thriving settlement up close with so many live humans. During the conflict the humans called Final War, the only time he saw any on Terra was when he was busy fighting the military in either rural areas or long since evacuated cities. Truth be told, humans aside it was the first time he was in a living settlement in what felt like decades. It had been years since he even touched down on planet Xilian, let alone in any one of their great cities from anywhere but a distance. His life for as long as he could remember it had been ordered and structured to the letter, with little exception. His master, the line of Xilian leaders called the Controllers, sent him to where he was needed. He fought what he was told to fight. He went where he was told to go. He destroyed what he was told to destroy. And then as soon as he was finished he was ordered away and locked in that comet they housed him in. He'd dutifully stay there and meditate until he was called upon again, and the process repeated. Sometimes his sense of time felt vague when in meditation, the months and years always tended to blur. Sometimes it felt like only days had passed, despite decades flying by. Other times felt like years locked away in solitude, whilst he was later informed only weeks had been spent. Wasn't like it really mattered, he served his master and just followed their orders. That was all he needed to do.

Still, looking at the passersby below and occasionally walking amongst them; felt so unique. It wasn't anything like the military parades he'd occasionally be tasked to take part in decades ago. He didn't feel like a walking skyscraper looming over the passerby. Here he walking about and being part of a crowd while surrounded by others like himself. It felt natural with a disturbing amount of déjà-vu, even if humans were so damn ugly. It all was as uncanny as it was unsettling. X grumbled, brushing aside any thought on the previous matter. He had a job to do and for that he had to focus.

Shifting his weight off the balls of his feet and grabbing onto the street light's pole, the kaiju turned human swung down from his perch and slid downwards. Kicking off midway, he skillfully threw himself onto a low rooftop. After rolling across the roof a short distance to spring to his feet, X soon took off across the rooftop, vaulting himself onto the neighboring building. With all these crowds choking the streets, it was the best way to cover as much ground as possible.

As he leaped onto the roof of the mall itself and sped across the structure's surface, he could already feel his luck begin to change. Like a trail of scent, he was beginning to pick up an energy signal he was quite familiar with by now. Energy, lots and lots of abnormally flowing energy. Halting at a skylight to a small shop within the structure, X stopped and listened to home in on the enchanted radiation's source. Down below there were a lot of humans acting completely different from the ones outside. Hardly seemed like there was a single one not bickering with another. All except two that were isolated in the corner. They were too busy singing. X's eyes locked onto them, studying the subtle glow coming from an ornaments on their necks.

============
Winter Carnival
============

The albino gyaos hated a lot of things in her life. She hated growing up in a flock of ravenous monsters. She hated feeling like she was starving every few hours. She hated having to fight for her life numerous times, as often against her own flock as an outside force. She hated having to live with her species everyday of her live. And she hated having to be the one to condemn her kind to eventual extinction, being coated in their blood.

Though this trip, this little run around that alien had brought her along for. It was giving her a lot more to get angry at. She hated how the cold nipped at her body, wishing for the tropical warmth she was born in. She hated being stuck in this diminutive form, feeling so small it was insulting. And she absolutely hated the fact she was now grounded, wanting nothing more than to fly away from this whole mess.

The alien had brought her here to try and snap her out of her depression, this she was sure of. But she managed to botch that effort not ten minutes into the attempt by driving him off. Despite her power, the woman couldn't help but have wary eyes that looked around her as she moved with the crowd to the entrance of some festival. Despite being around many, it was only foreigners amongst her. She was surrounded, but totally alone. And as a social species, that perhaps was what she hated most.

Still, new body seemed to have some small perks to it, least once she got walking down. For one, the alien was right and it was well suited to not drawing attention. The humans here were far more colorful than the ones back on Terra, so her odd palette apparently didn't stick out much. Secondly, while she still felt a tad ravenous; her hunger cramps had remained at somewhat within tolerable, non-pain inducing levels.

The warm smell of cooking flesh soon greeted her nose and aroused her full attention.

-Well, not to say I'm not up for a bite. Never could focus when on an empty stomach-

Wandering through and out of the crowd, she soon found herself standing in front of a sizable food stall. She cared little for whoever this 'Barbeque' was or what a 'Fair Ticket' was for. She was too focused on the hack of turkey leg sitting and smoking on the counter.

Sunset Shimmer hopped off the bus and strode up to the entrance of the fairgrounds. She had just walked up to the front when a particular sight gave her pause. They were all in there. Every last boy and girl of her school was going about their business between the booths. Her entry into the fair was effectively blocked, there was no way she was getting anywhere near that crowd alone. Already she was on the receiving end of some unwanted glances and glares. Almost on cue, her phone vibrated and the former unicorn whipped it out. Only a few people had her number, so any call at this point could only mean one of two things. Either a telemarketer from India was calling again, or one of a certain group of five was calling in. Hoping and praying it was the later, Sunset's face grew to a small smile upon seeing it was a text from Pinkie Pie.

Unfortunately it's content quickly squashed the hope that her friends were on their way to walk inside the fair with her.

-"Srry SS, AJ's van got a flat on teh road and we're going to need a new 1. Rainbow Dash did pound Abott"-

Sunset Shimmer looked at the last line of the text with bewilderment. She understood the car problems part, but who did what now?! She understood human slang and really hoped she wasn't reading what she thought she was reading. Fortunately another text popped up several moments later to clarify.

-"OOOH WOOOOW I am so srry! Freaking Autocorrect. Rainbow Dash did a ROUND ABOUT and it messed up the tire. So we're gonna be delayed biggie time."-

Sunset couldn't stop herself from mentally swearing as she typed out the reply. Her heart sunk upon hitting the send button, but a barrage to her ears ripped away all attention. Someone was having a shouting match. Half expecting someone to be yelling at her, she looked up to the barbeque booth a few meters away to find it wasn't the case. A deathly pale young woman looked like she was gearing up to clobber Mr. Smokey Bones over the head with a turkey leg she'd half eaten. A leg that judging from the chef's shouting dialogue, she hadn't paid the fair tickets for. Mr. Bones made a lunge, calling out for some help as he grabbed the woman by the wrist. Sunset held her breath and ran forward.

The gyaos was just about to sink her shrunken but still present fangs into the pestering primate's wrist for daring to touch her, when a flash of yellow and red shot up beside her. A yellow hand popped up in front of the chef, holding several slips of parchment.

"Sorry, here's the tickets!"

Both the kaiju turned human and Smokey Bones froze in an awkward moment. The chef raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the younger woman.

"She with you Ms. Shimmer?"

"Y-Yes, just from out of town and forgot her tickets. Sorry for the trouble sir."

The gyaos was still motionless and thoroughly confused as to what was going on. She refrained from any tooth to wrist contact, the alien's words reasserting themselves. The man let go of her and began talking to the young female, but she barely paid any attention to their words. If the situation was defused, no need to cause a bloody mess. Right now she just wanted her food and to not be harassed.

"Well sorry for the mix up, thought I was getting swindled."

Sunset's vision was half cast on Mr. Smokey and half on the multiple sets of eyes she could feel upon her, making the whole situation more awkward by the moment. She still wasn't quite sure why she intervened, but someone had to help out. It's what Celestia or Twilight would have wanted of her, and she couldn't just stand by.

"It's okay, just a little misunderstanding. Have a good day!"

Smokey Bones smiled and rang up the charge as Sunset finally got the chance to step out of the limelight. She gently hooked her arm around the strange woman's free arm and started motioning for them to depart. The contact snapped the hyper gyaos back to attention and she needed to mentally resist the urge to throw the younger female off. Still, instinct barred her. She sighed, taking a large bite out of her turkey leg and followed Sunset Shimmer's motion and let herself be towed. Besides, if sticking around this company got her some food without any threat, maybe she'd hang around for a bit. Not like she particularly enjoyed going off on her own.

Sunset Shimmer towed them along through the fairgrounds for some time. Thankfully her plan to blend into the crowd and not be singled out had succeeded to taking some prying eyes off of her and her new cohort. Only issue now was she realized she was currently walking around with a complete stranger who had worse table manners than Rainbow Dash. Didn't help that four years in a world full of omnivores and she was still unable to so much as touch meat. Despite her wariness, she still didn't let go both for fear of now being alone in a festival full of her classmates and on the off chance this poor lady got herself into more trouble. Judging from the occasional confused look she picked up from the white skinned woman, she'd only get lost more than she already seemed to be if Sunset left her alone right now. Darn holiday generosity was rubbing off on her again.

The albino finished off her meal in record time and opted not to chew off the cartilage or snap the bone open to get at the marrow, following the example of a human she'd seen and tossing it into a large can. Finally, her stomach ceased its growling and she felt sated. The gyaos let out a content sigh as the red and yellow one motioned for them to sit down on a nearby bench. She did so, only for a long moment of silent awkwardness to pass them by.

"....So, I hope you enjoyed your turkey?...hehe eeh..."

The pale woman's voice was remarkably quiet, and very blank.

"Yes, it was good..."

"Yoooou here for the fair?"

"Just wandering through."

Sunset could catch a hint about someone who didn't want to talk. She silenced herself and her awkward attempts at small talk. However when the former unicorn tried to pull away, the arm curled around her's pulled her in slightly. She heard a small but course sigh. The gyaos looked over at the human, a foreign expression creeping onto her face as warmth hit her chest and the corners of her mouth rose slightly. Her voice lightened up considerably.

"Thanks, by the way... I wasn't in the mood to fight over food."

Sunset Shimmer looked back and returned the smile, nodding. The pale newcomer was definitely not a face she'd seen around town before, so her earlier statement to Smokey Bones about her being not from around here was looking to be coincidentally accurate. Age wise she actually didn't look that much older than Sunset herself. She'd gander only a half decade or so to the 19 year old's elder; putting her in the mid twenties at most. Heck, given a color change and perhaps a slightly different facial build; and newcomer could easily pass as a big sister or cousin.

"Welcome, seemed like you needed some help and it was the right thing to do. I'm Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset offered the pale woman her hand to shake, but the would-be receiver just looked at her hand with a confused expression. The albino gyaos was only sure of one thing, this yellow and red female was just as weird as any other human. Still, there wasn't any hint of malign intent coming out of the one sitting to her right, even if her mannerisms were strange. And as much as she wanted to ignore it, the primate's presence surprisingly was not pestering her. She looked up from the yellow hand and at Sunset's face. Her voice had defrosted a bit from earlier, but still was as dull as it was quiet.

"Greetings then, I'm not used to charity..."

Sunset Shimmer blinked a few moments before slowly retracting her hand. The much maligned sense of unease and awkwardness was creeping back in.

"Um.. sorry, I've not really gone out of town much. But around here when someone gives you their name I think you're supposed to give them yours back."

"Oh..."

The pale woman's face slipped down a bit as she leaned forward and looked to her lap.

"Apologies then, I don't have one to give you."

Sunset Shimmer's confusion blotted out any of her own negativity and doubt. She tilted her head. It took the high-schooler a moment to figure out if the pink-eyed one was lying to her and simply not wanting give her name out, or if she was being brutally honest. Thankfully hanging around Applejack so long rubbed off, and she was able to pick out it being truthful.

"Huh? Why's that? I mean, everyone has a name right? You know, the title your family gives you when you're born so you know when someone's calling you?"

Bad thoughts slithered through the kaiju's mind and festered like a plague. If that was something families did, her's was the exception. If you could even call her upbringing a family. Her siblings, her aunts, her grandparent, even her own mother tried to kill her at one time or another. When a gyaos got hungry enough, there were no barriers on what was food. She was just the one who was cursed with a conscious and knew who was trying to tear her throat out. Still, she had to stay with a flock of flying piranha. In a world out to kill her, the flock, that cannibalistic, vile, hateful, evil horde; was the only thing she had. An all too familiar emotion was seeping in slowly.

"Mine didn't."

Painful memories were flickering forth when a hand gently cast itself onto her own. The albino snapped her head up to see the slightly frowning face of Sunset Shimmer looking back at her. The unicorn had read her face, and drawn her own conclusions.

-Poor soul, probably from an abusive family...-

"Is your family here?"

"....No..."

The pale woman sat back, leaning her head up. For reasons unknown to her, she felt a clamping on her chest. Her eyes began to feel a bit wet. Why was she bothering to speak with this half fur-less monkey? It was only a waste of time. She wanted to leave now. The gyaos attempt to will herself to get up and walk, no, run away. Get free of this human and her words. She tried to rise... She failed. Something kept her drawn in like a magnet. She unconsciously squeezed Sunset's hand a bit firmer. Her words were as true as they were painful, in ways she knew the human could never guess, never understand. But that didn't seem to matter.

"I, freed myself from them awhile ago...."

Sunset sighed, leaning back into her seat.

"So, you're alone huh? No friends either?"

The gyaos let her vision drift to the skies above, her world beginning to zone out.

"Yes, I'm flying solo..."

The former unicorn's face drooped a bit more as all too familiar memories came back to light. Ones of self exile, demons, turning her back on everything and anyone around her. Sunset Shimmer looked up at the sky high above. 'Alone' that was a word she'd known well for four years. Four years away from her first home, her first teacher. One of the snow clouds high above vaguely reminded her a winged, horned equine. One who's fur was as white as the falling snow.

-Just like I was...-

But amongst the nightmarish memory came remembrance of joys. That fourth year, she'd learned something. Good days and years, surrounded by company. All thanks to the example of a purple alicorn who became a woman. It was in that fourth year she truly had a new home.

"You know, a friend of mine once told me something about situations like yours when I was experiencing it."

Pink eyes cast themselves upon Sunset before she looked back at them. Her head told her it was impossible for some talking monkey to tell her anything of value. Something in her chest told her otherwise.

"Even if you lose all of your circle of friends or family... If you work hard enough, you can get a new one."

"But how do you do that?"

Sunset's smile was as warm as her namesake.

"Invite people you like in. But, one step at a time I suppose. Wanna start with a name for yourself for your friends to call you?

The pale woman looked to Sunset. She said nothing to object, her gaze curious. Sunset proceeded.

"How abooooout-"

She looked the woman over, almost wishing they were back in Equestria. An off glance at a cutie mark was usually more than enough to at least guess at a name. But they weren't in any realm of magical talent tattoos, so she had to make do with what she had. Looking over any feature on the confused face, she immediately homed in on the pearl-hued irises.

"...Irys?"

The former gyaos blinked a few times, looking down as her lip puzzled. It took some time before she looked up at Sunset Shimmer. Slowly and steadily, the albino woman in a sweater cracked her first full, honest, happy smile in her life. She nodded a bit, chuckling slightly.

"....Yes, I like that one.... My name is Irys."

"Well then Irys-"

Sunset Shimmer sat up and offered Irys a hand up. This time she understood the gesture and took it.

"I guess I've got the honor of being your first friend."

======
Mall
======

Adagio Dazzle was a siren with ambition. The ring leader of a certain trio, she was the one who came up with the idea to enter this town to hunt down a surge of magic. She was the who came up with all the plans and schemed to the group's gains. She however was not present in the Canterlot Mall. Instead the cause of rampant shoplifting and at least two fights security needed to break up were her two lackeys. Sonata Dusk, living proof one could possibly be even more of a ditz than Derpy Hooves; and Aria Blaze, possibly one of the most easily annoyed and bored sentients in existence.

Sonata spun around a bit, letting her new and 'free of charge' jacket sway a bit, hardly noticing bickering women surrounding her. Of all the attires she'd tried on in the past hour, this was probably the one she'd walk home with. Purple did look nice on her. Still, a second opinion never could hurt. She waltzed over to the counter where a half reclined Aria laid down reading a book.

"Eeeeeey Ari', think I should get this one oooor the red one?"

A low grumble sounded off as the second siren sat up and snapped her book shut. Green, smoky energy, invisible to all but themselves, still trickling into the pulsing red gem on her necklace. Aria disliked being interrupted whilst eating, loathed her concentration being snapped; and outright hated giving fashion advice. Didn't help the questioner was a moron. She shrugged, rubbing her temple.

"Sonata... You know well as I do that I really don't give a damn about clothing. But, I won't snap this time... I'm JUST going to say, pick sooomething that'll mean you won't complain about freezing your toes off in like last night when the heater shut down... Peachy?"

Sonata's eyes narrowed for a moment, but softened quickly as she rolled them.

"Meh, purple then I guess. None of us really looked good in red anywhooddles."

Aria shrugged and laid back down to keep feeding. Humans were so easy to stir up, but draining away even this much strife was like trying to fill a plus sized swimming pool with a spray bottle. Progress was made, so long as she kept at it; but it was agonizingly slow. She whipped her book back out to pass the time as Sonata went back to the clothes aisles.

Shoving her way past two arguing couples, the blue siren hummed to herself as she snatched up a deep purple sweater. She had just started to hold it up to get a better look at it when she noticed something about the skylight above. Or rather, what was on the skylight above her. A pair of large gloved hands. Trailing her point of focus down the arms, she soon found herself looking into a pair of bright red eyes partially hidden behind a white mask. It was a large figure clad in black, bracing itself against the glass and looking down at her.

Sonata half hiccupped and looked up wide eyed. After a few wayward glances to try and track its point of view, she verified it was staring directly at her. The mask clad head tilted, almost curiously, but didn't blink. And with that it was thoroughly freaking the young woman out. She kept her wide eyed expression as she walked backwards to the counter. She whispered.

"Aria..."

The blood red eyes looked down at her neck, narrowing slightly.

"Aaaaarrrriaa..."

Averting her vision for a moment, Sonata dropped the sweater and grabbed Aria by the shoulder and shook it.

"ARIA!"

The purple siren snarled and jolted upwards.

"WHAT!?!"

"There's someone looking at me..."

Aria couldn't have hit her own forehead with her palm any harder. Her voice was a mix of a whisper and grumble.

"...Is it the guy from the Taco stand you charmed again?..."

"No! Up in the skylight, freaky red eyes!"

Both sirens looked up at the skylight to see...absolutely nothing but some passing pigeons and scattered snowflakes. Sonata's eyebrows raised as Aria glared at her before lightly bopping Sonata on the head with her thankfully paperback novel.

"Ey!"

"There's NOTHING there Sonata."

"But there was a-"

"You probably just imagined it like you did that tooth fairy."

"It broke into my room I swear!"

"You nearly set the cabin on fire..."

"Hey the hairspray and lighter were the only weapons on hand and that thing was coming at me! How was I supposed to know cotton curtains were that flammable?!"

Aria grumbled loudly and rubbed her temple to ease a taught nerve.

"I thought I told you to stop watching Twilight Zone late at night."

Sonata's face drooped considerably. Aria shrugged, rolling her eyes before leaning down and picking up the magenta sweater, handing it to the blue siren.

"Look. Just, go back to trying stuff on okay? Security's probably going to show up soon if one of these humans starts another fight."

Sonata nodded a bit, taking the sweater and wordlessly walking over to the changing area on the back of the store.

-Aria's a smarty pants, she's probably right.-

Sighing contently, her heart beat slowed back down to normal. She approached the changing stalls, sighing contently.

-Yooooou probably just got spooked over that ghost episo-

A loud noise echoed out of the manager's office seated next to the changing stalls and her heart beat shot back up. It sounded like shattering glass. The manager was out of her office, currently involved in a verbal melee in the men's section, leaving the door cracked open. A second's pause flew by before Sonata put the sweater down on a rack and approached the door. Tentatively grasping the handle, she pulled open the creaking door just to look inside. The back window was broken into, cold air flowing into the room and out the door. However Sonata's attention was more settled on the tall figure vaulting itself down from the window frame and onto the floor. It slowly rose up to its height, easily two meters tall and looked up with red eyes that glowed in the dim light. Its head snapped over slightly, looking right at her. It stayed motionless for a few moments, before shifting and starting a slow walk forward; its scarf swaying in the breeze.

Sonata couldn't have closed the door and rushed over to Aria any quicker even if she flew. Aria didn't have any time to react before her fellow siren grabbed her by the arm, and in a show of 'adrenaline junky' strength, yanked her across the store to the manager's door. Sonata was babbling at such high speed the purple siren couldn't even understand her at first. It took a moment for Aria's head to clear up, but when it did she was most certainly not happy.

"OhForTheLoveOf... WHAT IS IT NOW SONATA?!"

Sonata froze and pointed at the door with her eyes wide as dinner plates. Aria was not amused, letting out a drawn out groan.

"Leeet me guess... Oooool' Red Eyes again?"

Sonata nodded rapidly, speaking almost as fast.

"YES! He broke into the room! He's behind the door!"

Aria just blinked slowly, reaching out the grabbing the door handle. If she didn't shut Sonata up somehow she was never going to finish her book or her meal. Time to disprove her again.

"There is nothing there."

"NO DON'T OPEN THAT!"

Sonata couldn't stop Aria's arm from pulling the old door open. Aria kept her head turned, so confident in her result that she didn't look forward at first.

"See, it's just your rampant imagin-"

She finally looked ahead of herself, and right into a pair of narrowed red eyes as a tall masked man in black was busy striding up to her. He was only about 10 feet away and she could already hear him growling.

"aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaatioooo- HOLY McCARTHY!"

Both women screamed and Aria slammed the door shut hard enough to rock the entire wall, bracing up against it. A muffled growl sounded off through the door before the intruder attempted to use the door handle.

"OW!MhFMCE!"

Sonata's eyes rapidly darted to the back of the counter, spying a ring of keys under the cash register. Sprinting across the room, she dove over the counter and grabbed her prize.

"ARIA! HEADS UP!"

She chucked the keys over to the other siren, who was busy holding the jittering door handle still. Unfortunately she didn't look up quick enough to react in time and the quarter pound key ring smacked Aria square in the face.

"OW!"

"I'M SORRY!"

"JUST GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME YOU IDIOT!"

Aria was putting her full weight into an already heavy door, keeping a death grip on the door handle to the point her knuckles turned white. Even then, she was just barely able to keep the intruder on the other side of the door from using said handle to rip the door open. Sonata rushed over to Aria's side, snatching up the key ring and frantically trying to whip out the key labeled 'Manager's Office'. If she had butter fingers she probably would have gotten it a second too late. Gasping as she got the right key, Sonata jammed it into the door lock and yanked downward to break off the key into the lock. No longer feeling the door handle jostle violently, Aria grabbed Sonata by the shoulder and rapidly backed up and away from the door.

The two sirens watched on as the now jammed handle jittered back and forth rapidly. Then it stopped and silenced passed. The intruder had apparently given up. After some time, a half nervous, half relieved giggle slithered out of Sonata before infecting Aria. Within a short time the latter sensation won over as the two fell back a bit, bursting out laughing for no other reason than to avoid screaming from the adrenaline rush. Aria playfully punched Sonata in the ribs.

"You blue moron, you're supposed to call someone to get their attention THEN throw something at 'em."

"Kehe not my fault you got worse coordination than me~"

"Yeesh I'm worse than the worst then."

" 'EY!"

Their relief was cut short by a sharp, loud bang. The sirens' eyes slowly cast themselves to the door. Several seconds passed before another, louder crash sounded off as a large dent burst itself into the metal door.

"No freakin' way..."

"He's coming through the door!"

Another burst of sound, another large dent shooting out. Now the door frame itself was beginning to bend. Aria was quick to get to her feet, pulling Sonata up with her.

"I can see that! RUN!"

The two sirens sprinted out of the store just before a powerful front kick knocked the door off its hinges. Monster X burst out of the shadow and vaulted himself over the countertop. His face was still throbbing from having a door slammed into it, but he chewed back his pain and kept his eyes from watering over a bruised nose. The monster didn't focus on the arguing masses of humans, they hardly seemed to react to anything other than themselves and so far hadn't even responded to his presence. X was quick to put matters together.

-Definitely magic-

He was too honed in on the fleeing pair in front of him as he started to gain on them. The Xilian kaiju launched off his perch, throwing aside a distracted pair of women to barge through them.

-Target acquired...-

The Bridge:
Lose a Flock, Gain a Family

=====
Mall
=====

Accounting for a certain hobby, Aria easily could have been the most athletic out of the trio of banished sirens, but at this moment in time Sonata was tied with her in approaching the sprinting land speed record. Unfortunately for them, the figure that did a front flip to vault himself over the mall fountain they ran past was running at said land speed record with little difficulty. Monster X's new human body was barely having any effect on his agility, flipping, weaving, or just outright bulldozing through anything or anyone in his way while he kept up pursuit.

Looking ahead for a moment, the purple siren spotted something that gave her an idea. The chase in the mall and store hadn't gone unnoticed, a large group of security guards were dead ahead and moving towards the store. And right towards them.

"Sonata!"

The blue siren took her eyes off the black figure shoving aside several passersby, the kaiju now only about thirty feet away and gaining. She looked ahead as Aria pointed at the oncoming officers. The sirens exchanged a nod, holding onto their gemstones and taking in a deep breath. The lyrics spoken were incomprehensible to all in audience. It wasn't meant to be that way, to be recognized by the conscious of the prey. All that mattered was the subconscious heard it and understood. On command, the security staff darted to the side, letting the duo pass by them as they all charged their pursuer. X was quick to figure out what had just happened, even with the harmonic melody causing his mind to blur momentarily. He balled a fist whilst the closest officer made a lunge at him.

-Well, there goes my cover...-

The haymaker that followed could have knocked a cow off its feet. The sirens took off into the growing crowds, hoping to put more mass and distance between them and their pursuer. The main body of the mall could best be described as a single, straight, long hallway and the duo didn't stop running until they reached the other side. At that point Sonata was about to collapse and even Aria was without breath. Sonata leaned against the wall behind her, sliding down it slightly.

"Thi-nk we- lost 'em?! hc..."

Aria was hardly in any better shape, wiping some sweat off her brow whilst bracing against a vending machine. She looked back through the crowd they'd just dove through, without a single speck of a black longcoat in sight.

"Well, slo-wed him down...at least.."

Sonata put a hand on her chest, gasping to get a full breath and slow her racing heart.

"What the he-ck was WITH that gu-y? Ex-boyfriend of yours?"

With the sense of urgency dying down, the remark quickly reminded Aria of one constant. She may be perpetually bored, but Sonata's grade of lunacy never failed to annoy her. It was a long running theory of hers that if Sonata somehow became more whacky than she currently was, her hair would turn pink and poof out. Aria reacquainted her face and left palm.

"Firstly, I have NE-VER seen that psycho before in my llllife! Secondly,-"

Aria looked back up with narrowed eyes.

"-you've been doing that 'slipping' thing again?"

"It's call SHIP-ING! 'Sides the- re-aders do it all the time!"

"The who-..."

The purple siren looked at Sonata as the latter party looked back in a confused manner, blinking occasionally.

"You know what, I'm not even going to ask... Let's just, ca-tch our breath; and get to the car."

"Aria?"

"WHAT?!"

"Why didn't you do the thing?"

Aria didn't even look at Sonata, tilting her head up as she closed her eyes and slowed her pulse. Her tone was emotionless, but callous.

"Sonata, I.Don't.Feel like it. Not in the mood for that, at-all."

"Aaaaaah..."

Sonata frowned, letting out a drawn out exhale. Just when she found success in returning her pulse to normalcy however, her foot slipped. She slumped down the wall slightly, and by instinct grabbed for a handhold to stop any falls. Unfortunately the handhold she latched onto was more of a lever. Instantly loud alarms akin to rapidly ringing bells sounded off all across the mall, blaring out any other sound. People everywhere either dropped or quickly gathered up what they were doing and headed out the mall's multiple entrances for reasons completely unknown to the former Equestrians. Sonata slowly looked to the side to see what she'd just yanked on. Her hand was clenched around a square shaped lever connected to a bright red box. On the top of the box, spelled out in several languages in large white letters was written two words. Fire alarm.

Aria jumped up at the noise, quickly looking around as to the cause of the racket. Once she saw what Sonata was still holding onto however, her face dropped down considerably. There is no clear way Sonata could describe the expression her fellow siren was giving her. However the message was clear. To put it in the language of the internet, Aria was about 200% done with this mall trip.

So focused was she on taking a moment to show an emotion and chew out Sonata that Aria didn't notice how rapidly the crowds were thinning. It took Sonata looking down the hall and her eyes widening like spot lights for her to stop.

"A-A-A-A-Aria...."

"Uuuurg..... What.is.it?"

Sonata pointed down the hall and Aria retrained her focus. Down the main hall, about eighty or so meters away, there was one large group of humans left, all but two laying on the ground. The one in black just let loose a roundhouse kick to the other's head, causing the last of mall security to lose consciousness and join his coworkers. Monster X snorted briefly to catch his breath, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck as he stepped off the small human pile up.

-Well that happened, pathetic...-

Sensing magic, he shot his head up and trained his eyes upon the source. Aria was the first to shrug off her mini-heart attack, snapping back to her senses and roughly grabbing Sonata's wrist, halfway towing and halfway yanking Sonata along with her as she took off towards the parking garage. X needed to only see a flash of purple and blue running out an empty doorway to sprint towards said exit. Like it or not, he wasn't letting them get away easy.

The duo made it through with sixty meters to spare, but Aria was quickly hoping they'd stayed inside the mall. The parking garage was completely empty aside from the smacking of tennis shoes on concrete and the reverberating echo through the walls after Sonata slammed the door shut behind them. The cloudy weather had blocked out most of the sun, so most of the lighting in the garage was electrical. Very buggy electric lighting that constantly kept flickering on and off every few seconds. All the store shoppers, still thinking the fire alarm was legitimate, had piled out through the other entrances. The logic was sound, a fully concrete building was effectively the last place any structure fire would spread to. Unfortunately it left the sirens completely isolated. Not that their pursuer minded this at all. The crashing sound of X ramming the door off its hinges gave the pair cause to not let their adrenaline glands quit just yet.

Scrambling down the lines of parked automobiles, the two shared a mutual praise that they didn't have a convertible. Sonata yanked at the passenger side door handle as Aria vaulted herself across the hood and to the other side. The blue siren looked past her as Aria fumbled about to free her keys. Sonata needed just one look at the black form charging down the walkway towards them to shriek. He was only about thirty meters and closing rapidly, the narrowing distance only making him run faster. Aria was still struggling to get the right key out.

"Come on COME ON!"

"I'M TRYING!"

"THROW ME THE KEYS! I'LL GET THE DOOR AND YOU DO THE THING!"

"NO!"

Finally the car's door locks clicked off at the turn of the right key, both Sirens piling in fast as they could and slamming the doors shut behind them. In the span of five seconds Aria managed to rev the engine and Sonata locked the doors. It was in those five seconds that X caught up to them and was about to pounce at the vehicle, preparing to bust through the back window. Noting his position behind them however, the purple siren got a cruel idea for a cruel pursuer. She threw the gears into reverse whilst clicking off the parking break, before slamming her foot down on the accelerator.

The car's engine bellowed and roared before flying backwards, X illuminated in the tail lights. Had he not braced and dove to the side, they would have run him down. Instead the back fender of the Honda slammed into a large metal fence post. Sparks shot out everywhere along with the scream of raking metal, broken tail light shards flying in all directions. Neither siren looked behind them, assuming the loud bang on the bumper was exactly what they imagined. This means they didn't see something as they sped off down the lower levels of the garage. They didn't see X spring back up to his feet and pick up the metal pipe. It was a long piece, about as tall as he was and remarkably thick. He eyed his surroundings and gave the post a twirl in his hand, getting an idea. Using the post to help spring himself, X vaulted out of the garage and onto the roof of a nearby building.

-Not over, not yet...-

Aria and Sonata drove out of the garage without a word to each other. Sonata was stuck looking out the front window, half stuck in a state of shock; and Aria focused best she could on driving with mixed results. Turning the car away from the front of the mall and more importantly, away from the gathering police cruisers and fire trucks; she turned down a lane heading into the back roads. Her breath finally managed to catch up with her.

"I think... we got away from it..."

"I-It?..."

"There is no.. possible way, that... thing was human..."

"Well, we're safe... I think..."

"We woulda been earlier if you hadn't been the worst and pulled the fire alarm!"

"It was an accident! The author put it there to be evil!"

"The autho- WHA-....."

Aria narrowed her eyes and held her breath to stifle the barrage of expletives she could let loose right now. She exhaled slowly, keeping her voice down whilst trying to focus on the road ahead. Thankfully there hadn't been any traffic and their pursuer didn't seem to have a ride of his own. They’d gotten free. Still, more distance she put between them and the garage, the more her nerves calmed.

"Whatever, I'm not taking any chances... Let's, just... go home, group up with Adagio, and calm down..."

Some moments passed, the car pulling away from any passerby in town, passing a gas station, and heading towards the exit that fed into the woods.

"W-well, least we lost it-"

Sonata's eye trained upon movement in the rear view mirror. Something dark shot up from the gas station's roof. The sirens hadn't been watching the building tops.

"I'M WRONG-I'M WRONG-I'M WR-"

The car pulled into the mouth of the woodland road just as something very heavy dropped onto the trunk cover, shaking the vehicle. The broken end of a fence post stabbed through roof, narrowly missing the pair and crushing into the center console. The sudden jolt caused a mutual scream, Aria flooring the accelerator. The post twisted around in its new mount before being yanked free. Footsteps across the car roof heralded a return as Monster X swung himself around the side of the speeding vehicle and onto the hood.

Aria, regaining some of her wit, stayed on the forested road but began jostling the steering wheel back and forth. The car swerved to and fro, wheels screeching with every move and forcing X to crouch down on the hood. His center of gravity lowered, the attacker refused to be thrown off despite Aria's best efforts. Still, wasn't to say her actions weren't earning some of his annoyance. This car was causing more trouble than he liked to deal with. Twirling his makeshift staff around in his fingers to get a better grip, X sucked in his breath and took aim.

"KAI-YAH!"

The ensuing 'BANG' was enough to rattle the entire vehicle. The metal sheeting on the car hood was severely dented in, peeling up at its edges. Judging from the loud sputtering now coming out from said hood, the attacker had just managed to crush down on the top half of the engine. Aria could already feel some of her control over the car weakening, the vehicle constantly shifting between slowing down and speeding back up at random as the engine began to spasm out of control. The Xilian vanguard was just beginning to wind up for another strike when a sudden burst of speed by the car he was standing on caught him at the worst possible moment. His legs partially shot out from under him, forcing Monster X to stumble backwards. The back end of his staff smashed into the windshield, rupturing most of its surface with shards of safety glass flying everywhere.

As Aria fought to keep the car under control and X tried to rise back to his feet, Sonata got an idea. Now she was only praying it would work correctly, just needed the right pitch and tempo. Closing her palm around her gemstone, the terrified siren slowed her breath and managed to begin to do the thing she did best. Harmonic melody and an unnaturally beautiful voice, the language of a siren, filled the air in unworldly chorus. Incomprehensible lyrics filled Monster X's ears as he tried to stand back up on the remains of the hood.

"Haaa-aahaaa'aiyaaaa--aahaaa heey-hhaaa~"

-"Stop your attack, cease your assault. Listen to meee cloooose~ly"-

The power of suggestion and the power of will were clashing feverously inside his mind, causing the world around him to blur in a greenish haze. Part of him wanted to do exactly as he was told, feeling a comforting embrace all around him. It wanted him to put down the staff and leave them. The other half of him was fighting it off with all the vigor his sense of duty and will could muster. His hold on the fence post was loosening, as was his balance. Unfortunately for all parties, there was something none of them could account for. Magical mental persuasion and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder don't mix well, at all.

All sense of ease was thrown into the wind. X no longer saw a calm forest, felt a warm comfort, and heard a gentle voice singing. All he could see was a darkened hell, the ruined skeletons and corpses of buildings all around him. Dread, hatred, and anger drowned him from all angles. The only noise was the crackling of fires that consumed everything around him, and the cackling, mocking laughter of a demon. X whirled around glared at the car's cab. He didn't see a frantic Aria trying to control the wheel, he didn't see a terrified Sonata desperately trying to keep singing through a dying voice. He only saw what he hated most. Something clad in gold, with three sets of red eyes. It lunged at him and he struck back.

Aria screamed, leaning backwards to avoid getting stabbed or smacked by the incoming staff. The sound of her scream, a sharp feminine cry, snapped X back into reality and silenced Sonata's choking chorus. The damage however, was already done. X had attempted to lash out at a nightmare; instead he managed to utterly destroy the steering wheel. The car spun out of control, accelerating rapidly as it went over an old woody bridge. After gaining a few milliseconds of air time, the Honda smashed nose first into the bridge's bordering walls. Old carpentry and craftsmanship was no match for a head-on collision. The car smashed through the side wall before it tumbled through the air over the river. All three of its occupants were hurled into the waters below before the Honda smashed into the base of a cell tower. The tower creaked and groaned, before its supports crushed in on the car’s husk; and felled the structure like a chopped tree trunk.

Still, even when tumbling through the air and then thrashing under the water’s surface, the Xilian kaiju refused to forfeit his hunt. Falling down into the water near Aria, he grabbed at her neck.

===========
Fairgrounds
===========

Sunset and Irys walked away from the exit of the wooden roller coaster. Or rather, a more accurate description would be Sunset stumbling away from the ride as Irys walked beside her to keep the former unicorn from falling over in a daze. It took almost two minutes after the ride ended for either of their hairdos not to be standing up on end. Reactions to the ride itself were mixed.

Irys loved it. High speed turns, drops, and spins reminded her of flying. And from all her years of airborne acrobatics, she was used to it. Sunset Shimmer was less ecstatic. Her head was still spinning and throat a bit rattled. Truth be told she had been screaming and clinging to Irys and the safety bar in a death grip since the first drop. On a ride with five drops and a loop. She'd flown once in her life, that was enough for her. Still, seeing her new friend's mood lifted so much had earned a smile. Irys was not the perky, cheerful type; judging from how the albino's voice still came off as a tad callous towards everyone but her. Still, an improvement was very noticeable. Just have to take it one step at a time.

Letting Irys guide her over to a bench, Sunset took a seat and let the world stop spinning as her friend sat down beside her.

"You okay?"

"Yea-yeah I'll be fine. Just a bit woozy after that coaster."

Sunset giggled, her vision stabilizing. An off thought crossed her mind and she dug into her coat's inner pockets and whipped out her cell phone. She flipped it open, but frowned slightly upon seeing no sign of new messages and a familiar error message up on the top of the screen. The connection bars had a large, red, blinking 'x' over them.

"Hm... Cell reception is still down."

Irys could only look at the device with a tilted head. She had observed human technology both from a distance and up close before. She was able to guess and gander at what certain devices were and what they did. Guns made a loud noise and shot metal pellets, people sat in cars to move around, light bulbs lit stuff up, clothing kept one warm, etc. She still couldn't quite figure out the details though, not knowing what this 'cell reception' was or what it was for.

A mutual stomach gurgle instantly grabbed of the two's attention. Sunset giggled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Guess we better grab something. Would you mind snagging the food while I check something out real quick?"

Irys looked over at the nearest food stand, a generalist stall. She'd seen how these ticket exchanges operated and how they worked. Didn't seem too difficult.

"Yes I think I can manage that."

Sunset smiled and nodded, digging through her pockets for a moment and pulling out several green colored tickets and handing them over.

"Alrighty, this should be enough tickets. Thanks, I'm just going to see if there is something up with my phone. Grab me an iceberg salad, no chicken bits. Looks like you can get another corn dog over there."

Irys' eyes widened and her mouth began to water. Some of these human foods were sinfully good. And that odd dish of a canine in some kind of breading was the seventh deadliest.

"I'll be right on it!"

Sunset couldn't hide a snicker before the two got up and split off. Sunset pulled back out her phone, typing at the keys with a puzzled expression whilst pacing off to several stands. Irys meanwhile held the tickets in hand and strode up to make her first transaction. She might have recognized the process, but was admittedly very rusty. For most of it she had to mimic what the human in front of her in line was doing, and then parroted the order Sunset had given her.

Success arrived swiftly, but just as she took a step away from the counter to take a bite out of her corn dog, a realization hit her like a truck. She was slacking off big time. She had a mission to do and had hardly even tried to do it. Dread and fear washed over her like a dark tide, threatening to swallow her up entirely.

-Oh no.. no no no no, I'm failing. If the master finds out he might send others. If Ghidorah or that Gaira came here and found Sunset they'd-

A tiny whisper slipped into her. Harmonic words surrounded her, flushing away the negativity. It felt almost like someone was hugging her, keeping the pain at bay. A voice soft as a wind chime called out to her and was silence to all others. Irys recognized the tone.

-"He cannot see you here. Sunset Shimmer will be safe..."-

Despite previous experience, Irys couldn't help but nearly drop the food and look around to see who was talking. Not a single soul was looking at her, much less addressing the kaiju.

-"Wait! Who are you!?"-

No reply came and the presence slowly faded away, the comfort changing to neutrality. As disturbed as she was at a random voice in her head, be it some magical play or some self aware conscious, Irys' thoughts forcefully shifted back to her master's words. She had to do what she was told. As much as she was beginning to like this world and body, as much as she loved having a friend; being free of this craven hunger was something she'd wanted since the day she hatched. It would make forging this 'new flock' of her's so much easier. If she returned cured, it would make seeing her friend so much easier. She had to get it, and the master was her only chance. Irys would follow his orders. However... Growing up where she did, time had taught her how to be sly. His orders however gave an escape clause...

- he DID say "Bring back anything of value if you CAN acquire it"... I could just say I never found anything and...-

However the devil's luck was not being kind. Just as she was about to forget about her task entirely, she smelt it. It was a potent trail in the air, one she was well acquainted with. Energy, magical energy. Irys hesitated, but couldn't fight the urge to follow it. The distance was short, coming out of a tent booth only about half a dozen yards from her previous location. As the kaiju approached, the sense of magic grew stronger, as did the noise of a specific voice. She couldn't figure out the lyrics, but the tone was recognizable. Someone was singing.

Irys peeked through one of the tent's seams. The interior wasn't very well lit, though her eyes could see just fine. Only one soul was inside, a teenage female about Sunset Shimmer's age. Heck, had her hair not been so outrageously poofy there would have been a resemblance. But it wasn't the hairdo bigger than the person that got Irys' attention, it was part of the attire. The young woman was singing into some sort of machine that played back her voice, and all the while the red gemstone on her necklace was pulsing with a red light. The magical source couldn't have been more obvious if there was a spotlight and blinking road sign on it.

Almost on instinct, Irys analyzed the situation in a predatory manner. The target was alone, probably not well armed. She could get the gemstone easily. The young albino's lip curled up slightly, small fangs in the place of canine teeth baring themselves. A flash of red and yellow in the corner of her eye stopped that action however.

Concealing her fangs and averting her vision, Irys looked over to see the familiar form of Sunset Shimmer standing about ten yards away. Almost on cue, the latter party noticed Irys. A smile crossed the highschooler's face, holding up her arm to wave at her new friend; as if beckoning Irys to come closer.

The kaiju was stuck. Easy prey, or new acquaintance. If she went after the magical source, the master might reward her. She might be cured soon. But with Sunset... Doing what she was about to do and attacking the artifact's holder, there was no way she could get away with something like that around her. But if she didn't do that. If she walked away from the tent right now, there would be no reward. She couldn't say she found nothing now... What if the master caught her lie? If he could cause every fiber in her mind to surge with pain at a scream, what could he do if she defied him and he knew? Was that voice telling, conscious or an observer, telling the truth?

Sunset's expression changed to slight confusion and worry as Irys looked down, closing her eyes. There was risk and reward if she went to the left towards the tent, there was risk and reward if she went right towards her friend. Crossroads were always something she particularly hated.

Irys took in a deep breath, zoning out the world around her as she exhaled. All tension in her body was banished with her breath.

-....No, there can always be another attempt... Missions can be repeated... The risk is worth it... I only have three more hours here-

The albino looked up to Sunset with an small, honest smile; walking through the small crowd to rejoin her.

-And I know where I'm going to spend it...-

Irys passed Sunset her food as they slowly walked off into the crowd side by side. The pale kaiju was a predator, a killer, and a villain. But for now, for these few hours, she was going to be happy.

Just as the two departed however, a colorful group of five walked out from between the fair booths going the opposite direction. Two of them talked amongst themselves, two more were looking around in a confused manner; and the fifth was rapidly typing out the same message over and over again on her phone. Fluttershy nudged Applejack, glancing around the fairgrounds.

"Um.. Wasn't Sunset supposed to meet us here?"

"Ah' thought so. Any luck with the text Pinkie?"

The aforementioned Pie shot up between them, her fingers typing away so quickly they were a blur.

"I've texted her about 534 times now! This phone is a phony!"

=======
Forest
=======

Amongst the trickling cackle of the river waters against the surrounding stones, something else stirred. A black, gloved hand shot out of the water's edge and dug its fingers into the snow covered shore like the claws of a grappling hook. An arm contracted and a dark form lurched out of the chilled waters. And it wasn't alone. Partially curled under Monster X's arm was the limp form of Aria Blaze, barely conscious and half choked with water. Sirens are creatures of the sea in Equestria, faster than any rip current or tidal wave. In the human world, in a human body however; they were no better or worse than a normal primate. It was all skill, something another siren had but Aria lacked. Having a similarly transformed kaiju tackle her under the surface didn't do many favors either. Not like the Xilian vanguard particularly cared either way he'd almost drowned her. She was his target, and far from helpless or innocent.

The smell of the now wrecked car stunk up the air as more snow began to fall. X grumbled as he trudged onto the shore. While still in good health, his little dip in the water had given him some marks. Blood trickled down his free arm, a large cut from a sharp piece of debris present about halfway up his bicep. While not deep, it didn't stop it from stinging constantly. Under his clothing, the ache in his knee signaled a bruised joint, probably from hitting the river bottom during the struggle. And judging from the sharp pain and soreness in his left torso, he'd probably fractured a rib or two in the same action. Still, by his measurements he was fine, if only slowed down slightly.

-Just some flesh wounds, I've had worse-

The mask clad man glanced around to take in his surroundings. The forest, outside of the dueling crackling of stream water and burning automobile, was totally quiet. No doubt the humans would arrive in time, given the inky black column rising from the wreckage. He did not know where the blue siren was, having lost track of her once they were thrown into the river.

-Likely washed downstream, she seemed a better swimmer. I'll check once done here, couldn't have gotten far-

The monster diverted his attention to his captured quarry. He flicked his wrist, partially dropping and partially tossing Aria Blaze into a small snow bank, the frozen water cushioning her fall. Aria was nearly immobile, barely even conscious for shifting in the snow let alone counter attack as X squatted next to her. The gemstone mounted on her black necklace pulsed slightly with a low crimson light, confirming the alien's objective. When he reached down to take it however, the reaction to his action was not what X was expecting. He was just about to grab the glowing gemstone, his fingers a hair's width from its shining surface when an unseen force shoved his hand back. Surprised, he paused for a moment. Probing to see what had just happened and attempting to finish his mission, he tried again. But just as he was about to grasp the ruby, the gemstone glowed. A concussive force shot into his arm and threw it away.

X was startled backwards slightly and the jolt shook Aria back into consciousness, lurching upwards and coughing violently to clear her lungs of river water. She hacked for a few moments to catch her breath, before sitting there in silence. But then she did something that took X by surprise. She lurched to her side and quickly punched him right in the face near his eye socket. X stumbled back and rose up as Aria, still a bit groggy, got to her feet. She looked at him with a sneer as X held his head with one hand. There were a lot of things he'd been expecting, but a sudden strike from an otherwise unimposing attacker like that had caught him off guard. Under his scarf, the kaiju smiled.

-Huh, she actually managed to surprise me, so you do have some fight in you-

He pulled the hand away, revealing his mask to be cracked around his left eye, several missing pieces having broken off and fallen away. The glare his eyes gave off was colder than the snow falling around them. The look Aria gave him as she raised her arms into a guarded stance was just as chilled. X leaned his head over and popped his neck, rolling his shoulders. Aria, finally shaking off the last of her daze from nearly drowning, started side stepping to her left.

"You're not human... What are you?..."

X mirrored her, stepping over to his right, the two slowly beginning to circle about.

"Truth be told, I'm not even quite sure myself. Then again I could ask you the same question. You don't belong around here either. Though admittedly right now I'm more surprised someone like you knows a guard stance."

"I don't just sing. Girl needs her hobbies when you keep the company I do... What do you want?"

"I have my mission, you just happen to have the goal around your neck."

Aria's eyes widened briefly with recognition, her gemstone pulsing with light. She dropped her hands as X did the same, both standing motionless in the cold air.

"Like hell you're getting it..."

Her stern expression grew angered. She lunged forward, jabbing and crossing at X as he side strafed to dodge the first and blocked the second with a raised forearm. Aria twisted around, managing to land a light elbow strike to the gut. X grunted, grabbing her arm and twisting it around to strike at her stomach with a backhand.

"No more singing?"

Aria grunted, tightening up her stomach muscles to absorb the impact best she could.

"I saw what happened with Sonata's attempt, I think you are psychotic enough already. And what's with the Halloween mask, afraid to show your face?"

Aria shoved herself away from X, circling to his right as X moved to his left. Neither one was letting the other get behind them.

"This IS my face..."

X snarled before pouncing forward with a lunging punch that Aria narrowly sidestepped, the strike grazing her shoulder before snapping a pine sapling. Not hesitating or giving her a window to counter attack, he spun around for a backhand to the face Aria just barely was able to block. Still, the powerful arm was forcing her back slowly. Despite being in the middle of a fight, X kept his voice remarkably calm. All the more unsettling for his audience.

"Intriguing part though, I 'would' have it by now; but there is some sort of barrier that kept it from me touching it. I'd hypothesize it's a magical enchantment of some sort."

X forced his weight forward, shoving Aria back before aiming a low kick to her knee. If the siren had jumped up just a second later she would have quickly gained a broken joint. The foresight was impressive on her part. She wasn't on his level, far from it. It was a martial arts student going up against a trained war veteran. He probably could have taken her out four separate times by now, but had his reasons for holding back. His experiences with magic were limited, but they had taught him how unpredictable it could be. If he killed her outright, something might happen to the gem. It could do anything from smolder away to explode for all he knew. Best find out in person first, then act accordingly. A stressed person tended to spill the truth easily, and a near full hour of chasing and then fighting was more than stressing Aria out. Besides, he always was one to test out an opponent. She was a nimble one, he'd give her that. This could be amusing.

"It's the Heart of a Siren. In other words, it's part of me you idiot..."

She lunged forward, jumping up slightly and training a roundhouse kick to his head. X caught the strike mid-swing, holding her leg up and keeping her still with some effort. For a thin bodied young adult, she was putting up some sufficient force behind her blows. Aria twisted her upper body sideways to avoid an uppercut from colliding with her chin, having to use both of her arms to keep X's elbow away from her sternum and solar plexus. Even with both her limbs it was still a struggle, her arms beginning to shake. As concerned as she was however, the siren fearlessly glared at her attacker. X just looked back blankly, hiding a smile. His plan worked.

"Yet it looks like jewelry. Can it be removed?"

"Only.by.its.siren. No others."

Tension amongst the blocking and striking limbs grew before the two split away. Before Aria could react however, X bolted forward. She'd given him his answer; there was no need to go easy anymore. Play time was over. He crouched down before jumping up and forward, landing a backhand through her block and smashing the back of his fist into her stomach. Continuing his rising action, he ignored her lower kick to his shin and grabbed the siren by the shoulder. Pushing his full weight and momentum forward, he shoved her back and pinned her against a tree trunk. Fight's over.

"Then you are going to take it off."

Aria tried to kick but couldn't get enough room to do so. She tried to punch or strike out, but couldn't get a good angle. She tried to grab at the hand pinning her down, but X's grip was like stone. Relenting, but holding firm, she looked back at him with an unbroken, unafraid stare. He looked back at her blankly through a half broken mask, his scarf swaying in the breeze like twin tails.

"Your defiance is admirable, couple more years of training and you’d be quite formidable. But you cannot defeat me at your level... Now... I'm in a hurry so listen close.”

He leaned in closer, not taking his eyes away from her with a stern glare.

“Surrender your Heart to me, and I will keep it safe."

Both froze in silence for a moment as a winter gale blew by. For a split second Aria's face dropped in morbid confusion but reddened noticeably, the blush burning up her cheeks. X meanwhile took a moment to figure out what exactly he just said. Once he did, the alien wanted felt like nothing else punching himself in the face, or doing that to whoever came up with that cursed synonym.

-...Good TANAKA! That came out horribly wrong...-

X grumbled, tightening his grip on her shoulder as he hoisted her up to his eye level; Aria's feet dangling over the forest floor.

"Just hand over the gemstone, and I'll be on my way..."

Aria's face was still a bit flustered.

"And how do I know you'll do that..."

"I don't intend to stay here any longer than I need too. If I wanted to kill you right now... you'd already be dead. But that's more trouble than it's worth with this magic. Your death might make it worthless."

X's eyes narrowed as he leaned in a bit further, the gemstone pulsing with Aria's increased heart rate. Even a stoic witch can be afraid. The alien's voice was as threatening as it was clear.

"No more stalling, give it, NOW..."

Aria's face flickered with emotion, as fear and anger ebbed away. Sadness trickled in as she looked down at her birthright. Losing it would change everything, everything in a way she wouldn't care to see. Even a black, manipulative, hateful, selfish heart can feel pain. She raised a hand up, cradling the red jewel as she briefly eyed her reflection in it. Though her dip in the river and half an hour of sweat induced adrenaline rush had ruined her mascara, another source caused the water droplet now running down her face. She began to slip off her necklace as X kept his eyes trained on the glowing gemstone. She slipped it off, feeling a sharp pain in her chest whilst doing so. Her attacker eased her down to the forest floor and gently let go of her shoulder.

X stood still, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No further harm will come to you, as I promise."

Aria's voice was equally low, but shaking. She couldn't take her gaze off her prized possession, her bangs hiding her wet eyes from X.

"Stop calling m-e ‘you’…Aria.. my n-ame is Aria..."

"Then you have my word Aria,-"

He extended his hand and upturned his palm to accept the gem.

"and my word is my honor. I only kill threats. You are none."

Aria began to hand it over, all of X's attention on her. It was unfortunate, had it been any other situation he would have heard the footsteps rapidly approaching behind him.

"HIIIIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAAH!"

A metallic clang echoed through the air as Sonata swung a familiar fence post upwards at the masked man. She hit him in a very particular spot. A spot she was well aware was a certain vulnerability on humans. Monster X was used to guarding his vitals. The center mass of his torso, the throat, major arteries, etc. He wasn't however used to having to guard this specific spot between the legs. Human anatomy could be a real pain sometimes to someone who didn't have it until several hours ago.

Instantly Monster X's entire world was filled with a sore, sharp pain. He backed away from Aria and nearly doubled over as his ears rang, his voice squeaking. The vanguard of the mighty Xilian fleet, one of the most adept martial artists in his realm; had just been stunned by a fifty kilogram high school senior with a metal pipe induced crotch shot. Irony was laughing itself to death right now.

"Hrrggkk-k-k"

Sonata was quick to drop the pipe, grabbing Aria by the wrist as the latter clung to her gemstone.

"COME ON ALREADY! WE NEED TO GO LIKE NOWSY!"

The purple siren was definitely not arguing, using the last of her adrenaline to run alongside Sonata towards the roadway. X was a bit slower to recover; having to swallow back the nerve shock he was going through. It had taken him a moment to register just how he’d been hit.

-What kind of supreme being would condone the irony of having such an already messed up species have a weak spot like that in the open with no protection?! WHAT THE F-

Rising back up to his height, X spotted the fleeing purple and blue.

-Oh no you don’t!-

However by the time he took off after them, his eyes were burning in rage upon seeing the two waving at a van stopping at the roadside. Fast as he was, he couldn't close the distance in time before they piled into it. X bolted onto the roadway, charging as fast as he could while the van began to speed away. He wasn't even sure how long he kept up his pursuit, but one fact he dreaded became clear. He might have all his old skill and some of his old traits, but this new body had limits his real one didn't. He couldn't run forever.

Slowly but surely, his speed began to leave him as the mechanical beast only accelerated. Finally, his ravaged legs quit, forcing him to drop to his knee and pant. Red eyes still stubbornly trained on his prey, the last thing X saw of them before the van turned out of sight was the telltale glow coming from inside the cab. He could almost smell the magic from where he sat. Growling and snarling through his gasps, Monster X slammed a fist down onto the pavement, still huffing for breath.

After some time, the pride of Xilian caught his breath in the chilled winter air; and picked himself up. He'd failed, and that realization hung over him like a hateful shroud. Not like there was anything he could do about it. He couldn’t catch up to his now likely long gone quarry, and there was no time to try and keep up the chase. He’d been so close, so very, very close. But the hours had slipped by, and he no longer had time to waste. He wasn’t going to be trapped here, and it was going to be a long walk back to town.

=============
Canterlot High
=============

The sun hung low in the sky, beginning to duck behind the high school's tall roof. Irys and Sunset walked down the isolated sidewalk, chatting amongst themselves as the newly fallen snow crunched under their shoes. The hour Irys had been secretly counting down to was soon to arrive. By her count she only have thirty minutes left. The three hours had been kind, filled with laughter, some excitement, and acceptance. But time was up, she needed to leave soon and was using the last of her time to walk Sunset back to the bus stop she used. By sheer coincidence it happened to be near the very same statue that was Irys' way back 'home' too.

"Sooo you sure you'd be alright getting back yourself?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess you could say this is on the way back to my place."

A voice called out from the shadows of the high school.

"I see you've returned, I was beginning to worry..."

Irys and Sunset both froze up as a tall figure stepped out from behind the school's statue, the shadows making his black and white attire look even darker. Monster X took some steps to approach them, stopping about five meters away. Irys and X looked at eachother wordlessly. Sunset looked between them and read the facial expressions.

"I.. take it you know him?"

Irys held firm for a moment. Had this been one of the other kaiju. Ghidorah, Gaira, that Legion queen, or those sea monsters, she would have lashed out at them and ordered Sunset to run. However, this wasn't one of them. And as imposing as he was, the alien was not someone she feared. He brought her back, nursed her back to health; and indirectly lead to her finding her companion. Sunset had told her to try and accept others in, make a new flock. Perhaps she should start with this task force she'd been recruited into? And why not start with the one who helped her before?

"Don't worry about him Sunset, he's someone I'm staying with..."

Irys' features softened slightly as she looked back at the now slightly confused Xilian kaiju.

"In fact, I guess you could call him my second friend..."

Sunset smiled slightly at the words, X cocked an eyebrow. Analytical as always, he studied both the dialogue and body language of the two females. He figured out the basics in record time. Part of him should have been angered. Here he'd been risking his life for half the day to end in failure, and his counterpart had probably spent all her time befriending some native. Then again, he'd brought the albino gyaos here with the hope a mission would snap her out of her depression; least she become useless to the cause. One way or another, judging the fact said albino was now smiling and said smile not be a threat display; that goal had succeeded and he really couldn't call the endeavor a complete failure. Though no party could see it, X returned the smile under his scarf as he walked forward a few steps.

"It's time for us to depart."

Punctually on time, a large automobile, a city bus, rolled up to the stop Irys and Sunset were standing at. The time both had been dreading, the former more so than the latter, had come. Irys knew she had to go back with X one way or another. If she was already risking lying to a dark god about what she did today, her not returning would only draw more suspicion. She was going to keep her young friend safe, even if that meant leaving so no others came after her. For some reason her chest was beginning to ache a lot...

Sunset stepped up to the bus, before turning back around to Irys. The two looked at each other for a moment, snowflakes beginning to litter their hair. Suddenly, the former lurched forward and yanked the latter into a firm hug. It took Irys a moment to figure out the intention. Slowly she shifted her arms up, wrapping them around the shorter woman's shoulders and returned the gesture, enjoying the growing warmth in her chest. It wasn't aching anymore.

After a short while, the two friends pulled apart. Despite smiling, Irys felt her eyes getting a tad wet.

"L-Look.. I'll try and come back to see you again, but I'm not sure when and-"

She was silenced by Sunset putting her index finger on Irys's nose. Sunset chuckled slowly, a smile warm as a new dawn never leaving her face.

"You'll be back..."

An off thought crossed Irys' mind as the bus engine rumbled in the cold air. Reaching behind her neck, she undid a simple locking mechanism and took her amethyst studded choker off. The kaiju wasn't quite sure why she had it when she emerged in this new world, but that didn't matter. If part of her could stay, she knew what and with whom. As she learned during her time there, 'tis the season after all.

She held the simple jewelry out to her best friend.

"Here, hold onto this for me until then, okay?"

Sunset's hands slowly curled around the purple gemstone, very gently lifting the necklace away. Flicking aside her hair, the former unicorn slipped the choker on. It was a tad big for her throat, but snug. Sunset looked down at it, seeing her reflection in the low light.

"I won't let it out of my sight."

X walked up to the pair, still minding the time. He put his hand on the gyaos' shoulder, nodding in acknowledgement to Sunset. It was then when he sensed something. It was an odd feeling he got upon approaching the pair, mostly from this 'Sunset'. Magic. Very small amounts, but it was there. And something told him it was only a trickle of what was truly present. It wasn't coming from any particular object on her, rather it seemed to be coming from the young woman herself. He briefly entertained the thought of bringing the female back as a replacement for the lost sirens, however the notion was soon quashed. This wasn't anything worth chasing, and he had standards to keep. Artifacts and enemies in war were one thing, but not like this. A harmless living being, let alone one who had his thanks, was no prize to take back. Monster X banished any lingering temptations or thoughts.

Still, the presence of magic got him curious. If that Aria was some being called a 'siren', and yet wasn't human in a world of humans; did that mean this Sunset was a similar case? She was no siren, but perhaps was something else?

The bus honked its horn and beckoned departure. Sunset smiled back at her friend before turning slowly and climbing up the steps. She took her seat and the bus doors shut behind her. The bus engine roared as it reawakened, the shuttle rolling away from the stop. Sunset rested her head on the top of the back seat, waving goodbye through the back window as Irys returned the gesture. Today had been a good day all things considered. Still, off thoughts did zip past her mind as the distance grew. Something just felt a tad, off, about Irys and that one guy. Not really in a bad way, but not quite like the other people around.

-And Irys' companion had been waiting for her at the school statue, the same one that Twilight Sparkl-....-

Sunset rubbed her chin, puzzling.

-Could they be from?...-

Irys stood still, waving at the bus until it was out of sight. Despite the departure, something about her mood refused to let it sour itself. She and Monster X turned back to the sidewalk and approached the statue.

"I take it you found no artifacts gyaos-"

"-Irys."

X looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Come again?"

Irys looked back up at him.

"I didn't have a name before... Sunset gave me one, it's Irys."

X was quiet for a moment before sighing, giving her a nod.

"Very well then. I take it you found nothing, Irys?"

The albino's thoughts traveled back briefly to the fairgrounds, back to that tent. She bit her lip briefly before answering.

"No, I found nothing... You?"

She looked over at his left eye, noticing the cracked mask and bruising even through the darkness and X's jet black skin.

"Seems you got into quite a scuffle."

X only rolled his eyes.

"Twas with the owner of one of the artifacts, she caught me off guard after a car accident."

"Sooo, do you have it? You did win right?"

There was a low grumble through the snowfall. Had he not gotten hit by the pipe, had to taken out their transportation quicker, had he gotten serious in fighting Aria quicker; he'd probably have her heart in his hands right now.

"Battle was won, but they got away at the last moment."

"Well then,-"

Irys crossed her arms as they walked around to the portal side of the statue.

"-we'll just have to volunteer again later for a return trip. This was mostly a scouting mission after all."

"If the master presumes its worth it... Just promise you'll help me next time."

"Hey you're the one who climbed up a roof before I could stop you."

"You told me to."

"I told you to split up, not run up a wall you idiot!"

A chuckle reached the gyaos' throat and she playfully but firmly punched Monster X in the forearm. X flinched and cringed as they walked through the rapidly opening portal back to Zenith. Irys just managed to smack his bruise-cut combo on his bicep and reopen it.

"Grk! I have an injury there!"

"Ah suck it in you wimp..."

The two teammates stepped through the portal together, at peace.

-Welcome to the flock X...-

No sooner did the pair step back into the cold darkness of Zenith, the portal closing behind them; when the ground beneath them shook and trembled. Both kaiju didn't have time to react before Megalon burst out of the obsidian floor like a giant drill bit.

"HEYOOOOO"

The insectoid cyborg flew straight at them and tackled the two before pulling them in for a bear hug. A flash of light to the left signaled Gigan's had arrived, hovering above the ground with his face planted on the blunt side of his scythe.

"Apologies, he took off before I could stop him."

The Xilian vanguard rolled his red eyes.

-Welcome to the team Irys...-

IMPORTANT'E FOR ANY CONFUSED ON CONTINUITY!:
Note just to clarify this takes place between Equestria Girls 1 and Rainbow Rocks.

Artwork (coming soon) by Faith-Wolff
Editing and Proof reading by Sky-Lark and Faith-Wolff

Monster X as well as related roster property of Toho Studios
'Irys' property of Daiei
MLP:FiM and Equestria Girls property of Hasbro Studios

KAIJU'VERSE TIMELINE
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/345509/the-bridge-kaiju-amalgam-universe-timeline

NEXT TIME ON THE BRIDGE:
Long dead tyrant kings and crystal wielding kaiju, it's odd happenings in the Crystal Empire for a certain guardsmare.

Xenilla
Blade Dancer
Princess Cadance

=====================
Crystal Empire Library
=====================

It was mid-afternoon, with a few hours until closing time in the Imperial Library. Not that its strangest occupant really minded. He just wanted his company to wake up soon, lest he have to carry her out. Xenilla studiously flipped through the pages of some study materials Key Ring had recommended him after they’d finished their short session. The unicorn might still be an option to aid Xenilla from time to time, but these would definitely speed the process up. The more he knew of this Equestrian magic, the more he might know to find a way to use it and get him and the others back home. It was fortunate that he came through the barrier as a spell casting species. From what he could tell, all of the major races, equine or otherwise, had some magical abilities of numeral varieties. Still, having a horn to channel said magic through made matters much easier, even if he couldn’t do some of the skills the other species had.

Then again rapid plant growth and somehow physically pushing clouds weren’t likely to help his cause.

Reading through a tome’s page and memorizing it word for word, Xenilla closed his eyes and concentrated on performing a telekinesis spell. True, he could pull that skill off since the day he was born with his innate psychic abilities, but practicing magic through his horn and not where his shoulder pylons used to be was necessary. After some trial and error, namely grasping the book's pages with magic and NOT hurling it across the library on accident, he finally managed to turn the pages of his book with his horn’s power.

-One spell down, several dozen to go…-

His company however was incredibly dull. Mostly because the guardsmare was still out cold on the cushion he’d set her on after keeling over. Shame, after finding out that she knew of his brother and reeked of him; Xenilla was looking forward to some entertainment with this one.

His wishes were answered when a slow groan called out to his side. Xenilla flicked his ears, turning his head in time to see the red maned guard starting to pick herself from her bedding, still obviously groggy. He closed his book and shifted to face her.

“Wondered when you’d wake up.”

Blade Dancer’s world had been a foggy, spinning mess when she first opened her dazed eyes. Upon hearing a familiar sounding voice, her attention snapped to and her eyes focused. Once she looked over at the being addressing her, she had to keep herself from being startled. Or, least not be startled after she jolted her head back to keep their muzzles from being less than an inch apart. Xenilla had a poor sense of personal space, but that wasn’t her biggest concern. Memories came rushing back to her as her eyes widened. She remembered all she’d seen at Canterlot, a pony who wasn’t a pony. She also recalled the words last heard before blacking out. In the past week she met a titan masquerading as a stallion, and her audience was its sibling.

“Y-ou’re one of those m-m-mo-mon!”

Xenilla had expected an amusing response when she woke up. But this babbling the guardsmare did as she braced up against the bookshelf behind her, it was just confusing. Poor thing couldn’t even get her sentence out. Now he was just getting annoyed. Xenilla rolled his eyes, shrugging.

“One of thooooose? What? Come on now, speak up if you want to be heard.”

Blade Dancer spoke up alright, her eyes narrowed in determination as her pupils and irises were contracted with shock. Her wings shot out beside her, the instinctual response to look bigger towards a possible threat kicking in.

“MONSTERS!”

Blade Dancer stood there, breathing harshly but otherwise motionless. Xenilla had leaned his head back and away at the outburst, cocking an eyebrow. It was less in response to what she was shouting, and more surprise that she had the gall to yell at him and not be a demigod of an alicorn. She had some nerve, he'd give her that. Still, wasn't to say her word wasn't accurate. Darker thoughts and memories he'd much rather deal without swirled in his head, ushering out a momentary trickle of mixed feelings before Xenilla stifled them.

-Monster? ....You have no idea...-

A moment of silence passed between the two. Blade Dancer's heart slowed down gradually and the shock wore off. Now she just realized she had just yelled at a complete stranger, kaiju or not. Mannerisms began to override fear ever so slightly. She tucked her wings back in.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

She was cut off by a broad hoof being raised. Xenilla just rolled his eyes in mild annoyance.

"Sentimentalism is unnecessary. If you intend to apologize or revoke your words, don't. Tis an accurate description after all. As I am sure you saw with Icka'brod's handiwork."

Didn't stop her from lowering her neck a bit, her hair drooping.

"Still, was...kind of a kn-ee jerk reaction. Did come out a tad, harshly..."

She looked at the floor. Xenilla just smirked.

-Awww, is this regret on my behalf? Cute...-

The kaiju lifted his hoof up and gently put it to the mare's chin, tilting her head back up. Now that botched first reactions were out of the way, he wanted to know what title he needed to remember his audience under.

"Think nothing of it, miiiissss...?"

The pegasus tensed up a bit at the physical contact, taking a bit to relax her muscles some and get used to it. Though their mannerisms were completely different, this newcomer and a certain unicorn back in Canterlot had one thing in common. Not much of a concept of personal space. When she looked forward, the stallion's curious face was only a few inches above and away from her own. Unconsciously her cheeks felt a tad warm, the similarities between the stallions not helping.

"B-Blade Dancer."

Xenilla chuckled, pulling away from her and moving back to his books.

"Charmed. Back home I am called 'Xenilla'. Eldest son of Godzilla Senior and older brother to Godzilla Junior.... Or, I am the 'ambassador' from Terra if you follow the cover story the Empress cooked up to avoid a panic. Wise move in hindsight given what happened at Canterlot."

"Empress?"

Xenilla turned his head back to her with a clear look of annoyance on his face.

"The day I call this empire's leader 'Princess' is the day I personally dye my skin magenta and celebrate the winter solstice in August."

"But.. you can't-"

Xenilla's expression drooped and blanked out.

"Exactly."

The snarking, dry humor, even from the type of source she knew it was, couldn't help but earn a slight snicker from Miss Dancer. She came to the Empire to visit an exotic place and get away from a certain reptilian kaiju. Now she was stuck with another one. The pegasus could think of dozens of ways she had hoped this trip could turn out better. But while she didn't like being around this newcomer, some mental images and memories of Godzilla refusing to leave her head; she could think up hundreds of ways it could be worse. Besides, she had a duty to her princesses to perform. She'd been the bodyguard to a pervert before, this couldn't be as bad.

And who was to say there wasn't an opportunity here? Running away would just be avoiding the issue entirely and hoping it blew over. This kaiju, this Xenilla, he might look a lot like and be family to Junior... But at the end of the hour it wasn't him. Maybe some exposure in a manner like this could help out in some way?

Blade Dancer took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly to banish away some tension.

-If I can stop being so mixed up here, I can do it anywhere...-

"Well then, 'Ambassador', I've been assigned to be your escort and bodyguard."

"So you've been put up by the Royal Consort to be my new babysitter eh? Well then I hope you like libraries guardsmare, I have a lot of research to do."

Xenilla plopped down at his previous spot, levitating up an aged tome before flipping through the pages. He didn't bother to look up before striking up the topic he was really curious about.

"So if you could inform me, how is it you got my brother's scent on you? Don't tell me he's trying to go native now and closely fraternizing with you lot."

Blade Dancer's head was filled with awkward embarrassment and mental swearing. She shifted a bit in her seat.

"Um.... reeeverse that... He got put in the guard program back in Canterlot aaand... I, might have tried to get a bit friendly with him..."

Xenilla glanced up from his book. His grasp of romantic metaphor was better than his sibling's, but it still wasn't quite grasped.

"Come again?"

The pegasus mare felt a lump swallow itself down her throat. She tried to hold firm, and failed. Bladey was many things. She was a talented dancer, an experienced martial artist, heart throb of numerous stallions and mares; and BSBFF to both of her siblings. She was not however one who could hold her secrets well when put under some pressure. Soon she was doing something between babbling and trying to mumble.

"Tried to be friendly to him! Y'know, t-talking and stuff. Being nice. Not treating him like a prisoner when he technically was one at the time. He was tall, dark, and handsome; he seemed nice! That's all..."

She crossed her forelimbs and looked away, trying to shut her jaw. Xenilla was going over her words in his head, slowly figuring out what on earth the pegasus was talking about.

-'Handsome'?...Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a minute, she wasn't trying to...-

He looked at her with a tilted head and cocked eyebrow. Even with her trying to hide it, it was easy to see that Miss Dancer's face and snout was now roughly the same color as her mane. Curiously though, right when she spilled her words and began blushing, the pegasus' wings shot back out. But not in the threatening gesture like before, this time they were just literally sticking straight up out of her back. It all was enough to draw a conclusion.

-GOOD TANAKA ALMIGHTY SHE WAS! AHAHAHAHAHAHHA-

Holding in his internal uproar of laughter, Xenilla kept his voice calm and mellow.

"Your cheeks and snout are flushing... and your wings are sticking straight up. You were trying to court him weren't you?"

Blade Dancer let out an exasperated sigh, relenting.

-God damn body reactions-

"Fiiiine...Yes, I was attracted to him....at least back when he was some nice looking and kindly stranger and not....that..."

Xenilla shrugged, averting his eyes back to his book.

"Well after seeing his true self, it must have been jarring."

Blade Dancer sighed, her wings drooping back into place as she laid down. Her expression was mellowing and saddening slightly.

"Guess I was chasing something I didn't know about... Not like he was exactly the receptive type. Kinda like flirting with a brick wall actually, but I just assumed he was shy."

"Wouldn't cast any blame upon yourself. I've watched him for years, truth be told you're probably the first one to ever attempt to court him. Chances stand that he probably had no idea what you were doing.”

Xenilla turned his page, still not looking up or altering his analytical, flat tone. He didn't need to look her over much to read the mare's body language. Subtlety told him enough.

"And allow me to guess. You saw his true form, probably up close and half covered in gyaos guts; and now you are terrified of him?"

Blade Dancer bit her lip, slowly molding her response after much thought. She could think back to that night, to the walking thunder. She also thought back to the sleeping, hurt form she found in Princess Luna's bed. Her mind was mixed.

"Not really, terrified.. well, maybe a bit but, I guess mostly just confused. I wasn't sure what to think. Not like we exactly had a precedent for cases like that before..."

"So you travel abroad to try and get away from him, if only to clear your head. And yet the empress sends you to keep an eye on me?"

Blade Dancer giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

"Weeeelll, not like I really said anything to her, she didn't know why I came here. Can't say I was really... expecting this."

Xenilla glanced up from his reading, his facial expression blank and unreadable.

"And does my presence cause you distress?"

Blade Dancer wasn't quite sure how to answer him at first. True, part of her mind was still screaming to get away from the kaiju, and fast. However, that part was ebbing away bit by bit like the tide. Exposure calms fears, and she had resigned herself to stay. She'd just have to get used to this 'Not-Junior' overtime. The pegasus managed to crack a small smile.

"No, I'll be fine. Don't worry with me."

She got up and stretched out her legs as Xenilla went back to his reading. She attempted to go about what she presumed she was assigned to do. Getting out of her seat she strode up and down the immediate surrounding aisle Xenilla had parked himself between, patrolling the perimeter. She managed to walk a few laps before she felt an invisible force coil itself gently around her. Before she could react, she was picked up and levitated over towards the massive stallion; who was still half buried in a book.

"Miss Dancer."

Xenilla released his psychic hold, easing her down onto the floor across from him.

"What are you doing?"

The pegasus was never going to get used to being carried around like that, shivering.

"Guarding. I'm supposed to patrol the immediate area to make sure there is no danger."

"A nice thought, but distracting and a waste of time. Do me a favor and be productive."

Before she could retort about her duty, Xenilla turned his page and pointed a hoof to a nearby shelf. Blade Dancer took a moment to try and theorize what he was implying.

"Um.. What are you trying to say?"

"I want you to read something."

Blade Dancer eyed the book shelf, looking over some of the archaic titles.

"Are you wanting me to help in your research?"

"No need, I have photographic memory. I'd like you to read something to distract your mind and calm down. Drop the guard act for a while and relax."

His tone shifted to one of sarcasm as he smirked, pride evident in his voice.

"You worrying for my safety, as adorable as it is, is unnecessary and distracting. As it stands I'm probably one of the single most powerful beings in this entire empire, there is no common threat that could possibly hurt me."

The kaiju's thoughts briefly shifted back to the night of his arrival. He'd seen and sensed a great many things in the empire. However, it was what he sensed but didn't understand that had his concern. Something was roaming the city, something of malefic power. He sensed it then, and he sensed it several times since then. It, whatever it was, could be a threat to him.

Blade Dancer, oblivious to the kaiju's inner thoughts, took the suggestion. After combing through the titles briefly, she recognized one with a smile and started reading.

Some hours passed between the two. Outside of an occasional banter, the time spent was in near silence. It was the arrival of Librarian Amethyst Maresbury that brought about the change. Adjusting her glasses, the kindly old mare tapped her hoof on the ground to get their attention.

“Closing time kids, you’re the last ones still roaming about.”

It was only now both Xenilla and Blade Dancer noticed the massive library was now completely barren aside from themselves. A quick glance at a nearby clock confirmed how much time had flown. Xenilla picked himself up before his horn and shoulder patch glimmered, a mix of magical and psychic telekinesis levitating his piles of books back onto the shelves before dropping a good half dozen into his saddlebags. Blade Dancer followed suit, slipping back on her helmet before packing away a novel into her pouch. The duo silently proceeded out of the library and down a long stretch of back roads to start a lengthy walk back to the castle.

They’d been walking for about a minute when Xenilla, noticing the top of the book poking out of Blade Dancer’s bag; broke the silence.

“Fiction or nonfiction?”

“Hm? Fiction.”

“About?”

A small smile crossed the mare’s face, fond memories of nostalgia for this tale coming forth. Was always a favorite of hers during her youth, and little had changed even if she’d found an older version.

“A bewitched couple with a curse. At day the stallion turns into an owl, and at night the mare turns into a wolf. So they can only see each other at dusk and dawn.”

Xenilla could only roll his eyes in mild annoyance. He only heard two lines and even he could tell where this was going. His tone was as snide as it was rude.

"Another love centric story… pfft…”

Blade Dancer caught the offense, shooting the kaiju a firm glare without even thinking about what was walking next to her.

“Well excuse you! You were the one who asked me the question, I was just giving an answer. It’s a good story.”

Xenilla’s response was, less than she expected to be honest.

“Oh I’m sure it is. The author is probably quite competent and the plot decent enough for it to be of such importance to you. Not the story or genre that I find ill.”

The pegasus mare was about to retort, but was too busy lifting an eyebrow. She couldn’t quite tell if he was insulting or complimenting the story.

“Um… what?”

“I just find some folks’ obsessions with love disturbing.”

=======================

The marketplace, the main hub of commerce for the imperial capital; was filled to the brim with attendees. Many were mingling and shopping, exchanging conversation as much as they were material goods. It was a pleasant afternoon in the empire, one that grew brighter when a small trumpeting sounded off.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza strode through the market alongside her husband Prince Shining Armor, with Flash Sentry leading a small group of guards behind them. Aside from her small crown, barely larger than a tiara, she had none of her regalia on. The crystal princess's look was passive with her mane in its casual, draping look as opposed to anything near extravagant.

Casual look for a casual appearance. Cadance enjoyed getting out of the palace frequently to mingle with the citizens. Life in a crystal tower was hardly anything an orphan raised in a small forest town was used to. And going out, seeing and talking with the city goers actually helped teach her how to rule. A useful learning tool given she originally went to the Crystal Empire to help protect it, not be made its leader. Talking with the citizens taught her their issues, what could be done to help; and reinforced that she was a personable ruler. That she was, above all else, one of them.

Her surprise visits always brought joy to the empire, something the young alicorn was very much trying to achieve. Word had spread fast from Canterlot. Within the arrival of the first train from her aunts' city, all of the empire knew of ravenous hordes and walking thunder. Whilst they would most certainly not be ignorant to the danger, the masses needed some good things to enjoy to avoid any panic. Needless to say however, the knowledge of how a kaiju transformed was the only reason Cadance herself didn't have a panic attack upon seeing the photos from Canterlot. She disliked Xenilla enough before she began to grasp that he was probably taller than the imperial stadium.

-Focus Cadance, he can't change unless someone intentionally revs him up and hasn't acted out yet. Just keep your attention on the populace, and everything will be fine... There is nothing here that will want to hurt you-

A good distance away however, one would find the princess's thoughts were very untrue. Cloaking in the shadow of an alleyway that oversaw the clearing below, red and green eyes glared at the alicorn with sinister intentions.

=======================

“Any sentient being with the power of reason will inevitably commit both good and evil deeds. However at their core, all decisions are based on two conflicting forces, love and hatred. The latter is the malefic flame, consuming all in its path. If you commit your decisions due to a hatred of something, you’ll soon find yourself hating everything around it.”

=======================

King Sombra snarled like an enraged beast, watching the alicorn from afar. The ancient tyrant couldn't even begin to list all of the factors leading to his growing malice. The fact the pink ascendant looked so much like her predecessor, the fact she was daring to touch HIS slaves, or the fact said slaves were lollygagging with a sickening amount of glee and not doing anything he deemed productive. A work force who did not work to his ideal was useless. Hatred spread from alicorn to pony as Cadance picked up a happily squealing colt out of a wheelchair, laughing as she gave him a nuzzle. King Sombra felt disgusted. Once he reclaimed his prize, the useless would have no place in his empire.

=======================

“But, if you think of love and hatred as the causes of actions; they can’t be equal. Call me sentimental but love always can overpower hatred.”

Xenilla was not phased in the slightest. Why should he be? He agreed after all.

“Very true, in fact I’d say love itself is easily one of the most powerful forces in the world. A fighter whom hates everything in front of them is no match for an equally equipped foe who loves everything behind them.”

Blade Dancer raised an eyebrow, clearly confused as to what in Equestria the kaiju was getting at. His words seemed to agree with her, but his tone was argumentative and snide as ever. He clearly showed distain for the subject matter, but why then was he speaking so highly of it? His next sentence was the beginning to the answer.

“That is exactly why love is so incredibly dangerous. It forces away all else to make room for itself and only lives to control actions in order to multiply itself.”

=======================

In the shadows of the alleyway, his curved horn flicked with a green and purple glimmer. An invisible cloud of malefic energy flowed out of King Sombra and into the crystalline ground. It slithered through the smooth surfaces, trickling down into the crowd below like a waterfall.

Just as it was about to reach the crowd however, the hateful tide was halted in its tracks. Something was blocking it. His fear inducing wave was being repulsed by something, and King Sombra quickly figured out what. It was Cadance and the entire crowd. The aura of benign magic surrounding them like a shield was keeping his influence at bay, even if they weren't aware of their own defense. The only thing that could defeat a negative emotion was a positive one, and this group had no shortage of it.

King Sombra glared at the alicorn as he called off his attempted attack. In his state and in the open like this, he couldn't risk a full on attack as much as he wished it. His assassination plot would have to proceed. He'd just wait until the alicorn was alone without any bystanders to aid her.

King Sombra slipped back into the shadows, leaving only a patch of black crystal in his wake. He'd fall back to the catacombs, his realm, and formulate his plan. A shame that the mare would have to go, she'd probably give him a decent heir as a concubine.

=================

“You and everyone else I know talk and think of love as this pleasant little warmth, bringing joy when it is fostered by those around you. I on the other hand, can scarcely think of any other force that has driven so many to die, act, or kill for it than love. I spent many years watching Terra. Love exerts far more control and has achieved far larger ramifications than hatred or fear could ever hope to achieve.”

Xenilla ignored Blade Dancer’s growing frown and continued his filibuster.

“This is why I respect the Empress' power. From what I can tell she's something akin to love's avatar in this world of your's. And if one loves something enough, they will bend over backwards and beyond to do its will. And because all actions are born by love, hatred, or some combination of the two; it controls everything and is in everyone. So for instance, say I killed Empress Cadenza."

Blade Dancer’s wings shot out at the words, almost thinking about going for her holstered wing blades before Xenilla quickly corrected himself.

“Relax! Relax, only hypothetically. I would never do that in the state I'm in, and I’ll tell you why. It is because I'm not stupid and understand the choke hold love can have. She is loved by the multitudes. She is loved, and thus that love exerts control over all those who adore her. Doesn't matter if the control is something she herself wills or not mind you. It's a contract that love itself holds. If she was removed from the action, if she died; that control is driven to the forefront. All those who loved her, be it her consort, the citizenry, her family, etc; would be controlled by their love to seek revenge. And revenge, the act of avenging something of value that was lost; is an act driven chiefly by love itself. Because you had to have given love to something to be angered at its loss.”

The pegasus moved away from her wing blades, but the grim turn the conversation was taking was quickly causing her mood to droop.

“You make it sound like love is some sentient force.”

“In a way, because it drives the actions of all sentient beings in some form or another; it is.”

“All actions? How?”

“You put your mane a certain way because you love the way it looks, or love the admiration of someone who loves it that way. You avoid stepping in a puddle because you love feeling warm and not cold-”

The stallion glanced over to her, recalling the information he’d learned in the library.

“You attempted to court my brother because you either loved his characteristics or presence. Your romance novels make this stubborn emotion out to be some beautiful, small catalyst of a bond between two beings. I see only a self serving puppeteer pulling the strings the way he likes it. Far as I see it, love only exists to grow itself by forcing the actions of others. And when the puppeteer doesn’t get what he likes, cue the bloodshed. All of the most horrific bouts of revenge were spurred by love or the craving of it.”

Xenilla chuckled lightly with a small smile, rolling his eyes.

“It’s almost humorous; those novels see a potential firestorm and treat it like a candle. Something that starts wars is hardly anything I'd consider pleasant. Love puts its hold on someone far more than any emotion or chemical drug ever could. Sometimes I wonder what some souls are addicted to more. Each other or the emotional high they get.”

Blade Dancer’s eyes practically ignited at the last suggestion. She didn’t go for her blades, she didn’t take to the air, she didn’t even rush in front of Xenilla to halt him. Instead she cocked a hoof back and punched him square in the face. True, it felt like she just hit a brick wall and the opposite force stung her arm; but it didn’t matter at all. The fact Xenilla actually felt it and stumbled slightly in response is what mattered. He froze in place, half tempted to strike back for the sudden insolence as the left side of his face stung from healing over a bruise.

Before he could entertain much of the thought over, Blade Dancer lurched forward, putting a hoof to his chest as she reared up to glare at him at eye level.

“Listen.Up. I am NO ADDICT. Hell with it all, I might have been with more than my fair share of stallions and mares over the years; but I loved every last one of THEM. The feeling was nice, but the fact it was being shared is what made it beautiful. The love for them never controlled me, it just guided me along! Sure some folks have done horrible things before with revenge, but what about all the good around to balance it? If you say and think love is so powerful, then wouldn’t those who have had it in the way I have only been made stronger by it? So what if someponies would seek revenge if Princess Cadance died? She or some emotion she evoked didn’t force them to feel that way about her. If they loved her so much, then it only proves she did something wonderful for them to earn it. I don't know what rock you crawled out under, because I don't think I've ever heard something so wrong!"

Xenilla stopped, returning the glare. The mare had a lot of nerve, daring to strike and back talk him. She was courageous and bold, he'd give her that much. Flickers of rage built up inside him and threatened to spew forth from his maw as a beam of burning heat. There was easily a thousand different ways he could terminate such insolence right now...

His anger cooled as his face returned to a neutral pose.