It was a cool early evening. The moon was new – a mere sliver of its waxed glory – and the stars still hid behind the final rays of the setting sun. But none of this registered to the guests staying on the cruise ship ‘Coral Queen’ – after all, the night had only just begun and there were fun times to be had. The muted din of swinging tunes and laughing voices could have been heard for miles across the surface of the calm sea, had anyone else been there to hear it. She was just making her return trip from tropical Dalmoria, and spirits were high as home loomed ever closer.

For Lyra Heartstring, it had been the greatest two weeks of her life. When her best friend Bonbon had presented her the tickets for her twenty-fifth birthday, she had been ecstatic – she had always wanted to visit Dalmoria as a little girl, and to finally achieve that dream was a sublime experience on her part. As she stepped out on the deck to catch so fresh air, she could not help but admire the splendorous spectacle of the setting sun casting itself against the glassy waters. It would be nice to be back home; she missed her friends and family.

She giggled to herself as she thought back on all the wonderful things that happened on her trip. The walks along the golden beaches, snorkeling off the coral sound, and finding a potential flame – a handsome teal stallion whom she’d met by chance while walking down a nature trail. The two had hit if off almost immediately, and she’d been elated to learn that he lived in Manehattan, not but a day’s train ride from her hometown! She could hardly wait to reunite with him – she couldn’t help but feel that he was the one meant for her.

She laughed again as she thought about how excited her best friend had been when she’d heard the news – Bonbon had practically planned out the wedding already. As if summoned by the thought, said yellow pony stepped outside and walked towards her Unicorn friend. With a mischievous smile, she asked Lyra, “Are you excited to be back home?” Leaning against the railing, the mint-green muse gave a genuine grin as she said, “If only you knew – I wish this boat would go faster.”

The two friends broke into a fit of giggling mirth before turning out towards the ocean and watching the last rays of the setting sun. Within seconds, night was enthroned above the sky – the stars finally coming out of hiding and frolicking amongst the heavens. Bonbon stared in awe as she whispered, “It’s beautiful.” As Lyra turned and regarded her closest friend, she thought back on all the great things they had done together from childhood to present. On a spur of whim, she wrapped her arm around her friend in a caring embrace.

As the sweet-maker hugged her back, Lyra expressed her gratitude, saying, “Thanks Bonbon, for everything – you’re the best friend a girl could ever have.” The blue haired filly’s face broke into a dazzling white smile as she chuckled and said, “No problem – and you’re pretty great too.” Again the two laughed together before settling into a companionable silence. Soon enough, more ponies had decided to take a break from the party, as friends and couples stood together and took in the ethereal beauty of the night.

Talking once more, Lyra gushed, “Oh, Bonbon, I can hardly hold it in – things are finally coming together for me!” With a contented sigh, Bonbon opened her mouth and began to reply, “I know how you feel – it just feels like things could only go –” She never got the chance to finish as a scalding white flash of light so intense as to blind any who saw it sprung up from the water, encompassing everyone onboard in a great burning agony that never even registered before it disappeared and the boat was in flames. The heat had been so intense that those who had been on deck were reduced to naught but ash. The boat continued onwards for a few short seconds before the engines gave out and exploded in a purple wave of magical fire.

As the ‘Coral Queen’ sank beneath the churning waves the culprit of her demise casually regarded its handiwork before once more continuing along its way. Sinking deeper into the abyss, the creature slightly readjusted its course and with a powerful sweep of its tail rocketed forth at a speed that should have been, by all accounts, physically impossible for a being of its size. Through nictitated eyes, it peered into the darkness that encircled it – unperturbed by the lack of visibility; it was perfectly at home in the turgid depths. Closing its eyes, it let the waters guide its way, the subtle changes of eddies and flows spoke to it on an instinctual level.

Once more, its mind began wandering. Much had changed in the span of its slumber. The seas were different from what it could remember – they were colder, and the creatures which inhabited them were so alien in form. The stars had changed too; their placement so unlike what it was used to. The lands had been radically transformed as well. The island it had awoken on had once been part of a single massive landmass, covered in marshy coasts and great coniferous forests. Even the air was strange to the creature – so much drier than what it had last recalled.

Another stark difference was the absence of the others. Upon its waking it had searched for them, called for them for days on end. They were gone, and had likely been for a very long while. The loneliness was crushing in the extreme – no longer would the great hunts of its youth be a reality, nor would the seasonal gatherings take place. It was alone, and this fact only fueled the flames that burned within its soul. The burden of its existence would be felt by all in due time – the parasites that afflicted this world would suffer its wrath and perhaps when they were all brought low, it might find peace.

Minutes turned to hours, which turned to days. As time went on, the creature’s ire only seemed to grow. With an increasing need to lash out at the world but with nothing at which to channel its destructive rage, the beast began teetering on the brink of blood crazed madness. But just as soon as it became all too much, the currents took a swift turn. There could be only one thing for which an ocean current would yield to, and with a renewed vigor, the monstrosity redoubled its speed as it headed for shore…

Silence reigned over the town of Teller’s Mill – the small coal mining community had just settled in for the night, with most of the town’s fifteen thousand inhabitants already fast asleep. Teller’s Mill was unusual in the sense of where it was located. When it had first been settled, it had primarily been a fishing village, located upon the tip of the Hippos peninsula of the Equestrian coast. As time went on, it was learned that the reason behind the peninsula’s iconic loamy black sand was a massive coal deposit that constituted much of its foundation.

This started a boom that continued to run even to this day, with a dozen rail lines and twice as many commercial ports springing up from the mining precinct – it was through them that untold quantities of coal was dispersed throughout the rest of the world. Needless to say, it had earned a reputation for being a ‘black-brick town’, where the soot of the industry permeated just about every facet of life. Yet this seldom deterred those who sought to make a living here, and in fact had contributed much to the natives’ character.

Being positioned upon a peninsula, Teller’s Mill had seen its fair share of disasters – hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, you name it and they’d had it. Yet the people of this town were nothing if not resilient, and after every tragedy they had managed to rebuild. Nature had thrown the worst it had to offer at them, and they had stood defiant every time. But on this night, nature would unleash her greatest agent, and in its wake there would be none left to rebuild once more.

With a great and terrible sound, the tranquility of the night was shattered as the sea burst open in a spray of foam and sand. With a purposeful grimace, the implementer of ruin took its first thundering step upon terra firma – the brittle earth giving way to its tremendous weight as it charged headlong into the hapless township! Within seconds the beast was upon its quarry, crushing homes and buildings beneath its monstrous feet as it waded towards the center of the town. Whole sections were wiped away with a broad sweep of its serpentine tail – great swaths of building material sent skyward, only to rain down at random, causing more destruction!

With a powerful swing of its muscular arm, the beast bowled over the smokestacks of a refinery before bringing its fists down upon the facility proper. With a bellowing roar of fury the creature challenged the world as it looked about the city. These things – these parasites – were feeble and pathetic; content to live their lives in a peaceful happiness that it would never again be able to experience. Just the notion of it was enough to fill it with a burning ball of hate that seemed to travel up its throat.

When that hate turned into a physical burning it could no longer withstand, the great leviathan heaved forward and, with a scream of anger and pain, unleashed a burning ball of incandescent fire. The fireball screamed through the air before detonating upon impact with a nearby warehouse. The resultant explosion was amplified by the nearly hundred thousand tons of coal held therein; the great shockwave flattening everything in a fifty block radius. In an instant, thousands of lives had been snuffed out.

The sky was filled with burning rocks that slowly rained down across the land, setting wood and tender to light and casting the air into a hazy black fog. A series of rumbling aftershocks rocked the countryside as a great swath of the underground coal seams were lit by the blast, igniting pockets of gas and dust which only added to the underground inferno. Soon enough, great rending vents opened up from the grounds, spewing jets of noxious fumes and pitch black smoke into the air.

In less than five minutes the entire town was a smoking ruin, brought low by the vengeful hands of a monster they never even knew existed. With a final look at its efforts, the beast quickly turned and began its trek further into land. It was guided forward by a sense not its own, but it would pay heed to it nonetheless. Storm clouds loomed in the distance, a modicum of cover offered up by its patron with the intent of concealing its advance – ironically, it would be these clouds that alerted the powers that be to its presence…

Franky Stratus didn’t really consider himself an important pony – he’d be the first to tell you that he wasn’t that bright, nor was he that strong. He certainly didn’t consider himself to be anything but an average Pegasus in every sense of the word. But if there was one thing he could claim to be decent at, it was his job of being the weather monitor of Pineburrow County. So it was no surprise that he took notice of the unscheduled storm that had developed over his precinct.

As he flew higher in order to get a better grasp of the storm’s layout, he was startled by how big it truly was, stretching from Coal County, through Pineburrow and all the way to Badwater County – a good two hundred kilometers! Stranger still was the shape it took. Instead of the amorphous blob he’d expected to see, Franky Stratus beheld a most unusual sight – the storm took on the shape of a great, fat crescent, pushing forward in a unified manner the likes of which he’d never seen.

Luminous flashes soon began to peel through the cloud cover – lightning storms of a terrible ferocity if he was to judge – and the distant boom of thunder could still clearly be heard even from such a distance as he was at. It was by chance that Stratus looked further into the distance, noticing the great pillars of black smoke that seemed to brace up the skies. Knowing his geography well enough led him to the conclusion that he was staring at where the town of Teller’s Mill ought to have been. But all he could see was smoke and an orange haze hovering above the land.

While he didn’t understand what was going on, he was prudent enough to know that whatever it was wasn’t the norm, and that he ought to alert the proper authorities. Just as he made to turn and fly off to Cloudsdale, he was halted by the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen in his life. There, on the ground, walking behind the wake of the super storm trundled a great and terrible creature. Resembling a dragon without wings and covered in grotesque spines, it stopped just long enough to let loose an ear-splitting scream that shook him to his very core.

With renewed haste, Franky Stratus flew faster than he’d ever thought he could – he needed to warn someone – anyone, about what he’d seen. Because if he was right, then whatever that thing was, was headed on a direct collision course with Appleoosa! The seven minutes it took him to reach Cloudsdale were the longest seven minutes he’d ever experienced, and as he flew into the head office of the weather bureau he drew more than a few confused stares at how alarmed he acted.

Barging in on his boss was seldom a good idea – Sky Streamer was not a patient man by any measure. But when Franky Stratus, one of the more dependable of his employees, came barging in stuttering about freak storms, missing cities and giant monsters, he was more than willing to hear him out. And while he himself found it rather hard to believe, he did think that the presence of an unscheduled, unregulated and unconventional storm front was enough to warrant calling in to Canterlot.

Three minutes into said call, Sky Streamers face took on a pale quality as he handed the phone to Stratus, saying, “Princess Celestia, herself, is on the other end; she’d like to ask you a few questions.” Taking the phone from his boss, Frank hesitantly spoke into the receiver, “Hello?” The voice that spoke to him on the other end was undoubtedly that of the solar monarch as she began, “Hello, my little pony, I understand that you’ve come across a rather severe storm system, correct?” Fumbling for the right words and failing, he answered, “Um, yes your majesty.”

With an inquisitive tone, his ruler asked, “Your employer mentioned that you said something about witnessing what you described as a ‘giant wingless dragon’ advancing behind it – is this true?” Again, he answered, “Uh, yeah – only I don’t think it was a dragon… I mean, it sort of looked like one, but it was all wrong, I guess.” For a handful of seconds there was no sound on the other end. Just as he was about to ask if something was wrong, she finally said, “Thank you for this information, my little pony – you’ve done us a great service.” And with that, the other line was hung up.

Handing the phone back to his boss, Franky Stratus lowered his brow in confusion. Giving him a look, Sky Streamer asked, “Any idea what she wanted?” All Frank could do was shrug his shoulders… Meanwhile, in Canterlot, the ball had begun to roll. Celestia had informed her inner cabinet of the situation and already they had begun implementing their plans into effect. With any luck, they might just be able to stop this beast before it wrought anymore havoc…

Braeburn Apple stared in confusion at the oncoming clouds. The town of Appleoosa had not been scheduled for rain, as far as he was aware, and certainly not in the form of such a fierce and foreboding cell. Laying aside the post-hole digger he had been utilizing, the frontier farmer half-hazardly dusted himself off before trotting towards the local weather station. Along the way, he couldn’t help but notice how swiftly the wind had picked up in the last few minutes, with all sorts of thistle and dust being kicked up in its wake.

Stepping into the old wooden lodge, Braeburn was greeted by the friendly face of the town’s local weather-pony, Docket Ledger (or ‘Doc’ for short), who was currently sitting at his desk, drinking his early morning coffee. With a congenial smile, the old horse asked, “Morning, Braeburn, how’s life been treatin’ you so far?” With a small smile of his own, the young sod-buster replied, “If it were any better, I’d have to take something for it.” With a chuckle, the older of the two then asked, “What can I do for you?”

With a look of mild concern, Braeburn began, “Actually, Doc, I was wondering whether or not we had a thunderstorm scheduled for today.” Raising a confused brow, Docket Ledger opened up a desk drawer and began perusing through its contents before pulling out a folder marked ‘Weather’. Breaking it open, the old weather watcher quickly sifted through the various timetables and charts before happening upon the weekly planner. Scanning over the review, he finally answered, “No – it doesn’t say anything about a thunderstorm in here; why do you ask?”

Nervously rubbing his foreleg, the apple farmer replied, “Well, I’m asking ‘cause there’s a real big one coming out of the south, and by the looks of it, it’s heading this way.” With a puzzled frown, Doc replaced the manila folder and slowly rose from his chair, before heading towards the door. As the two of them stepped outside, they were both assaulted by a powerful gale of wind that nearly carried them both away. Hollering over the wind, Docket Ledger declared, “Lord above – I ain’t ne’er seen a storm so fierce in all my life!”

Holding fast to his hat, Braeburn shouted, “What do we do, Doc?” Making a snap decision, the older pony yelled back, “Get to the town square and fire up the storm-siren!” With a nod, the young workhorse ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the center of town. Doc considered this as he watched Braeburn’s flight – while the alarm protocol itself wasn’t a new procedure, the recent implementation of the magic-powered, quartz lined air sirens had yet to be tested; there was no guarantee that the alarms would actually work.

His thoughts were cut short by the chilling wail of the siren starting up. Apparently, his young friend had had no trouble in turning it on. All throughout the town the sonorous scream of the air turbines spilled forth, noticeable by all those who were out in the streets and in the fields – even those who were hard of hearing could clearly distinguish it. With a proud smile, Braeburn Apple swiftly returned to Doc as he exclaimed, “I got the sirens to work, Doc, now what do we d—”

The air seemed to tear asunder, literally shaking as a noise like boiling lighting striking liquid metal blasted through the peeling rain, overpowering even the screaming sirens! With a start, both ponies literally fell upon their hind-quarters at the force of such an ungodly sound, with Braeburn screaming, “What in the world was that!?” Quickly rising to their feet the two of them tried desperately to peer through the downpour, but with little luck of ever being able to see anything through such a deluge, they quickly gave up as Doc said, “I don’t know, but this storm is getting worse, so we ought to get inside, quick.”

As they turned back towards the weather lodge, they were beholden to a strange sight as, of all things, a tree the size of a whale came crashing down from the sky, completely demolishing the building, and taking a few other structures with it before it finally came to rest! All around them, more of the same followed – trees and boulders, somehow picked up in the storm were now falling with the rain, wreaking havoc and sewing devastation as they fell upon the town! It was such an awesome spectacle that Docket Ledger had completely missed sight of a enormous boulder falling towards him.

The only warning he got came in the form of Braeburn shouting, “Doc, look out!” before the young farmer physically tackled him out of the way. Finally broken from his stupor, the weather pony quickly suggested heading towards the town hall, which had been used on prior occasions as a communal storm shelter of sorts. Unanimously agreeing on this course of action, the two made a mad dash for the county seat building, narrowly missing an old oak tree and the occasional wagon-sized rock before they finally made it inside the relative safety of the shelter.

Quickly taking account of the dozen or so families that had also decided to take safely to the courthouse, Braeburn trotted up to the family of a close friend, looking amongst them before asking, “Where’s your pa?” Before one of the children could answer, the ground gave an almighty heave, throwing many to the floor. Quickly gathering a few of the children around him, the farmer tried to distract them with a few jokes and reassuring words, but just as quickly, there came another tremor, strong enough to knock the dust from the rafters and dislodge several paintings and fixtures from the walls.

All at once, the noise outside ceased – rays of early morning light played through the windows as the clouds passed by. The wind had died down, too, as the storm sirens could now be clearly heard outside. Perhaps, thought Braeburn, the worst had come and passed – the storm was doubtlessly over! As he slowly rose to console the others, he was caught off guard a final time as the entire building shook beneath a great and terrible trembling of the earth, a sound like nothing he could describe being the last thing he heard as the roof collapsed down upon them, and then he knew no more…

Silence reigned as the dust settled – all around it there was little that could remain discernible of the town proper. With a rumbling growl of satisfaction, the lumbering titan turned once more to the north, picking up momentum with each powerful stride. Soon enough, it was barreling across the desert plains, the last vestiges of the enshrouding storm dissipating with the scorching winds that scoured the landscape. Time passed quickly through its senses – thoughts of retribution burning through its mind – had it not been for the unmistakable smell of ionized air, it could have very well missed what lay before it.

As it stood, the beast slowed to a halt as it slowly scanned its surroundings. When nothing rose to challenge it in any shape or form it slowly started once more to move onwards. That is, until it was literally brought to a stop by colliding with solid air. Snarling in displeased surprise, the colossus frantically tried to identify the anomaly that impeded its progress – there was nothing to suggest the surrounding atmosphere was any different from usual; no sights or sounds to give measure to it – only the acrid scent of burning ozone gave any indication of sorts.

Carefully it began to move again, an outstretched claw bracing in front of it as it inched its way forward. When it once more came into contact with a solid wall that was not visibly there, the anger that had been set aside by its caution flared up tenfold – whatever this thing was it was meant to halt its progress. Rearing back in contempt and outrage, the beast let loose an affronted roar as it drew its arm back, its claws clenched in righteous anger. With all of its godlike strength, the scion of doom propelled its fist forward faster than one would conceive as possible for a being so large.

A resounding crack filled the air as its massive fist made contact with the unseen barrier. All across the open expanse a spider’s web of hairline fractures grew – expanding further and further across the immaterial nothingness until, with a sound like breaking ice, the entire construct gave way in a flash of ethereal pink mist. The satisfaction it felt by breaking through was thoroughly shattered by an unnatural upsurge of rocky spires – their twisting forms seemingly hewn from the earth itself. Instinctively the beast tried to go around the obstructions, but to its utter consternation the stony pillars seemed to follow it – blocking its path at every turn.

With a snort, the titan of terror quickly decided that enough was enough. Coiling its great and sinuous legs the beast lunged forward, barreling into and through the outcropping stones – tearing them asunder and breaking the land beneath in a spectacular fashion. Swiftly lifting itself from the rubble strewn ground, the monster turned back and noticed with outrage how the remaining spires seemed to retreat once more into the earth. In its mind it knew that these were not natural occurrences – someone or something was undoubtedly trying to hinder its movements. This only further incensed the creature; stoking the embers of burning fury to greater levels…

The inner halls of Canterlot Castle were in an uproar of activity as various and sundered ponies ran to and fro amidst its halls and chambers. Within a particular part of the castle, in a room lined with every magically imbued stone imaginable, Princess Celestia sat upon a dais – her figure covered in foam as she struggled to retain her grasp upon consciousness. At her side stood her sister, a look of worried exhaustion upon her face as she beheld her sister’s plight. “Sister,” she began, “please – you must rest.” With a final gasp of discomfort, the solar princess’s form visibly sagged – her eyes were sunken and weary, her mane matted and clinging to her back.

Taking a deep and shuddering breath, Celestia exclaimed, “It is so much that I even attempt constrain this beast, and yet it brushes my efforts aside with contemptible ease; truly its power is frightening!” With a gentle hoof, the princess of moonlight eased her sister down from the pedestal whilst asking, “Were you successful enough in delaying the creature – do we have time to enact our countermeasures?” Greedily imbibing from an offered trough of water, the elder sovereign wiped her mouth before offering up, “I believe so; it is hard to know – this Gho’Zra is nothing if not determined.”

What she’d felt of the creature as it collided with her magic had truly frightened her, to say the least. She could physically feel the weight of eons behind its every movement, and the power she felt it exude was so alien to her – a magic of the earth so ancient that it could no longer be called magic; this was eldritch in its design – of the old gods and the old ways, before her father’s father, and his father before him. It was clear to her, now more than ever, that they were dealing with something beyond their understanding. This Gho’Zra was a paragon of something beyond wanton destruction – it was as akin to the right hand of God, an arbiter of a will outside itself.

Finally composing herself, Celestial turned to her sister and asked, “Has the defense force been situated?” Nodding in grim determination, the midnight monarch affirmed, “Yes, they await for your orders to proceed with the plan you have enacted.” Taking a final drink from the trough, the radiant ruler once more assumed her position atop the dais as she announced, “Then let us begin, shall we?” With a mere thought, her consciousness was carried across the winds as she assumed control over elements that were not hers to direct.

With her sister’s mind literally elsewhere, Princess Luna took the time to once more observe the chamber. The room had been built nearly a thousand years ago, with the intention of stopping the evil of her former incarnation should it have ever arisen from its banishment to the moon. Constructed in a strange, isometric octogram – the walls were covered in a dazzling array of precious and semi-precious stones that gave off a thrumming glow, casting unnatural shadows across the floor as the magic flowed freely amidst the ephemeral air.

It had purposefully been constructed on a fae nexus; the focal point of nigh on a dozen lay lines as they converged upon a single point – the dais upon which her sister stood. With so much of the earth’s natural magic in once spot, it was possible to control the physical realms of nature with immaterial thought, something that had been integral to the empire’s well-being these past centuries. With such power, the throne had prevented such calamities as earthquakes and floods, directed rivers and streams to much needed agricultural districts, and in the case of now, provide for the defense of the nation.

Finally turning away from it all, the nocturnal alicorn directed her attention to the task at hand. With but a quick thought, she displaced herself from the chamber and upon opening her eyes found herself to be amidst the streets of Cloudsdale, whereupon she was greeted by the sight of a host of pegasi nervously standing at attention – their polished armor glaring under the light of the noonday sun. A grizzled old Pegasus wearing a cap and gold tasseled saddlepack approached the princess and with a rasping voice announced, “Your highness, so kind of you to grace us with your presence… I take it that the plan is about to commence?”

Addressing the old war bird, she replied, “You would be correct, Colonel Streicher[1] – my sister is even now mustering the ground forces for the operation.” Turning towards the regaled force of soldiers, she observed, “These men look nervous.” With a scoff, the grey haired colonel said, “Three weeks ago there was no such thing as the Equestrian Defense Force; would you not also be nervous about your first deployment with only three weeks of training under your belt?” Carefully regarding the old pegasi, she neutrally asked, “Would it not be prudent to perhaps offer them some reassuring words?”

An amused chuckle escaped the colonel’s lips as he replied, “I’ve already spoken with them your majesty – but I did not offer them false assurances; there’s a good chance that many of them will die.” At this the princess involuntarily flinched; she had no desire to send her subjects into battle, but necessity dictated it to be so. Quickly distracting herself, she intoned, “Very well then, please instruct the weather corp to begin operation firelight – in the meantime, I will be at the helm of the strato-nexus[2].” With a quick salute and a nod of confirmation, the two went their separate ways…

The air was filled with the dust of the plains as another obstacle arose to contest the monster’s path, this time in the form of an immense monolith of shimmering gypsum. However, instead of the usual shenanigans of obstructing its path or attempting to trip the creature, this earthy prism took the beast by surprise as a sudden offshoot of rock extended into a massive right hook, clocking the behemoth right across the jaw. Physically staggered, the lumbering titan had little time to counter as another column extended from its parent, taking purchase into its gut. As it toppled over, its savage mind came to task as it tapped into the ancient instincts of its ancestors.

With an unnatural display of swiftness the creature pivoted on its back, spinning into a pirouette as it brought its muscular tail into a breakneck collision with the base of the crystal pillar. With a sound like falling timbers and grating sand, the mighty petroglyph was brought low. Quickly righting itself, the monstrosity prudently brought its enormous foot down upon what remained of the offending rock, reducing it into a fine powder of shards and dust before it finally determined it was safe enough to continue. Turning to the north once again, it was brought to pause by the surprising spectacle before it.

There, on a ridge not more than a kilometer ahead, stood a hundred and more of the pastel colored parasites that had done so much to incite the beast’s ire. While they fell into all shapes and sizes, they all were similar in the brassy kataphractoi they wore; the midday sun glancing off them, giving them the appearance of celestial beings. But nature’s scion was not mislead by such things – it had already killed hundreds if not thousands of these things, and while they may have borne armor, they were still but insignificant dust motes in comparison to its magnificent form.

Bellowing out a primordial challenge to its adversaries, the avatar of vengeance strode forth in its power – the thundering drumbeat of its footsteps seemed to resonate with the very heart of the earth as it kicked up a maelstrom of dust and sand. The red haze had already begun to overtake its senses as it closed the distance; the pain of its existence transformed into its exterior hatred of these things. Had it been in a rational state of thought, it might have wondered why these pests did not outright flee before its wake.

Regardless, what it did wonder was how the ground beneath had suddenly disappeared as it plummeted into a great sinkhole a mere two dozen meters from its quarry. For all of their physical disadvantages, the ponies had one thing in great abundance, and that was intellect. Undoubtedly this trap had been implemented hours prior to the beast’s arrival. This fact was only reinforced as a detachment of unicorns tapped into their stores of inner magic and summoned great bouts of magma from beneath the pit, transforming the ditch into a lake of fire and consuming the abomination in an ironic purgation of its own.

With a bout of cheering, the assembled ponies rejoiced at the beast’s doubtless destruction. Beneath the surface of the lake, however, the titan felt only a minor annoyance at the scalding lava that bathed its form; the physical burn was nothing compared to the cataclysm that had turned it into the hideous nightmare of its current body, and indeed the pain only seemed to decrease as the corroding anguish of its soul drowned it in a flood of all-encompassing rage. The audacity of these insects was infuriating! They thought to conquer it with but a little fire? It would have laughed were it physically capable of it.

Instead, it chose to disavow these vermin of any notions that they had of victory by rupturing forth from the turbulent lake of magmata, screaming its defiance in an ear shattering roar that physically knocked those of lesser stature to the ground! With a hefty pull it gracelessly heaved itself out of the molten pitfall and with even less grace did it lash out with open claw at the nearest of the ponies, utterly crushing it and those who had surrounded it in it gargantuan grasp. All around it the ponies scattered, intent on putting as much distance between it and them as possible.

Yet even this, it seemed, had been a ploy of these crafty parasites. For as it quickly gave chase to the largest of the fleeing groups, it found itself once more in another trap; this one of a more cunning design – all at once its motions were halted as a plethora of gnarled black roots sprung up from the ground, wrapping its feet in their vicelike grip and immobilizing the beast completely. As it struggled to wrench its legs free, a further set of anchors sprang up to entangle it in their smothering embrace. All around it all manner of root and vine, flora and foliage fell upon it – covering it from head to toe in a constrictive cocoon.

The more the creature struggled, the tighter the grip of its prison became. When at last the gangrel amalgam ceased twitching, one of the ponies on the ground turned towards one of its fellows (a Pegasus of very slight build) and demanded, “Inform Princess Luna that the target has been contained, and that we await further orders!” With a nod the courier was off, swift as lighting and with the wind at his back. Swinging his head over his shoulder, the senior officer bellowed further orders to a group of Unicorns, saying “Engineering, raise the barricades!”

With much concentration, the magicians imbued all of their skill to which they plied their craft and with a monumental effort constructed a prismatic pyramid of redoubtable sorceries, entrapping the monster within further redundancies. A further five layers were reinforced upon it so that none might escape its hold. Finally, with their work finished, the group of Unicorns collapsed, passed out in their efforts and rendered unconscious through their exertions. As the medics attended to them, the remaining equines gathered around the prison and marveled at how their planned worked so fluidly - with Princess Celestia’s aid they had ensnared the monster with ease!

Silence was something that the creature had often taken solace in; within the dark confines of the oceans it had found relative peace in the soundlessness of its depths. But this silence that it felt now was nothing like that – this was a crushing, oppressive silence that would drive lesser beings to madness and stifled even thought. The roots that dug into its flesh were likewise in manner – confining its motions and inhibiting its breathing. Already a heady sensation had taken up residency within its mind; the lack of oxygen only growing more pronounced as the seconds passed by.

But with impending darkness of the mind came a sudden upsurge of something savage and primeval in its nature – an instinctual need to fight, to survive! This was instinct, and it was powerful in its own right – for the ancient saurian quickly found within its blood the drive to struggle once more, to not give up and die. No, it needed to live and it would live! Letting go of its conscious efforts, the creature gave in to its body as something beyond its faculties possessed it. Like a madman it writhed and twisted about, gurgling and growling through a mouth clamped shut and ignoring the pain of the vines that cut through its grotesque hide.

While it’s would-be captors watched in nervous anticipation, hoping against hope that the bindings might hold, inside the prismatic prison something began to stir within its accursed blood – something outside the realm of nature and yet wholly of itself. All took note of how the air within the pyramidal keep began to shimmer and warp as it vaporized. All that which was contained therein began to boil; the sand, the soil, the rocks and weeds – even the vines began to deteriorate in rapid order. As the incarcerated ground began to char and blacken and the sand turned to glass, a dull hum began to bleed outwards.

A flash of searing white (so bright that it instantly destroyed the retinas of those poor souls unfortunate enough to have stared directly into it) engulfed everything within the confines of the conjured cell. Could those who beheld it have seen past the light, they would have been astonished by the pulsing of negative energies that poured out of its monstrous form; appearing as great spears of radioactive bloom. As such they could not have known and with this pulse the roots and vines were rendered to ash and smoke.

The cry of triumph that peeled from its maw went unheard by all. With the fading of the flash it was quickly realized that the menace was free of its restraints. Yet when it attempted to lunge at them, the ponies were relieved to see its efforts fail as it collided with the shimmering wall of its magic cage. A dozen more failed attempts of breaking out and their worries were put completely to rest. As if suddenly realizing the futility of its actions, they observed as it suddenly went from ravenous to calm; an eerie stillness that sent a shiver down the spines of those less sturdy in their makeup.

As it narrowed its eyes and leisurely set its gaze this way and that, a few of the more astute ponies among them had a terrifying notion that this slavering beast was analyzing them – they could see a terrible intelligence in those eyes, one that could measure up to any of theirs. Still, most thought that the animal had simply given up. They were wrong beyond all comprehension. With a blink of realization, the creature slowly cast its eyes to the ground. Pulling back its lips and baring a double palisade of wicked teeth, the arbitrator of doom raised a ponderous leg before bringing its enormous foot down with the force of an avalanche.

The earth shook and quivered under such strain, knocking several ponies to their knees. Again and again it did this, kicking at the ground and swiping its powerful tail in a storm of motion. Very quickly the prism in which it was contained was filled with a cloud of swirling dust so thick that no eye could possibly penetrate it. The tremors soon began to fade, and finally disappeared altogether. It would take some time for the detritus to settle, but by the time that they took notice of the monster’s conspicuous lack of presence or the gaping hole in the ground it was too late.

Again the ground quaked – rocks and pebbles bounced from their beds as the sand shifted beneath the ponies’ feet. The floodgates broke with a terrifying rumble, for where they stood was no more; replaced by a wedged head of charcoaled skin, wicked scars and giant teeth. This monstrosity, to their horror, had dug its way through solid earth and breached from it as if it were not but water – pulling itself clear and free with no sign of fatigue or wear! What was worse – it decided at that moment to reveal yet another trick it possessed, hunching forward and letting loose a pained scream of smoldering heat it vomited forth a great ball of plasma wreathed in flames!

The fireball screamed through the air before detonating over the pack of Unicorns who had imprisoned it in their magics, incinerating them in an instant and killing dozens more in the implosion – those closer to the epicenter dying to horrific flash burns that broiled the flesh from their bones, the less fortunate were mangled by the kinetic forces at work in the explosive outburst. Never letting up, the giant turned upon those too stupefied to run and ground them into dust with a majestic swipe of its serpentine tail. Those with the pragmatism to flee were not so safe either, as the titan proved with another display of otherworldly power.

Wrenching open its gullet, the behemoth spewed its hate and aggression - a fluctuating beam of sky-blue might that cut across the landscape with but a simple twist of the head and reduced all it touched to a pile of ash and cinders. All around, the physical makeup of the land which was struck shattered and released a slew of minor explosions that only added to the catastrophe! While pony kind had never experienced true war in centuries, there could be no other description for this scene that unfolded other than ‘war zone’; the ground pockmarked with craters and billowing pillars of smoking flame, great heaps of molten slag and crackling embers wherever there was fuel to burn – an umbra of windswept dust and residue casting an ocher haze against the sky.

And it was this hellish scene that met the eyes of the midnight sovereign, Luna, as she directed the great cloud fortress over this battlefield. Turning sharply to the messenger, she demanded, “I thought you said that the monster had been contained!” Shrinking back, the poor Pegasus meekly responded, “It was when I delivered the news, my lady – I swear!” With a worried frown, the princess quickly made a decision. “Very well then,” she said, “if this is to be how fate plays its game, then we shall invest headlong into her clutches!”

Surveying the field around it, the great leviathan felt satisfied that its enemies had been thoroughly broken. Heading once more towards the north, it failed to notice the mighty cloud ship that stormed headlong into the fray. It was not until an immense shadow overtook it that it paused to glance upwards. With a growl it attempted to come to terms with what it was looking at. By all measures it looked like a mere cloud formation, but the way it retained its shape and heading spoke differently.

Whatever this thing was, it was of no consequence to the beast. That is, until a lancing beam of sunset light shot forth from its cumulus form. The orange ray struck its shoulder, piercing completely through it in a spray of bright crimson blood and purple ichor! With a shriek, it toppled over, clutching its wound in an attempt to halt the fountain of red that pulsed forth with every heartbeat. Its pain was only intensified by a new sensation that spread throughout its arm; its body, it seemed, possessed more powers than even it was aware of. For as it looked to its shredded arm, it was shocked to see the wound rapidly diminishing – bones mending, muscles stitching and flesh closing, all in a span of a few seconds!

Needless to say, both parties were astonished by this turn of events, but it proved only a minor matter before the cloud-bound citadel redoubled its efforts, letting loose a full salvo of destruction upon the titan’s position. Within the control nexus of the cloud ship, Princess Luna was greatly disturbed by this new turn of events. The cyanide crystal emitters were some of the most powerful and destructive implements of the Equestrian empire – used for well on a decade for such things as industrial grade mining, land clearance and metal craft; their transition from tool to weapon had been a rather straightforward affair.

But to see it inflict such a mortal wound upon the creature, only for it to near instantly shrug it off as its body repaired itself had been nothing if not disheartening. She had quickly ordered a full barrage upon the abomination in the hopes of reducing it to shreds, but it seemed that no matter how many blows were landed, nothing seemed to bring the thing down. What was more, the cyanide crystals were prone to overheating and fracturing, and already her techno-sorcerers were informing her that crystal batteries D through G had been compromised; if they continued at this rate, the entire grid would overheat!

Calling a ceasefire, the nighttime noble ordered that the refractor spells be activated. Looking down upon their target, she could clearly see that it was indeed worse for wear, but that it was already rapidly healing. Noticing that the sharp puncturing pains had ceased, the creature raised itself from its hunkered position and looked warily at this new enemy. No doubt, it was under the employ of the vermin who sought to challenge its existence. When the dull throbbing burn of mending skin finally dissipated, it took a single bold step forward and called out a bellow of defiance before belching forth its own reprisal.

To its consternation, the great column of radioactive fire merely crashed against an unseen wall, breaking the river of power into so many little streams that danced away in so many directions. As if that were not enough, the cloud began to disgorge hundreds of winged parasites; their quadrupedal forms covered in some sort of shining metal that only made them that much harder to make out in the noonday sun. They swiftly broke up into smaller flocks before heading right towards it, as if to confront the great beast directly!

To the credit of the pegasi, they were nothing if not brave – knowing full and well that they were at great risk of death. But most of them were also aware of what might happen should this thing be allowed to reach the interior of the homeland; how it would undoubtedly destroy their homes and kill their loved ones with but a casual ease and nonchalance that brought their blood to boil. So it was that they flew into the jaws of death with the intention of bringing death to heel. And they were readily equipped for the occasion.

Every single one of them, without fail, was equipped with a very special object – a magically imbued micro cloud with a polished ruby at its core. Long used to dissipate stubborn weather formations, the cloud bomb was at least a few hundred years old. What made these ones so different from their predecessors were the firestone rubies that lay at their heart; each and every one of which contained the solar output of a miniaturized star (courtesy of Princess Celestia.) Capable of leveling hills and demolishing rock, they were a terrifying weapon.

So it was that the first squadron to make a pass at the target was quick to let loose their payload before pulling sharply up to avoid any sort of counter attack. The effects were immediate. A dozen shocks of radiant ripples riddled the repugnant hide of the beast as it stumbled and lurched at the intensity of such tiny darts! Whole swaths of flesh were incinerated and blood was reduced to a mist of red steam! The effects were horrifying to behold. Yet it seemed that this was not enough to deter this king of death, as its body once more began its rapid repair process.

Soon another sortie made the plunge, arms at the ready as they drove towards their mark. Again, the bombs connected, and again they mutilated every part of the monster they struck. As the third wave made to dive, the creature had had enough. Opening its jaws with a crackling hiss, spines glowing and breath steaming, it spat a wide ray of plasmatic death that engulfed a hundred or more of its assailants. It seemed, however, that a great deal of internal damage had taken place, for a torrent of blackened spume soon replaced the nova; the beast taking great hacking gasps of air before coughing flecks of cauterized flesh and scorched blood.

Sensing a moment of weakness, the entire detachment of pegasi took their chance and dove headlong into the foe; throwing everything they had in a final gamble to end the menace here and now. The resultant slew of micro explosions was enough to rupture the internal organs of those few unfortunate enough to be caught in the fallout radius, and even a few others were knocked from the sky under the wave of negative pressure. Yet none of that seemed to matter as they watched in awe as the scarified form of the monster was rendered broken before their eyes.

With a pitiful groan, the beast collapsed upon itself, rivers of blood and gore seeped from its wounds as its organs struggled to function and its body attempted to reconstruct itself. With a shuddering breath, a wisp of blue mist poured from its mouth, carried away by the wind. It would seem that the creature was upon death’s door. While many of the pegasi who had struck such an overwhelming blow celebrated in its demise, up in the cloud ship, Luna observed the shattered animal with wary eyes.

She had seen many things in her long life – many strange and wonderful oddities. She had also seen many terrible calamities and what they ultimately resulted in. But she had never seen something so primal as the look in this creature’s eyes – a look of unremittent determination, an undying will to live. Anything that would cling this stubbornly to life was never ever to be underestimated. She was just about to order a final sweep by the remaining crystal emitters when her fears were realized.

All around them the sky darkened. The sun concealed behind an impassible wall of angry black clouds. A growling peel of thunder grew into a bone shaking quake of unimaginable proportions. A single potent flash of lighting and the skies erupted – a solid curtain of pelting rain manifesting, striking the ground with a fury that washed away all but the most damning signs of battle. As the earth melted into a quagmire of mud and blood a great arc of electricity snaked its way through the ether, striking one of the great spines that jutted forth from its mangled body.

Soon another bolt of lightning followed suit, crashing down upon the beaten beast – wiring channels of current weaving across its body and betwixt its spines; an otherworldly blue that only highlighted the alien form of the monster. Then another, and another – soon the entire sky was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of thunderbolts, red and yellow, purest white, blue and purple; a dazzling array of neon flashes and sparks pouring into the monster’s frame!

Yes, it seemed that there was indeed some greater force behind it all – something Luna had held a sneaking suspicion of from the beginning. But as she looked on in horrified fascination, she began to understand just to what extent that force was! All at once the lightning storm ceased, and the pounding rain began to peter out until it was a mere shadow of its former self. All around the signs of the storm's passing were evident, yet the dark clouds and booming thunderclaps remained. It wasn’t until some unnamed soldier noted how the ground around the monstrosity was completely dry that something tantamount to fear began to smother the air.

Something else was being carried upon the air, but it was altogether of a more physical nature. It started out subtle enough with a few raindrops never hitting the ground. But as the seconds passed it became more overt – the air temperature raising steadily, the ground becoming parched and cracked. By the time the mud began boiling and the rain evaporated into an ever expanding bubble of scalding steam, it was too late to react. All at once, for kilometers around, the air became a crematorium, the heat so great that most if not all those pegasi who had been exposed to it were dead before they hit the ground – cook alive by the very element they held such love for.

The stench of searing flesh and smoking feathers was unavoidable, and many on board the aerial fortress were instantly made sick to their stomachs. At the helm of the nexus, Princess Luna visibly cried at such a senseless waste of life. Beneath it all, in the shallow pit where it had been felled, something began to stir. Like a war drum, its struggling heart began to once more beat with primal fury. Its massive lungs, no longer fighting for air, began to expand in great volume.

With rapidity beyond the realm of physical belief the great and sundered wounds that riddled its body began to shore up; the blood that had caked its skin began to dissipate, vaporizing into a brown mist that filled the air with the taste of rust and a feeling of nausea. At last, its great red eyes opened – they held a bloodlust so beyond what it had displayed in prior days that one might reason that this was no longer the same creature it had once been. They would be right to think such things.

Nature is nothing, if not cunning in its design. Seeing her favored son in such dire straits, she had felt it necessary to intervene on his behalf. And so it was that she blessed her greatest child with the touch of her essence; no longer would she merely assist him, she was now forever a part of him! As Gho’Zra finally arose into his own, the physical transformation of his ascension was finalized. Where once were spines of dead white, there were now great cragged sculptures of mauve that looked as if they had been painted by the hand of God himself! A sleeker form was gifted to him as well, as he stood with such terrible grace, covered in jagged scales and plated scutes; a sheen of dull green reflecting off of their black surface.

As Gho’Zra arose from his ashes, he took his first breath before howling towards the heaven in direct challenge to all! With a snarl he quickly turned upon the only cloud in the sky that was not of a dark nature, opening its powerful jaws to let loose a molten red beam of hate! The scorching missile collided with the cloud, and for a few seconds, the reflector spells held. But under such a sustained stream of unbridled energy, not even these could last. With a flicker the spells collapsed, the Unicorns who had been maintaining them fell dead to the ground, the strain against both their body and mind too much to take as they succumbed to apoplexy.

With the realization that they were, for all intents and purposes, dead men standing, Luna gathered all of her will about her before ordering that all emitter batteries be coaxed into overdrive in a final effort to snuff out the blight that afflicted their land. As if sensing her sisters intentions so many hundreds of kilometers away, Princess Celestia summoned a monumental amount of focus in an attempt to interdict against the creature one last time. As the orange glow of charging crystals intensified, the surrounding earth and mud began to stir again.

Rising and coalescing, the earthen stuff moved as one to entrap Gho’Zra’s body, wrapping around its legs, hardening like steel in the blink of an eye, and still it piled on. Realizing that her sister was giving her the chance at a perfect shot, Luna exclaimed, “All batteries focus fire upon its chest – strike at the heart!” Time seemed to slow for all who were witness. As one, all ten crystal batteries blared like an evening sunset. As it were, the beast itself had taken to charging its own assault, its back radiating a burning fire of its own as it opened its mouth in defiance; the singing sword of plasma released was of such magnitude that the land physically shook under its discharge!

And as the exchange of flashing rays veered towards their targets, Luna wondered at it all; wondered at such destruction and death, such pain and hate, how life often seemed so short. But most of all, she wondered at what death might be like. With a peace beyond understanding, she closed her eyes. These were her last thoughts as the vermillion wave of death collided against the helm, engulfing her and the rest of the crew in an obliterating inferno that disintegrated the magic bonds that held the cloud structure together, dispelling them into nothingness as the sky burned around it.

For its part, the great wave of orange death that collided against Gho’Zra’s body was on a whole other degree of destruction, yet for all of its power, there was something greater still, and that was the ravenous hunger belonging to the avatar of nature. For with this new body came a new hunger for energy, unlike any it had previously known; and as its body was torn to shreds the cells of its flesh consumed the exploding power, cannibalizing it in a vicious, painful cycle that, though only lasting for a few seconds, felt like an eternity of pain as its body physically reconstituted itself.

Exhausted and in a pain that even surpassed the day of its rebirth, Gho’Zra was not prepared for what followed. For in her rage and grief at the death of her sister, Princess Celestia – now the sole ruler of the empire – summoned all of her might into a final attempt on this vile thing’s wretched existence. All around and at once, a sea of rocky spires and Obsidian Mountains erupted into a swirling vortex with the monster at its epicenter. Like crashing waves upon the ocean, the ground crashed against the beast, tearing at it in a mad frenzy of retribution!

With a final surge of power, Celestia summoned a towering spear of pure black glass from the depths of the earth. The structure lanced upwards, piercing through its victims belly and erupting from its back in a shower of gristle and spuming blood. With a shocked gasp, Gho’Zra could do little but feebly grasp at the stone spit that it was now skewered upon. As its body attempted to deal with the sudden intrusion, it used every ounce of strength it possessed to snap the obsidian tower at its base. Falling over in agonized relief, the tenacious terror began the slow and excruciating process of removing it. The following hours would indeed be an unimaginable hell…

Within the inner chambers of Canterlot Castle, Celestia dragged her grieving body across the stone floor, her mind reeling from both her tragic loss and the over extension of her powers. Today had been a terrible loss for the kingdom, and this was only the beginning! She had no delusions of having killed Gho’Zra – she had witnessed enough to know that it was nigh unstoppable. Emptying her stomach upon the floor, she began to weep bitterly and openly. When her personal guard checked upon her, they were met with the pitiful sight of her haggard body curled upon itself in a puddle of her own sickness, weeping hysterically and murmuring the name of her sister over and over…

[1] A rarity in Equestria, Colonel Streicher represents a strange breed of pony who has actively pursued knowledge of warfare. While most ponies are content to live in peace, some, like the Colonel, have been born with a desire for action and conflict in their blood. Equestria has no official military; no standing army, and while there are a few schools that teach offensive magic, there are no centers within its borders that teach the craft of warfare. As such, those ponies who wish to learn it will often look outside the borders of the Empire, particularly to the Western nation of the Cats - Vorosh, and to the South, where the tumultuous confederacy of the Griffons offers the chance to actually experience combat. Occasionally, these foreign taught ponies will return to Equestria, where they often offer their services as mercenaries and security experts. Should the unthinkable happen, and the nation of Equestria be threatened by an outside power, it is expected that these men and women will be called upon for their first-hand knowledge and experience in a subject that most Ponies only know of in an abstract sense.

[2] Originally used as a cloud cruiser, the Strato-nexus has been converted into an airship armed with rudimentary weapons systems and powered by potent magiques. Capable of carrying hundreds of pegasi, the Strato-nexus would have acted as both a ground assault platform as well as a carrier of sorts, from which specially trained defense fighters would have taken off from in order to attack or distract targets. The design was quite revolutionary, and while it was a massive step towards Equestrian military technology, extenuating circumstances insured that she would be destroyed upon her maiden voyage during operation firelight, later to be remembered as 'The Battle of the Sovereign's Fall'.

Author's Note

I dedicate this double length chapter to the release of the new movie 'Godzilla', on this day, May 16, 2014 in the year of our Lord. The ten year wait is at last over, and I was not disappointed. It was everything I ever dreamed of and more. If you have not seen this movie yet, then I implore you to go out and experience it!

I went all out for this momentous occasion, working round the clock to make an extra special chapter dedicated almost entirely to the Big G himself. And for you true fans out there, you'll know instantly where his new appearance is drawn from. Also, if your jimmies have been rustled by the amount of 'favorite ponies' wasted in this chapter, tough. Go read something else if it's not to your liking. As for the cloudship concept, I know it's not very original, but if it's any consolation, I planned on writing it in from the beginning.
*The Cloudship itself is actually a magically construed fortress wherein are housed a set of Cyanide crystal emitter batteries, re-purposed from civilian use to military applications. My reasoning is that since everything is so happy-sunshine in the land of magical pastel colored horses, they literally had only a few weeks to scrounge up some sort of defense force from scratch; hence the rather ad-hoc nature of their equipment.
As always, comments (while greatly appreciated) are not necessary for the further creation of chapters. So you aren't obligated to even acknowledge what I've done here.
Until next time.