The Bridge: Call of Titans

Chapters

Chapter 4: Terra Firma
Chapter 1: Call of the Titan
Chapter 2: Rocky Reunion
Chapter 3: When's and Why's

Chapter 4: Terra Firma

-Ponyville-

Titanus Gojira walked alongside Princess Luna, his mannerisms and overall demeanor having since dwindled to something that far contradicted the stallion she'd been faced with mere moments ago. He seemed... tired as if age was now beginning to catch up with him in this diminished Equestrian form. If he was to be believed, and his species truly reached such ages as 250 million years, then an Equestrian body would of course be taxing to live in, she could see that in his expression, the way he walked, his eyes... Luna eyed the stallion briefly, taking a moment to let his scars sink in. She'd seen Godzilla Junior like this a number of times, the most memorable of these being when she allowed him to rest in her chambers and she came in to see how he was holding out. His hide was pitted with old injuries, many of which she was curious to know the origin of.

Shaking away her curiosities and focusing on the road, Princess Luna only just now began to notice that the sun had nearly set, giving her a clear indication that it was time for her to raise the moon. "I will take you to your friends and we will have Junior keep a close eye on you in the meantime. I have more urgent duties to attend to, so I will therefore be unable to send you off to find a place of employment," the alicorn explained.

It was not too far away that an old, kind earth stallion with a grey mustache and a blue bandana overheard this and raised a brow, leaning off of the wood carving he'd just finished up for the bazaar in the hopes of garnering the attention he needed to find a sturdy employee for his shop... The dirty brown pony raised a brow at seeing the diarch walking down the busy street with whom he could say with confidence was the biggest pony he'd ever seen. Even bigger than them kaiju that worked in the area. Maybe he was a kaiju.

Regardless of this, Burnt Oak figured that, between this stallion's large frame and the supposed need to get him a job, now was a golden opportunity for him to gain an employee for his wood business.

With a grunt, Gojira noticed the rest of his allies conversing amongst themselves. Godzilla seemed to relax and was now focused on entertaining the small filly that was his student whilst Anguirus engaged in a conversation with Rodan. Luna noticed them, and almost immediately felt a sense of safety, having been on edge around this massive stallion since he voiced his disdain about her... "affections" toward Godzilla.

Oh, thank Faust, she thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief as her pace quickened slightly and she approached the group.

Godzilla lifted his head at seeing her approach and gave a soft smile, though it didn't take long for him to sense that she was nervous about something. "Luna?" he urged, furrowing his brows before glancing up at Gojira with a questioning glance.

Casting a gaze over her shoulder at the behemoth, she spoke. "I am alright, Goji... I would like you to... keep an eye on him, I have my lunar duties to now, and then we shall discuss what to do with Gojira, she said, lowering her voice slightly before turning to face The Ancient "We shall make use of you yet," she decreed as an earth pony trotted up to the group before she had the opportunity to fly away.

The pony wore a faded blue bandana and a hat not too unlike Applejack's, his top lip covered by a mustache and his eyes a crystal blue. Applejack would recognize this pony instantly, a wide smile spreading across her muzzle as she trotted towards him. "Well if mah fur ain't orange, is that Burnt Oak?!" she whinnied jovially as the older stallion panted briefly, attempting to catch his breath.

"Miss Jack," the earth stallion exclaimed, lifting his head to look at the Element of Honesty with a grin.

It was here that Luna's attention had shifted away from Gojira to the newcomer, a brow raised as he removed his hat and bowed before her. "There is no need for such formalities, Sir Oak. You may rise," she said, lifting a hoof. As patient as she had grown in recent years, Luna sincerely hoped that whatever it was that Burnt Oak had to say could be said quickly. It wouldn't be long before ponies began to wonder where the moon was, after all. "And for what reason is the urgency that I see upon thy's muzzle?"

"Forgive me for holding up your duties, Madam, but I did overhear what you was talkin' about earlier with the big fella regarding getting him a job and figured I'd throw myself out there as an employer," the woodworker said with haste, quick to catch on to Princess Luna's slight impatience. He was an observant stallion, after all.

Gojira raised a brow as he looked down at the older-looking stallion and glanced back to Godzilla and Luna, his ears flicking subconsciously as a frown touched his lips. He had no desire to work amongst the populace and simply live and act as one of these equines. But as Luna pondered for a moment, the inevitability of such seemed more and more clear.

"I shall take your request into careful consideration Sir Oak," Princess Luna answered Burnt Oak after a moment, giving him a nod and brief bow before she spread her wings.

Just as she prepped herself to take to the sky, Godzilla spoke up; "Before you go about your duties, Luna, I'd like to make a request..." he said.

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

Alpha Titan and King of the Monsters, standing apart from one another in a valley far away from any populated area. At Junior's only request, both had been infused with magic (thanks to Princess Luna and her trust in Godzilla) and elevated back to their true forms, of which towered over the hills and scraped the sky with their brows.

Godzilla, having suffered through Gojira's lecture about neglecting his post and being an unworthy successor, snarled and roared back his response; "250 million years and you wasted almost every single one of them. Ignorance truly has no age limit, does it?"

The ancient paused before registering the words, whipping around and almost lashing out on impulse as a result of the slight against him. He was the Alpha Titan and insubordination was often a harbinger of devastation and chaos. "... Choose your next words wisely, Whelp."

Godzilla only needed the one to catch the titan's attention; "Reiju."

Gojira could admit, even that actually gave him something resembling the feeling of being impressed. To have lived as long as he had, it was inevitable that he would know of one of the few beings who was older than he was. Gojira permitted Junior further word.

"Lea told me of the planet's history a long time ago, when she first charged me with protecting the world on the cusp of the human's new millennia and after. You didn't stop the Great Dying, Reiju did. You didn't stop the end times of the dinosaurs when the Ghidorah arrived, the first mothra, Battra, and Reiju did. You didn't have anything to do with fostering the first humans, the very ones that later looked to you for protection. Reiju. did." Junior continued down the list with his voice increasingly growing into a growl, the temperature his body emanated beginning to increase by the moment. "... And when they started to tear the world of humanity apart as Bagan, you didn't stop them. I don't know if you tried, and I always hope that you had..."

He turned his head aside and leered off into the distant ocean. "So if you want to keep some of the respect I have for you, I recommend you don't tell me you were still asleep under the ocean when that happened like you were for millions of years between events... Because we both know you were when my grandfather turned Tokyo into a fireball, and then life during the reign of my father was an ever-increasing cavalcade of one monster after another."

Gojira knew he could certainly counter by bringing up any myriad of the battles he fought in times bygone. How many ecological disasters he averted maintaining nature's balance, how a modern world would have been impossible without him, and that the god being brought up prior also had many times of dormancy. Life for millions of years had not required much cultivation and stewardship. His reign had been peaceful.

His eye caught the burning gaze of the entity modern times had forged. A completely unrelated dinosaur that miraculously wound up resembling himself. The glaring fact that their species was as related as an elephant was to a frog made the resemblance all the more uncanny. A life from 250 million cycles around the sun, built anew during his dormancy in modern times.

-Modern times...-

That designation caused the alpha Titan to pause. He had been away for a long time. And on some level, he had returned treating the world like it was no different and it was back in the Permian or Triassic. Back when nobody could have looked at the tiny, insignificant feathery forms scampering through the undergrowth and predict one day a descendant of theirs would stand on equal height with himself and sporting an uncanny, eerie resemblance. Fate was one of the few things he had some belief in, it was impossible not to with how long he had lived and seen as many things as he had.

"I never asked to be anybody's successor. Not to my father, not to you, and not to Reiju. I know what it's like to be on the level of a human, sapient and yet powerless. That's the one thing that made me different from all three of you. I have lived my entire short life by your standards, terrified I would forget and go down the same path Reiju did, a path that my father nearly followed." Junior's eye darted over towards his elder and remained steely despite the unmoving mountain before him, "So don't you come charging in here, expecting me to fall in line like one of your Titans. I didn't ask to be your successor, want to be your successor, I didn't even think of myself as your successor."

Godzilla tensed his muscles and made ready, his roar rattling the air as he let all be known, "For all your talk of not caring about titles, I know how jealously you guarded that esteemed position as Alpha Titan and Apex Predator. And how you treated it with some big deal offloading your responsibilities onto me. But I don't recall you naming me the new alpha. Nor did I care!"

Gojira felt his body tense up in ways it hadn't in a long time to anything short of a Titan. He couldn't stop remembering those insignificant little early theropods, those tiny fuzzy forms running away from terrestrial crocodile relatives or juvenile MUTO. How sometimes a few of them would even hide themselves in the shadows cast by his own body as if they were begging for protection if they realized he was a living thing and not just a mountain to shelter at.

That fate that conspired and engineered one of those tiny forms to actually make him feel physically threatened was equal parts unnerving and enlightening.

"So that's it then..." Gojira's eyes narrowed and glimmered with blue as he came to an unpleasant conclusion. "You'll not be returning to Terra." The words were phrased more as a statement than a question...

"I will return... when I can. Because I have a duty owed to Terra," Godzilla's own brow remained static but his eyes started to shift from blue to blazing red at a high intensity. He was not being cowed, "I don't care about you being the alpha of a bygone time. I only care about modern times. And I don't owe you anything."

Gojira weighed his options. This was definitely insubordination by his metrics. Usually, that was dealt with by beating the upstart into submission, killing them if he had to and intimidation displays didn't work.

-You can't.-

A part of his mind noted, conflicted with his own assertions as he quarreled with his thoughts.

Could he defeat, let alone kill Godzilla? 250 million ago when Godzilla's ancestors were but ants to him, the answer was a firm yes. 100 million years ago it was yes. A million years ago it was yes. 60,000 years ago it was a yes. 30 years ago it was probably, also a yes. A year ago, let alone right now in these passing seconds... It was an absolutely minuscule time by his lifespan standards for things to have changed so much. But arguably more had changed in 30 years, most of which he had been asleep for, than the last hundreds of millions. Even with his old power largely restored, he had his private doubts.

-You can't.-

That part of his mind protested once again. It was almost like the question wasn't if he could kill Godzilla or not. Some rebellious parts of his mind were telling him the answer wasn't yes. So if not a question of could, it was a question of "should".

Terra had gotten more chaotic and unruly than it had ever been before since the Permian. And that was despite his rule, with one of the missing factors that separated Terra ten years ago from Terra now standing right in front of him.

He continued to compare and contrast himself and Godzilla. Alpha Titan to King of the Monsters. Godzilla was younger, he hadn't been through as many things, he hadn't seen as many things, and he had power thrust upon him instead of growing up into it. He was a runaway whelp who Gojira intended to drag back to Terra... and fix it.

Gojira's features stilled and a frigid cold settled in his ancient mind.

For his Dominion to be as long as it had been over the other titans and the world, what had it really gotten him? Most of the Titans turned on him the moment that echo of Ghidorah announced their reign. The humans did not revere him like they used to. For now, they stung at him like wasps whenever a fight of his got dragged into one of their nests. Some of the Defenders would follow his command, and that was about it. They would follow but they would not linger around.

The lineage of the one that had once been his Queen had also shifted. Mosura's direct descendant instead stood shoulder to shoulder with another, not an Alpha but a King. Not as a consort or bonded, but as a comrade.

His Dominion of Titans did not have the loyalty the Defenders had. The latter had followed Godzilla into war time after time, only growing in number. His Titans had bowed out of obligation and fear and had turned on him more than once. His stewardship of mankind did not have the appreciation and admiration they had for one prior either. For 250 million years, might had made right for most of the natural world.

A quarter billion years since his first reign, and he was just now learning the modern day had changed more than it had any time prior. Might made right when the strongest sought only stability. It did not inspire loyalty. Only might for right did that. And no alpha Titan had ever fought for that, only a King had.

The reason he had insisted Godzilla and company return to Terra hadn't been because Godzilla had been a bad successor to him...

Gojira's lips curled down and he knew in his wisdom, a genuine trait he could always rely on, was true. The glow in his eyes and threat display stopped. It didn't even matter which one of them was actually stronger, finding the answer to that question would be pointless and counterproductive anyways. Even if Gojira won, he knew the other three Defenders would not just fall in line like the Titans when Ghidorah was killed. That wasn't even counting the other two powerhouses in the area beyond just the radiating energy he had detected from Luna earlier. This was not something that could be cowed into submission nor and domination wouldn't work even if he could win.

Fate had decided to engender Godzilla's existence because the world had changed and his old way of doing things wouldn't work anymore, not the way it had.

-You're not the poor successor. I wanted you lot back because the world has changed, and I've been a bad predecessor to you...

"The world has been hurt... and so have I," Gojira whispered with his frown growing and his gaze turning away to the horizon, unsure how many Terra had left, "And I was looking for someone to blame. I found what I was looking for."

Godzilla knew the old warrior wasn't talking about Junior himself. Gojira had been beyond abrasive initially, and if he were a lesser kaiju he would definitely hold a grudge. If Gojira had proven a dire threat and continued his attacks, he would be answered. But Junior had never wanted that, beyond just concerns of collateral damage.

"Terra needs help. We made some good allies here to help us do that," Godzilla stepped towards the horizon before looking over his shoulder, "And I would never turn down experienced help either."

Gojira was the last of his kind. And it had been a very long time since he felt actual company. Maybe the barrier between species hadn't been stopping him from feeling connections to others so much as his own reserved nature had...

He could at least, try.

The King of the Monsters walked away from the isolated region he had insisted they speak in, fearing it could have turned into a battle if what he predicted for true. His prediction had fortunately proven to be the contrary, and now he was feeling perfectly safe and confident turning his back on his company. The Alpha Titan finally let himself appreciate some of the natural beauty on Equestria's horizon before pacing after the young King to walk alongside.

Both of them have been proven wrong today, and neither of them could be less content with that fact.

-Canterlot-

Godzilla Junior sighed as he walked alongside Princess Luna, who had at this point completed her task of bringing the moon to the sky and now pondered alongside her friend. Her expression depicted that of frustrated confusion as her gaze fell to the floor and Gojira's words played in her mind over and over, back and forward again. He'll listen to you... You have to tell him the truth.

After a long silence between the duo, Luna finally lifted her head to look over at Godzilla. "Junior... Who is Gojira? Weird thing to ask, but he's a puzzle to me. He says he's 250 million years old, but that doesn't sound possible. Even Anguirus was only ten thousand or so, right?" Luna inquired, voicing her confusion. There was disbelief in her tone as she repeated the number that Gojira had given her for his age.

"Oh, but it is possible... And even with those millions of years, he's still oblivious to the modern era," Godzilla replied, having expected such a question at some point. He knew they'd had a conversation, but for what purpose did he need to be excluded? The unicorn surmised that it was simply the growing sense of unease and the need to prevent a fight between them that had elicited such a decision and dismissed that mental inquiry before he continued. "His species as a whole, at least from what I've been told by Lea, tend to live for a very long time. Gojira himself existed before my most distant of ancestors."

Luna pursed her lips as she contemplated what to say next. There were so many questions that just one kaiju was eliciting in her mind and the alicorn, for as coordinated as she usually was, had no good place to start when it came to her questions. She thought she was accustomed to confusing individuals by now... "Okay... and you asked me to revert you two to your kaiju forms for a while... I hope you don't mind my prying, Goji, but why?"

"Gojira and I needed to talk, and I didn't want a sense of unfamiliarity to be what he was contending with for the topics that we touched upon, Lulu. Reverting us to our original form was honestly more for his sake than mine, though I suppose it was nice to see what he looked like again after all these years." Junior paused as a frown tugged at the corners of his maw and his brows furrowed. "I don't remember him having quite that many scars though..." Despite the heated nature of that conversation, Godzilla did, at least on some level, still respect the Alpha Titan and all that he stood for, as stubborn and ignorant as he really was. Perhaps it was a blessing that Gojira had wound up here. It would potentially force him to look on the other side of life...

"Junior... Did he tell you-?"

As Luna's words tore Godzilla away from his thoughts, his ears swiveled back slightly and he grimaced. "Yes, he did... He told me what had become of Terra. I got quite the earful on that topic, actually," Godzilla muttered through a grumble.

"What should we do with him? At first, I thought it would be a good idea to try what we did with you and your friends with the naturalization process... But he... Junior, he's dangerous. And not in the same way that Xenilla and Destroyah were. I saw the wounds Destroyah and Anguirus had sustained. I'll talk to my sister about this, of course, but where he's amidst your ranks, I thought it best to ask you about him," Princess Luna exclaimed, a worried expression on her face as she looked across at Godzilla. This was a far cry from when the six had initially landed in Equestria, where Luna suggested petrifying them at first. It just went to show that individuals could change, a sentiment she wanted to hold out for Godzilla's apparent ally.

Godzilla flicked an ear and entertained the thought for a moment before his red and gold gaze met her aquamarine. "What about the earth pony that approached you before you went out to raise the moon? Seemed amiable enough and I'm sure he could keep the old brute busy. I know that Gojira was always fond of his personal space and I don't think having ponies breathing down his neck here in Canterlot would be very good for his already high blood pressure," he stated, only half joking. Despite his seemingly nonchalant words, Godzilla was equally concerned about what they would do with The Ancient, and the aforementioned earth pony from earlier was simply the most immediate option right now.

"Burnt Oak is a kind soul from what I understand. He inadvertently helped bring together two feuding families once, I know that much," she explained to her friend.

"Then I see no harm in giving him a chance. Is there anybody that Oak frequents that we can trust would be able to keep a cautious eye on Gojira, should he act out?"

"From what I understand, he has dealings with the Apple family from time to time, and I know that Anguirus and Destroyah are working in the orchards, so they could make sure that Gojira doesn't lash out at anypony," Luna said with a nod before a specific recollection tugged at her mind. "Or would that be a good idea given... recent events?"

Godzilla chuckled and gave a long sigh as he shook his head. "Anguirus is one of the few who Gojira seemed to have any sort of bond with. The two seemed to be friendly enough with each other when they crossed paths, comparably to the rest of the kaiju, of course. He and Rodan never seemed to get on well," the King of the Monsters explained.

"So it's settled then. We shall pay Burnt Oak a visit tomorrow and see if he still wishes to take Gojira under his jurisdiction..."

-Oak Woodworking, Ponyville-

Burnt Oak hummed softly to himself as a kindly smile crossed his muzzle, a carving tool in his hoof as he chipped away at the small block of wood that he held in the other. Business had slowed for the weekend, and this was only logical, given that it was a Sunday, so the earth pony had managed to find time to work on a small carving. Lifting the carving with a satisfied smile, Oak turned it in his hoof and gave a soft sigh. Sure, life had been chaotic in recent years and his materials were needed now more than ever, but that also meant he needed additional hooves to help around the shop and transport supplies. Alas though, nopony was applying for his small wood shop, which meant he was having to fill orders and transport things himself, or look to the goodwill of other ponies for the same goal.

Today though, that would all change, and just as he leaned over to pick up a guitar, a tall figure paused at the open entrance to his shop, tailed by an even taller, albeit more robust form. It was early in the morning, so it made sense, to a degree, that Princess Luna had not yet taken to her bedding as she walked into the open shop. Standing in the background was a behemoth of a Lunar Guard. "Sir Oak," Princess Luna greeted, stepping into the shop.

On cue, the earth pony coughed and reeled his hoof away from the guitar, eyes snapping wide as he stumbled forward. In his haste to not keep Luna waiting, the stallion nearly tripped over a pile of old, sawdust-covered chopped ends of wood from other projects. "Oh, good grief, for the love of Faust!" he exclaimed upon clipping his hoof off of the metal stand of a piece of woodworking machinery with a clang, causing him much strife as he cursed to himself and gritted his teeth. Finally, and after much commotion, the earth pony approached Luna and bowed before her, removing his cowpony hat as he paid his respects.

"Sir Oak," Luna started, a brief chuckle touching her lips at the display. "I would like to speak with you regarding last night. I had neglected my duties and your time was not taken into account as a result of this. You have my apologies," she stated as Burnt Oak rose back to his hooves and returned his hat to its place on his head.

"Yer Majesty, you have nothing to apologize for. We all find ourselves in a bit of trouble here and there," the stallion replied with a kind smile before his gaze trailed over her shoulder to the stallion who stood beside a tall lunar guard. He recognized the behemoth from the night prior and was glad that his request had been taken into account. "Now what's this, Ma'am?" he chuckled.

"Sir Oak, this is Gojira of Terra and his cohort, the King of the Monsters. I presume you've heard about the latter, but the former only just arrived here in our land and is in need of work... If I'm not mistaken, you stated last night that you needed a strong set of hooves to aid you, and so I have granted thee a strong set of hooves," she exclaimed as the elderly-looking stallion stepped up beside her, towering over Burnt Oak.

Burnt Oak whistled and gave a chuckle as he took a step back.

Godzilla, who had been hanging back just outside the shop, heard this whistle and gave a small laugh whilst shaking his head. Even after seven years, the locals never ceased to be amazed by the stature of the kaiju.

"Well howdy there, Mister Gojira. Welcome to Oak Woodworking, it's a pleasure to meet ya!" Burnt Oak greeted with a "You , tipping his hat to the Alpha Titan.

Gojira looked down at the stallion and raised a brow by a hair, the change in his expression subtle, but noticeable. He was... surprised... by the lack of fear on Oak's part. Giving Oak a nod, he finally spoke, electing to respond in a manner that did not make apparent his disdain for whatever situation this was. "Likewise..." he grunted, not oblivious to the quiet sigh of relief that came from Luna's end as Burnt Oak smiled.

Alright, ya big lumbering fool, let's not cause any more trouble, Godzilla Junior thought to himself. If not for the circumstances that had resulted in this, the stallion may have found himself chuckling at the idea of a juggernaut of a titan like Gojira winding up in Equestria... Clearing his throat, Godzilla called out to The Ancient. "Hey, Gojira... Learn to live a little. Relax and take it all in. We're here now, whether you like it or not."

The massive stallion looked over at Godzilla and grunted, his expression all but impossible to read. The age in his eyes spoke volumes though as he turned back to Burnt Oak, who was holding out a bandana to the stallion. "Welcome to Oak Woodworking, Big Guy."

"I will send somepony to see what kind of progress you have made by the end of the week, Gojira. You are being graced with this opportunity, so I urge you, don't waste it. Equestria is a place of second chances, so whatever quarrel you may have with your cohorts... It dies here," Princess Luna spoke up, her expression firm.

As she spoke, Burnt Oak stood up on his hind hooves to help tie the bandana around Gojira's neck. At first, the stallion was apprehensive, pulling his head back and resisting the urge to growl at the earth pony in retaliation. Biting his tongue, though, the kirin looked down as Burnt Oak stepped back with a satisfied smile. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll keep him busy," he smiled, casting Luna a nod.

Author's Note

Huge shoutout to Tarbtano for his help on this chapter! The original direction I planned to go was far different from what he himself had to present, and he actually wrote a large portion of this one, specifically when Gojira and Godzilla have their debate in their kaiju forms.

Chapter 1: Call of the Titan

-Terra, Hong Kong-

The sky was on fire, clouds blazing with the setting sun as dark clouds began to roll across Hong Kong, a distant rumble of thunder audible...

The towering behemoth chuffed, nostrils flaring and smoke tinted by blue rising from the corners of his maw as he fell to all fours. A deep, rumbling growl shook his diaphragm and sent tremors through his esophagus as the Titan's gaze lifted. Rubble shifted underneath his claws as Titanus Gojira pushed himself upwards, tens of thousands of tons of irradiated muscle shifting as he looked around him, realizing the destruction that had been wrought upon the land...

Years ago, four of Earth's most powerful defenders had been lost to the humans, leaving Gojira and a number of his cohorts forced to maintain what little balance there still was following the destruction of Solgell Island in the Summer of 2013. With the absence of Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and Anguirus, also came the absence of many others. Gigan, Monster X, SpaceGodzilla, Destroyah... The list went on. Even Grand King Ghidorah, the unstoppable juggernaut that he was, mysteriously vanished. With these disappearances, however, came a plethora of problems for Terra. The remainders of the Earth Defenders faction rallied behind Gojira and Gamera as other threats arose. The Breach, a fissure located on the ocean floor, began to spit out a number of kaiju, which never seemed to stop making landfall and attempting to decimate human populations. Xillians had raided Earth again, turning a number of kaiju against Gojira and Gamera, a bastard offshoot of Grand King Ghidorah, dubbed Titanus Ghidorah, had been awoken by eco-terrorist Alan Jonah, and to top things off, an organization called APEX Industries began using kaiju parts to create their own weapons.

Terra was on fire, everything that surrounded Gojira was burning, and standing before him was a creature so vile, so monstrous...

The Alpha uttered a guttural growl and stood upright, his claws splayed and fangs bared as the mechanical version of himself let loose a mechanical stuttering laugh, pulsing red eyes locked to its opponent. APEX had created this monster. It was their pièce de résistance, the one thing above all else that was meant to kill Gojira. This Titan found bemusement in that irony. The only thing that could kill him was an upgraded mech of himself... And unlike Kiryu, created by the Godzilla Defense Force, this... thing was created only with the intent of killing. APEX didn't create something to defend, they created something to kill.

Gojira uttered a tremendous roar and lurched forward, his eyes and jagged dorsal spines pulsing as arcs of blue energy danced across his back. The earth beneath shook with each thunderous step as Gojira reached forward and slammed into his mechanical doppelganger with the full weight of more than 90 thousand tons, his claws clutching and grasping at the metal rib plates that lined the mechagodzilla's side. Gojira's radioactive heart pounded with rage as the behemoth continued pushing forward with blazing eyes. This battle had been raging for more than an hour, and the Alpha Predator had had enough.

With a bestial roar, Gojira stopped pushing against his rival and instead ripped away, still clutching a side plate. The strength of his anger overwhelmed all else as his arm went taut and the panel was ripped away with violent sparks and a spurt of blackened oil. Mechagodzilla shrieked and stumbled forward before its jaw was introduced to the Titanium of its own rib panel, sparks flying off of its face as the mech's head was thrown sideways.

Before his rival could gain any ground in recovering from such a blow, the battered titan roared and gripped at the mechanical monster's left shoulder panel, discarding the rib panel and bracing his other clawed hand against the mechakaiju's face. Gojira roared in fury as the burning blue glow that enveloped his body slowly shifted into a brilliant, bright orange. Smoke visibly poured off of his body as storm clouds rolled across the city and a clash of thunder roared above, a bolt of lightning sparking down and striking the batteries of dorsal plates running down his spine.

Mechagodzilla could do nothing against Titanus Gojira as he ripped the shoulder panel away, clutching it in his claws before beginning to use it like a makeshift weapon, bashing the thick metal panel against its face whilst oil began to leak from the corners of its eyes and down the weaponized jaws.

Stepping back, Gojira ushered an enraged scream at his foe, throwing aside the shoulder panel.

In his first encounter with this monster, the odds were stacked against him, he'd just finished off King Kong and went right into a fight with the being that was trying to imitate him, possessed by Titanus Ghidorah's consciousness. Now though, The Ancient had prior experience with the mech under his belt and wasn't giving any leeway for it to launch retaliation attacks, especially now.

Gojira growled as he dropped to all fours, taking on a quadrupedal form as a powerful glow began to shift outward from his core, sparks of blue crackling across the burning orange hues of his form before an emission of raw, concentrated power exploded outwards, the resulting shockwave striking Mechagodzilla and knocking it back into a miraculously still standing skyscraper. As the rubble collapsed downward on top of the mech, Gojira lunged towards the rubble, the earth quaking as he seized hold of Mechagodzilla's tail, slamming a broad foot down at the base of rubble approximate to where the base of said tail would be. The Ancient gave a rough pull and pulled the tail, a spurt of oil visible from the first segment that would give way to the force of the tug.

Now wielding the disembodied tail like a flail, Gojira swung it downwards into the rubble several times, each impact sending scrapes of metal and concrete flinging out whilst the tail became coated in the oil that was Mechagodzilla's blood. The usual red lights that the mechanical Titan emitted began to flicker as it was beaten down, just as the rain began to pour down upon them.

To call this a duel at this point would be far too generous... It was a beatdown now...

Before long, the lights of the mechakaiju had flickered out, the hellish red of the eyes fading to dark as Gojira stood, heaving for breath. The detached tail was now completely coated with black, and as Gojira looked up, he dropped it with a corresponding tremor to the earth at his feet. Rain sizzled off of his burning hide as the fiery orange began to fade slowly. Smoke trailed from his nostrils as he turned, looking over at the unconscious form of Gamera not too far away, alongside the mutilated husks of dozens of weaponized Gyaos and Skull Crawlers, used by APEX in an attempt to take down the last of the Earth Defenders...

Gojira ushered a guttural sound, less of a growl and more of a pained whimper for a Titan of his stature. Stepping away from the husk of Mechagodzilla, he approached Gamera and knelt down slightly, nudging the guardian turtle's beaked snout.

Gamera sturred after a moment, emerald eyes shifting open as the Guardian of the Universe grimaced and growled. No words were said verbally, but the two were adept in telepathy, so no words needed to be said.

After a few minutes, Gamera stood, breaths ragged as the titanic turtle chuffed, looking over at the far larger kaiju that was one of the last Earth Defenders. The two kaiju shared a brief moment of silence before Gamera steeled himself and pushed up to his full height, grunting through the pain that he'd endured. The battle was won, but the war still raged, and now he just wanted to lick his wounds. Without another sound, the turtle behemoth turned and tucked his legs into his shell, a blast of fire erupting from the seemingly empty holes where his legs used to be and propelling him skyward.

Gojira simply watched onward, his nostrils flaring slightly before he turned, his body beginning to ache something fierce...

-S.S Leviathan, Somewhere in the Pacific-

Ren Serizawa gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes as the camera feed displayed on the screen revealed that APEX's greatest weapon had been beaten down and destroyed by the very monster that killed his father. He was fuming, full of hatred and anger towards something that showed no compassion, and only knew how to destroy. This had been about stopping Gojira, but now it was a revenge mission. Walter Simmons' perfect weapon had failed, and now all they had left was a stolen prototype of their rival's technology.

A missile that would unleash the power of a black hole could be launched with the push of a button...

The GDP had come up with many ideas over the years, some more successful than others. The Psionic Transmitter, and the ORCA, to name a couple. The one that they had shelved years ago was a direct upgrade to the Dimension Tide space station that wiped many kaiju from Solgell Island. The Xillians had since rendered that station unusable, but during the chaos that had reigned in 2013, APEX operatives had managed to get their hands on the discarded blueprints of the Dimension Tide's smaller, but deadlier Rift Tide Warhead.

In his frenzy of anger right now, Ren was inches from slamming a fist down that would launch the warhead at Gojira and wipe the Alpha off the planet right then and there. If not for his cohort, who grabbed his wrist just in time, what was left of Hong Kong would be further reduced to nothing more than a crater, and all their work would be lost. There was no salvaging what was on a different plane of existence...

Looking down at his ally, Ren leered at her and wrenched his hand away before he stepped back. His nose scrunched up before he stamped his foot multiple times and shouted several words of profanity, cursing Gojira and balling his hands into fists.

"Sir," Sam chided. "This won't be the last chance you get."

"I... don't CARE!!" he roared abruptly, slamming his palm down on the red button without warning. On cue, there came a silent flash of black and white that blinded them through the tempered glass of the bridge before all camera feed cut out on the monitors. What came next was a buffeting explosion as a circle of black could be seen enveloping the shoreline out in the distance...

-Equestria, Canterlot-

Godzilla walked alongside his friend Princess Luna, and apprentice, Chibi Moon, a relaxed air about him as he took in a slow, deliberate breath of air, a smile tugging at the corners of his maw as his armored hooves clopped against the tile floor. Grand King Ghidorah finally dealt with, the King of the Monsters now found that he could finally take some time to himself and his friends, let his guard down, and have a bit of fun. He and the duo he was currently with were about to meet up with Rodan and Anguirus just to catch up and see how things were for the kaiju. Mothra wouldn't be there, but she had business with Twilight Sparkle at the Crystal Castle...

After a moment of silence between them, Godzilla Junior's musings were interrupted as Luna broke the silence. "This is nice," the tall alicorn smiled, looking over at the equally tall unicorn stallion that stood on the other side of Chibi Moon. "After all of this time here in Equestria, I'm sure you've been needing a break from the chaos of being Canterlot's protector," Luna mused.

Godzilla chuckled and shook his head. "Words of nonsense, Lulu. It's been an honor to maintain some level of duty after Terra. I think it's been worth it, but sometimes, yes, a break is needed," the behemoth stallion continued, rather eager to see his friends. Lea, of course, had been worried sick after Junior and Xenilla's fiasco with Ghidorah, and it took entirely too long to convince her that he was fine. Now though, was a moment of respite. Godzilla hadn't seen Rodan and Anguirus in some time, and he wanted to know what kind of trouble they'd been getting themselves wound up in...

-Zap Apple Orchards-

Anguirus grunted as he kicked at the base of a sturdy old apple tree, watching as the apples tumbled down into the baskets he'd placed methodically around the tree. A satisfied smile crossed his muzzle as he uttered a deep exhale. He was glad to return to some sense of normalcy, now that the gumiho had been killed and Ki Seong was safe. Those events, though, were still fresh in his mind, as it had only been a couple of weeks since that point. With said events, the stallion figured that he'd finally be able to take a moment of respite and go back to the gratifying work of harvesting apples...

Unfortunately, however, this respite would not last, as a holler rolled over the hills from the direction of the Apple family's barn, that of which sounded very much either startled or fearful.

Furrowing his brows at the sound, Anguirus tilted his head and flicked an ear, turning away from the baskets of apples. He was sure that had been the sound of Applejack, but he couldn't be too sure. The Daiei is that about? the large stallion mused, electing it to be better to go make sure that everything was alright rather than return to his work. After all, in a world like this, with kaiju free in Equestria, one could never be too sure.

The Guardian Beast of Fire had been trotting towards the barn for about five minutes when he was met with quite a peculiar sight. Both Applejack and Big Mac were currently tugging on a pair of lassos with all their might, pulling against each other with gritted teeth. Between them was no longhorn, as Anguirus would have expected with a shout like that, but an absolute behemoth of a stallion with his bearded jaws tied shut by Applejack's rope and the base of a long, draconic tail entwined by the second one by Big Mac.

Anguirus was quick to note his size, alongside the fact that his dark, forest-green fur was lined with numerous scars and a few, rather fresh gashes that still bled slightly.

"Uh, AJ, who is this?" the earth pony inquired with a puzzled expression that mixed with awe clad upon his muzzle, his violet eyes never straying from the unruly being. This stallion was taller than Godzilla and easily at eye level with Destroyah! Anguirus also noted how little the stallion was struggling against his bonds, no doubt due to his size and presumed strength.

"We're not-- rrgh-- sure! Fella dropped through the ceiling and snapped one of th' rafters 'fore he went nuts!" Applejack grunted through her gritted teeth, just as the giant stallion uttered a bestial snarl and threw his head, knotted muscle lining his scaled neck bulging as Applejack was torn off her hooves. "Whoa!!" the earth mare yelped as she was effortlessly tossed aside, much to Big Mac's surprise.

The rope he held fell from his teeth just as the ensnared behemoth lifted a strange-looking hoof and clawed Applejack's rope from his snout. Fangs now bared, the titan curled back his lips and uttered a piercing roar, lashing his long tail and tossing aside Big Mac's rope.

Instantly, Anguirus moved into a defensive position, not having time to process what was happening. In the back of his mind, he sensed some familiarity with this stallion, but given the current predicament they were in, he could only act on the aggression this intruder now let out and ignored the details. He'd soak in this stallion later, but now, he needed to do his job and protect the farm...

Uttering a roar of his own, Anguirus charged toward the stallion, only now realizing just how big he really was. Godzilla was big as far as equines went, but this behemoth would easily have to crane his head down to look upon the King of the Monsters. Regardless of this fact, the Guardian Beast of Fire acted, moving into a bounding run before kicking off the ground and rolling into a wheel of fire and sparks, launching towards this aggressor with a warcry.

The monster stallion couldn't react in time and was struck in the chest by the ball of spines, which ground against his dull, dusty brown chest scales in a flurry of sparks. He let loose a roar and was forced to step backward, rearing back onto hind limbs before bringing a clawed hoof down. This proved only partially effective in stopping the assault, as Anguirus was cut off from his ability, while still slicing at the bottom of his hoof and stabbing inwards passed the hard outer ring of bone. With a shriek, the stallion stumbled backward and snarled, the pain of stopping the Thunderball leaving him in a spot where he was unable to pin Anguirus.

Despite this, the abrupt halt to his attack dazed the earth pony as he stumbled to his hooves from a sprawled position, shaking his head and looking up at his rival.

The stallion, whoever he was, was glaring daggers at Anguirus. After a moment, he spoke, his voice a deep, rumbling growl. It wasn't shouted but still commanded respect due to the way he spoke. "I do not know who you are, nor where I am, but know this; this little assault of yours has infuriated me greatly," he growled, the tones and patterns of his voice not unlike when Princess Luna used the Royal Canterlot Voice, minus the flare and Shakespearean use of language.

That voice!!

Before Anguirus could respond to his words, an electrical-sounding hum rose above any other noises, just in time for him to notice that the tip of the stallion's tail had begun to glow blue. His eyes widened as the lights trailed up his mane, which ran all the way down the length of the spine before his eyes had become enveloped in bright white and blue lights, of which flickered aggressively. "Wait, wait, hold on!!" Anguirus blurted as he finally pieced together who this was but to no avail. The stallion's jaws had already opened to reveal burning blue in the back of his throat. Oh Tanaka, this is gonna hurt, he thought with a grimace, taking a few steps back. This blast wouldn't kill him, he knew, but he would end up with severe burns...

Before his vision was blinded and he felt the heat though, Applejack had seemingly come to his aid after recovering from the toss, swinging around as she charged the stallion and bucking him square in the jaw.

The stallion's head was thrown sideways as his jaws slammed shut. "Big Mac, now!" Applejack shouted, just in time for her older brother to run up and throw his lasso around the stallion's jaws once more, giving a firm yank while he was still staggered.

On cue, the behemoth was yanked off his hooves, collapsing with a small tremor to the earth below as his amber and gold eyes went wide and ears flat against his head. Before the stallion could begin to regain his footing, Anguirus shook off his shock and sprung into action, rushing forward to pin the beast down. "AJ! His legs and tail!" Anguirus exclaimed, pressing a hoof against the stallion's temple whilst the other was laid across his neck, pinning him down. In this position, it would be far more difficult, not to mention awkward, to shake them off.

On cue, a blur of orange worked to tie the stallion's limbs and tail together. "Yeeeee-haw!" Applejack exclaimed as she stood back, a wide grin crossing her muzzle as the beast was rendered immobile, his jaws tied shut, and now limbs tied together.

The trio of earth ponies stepped back to eye their handiwork, Anguirus ushering a relieved sigh as he looked down. He could see the stallion's muscles going tout, tensing against the ropes as his eyes darted around. The Guardian Beast of Fire furrowed a brow and looked down at his cutie-mark, which was a familiar symbol surrounded by blue flames. This behemoth was beginning to look awfully similar, despite being a bearded, weathered-looking equine...

Seeing his puzzled expression, Big Mac broke the silence with a frown. "Ya know this big feller, Mister Anguirus?"

"I think so," he responded with an unsure expression clad upon his ivory-spotted muzzle.

It was here that the monster of a stallion uttered a deep growl, wisps of blue smoke rising from his nostrils as his eyes narrowed, studying the three before they snapped wide. Here, his efforts to escape doubled, and his nostrils began to flare, ears pinned back as his tail tensed against the ropes. He was in a weakened state from crashing through the ceiling, and his chest began to ache from the Thunderball having ripped across his hide, but that would not stop him. His breaths turned to growls of desperation as he snarled, blue lights slowly trailing up his tail and then mane once again.

Anguirus was quick to notice this, eyes wide. "You two need to go, go get help!" he commanded, stepping back as the lights burned in the stallion's eyes, the sound of something dangerous building up to a loud, uncomfortable hum.

"What 'bout you?!" Applejack exclaimed, not turning tail just yet. Not until her friend was guaranteed safe.

"I'll hold him off! But you two need to get outta here!"

Before anypony could do anything more, the ropes around the aggressor's snout burst into flame and his jaws went wide, a beam of blue fire erupting from the jaws of the monster like a flamethrower. The sound of ropes snapping was quick to follow as the stallion kicked his legs free and slowly stood up, his eyes still pulsating with luminescence as he slowly turned his gaze to Anguirus, smoke trailing from the corners of his maw and out of his nostrils. "You know not what power you contend with, Child," he started. "So let me make myself very clear..." He stomped towards Anguirus, snarling as Applejack and Big Mac began to back away.

Anguirus, on the other hand, had since come to the realization of who this individual was, and made a point not to show fear, as terrified (or not), as he may have been. His expression was stoic, unwavering, as this behemoth loomed over him.

"I am the one the King calls upon when his armies are torn apart, after giving that very king his title, do you understand me? I am The Ancient, The Alpha Predator, the God of Destruction." His fangs were bared as he stood over Anguirus. "I am... Death." Without warning, he lunged forward, body-slamming Anguirus and shoving him back before standing up briefly on his hind legs and slamming down again.

The earth pony below just barely managed to stagger away as the stallion thundered down where Anguirus' spine would have been, his eyes wide as he came to the grim conclusion that, while he recognized this beast, the beast did not share such recollection of him, and was far too infuriated at this moment to be reasoned with. He was clearly outmatched, in size and strength, and it would take more than just him to bring down the stallion that was a transformed Gojira.

Lea! I don't have time to explain, my head's about to get caved in, but Gojira is here and he is out for blood! I need help! he shouted telepathically to the only cohort he could think of that he knew was closest to the orchard, just as he slid down a hill on his hooves in his frantic attempt to avoid a beam of burning blue brilliance. Normally, Anguirus would never back down from a fight, but this was a whole new ballpark of messed up...

Author's Note

Good God, the level of going back to The Bridge, scouring the chapters to make sure I didn't miss details, going back to writing, then back to research again! Perhaps I should have re-read The Bridge before I started writing this because good grief if it hasn't been difficult. :rainbowlaugh: Do also forgive any inaccuracies to the order that events happened. As I stated, it's been a hot second.

I digress, hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the Monsterverse Godzilla's arrival to Equestria!

Chapter 2: Rocky Reunion

-Somewhere in the Zap Apple Orchards-

Destroyah hummed softly to herself as she bumped a hip against the trunk of an apple tree, working at a moderate pace while still taking everything in. She'd elected to stay in Equestria once a way back to Terra had been found, and she still wondered from time to time if that was always the best choice on her part. It was a lot of new, overwhelming feelings that she sometimes felt frustrated with, but the oxygen destroyer-incarnate never stayed annoyed for long. This world had undoubtedly taught her a lot of patience, patience she had never dreamed of having up to this point. With nobody else around, Destroyah allowed herself a soft smile as she moved around the tree, carefully (so as not to puncture the skin with her fangs), lifting apples off the ground that didn't make it into the baskets and dropping them in.

It was here though, that the peaceful serenity would be quickly broken as a large brown shape raced by her, catching the kaiju completely unawares. "Hi, Des! Bye, Des!" Anguirus' voice shouted before the shape skittered to a halt and the earth pony rushed back up to greet her. "Hey, so ya remember Gojira?" he asked her anxiously, giving zero context as to what he was on about.

Destroyah looked down at Anguirus with a neutral expression before she deadpanned, an unamused look clad upon her crimson muzzle. "What are you on about, now?" she grunted, noticing his frantic demeanor as he looked over her shoulder at something out in the distance. Destroyah raised a brow and looked behind her, the only emotion she now possessed being pure, unadulterated confusion. "Yes, I remember him, why?" she finally answered.

"I don't know how, but he's here, and absolutely livid. Some kind of miscommunication, or he's changed a lot in the last coupla years, either way, he... He's up the ridge!" Anguirus exclaimed, his eyes widening as he saw the behemoth stallion charge down the hill upon noticing the duo. If there was one thing the Alpha Predator was good at, it was hunting. The MUTOs in 2014 proved that he had perfected tracking prey across vast distances and it would seem that an Equestrian form did nothing to hinder that ability. Unfortunately, Anguirus was his next target. He was being hunted now.

Destroyah's eyes went wide for a brief moment at the sight of the stallion thundering toward them, hearing the bellowing cry that heralded his arrival. Even from a distance, she could see that he was her own height, but even so, he was built a bit more muscularly. And this was a veteran kaiju who had been around since the creation of every kaiju that had landed in Equestria, a fact that he often, unfortunately, took full advantage of.

"Well, I suppose the orchard has been a little void of action, hm?" Destroyah finally snickered, turning fully and taking a step back. She may have changed for the better, but the oxygen destroyer incarnate still enjoyed a good fight to break up some of the monotony of her new lifestyle, and good Tanaka if this wouldn't be a good fight. She wouldn't kill him... Just force him to back down.

A sentiment that the juggernaut seemed to share with the two kaiju down the hill...

There were about 40 feet between them when Gojira came to a slowing stop, his fangs bared as he growled at Destroyah. "That one..." he grumbled plainly, gesturing towards Anguirus. "He has caused me much grief, alongside his cohorts. Turn him--"

Destroyah cut him off with a snort and an eye roll, shaking her head. "You'll settle your grief with me, Gojira," she scoffed, deliberately calling him by his name in some kind of attempt to either work a reaction out of the old king, or snap him to his senses. Evidently, she'd receive the former, as the stallion squinted at her and growled.

"You know the name I am referred to as... Then you know what I'm capable of," Gojira growled, a slight breeze ruffling their manes as he steeled himself. His whole body tensed as he waited for a move in what could be equated to a western stand-off, his eyes narrow as, from somewhere, a tumbleweed blew by. This oddity was either ignored or not noticed, as none of the three kaiju looked down to watch it.

-Road to the Crystal Castle-

Mothra Lea walked alongside Twilight Sparkle and Xenilla, a small smile creeping upon her muzzle as she enjoyed the brief silence that had passed over them. While her unease towards Xenilla had calmed, something else seemed amiss. This fact became all the more noticeable as she noticed Twilight rubbing the base of her horn whilst grimacing slightly. "Twilight, you've been rubbing your head for the last half hour, is something troubling you?" the changeling asked, furrowing a concerned brow as she knelt down and touched her horn to the alicorn's a spark of magic shooting through them in a brief spell that would quell her headache.

"Y-yeah, thanks, Lea... There's just... I didn't think I'd have to feel that again," she chuckled sheepishly, looking up at her friend and electing a raised brow from Xenilla.

"Feel what, Princess?" the stallion inquired as the four walked, craning his head down to look upon Twilight.

The alicorn rolled her eyes at the formality, despite having given Xenilla a name to call her instead, and answered his question, biting her lip for a brief moment as she did her best to dispel her concerns as to what exactly she was feeling. "When you guys first got here, we alicorns knew before we even saw you. We're very attuned to the magic of this world and, well, it caused our own magic to flare up and we were all affected... I... was just feeling that again," she explained with a sigh and a slight look of concern, just as Mothra's ears flicked to attention and she looked over at Xenilla.

"Mothra? Something to add?" Xenilla mused, raising a brow at how the two mares were behaving. It was here that his own senses flared up and his pace slowed to a stop alongside the rest of the group. No words needed to be said, but the stallion spoke regardless, his expression taking on something more serious as he looked over at his fellow kaiju. "That signature isn't my brother..."

"No... Anguirus was just talking to me... Gojira."

"Who in the name of Faust is that?" Spike chimed in, raising a clawed paw to gain the attention of the others.

Xenilla grimaced as he looked down at the young drake and sighed. He didn't answer immediately and turned towards Lea. "What did Anguirus say exactly?"

"Something about Gojira being out for blood? I don't know he seemed panicked when he was talking to me, I couldn't quite catch it all," Mothra explained whilst a worried expression crossed her muzzle, brows raised as she looked out back towards the train station from whence they came. Oh no, Angy... Hold on just a while longer, she thought to herself.

The son of Godzilla Senior could sense her unease and placed a hoof on her shoulder in some attempt to reassure the changeling alicorn. "If he's still at the orchard, Destroyah should be there with him... There's no way he can take them on both..."

"Who is Gojira?!"

"Us kaiju refer to him as The Ancient, but a more apt name, at least I always found... was God of Destruction..."

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

Knotted muscle bulged and tensed as Gojira reared back into his hind legs and lurched forward, jaws wide as he sank his fangs into Destroyah's shoulder blade, eliciting a shriek of pain from the other kaiju as he pushed forward, using his tail to counterbalance his weight and keep him upright, even as he leaned against and continued shoving her back.

In an attempt to free herself of the steel trap that was the titan's jaws, Destroyah beat her wings and began to lift off the ground, but like an angry pit bull, Gojira pulled against her, to the point that he was visibly dragging her down. Biting through the pain, Destroyah snarled and threw her jaws open, firing a burst of micro-oxygen at her aggressor whilst her mane crackled with pink and white lights.

Gojira bellowed in rage and pain as he released her shoulder, shaking his head from the burst of energy that struck his face. Stumbling back, the stallion squeezed his eyes shut and snarled through gritted teeth, his face burned to look like a mask as he lifted a hoof to his eyes and snorted, nostrils flaring. After a moment, his eyes snapped open, revealing the bloodshot gold against fiery amber that pulsed with anger. "Who do you think you are to stand against me?!" the behemoth roared as Destroyah beat her wings, grimacing at her bleeding forearm.

Looking down, she noted just how terrifying the stallion looked with the fur around his face blackened and his eyes bloodshot, pulsing dangerously, though before she could retort with a sly quip or enraged snarl, a wheel of fire clashed against Gojira's side, tearing at his fur and ripping against his skin, eliciting a hellish shriek from the monster stallion as he fell sideways, if only briefly.

As Anguirus hopped backward, uncurling from his attack, the giant kirin turned to leer at him, his legs spread to widen his stance as he lowered his head. Gojira wasn't unaccustomed to a quadrupedal form. He took up all fours when he fought on occasion, as it allowed him slightly better maneuverability, and this hunched, bestial form also wasn't too dissimilar to how he looked now, his fur bristling as his pupils constricted to pinpricks and he looked back and forth between the two kaiju.

"So you have chosen to die, and for what?!" he bellowed at them, abruptly rushing Anguirus and shoulder-charging the stallion that, unbeknownst to him, was once an ally. Anguirus yelped in surprise as Gojira slammed him against a tree, taking a step back before once again lurching forward like an angry bull. A loud crack was audible, and Destroyah couldn't tell if it was Anguirus' rib cage or the tree that was beginning to give way first.

She didn't give it much thought before ushering a hellish shriek and diving towards Gojira, her horn taking up an equally hellish glow before it sliced cleanly across the stallion's back, bringing a roar of pain to his lips as the ridge of fur running down his back and the corresponding area of impact began to turn red with his own blood.

Craning his head over his shoulder, Gojira snapped his jaws down on the recurved edge of her horn just as it came, only to immediately reel back with a screech as it burned his mouth, causing him to stumble away and briefly trip over Anguirus.

The stallion in question was coughing for breath, blood running down the corner of his maw as he dropped back to all fours and turned to glare at Gojira, his breathing ragged as he growled. Looking up at Destroyah, the two exchanged glances before coming to a silent agreement and looking back at the enraged form of the Alpha Predator, who was grimacing through the pain of his burned mouth.

Looking up at the two, he spat, blood lathering his fangs as he reeled his head back and inhaled, his mane beginning to flicker in a similar fashion to how it had been previously. The beast's nostrils flared as he huffed, and just as he took aim at Anguirus, Destroyah leaped forward. Rather than pulling what would be a rather stereotypical act of shoving Anguirus aside to tank the blast, she went one step forward and rushed the problem head-on, whipping around and throwing her hind legs at the stallion's chest. He was launched backward on impact, the wind knocked from his lungs as the breath died in his throat and he smashed into a tree.

The stallion fell with a ragged gasp, his eyes wide as he fell to his side and clutched at his belly, tail thrashing as his ears flattened. Anypony who has had the wind knocked from their lungs knows the agony of struggling to catch one's breath, and as the old king struggled, Destroyah looked down with a snort.

After a brief moment, the stallion had seemed to settle, his breathing shallow, but now there as he laid on his side, chest heaving as he took in large breaths through his open maw.

"Pathetic," Destroyah grunted, looking over at Anguirus and seeing him slouched over, leaning back on his haunches, each breath a ragged gasp. "You gonna make it, tough guy?" she snorted with a dull chuckle, punching his shoulder.

"Ow, yeah..." the Guardian Beast of Fire grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut before looking over at Gojira, whom was now working himself up to his hooves with renewed vigor. His growls sent a clear message as he snarled at the two. This wasn't over until he was dead or unconscious.

"I... did not start this fight... But I shall finish it!!"

-Ponyville-

Godzilla and Luna walked down the streets of a bazaar, simply enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of such a gathering. It wasn't anything too special, just a regular Saturday afternoon for the residents, but even so, it felt special, especially to Godzilla. He'd been to a small number of these market-style gatherings since his arrival to Equestria, and yet they never failed to bring a smile to his muzzle at how culturally rich they were.

Mariner "Chibi" Moon seemed to also be quite excited, as she was bouncing up and down on Junior's back in child-like glee. If he didn't know any better, the kaiju would think she was going to go into a sensory overload and pass out, thankfully though, she didn't, and as they walked, Godzilla leaned in close to Luna and smiled to himself, cracking a small chuckle.

"Doth that be laughter I hear from thine maw?" Princess Luna teased, playfully nudging his shoulder as she cracked a smirk of her own.

"Now what would bring you to that conclusion, Lulu?" the King of the Monsters chuckled in return, his stance swaying, but only briefly with the playful shove that Luna had directed his way. "My maw has been perfectly sealed up to this point, such accusations, I'm afraid I won't stand for," he grinned, just as a burgundy-colored blur landed before his hooves, revealing that Rodan had managed to meet up with them after all.

"Hey, Chief," the gryphon smiled, falling into line alongside his compatriot and walking alongside them.

Godzilla beamed and looked over at his friend, allowing himself a further laugh as he tossed an arm around Rodan's neck and ground his hoof between his crests. "What took you so long?" Junior laughed before Rodan managed to break from the noogie, eliciting a childish giggle from Chibi Moon as Rodan gasped for breath.

"Jeez, you're lucky I don't have feathers that can get ruffled!" Rodan snorted, looking up at the behemoth unicorn with a roll of his eyes before he spoke again. "You seem to be in a good mood! Have you heard anything from Anguirus?" Rodan inquired, looking around him as if searching for the earth pony in question.

Godzilla looked over at Luna and furrowed a brow before he shrugged. "Now that you mention it, no, I haven't... That's... odd. He should have been here before you, considering he's just down at the orchard."

"Maybe he got busy with work, Sensei!" Chibi Moon chirruped in response, a big grin on her face as she climbed up his mane and rested her chin between his ears.

"Hm... Maybe," the stallion replied, unconvinced. Junior lifted his head, though gingerly as not to disturb Chibi Moon as his expression went from the relaxed jovial nature he'd allowed himself earlier to something far more serious upon seeing the disheveled form of Applejack come galloping up to meet the group, panic alight on her face as she paused, only long enough to gasp for breath.

"Yer Majesty! Godzilla, th' farm, some nasty stallion..." she panted, sweat beading on her brow as Godzilla and Luna exchanged glances. "Anguirus is fightin' 'im right now, but we're not sure how long he can hold 'em off! Feller's bigger than you, Godzilla!" the earth mare exclaimed, her tone conveying that of great urgency as she pointed off towards the farm.

Without a second thought, Godzilla Junior leaned over and gently slid Chibi down his snout and onto Luna's back before he stepped forward and spoke in a voice that commanded respect. "Rodan, you're my bird's eye view. Luna, Applejack, you two stay here, I'm gonna go and see what's going on down there and I don't want either of you caught in any potential crossfire."

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Godzilla moved full sprint towards the barn, his brows knitted into a stern expression as he charged across the farmland with Rodan flying over his head. You see anything? the kaiju king asked his cohort telepathically, looking to the sky at the gryphon expectantly as he slowed to a halt.

As if to answer before the guardian beast had the chance, a hellish roar screamed above the sounds of conflict that were neither distant nor close. Godzilla snapped his head towards the direction of the sound and the familiarity of it, a look of confusion crossing his muzzle.

Was that-?

Yes, I believe so... Rodan, on me...

With this, Godzilla charged down the hill, Rodan in tow, his hooves kicking up dust as he rushed into the orchard, passing half-filled baskets of apples. His run slowed as he noticed a partially cracked apple tree and smelled the blood around it, his nose scrunching up as he lifted his head and reeled back slightly. They were here, he surmised.

Rodan, with his view in the sky, had since noticed a nearby pond with what looked like Anguirus at its edge. A frown made its way across his beak as he looked down at Godzilla and garnered his attention. Chief, on your nine! There's a pond to your left and I see Anguirus, the pterosaur kaiju said telepathically to his cohort before folding his wings into a dive and making his way down towards the other kaiju.

Noticing this, Godzilla lifted his head away from the cracked apple tree and moved to a trot to meet up with the others, confused as to why the sounds of conflict had seemingly died down.

After a moment, he moved up alongside Anguirus, a stern look clad upon his muzzle as he looked over to the Guardian Beast of Fire. He was quick to notice that the kaiju seemed to have sustained serious injury from some foe, his chest bruised and neck bleeding from some kind of presumed bite. His mane was matted, and his ribcage burned. "Anguirus, what happened? Applejack came rushing into Ponyville about some stallion, what's--?"

Godzilla cut himself off as Anguirus slowly lifted a hoof and pointed toward the large pond. In the center of said pond, the water seemed to be boiling, bubbling violently as if the catalyst of something below the surface. On cue, a beam of white and blue erupted from the water and pointed directly to the sky as a large crimson alicorn erupted from the water's surface, a look of panic alight upon her face as she beat her wings to escape the beam.

Destroyah shrieked with a grimace as the beam clipped her wing and sent her into a spiral before she clumsily managed to land, panting for breath.

"Will somebody please tell me what in the name of Tanaka is going on?!" Godzilla shouted as what looked like a tail with glowing blue feathers broke the tension of the water, slapping the surface before it disappeared. Junior went silent and narrowed his eyes at this point, as Destroyah limped up to the trio of Godzilla, Anguirus, and Rodan, a grimace twisting across her face as she snarled.

"It's Gojira."

"Landed in the Apple family's barn and one thing lead to another, he don't recognize Destroyah and I, so we'd just been tryin' to render him unconscious until you showed up. Bastard won't budge though, and after Des tossed him into th' lake, he's only managed to gain the advantage..." Anguirus finally explained, his purple eyes never straying away from the water as he growled.

"Wait, Gojira, as in The Ancient?" Rodan said, an edge of panic growing in his tone. If there was one thing about the new world kaiju when compared to this behemoth, it was that they didn't always get along. Gojira and Rodan in particular seemed to be at odds. On one side of the coin, Rodan didn't like his black-and-white moral compass, with the added bonus of not being able to understand him half the time. On the other side of the coin, Gojira wasn't ever fond of the cocky arrogance and urge to protect humans that seemed to overwhelm Rodan. Humans were a liability to Terra, so while the old king didn't go out of his way to be malevolent toward them, he was still indifferent to their presence. "That one?"

"Yes, that Gojira," Destroyah grunted, leaning back slightly with a chuff. "He's far more... brutal... than I remember him being. Even in our battle on Terra, he never acted with this level of aggression."

Anguirus nodded in agreement and glanced up at the oxygen destroyer incarnate. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. "He's more cunning too. Before it always felt like he was just, avoiding attacks and hoping to strike with his own, but now... Good Tanaka, he plots... You'd think a 250 million-year-old titan would be easy to fight, but no... He keeps showing us up."

Godzilla Junior huffed with a growl. Seeing somebody of Destroyah's stature on edge brought to his mind a new sense of caution, but he still needed to throw that caution out the window. It would seem Gojira had retained his ability to breathe underwater from Terra, so Junior was going to have to go into the depths and try to force The Ancient to shore or deal with him there. Unfortunately, the latter seemed like the option he'd have to resort to... "Okay, here's the plan. I'm gonna try to force him to shore, see if we can't at least try to reason with him. This is the old king, we're talking about. He doesn't just lash out. There had to be a misunderstanding," Godzilla exclaimed, trying to maintain at least somewhat of an encouraging outlook on the situation, as risky as it was.

Anguirus and Rodan shared a mutual grimace as Godzilla waded into the waters, while Destroyah continued to simply try and keep from passing out. As Gojira had since seen her as the biggest threat during the brawl, he'd focused on targeting her and simply swatting Anguirus away whenever possible, so she'd received the worst of the beatings.

As Godzilla dipped below the surface of the water, he let his eyes adjust to the murky depths. Unfortunately, it was now late afternoon and the sun was now beginning to set, so unless Gojira showed himself, he wasn't going to be easy to find. Fortunately, though, he wouldn't have to look, as an absolute behemoth of a stallion was swimming just below the surface, a long tail swishing back and forth and propelling him like a crocodilian of some kind. Applejack hadn't been kidding, this stallion was massive, eye level with Destroyah, at least, and built more bulky.

Telepathy was weaker with Gojira than it was with Godzilla and his cohorts, given his age, so the only way to coax his attention would be to draw closer in the hopes that he wouldn't be seen as a threat.

It was here that Gojira noticed Junior, his eyes snapping over to the fellow kaiju and his head craning downwards. A growl rumbled through the water as the behemoth stallion angled himself and began swimming toward Godzilla. Junior remained firm in his stance, hoping that the calm, unthreatening nature of his position would help in also calming the injured stallion. The Ancient circled around Junior for a while, studying him. His nostrils flared and Junior couldn't help but feel like he was this stallion's prey, with how he acted in such an animalistic manner.

After a moment though, the two stared each other down, Gojira's amber and gold eyes meeting the more fierce red and gold of the King of the Monsters. Gojira's eyes narrowed. He recognized those eyes...

Godzilla steeled himself and awaited some kind of reaction from his cohort, whom just hovered in the water before him and studied the stallion who had been so bold as to enter the waters. The reaction he got was not at all what he expected as Gojira's eyes widened and his bearded jaw lowered slightly, a mixture of disgust, shock, and confusion clad upon the scarred muzzle.

"Junior?"

Author's Note

It should be noted that this chapter takes place right in Chapter 43 of The Bridge! And thank you guys SO much for the wonderful reception on the first chapter. It was wonderful and heartwarming to see all the comments.

Chapter 3: When's and Why's

-Zap Apple Orchards-

"Junior?" the behemoth stallion said with a wide-eyed stare, his expression depicting a vast mixture of emotions that ranged from confused, to disgusted, to even infuriated as he eyed down the slightly smaller stallion before him. After a long period of silence between them, Gojira tilted his head and took on a more neutral, if still stern, expression. "So Gamera wasn't just pulling at our tails," he finally sighed, his voice a tired grunt now that he didn't have to wear the facade of a killer.

"Come with me to shore, we have much to discuss, Gojira," the King of the Monsters mused with a slight chuckle, turning and swimming back towards the surface of the water...

A few moments later, Gojira made his way out of the water, the adrenaline from earlier now beginning to die down and showing him just how badly Destroyah and Anguirus had managed to rough him up. The aforementioned kaiju stepped back and took on defensive positions as the behemoth followed Godzilla out of the water.

Fortunately, however, Godzilla lifted a hoof to calm them. "There is no need for that... He's confused," the unicorn explained, looking over his shoulder at the God of Titans and seeing the blood still trickling down his side, mingling with the water and causing it to run quicker than if he was dry.

Despite his words, the other three kaiju, Rodan included, remained tense, staring down The Ancient with angered, fierce expressions. "I'm sorry, Chief, but he isn't just confused! Do you see what he did to Anguirus and Destroyah?!" Rodan quipped finally, pointing to the battered forms of his cohorts with a leer crossing his muzzle that was directed at the green-grey titan.

"If I may be so bold, I acted out in defense," Gojira grunted in reply, his breathing slightly labored as he grimaced through the pain. Destroyah especially had done a number on him, her horn having sliced open his back and her teeth having punctured almost all of his limbs in their fight.

"Defense?!" Anguirus snorted, his fur bristling and the spines in his mane and tail standing on end. "We gave you ample opportunity to stand down!"

"You assaulted and tried to make a mockery of me! Do not think this little act of yours will go unremembered! I was thrown into a building, and when I awoke, I was being attacked! I had no intent to kill, but you and your cohorts saw fit to try and put me down!" the massive stallion snapped back at Anguirus.

Godzilla Junior looked between the two and stomped a hoof, ushering a roar to command their attention. While Anguirus and Rodan's gaze snapped over to their ally, Gojira remained unwavering, lips curled back as he glared at them. "Anguirus, Destroyah, stand down! He doesn't know what's going on and he thought he was being attacked! The same thing happened with Princess Luna when I arrived."

"Godzilla, these two know who I am! They have referred to me by name, but have not made any such attempt to give theirs. Now you want to tell me that these... these equines were once kaiju?! I see no evidence of this!" Gojira snarled, the way he spoke and his mannerisms archaic, ancient. He had a slight accent that bore a sense of power, that which matched the displays of strength he'd shown prior to this debate.

"Gojira, look at them!" Godzilla barked at the far older titan, gesturing towards his allies whilst his eyes blazed.

Finally, the massive stallion paused, nostrils flaring as he arched his head back in a way that had him looking down at the trio, his eyes squinting as he growled. Before long, the similarities they shared with the supposed kaiju that Junior was claiming they were was all too obvious, and his eyes widened. Once again, he looked confused, eyes darting between the equines he was surrounded by as he stepped back. Amber and gold eyes met purple as he looked down upon the Guardian Beast of fire, only now seeming to notice the quills in his mane and tail, alongside the ivory spots on his flank and the spiked greaves that he wore.

"All these years," the massive stallion muttered, his voice low as he shook his head and looked over at Junior. If that one is Anguirus... Then, Rodan... and Destroyah, I presume you two are? he sighed, exhaling a deep breath through his nose as he looked toward the other two. Rodan wasn't as difficult to discern, the largest change being that he was now a quadruped, but Destroyah had been harder to discern. The crimson fur and ivory patches on her legs paired with that bladed horn and those bat wings helped to clue him in in a way that he hadn't been able to in his enraged state of mind.

Godzilla Junior ushered a sigh of relief as Gojira finally put two and two together. "As I said, Gojira... We have much to discuss..." he grunted, looking over at his cohorts and giving them a nod lowering a hoof to gesture them to stand down from their defensive positions.

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"The last thing I remember was Gamera walking away, and then I was here. This... Applejack character you've mentioned shook me awake, I suppose, and I got startled into a defensive position," Gojira grunted as he limped alongside the other kaiju, his long tail swaying behind him as his hooves dug into the soil beneath them, his nostrils flaring slightly. It was as if just walking had become taxing for the monster stallion, no doubt a culmination of his age and the injuries he'd sustained fighting Destroyah and Anguirus.

Anguirus grimaced as the stallion spoke, his steps also a limp as he began to regret his jumping to conclusions prior. He'd jumped the gun, and as a result, managed to anger and wound one of Terra's oldest defenders before he'd even realized that he was in an equestrian form. Regardless though, he wasn't one to allow pride to overcome a willingness to come forward in his mistakes. "I... find it important to apologize for instigating such a fight earlier, Gojira."

"Yes, well I find that there are more pressing matters at hand than a couple of future scars," Gojira grunted, giving the guardian beast a sideways glance and grimacing slightly. The slice across his back where Destroyah had managed to catch him off guard was really starting to hurt, and though he was able to keep his focus, the stallion was finding doing so rather difficult. His breaths were labored as he slowed to a stop and leaned back on his haunches and looked up at the group. "You... gone... seven years," he breathed, whereupon Godzilla came to his side to help him back to his hooves. "Cease... I'll be fine," the stallion grunted, forcing himself up and taking a shaky step before he growled.

"Gojira..."

"I said cease..." he growled, closing his eyes for a moment as his head swam and his thoughts swarmed around prior events. He remembered when Gamera broke the news after contact with Mothra that the defenders were fortunately still alive, and while he had been grateful at the time, now, he was a resentful and torn kaiju. 250 million years had taught him much patience, but Terra had changed, and to him, the last five thousand years had been the most chaotic, the hardest to deal with. "You and the other defenders have been gone for seven years... Where have you been, why haven't you returned?" Gojira asked incredulously as he picked himself up and continued walking with the group.

Godzilla Junior was silent for a time, as he had been quite unsure how to answer such a complex question. It insinuated so much and almost required a lecture on what had all happened the last few years. Sure, Mothra and Twilight Sparkle were working on getting the kaiju home, but that task had seemed too slow as of late with everything that had gone on... Junior could tell by the resentment in Gojira's tone, that that may not have been the best answer to give him. Oh yeah, sorry. We were working on it and just forgot because we were too busy caring about an alien species. Godzilla grimaced slightly as he subconsciously mocked himself and let his gaze fall to the roadway as he pursed his lips. "I... think that's a question better answered by somebody else," he finally acknowledged, mentally kicking himself for such a response as they made their way back into Ponyville where the bazaar was still raging.

He could hear the edge of condescendence and venom on Gojira's tongue as he sneered. "I'm sure," the stallion snarled, lifting his head as a tall, deep blue mare with wings and a long horn approached the group, her mane flowing in an ethereal manner.

"Hello, Kaiju I see nopony was har--" Princess Luna's words died in her throat upon seeing the behemoth of a stallion next to her bodyguard. She recognized the forms of Destroyah, Anguirus, and Rodan, but was lost as to who this was. The alicorn was quite accustomed to looking down when she was speaking to somepony because of her height, but having to crane her head up towards the sky was all new to her. "--med..."

This stallion, whoever he was, was huge, easily the size of the horses that came from far-off lands. His fur was a dark green-grey in color, mane a near jet black, and running down his chest was a set of dusty brown scales, indicating to Luna that this behemoth must be a kirin, for as strange as this kirin was. Scars were visible scattered across his hide, including a rather fresh-looking cut across his back that she could just barely see finish closing in on itself, much like Godzilla's. However, this scar didn't fade as his usually did, and remained visible. Perhaps his healing was not as attuned as Godzilla's? What drew her attention next, though, was the stallion's face. He was not a gentle soul, as Godzilla had become in the last years. His expression spoke of the trials of a kaiju, and though his lips were largely covered by a beard streaked with grey, she could tell that he was frowning, brows knitted into an almost tired leer. Luna looked into his eyes, burning gold, and amber that pulsed with an ambient power. Below his eyes were either the wrinkles of age or dark circles that depicted exhaustion as he stared her down, a torn ear flicking as he studied her intently.

For one of the first times in recent memory, Luna felt intimidated by an individual as she opened her mouth to speak, though no words came out... "Uh..."

Fortunately, Godzilla spoke up, sensing the tension between the two, and in return, the rest of the group as they tried to discern whether Gojira was sizing her up as a threat, or simply studying her. "Luna... This is Gojira. He's one of our allies from Terra. He was the stallion that Applejack was referring to earlier. There was just some confusion going around and we didn't realize that it was all a big misunderstanding," he said in an attempt to reassure Luna and calm the rest of the group.

Chibi Moon, who had dozed off on Luna's back after her excitement for the bazaar killed itself, woke up, yawning with a soft squeak as her eyelids fluttered. As the tiny filly crawled up Luna's neck and rested herself between her ears, Gojira's head snapped to look at the newcomer, his ears at attention. Chibi's eyes went to the size of dinner plates as her jaw dropped and she looked up at the monster stallion. "U-uh... Sensei? W-who is that?" she squeaked, her voice tiny and meek compared to the usual energetic and childish glee she usually gave off.

"Sensei?" Gojira finally grunted after a long period of not talking from his end of the conversation, his eyes narrowing at the tiny filly. With a soft "eep" sound, she ducked down behind Luna as the dragon-pony looked over at Godzilla in a questioning manner. This was all new to the stallion. He didn't recognize this "Luna" character, didn't know why a tiny pink unicorn was calling Godzilla "sensei", and given that Godzilla now had himself positioned between Luna and his supposed ally, the stallion was beginning to grow irritable.

"The filly is my apprentice for the time being," Godzilla clarified matter-of-factly, his expression stern as he looked up at the larger titan.

"Do you honestly think that is of my concern? I care not about who you elect to take under your wing. I just seek answers," Gojira finally exclaimed, his ears falling back slightly as he reeled his head back with the bringing of Godzilla's defensive tone.

Sensing the steadily rising annoyance of Gojira, Luna stepped up and chose to defend her bodyguard, choosing to risk his anger more willingly than she would have if they'd been alone, for example. The princess knew that she couldn't begin to use the kaiju as a crutch or an excuse to throw power around, but in this scenario, with the hostility of a supposed "ally", she needed to put a hoof down and take control of the situation. "And I shall proceed as the one to provide thy answers that thou dost seek!" she spoke, her Canterlot accent showing through as a show of power as she telekinetically lifted Chibi Moon off of her back and gingerly placed the filly beside Godzilla. "If thoust shall accompany me alone."

As The Ancient paused and raised a brow, Junior snapped his head to look at Luna with a questioning expression. "Luna... You can't be serious...

"Oh, but I am, my beloved Godzilla. Quite, in fact," Luna responded, her gaze on Gojira never wavering as she stared him down. True this was perhaps not the safest of plays, and it most certainly wasn't the brightest, but seeing that Gojira seemed to legitimately consider her proposal and had calmed down (if slightly), did indeed give her hope. Trust me, Goji... I know what I'm doing... she assured Junior telepathically.

Gojira paused and looked down at her, seeing Destroyah, Rodan, and Anguirus ready themselves to spring toward him if he so much as raised a hoof to harm her. After a moment of silence that seemed to last minutes, but was really only seconds, he pulled his head back. The old king was no fool, he respected power, and he respected what she stood for at this point in time. She was putting her neck on the line to prevent his anger, for the sake of her friends, and the stallion found this to be rather admirable, if a tad naive or even ill-conceived. After a long moment, he lifted a hoof and gestured her along. "Lead on..."

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Gojira lifted his head and let the sounds and smells of the bazaar sink in, his brows furrowed in confusion as he looked around. This, all of this, from the confections stands to the ponies eagerly talking amongst themselves, it was foreign to him. In a prior form, he was a mountain-sized juggernaut who rarely ventured from the ocean depths that he called home, and now his senses were being flooded by lights and sounds, colors and smells. Sure, he'd seen some of the rituals ancient civilizations performed on his behalf hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, but those tended to be violent, and the only instrument was often war drums as somebody was prepared for sacrifice. And after their long overdue downfall, the following generations of humans feared and hated Gojira... Needless to say, he had no words for what was going on around him as he followed the tall alicorn in front of him.

Before long, however, he spoke, his voice a deep, rumbling growl. He didn't shout, and in fact, his voice sounded to be rather lax, but there was definitely an edge that Luna hadn't noticed until now. "You said you would answer my inquiries... Luna, was it?" he grunted as they made their way towards the outskirts of the bazaar, where Ponyville became more of a residential area.

"Princess..." she corrected as her pace slowed to a stop and she turned to look up at the kirin. "Princess Luna or Your Majesty."

Gojira's expression remained unwavering as he looked down at her. "Do not correct me on something so trivial as a title," the stallion snorted, visibly unamused with her stern expression as he sighed. He had to give the mare this much, she was certainly tenacious. "Your Majesty," he started, his tone lacking any sense of genuine respect for her request. He used the words almost mockingly... "Do you think that when your body becomes a part of the soil you walk on, your name will truly matter? In the grand scheme of it all, of course not. Everybody is given a title, and that's all it is... a title. Your underlings, which I presume you have, given your title, have chosen to give you this title for one reason or another. But when all is said and done, it is nothing more than a word that people use to garner the attention of the desired individual," he explained rather plainly, his voice calm. He had a slight accent that, combined with the grit of his voice, made for something interesting that managed to display power, but wisdom. He was old, Luna could tell, but how old was this stallion for names to simply be of such little importance to him?

"And what about your titles, Mister Gojira? Surely you must have a name, something that your allies refer to you as?

"Surely indeed, but as I stated, these names don't matter... The only time I find that titles are of any significance is when they are used with the intent to intimidate. Referring to myself as "Gojira the Treacherous", for example, or in the case of the skirmish with Anguirus, "The God of Destruction", for example."

"And are you? A God of Destruction? Luna asked him, finding this conversation thus far to be unproductive if slightly inciteful as to the inner machinations of Gojira's mind and how he functioned.

"Irrelevant... What I seem to notice is just how calm you are in my presence. Any particular reason for this to be the case? After all, I'd expect a level of worry or fear, and yet I sense neither from you," he asked in rebuttal, raising a brow. Thus far, Luna had remained largely calm. Though he could sense that she was a touch on edge, and understandably so, the stallion remarked that all of her questions and words carried with her an air of confidence. Gojira found this to be rather intriguing and wondered if she'd give him the answer he expected, or perhaps something a bit more elaborate.

"The answer is quite simple, Gojira... I've been around you kaiju for about seven years now, and the one thing I've observed above all else with the six that have made their homes here is that, even from the start, they never attacked anypony unprovoked. And from what I understand about what happened on the farm, is that you were provoked into attacking," Luna exclaimed, her expression reading as an air of stern confidence. "I know how you Terran defenders operate..."

The stallion raised a brow at her words. It was sound logic, for sure, though it did carry with it a couple of flaws. Gojira had hoped that she would be quick to realize that he was not like the other Earth Defenders, but this didn't seem to be the case... "I am 250 million years old, Princess... You haven't the slightest clue how I operate. And on a more important note, you mention that the others are... living... here? That was how you worded it if I'm not mistaken... I would very much appreciate if you were to clarify."

Princess Luna subconsciously flinched at the question, wondering where the stallion was going with this and wondering even more so why he couldn't just be direct with her. Gojira was putting her on edge... Regardless, however, she gave him the answer. "When the kaiju first came here about seven years ago, we knew that they were going to be stuck in Equestria for a while... She pursed her lips and tried to think of a way to further explain. "So we tried to have them live and work as one of us, employing them in various locations. Junior became a guard for the capital, Anguirus and Destroyah work on that farm, and so on and so forth. We called it a naturalization process... And it worked.

"A little too well, I presume. There is something in Godzilla's eye, the way his gaze touches your figure... He has begun to fall for you. And tell me, Your Majesty, have you too fallen for the King of the Monsters? Have you been courting with a titan, knowing full well that inevitably he would have to return to his place of origin? Or is there more to this you've not yet shared?" Gojira accused, beginning to grow audibly angered at the prospect as his mane and eyes began to flicker ever so slightly.

Luna took a step back as the stallion growled, her own horn beginning to flash as she prepared herself for the attack she knew was coming. This monster, whoever he was... The aura sloughing off of him, it was resentment, anger, hatred... This was a hardened, grizzled beast who had relied on the kaiju now here to help protect his home...

"Gojira, please, I urge you... Listen to me," Luna called up to the increasingly angry stallion, forcing herself to calm down. She did not want to see this end in bloodshed. Her end goal was to have this hurt kaiju understand the situation and what was really going on...

It was here that the flicker of his mane and tail died down a bit and he chuffed, a growl slithering out from between his fangs as he leered down at her. "What could you say to me that will make any of this okay, Princess?" he scoffed, a line of smoke rising from his nostrils. His tone... it carried a sense of pained confusion.

"I understand, Gojira... I get that they are needed on Terra and please, have faith that we're doing everything we can to help bring that end goal to fruition, but there is more to this whole situation than I can explain with ease. It is all so much more complicated than any of us could have anticipated," she explained, practically pleading with the stallion at this point and trying to weave around the fact that, in seven years, no method had been found to return them home, and in seven years, at least one of, if not multiple kaiju had chosen to stay here in Equestria.

There was a long silence between the two as Gojira looked down at Luna, his teeth clenched before he squeezed his eyes shut and growled. If he had hands still, they'd be balled tightly into fists. With a sigh, the stallion let go of his current anger toward Luna and spoke. "Did he ever tell you what Terra looked like?"

Luna nodded her head, unsure of where he was going with the question as she answered. "He said there were many trees and vast oceans... It was all green."

"Yes, and do you know what he'd find if he were to return right now, this very moment, years after his absence?"

She slowly shook her head no this time.

"A world in flames... Before he disappeared, Terra never had the problems it does now. With him and his cohorts gone, very few have been able to hold off all the destruction that has been wrought upon the land, his home." The behemoth stallion sighed and leaned back on his haunches, looking down at the mare to see what kind of reaction his words had elicited.

Princess Luna had no reason not to believe that those words were the truth. While she questioned the validity of his age, Gojira having just come from Terra was a large enough reason for him to be believed. He didn't... look deceitful, as menacing as his overall appearance was. Then again, he could just be exaggerating to convince her to take his side on the matter. Regardless, this was a kaiju who was very clearly resentful of his cohorts, for one reason or another. She'd find out why, but first, he had more to say.

"I saw clearly how he threw himself in front of you when I started to become aggressive... He'll listen to you... You have to tell him the truth. Now... how close are you and whoever else to getting us back home?" the stallion inquired as he stood upright.

The alicorn was without words for a moment, her gaze unfocused as her heart pounded before she came to, shaking her head with a long breath as she adopted a more regal stance. "We're... not sure yet. Mothra, whom I'd assume you know, and one of my ponies are on their way to tend to other matters elsewhere."

Gojira grumbled at her words, which provided little comfort against the fact that he was probably going to be stuck here for a while. "So what would you suggest? Are you going to try to percolate me into your society like you have the others? "Naturalization", was it?"

"This is a matter I will have to take to my sister and your cohorts..." Luna replied, beginning to make her way back towards the bazaar.

The Ancient growled and stood up from his haunches with a groan, following close behind and making his way back to the rest of the group.