The Machine Dragon

A few days later, Guard Outpost 31, off the icy shores of the Frozen North

“Moonbeam, wake up!”

The words cut through her slumber like a heated knife through butter. The deep gray unicorn’s ears flattened against her head as she growled, forcing her eyes open as she sat up. The barracks room around her was black as pitch, only being faintly illuminated by a nearby lamp, which hung off of the wing of a deep purple pegasus stallion. A few beds were visible behind his moderately bulky frame thanks to the light.

“W-what do you want, Swift Wind?” groaned the mare. “I’m not on guard duty for another…”

She paused, as if mentally thinking of the time. Finally, she gave up, grabbing a nearby alarm clock. She brought it up to her sleep-addled, squinted eyes and read it with a huff, “Fifty minutes.”

He looked a bit nervous, faintly biting the inside of his cheek for a moment as the mare rubbed her forehoof against one of her large eyes, wiping the matter from it.

“The guys didn’t come back from their patrol,” he said bluntly, like one would expect of a soldier, though he fidgeted a bit at the bad news, clearly nervous.

“What do you mean?” the unicorn asked, rising further.

“I mean they’re gone. Their boat never came back to port,” the stallion explained. “They were supposed to be back three hours ago, and then the C.O. took the rest of the crew, the second ship, and went out looking for their sorry flanks.”

“How long ago was that?” she asked.

“One hour ago,” he answered grimly.

Her face became as grim as his tone, and she looked down at her bed sheet-covered lower legs.

“Well… what do you want me to do?” she asked. “It’s not like we can just go out looking for them in this weather!”

“I was thinking you could… I don’t know, make an airtight shield!” he managed, uncertain of his own poorly constructed plan. “We could go out into the water a bit; maybe they only got shipwrecked on some jagged rocks.”

“Swift Wind-”

“Or teleport me out there! Maybe I can unlatch my wings for a bit and get some air to find them!” he offered, lost in his own words.

“Swift Wind-”

“OR—Or, we could-”

“Swift Wind!” she shouted, getting him to stop mid-sentence.

The stallion fell silent at her shout, and after catching her breath, Moonbeam stood up, tossing aside her sheet. She didn’t make the bed up for the moment due to the severity of the situation. The darkness around her had gone from comforting to almost smothering in an instant. She collected herself for a few seconds, her chest slowly heaving. The air was cold on her tongue as she inhaled, it felt like icicles could grow on it. She almost wanted to spit it out, get the saliva out of her mouth, but she’d look like a lunatic if she did.

“Look… there’s not much we can do in this weather, and even my magic isn’t foolproof,” she said, pausing for a second, as if to let the words sink into her panicking bunkmate’s head. “Let’s get something warm in us, then we’ll head out to the dock, alright?”

“I was already out there for the past twenty minutes!” the stallion growled, stamping a back hoof in annoyance.

“Alright, I’ll be there to help you look this time…” she nodded, magically enveloping a heavy winter coat from a nearby locker pressed against the wall right beside her bunk. “You try your radio?”

“Of course; even tried getting on top of the roof of the lookout tower to get more range,” he explained.

“Ah crap,” she groaned, slipping her jacket over her head and sticking her forehooves through it. “Alright, let’s hurry this up, the boys might be counting on us.”

Swift Wind nodded, staying close to his companion. After a few minutes, the duo exited the outpost, wrapped in scarves and thick winter gear. Despite the fact it was midday, the visibility outside was almost as bad as it would’ve been inside without the lantern. Everything was coated in a particularly thick white fog. While the Frozen North wasn’t exactly the most hospitable place, at the moment the flurry seemed actively agitated, working against the two.

“If only we had a squad of you guys,” Moonbeam said with a smirk, doing her best to alleviate her friend’s fears. “You pegasi could bust this storm up lickity split!”

It didn’t seem to work, as his eyes shifted from left to right, even behind himself, staring back towards the large, concrete base that stuck up out of the ground. The building was a small monolith of ponykind; the only proof of their existence in the icy, inhospitable wasteland. It made him feel some vague form of hope, despite the fact he and Moonbeam were effectively alone in the middle of a blizzard, and there was a nil chance of rescue coming for either of them. That fact made both of them feel colder than the snow surrounding them.

The mare made her way towards the dock, flanked by the pegasus. The snow crunching beneath their hooves was drowned out by the howling, bitter winds. The pier was only a few dozen meters ahead; however, the walk was agonizingly slow as they scanned their surroundings intently.

The pier itself wasn't meager and made out of wood like one would find in Ponyville or some other small town. No, this was a proper shipping dock, easily dozens of feet across, with two large ports. The whole thing was made of concrete and reinforced steel, ready to endure the battering cold of the Frozen North.

As the two trekked by a small, empty guard house, Swift Wind shivered at the realization he couldn’t see his past hoofsteps. While normally that wouldn’t be a problem, deep inside, he felt as if it was a bad omen. One of the few signs of life out here, snuffed away by the arctic winds.

Soon enough they reached the front end of the pier, with an icicle coated guardrail being the only thing between them and the swirling waves. The waters below were filled with broken chunks of ice, no doubt caused by the exit of the two ships which were previously docked there.

“I told you that we wouldn’t find anything!” shouted the stallion, standing behind his only companion.

“Just get off my back, alright!” Moonbeam growled over the roaring snow. “I still had to check for myself!”

“We’re not going to find the ship—”

Immediately, from the fog, a loud, booming roar rang out. It made both ponies grunt in pain, as their ears flattened against their skulls from the sound. Had it been any louder, it felt like it would've made the ground itself shake beneath their hooves. It sounded like… an elephant of all things; a really, really, really big elephant. Something like that definitely didn’t belong to the Frozen North, not naturally anyways. It lasted only a few seconds but felt like half an hour before the thundering roar slowed and then finally died off, with it echoing around the outpost.

The two guards had bunkered down midway through the monstrous howl, and now were slowly standing back up. Both ponies took a few seconds to rub their forehooves against their heads and collect their bearings, as if trying to force the ear pain away. After shaking away the ringing sensation, Moonbeam turned back to her fellow guard, her tone panicked as she spoke, “What in Tartarus was that?”

“I have no idea!” he shouted back, equally as panicked as her. His own ears made him boost his voice in an attempt to hear himself speak. As he continued to speak, he suddenly went wide eyed. “But we have to- LOOK OUT!”

Immediately he bolted to her, and before Moonbeam could reply, the pegasus slammed his body into hers, tackling her to the ground. As she laid on her back with the larger stallion covering her chest, she could see something big fly overhead.

Everything was in slow motion. Her own breathing was choked, both from the added weight on her diaphragm and what she was witnessing…

It was the boat.

The, at minimum, twenty ton armored vessel was currently soaring through the air, as if a child had picked it up, and tossed it in a fit of anger like it was a plastic toy…

And then, it hit the outpost.

KA-RAAAACKKK-CHUNK!

It was a strange noise, the sound of metal, concrete, and small bits of timber collapsing together. The roof of the building gave way immediately. What had been the soldier’s home for the past two months was instantly turned into a pile of rubble. The same boat she’d ridden on merely a week ago was reduced to nothing but scrap alongside it. Her eyes bolted this way and that in terror, looking in all directions to try and find what possibly could have done the heinous deed.

As she looked towards the direction the ship had flown in from, she saw something that made her freeze up like a deer in headlights….

Swift Wind pulled back. While the boat itself had flown over their heads, (and he likely didn’t need to tackle his friend for it to have missed them by several dozen meters) his heart was now thumping wildly in his chest. He looked down at the mare beneath him.

“A-Are you alright!?!” he shouted, his voice shaken.

No reply, her eyes were wide and blank, staring off into the snow.

“Moonbeam, answer me!” the stallion growled again.

No dice.

He brought up a hoof, and while he didn’t want to smack a lady, he did jab it roughly into her cheek, trying to elicit a response and snap her out of it.

She just remained still, her mouth wide open as he poked at her face.

His eyes narrowed and he began to examine her himself. However, as he stared into her reflective corneas, he paused. He could see the vague shape of a gigantic blob moving in them.

After a few moments, it clicked; he realized she wasn’t mindlessly staring off into space, but at something. His head slowly turned to face the direction she was looking towards. While he didn’t want to see it, he knew it was his duty to look.

There, in the distance, he saw the water break, the ice being shoved apart. Despite the low visibility, due to the sheer size of the thing rising, he could see it from several hundred meters away. It was like a living building or a sentient iceberg. It was dark, leathery, and had two gigantic fangs poking out of its mouth. Before the pegasus could give any form of reaction, or truly comprehend what he was looking at, the gigantic mass surged forwards, sending a wave of icy water right at the dock!

A miniature tsunami of water and chunks of ice slammed into the structure with such force it cracked the concrete, snapped the metal, and washed everything in its path away…

The Crystal Empire, a little while later…

“Twilight!” Spike called through the thick wooden door of Twilight’s personal room. “You should come out! Everypony else is gonna be here in the next hour!”

The mare in question just remained inside, hunched over a desk, sitting in a soft, padded chair. It was far more of a comfortable position than she’d been back at the research tent.

Twilight scribbled several quick signatures and plans onto a gigantic number of parchments and notes strewn all over her desk. She took a break and leaned back in her chair, sighing; her amazing friends had decided to make an impromptu visit to her, so they could be on the train ride back the next day. An entire week of studying the metal dragon known as Kiryu, and he’d coldly forced everypony away…

They’d tried Cadance, Shining, Sunburst, she even considered letting Spike himself talk to the creature, however the idea was pushed off. She had no idea if Kiryu held any relation to dragons from their version of Equestria. Should he see one that wasn’t… well, roboticized for lack of a better term, she had no idea of how the machine would react.

Doctor Fossil and several other members of the excavation and research team had proposed the idea of disassembling the creature, however Twilight shot them all down. Kiryu, no matter what he was, didn’t deserve to cease to exist. Then again, he didn’t want to exist in the first place...

The situation made her head spin. Despite all of her lessons of the Magic of Friendship, being faced with a suicidal robot dragon wasn’t one she’d expected, and unlike her time with Rockhoof, she was sole ruler now, meaning she couldn’t devout all of her time to helping the machine figure out its purpose; give it a reason on why it should continue to be.

And not only that, but she also had to deal with the fact there could be other kaiju in Equestria. The strange walrus creature—Maguma! Yes, he was rather close to the portal which brought the mecha unit here in the first place. What if he came through as well? Or what if there were even multiple portals opening up across space and time? It would at least explain Maguma’s absence. If the ice Kiryu was buried in was hundreds of years old, then what ever happened to the Walrus? Surely somepony would’ve seen him in all those years! Maybe—maybe it wasn’t even here!... Well, that’d be some good news at least.

As she tried to pull herself from her thoughts of a potential multidimensional kaiju invasion, she signed several more documents strewn about across her large desk. A princess’ political duties and a giant, suicidal robot, those two things didn’t mix, especially when paired with the threat of total destruction via building-sized monsters.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted again, louder this time.

She snapped out of it and magically unlocked the door, tugging it wide open and letting the dragon see her ragged face. Her tone was downtrodden as she reached up a forehoof and rubbed at the bags under her eyes, “Sorry, Spike.”

“Stay up all night?” he offered, an understanding frown on his face.

“It’s hard not to,” she groaned, moving the same forehoof that wiped the matter from her eyes upwards, running it through her mane. “We’ve discovered a sapient machine; the find of the century… and he doesn’t even want to exist.”

“You’ve been locked in this room almost all week, why don’t you come out and get some grub with me?” Spike offered, walking over and placing a comforting, clawed hand on the mare’s side.

“I—...” she trailed off, looking her brother in the eyes. He was giving her a sad, puppy dog face now. She almost wanted to chuckle as he was going all in on it, but instead she gave a small smile, “—guess lunch couldn’t hurt.”

Spike smiled at his sister’s words, giving a small fistpump to himself as his wings flexed in celebration. Twilight gave a small giggle and from there followed her little brother outside.

Everything was a blur from there. The walk to the train station, the meeting with her friends, the resulting group hug. It felt like she was in a daze about the whole thing. When she came back to herself, she and the other former Element Bearers were seated in a small, out of the way coffee shop. As she stirred the straw of her iced brew, she looked up at the artificial sky of the Crystal Empire. It was bizarre to imagine the fact that just outside was an entirely different world; one of ice and uncaring snow.

“Twilight dear, are you alright?” Rarity asked, finally truly snapping the mare out of it. “You’ve been distant this whole time.”

“Is it because of the super cool robo-”

Rainbow Dash was cut off by Applejack shoving a hoof into her mouth.

“I think ya should be a little more careful about what ya say in public,” the country mare grunted sternly.

Dash rolled her eyes but nodded. The friend group were surrounded by numerous Crystal Ponies after all. Should any of them listen in on the conversation and hear about the fact there was a giant machine dragon relatively close to the kingdom… Well, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know the kinds of panic it could cause.

“I’m sorry girls,” Twilight said with a soft tone, magically stirring her iced drink as she looked down solemnly at the table. “I’m not trying to be a downer, especially after you all took the time to come and visit, but this is... it's just a hard feeling to shake.”

“Like we said, lunch could heeelllp,” Spike said in a sing-song voice, scooting a plate of cookies in front of the princess.

“Thanks Spike,” she said, giving a small smile as she levitated one of the baked goods up to her muzzle, taking a large bite out of it.

The fantastic taste of the snack soon had Twilight chomping it down, before she began devouring a few more. Rarity didn’t comment on her messy eating habits, but she did raise an eyebrow, leaning back so no crumbs would fly over and land in her coat. Twilight herself merely continued eating, likely a mixture of actual hunger, and the sweet treat being a comfort food.

Applejack held her hoof against Dash’s muzzle the whole time, with the pegasus finally swatting it away, “So… about this friend you found in the ice?”

“Weyah—” Twilight stopped, washing down the cookies with a deep sip of her milky coffee. She gave a small cough, clearing her throat, “Yeah, I know I wrote to you girls about him, but I didn’t tell you all that much.”

“Other than his name was Keyroo!” Pinkie said with a bright smile. A partially empty plate of cookies sat in front of the earth pony. She was almost as messy of an eater as Twilight was!

“Uhm, it’s pronounced Ki-ryu,” Fluttershy spoke, sitting aside the tea she’d been sipping. “I think it means machine dragon in Japonyese.”

“Since when did you know another language?” Rainbow Dash asked, cocking a brow.

“I imported a lot of books from there,” the other pegasus replied with a small chuckle, a faint crimson blush appearing on her face. “They’re wonderful, albeit a bit strange at times…”

“So, he’s from uh… what was it, Japony—er Neighpon?” Applejack offered, trying her best to recall her old geographic lessons. After a few seconds of thought, she turned to Rarity. “Ain’t that kinda close to where Mistmane’s from?”

“Neighpon is a bit further east, darling, but generally speaking, yes,” Rarity answered with a curt nod.

“He did say he was from Nipon…” Twilight muttered. If there was both a Canterlot City, and a Canterlot High, then surely, somewhere out there in the universe or multiverse or whatever, there’d be a Nipon; close to Neighpon but different, populated by humans instead. She groaned, rubbing a hoof to her head after imagining all the endless possible worlds out there. “Great, now I gave myself a headache.”

“Sugarcube, ya need ta get some sleep,” Applejack said, a worried frown on her face. “I know from personal experience stayin’ up workin’ and stressin’ fer a week straight can mess with ya.”

“But you guys just got here…” the exhausted princess groaned. She took a long sip from her iced coffee and then sat it back down onto the table. “Look, I’m fine, alright? I only need a little more caffeine. And I don’t even wanna think about my workload when I get back to Canterlot. Can you belie—”

She was cut off when she noticed every one of her friends (and her brother) were staring at her with a mixture of expressions. Spike and Applejack’s were partly annoyed, undercut with concern at Twilight's demolished sleep schedule. Others, like Rarity and Pinkie’s, were softer yet she knew they were thinking the same thing; even Fluttershy’s gaze was stern. Twilight slumped in her chair, looking down at her drink. It seemed to be the only thing which wasn’t judging her at the moment.

Spike leaned over and placed a claw on her shoulder, giving her a few supportive pats, “Twilight, why don’t you just enjoy the moment? We’ll finish out the rest of the day having fun, and you can call it in early tonight.”

“I’d like that, Spike…” she replied. The coffee was keeping her from crashing, though how long it would last, nopony could say.

“You can nap now if you want, it’s what I’d do,” Rainbow Dash offered, though Applejack and Rarity deadpanned at her. After a moment, she noticed their gazes. “What?”

This did make Twilight give a light chuckle, “You girls are the best.”

The mares in question all gave her supportive smiles, getting up out of their chairs after a moment to give a group hug to their friend. Twilight felt the support and the love surge through her, with it invigorating her more than any coffee could hope to.

Soon though, they all broke it off. After finishing up their cookies and their drinks and chatting for a bit, (Tank and Winona and their other pets were all fine, the orchard was particularly healthy this year, the new Wonderbolt recruits were great, and so on, and so forth) they soon left the shop.

Less than a second after the glass doors closed behind them, a Crystal Pony guard rushed up to Twilight. Before he even began speaking, the same icy pit in her stomach had returned. She almost felt as if the cookies would come back up at this rate.

“Princess Twilight, Princess Cadance has requested you at once!” he said sternly, his expression as serious as his voice.

Twilight stared at the guard for a moment, any joy being sucked out of her face as her friends began to look equally as worried…

The private quarters of the Crystal Palace

The light was dim, with several lanterns being the only things illuminating the windowless, plain room. The only things of note were a small, white bed in the corner, and a large table, covered in high powered, magical radio equipment.

The unicorn operator of said equipment sat hunched over her desk, holding a large headset up to her ear as she frantically took notes, her quill held in her magical grasp. Cadance and Shining Armor stood right behind her, both of them held expressions of concern.

“You’re telling me both Outposts 31 and 62 are now gone?” she growled, and the pony on the other end of the speaker quickly said something inaudible back to her, making her groan as she took more notes.

As she frantically wrote, the thick wooden door to the room slowly opened, revealing a pegasus guard, who used his wing like a hand, ushering towards the royalty. Both Shining and Cadance nodded to each other, and Cadance turned, walking out of the darkened room.

The outer halls were far brighter, making her blink a few times at the sudden shift in light. She soon shook it off though, as she saw Twilight and the others approaching.

The purple alicorn reached her sister-in-law, breathing heavily. Panic was evident in her eyes as she frantically spoke through her panting, “Cadance, i-is it Kiryu?”

“No, Twilight,” the Princess of Love replied, making her fellow alicorn give a deep exhale of relief. “We’re unsure at the moment what creature it is, but something large has attacked several outposts along the shores of the Frozen North, and it’s currently heading further inland.”

“Do you have any visual reports on it?” Twilight asked, the icy-hot pit remained in her stomach, making her nearly want to cough and sputter and gag.

“All we know is it’s big, semi-aquatic, and any attempts to fight it off have failed,” Cadance replied with a frown. “Of course, our outposts aren’t as well manned when compared to more hospitable territory, but even still, cannonballs and magical explosives seem ineffective.”

Twilight nodded at this, her face taking on one of determination, “Do you know where it is currently?”

“Our last broadcast from Outpost 14 said it was on course for the Crystal Empire itself,” Cadance answered glumly. “We’ve already dispatched our guards in case we need to evacuate or defend the city.”

“We can help with that, Princess!” Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, jumping up, hovering several hooves in the air. “I mean… if you need us, anyways.”

“Maybe we could ask Discord to deal with the ghastly beast?” Rarity pointed out, with everypony’s eyes soon turning to Fluttershy.

“I’m sure he would but…” the pegasus frowned, her pink mane partly falling over her face, though she wasn’t intentionally hiding behind it at this point, “he’s been doing something in other dimensions.”

“And what exactly would that be?” Twilight asked, her tone a bit more aggressive than she intended, as her mind went to the portal which had swallowed Kiryu in the first place.

“I don’t know! Everytime I asked, he always deflected it,” Fluttershy said with uncertainty, brushing aside her mane as she spoke. “I’ve not heard anything from him since last week.”

“You know, since Fluttershy’s talking about him, wouldn’t he have heard and appeared to help us by now?” Spike pointed out. “He listens to me too, so…”

“No Discord,” Twilight finished, eliciting a groan from Rarity and Applejack. “Alright, we’re dealing with him later, maybe he can shed some light on all of this. For now, we’ll deal with this ourselves, which is probably what he’d want anyways…”

“Alright, that’s what I’m talking about! What’s the plan, Twi?” Rainbow Dash, exclaimed, slamming her forehooves together in excitement. “Are we gonna go out, save a few damsels, and kick some monster butt?”

“No, you all are going to help Cadance make preparations to evacuate. After you’re finished, you all are going on a train heading straight for Ponyville,” Twilight replied, shooting down the pegasus’ no doubt awesome plan which would’ve been filled with kicking monster-butt and being hailed as a hero by a pack of extremely attractive mares.

“Well… I like the first part at least,” Dash said, before her face took on an expression of seriousness. “But you know by now we’re not leaving you, Twi.”

“If everything goes to plan, I’ll be on the train right behind you all,” Twilight sighed.

“Then who’s stopping that terrible beast?” Rarity questioned.

Cadance immediately caught on, turning to the smaller alicorn, “Twilight, he’s not responded to anypony all week. Are you sure we should even waste our time asking him to help?”

“I don’t know, Cadance,” Twilight sighed before she steadied herself, standing up straight, as she almost felt herself invigorated at the thought of protecting her kingdom. “What I do know is if the monster out there is Maguma, Kiryu’s fought it before. Even if he won’t help us, maybe he knows its weak point, something we could use against it at least.”

Everypony was silent, worry adorning their faces. Not even Spike was able to be excited at the prospect of seeing the robo-dragon in action. The solemn moment was soon interrupted by Pinkie Pie’s tail slightly twitching. Everypony soon turned towards her. They were all wide eyed at the Pinkie Sense, especially at a time like this!

“Oooh, I know it looks small, this one feels weird, and big, really big!” the party pony said, her voice sounding strange as her whole body slowly began to jitter.

“Ah cra-”

Spike was cut off as the door beside the group opened, Shining Armor quickly exiting.

“Another outpost picked it up; it’s less than an hour away now, heading right for the Crystal Empire!” he shouted before turning to leave.

Pinkie’s body stopped, leaving the mare hovering a few inches off the ground. She remained in the air, defying physics as she spoke. Her tone wasn’t exactly cheery though, despite her anti-gravity antics; she even had the faint traces of a frown forming. “I think that one means a giant walrus monster is going to attack the Crystal Empire…”

Shining Armor paid little mind to the floating pony as he continued onwards.

“Where are you going?” Twilight called as the group moved aside, letting the prince through.

He didn’t speak as he rushed away, quickly turning a corner and vanishing.

“He’s heading towards the armory,” Cadance said, making Twilight’s eyes widen in shock.

“We’ve gotta stop him!” she shouted, however before she could dash after her brother, Cadance stuck out a forehoof.

“I’ll make sure Shining’s alright, Twilight,” the older mare nodded, “but you have to focus on Kiryu… If you think you can get through to him; convince him to protect the kingdom, then you should go now."

Twilight looked up at the mare for a moment. It took a bit for her words to register, but when they did, the princess immediately snapped back into royalty mode as she gave a nod, “R-Right!”

“I’ll have some of my guards give you a chariot escort out of the city,” Cadance’s voice was stern; she’d definitely picked up on Shining’s traits when he was giving orders.

Just as Twilight began to leave, she heard her friends call after her.

“Now you come back safe, sugarcube!” Applejack shouted.

“Yeah, you don’t wanna miss the ‘We Saved the Crystal Empire from a Giant Monster’ Party!” Pinkie added, getting several looks. “What? I already baked a cake; might as well give an actual reason for it!”

Twilight wasn’t able to chuckle at this though, as she was already well on her way towards her ride, her chest heaving as her leg muscles burned. In her frantic state, she didn’t even consider teleporting. Only a few moments later did her mind catch up with her body, and her horn lit up. Immediately, she vanished in a flash of light…

Area MG, nearly an hour later

The ride was grueling. While Twilight wanted to try her hand at teleportation, with limited visibility and a lack of familiarity with the icy surroundings, that was a no go. However, the second the small chariot landed, she quickly hopped out of it. When she rushed over to the dig site, Professor Fossil was there with a harness, ready to attach it to the mare…

Twilight just jumped down the pit, (much to the horror of the excavation crew and guards) her horn flashing as she teleported to the bottom immediately. From there, everything was a blur once more. Only when she was in front of Kiryu’s monitor did the world come back to her. She stopped, breathing heavily, her chest heaving and her legs aching and her horn feeling a bit fuzzy.

“K-... Kiryu, the kaiju you showed on your video feed—Maguma… I think it’s in Equestria and is approaching the Crystal Empire…” Twilight paused. She took several breaths, both attempting to calm herself and attempting to get air back into her lungs, lest she black out.

Only when she wasn’t constantly panting did she continue, “I know it’s been a while since our last meeting, but it seems unphased by most of our heavy artillery! I could fight it in the snow, but my magic is only so effective with such low visibility—You have experience with stopping creatures like this, can you please help us?”

The machine’s monitor simply remained black. There was no response. The only sound in the room was her own ragged breathing and the whirring of electricity. When she didn’t get an answer, she called out once more, “I know you’re more than a machine, Kiryu! You’re not a heartless creature! I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, but if you remain here, many ponies could be hurt… or worse!”

There was still nothing but blankness on the display.

“This place… this is the home of my family,” the alicorn pleaded, approaching the screen.

She wrapped her forehooves around the lifeless, boxy device, trying to reason with it physically now. Twilight wasn’t sure if she was intentionally hugging the machine or grabbing it with the intent to violently shake it, as if a fit of frustration would help her plight. Instead of doing either, she just leaned against it, with the cold electronics having no warmth to give back…

After a moment, the alicorn could’ve sworn she felt something surge through her. It wasn’t the sensation of electricity, but something else, something almost lifelike... Regardless, there was nothing else beyond that. No proper response; simply dead, unfeeling silence from the robot.

Twilight’s worried expression fell further. She waited. Gave the machine seconds she knew neither her nor the Crystal Empire had. After a few moments longer, she stopped, stepped back, took a moment to collect herself, and then turned away.

She paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder, “I understand, Kiryu… I’m sorry.”

With that, she began to leave. If the machine dragon wasn’t intent on fighting, then the sole ruler of Equestria would. Perhaps with the help of Shining and Cadance, she could set a trap for Maguma. Immediately her brain went into overdrive, trying to come up with numerous plans to—

She was cut off in her as the computer flicked on, lighting up the interior of the machine’s cockpit. Twilight’s attention turned back towards the screen as the binary appeared once more, a familiar, almost haunting sight. For the first time in almost a week, Kiryu was responding.

“WHY ELSE WOULD I EXIST, TWILIGHT SPARKLE?”

“E-excuse me?” she asked, looking at the large, blocky text. The machine using her full name almost made her feel more… called out, for lack of a better term.

“I WAS BORN FROM A WEAPON, DIED FROM A WEAPON, TURNED INTO A WEAPON…”

The binary on screen fizzled out for a moment, with more text coming up on the display. Her mouth hung partly open in surprise as she read further, with foggy, visible whisps billowing out of it as she breathed.

“WHAT ELSE DO I EXIST FOR? TO NOT FIGHT? TO NOT MAIM? TO NOT KILL AND DESTROY?”

“EVEN YOU YOURSELF AGREE ON THAT.”

The princess was stunned into silence, trying to figure out what the robot meant. When she didn’t immediately speak, the machine continued, the sentences flowing one by one.

“YOU SENT SO MANY OTHERS DOWN HERE. THEY TALKED TO ME OF FRIENDSHIP. THEY TALKED OF ACCEPTANCE, AND LOVE, AND KINDNESS, AND GIVING, AND YET…”

“AT THE END OF IT ALL, YOU NEED ME TO FIGHT.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” she said flatly. There were no excuses. She was straight with the machine as she continued. “I’m scared, Kiryu. I’m sorry for using you in my time of need, as I said, many can die if you do nothing… But… if you don’t desire to fight, I can’t—won’t force you.”

“WHY DO YOU ACT AS IF I HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER? IF NEEDED, YOU’LL USE YOUR MAGIC TO TREAT ME LIKE A PUPPET, JUST AS THEY DID.”

Fire blared up in the alicorn’s eyes, and instinctively, she cracked into her Royal Canterlot Voice mid-sentence, causing the computer monitor to get pushed back a few inches from the force of her tone. “No. I. WON’T!!!”

There was silence, as it was her turn to speak, her tone returning to normal, “I’m not a monster, Kiryu. I don’t know what it’s like where you come from, but here in Equestria we give ALL creatures a chance to exist.”

She took a few moments to breathe before continuing, “If you don’t want to fight, then you can stay here beneath the ice. It’s your call, but I am going up there to protect my family, my friends, and my kingdom. Not just because I want to. Not just because I’m the ruler. But because it’s the right thing to do! There are so many lives at stake that I can’t stand here on the sidelines and do nothing to stop it when I have the power to make a difference!”

She finally ceased her tirade, her breathing harsh now, heat filling her lungs. The monitor fizzled for a few seconds, not displaying anything. Her face softened as she got a grip on herself once more. She was the Ruler of Equestria; had to keep the emotions in next time, even with slips like this.

“If… if you change your mind, I’m fine with drawing up a plan about how to-” she was cut off, as the display flicked back to life.

“YOU STANDING HERE TALKING TO ME ABOUT ANY BATTLE PLANS YOU’VE CAME UP WITH…”

“IS THE EQUIVALENT OF TELLING A FISH HOW TO SWIM, OR A WOLF HOW TO HUNT…”

“COMBAT IS MERELY MY NATURE. I HAVE SADLY PERFECTED IT. I WAS CREATED FOR IT.”

“You can’t be serious!” she shot back, a faint trace of fire still in her as she stamped a hind hoof, with a loud metallic ding echoing through the small cockpit. Despite this, her tone was genuine, worried at the machine’s self-destructive words. He did deserve a life, afterall. “Kiryu, I know you hate fighting. Like I said, you don’t have to force yourself to-”

The princess was interrupted yet again, with a loud static-sound erupting from the monitor’s speakers, as if to quieten her. Soon, more binary appeared, forging new words. They seemed gloomy.

“I AM AS THE HUMANS CALL… A GUN. MADE TO BE POINTED AT SOMETHING, AND THEN DESTROY THE TARGET. NO OTHER MEANING.”

“A PIECE OF ME ACCEPTED IT LONG AGO. AFTER MY NEWEST AWAKENING I SUPPOSE THE REST DOES TOO…”

“YOU SHOULD AS WELL.”

“Kiryu-” she tried speaking, but yet again, a loud buzzing noise blurted out from the speakers. It wasn’t a voice, but a crackle of electrical energy. The monitor’s display changed, the text becoming a deep red for a few brief seconds, before returning to normal.

“NAME SOMETHING ELSE I CAN DO.”

“W-what?” she asked aloud, pausing in shock as the display switched again.

“IF I AM NOT MADE TO BE A WEAPON, THEN WHAT ELSE AM I GOOD FOR?”

“IF I DO NOT FIGHT, THEN I LAY HERE AND ATTEMPT TO SLUMBER. IF I LAY HERE AND ATTEMPT TO SLUMBER, I AM REQUIRED TO FIGHT REGARDLESS.”

“AS IF SOME SICK JOKE HAS BEEN PLAYED ON ME.”

“That’s a horrible train of thought!” she replied, looking over the words in shock. ”You can be far more than just a weapon! Y-you’re a thinking creature!”

“I AM A WEAPON MADE FOR SHEDDING THE BLOOD OF OTHERS.”

The computer was flickering so rapidly, it almost made it hard for the alicorn to read.

“MY ONLY DESIGNATION IS THE ‘MULTIPURPOSE FIGHTING MACHINE.’”

Twilight paused. She couldn’t exactly continue this conversation much further. Even in the secluded dig site, hundreds of meters below the surface, she could hear the rumbling and the cracking above her.

“Maguma…” she muttered to herself. No doubt high above her the kaiju was closing in on the city, a few miles from it at best.

“THERE IS NO MORE TIME TO DEBATE…”

The monitor of the metal dragon stated matter-of-factly.

“IF YOU SIT HERE AND ARGUE FURTHER WITH ME, YOUR KINGDOM WILL CEASE TO BE…”

“AT THIS POINT, I DO NOT CARE ON WHETHER I FIGHT OR NOT…”

“IN TRUTH, I MERELY WANT TO ETERNALLY REST, TO CEASE OPERATING…”

She frowned, her demeanor taking on one of sorrow at the unfairness of it all. Even now a part of her felt the twinges of guilt seeping itself deep inside her. The princess was shaken from her train of thought when the display updated, displaying one large word.

“BUT…”

After a few seconds, more binary flickered into action.

“FROM A TACTICAL STANDPOINT, I AM YOUR BEST CHANCE AT A SWIFT VICTORY WITH MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE...”

“AND FEW CASUALTIES.”

She remained silent, hope rising in her chest, a chill rushing down her spine. She almost felt goosebumps on her skin, beneath her fur.

“GO ON TWILIGHT, SAVE YOUR KINGDOM. DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR… SPECIES.”

“YOU CAN ARGUE THIS IS FOR A GOOD CAUSE.”

“AT THE LEAST, YOU WERE NOT THE ONE TO MAKE ME INTO… THIS.”

She was still wordless, tears slowly beginning to form in her eyes as hope and anger and fear and guilt and everything else coalesced into one. The Ruler of Equestria let her emotions break free, dropping the mask she had to put on for every delegate and castle visitor.

“UNLEASH ME; ALLOW ME TO DO THE ONLY THING I AM GOOD FOR.”

“Kiryu… I am so sorry,” she choked out one final apology. She’d said it several times before, and had meant it every time. She wasn’t sure if the machine trusted her or accepted any of them. Regardless, her horn lit up, becoming a dazzling, deep purple.

Twilight pumped as much energy into it as she could, and then with a strained grunt of effort, unleashed it directly into the machine dragon’s circuits. The electrical-like power flowed all around the cockpit, entering into any minor cracks in the metal. The computer in front of her surged with so much power, she could see sparks flying from the speakers briefly. Hopefully they weren’t damaged.

When everything finally died down, the monitor sputtered for a moment. After a few seconds of continuously absorbing the energy, everything ceased. Before her eyes, she watched the screen flickered a few times and then displayed the machine dragon’s status.

Scanning…

Scanning…

Battery Percentage:...

The number flickered and fizzled on the display going from ‘4’ to ‘27’ to as high as ‘102’ before finally, it stabilized.

20%...

Optimal energy status detected…

AI Pilot Status: Operational…

Initiating combat…

The room around Twilight began to rumble, and she only managed to remain upright via help from her magic. She could hear the ice cracking outside as the gigantic frame of the metallic behemoth began to move for the first time in centuries.

…

...

In the darkness beneath, two bright yellow eyes flashed into being.

Immediately, they turned blood red.

The First Godzilla had returned…