Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies

Chapter 5

A Royal Meeting

Ghidorah had experienced the effects of teleportation before. If it wasn't some alien race beaming him to a planet's surface, it was Gigan trying to show off again. In retrospect, Gigan sure did show off a lot. Ghidorah truly detested the cyborg, as well as all of the other alien kaiju he had allied himself with in the past. But the fact of the matter was that there were others who he hated far more than Gigan and company, so Ghidorah often found himself employing their assistance. Not that Gigan knew that. In Gigan's mind, Ghidorah was like an older brother. An older brother with nearly limitless power who just happened to really hate him.

But that didn't matter right now, did it? The three-headed dragon found himself and the one called Twilight Sparkle in a large room, once the teleportation was complete. He noticed the mare seemed slightly off-color, and unbalanced. Twilight gagged, before saying, "Sorry, I'm still not used to the spell,"

She was nauseous. How primitive.

The room itself was very big, and made of polished stone. There was a red rug leading down to a door, presumably to a more important room on the other side. Two ponies in armor stood at attention by the door, each brandishing a shining spear. "Miss Sparkle. The princesses are expecting you and your," he paused as he took the sight of King Ghidorah in. "You and your guest," he finally decided on.

Twilight thanked the guards, before opening the door. Ghidorah did not spare them a glance. On the other side was a room even more massive than the one he had been in before. Along the walls were stained glass windows, each depicting scenes that were surely connected to this planet's mythology or history. Ghidorah never payed much attention to the culture of the planets he destroyed. It didn't matter very much when the whole surface was set ablaze.

At the far end of the room was a double throne. On it sat two ponies, a little bigger than the ones Ghidorah had already encountered. The one on the right had a white coat, with a flowing mane all the colors of the sunrise. The one on the left had a dark blue coat, with a flowing mane resembling the starry night. Both wore crowns, so Ghidorah assumed that they had some level of importance. Unnecessary adornments usually signified that.

"Welcome, traveler. Twilight has told me about you. King Ghidorah, is it? I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna," the white one said.

Ghidorah took in the princesses. It was clear that these two must be the most powerful beings on the planet, otherwise they would not be in charge. If he wished to ever get his powers back, he would have to learn everything he could about this world. "I want you to tell me about this place," he said, skipping any attempts at courtesy.

Luna was about to say something about manners, but Celestia placed a stalling hoof on her back. This reminded Luna that this being was entirely alien, and would behave differently than expected. "I understand that you are los, and confused," Celestia said. "But there are many things we would like to know about you, too. This is a momentous occasion, after all,"

Ghidorah scowled. These creatures had the audacity to ask things about him? As if he would ever tell them. "As the one who is lost, I believe I am owed the knowledge I request,"

Celestia nodded. Luna gave her a slightly worried look. "I don't trust him," she mouthed.

Celestia shook her head to signify her disapproval. "Your request is not unjust, and you have every reason to demand such information," she said. "What would you like to know?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how efficient is your military?"

Celestia was shocked by the unorthodox question. Luna shot her a look that said, "I told you so." Celestia shook her head again. "Equestria does not have a standing army. We are a peaceful nation, and do not seek quarrel with anypony,"

Ghidorah nodded. They had no means to fight back? Once he got his powers back, this would be no challenge! He moved on to his next question. "When I first arrived here, I found that I had shrunk considerably. I had also lost almost all of my powers. You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

Celestia and Luna became a little uncomfortable. They both looked into each other's eyes, silently asking the same question. Finally, Luna nodded her approval. "Last night, my sister and I saw a giant, flaming object fall from the sky. We were both shocked to discover that it was alive, and contained immense power. Not wanting to risk any danger for our subjects, we performed an ancient, powerful spell to take away its powers. Now, it would seem that the object was you,"

There was a moment of uneasy silence, as King Ghidorah absorbed the information. One of his eyes twitched. Then, suddenly, instantaneously, he reacted. "YOU WHAT?" he bellowed, pure rage in his voice. Twilight, who had been watching the conversation silently, suddenly became very afraid. Even Celestia was surprised by the sudden outburst.

"YOU INSIGNIFICANT WORM! HOW DARE YOU?" the great dragon continued, jumping up the steps to come face to faces with the princesses. "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

Celestia tried to not show fear. "No, I don't. That's why my sister and I did it," she said.

"You insolent cur! I am the Grand King Ghidorah! My name is known throughout the galaxy, bringing fear to all that hear it!"

"And that's precisely what I feared. I feared you might be dangerous, and you are not doing a good job of convincing me otherwise,"

Ghidorah panted, his anger subsiding briefly. He stepped back, considering his situation. The pony was right. His reputation for death and destruction was not going to help him here. If he ever wanted his powers back, he would have to make something up. "Fear to all evildoers, that is!" he added hastily. "Yes, fear to all who would dare attack the innocent!" Damn, it felt disgusting even lying about it!

"So you mean you protect those who cannot protect themselves?"

"Er...yes! That's it! Let's go with that!" Stupid ponies.

Celestia's face softened. "Well, I suppose that's not too bad. I'm afraid I must have misunderstood you earlier,"

"Clearly,"

"I don't believe him," Luna said.

Ghidorah scowled at her. Celestia was shocked. "Sister!" she said scoldingly.

"When he exploded at you, he did it with far too much enthusiasm. There is no way he is truly good,"

Ghidorah growled. "But I need my powers..."

"Well, perhaps if you proved yoursel-"

The alicorn was interrupted by an earsplitting roar. A guard rushed in. "Your highnesses, I think you want to see this!"

The three alicorns rushed outside, Ghidorah trudging behind, silently raging. As they stood on the balcony, they saw it.

Off in the distance was a huge creature. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before, and it was heading straight for Ponyville. "My friends!" Twilight screamed, fearing for their lives.

"Your highness, we don't have anything with enough power to even scare that thing!" the guard said.

Before Celestia or Luna could reply, Ghidorah made his way out onto the balcony, and noticed the creature in the distance. "Oh. It's you. Of all the beings that could have come to this place, do I really have to deal with you of all things?"

"King Ghidorah, do you recognize that thing?" Luna asked.

"Unfortunately," he grumbled.

"Do you know how to stop it?" she continued.

Ghidorah looked at her as if she had just insulted him. "Stop it! Ha! Without your own army? You're up a creek without a paddle, Princess,"

"But didn't you say that you defended those that couldn't defend themselves?"

"Didn't you take away my powers?"

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. "I'm afraid we have no choice, sister," Celestia said. She turned back to Ghidorah. "We will give you your powers back, but only long enough for you to fight this thing. After that is done, we will take them back, and you will tell us anything we want to know about you. Deal?"

"And you will allow us to subject you to truth syrum," Luna added. Celestia gave her a glare, but did not object.

Ghidorah considered the proposal. "Deal."