Chapters Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 1 - The Final Battle
The Misadventures of King Ghidorah in Equestria
Chapter 1 - The Final Battle
The two titanic beasts stood in a crater. Surrounding them were the remains of buildings, destroyed by their gargantuan battle. This was Tokyo. Key word being "was." Very little had been left over from the two combatants. Now, each prepared for what would be fated to be their final battle.
One was a giant reptile, shorter than the other. It was covered in black scales, and had rows of spines going down its back. Its massive reptilian head roared in fury at its opponent. This was Godzilla - the King of the Monsters. Opposite from him, roaring back at him, was his foe. Standind quite a bit taller than Godzilla was a golden dragon. Its gigantic wings shimmered in the fiery light, and its claws shined with a lethal sheen. It had three heads. The two on the sides were adorned with two pairs of horns, while the central one had three, as well as a mane like a lion's. These horns gave the impression of a crown on its draconian head. This was King Ghidorah - Destroyer of Worlds.
Ghidorah cackled maniacally. "And here we are again, old foe!" he bellowed at Godzilla. The dinosaur merely snorted in response. "Once again, I've tried to destroy this planet like the dust it is, and once again you have stopped me. This is indeed becoming very annoying," Each of the three heads spoke in unison, a sound as chilling as it was unnatural.
Godzilla growled. "When will you learn?" he said. "This world will not bow to the likes of you, or anyone else! Now go, before I kill you myself,"
Ghidorah merely smirked. "You've said that time and time again, old enemy. Yet here I stand! But enough talk!" Ghidorah's wings flared out, each head baring its teeth in rage. "Let's fight!"
* * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, in Osaka.....
The scientist and the general looked at the computer screen. "I can't believe it!" the scientist exclaimed. "Godzilla and King Ghidorah are fighting to the death!"
"To the death? That's unlikely. They've fought plenty of times, why should it be different now?" The general responded.
"I can feel it," The psychic interjected. "I'm certain that by the end of this, only one will walk away,"
The general didn't want to trust her, but the psychic had proven him wrong before.
Suddenly, a voice popped up from across the room. "Sir, what about the Dimension Tide?" the pilot asked.
The general considered the impetuous young man's suggestion. "I don't know. The last time we tried to use it, we unleashed a swarm of prehistoric insects, and we didn't even succeed in killing Godzilla! What makes you think it'll work now?"
"With all due respect, sir," the pilot said, "the Dimension Tide has been significantly upgraded. With a well-aimed shot,"
The general finished for the pilot by saying, "We could kill Godzilla and King Ghidorah at the same time. And I would go down in history as the man who saved Japan!"
"But sir, what about Tokyo?" the psychic asked. "Won't it get destroyed in the process?"
"There's not chance of that happening," the scientist replied. "The black hole would be too unstable to stay around long enough for that to happen."
"Even if it did happen," the pilot said, "It would be a sacrifice we would have to take. The oppurtunity to rid the world of not one, but two monsters would be too great. We would be fools not to do so,"
"And you're sure this will work?" the general asked one last time.
The pilot nodded, and the psychic gave him an unsure look. The scientist turned to the general. "Orders, sir?"
The general didn not hesitate in giving the order that would change two worlds. "Fire the Dimension Tide,"
* * * * * * * * * *
King Ghidorah slammed his opponent into the ruined husk of a skyscraper. "Ha! Finally, after all the battles we have fought through, you will fall!" He taunted.
Godzilla felt his strength weakening. What he wouldn't give to have somebody else here to help him fight.
Suddenly, a roaring sound came from the sky. But it was not an organic roar. With a colossal explosion, a black hole appeared behind King Ghidorah.
King Ghidorah felt himself being pulled backwards. With all his might, he tried to stop it. His talons dug into the ground beneath him, as he struggled to escape the grip of the singularity. "No!" He shouted. "No! Not like this! This wasn't how it was supposed to happen!"
Godzilla got up. The black hole was quickly collapsing. If Ghidorah didn't enter soon, it would disappear. Ghidorah jumped, taking flight against the well of gravity. "I WILL NOT BE DENIED!" he roared.
Godzilla didn't even blink. His dorsal fins began to glow, and with a mighty roar he fired his nuclear ray. It hit King Ghidorah straight in the chest, causing the three-headed dragon to be pushed into the black hole. "NOOOOooo!!!" was all that could be heard as Godzilla's nemesis disappeared forever, and the black hole closed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Everyone in the room cheered. The psychic and the pilot kissed. The general smiled, and the scientist leaned back in his chair, content. The readings showed that Godzilla was still there, but that didn't matter. The news was heard all around the world that King Ghidorah was vanquished. A few scientists postulated that he may have lived, simply being transported to an alternate universe.
They had no idea how right they were.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 2 - The Shooting Star
Chapter 2
The Shooting Star
The princesses Luna and Celestia sat at their dining table, discussing the day's events. It was currently 10:21, and Celestia was having dinner with her sister before going to bed. Luna, who happened to be staring out the open window to their right, suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Sister," she said. "What is that?"
Celestia turned to where Luna was pointing. Falling from the sky was a giant, glowing orb. It was positively enormous. And stranger still, both goddesses could sense it was alive. "Luna, you didn't plan any meteor showers for tonight, did you?"
"If I did, would I be asking?"
Celestia rolled her eyes at her sister's sarcasm. "Maybe it's related to Discord?" she suggested, watching the orb continue to descend rapidly.
Luna shook her head. "I don't think so. Giant, fiery explosions aren't his style,"
The orb finally crashed, deep in the Everfree Forest. Celestia was still puzzled by the life signs she was getting. "What do you think it is?" she asked.
Luna's expression was somber. "I don't know. But whatever it is, we need to know. I can sense a huge amount of power emanating from it,"
Celestia nodded. "Perhaps it would be best if we took away its power, at least until we know what it is and what it wants,"
Luna nodded in agreement, and the two sisters rose. They walked to the edge of the window, and their horns glowed as they performed the spell. A small orb of yellow and blue magic appeared between them, and zoomed off towards where the falling star had landed.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next morning, the now-alicorn Twilight Sparkle was awoken by a letter from Celestia falling on her head. Ever since she had become an alicorn, letters were exchanged directly between the teacher and her student, meaning Spike could get much more free time. Twilight rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and opened the letter.
Dear Twilight,
Last night Luna and I were having our dinner when we observed something massive fall from the sky and crash in the Everfree Forest. The strange thing is, we determined that the object was alive, and the two of us took away whatever powers it may possess.
I need you to go with your friends to discover what this strange thing is. Enclosed with this letter is a map of the Everfree Forest. I have taken the liberty of marking where the object landed.
I wish you the best of luck,
Princess Celestia.
Twilight removed the map from the letter, and took note of where it had been marked. It was too early for this. Saving the world could wait until after she had breakfast.
* * * * * * * * *
Once Twilight had finished her bowl of oatmeal(don't tell Pinkie), she said farewell to Spike. With the map and letter in her saddlebags, she set about finding her friends.
This didn't take long. Within fifteen minutes, all six of them were lined up outside Fluttershy's cottage, ready to enter. Well, almost ready.
"Twilight, why are we doing this again?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight groaned. "Because the Princess said so. She saw something fall into the forest, and it was alive. So she wants us to see what it is,"
"Ooh! Ooh! I bet it's an alien!" Pinkie chimed.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, it's not an alien," she said.
"How do you know?"
"It just isn't. Why would you even think that?"
"Well, what else would it be?"
Twilight sighed. This had better be worth it. "Come on girls, let's get this overwith. With any luck, we'll be back in time for lunch,"
And with that, the six of them trotted into the Everfree Forest, unaware of the monster they would soon face.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 3 - Dragon in the Forest
Chapter 3
Dragon in the Forest
King Ghidorah awoke groggily. He was lying in the middle of a huge crater, clearly the result of his entrance to...hey, where was he? Rising shakily to his feet, the three-headed dragon took in his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was how BIG everything was. That mountain was huge! Those trees were huge! He was actually dwarfed by everything here. It was odd, and he didn't like it. Strangely, the gravity of the planet didn't feel any different than the rock-ball he had come from.
Speaking of gravity, Ghidorah remembered how he got here in the first place. He growled, before roaring in fury at the sky. "That damned black hole!" he shouted. "Those damned humans! That damned planet!" Ghidorah's rage turned to his long time enemy. "Damn you, Godzilla!" Birds in a nearby tree suddenly became afraid, and flew away. They chirped in fear, Ghidorah watching. He seethed angrily. The worst part of it was, he was the master of gravity. Gravity bended to his will! It was his beam, after all, and it gave him the gift of flight. But even he could not stop the raw power of a rip in space and time itself. He now felt embarrased that the puny humans had figured out a way to weaponize it, and he couldn't even control it.
He hissed frustratingly, before turning his attention back to his current surroundings. Wait a minute. If the gravity was the same, that meant the planet he was on couldn't be much bigger than the one he had come from. And yet, all of these things were huge! It was almost as if he were viewing things from the perspective of......No. No. Please, no. There was no way it could've happened. He was King Ghidorah! How could that happen to him? He was the King of Terror! It didn't even make sense. But deep down, Ghidorah knew it was true.
He had shrunk.
Ghidorah roared in fury again, this time pounding the ground as he did so. "Really?" he shrieked. Was this the Universe's cruel idea of a joke? Panting with the rage of a thousand suns, Ghidorah looked forward into the forest. The path ahead was dark, and it likely lead to whatever miserable organisms that called themselves "Civilization," had taken root here. Pathetic. He, the Destroyer of Worlds, hardly taller than a measly human. Well, if he was going to move, he most certainly would not move towards them. He spread his wings and jumped in the air.
Ghidorah felt the bliss of the atmosphere for about two seconds, before being cruelly pulled back down to the Earth. Ghidorah's faces contorted in rage yet again. Now his powers were gone too? He opened his right mouth to fire his beam, only to find that he couldn't. If you thought Ghidorah couldn't get any madder, you were wrong.
"Stupid Universe!" he shouted, slamming a tree with his twin tails. The tree shook, before splitting in half and collapsing with a satisfying crack. Ghidorah smirked. At least his natural strength was still around. He turned back to the path that lead into the forest. If he couldn't fly, his best bet would be to find help. He was trapped in who-knew-were, and he needed to know the ups and downs of this dimension. More importantly, he needed to reclaim his powers. He was certain that they didn't just leave. Someone had taken them, and he intended to find out who.
King Ghidorah entered the forest.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Mane Six were deep in Everfree Forest. Twilight was leading that group, paving the way and following the map. Behind her was Fluttershy, to deal with any creatures they may encounter. Rarity and Rainbow Dash had the middle, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie bringing up the rear. "So Twilight, what do you think this alien's gonna look like?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight had been getting considerably annoyed by Pinkie's questions. The whole way, she just wouldn't shut up about this...whatever it was...being an alien. "I don't know, Pinkie," she said in a tone of finality.
Before Pinkie could say anything, Rarity interrupted. "Twilight, I'm not saying it is, but if it was an alien, what would we do with it?"
Twilight paused. She didn't really know. "Well, I guess we would have to take it back to the library. From there, I would probably let Princess Celestia know that we had it, and then she would probably want to come see it. Why?"
"Just wondering," Rarity replied, her face clearly deep in contemplation.
"What if its aggressive? I'm sure it couldn't take a kick to the face - or whatever it has - from yours truly!" Rainbow Dash said brashly.
"Rainbow, we probably shouldn't do that. What if we start something we're not prepared for? Ah don't know about you, but Ah don't want to be on any alien's bad side," Applejack replied.
But before anypony could respond, they all bumped into each other. Twilight had stopped, and they were now facing a clearing. A clearing characterized by a GIGANTIC crater. Flaming bits of debris were still littered around the site, and a tree had been snapped in two. "I don't think that will be as easy as you think," Twilight said, completely awestruck by the devastation before her.
Jaws hit the floor when the rest of the party saw what Twilight saw. Rainbow Dash gulped. Rarity would have fainted, but she left her couch at home. Even Pinkie Pie was a little unnerved. "What could have done this?" Twilight asked, more to herself than any of her friends.
"I don't know," Rarity said, "But I don't think I want to find out,"
Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Alrgight, girls. Don't forget we have a job to do! Let's get in there and see what we can find out,"
As the six mares descended into the crater, each was deep in their own thoughts. It took Pinkie Pie to notice that something was missing. She stood in the center of the crater and said, "Girls? Where's the ship?"
"What do you mean, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.
"I was just wondering, what kind of alien can land on another planet and not have a ship?"
If the devastation had scared everypony, the fact that what caused it was capable of doing so on its own downright terrified them. They looked towards the broken tree, when suddenly Applejack spotted something. "Girls! Ah think ya may wanna look at this!"
The mares trotted over to find a footprint. Wait, two footprints. Three footprints! A whole track! Twilight knelt down and examined them. "What could have made them?" Fluttershy asked.
"This is going to sound really weird, but they look kind of like dragon footprints," Twilight replied.
Immediately, Fluttershy yelped and hid behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "What kind of alien would leave footprints like a dragon's?" she asked.
Twilight didn't respond. "Come on, girls. The tracks are still fresh. Maybe we'll be able to catch this....thing,"
And so the mares entered the forest, too.
* * * * * * * * * *
King Ghidorah had never been more bored and angry at the same time in all his life. Well, there was that one time. Or that other one. In retrospect, it was actually a rather often event with him. Every time his destruction was foiled, he would have to travel through space to find a new world to destroy. This was kind of like that, except now he was smaller. And lacked his powers. Oh, how he hated everything.
Ghidorah began to notice something strange. It was like an itch at the back of his brain, and he couldn't scratch it. No doubt a side effect of landing in another dimmension. Whatever it was, he didn't like. Not that there were many things he liked. Burning planets was one, though. The death of races another. Had he been in better circumstances, the thought of those alone would have cheered him up.
However, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a growl. In the forest immediately in front of the three-headed dragon were a pair of glowing eyes. The eyes grew bigger slowly as they came closer, and a snout and head came into view. It reminded Ghidorah of that miserable creature that called itself, "Anguirus," only wooden. And without the spikes. The creature came into full view, growling and barking at Ghidorah.
This creature was pathetic, just like everything else was to the Destroyer of Worlds. He was almost offended that this creature would dare challenge him. Without a second thought, Ghidorah raised a taloned foot, before stomping it down on his foe, crushing its head.
The effect was instantaneous.
Immediately, a whole pack of the creatures burst from the trees and bushes around Ghidorah. Each one barking and baring its wooden fangs at him, they swarmed the dragon, and began to attack. There were about ten of them, and each one was trying to bite into a different part of Ghidorah's body. With a might roar, he shook them all off of him. The beasts landed on their feet, although one exploded into twigs.
The creatures surrounded him. King Ghidorah smirked. Those poor fools.
* * * * * * * * *
The Mane Six suddenly heard a cackling roar. It was a roar that chilled them to their very bone. "Twi, Ah think we may be gettin close," Applejack said. Nopony wanted to be in the forest anymore, and Twilight half-hoped she was right.
As the girls came to a small clearing, they saw something like they had never seen before. Standing where the tracks ended was a dragon. Or was it a hydra? The beast had the qualities of both. It had three heads, and was covered in golden scales. Its tail split near the middle, forming a strange double-tail. However, it also had giant, bat-like wings. The creature roared, a strange noise that almost sounded like maniacal laughter.
Attacking the beast was a whole pack of timberwolves. At least four of them had been killed already, judging from the remains strewn around the dragon-thing. One was currently biting on the beast's left neck. The thing grabbed the timberwolf by the scruff of its neck with its right head, before volently decapitating it with its middle head.
All six mares jumped behind a bush. Fluttershy was hysterical. She was hyperventilating, and it was al Rainbow could do to calm her down. The rest watched in a mix of horror and amazement from gaps in the bush.
The dragon crushed yet another timberwolf with its giant foot. The beast absolutely towered over them, it had to have been at least seven feet tall! Within moments, all of the timberwolves were destroyed. The dragon cackled his manic roar. "Fools! That's what happens when you challenge the great King Ghidorah!" he shouted at the heavens.
The mares were shocked to find that the creature could speak, and in their language too! But even in defeat, the timberwolves were not done. Applejack nudged Twilight. "Look!" she whispered. "They're reforming!"
The twigs, branches, and other pieces of wood and plant matter began to coalesce before Ghidorah's eyes. Now, standing directly before him was one of the beasts he had slain, only now much bigger. The thing was even taller than he was. It roared in fury in his face(s), before landing a powerful slash against his chest.
The slash was too powerful. Ghidorah's golden scales actually broke the claws of the giant timberwolf, causing it to howl in pain. Ghidorah smirked. "A fine parlor trick, but it won't help," he chided, before tackling the beast.
The two titans struggled, and each of Ghidorah's heads grabbed onto one of the timberwolf's legs. The timbewolf howled in pain as its limb was ripped from its body, Ghidorah holding it up with his left and right heads like a trophy. With a cackling roar, Ghidorah plunged the timberwolf's severed limb deep into its chest.
The timperwolf swatted Ghidorah off of it with its free limb, before pulling out the leg stuck in its torso. With a roar, it charge King Ghidorah again. The three-headed dragon sidestepped, lashing out with his forked tail and tripping the timberwolf. The timberwolf exploded into a million fragments, and King Ghidorah roared victoriously.
"Who's next?" he shrieked.
As if on que, a piece of the timberwolf hit the bush, knocking it clear from its roots. This revealed the six ponies, who now seemed very afraid. Ghidorah looked at them with a menacing glare.
Twilight didn't know what to do.
"Um....hi?"
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 4 - The Welcoming Comittee
Chapter 4
The Welcoming Comittee
In all the millenia he had existed, King Ghidorah had never seen organisms more obnoxiously colored than those that cowered before him. Sure, there was Mothra, but even she was not quite as visually assaulting as these strange, new creatures.
Of these there were six. Each of them appeared to be a mammal of some sort, and each was colored differently. The two that looked the most "normal" lacked any extra appendages, although one wore a hat of some sort. That one was orange, and the other was pink. Two others had a pair of wings, one being cyan with rainbow-colored hair, and the other being light yellow with pink hair. One had a horn in the center of their purple-maned head, which was as white as the rest of their coat. The last one had both wings and a horn, and was purple. Ghidorah assumed that this one was the leader of the pathetic group.
It was this one that Ghidorah addressed when he finally spoke. "Who are you? Where am I?"
The creature responded with a female voice. "I am Twilight Sparkle, and you are in Equestria. These are my friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy," She replied, gesturing to each of her companions in turn. "Now, who are you? And how did you get here?"
"You may refer to me as King Ghidorah," the dragon's three heads responded simultaneously ."And how I got here is none of your concern,"
"But you don't have a ship! Are we supposed to believe that you just fly through space on your own?"
Ghidorah blinked. "Yes "
The mare didn't know how to respond. Luckily, Ghidorah had more to say.
"What I will say next will seem cliche, but," He leaned in for added intimidation. "Take me to your leader,"
Twilight Sparkle didn't need to be asked twice.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The seven figures walked through the forest, Twilight leading the way. The six ponies each tried to keep their distance from the creature that was three times their size. Well, most of them did.
Rainbow Dash was less intimidated than the others, though not by much. Her ego would not allow her to show it, anyways. So instead of cowering, the rainbow-maned pegasus decided to learn more about this strange alien.
"So, Mr. Ghidorah-"
"That's King Ghidorah to you, worm,"
Rainbow tried not to show offense. "Well, then, King Ghidorah," she said with a hint of sarcasm, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Yes,"
Rainbow frowned. Screw courtesy, if this guy was gonna meet the princesses, she needed to know more! "What exactly are you? I mean, you look kinda like a dragon, but you have three heads, like a hydra!"
"I am above your pathetic attempts at organization. I am what I am,"
Rainbow groaned. This thing was absolutely impossible to talk with! She noticed Applejack glaring at her, shaking her head, as if to say "Don't make things worse," Rainbow, impetuous as ever, ignored her.
"So, isn't it kinda odd having three heads?"
All three of Ghidorah's heads scowled at her. "Isn't it odd having only one?"
"But don't you get confused, looking at three things at once?"
"Don't you feel limited looking at only one thing at a time?"
By this point, Rarity had placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, gesturing for her to stop. Ghidorah himself turned away from the miserable bags of meat he was currently following. Never had he felt more embarassed. Here he was, the Destroyer of Worlds, feared throughout the galaxy - nay, the universe! - and trapped, at the mercy of multicolored, vomit-inducing ponies! It was disgusting.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Applejack were having a discussion. "Do you think we can trust him?" Fluttershy asked. "He scares me,"
Applejack sighed. "'Shy, I don't think we have much of a choice. Princess Celestia is gonna wanna talk to him, and see if she can learn more. What else can we do but what the princess wants?"
"I know, but," Fluttershy paused. "Don't you think we should do something? Just to make sure,"
Applejack tapped her chin. "Ah guess. But what can we do?"
Fluttershy thought for a moment. Suddenly, she perked up.
"I have an idea,"
* * * * * * * * * *
Celestia was drinking tea when the letter arrived. Luna had been sleeping in, as usual, and Discord had set about amusing himself by bothering the royal chef. With a puff of green smoke, a scroll appeared in front of her. "Ah, I'm sure that's Twilight reporting back to me," she said to herself. She opened the letter.
Dear Princess Celestia,
As you requested, my friends and I traveled into the Everfree Forest to investigate the strange object that landed there last night. I will confess that I was skeptical of it being anything other than a meteor or similar space debris. Regardless, I was proven wrong. Upon arriving at the crash site, my friends and I found a huge crater, one that must have been made by an object larger than anything we can imagine. We found trees that had been forcibly destroyed, and a set of tracks very similar to a dragon's. We followed these into the forest.
It was following these tracks that led us to him. We quickly found this creature, fighting an entire pack of timber wolves. I've never seen anything fight so viciously. The timberwolves didn't stand a chance, even after they formed together. The creature resembles a golden dragon, however he lacks arms and has three heads. He seems highly intelligent, and refers to himself as 'King Ghidorah.'
Upon meeting us he demanded to speak to our leader - that is, yourself. I trust that you will be able to decide our next course of action.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia closed the scroll. Was this really what last night's strange event had resulted in? She certainly wanted to meet this, 'King Ghidorah,' herself. Suddenly, Luna appeared, yawning. "Good morning, sister," she said.
"Go tidy yourself up, Luna. We will be having guests soon," Celestia replied, as she began to write her response.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Bringing Ghidorah to the library undetected had not been easy, and getting him through the door was even less so. The girls had opted to keep his entrance secret, as the sight of a giant, three headed dragon may cause panic where it was unnecessarry. But nevertheless, they had suceeded.
Ghidorah took in his current surroundings. It seemed that he was in a building designed to store the knowledge of this civilization. He smirked as he imagined how beautiful it would look if this building burned to the ground. Or this city. And while he was at it, why not burn down the whole planet? Yes, that sounded nice.
Ghidorah was popped out of his destructive daydreaming by the arrival of a small, purple reptile. "Hey, Twilight, how did it- DRAGON!"
The small creature immediately took a defensive stance between Ghidorah and the ponies, brandishing a quill and pointing it at him as if it were a weapon. Ghidorah growled, insulted at this new intruder.
"Spike! It's okay! He's with us," Twilight exclaimed, causing the young one to calm down.
"Really? Oh, I'm sorry, mister! I'm Spike!"
Ghidorah responded with a hateful glare, before returning his attention back to his surroundings. Spike turned to Rainbow Dash. "Doesn't talk much, does he?"
Rainbow huffed. "You're telling me,"
Before more pointless jabber could annoy Ghidorah, the reptile named Spike burped. Strangely, the release of gas resulted in a scroll . To any other being, this would have been shocking. But for the ancient Ghidorah, he had seen things far more bizarre in his travels. This new trick did not even warrant his acknowledgement, let alone his approval.
Twilight Sparkle opened the scroll, reading it. After she finished, she looked at her friends, and then King Ghidorah, before sighing.
"What did it say?" Rarity asked.
"Princess Celestia asked for me to bring our guest to Canterlot. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to teleport him - which means that only I would be able to tag along,"
Her horn began to glow as she looked at her friends. "Bye, girls. I'll be back soon,"
Before Ghidorah could even try to protest, both pony and kaiju disappeared in a flash of white light.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 5 - A Royal Meeting
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."
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 6 - The Pretender
Chapter 6
The Pretender
As the Princesses' horns glowed, the spell began to be cast. A small sphere of energy appeared, and began to gravitate towards King Ghidorah. As it was absorbed by the three-headed dragon, he could feel his powers slowly return to him. With a sadistic grin, he took to the skies.
As the princesses watched Ghidorah fly towards his opponent, they began to notice something strange. He was getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger. And bigger still! Until he reached his full size, one that positively dwarfed everything around it, including Ponyville. Many ponies underneath wet themselves in sheer fright as the massive, three-headed demon flew overhead.
Ghidorah landed with an earth-shaking thud just outside the city limits of Ponyville, and sized up his opponent. He still couldn't believe it. How did they even get here? It didn't matter, though. Ghidorah would kill them here and now, and that would be the end of it.
His opponent was a vaguely familiar lizard. They had spines going down their back, powerful muscular legs, a long, whip-like tail, and a large head. Ghidorah decided to toy with his prey before attacking.
"Hello, Zilla!" he roared. "Whatever are you doing here?"
Zilla looked up, noticing Ghidorah's entrance. "King Ghidorah? I was told you had died!"
"Tales of my death have clearly been greatly exaggerated," The dragon said simply. "Now answer the question,"
"I'm not sure. One day everything was fine, when suddenly, this giant light appeared, and I got sucked in! Do you know why?"
"That is of no concern to you. All I need to know is that you are going to attack the city behind me, correct?"
"Well, yeah. It's in my way, and that's sorta what I do,"
Ghidorah smirked. "I was hoping you would answer that,"
Without warning, King Ghidorah suddenly lunged towards the mutated iguana. However, Zilla's reflexes were quick, and the creature was able to jump to the side like a matador with a bull. He shrieked in distress and confusion, before shouting, "What was that for?"
"I'm afraid that that city is under my protection, and frankly I just don't like you,"
"Protection? Since when did the Destroyer of Worlds ever want to protect something?"
"Don't think of it as protection. Think of it as saving the best for last," With a maniacal cackle, Ghidorah lunged again, this time succeeding in plunging the jaws of his right head into Zilla's arm.
Zilla shrieked in pain, before grabbing onto the head with his free arm. He tried to pry it off, but Ghidorah was not an inexperienced fool, and held on. Zilla then tried kicking against the dragon's chest, which actually succeeded in prying him off. He followed this up with a blast of green fire, causing King Ghidorah to step back. "Ha! I almost felt that one!"
Ghidorah replied in kind, firing his gravity beams from each of his three heads. The lightning bolts struck the ground around Zilla, causing dirt and rock to explode upwards. The central beam hit him squarely between the eyes, causing him to be disoriented. Zilla grabbed his head, roaring in agony. From the still stinging pain in his arm to the banging in his head, Zilla was in a lot of pain. And it made him angry.
As the iguana came to his senses, he looked Ghidorah straight in the eye(s). With a roar, the saurian iguana charged forward, before leaping into the air. He sailed forward, foot claws extended and ready to deliver a powerful kick against Ghidorah. The dragon smirked. Just as planned. Moments before Zilla reached him, King Ghidorah leaped up into the air. Cackling and held aloft by his wings, he swung his twin tails underneath him. The tips acted like clubs, and with a powerful uppercut, they hit Zilla in the jaw. Zilla's own momentum was now used against him, causing him to be launched back to his starting position. Ghidorah landed moments after Zilla had crashed into the forest.
The three alicorns watched the titanic battle from the balcony. Was this what Ghidorah was like at full power? For the first time in a very, very long time, Celestia felt afraid. Suddenly, the sound of hooves on tile alerted her. Somepony was running towards her. All three turned to find the rest of the mane 6. "Girls!" Twilight said, relieved to see here friends safe.
"Once we saw that thing on its way to Ponyville, we got here as fast as we could!" Rarity explained. "It wasn't easy, but we were able to get a cart pulled by some pegasus ponies straight to the castle,"
"Is that King Ghidorah?" Fluttershy asked, watching him do battle with Zilla.
Celestia and Luna nodded, as everypony turned their attention back to the battle at hoof.
Zilla was losing, and he knew it. He would need a method to turn the tide, and he thought he had an idea. He quickly whipped around, hitting all three of Ghidorah's heads in the face with his tail. Ghidorah looked offended. Zilla took advantage of the time to quickly begin burrowing beneath him, forming a tunnel. Within seconds, Zilla was underground. Ghidorah cackled. "A clever trick, but you forget," Ghidorah sidestepped just at the right moment as the iguana burst from underneath him, teeth lunging straight for his three necks. "I've fought Baragon before, and he was much better at this than you,"
As Zilla crawled out of his hole, he tried to come up with a new strategy. Zilla had faced difficult adversaries before, but none of Ghidorah's calibur. He was outclassed, outgunned, and outsmarted. He would have to rely on his speed and agility if he had any hope of survival. As Ghidorah charged forward again, Zilla sidestepped, and lunged forward. Success! He caught Ghidorah's right neck in his jaw, and chomped down with all his might.
Ghidorah's right head roared in pain, and the others could feel it too. As the windpipe was crushed, red blood began to ooze from the wound. Ghidorah's middle head tried zapping Zilla with a gravity beam, but the lizard would not let go. The left head took action, shooting forward and biting at the base of Zilla's neck.
As the two titans held onto each other, Ghidorah finally began to regain the upper hand. With a push of his wings, winds the speed of a hurricane pushed against Zilla, causing him to lose his grip. Ghidorah let go as well, stepping back to regain his footing. Now it was Zilla's turn to smirk. The fight was beginning to go in his favor.
Ghidorah was now very, very angry. With a cackling roar, Ghidorah thrust forward with his left leg, kicking Zilla in the side. The sheer weight behind the attack was enough to knock Zilla over. Ghidorah wasn't finished. Launching himself straight up with his wings, Ghidorah brought both of his taloned feet down on Zilla's torso. The weight of the massive beast crushed Zilla's ribcage, and he roared in pain. Ghidorah repeated the process, dealing even more damage and causing Zilla to cough up blood.
Zilla turned on his back as Ghidorah jumped up a third time, but this time he fired his green breath. The flame caught Ghidorah off-guard, knocking him from the sky. Ponies watching gasped as their savior was hurled to the ground. Ghidorah stood back up, standing firm between Zilla and Ponyville. Zilla decided to go for broke. If his next idea didn't work, he would lose. Slowly, Zilla charged his beam to its maximum output, dorsal spines glowing with radioactive power. Seeing what his opponent was doing, Ghidorah did the same. Charging his gravity beams his eyes glowed with an alien yellow energy.
Both kaiju fired their beams at the same time. As radioactive fire hit electric gravity, a massive ball of pure enrgy formed in the middle. Both sides struggled, each trying to force the explosive energy upon their opponent. Zilla's breath seemed to have the upper hand, as pushing seemed easier for him. As the ball slowly came closer to Ghidorah, the dragon began to feel a little nervous. As it neared mere meters from his faces, Ghidorah pumped all of the energy he could into the beam. It was enough. The ball bounced back towards Zilla like a game of ping pong, hurtling at a speed he hadn't predicted. Zilla's eyes widened in fear as the mass of energy grew near.
There was a titanic explosion, one that would have made Michael Bay proud. Ghidorah himself was knocked back, but skidded to a halt before he could collide with any buildings. A massive crater was all that remained of where his opponent had once stood. Zilla was dead. Fueled by victory, Ghidorah roared his cackling roar to the heavens, challenging all who would dare attack him. The roar carried on all the way to Canterlot, where the princesses were watching.
"Sister," Luna said. "I think its time we asked our 'guest,' some questions,"
Celestia nodded, and their horns began to glow.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 8 - The King and the Castle
Chapter 8
The King and the Castle
King Ghidorah had certainly accomplished a lot in his life. He had destroyed countless worlds, civilizations, and life forms. A myriad of opponents had been humbled before his life. His was a name to strike fear in the hearts of all who heard it. He was the King of Terror. And right now, he was bored.
Boredom was not an emotion Ghidorah felt often. He couldn't even remember the last time he was bored. Most of the time when he had nothing to do, when he was flying through space for instance, he would simply scheme. Scheme for his revenge against Godzilla, scheme for the destruction of the Earth. But right now, returning to his universe certainly seemed like an impossible goal, so he didn't bother. That meant he had nothing to do. And for the first time in a long while, Ghidorah was bored out of his mind.
Ghidorah groaned, before falling back in his bed. After their session yesterday, Princess Celestia saw to it that he was made comfortable. He was to live in the castle, and was not allowed to leave without her permission. The bed he had been given was the largest one available, but even that had not been enough. Upon sitting on it, it buckled under his weight and crushed the small, wooden legs. Now, the frame simply lay on the floor, stuck there permanently.
What was a kaiju to do? He was trapped on this world, stripped of his powers, and forced to play hero. Of all the horrible things that could have happened to him, of all the dimensions he could have been transported to, it had to be this one. He groaned again, before getting up. Perhaps he would go seek out Celestia, or Discord. Maybe one of them could give his something to do. He walked to the door, before pushing it open.
Although he was not allowed to leave the castle, he was given free reign in regards to traveling within its bounds. As Ghidorah walked through the corridors, he couldn't help but feel a little amazed at how quickly the staff had gotten used to him. Everypony he passed didn't seem fazed at all by the dragon that stood three times their size. Each and every one of them waved in a friendly manner, a gesture he never returned. This didn't bother them.
Ghidorah suddenly felt a horrible itching in the back of his mind. He remembered this, he had encountered it not long after he first arrived in this world. Now it was back with a vengeance, and it drove him mad. That horrible thing! What was it? Internally, Ghidorah tried to stop it. There was something there, something inside his mind. How did it get there? Ghidorah had fought psychic kaiju before, and he had trained his mind to be completely inpenetrable! It made no sense! Ghidorah shook his heads violently, trying to get rid of the parasitic feeling in his brain. A pony he walked by gave him an odd look, but said nothing.
That's when it happened. It wasn't anything big, it wasn't even something physical. But it was enough to fill King Ghidorah with dread. As the mare walked pass, a maid off to clean a room no doubt, Ghidorah noticed something odd. For the first time in his life, he didn't hate something. He didn't know why, but he was utterly incapable of hating the mare that had passed by. Normally, Ghidorah hated everything and everyone. Why else would he kill everything he met? But right now, he was devoid of hatred. And Ghidorah without hatred is like the Pacific Ocean without water. It was unnatural, and a cause for serious alarm. The itching in his head reached its highest levels before, without any reason, it disappeared.
Instantly, Ghidorah felt angry. The familiar emotion of hate returned, and at present he hated nothing more than that mare who had just passed. But she was gone by now, and Ghidorah thought better of hunting her down. Ghidorah felt uneasy. Whatever he had just encountered, it had been powerful enough to defeat not only his psychological defenses, but also his most powerful weapon - his pure rage. For the first time in his life, Ghidorah felt scared.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Princess Celestia sat on her throne, contemplating the events of the past couple of days. In an incredibly short space of time, she had met a being from another dimension. In that same time, another being from that same dimension had almost attacked Ponyville. The first being had defeated the second, but proved to be evil, not good. And now Celestia was faced with the difficult task of reforming this being. And here she thought her week would be boring!
Was Celestia afraid of Ghidorah? Certainly. She would be stupid not to be. But Celestia was nothing if not kind, and was more than willing to give him a chance. Giving chances had been how Luna returned, and Discord too. If she could change Ghidorah for good, then just think of what could be accomplished!
The only problem was, Celestia wasn't quite sure how she wanted to do that. Ghidorah seemed set in his ways. Making him see the power of friendship would not be easy. Perhaps Discord could help in some way? After all, he too had once been evil. Celestia sighed. It was a shame that Luna detested Ghidorah so much. She could sense that the pair had much more in common than either of them let on.
Celestia then turned her attention to her subjects. They had a right to know what was going on. At least enough information could be released so that they would understand Ghidorah's presence, and what exactly the threat they were facing was.
Celestia's horn glowed, and with a pop a quill and scroll appeared before her, as she began to write her address to the ponies.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Twilight Sparkle was walking down the street when she noticed the royal officer. He was a stallion wearing armor with the royal emblem, and he was nailing a sheet of paper to the wall of a building. A royal decree. Whenever something of importance occured, Celestia would personally write one of these addressed to everypony who lived in equestria. Twilight had a hunch what this one was about. When the royal officer finished his job, he left, presumably to post more copies of the decree. A crowd of ponies, Twilight including, circled around the paper to see what it said.
It read:
To my loyal subjects,
As I'm sure you are all aware, a large creature attacked the area around Ponville yesterday. This creature was at least the size of a dragon, if not bigger. As you will probably have heard by now, the creature was confronted by another, even larger creature. This second one destroyed the first and saved Ponyville, before disappearing in the area of Canterlot Castle. I have sent out this decree to lay any rumors to rest.
This second creature is named King Ghidorah. He is not from anywhere near Equestria, and he has come with news of a great danger. These giant creatures are called 'Kaiju,' and there are many of them. Ghidorah himself is one, as was the beast that attacked yesterday, named Zilla. We do not know if any more of these kaiju will appear in Equestria, but if so, King Ghidorah has graciously volunteered to protect us.
Please do not be alarmed, and rest assured that your safety is of the highest importance. As more information is gathered, I will keep the public informed.
~Princess Celestia
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Applejack walked to Fluttersh's house. The pegasus pony had sent an urgent letter demanding the cowpony's presence this morning, via carrier pigeons. Applejack wasn't quite sure what she wanted, but she had a hunch it had to do with a contingency plan for Ghidorah. She knocked on the door. "Come in!" Fluttershy's soft voice rang from inside.
Applejack opened the door to be greeted by the strangest sight she had seen all week. A three-headed space dragon, a giant iguana-saurus, and now this. Nope. Not even those last two were weirder than this.
Fluttershy was having tea with a pony that seemed to be made entirely of plant material. And what's more, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. "Oh, Applejack! I see you got my message!" Fluttershy said. The plant-pony took in the orange mare. "So this is the one of which you spoke?" she said.
Wait, what? The plant-pony could talk? Applejack was going to need a cup of hard cider when all of this was over. "Uh, howdy?" she said tentatively.
"Oh, Applejack, where are my manners! This is Biollante, I met her in the Everfree forest yesterday!" Fluttershy said, gesturing to the plant-pony.
"Greetings," Biollante said. Her voice was soft, but ringing, like a bell.
"Biollante comes from the same universe as King Ghidorah! She's offered to tell us information about him, but she said she would wait until you arrived,"
"Well, then? What is it?"
Biollante's face darkened. "You are all in terrible, terrible danger. Ghidorah is a being of pure evil, one who travels the galaxy looking for helpless planets to destroy. His very name sends fear to all who hear it,"
Both of the other pony's eyes widened in shock. "And now he's with the Princesses!" The two mares grabbed each other. "We have to do something!"
Biollante's curiosity was piqued. "Princesses? Are they the leaders of your race?"
Both of the ponies nodded. "Then I would very much like to speak to them,"
"There isn't much time!" Applejack said. "Let's go!"
Just as they were about to leave, Fluttershy thought of something. "Wait just a moment!" she said. She disappeared into her house, only to return with a cloak. This she gave to Biollante, who awkwardly put it on. "There! Now pony's won't ask too many questions!"
And so, the three mares left for the train to Canterlot.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 9
Uneasy Peace
King Ghidorah had encountered many strange things throughout his life. Be it that one time he fought a cyborg version of himself, or experiencing the seemingly-drug induced effects of mind control, there was plenty to choose from. But frankly, this being named Discord almost topped all of that. Almost. "Mecha-King Ghidorah" was still weirder. But it was close.
Ever since his arrival to Canterlot Castle, the draconequus had become apparently quite interested by the three-headed dragon. At present, the pair of them sat in front of a pool, watching ponies frolic in the water. Discord sipped on some chocalate milk, and Ghidorah occasionally tried to as well. He was surprised to find that the liquid tasted like iron on the first sip, then like strawberry the next. Unsettled, Ghidorah quickly stopped drinking.
"This is the life, Ghids," Discord said, referring to the King of Terror by his pet name. Ghidorah hated that name. Just like everything else.
Ghidorah gave the Spirit of Chaos a glare out of the corner of his eye. "If you say so..." the dragon grumbled.
"You know, I used to be like you once," Discord monologued, ignoring Ghidorah's mood. "Evil, out to rule the world, forcing others to be my slaves and whatnot. It was pretty fun,"
Ghidorah eyed him. "Isn't that contradictory? If it was so fun, why are you where you are now?"
Discord sighed. "I admit, sometimes I wish for the old days," he waved a paw, forming an orb of fire in his palm. He toyed with it, letting it dance across his fingers for a while, before he grabbed it and froze it solid. He tossed the frozen fire into his mouth and swallowed without chewing. "But when I look at all that I have now, all that's changed," he gestured to the ponies in the pool. "I realize that it's all worth it,"
Ghidorah looked at the ponies in the pool. They all seemed happy, and full of love. For a brief moment, he felt the horrid itch in the back of his head again, but it didn't last this time. "You will find that you and I are more different than you may allow yourself to believe, Discord," Ghidorah said. "I find little reason beyond neccessity to agree to anything Celestia demands, and even less reason to care about the pathetic lives of the ponies,"
Discord nodded. "Perhaps. But I know what's going on in those heads of yours," he said cryptically, patting the nearest one playfully.
Ghidorah flinched. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, don't pretend you haven't noticed. The sudden lack of hatred, the slowly changing emotions. It's a common problem to those who aren't used to it,"
Ghidorah began to be a little scared. "What are you talking about?"
"It's this place! It tends to change those who don't want to be,"
The look on Ghidorah's faces was all Discord needed to see that the dragon was not following. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough,"
Before Ghidorah could reply, they were interrupted by a pony guard. "Lord Discord, King Ghidorah, the Princess requests your presence at once!" the pony said.
Discord groaned. "Probably couldn't find her special shampoo this morning. Come, Ghids. We have work to do,"
Before King Ghidorah could protest, Discord snapped his talons and they disappeared in a flash.
* * * * * * * * * *
"But, your Highness!" Fluttershy pleaded.
"I understand your concern, and that of your friend," Princess Celestia said, gesturing to Biollante. "But you will find that I have the situation under control,"
"With all due respect, yer Highness," Applejack said. "Ah don't think ya realize the gravity of the situation! From what we've been told by Biollante here, King Ghidorah is just pure evil! Now what could you possibly want to do with that?"
Celestia looked down at Applejack. When she spoke, it was in the same tone a mother would use to correct her child. "Don't forget, Applejack. Many thought both my sister and Discord to be pure evil, yet both proved them wrong,"
Applejack sighed. "Yes, yer Highness," she grumbled.
Before anything else could be said, all of the ponies were interrupted by an audible popping sound. With a flash, both Discord and King Ghidorah appeared in the room. Biollante glared at the dragon, clearly unsatisfied with the current turn of events.
King Ghidorah took in the plant-pony, slightly unnerved by the glare she was giving him. Not that he showed it. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked.
The plant-pony grimaced. "Yes. Unfortunately. The last time we met, you were at Monster Island. You attacked me and some of the others there. I didn't appreciate it,"
Ghidorah's eyes widened as recoginition hit him. "Biollante? Is that you?"
The plant-pony nodded. "What happened to you?" Ghidorah continued.
"I myself am intact, and have set my roots on the outskirts of Ponyville. What you see before you is merely an avatar I am using for communication,"
Ghidorah felt the rage building up inside him again as he turned to Celestia. "How come she gets to keep her powers and I don't?" he shouted.
Celestia remained calm. "I'm afraid that neither I nor my sister were made aware of her arrival. Tell me, Biollante, do you remember at all how you got here?"
Biollante shook her head. "I'm afraid not. All I remember was an incredibly bright light, and then suddenly waking up here. It was the middle of the night when I awoke, so regaining my energy was harder than it should've been,"
Biollante turned her attention back to Ghidorah. "As for you, " she said, marching up to the dragon. "I don't trust you at all. You may have convinced these ponies that you won't harm them, but you haven't convinced me!"
Ghidorah huffed. "And why would you care?"
"Because I dislike seeing life in any form destroyed. But for you, I think I could make an exception,"
The dragon and the plant glared at each other, causing a tense and awkward atmosphere for the Equestrians in the room. "Ghidorah, stand down!" Celestia commanded.
Growling ferally, Ghidorah backed away from Biollante. Biollante, too stepped back a few paces.
For a moment, both of the kaiju simply stared each other down. Finally, Ghidorah broke the silence. "Whatever. Your presence is trivial at best. You will not be a problem," Ghidorah turned to leave.
Biollante didn't respond. If she was offended by how easily the King of Terror had underestimated her, she didn't show it. Suddenly Biollante's eyes went wide and she let out a gasp.
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.
Biollante's eyes looked as if they were far away. "Two beings. In the forest. They're kaiju! They're moving towards Ponyville!"
Celestia's face grew grim. "You know what to do," she said to the sulking Ghidorah. He merely grunted in response as he walked towards the balcony. Celestia's horn glowed, and the spell was cast.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 10 - Web of Shadows
Chapter 10
Web of Shadows
As the spell once again worked its magic on Ghidorah, he felt its effects permeate his very being. As his powers returned, he spread his wings and jumped into the sky. He flew towards Ponyville, growing quickly as he did so. As he grew, the bandages around his neck ripped off, revealing it to be fully healed. Celestia, Discord, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Biollante's avatar watched from the balcony. Celestia turned to the plant-pony. "You say that you're full form isn't far from Ponyville?"
Biollante nodded, fully understanding what the solar princess meant.
Far away, pure white eyes on a massive crocodilian head opened. Biollante reared her gargantuan frame, her imposing figure like a mountain visible even from Canterlot. Her avatar on the balcony smirked as she read the reactions of her pony companions.
King Ghidorah flew above the now un-hidden Biollante. He was not surprised that Celestia would have her fight alongside him. Stupid ponies. Did they truly underestimate his power? He would just have to prove them wrong, and annhilate his opponents twice as badly! Speaking of which, where were they?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gabara lumbered through above the treeline, his unorthodox companion walking next to him. Normally, he would never have partnered up with the being he found himself currently allied with, but when their battlefield suddenly changed from frozen wasteland to a forest in a flash, both were more than a little unnerved. Neither would ever admit it, but lost and confused, forming an unlikely tag-team was their best course of action.
He looked down at his companion, who skittered along the ground. "So what do we do now?" he asked.
Kumonga glared back at the troll-monster through her eight eyes. "How should I know? It's your fault we got into this mess!"
"My fault? How is it my fault?"
"Oh don't play dumb with me!" the giant spider shot back. "If you hadn't messed with Godzilla's hatchling, neither of us would be in this mess!"
"Do you really think Godzilla did this? Last time I checked, forced teleportation was not an ability he had,"
Kumonga grumbled angrily. "Besides, all I did was bully the brat. You tried to eat him!"
Kumonga's eyes glinted in a dreamy fashion. "And what a meal he would have made!" she said in a far-off tone. Gabara groaned. The seafoam troll looked up to see something that would come to horrify him.
"K-K-kumonga?" he said.
"Yeah?"
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
The spider hoisted herself up with her long legs to be met with a terrifying sight. "Yeah," she said, though with a hint of worry in her voice.
"And are you as worried as I am?"
"Yeah,"
Gabara gulped, and Kumonga did whatever the spider's equivalent of that would be. Landing not too far from them, standing between them and a small city, was King Ghidorah.
"Can we take him?" Gabara asked.
"Do we have a choice?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Gabara and Kumonga. A pair so unlikely to work together that it almost made Ghidorah laugh. Gabara and Kumonga, he repeated mentally. Oh, this would indeed be fun. Biollante appeared next to him, her size even greater than his own.
Gabara and Kumonga both knew that under normal circumstances, they didn't stand a chance. He was the King of Terror, and She was.....Biollante. They were completely out of their league here. But suddenly, inspiration struck. Perhaps if they worked together, and combined their best attributes.....
A venomous smile spread across Gabara's lips. Kumonga responded with whatever the spider equivalent of a smile is. Both of them were thinking the same thing. They would fight together, and they would prevail. Gabara began the pre-battle trashing immediately after. "Ghidorah? I thought you had died!"
Ghidorah groaned. "Why does everyone assume I am dead? Do you truly believe me to be so weak?"
"Pretty much," Gabara replied, his inner bully taking control.
Ghidorah growled, causing Gabara to snicker. "And you, Kumonga? Why would you ever cooperate with this sorry excuse of a monster?"
Kumonga clicked her mandibles. "It is true that circumstances are forcing me to behave in ways I normally would not. But you would know much about that, wouldn't you, King Ghidorah?"
Ghidorah nearly froze. "What?"
"You know. Working with Biollante," Kumonga explained, pointing at the growling plant.
Ghidorah let out a very soft sigh of relief. Good. How embarassing it would be if they found out he was living with ponies. But now it was Biollante's turn. "Leave now, both of you! This confrontation does not have to turn violent. Leave the settlement behind us alone, and you will be permitted to live,"
Gabara roared his chortling roar. "How funny! I'm afraid it is you who will be begging us for mercy by the time we're done!" And with that he charged at Biollante.
Gabara raised one of his fists, crackling with electric energy. Just as it was about to make contact with Biollante, he felt a massive weight slam into him from the side. The nightmare creature was sent sprawling. As he rolled over, he looked up to see a very, very angry King Ghidorah. "I was hoping you'd say that," he growled.
Biollante roared a mournful wail, before joining in the fight. Kumonga chittered, before leaping straight at the plant. Ghidorah and Gabar began their battle on one side, while Biollante and Kumonga began theirs on the other.
Gabara charged at Ghidorah recklessly. Rolling his eyes, Ghidorah merely wrapped his wings around his body, forming a shield. The troll's super-charged fists glanced harmlessly off of the dragon's wings. Gabara wouldn't take a hint, however, and continued trying. Just when it seemed like Gabara was about to give up, Ghidora's central head struck out. Having lured Gabara in close, the attack was easy to pull off. Using his head like a club, he essentially punched Gabara in the face with enough force to knock him off of his feet.
Gabara crawled back up, wiping blood from his lip. "You'll pay for that!" He ran up to Ghidorah again, grabbing hold of two of the necks. Ghidorah shrieked in surprise. He hadn't anticipated his opponent being so fast. Having a good grip, Gabara set to commencing the next part of his plan. Chortling, he began to course electricity into King Ghidorah's body.
Ghidorah was used to electricity. It was not something that bothered him much. When it was on the outside. This, however, was the first time he ever felt electricity surge through the inside of his body. And he didn't like it. Ghidorah roared in agony as his body convulsed under the high-powered current. Ghidorah reacted the only way he could, as his middle head fired his gravity beam at the maximum power it could.
The blast was powerful enough to force Gabara to lose his grip. The troll monster stumbled back, before being hit by a continued barrage of gravity beams. Screeching in defiance, he charged at King Ghidorah again.
Meanwhile, Kumonga was dealing with Biollante. The spider leaped around the plant, who kept roaring in frustration. Kumonga knew that in terms of weight and strength alone, she didn't stand a chance. The spider leaped in a large loop around the plant, dodging the flytrap-headed vines that erupted out of the ground wherever she went. Biollante was trying to trap her.
For such a massive kaiju, Biollante sure relied very little on her actual strength. To Kumonga, it seemed that control would be a much bigger concern for Biollante. The spider's inner predator kicked in as she tried to formulate a plan of attack. Stopping where she was, she spewed webbing at the vines attempting to grab ahold of her.
Her foe's main method taken away, Kumonga then tried to creep up to Biollante. The plant, however, saw this coming. Suddenly, two vines came seemingly from nowhere, each pounding Kumonga in the head. The force of the attack was enough to flip the spider over, and her legs wiggled uselessly in the air. "Gabara!" she shouted for her moronic counterpart.
The nightmare being risked a glance at the spider out of the corner of his eye. He was having a very difficult time holding his own against Ghidorah, so perhaps a change of pace would be all that he needed. He backed up to Kumonga, before flipping her over with a nudge of his foot. "Wanna trade?" he asked, gesturing with his head to Biollante. Kumonga, regaining her footing glared at him. "Sure," she grumbled.
Gabara took in his new opponent. She was far bigger than him, but that had never stopped him before. He had pestered Biollante before, on Monster Island, but now it was different. Now it was a fight to the death. So he decided on the strategy that had clearly worked so well before - charging in with reckless abandon.
To his surprise, it worked better than he thought. Biollante's vines all seemed to miss him as he rushed forward, his fist crackling once more. Biollante's eyes widened in shock(pun not intended) as Gabara punched her squarely in the massive glowing orb that was her source of energy. As electricity began to course through the plant, she began to wail in agony.
Meanwhile, on the balcony, Celestia, Luna, Discord, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Biollante watched the titanic battle from a distance. Celestia gave a glance at Biollante, who was litterally watching herself be pummeled. "Does it hurt?" she asked in worry.
"You have no idea," Biollante replied unflinchingly.
At the same time, Kumonga was trying to dodge Ghidorah's gravity beams. There weren't many things that Kumonga feared, but the King of Terror himself was not many things. Ever since the day he attacked Monster Island under the control of the Kilaaks, Kumonga had known well to fear him. And now she was fighting him. One on one. Gee, things couldn't get any better, could they?
Ghidorah continued firing his gravity beams. Kumonga realized that if she were to survive, she would have to stop him from continuing. She fired her webs, hitting the dragon squarely in the left head.
Ghidorah suddenly felt the sensation of something stringy and sticky wrapping around his left mouth. It was obvious what it was - Kumonga was webbing him. Enraged, the other two heads cackled and fired their gravity beams. SPLAT! Another head, this time the right one, was webbed. For a moment, Ghidorah was blinded by rage before being blinded litterally by more web hitting his middle head, not only muzzling him but blinding him as well.
Ghidorah struggled to open his jaws, but the webbing was stronger than it appeared. Try as he might, he simply could not force his jaws open. Kumonga took advantage of the opportunity, before spitting a web that connected to Ghidorah's knee. She then circled around him, wrapping his legs tightly. The attack had the desired effect, as Ghidorah collapsed when he tried to walk. Kumonga creeped closer, ready to deliver the final blow.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Biollante was continuing her fight against Gabara. The nightmare troll continued in his relentless assauly, constantly beating while simultaneously shocking the genetic abberation. Biollante felt sheer pain coursing throughout her titanic frame, and reacted accordingly. Most kaiju uppercut with their fists, but not Biollante. Biollante dipped her crocidilian head until her snout was underneath Gabara's head, before suddenly pulling it back up violently. The result was a collosal force hitting Gabara in the chin, sending him sprawling.
Biollante wasted no time. The moment her opponent hit the ground, vines erupted all around from the forest and wrapped around his limbs. Struggle as he might, Gabara could not break the vines. Suddenly, he felt himself be pulled close to Biollante. The being made from fear suddenly felt the sensation himself as he looked into Biollante's pure white eyes. Biollante roared, a mournful wail tolling like a bell, before stuffing Gabara head first into her mouth.
Gabara's arms and legs, which stuck out of her mouth, struggled for a moment. Then, with a sickening crunch, Biollante bit down, and the troll went limp. Biollante tilted her gargantuan head back, and what was left of her opponent disappeared down her throat.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Kumonga creeped towards the helpless King Ghidorah. To be honest, she never thought she would get this far. She glanced up just in time to Gabara get eaten by Biollante. The sight was unnerving to say the least. Oh well, he was a fool, anyway.
Kumonga turned her attention back to Ghidorah. She was pretty proud of herself. There was no way he would get out of this!
Ghidorah struggled to open his jaws, and began to feel the webs weaken. He still couldn't move his legs. Kumonga crawled over him, and flipped him over so that he lay on his back. "Now, now dear," she said in a predatory manner, "This will hurt you far more than it will hurt me!"
Ghidorah's central head burst from it's ensnarement.
"I!"
The left head burst too.
"Hate!"
The right head burst free.
"Bugs!"
With a massive blast of his gravity beams, Kumonga was sent flying into the sky. As she fell towards earth, Ghidorah grabbed her and slammed her into the groung. The last thing Kumonga saw was Monster Zero's taloned foot crushing her head, insides exploding everywhere.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 11 - Royal Decree
Chapter 11
Royal Decree
Ghidorah panted, yellow blood sliding down his scaled leg. Bits of brain matter and other organs he didn't want to identify were splotched against his hide, and his entire body was coated with webs. He turned to Biollante, who had finished swallowing Gabara. She said nothing, nearly gave him a harsh look. He ignored her, and looked down at what was left of Kumonga.
Most of her head was crushed, blood flowing like a river into the forest. Her legs lay sprawled at awkward angles, and her abdoment still quivered with death. Ghidorah grinned slightly. Oh, how he had missed the oppurtunity to admire his handiwork. He let out a victorious roar, before taking to the skies and flying towards Canterlot.
Biollante watched him fly away, slowly shrinking as the spell that took his power began to take effect once more. She roared her mournful wail, before her head disappeared underground, and she returned to her dormant state.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ghidorah landed on the balcony, the marble cracking under the force of his landing. He smirked, still riding the high of battle. He lumbered into the throne room, where Luna, Celestia, and Biollante's avatar awaited him. Fluttershy and Applejack were gone, presumably returned home. "Well, that was fun," he said.
Celestia frowned. "Well done," she said, altough her face told Ghidorah that she didn't entirely mean it. "I've been talking to Biollante, so I understand why these kaiju had to die," she continued. "But what if they didn't? Ghidorah, I will not stand for you killing anything innocent. I can hardly stand for you killing anything at all,"
Ghidorah's middle head looked at her in disbelief. His left and right head were busy grooming him, pulling off bits of web and lapping up bits of blood and flesh. "Do you realize what I just did? One does not simply reason with kaiju,"
"We reasoned with you," Celestia countered.
Ghidorah grumbled. "That was not my choice,"
Celestia ignored him. "From now on, I would like you to at least attempt to resolve situations peacefully before you resort to violence. Is that too much to ask?"
Ghidorah's extra heads stopped their work, looking up at Celestia angrily. He stomped up to the throne, and looked the alicorn dead in the eyes. "Hear this, and hear it well, princess, for I will not repeat myself. I care not for the lives of you or your pathetic maggot subjects. You are nothing but insects, and I only help you out of necessity. If you dislike my methods, I suggest you find somebody else to fight your battles,"
Luna had had enough of him. "Stand down, beast," she commanded. Ghidorah gave her a glare, before backing away from the two princesses. "Good day, your highnesses," he said flatly, before leaving for his room. He deliberately left a trail of blood and web as he went.
Celestia sighed, watching the three-headed dragon leave. "Sister, I insist, we should not trust him," Luna said. Celestia ignored her, and turned her attention to Biollante.
"And what of you? What is it you seek to accomplish?" she asked.
Biollante turned to the royal pony. "I am a plant. I simply wish to live and let live," she replied.
"So you will pose no threat to Ponyville?"
"Ponyville and the Everfree Forest are my home. I will defend them as such,"
Celestia smiled. "That's the first good thing I've heard all day," she said, before turning to a guard. "See to it that she gets her own room. Preferably one with plenty of sunlight,"
The guard saluted, before leaving with the plant-pony.
Luna and Celestia were left alone in the throne room. "Sister, what are we to do? Why are these kaiju attacking? Why now?" Celestia asked.
Luna shook her head. "I do not know, sister. But I do know that we need something new. If we are to combat this thread, we will need a more reliable weapon than Ghidorah," she spat the name as if it were poison.
"And what would that be?"
"By my logic, more kaiju will be arriving. Chances are, at least one of them will be a hero. Even if it's not, we can just do with them what we are currently doing with Ghidorah,"
"Steal their powers, and return them if they are worthy?"
"Precisely. With any luck, it won't take long for them to prove themselves.
Celestia smiled again. "So it is decided then?"
Luna nodded. "Let us hope that our next subject is more willing than you-know-who," She pointed her head at the trail of blood, which was now being cleaned up by a maid who looked as though she would vomit.
Celestia sighed.
"We can only hope."
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 12 - Eggs and Hot Air
Chapter 12
Eggs and Hot Air
Ghidorah awoke angrily, as usual. Ever since he had his powers stolen from him, he found that his body actually required sleep, something it didn't before. It was annoying, and not the only thing that had changed. A growl that would have intimidated Destroyah emanated from Ghidorah's stomach, demanding to be fed.
Great. He was hungry.
King Ghidorah rolled over, sliding off the large bed he had been given onto the floor. He groaned loudly. Stupid mornings. Stupid ponies. Stupid lack of powers. Stupid hunger. He groaned again, infruriated at his inability to do anything about it.
Suddenly, he felt the infernal itch in his head again. Of all times, now, in the morning, it had decided to show up? He hissed in displeasure, realizing that he wasn't completely incapable of changing the situation. He could always do what Celestia demanded, and be a protector of the innocent. In time, she'd give him back his powers, right?
Ghidorah suddenly stopped himself. Did he really just seriously consider that? What was wrong with him? Never would he, in his right mind, even give the thought notice! How could he have possibly have thought about it for as long as he did? And why did the itch abate when he did?
Ghidorah felt bothered again, but didn't have long to dwell on the matter, as the beast in his lower torso continued to loudly demand food. Boy, it sure was rude. Grumbling, Ghidorah got up off of the surprisingly comfortable floor, and made his way into the hallway.
As he walked through the halls, his nose picked up a scent. It was coming from the royal kitchen. It wasn't the usual vegetarian scent, either. Whatever it was, he liked it. Well, like was a strong word. But it was better than anything else, so he started lumbering his way towards the open door that lead to the kitchen.
He nudged the door open, revealing a mare dressed in chef's clothing cooking some sort of dish. She had a black mane and tail, and a cream coat. This was the mare Gourmet that Discord had apparently been messing with a few days prior. She was humming a song to herself as she cooked, completely oblivious to Ghidorah's presence.
He frowned. Unacceptable.
Ghidorah cleared his three throats, causing the mare to nearly have a heart attack. "Oh, King Ghidorah! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!" she said hastily, fearing what Ghidorah might do. The dragon's three faces did not change. "Is there something I can help you with?"
King Ghidorah looked down at the food she was preparing in a pan. It was slimy in appearance, milk white with a yellow center. It looked disgusting as it sat there in the pan, sizzling in the heat. But he was hungry, as his growling beast confirmed. Beggars can't be choosers. It was better than vegetation. "This," he said. "What is it?"
Gourmet looked at the food in the pan, then back at Ghidorah. "It's eggs, your highness," she said simply. "We ponies usually eat plants, but occasionally we supplement our diets with eggs. Why?"
Ghidorah did not think twice. "Serve me some. Scratch that, serve me all of them,"
Gourmet was surprised by his request. "All of them?" she asked. "I'll see what I can do,"
"Very well," Ghidorah sat himself down at the end of a nearby table, and began to wait for his food.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"I hope you like it!" the mare chimed, pushing a plate of the fowl things in front of Ghidorah. The golden dragon looked down at the food. He sniffed it tentatively. Eating it was going to be awkward. He sighed. Oh well. Food was food. He began to noisily chow down on the eggs.
To his surprise, the eggs were quite good. Satisfying, even. As he slurped down the meal, he felt his hunger disappear. The itch in his head returned, but it felt less like an itch, and more like a dull stinging. "Well? What do you think?" Gourmet asked.
Ghidorah grumbled. "It is satisfactory," he said. Gourmet smiled. Apparently she knew enough about the dragon so that the phrase was more complimentary than it normally would have been.
"Thank you, I really do take pride in my cooking!"
Before Ghidorah could so much as make a sound, the mare began to go on a long-winded rant about her history with cooking. Ghidorah said nothing, not paying attention. He merely continued eating his eggs in silence, feeling his strength and energy return to him. He was surprised to find himself not completely annoyed by the lower pony. In fact, he almost felt....entertained. The very thought of that word made the stinging disappear for a moment.
Wait, what? First, his thought in the morning, now this? Ghidorah was beginning to get on his own nerves. Just before he could say something to shut the pony up, Luna walked in to the room.
"Ghidorah, we need you. We found one," she said.
* * * * * * * * * *
Moments later, Ghidorah found himself on the balcony with both of the princesses, staring at the kaiju flying in circles overhead. It let out a loud roar, causing some of the citizens of Canterlot below to panic. Ghidorah merely huffed, recognizing the familiar face.
"Ghidorah, is this one of the heroic kaiju you mentioned?" Celestia asked.
Ghidorah nodded. "Unfortunately,"
That wasn't entirely true. This kaiju didn't really fight for the weak, but rather for their home. Close enough. Celestia need not know the details.
Celestia turned to Luna. "Then let's get this over with,"
Both of the alicorns' horns glowed, and the spell was cast. The beast above roared in shock as its powers were stolen from it. The kaiju began to shrink, and as it did so it flew down towards the source of its loss. The red-scaled beast landed with a thud in front of the pony princesses.
"Hey, what gives?"
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 13 - Gotta Go Fast
Chapter 13
Gotta Go Fast
The two princesses took in the being that now stood in front of them. It was taller than them, but nowhere near as massive as King Ghidorah. It was covered in crimson scales, and had bright, yellow eyes. Its face was tipped with a toothed beak, and it had twin crests on the back of its head. Its forelimbs were large, leathery wings, suspended by a single long finger. Its lower legs were shorter in comparison, and tipped with eagle-like talons.
It looked at the princesses, and spoke in a male voice. "Well? Aren't you gonna answer me, or are ya just stupid?" he asked.
Celestia shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "I'm sorry, we were just taking you in. Welcom, kaiju. I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna,"
Luna smiled.
"And you are?"
The shrunken kaiju grinned arrogantly. "Why, I'm Rodan! Fastest flyer in the galaxy!"
Ghidorah groaned, annoyed by the arrival of his nemesis' ally. That's when Rodan noticed Ghidorah, squawking in shock. "Ghidorah!" he shouted, before tackling the dragon. King Ghidorah was taken off guard, and fell flat on his tails. The dragon let out a roar of surprise, as Biollante appeared. "Rodan? You're here too?"
Rodan looked up from the beating he was about to give Ghidorah. "Biollante? Is that you? Well, you're not as ugly as before, I'll give you that..." Before Rodan could chide further, Ghidorah shoved him away. Rodan landed on his feet back where he had landed.
"Please, no fighting!" Celestia said. "I realize Ghidorah may not have the best track record with you, but we are all friends here,"
"And where exactly is here, Princess?"
"You are in Equestria. As far as we have been able to determine, we are in a dimension parallel to your own. For whatever reason, the two dimensions have been crossing, resulting in kaiju coming here. The first was Ghidorah. But you needn't worry about him, for we have his powers taken away. And yours, as well, if you do not prove yourself worthy,"
"Worthy? And how do you expect me to do that?"
"You must realize that the process of stealing powers is a difficult one, even for alicorns such as us," Luna said. "Therefore, we cannot steal the powers of every kaiju that leaks in. To deal with them, we need you to fight for us and defend our subjects. Ghidorah has already entered this agreement, as has Biollante,"
Rodan gave Ghidorah a disbelieving look. "You? Protecting anything?" A massive grin spread across his toothed beak, and the pterosaur kaiju began to laugh uncontrollably. He fell over, rolling on the floor. Celestia just watched awkwardly, as Ghidorah got back up, grumbling. "It's not like I have a choice...." he muttered.
Rodan continued laughing, as he got back up and began to hover. This caused Ghidorah quite a bit of anguish. "How come he can still fly, and I can't? I thought you took his powers!"
Celestia nodded. "I did. But I cannot take away his natural abilities, of which flight must obviously be one. I've been meaning to ask you, anyway, why you couldn't fly yourself?"
If Ghidorah could blush, it is possible he would have then and there. But Rodan opened his annoying beak before the dragon could react. "Can't fly? Well duh! Just look at'im! There's no way that fat lunk of evil can get into the air by himself!"
Celestia didn't know how to respond, although Luna (poorly) supressed a giggle. "Ghidorah, is this true? Can you not fly by your own power?"
Ghidorah shuffled, feeling almost embarassed. "Well...not technically,"
Rodan continued his obnoxious laughter. "You mean not at all!"
Ghidorah grumbled. "It is true that I cannot technically fly by my own power. Not here, anyway. Your planet's gravity is too strong for me to do that. Had we been on Mars, for example this would not be a problem. It usually isn't - after all, I have enough control over gravity to allow me flight in such conditions, anyway. But since somebody took my powers, that isn't possible right now,"
Celestia ignored his sarcasm, returning her attention to Rodan. "Well, Rodan, with that aside, do you agree to my terms?"
Rodan ignored her, instead flying towards the throne. "What a nest!" he said aloud to himself, before perching on top of it. Rodan kicked back, allowing himself to reach optimum comfort levels. "I could get used to this!"
Luna and Celestia both stood amazed at the pterosaur's audacity. Biollante facehoofed, a gesture she had learned from a few guards. Ghidorah chuckled, happy to see that he wasn't the only one being mocked today.
"Uh, Rodan?" Biollante said.
"Yeah?"
"That's the royal throne you're sitting on,"
Rodan looked down at himself, and simply said, "Huh," before flying off.
"So, will you take my offer?" Celestia asked again. Although her face didn't show it, Luna could see that the kaiju was getting on her nerves. Rodan looked at the sisters, then at Biollante, then hatefully at King Ghidorah(who returned the glare). Finally, he took Celestia's outstretched hoof in one claw, and grinned widely.
"Princess, you've got yourself a deal!"
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 14 - Battle Under the Clouds
Chapter 14
Battle Under the Clouds
If there was one thing the Canterlot Castle staff had learned about Rodan since his arrival, it was that he was a huge jerk. Of all the kaiju that had recently made their home, the so-called "hero" was easily the most aggravating. Biollante was pleasant enough, but seemed antisocial. She never talked to anypony unless she had to. Ghidorah was downright unnaproachable, but at least he didn't bother anypony. But Rodan? He absolutely delighted in being the biggest pain in the flank he could possibly be. And he was currently doing a very good job of it.
"So, Princess, when do I get to fight something?" He asked, hovering next to Celestia. The alicorn nearly groaned. Her nearly limitless patience was being tried very much by the pterosaur, and she was beggining to grow weary. She hated the way he said the word "Princess," as though it were a derogatory term.
"I don't know, Rodan," she said. "Whenever the next kaiju appears, I'll send you to deal with it,"
Rodan floated around, hardly paying attention. "Gee, I sure hope somebody shows up, then. All this waiting is getting to me!"
Luckily, Rodan would not have to wait much longer, as a royal guard came running into the throne room. "Your highness!" he said, panting. "A kaiju has been spotted under Cloudsdale! It's heading this way!"
Celestia almost felt relieved, having an excuse to get rid of Rodan. Her horn glowed, and the spell was cast. Rodan felt his powers return, grinning. "You know what to do," Celestia said simply.
Rodan mockingly saluted, before disappearing out the window and beginning to grow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Orga lumbered forward, looking up at the strange sight before him. He hardly remembered how he got...wherever he happened to be right now. He had certainly seen a lot, but this was something else. Floating relatively far away from him was a city- made of clouds.
How did that even work? Clouds were primarily composed of water vapor, at least if these clouds were anything like the last planet he was on's own examples. Based on the fact that everything else seemed to be, he deduced that they were indeed, identical. But that got him no answers - how did the clouds retain their shape? He could see organisms moving on them. How did they not fall through? Were they somehow lighter than air? But then why didn't they float away? Perhaps they had metallic counterbalances, or were even sentient.
Orga continued to muse for a while, before continuing on his way. He needed to find a source of knowledge to absorb, preferably a digital one. He had yet to see civilization, but he imagined that if it was here, it had to be advanced enough so that it would be useful. Until he destroyed it, that is.
Orga was pulled out of his thoughts by a taloned foot kicking him in the jaw. Orga stumbled back, looking up to see his attacker in the eye.
"Boy, you're a big one, aren't ya?" Rodan chided.
Orga growled. He wasn't one to talk, but instead took in his opponent. Orga was tactical - everything he did was dictated by logic and reason. Rodan was just the opposite. He reacted on the fly, and rarely put any forethought into his actions. It almost made Orga sick. As he felt anger building up inside him, he decided to react accordingly.
Orga's massive fist lunged forward, hitting Rodan squarely in the chest. The pterosaur kaiju was knocked back and fell onto the ground with a resounding thud. "Oh good, I was hoping I'd see a good fight today!" Rodan taunted from the ground, before launching himself into the air.
In Cloudsdale, ponies turned to watch the titans battle. Rainbow Dash saw the two beings, and was shocked by Rodan's speed. As the kaiju corkscrewed away from one of Orga's punches, an audible "Ahh," shot through the crowd. Rainbow's eyes widened. "So cool," she muttered.
Rodan flew forward, sweeping his legs forward. His talons sweeped Orga's legs out from under him, causing the larger kaiju to collapse. Orga roared, a deep guttural noise. Rodan flew up, before crashing down. His talons dug into Orga's carapace, causing a huge amount of pain. Orga roared in rage.
Before, it had simply been a matter of dealing with an annoyance. Now, Orga was angry. He rolled over, and fired his shoulder cannon. The blast of energy took Rodan by surprise, and hit him square in the face. The smaller kaiju was sent flying into the air, before collapsing on the ground.
Orga lifted himself back up, ready to continue the fight. He didn't wait for Rodan to get up, instead slamming both of his fists down on the prone kaiju. Rodan roared in pain, before launching himself off of the ground and into the air. Now with the higher ground, Rodan fired a blast of his Uranium Heat Beam from the sky, hitting Orga in the neck. He continued to fire, battering Orga with a barrage of forcused radioactive flame.
Orga was getting sick of this. He punched his fist into the air, hitting Rodan in the chest. Rodan was slammed into the ground, landing at the base of a mountain. Rodan could tell that his early advantage wasn't lasting. He looked up at Orga, who was lumbering towards him. Rodan hopped to his feet, ready to continue the fight. Then he smelled something. Could it be? Oh, what luck! Rodan grinned as a plan formed in his head.
"Catch me if you can, big guy!" he said, before flying up the mountain.
Orga roared, before giving a slow chase after Rodan. He climbed up the mountain, his massive knuckles supporting his frame. Rodan hovered, slowly backing up towards the moutains peak. Once he reached the top, he waited for Orga to draw near. Then, he disappeared into a massive crater at the top. Orga stood at the rim, looking down. This wasn't a mountain - it was a volcano. And at the bottom of this crater was a very large pit of lava. Smoke billowed fromt the crater, obscuring Orga's view. He facepalmed.
"How stupid does he think I am?"
Honestly, Orga was offended. Did Rodan really think he was stupid enough to jump into the volcano blindly after him? Orga had made mistakes before, but that was a whole different level.
Orga was interrupted from his thoughts by a taloned kick to his back. Taken off-guard, he was sent head first into the volcano. Roaring in defiance, he fell, before disappearing into the lava. Rodan smirked, glad that his strategy payed off. The smoke had proven a beneficial, if not planned, means to sneak up behind Orga. He sighed contentedly, wiping his wing claws together.
"Don't worry, just another day of me being awesome," he said to himself.
With that accomplished, he flew back towards Canterlot, unaware of a rainbow-maned fan he had just made in Cloudsdale.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 15 - I Hate You So Much
Chapter 15
I Hate You So Much
Rodan landed on the balcony. Ghidorah felt the rage seethig inside of him. That was his thing! He was supposed to land on the balcony! Celestia and Luna appeared behind him, ready to welcome back the kaiju warrior.
Rodan walked in, a smug grin on his beak. "That was fun! When can I do it again?" he asked.
Although Celestia had grown to be annoyed by Rodan, she had to admit, his results were much faster than Ghidorah's. Less gory, as well, which was a definite plus.
"You are arrogant, but you get the job done," Luna said, a slight smile on her face. Ghidorah seethed some more. Really? Rodan got praise, and he didn't? This mare would pay for her transgressions - in due time.
Rodan smirked. "It's not arrogance if it's true. Ain't that right, Ghiddy?"
King Ghidorah bristled at the derogatory nickname. He growled ferally at Rodan. "Remind me to kill you the next chance I get," he said.
Rodan chuckled, ignoring the worried look on Celestia's face. "Sure thing. Go ahead and try," he said.
Ghidorah hissed, stepping towards Rodan. Rodan hovered towards him. Both looked ready to rip each other to shreds right then and there. "Enough!" Celestia said, her horn glowing as she pulled them apart from each other.
Ghidorah and Rodan glowered at each other from across the room, before glancing at Celestia. Her hard expression was enough to let them both know that she was not in the mood to deal with this.
"It's bad enough having kaiju on the loose, and I don't need the two of you at each other's throats on top of that!"
Ghidorah glared at Celestia. He felt the hatred burn inside him, until that itch returned. That itch, that Parasite, was beginning to unnerve him. He now had to actively try to hate, something that shouldn't happen. Still, in the end he achieved his goal. Stupid Celestia. What nerve did she have taking his strength away from him and using it to manipulate him? He made a mental note to kill her first whenever he got his powers back.
He scratched that mental note out the moment he saw Luna. No, she should be killed first. Yes, she had certainly been a bigger pain than her sister. He could already imagine slaying her, her broken and bloody form helpless to his mercy. It reminded him of the old days, when he would slaughter by the millions. The thought alone was enough to cheer him up.
Celestia watched as the two kaiju reluctantly gave up their aggressive stances. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen, we clearly have a crisis on our hooves. Ponies are getting restless. They need some reassurance that everything is going to be alright," she said.
"What are you suggesting, sister?" Luna asked.
"I've already taken some steps to reassure the populace, but perhaps they would be more calmed if they heard it from those who defend them," Celestia continued, rising from her throne and pacing.
"I know that neither of you are the best at social interaction, but I think it would be good for everypony if you were to say something.
"What is it you are asking us to do, Celestia?" Ghidorah asked, one of his heads watching Rodan cautiously out of the corner of its eye.
Celestia stopped pacing, as she tried to find the right words to say. She sighed.
"I want to take you - both of you - to Manehatten. It's one of our most modern cities, and I can arrange for a press conference. There would be dinner, and everypony would be asking questions. I know this is outside of your comfort zones, but can you at least try?" she asked.
Rodan didn't think twice. "Will there be fish?" he asked simply.
Celestia nodded. "I can arrange for that,"
Rodan began hovering habitually. "Then you can sign me up!"
That left King Ghidorah. Celestia eyed him expectantly.
"Well? Are you fine with this?"
Ghidorah's inner rage sizzled like a dying worm in the sun. "Do I have a choice?"
Celestia took that as a yes. "Good. I will have Gourmet arrange the dinner preperations. We will leave tomorrow,"
Celestia and Luna watched as the two kaiju left, Rodan flying out the window. "Do you know where he goes?" Celestia asked.
"One of the maids told me he sits at the top of the mountain. She said that he likes the solitude," Luna replied.
Celestia nodded. "Sister, do you think I made the right choice? Is this a good idea?"
Luna smiled. "I think that we're doing the best that we can, given the circumstances," she said.
Celestia smiled too. "Yes, I suppose you're right,"
"After all, what could go wrong?"
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 16 - Table Manners
Chapter 16
Table Manners
Ghidorah, Rodan, Celestia, Luna, and Discord sat in the cramped train coach. It had been decided that this would be the best way to reach Manehatten, but that didn't make it comfortable for the two kaiju. Rodan was getting antsy, maybe even claustrophobic. Ghidorah felt sore, his three necks forced into a constant, awkward duck. The muscles were beginning to grow tired, and he was getting increasingly irritated.
The train hissed to a stop, and a soldier walked in, saluting. "Your majesties, we have arrived in Manehatten," he said.
Rodan stretched his wings. "Good. I don't know about you, but I've had enough of this thing,' he said, gesturing to the train.
Discord stood at the door, wearing a conductor's hat. "I had fun wearing this, but I suppose it's time for a change in attire," he said, before snapping his talons and replacing it with a top hat. "Everypony ready?" he asked, opening the door.
Celestia and Luna exited the train, followed by Rodan. When Ghidorah reached the door, he looked down on it with hate. Discord quickly remembered the problem. He snapped his talons, and Ghidorah was teleported to the other side. The problem had presented itself when they tried to board the train back in Canterlot, and that had been Discord's solution.
Ghidorah sretched in the Manehatten air, feeling his joints pop back into place. Celestia and Luna stood at the edge of the platform, looking at something in the bay. The two kaiju and Discord quickly appeared behind them, trying to see what they were looking at.
Far out on a small islet in the middle of the bay was a statue. A GIANT statue. It was seafoam green, and was a statue of a mare. She wore intricate-looking robes, and was stood upon her hind legs. Tucked under her left hoof were several books, and held aloft in her right hoof was a torch. Finally, she wore what appeared to be a crown on her head. Celestia sighed with content and pride. "The Liberty Mare," she said, naming the landmark. "It was made over two centuries ago, as a symbol. She embodies everything Equestria stands for,"
Ghidorah's first thought when he saw the statue was how fun it would be to rip it from its pedastal. As he saw the lights of the city turning on in the sunset, he could almost see the glorious fire it would make when it burned. He made a mental note to destroy this place first when he got the chance.
Rodan was thinking something different. He simply stared into the water, ignoring the Liberty Mare and the city. 'I wonder if there are any whales down there,' he thought. 'It's been too long since I last ate whale.' Rodan was a kaiju of simple taste.
A soldier quickly appeared, approaching the group. "Your highness, I have been sent to escort you to the location of the dinner," he said.
Celestia nodded. "Very well. Lead the way."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Ghidorah sat in a chair that was far too small for his size. He looked down at his plate, a generous serving of eggs. He and the others sat at a large table, surrounded by ponies. They all appeared to be of the upper class, something that slightly bothered him. Not only did they have the inherent disgustingness of their race, but they also had arrogance. It annoyed him.
Rodan, however, was having the time of his life. Stuffing his beak with fish, he also chatted with the ponies. "Why yes, I can break mach 5 when I fly! It's nothing special, just what I do!" he boasted.
The ponies that surrounded him seemed fascinated by his tales, which were clearly fabricated. Well, most of them were.
"There was this one time aliens captured me and this guy named Godzilla," He said, before being interrupted.
"Wait, who's Godzilla?" A pony asked in a snooty voice.
"Oh, he's not important. Anyway, we got captured by these aliens, and they took us to their home planet. Turns out they were having a giant, intergalactic kaiju tournament, and they had captured us to participate in it. So, we fought a few kaiju, when a giant metal space squid showed up!"
The crowd gasped appropriately. Celestia and Luna smiled, while Ghidorah merely rolled his eyes. "So the giant robot space squid started shooting lasers at us, and me and Godzilla got kinda annoyed. So we jumped off of the planet and began fighting this thing in space. We couldn't breathe out there, though, so we had to hold our breath. Luckily, more aliens showed up, and they started helping us fight it,"
"Were these the same aliens that captured you?"
"Huh? Oh, no, these were different aliens. They had already blown up the ones that captured us,"
There were murmurs of understanding.
"So the two of us and the new aliens came and fought the giant metal space squid, and after a really long fight, we won. The aliens were so grateful for our help that they brought us home!" Rodan finished.
"Wow, that is quite the story!" the ponies said, enthralled. One mare turned to Ghidorah. "And what of you, Mr. Ghidorah? Have you any stories to share?" she asked.
Ghidorah huffed, about to insult her in some way when he was interrupted by a small voice.
"Hey! Lemme go! I wanted to see the monstahs!"
All heads turned to one of the security colts, who held a filly by the tail. Ghidorah didn't know exactly how to describe her coat color, except maybe vomit. Her mane and tail were ruby red. Unlike most ponies, she lacked a cutie mark. Celestia raised an eyebrow at the guard. "Sorry, your majesty, but this filly was caught sneaking in," he said.
"Let her go," Celestia said simply.
The guard complied, dropping the filly.
The filly walked up to Rodan and King Ghidorah without fear. "So what are you s'posed to be?" she asked, looking at Rodan. "Some kinda bird?"
Rodan grinned, picking up the filly. "Bird? I'll have you know that I am a pterosaur," he said with a smug grin.
"So is that some kind of ugly bird?" the filly shot back.
Rodan smirked. "I like your style, kid. What's your name?"
"Babs Seed. My big sis said I shouldn't try coming in here, but what does she know?"
The kaiju and filly shared a laugh, that was interrupted by a titanic roar.
All eyes turned to the source of the sound. It was outside, in the city. Ponies rushed to the balcony, trying to get a glimpse of the source. "Monster!" somepony screamed.
Rodan dropped Babs before rushing to see for himself. Upon glimpsing the kaiju, he gulped. "Princess, I'm gonna need a little help on this one!" he said.
Celestia bit her lip. Of all places, why did a kaiju have to appear here? She turned to Ghidorah, who merely nodded. "Fine," she said, before charging her horn.
Given their powers once more, both kaiju flew off to battle.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 17 - Retro Battle
Chapter 17
Retro Battle
Ghidorah and Rodan grew to full size, hovering above the city of Manehatten. Lights flickered below as the city teemed with nocturnal life. In the distance, the massive shape loomed. Ponies were panicking and fleeing through the streets. Another roar shattered glass for miles. Rodan flapped his wings twice, reaching full speed. He flew directly at the behemoth, ready to fight.
As it came into clearer view, an incredibly powerful beam fired. The blast of pure energy hit Rodan directly, knocking him from the sky. Ghidorah landed nearby, glaring at Rodan. 'Idiot,' he thought. He then turned his attention to the kaiju in front of him. "Well, Bagan. Who'd of thought you would be here?"
Bagan loomed, just as tall as King Ghidorah. His horns glinted devilishly in the moonlight. "The same could be said of you, Ghidorah. Now get out of my way, before I slay you like the rest of these beings," he said.
Rodan got back on his feet, standing next to Ghidorah. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that," Ghidorah said.
Bagan chuckled, a throaty roar kind of sound. "You and Rodan? Working together? Don't make me laugh! And to defend these pitiful beings, at that!"
"I care nothing for these creatures," Ghidorah said. "There is much you fail to understand,"
Bagan growled. "You dare defy me, the God of Death? I will slaughter all that lives here!"
Ghidorah roared back. "If they die, it will be my doing! I will not be shown up by a pathetic waste of exisence such as yourself!"
That was the final straw. Bagan roared, and charged forward. His massive front horn was brought low, in such a manner that it would impale anything in front of it. Rodan barreled to the right, dodging the blow. Ghidorah anticipated it, and grabbed onto the back of Bagan's head with his left and right mouths. Bagan roared, his horn impeded from impaling his enemy. Ghidorah used his hold to lift Bagan into the air, before slamming him back down.
Bagan screeched in pain, before suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his back. Rodan had slammed talon-first from the sky, attacking Bagan with all of his weight. Bagan launched himself backwards up from the ground, hitting Rodan with the spikes on his back. Rodan was knocked back, crushing a building. Ponies scrambled for cover as debris fell from the sky above.
Ghidorah roared, deciding it was his turn to charge. He stomped forward, heading straight for Bagan. But the God of Death was ready. Bagan grabbed Ghidorah just below the wings, catching the space dragon by surprise. Ghidorah hissed in defiance, earning a smack with the flat of Bagan's horn across the middle head. Dazed, Ghidorah felt himself hoisted as Bagan threw him across the city.
Ghidorah landed with a crash in a building. Groaning, he picked himself up. In the distance, Rodan was hovering above Bagan, firing Uranium from above. One of his heads glanced down, to see ponies continuing to flee. For a moment, the Parasite tried to attack him, but the itch disappeared quickly. Back to business.
Ghidorah took flight, heading towards Bagan. He roared his maniacal cackle, firing his Gravity Beams from all three heads. Buildings exploded around Bagan, pelting him with shrapnel. The kaiju roared in pain as more and more of the beams danced across his hide. Bagan's eyes briefly glowed, and a beam of pure energy fired from his maw. The beam hit Ghidorah, knocking him from the sky. Bagan continued to burn the dragon, when he was suddenly knocked over from a blow from behind.
"The bigger they are," Rodan muttered, stomping on Bagan. Bagan brought his tail up, hitting Rodan in the head. The pterosaur kaiju was launched into a building, causing it to collapse into another. Bagan turned, to be met by the angry faces of Ghidorah. Ghidorah lunged forward, grabbing Bagan by the waist. Lifting him above his head, he threw Bagan blindly. Bagan roared as he sailed through the air.
SPLASH!!!
Bagan felt his body suddenly surrounded by water. He glanced up. Yup. He was in the bay. He swam towards the surface, feeling his blood boil with rage. He breached the water, roaring violently at Ghidorah and Rodan, who had begun flying towards him.
King Ghidorah landed in the water near Bagan. He moved towards the God of Death, each of his mouths locking in a frenzied bite on his body. Rodan circled from above, firing more radioactive flame from above. Bagan roared in pain and fury as Ghidorah bit on his arms and legs. Using one arm, he pried Ghidorah's head off of his neck. Then he roared, and plunged his front horn below Ghidorah's ribcage.
Ghidorah roared in pain. Bagan grinned with sadistic pleasure as blood began to spurt from the wound. He drew his horn out, and looked Ghidorah in the eyes. He expected to see several things - pain, disbelief, even sorrow. What he saw instead was far more frightening. Pure rage. Rage, untempered by any rules or restrictions. Ghidorah no longer cared if what he did next would mean he would lose his powers forever. Things just got personal.
Ghidorah slowly backed towards a small island. Celestia watched in horror as she realized what he was going to do. Ghidorah turned, and grabbed ahold of the Liberty Mare. The massive statue creaked and groaned in protest, but it was weak and he was strong. Ghidorah finally pulled the Liberty Mare free, causing frightened onlookers to scream in terror.
Ghidorah turned to Bagan, holding the Liberty Mare like a battering ram with his left and right heads. Bagan felt an emotion he had never felt before - fear. Ghidorah approached slowly, with nothing but fire in his eyes.
"Now, Ghiddy, come on! Let's be reasonable about this!" Bagan pleaded.
Ghidorah huffed. "How about no," he said, before plunging the Liberty Mare torch-firsh into Bagan's torso.
The torch exploded out of Bagan's back, going straight through his heart. Bagan roared in pain, as he felt his life leave him. Bagan struggled to stay afloat. "Don't get cocky, King of Terror," he was able to force out.
"I did not enter this world alone....What I would do to it....Is a mercy compared to what He - no, It! - will do..."
Ghidorah hissed. "This world will burn, but only by my doing. And right now, it does not have my permission to die,"
But no more could be said, as Bagan sunk under the waves. The God of Death was dead.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 18
Devastation
King Ghidorah and Rodan landed in front of the building they had been eating in previously, being met by a stern looking Celestia and Luna. Ghidorah winced in pain, blood flowing freely from his gaping abdomenal wound. A pony nurse ran up to him, and gasped as she saw the extent of the damage. She levitated some bandages in an attempt to help him, but he brushed her off.
"The job is done," he said flatly. Celestia grimaced.
"Is that so?" she asked.
Celestia gestured to the carnage. "Does this look like the job is done?" she asked.
The city was ablaze. Buildings burned as ponies ran through the streets. Dead bodies were strewn throughout the city, some left where they fell, others carried away by friends or loved ones. One filly appeared to be trying to dig a mare and colt from under a large piece of debris. The pair were not moving, and were clearly dead. The sight was enough to make Rodan choke up.
The pterosaur seemed at a loss for words. "Is this what normally happens if a kaiju enters a populated area?" Luna asked. Rodan nodded, taking in the sight.
"Wow...I mean...wow. I always saw the destruction we caused...But I've never really seen it....not up close, at least...."
The crimson-scaled kaiju seemed striken. All his arrogance and annoying-ness had evaporated, gone as he realized how much his actions affected other living, sentient beings.
Celestia looked at Ghidorah, who seemed impassive. "Don't you have anything to say?" she said.
Ghidorah looked out over the destruction and carnage. For once in a long time, he felt at peace, as though things were right again. That is, until the Parasite returned. It scratched, whispered in his mind, told him that this was wrong. But he was stronger, he would not bend to the will of this thing. He looked at the fires burning, an internal war being waged.
"Well?" Celestia pressed.
"Death is normal. I have never been bothered by it," he said.
Celestia was normally very calm. She was collected, and she was careful not to ever lose her temper. But today had not been a good day. First the hellish ride here, then the attack, and now this. And so it was that, despite her best efforts, Celestia finally cracked.
"Do you realize what you've done? What you've accomplished here tonight?" she said, her face growing dark. Ghidorah said nothing, so Celestia continued. "Do you have any idea how many ponies died tonight? Or how many more will die before the dawn? Do you know how many families were torn apart, how many lives were destroyed? Or how much it will cost in both money and mare-power to rebuild the Liberty Mare? Do you?"
"I defeated Bagan, that's all that matters," Ghidorah said, not looking her in the eye.
"Is it? Is it really, Ghidorah? I've tried, Ghidorah, I really have! Ever since we met, I've tried hard, harder than anypony can or should try just to make you happy! All I wanted is for you to see good, Ghidorah!"
"See good? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Ghidorah, I have seen beings who I thought were pure evil reformed before my very eyes. I truly believed that if we showed you peace and understanding, that maybe we could convince you to change your ways!"
"Change my ways? I am the bringer of fear and despair wherever I go! I will never change!"
Celestia grimaced, trying not to show emotion. "You're right. You'll never change," She said, before walking away. "What do you think you're doing?" Ghidorah called after her.
"You've convinced me. You can say goodbye to any ideas you may have had about getting your powers back," she called back.
Ghidorah was dumbstruck. When the medical ponies arrived in a second attempt to help him, he was to confused to fight back. He let them take him away, beginning to think of the implications of this last turn of events.
Rodan, meanwhile, sat on the balcony, watching the fires burn. This whole experience had been eye-opening for him. He never cared about what he destroyed before, but now that he actually knew who he was harming and how it was affecting them, it bothered him. He heard the sound of hoofsteps behind him.
"Hey, mister?" a small voice said.
Rodan turned to see Babs Seed. "That was really cool how you fought that monster and all, but could you help me with somethin?"
Rodan looked down at the tiny filly, sympathy overwhelming him. "Sure, kid. What is it?'
"Well, I kinda left without my sister knowin, and I'm sure she's worried sick 'bout me! Do ya think you can take me home?" she asked. Rodan smiled.
"Sure thing, kiddo. Climb aboard," he said, hunkering down, as Babs climbed onto his back with a smile on her face. He flapped his wings, and they were off, not noticing Luna watching.
Celestia approached Luna, as both stared at the devastation. "Sister, the battle was inefficient. More lives were lost than was necessary," Luna said.
Celestia nodded.
"We need a new way to deal with the kaiju threat. Clearly, King Ghidorah is not trustworthy enough to fight for us,"
Celestia nodded. "What of Rodan, or Biollante?"
"Rodan is clearly not powerful enough to handle his own 100% of the time, and Biollante is rooted to Ponyville. She will not be capable of fighting abroad,"
Celestia nodded again. "What are you suggesting?"
Luna began pacing. "I knew that eventually something would happen, something like this. That's why I have taken the initiative. I have started a little...project, I will call it. It is designed to fight kaiju. However, I need your approval to acquire test pilots for it," she said.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Pilots?" she asked.
"I know it sounds dangerous, but trust me, sister, this is our best option against the kaiju threat!"
Celestia thought for amoment, before turning to the destruction once more.
"Do it. Do whatever it takes. So long as this never happens again."
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 19 - Dragon Dreams
Chapter 19
Dragon Dreams
Everybody arrived back at the canterlot castle tired and stressed. Celestia retired to her quarters immediately, wishing to be left alone. Nopony knew where Discord went. Luna left to 'get work done,' as she put it. Biollante approached the two kaiju. "What happened?" she asked.
Rodan told the whole story of their arrival in Manehatten, and the battle with Bagan, and the devastation that followed. "Eventually, I was able to find the kid's sister, and I left her there. But I swear, Bio, the destruction! It was just so much! I don't think I'll ever be the same again," he said.
Biollante's avatar nodded. "Now you understand how terrible death truly is?"
"Yeah, I think I do! I swear, from this day on, I will do everything in my power to not harm the ponies when we fight!"
Ghidorah stood at a window, looking out over the city of Canterlot, his back to his fellow kaiju.
"And what about him?" Biollante asked, gesturing with her head at the dragon.
Rodan scowled. "You know him. He's King Ghidorah. He's nothing more than a cause for death and despair. He'll never change," he said.
Normally, Ghidorah would have been flattered, but for whatever reason, he found himself bothered by the statement.
"Never," Rodan repeated, before leaving. Biollante sighed, before leaving herself, leaving Ghidorah alone.
Ghidorah was confused. Never before had he ever felt guilt, but he could sense that he was feeling it now. Perhaps it was simply because he knew that regaining his powers would be more difficult now. Perhaps the Parasite had won at least this small victory. Ghidorah didn't know. But Rodan's words had stung. Was that truly all he was? Was he just a monster? Something to be hated, despised for all eternity? For the first time, it dawned on him what a horrible fate that was. Was it better to die than to live with your mistakes for all eternity? Ghidorah pondered this for a moment, before deciding that he had had enough. It was time for bed.
He had no idea that the Parasite would wage its biggest assault yet the moment he lost consciousness.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Honey, I'm home!" he called out.
"Daddy!" his daughter shouted happily, rushing up to the three-headed dragon and embracing him. Ghidorah hugged the small girl with his necks, relieved after a long day of work. A small, red lizard with large ears and a horn in its forehead appeared, barking at him, before tackling him and licking his middle head. "Baragon! Stop that now! I'm excited to see you, too!" Ghidorah said, laughing.
He looked up to see his beautiful wife, standing in the doorway. "Long day?" she asked.
"The usual," he replied with a shrug, not getting up from the floor, pinned by his pet and daughter. His wife smiled.
"Gigan called. He said that him and the other guys were getting together for poker later today. You think you're going to go?" she asked.
Ghidorah shook his head. "Why would I go with them when I could spend the evening with my two favorite ladies in the universe?" he shot back, grinning on all three heads.
He got up, much to Baragon's annoyance, as the red reptile had already gotten comfortable. "So, what's for dinner?" he asked.
"Well, I was thinking -"
"WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM FOR A BREAKING NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT!"
Ghidorah's wife was cut off by the television that had been playing in the background. On the screen was a news anchor, with a grim expression on their face. An inset image of destruction downtown was also on the screen.
"A GIANT MONSTER HAS BEEN SPOTTED DOWNTOWN, AND IS CURRENTLY HEADING IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION. RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS WHILE YOUR LOCAL MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT DEAL WITH THE THREAT,"
Ghidorah's wife hugged her daughter protectively, before turning to Ghidorah himself. "That's this way," she said simply, the dread realization sinking in. Ghidorah stayed silent for a moment. "Get to your mother's house. Take the saucer. I'll fly myself, but first I have some business to deal with,"
"But Daddy, we can't leave you here!" his daughter protested.
Ghidorah's heart melted as he looked down at his daughter. He remembered all the time he had spent with her since she hatched, teaching her how to walk, fly, among other things. "Don't worry, sweetie, just go with your Mommy. Everything's going to be just fine," he said, trying to keep her calm.
Ghidorah's wife looked at him grimly. "I'll see you in an hour?" she asked.
Ghidorah nodded. "Of course. Now go!"
Ghidorah's wife walked out the door, her daughter in tow. His daughter carried Baragon with her, and they entered the disk-shaped flying machine. The engines whirred, and it took off.
Suddenly, a beam of bright blue light shot through the sky. It pierced through the saucer, vaporizing it entirely. A charred husk crashed to the earth, burning. Ghidorah could only watch in horror as all that he ever cared about was destroyed before his eyes. He fell to his knees, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He looked up, and saw the titanic beast that had already made it to his home. It was black, nothing but evil, with teeth like spikes and ghost-white spines sticking out of its back. It's mouth began to glow as it charged its horrific beam, and fired one last time at the ground he stood upon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Luna entered her private quarters, sighing. She had had a long day, and was not exactly pleased that she would soon have to take on the Dream Watch. She huffed. And Celestia wondered why she got up so late!
She had found two candidates that were suitable for the program, and had seen to it that letters were sent out to each. She would deal with them soon enough. She collapsed on her bed, and felt her body begin to give in to sleep.
But sleep would not come. Just as she had closed her eyes, a sound became evident. It wasn't too loud, but just loud enough that it would bother her. She groaned, before deciding to investigate. She got up, and left her room. To her surprise, the sound was coming from Ghidorah's bedroom. She raised an eyebrow, confused, worried, and a little scared, before opening the door to his room.
There, she saw a sight that broke her heart. A sight she never thought she would see. A sight nobody even thought was possible. There, sitting curled up in his bed, King Ghidorah, the King of Terror and Destroyer of Worlds, was sobbing.
Luna didn't know how to react. She was stunned. But eventually, she did the only thing she could do. She climbed next to the three-headed dragon, and hugged him until they both fell asleep.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 21 - Wings of Steel
Chapter 21
Wings of Steel
Trixie and Derpy were led inside the castle. They were quickly met by Princess Luna. "Ah, Miss Lulamoon, Miss Hooves. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," she said.
Both of the other mares bowed. "The honor is ours, your highness!" Trixie said respectfully.
"Yeah, I never thought I would ever be here in Canterlot!" Derpy added.
Luna gestured for the pair to follow her. "Allow me to explain just why we have brought you here," she said.
The two mares followed the lunar princess into a dark hallway, with a metal door at the end. The door was guaded by two well-armed guards.
"As I'm sure you're aware, the kaiju have been attacking with increased ferocity and frequency," she said.
Trixie and Luna nodded.
"Well, recently, something has come through the portal between dimensions. Something that may help turn the tide," she said, as the door was opened.
The ponies walked inside, revealing a huge laboratory. Scientists and engineers were everywhere, frantically working on...something. What it was, Trixie and Derpy couldn't tell. Luna led them to a well-lit room, with a large table in it. She pulled a folder out of a nearby cabinet, and placed it on the table. From it she extracted photographs.
"This...thing, whatever it is, appeared in our borders a few weeks ago. It was recovered, and it had the charred corpse of some strange creature inside. This corpse is being studied in another lab," she said, as the two mares looked over the photos.
Although none of the ponies knew it, they were looking at the first, and last, human jet to enter Equestria. Nopony knew what to make of this strange, alien machine. Its purpose and function were unknown. Trixie and Derpy looked on in awe.
"Our top scientists have been studying it for weeks now. It arrived not too long after the first kaiju attacked, Zilla. The advances Equestrian science has made because of it are phenomenal. Just the initial reverse engineering has revealed new fuel sources, new means of communication, and even the means to powered flight! This one discovery could change everything," Luna said.
"Your Highness, all of this is fine and dandy, but why did you require us?" Trixie asked.
Luna glanced at her, before gesturing for them to follow her again. She led them into the gigantic laboratory of before. There, the object of the scientists and engineers' attention was revealed. It was big, larger than a house. It was shaped like a cylinder that had been layed on its side. At the front was a semispherical nose, with windows around the top.
It had triangular wings that pointed towards the rear of the cylinder. At its rear were several large, hollow cylinders. These glowed with some form of unknown energy.
"Behold, the Super X-P!" Luna said grandiosely.
Trixie and Derpy were shocked. "This thing was built in only a few weeks?" Trixie asked.
Luna nodded. "You'd be surprised what fear and a few bits can accomplish," she said simply.
Derpy nodded, though looked confused. "I still don't get what we have to do with it," she said.
"I suppose you are ready to know, now. You have learned everything we have. There are no more secrets," she said.
"Trixie Lulamoon, Derpy Hooves, we would like you two to help pilot the Super X-P,"
Trixie and Derpy were in absolute shock. "Why us?" Trixie asked. "We don't even know how to use it!"
"Do not fear, you will be appropriately trained. It really is quite simple. Derpy, you were chosen because you know the Equestrian airways better than anypony else. You will serve as the on-board navigator,"
Derpy blushed in flattery.
"Trixie, your magical prowess means you will serve as the weapons operator. As a matter of fact, you were suggested to us by Princess Twilight Sparkle," Luna said.
That alone shut Trixie up, as she had no idea how to respond. But Derpy wasn't quite done. "Your highness, you said we would help pilot the Super X-P. Is anypony else going to be on board with us?"
Luna smiled "As a matter of fact, yes," She said, as the figure of a pony appeared behind her. The figure stepped into the light, revealing a dark blue colt with a lightning yellow mane.
"Hey there. Name's Gatling Gale. I'll be piloting the Super X-P," he said.
Trixie and Derpy had different reactions to the new colt. Trixie initially thought he looked cocky, and annoying in a brash sort of way. Derpy did not. She simply smiled and said "Hey Gatling Gale!" in a completely enthused voice.
Luna would be grinning, but there was work to be done.
"Now that you have been acquainted, I shall take my leave. There is much to be done. You begin training tomorrow,"
And with that, Luna left the new pilots alone in the lab.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 22 - A Grave Threat
Chapter 22
A Grave Threat
King Ghidorah sat on the balcony, watching the sunrise. It had been a week since his strange dream. The past week had been quiet. No kaiju had appeared, and life had returned to normal for most ponies. But Luna and Celestia were not "most ponies."
Luna was busy with some sort of project. Ghidorah rarely saw her, she always seemed busy. Even when she was present, her mind seemed far away, as though she were planning out something. Nevertheless, her interactions towards him were decidedly less aggressive. Perhaps she felt some sort of sympathy or pity towards him. He didn't know. He just cared that there was one less problem for him to worry about.
Celestia, however, had become the opposite of her sister. Ghidorah had no idea what she was up to either, but he felt as though she were consciously avoiding him. She had become more antagonistic towards him lately, and that put him on edge.
Ever since the dream, he didn't know what to think. He had been thoroughly shaken to his core. The dream had showed him exactly what it was like to lose everything one could care about. Was that what he must have looked like to all of the lives he had destroyed? Ghidorah was old. Very old. He had lost count of his age a very long time ago. And as long as he could remember, he had served no purpose other than to bring death, pain, and misery. And for the first time in his life, Ghidorah understood exactly what that meant.
He felt strange. As though his whole life were a lie. He thought back to the day he was pulled into the black hole. He had almost succeeded in destroying the Earth once and for all. How many lives were lost because of him? How much did he hurt the world? Not long ago, he wouldn't have cared. But something about how vivid the dream had been had shown him just how far he had fallen. What was he to do?
Perhaps this world, Equestria, was a sign. Here, there was no violence. There was no suffering. Not until he showed up. Now, fate had offered him a choice. He could continue to be the way he was, and let the world burn, or he could change. He could become better, maybe even a hero. He could fight to protect those who couldn't. Ghidorah was torn. He still felt intense rage and hatred - that hadn't changed. But for once, it wasn't at the universe, it was at himself. He hated that this was bothering him, and he hated that deep down, he knew what was the only viable option.
He knew that if he wanted not to survive, but to live, he would have to reform. But could he? Or had he fallen too far? Was it even physically possible for him to change. He looked out at the world, before looking down to see Ponyville. He remembered the ponies he had met when he first arrived here. They had been so kind, so unprejudiced. How could they be that way?
Perhaps he just needed to learn how to be a bit like them. Perhaps he just had to give others a chance, rather than simply destroying everything in sight. Ghidorah looked up as the sun continued to rise. Celestia said that he could never change. He would prove her wrong.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The guard walked through the streets of Canterlot. Even though things had been quiet lately, the Princess had demanded that everypony stay on high alert. He passed by a nearby donut shop. He never ceased to be amazed that such a thing could exist in the upper-class society that was Canterlot. Funny how life worked.
He considered stopping for some donuts, but decided against it. After all, he had a job to do. That's when he heard a bumping noise. He turned to its source, seeing a figure cloaked in darkness disappear down an alley. Apparently it had been there for some time, but completely still. He didn't even notice it until it moved. He tried to get a good look at it, but it disappeared too quickly. He gave chase.
As he entered the alley, a powerful smell overcame him. It was so strong! It reminded him of the oil used in some oil lamps he had seen. He never liked the smell. That's when he noticed something else. There was a large stain on the ground. It was black and grey, and seemed to be left by a sticky ooze. A few bits of the stuff were still stuck to the ground. The guard coughed. It smelled awful, but he had to press on.
He moved forward, into the dark. Then he gasped as his eyes laid on an awful sight.
There, hidden in the dark of the alley, was a skeleton. The skeleton of a pony. No flesh remained. Instead, however, were more pieces of black sticky goo. The smell had reached its apex in this area. Holding his breath, the guard levitated the skull closer to him so he could examine it. That certainly explained the missing ponies report from the other day. But things didn't exactly add up. He would have to alert Princess Celestia at once.
As the guard left the alley to make his way back to Canterlot Castle, he never noticed a pair of crimson red eyes watching from the darkness.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 23 - Battle of Canterlot
Chapter 23
Battle of Canterlot
The doors to the throne room slammed open. Celestia looked up to see King Ghidorah standing in the door frame. "What do you want?" she asked. "I don't have time for you to be interrupting me,"
Ghidorah simply looked at her, his face filled with determination. "I have come to talk," he said.
Celestia glared daggers into him. "Now you want to talk?"
"Things have changed,"
"Have they?"
"I had a dream,"
"Big deal,"
"You weren't there. You don't know what I saw or what I felt,"
Celestia paused for a moment, staring at him. She was analyzing him, looking for a sign of deceit. Ghidorah knew this. "If you don't believe me, ask your sister,"
The staring contest continued for a moment, until Celestia spoke again. "What are you trying to say?"
"I don't want to be evil anymore. I have gone on for far too long feeding off of pain and misery. It is time to turn the page,"
Another long moment of silence passed, as Celestia thought. "And why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm all that stands between you and certain annihilation," he replied.
Celestia thought some more. "No. No you aren't. Not anymore. I'm sorry, Ghidorah, but I won't be giving you your powers back,"
One of Ghidorah's heads involuntarily hissed. He was about to say something, when the doors slammed open once again. A guard came running in. "Your highness! I have important news!" he yelled.
The alicorn princess and space dragon turned to the messenger, who panted as he came to a stop. "Speak," Celestia said.
"I was doing patrol, when I came across a skeleton in an alleyway. Your highness, there was this strange black goo everywhere. And I saw....I saw....something,"
"What did you see?"
The conversation was interrupted by a strange, alien roar. All three ran to the balcony. Standing at the base of the mountain, a behemoth between Ponyville and Canterlot, was a kaiju. But it was a kaiju like no other. It was a massive, towering blob. It dripped with black goo, and had crimson red eyes. The moment ponies saw it, they ran. Black clouds of smog trailed behind and above it. The guard gulped. "That," he said.
Rodan and Biollante had appeared at this time. "You know what to do," Celestia said. Rodan nodded, and flew off. Biollante said nothing, but her silhouette could be seen rising. Ghidorah noticed that his powers were not returning to him. He glared at Celestia, but she ignored him.
A siren went off in the city - something that had become standard issue in the past week. Derpy and Trixie heard it, rushing to their vehicle. Gatling Gale was already strapped in, and beginning the flight procedures.
"Super X-P, you are cleared for launch," a voice blared into the hangar. Doors opened, revealing the City of Canterlot to the crew.
"Roger that, we're ready to show this thing who's boss," Gatling gale replied into his speaker. Trixie and Derpy took their positions. "Ready, girls?"
Both of them nodded, and the Super X-P took flight.
Rodan hovered above the blob monster, now appearing in full size. He couldn't believe it. It was Hedorah. Hedorah was here. Rodan was more than familiar with the pollution monster's destructive potential, and he was not about to allow it to gorge on Ponyville and Canterlot!
Rodan roared, getting Hedorah's attention. "Hey buddy! Get lost!" he yelled.
Hedorah spoke, a bubbling, dark sound. "No," it said simply.
Then Hedorah fired a crimson laser from its eyes, narrowly missing Rodan. Rodan roared again, retaliating with a uranium blast. The beam hit Hedorah straight in the "head," but it was not fazed. Suddenly, a blast of acid hit Hedorah from behind. It turned around, an act accomplished by its eyes relocating to the back of its head, to see Biollante firing her acidic sap at it.
Biollante stopped, shocked to see the effect her spit was having. Hedorah was growing. It stared straight at Biollante, it's cold, blood-red eyes filled with death. If Biollante could shudder, she would have. It fired another laser blast at Biollante, hitting her directly in the neck. Biollante wailed in pain.
Luckily, her distraction was enough for Rodan to take action. He flew up behind Hedorah, and raked its body with his talons. Hedorah then grabbed Rodan by the legs, and slammed him to the ground. Rodan coughed, smog filling his lungs. He got up, flapping his wings to dissipate the smog. This stuff would easily kill the ponies. He would have to lead Hedorah away from here.
Rodan took to the air. "Catch me if you can, ya walking turd!"
Hedorah roared again, the horrid bubbling noise causing more panic to ensue in the streets.
Rodan flew backwards, watching as the smog monster lumbered after him. Smog continued to form a huge cloud behind him. Rodan began to stress. What if some ponies got caught in the smog?
His fears were put to rest when he saw an amazing sight. He turned to Biollante to call for help, only to see that she wasn't there. There was a rumbling sound, And Biollante reappeared behind Hedorah. She had relocated. Not only that, but she was sucking in the smog. The cloud started to disappear, being sucked into holes that had formed in Biollante's back. Her vines shot forward, hitting Hedorah in the back.
Hedorah roared again. At this point, he had been led into the Everfree Forest. It pumped out smog even more than ever. Trees withered and died, and the vines that had been embedded into its body shriveled, and fell off. Biollante wailed in pain as she felt a part of her die.
That's when the Super X-P came in. The three ponies inside were each doing there job. "Ready?" Gatling Gale asked Trixie. "Ready," she replied, her horn glowing.
A massive bright blue light appeared under the vessel. Then, it manifested itself in the form of a giant, light blue laser. The beam struck Hedorah directly, causing visible damage. Yet still, Hedorah did not seem fazed.
Ghidorah and Celestia continued watching. "Celestia, they're being destroyed out there! You know just as well as I do that they're not going to win," he said.
Celestia remained calm, simply watching.
"You and I both know the only way to deal with this,"
Another pause. Celestia sighed, and her horn began to glow.
Hedorah was not weakening. If anything, all of the excess energy was making it stronger. Then, they all turned as a familiar cackling roar echoed through the air. All eyes turned to see King Ghidorah, flying above the battle in all his extraterrestrial glory, looking straight at Hedorah.
For the first time, Hedorah seemed to show fear. The blob looked around. 3 enemy kaiju, and one super weapon. It would not win this fight, especially if King Ghidorah was involved. Hedorah hunkered down, its slushy body reforming. It turned into a teardrop-shape, and began to hover. Hedorah flew away from the battle as fast as possible.
Ghidorah was slightly surprised, but not unpleasantly. He and Rodan began to shrink again, and the Super X-P returned to dock.
Hedorah, flying away into the distance, began to think. It knew that it took a kaiju to kill a kaiju. By that logic, that meant that it took an army to kill an army...
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 24
Sunset
Ghidorah and Rodan landed back at the castle. Celestia approached them, worried. "What was that thing?" she asked.
Rodan shuddered. "That was Hedorah," he said.
Celestia's face showed that she still needed more explanation. Ghidorah stepped in.
"Hedorah is a being of pure pollution. It lives to destroy life wherever it exists,"
"Like you?"
Ghidorah winced. "Yes. Like me,"
Celestia gave him a glare. "So now what?"
"Hedorah is not stupid. It will leave to gather energy, before returning for a full assault. If kaiju continue to leak in, it may recruit their assistance," Ghidorah continued.
"We cannot allow that to happen," Celestia said. "Rodan, you and our weapon, the Super X-P, will hunt Hedorah down and destroy it,"
"And what about her?" Rodan asked, pointing to Biollante's avatar, which seemed to be weaker.
"I will stay here, and defend Ponyville and Canterlot from any kaiju that pose an immediate threat," she said.
Celestia nodded. "Agreed,"
"That brings up a point I need to ask you. What's up with that thing? The Super X-P, or whatever you called it?" Rodan asked.
That's when Trixie, Derpy, and Gatling Gale burst in. "Your highness, mission is a success," Gatling said.
Celestia nodded. "Rodan, the Super X-P is our secret weapon. Luna oversaw its construction. We built it to assist in the battle with the kaiju," she said.
Ghidorah shook his heads. "It won't work. Countless civilizations have attempted similar things, never with success,"
"No success? I don't know if you noticed, but we helped get rid of that thing!" Gatling shot back.
"Helped is the key word. If we had not been there, your puny toy would have been a mere distraction,"
Gatling tried to rush forward, but Trixie held him back with her magic. He shot her a look, but she simply shook her head. Ghidorah humphed, turning his attention back to Celestia. "And what about me? Rodan is not enough, let me go and finish this," he said.
Celestia sighed. "I really would like to, Ghidorah, believe me. But I have a hard time believing that you are truly changed," she said, before walking away. She stepped onto the balcony and closed the door behind her.
The room was left in silence. After a while, the ponies left. Rodan sighed, before flying away. Biollante exited silently. Ghidorah was left alone.
No.
He would not be content with this answer.
Ghidorah walked towards the balcony, and opened the door. Celestia sat, watching the sunset. Ghidorah watched her for a moment, before seating himself next to her. For a moment, the two ancient beings simply watched the sunset together.
Finally, Celestia spoke. "What made you change your mind?"
Ghidorah thought for a moment. "It was a dream,"
""A dream?"
"Yes. It was horrifyingly vivid. It showed me what I had truly become. A monster,"
Celestia nodded.
"It wasn't just that though. Ever since I arrived here, I felt something. An itch in the back of my head, one that tried to persuade me from evil,"
Celestia turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"I spoke about it with Luna. She told me it was the Elements of Harmony trying to change me. The dream was their ultimate weapon against me,"
She nodded. "Tell me, why do you want to change?"
Ghidorah had to mull this over. He paused for a long while.
"I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps its this place. The atmosphere is different here. Here, there is no need for violence. It is very different. Maybe, I just want to be happy,"
Celestia nodded again. "And you honestly think you can achieve that here?"
Ghidorah shrugged. "I have given up all hopes for returning to my dimension. Even if I did, I have done too much evil to make things right. But here..."
He got up, and moved towards the edge of the balcony. He looked out over Ponyville, so peaceful.
"But here, I have no past. Here, it is new. A clean slate. A chance to start over, and do things right,"
Celestia walked up next to him.
"I believe you," she said.
Ghidorah looked at her, and although neither showed any expression, Celestia knew he was grateful. They continued to watch the sunset.
"You know, I put a lot of energy into my sunsets. I hope it pays off, but there's no way to really know without asking somepony, is there?"
Ghidorah took in the sight of the sun setting. And for the first time in his long life, he appreciated true beauty.
"I'd say it does," he said.
Celestia looked at him and smiled a warm, radiant smile.
And for the second time in Ghidorah's life, he appreciated true beauty.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 25 - Starry Night
Chapter 25
Starry Night
Trixie sat outside Canterlot Castle, watching the moon. She sighed. She couldn't believe where she was now. Here she was, once a homeless entertainer, now a pilot for the most advanced piece of technology Equestria has ever seen.
How did she get here? Ever since her misguided attempt to take revenge on Twilight Sparkle and Ponyville, she had begun to question herself. Her pride and arrogance had evaporated. The whole experience had been very humbling. Quickly, she started to change. She stopped referring to herself as "Great and Powerful," and eventually stopped referring to herself in the third person as well.
She stopped her street performing. She kept her attire, but only because at that point it was like a second skin. She became a ghost. She wandered from city to city, taking odd jobs here and there. It was amazing that the Princesses had found her. Not surprising, though. They were royalty. They had access to everything and everypony.
And now she was here. She found it both ironic and strangely satisfying that it was Princess Twilight Sparkle who recommended her. Funny. Now that Twilight was an alicorn, she supposed that meant that Trixie really was the most powerful unicorn in equestrian. Technically.
She had been in Manehatten when the battle with Bagan had taken place. She was lucky to have survived. And now, she was here. She smiled. In a weird way, she was avenging Manehatten. She was avenging all of the poor sould whose lives were either taken or ruined that day. She would show these kaiju just who was in charge of Equestria. One blast at a time.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ghidorah and Celestia returned to the throne room. Celestia was smiling. Ghidorah wasn't, but only because he was unfamiliar with the action. In his long, long existence, he had never learned how to smile. Luna had arrived. "Sister?" she asked, confused by the cheery mood. "Is everything all right?"
"Everything is just fine, Luna," Celestia said, glancing at Ghidorah. "I've decided to return Ghidorah to his status as defender of Equestria. We talked, and he has convinced me that he is once again trust-worthy,"
Luna smiled. "That's good," she said. "Now, we need to plan how we're going to defeat Hedorah,"
Celestia nodded. "Ghidorah, do you have any suggestions?" she asked.
Ghidorah thought for a moment. "Yes, I recall something. I once heard that Hedorah is susceptible to electricity, and that causes it to dry out," he said.
Luna beamed. "That shouldn't be a problem then! You fire electricity beams, right?"
Ghidorah shook his head. "No, no. I fire beams of concentrated gravity. It just happens to look like electricity," he said.
Luna was surprised. "Hm. Well, then. We have a problem, don't we?" she said.
"Princess!" a guard yelled.
Luna and Celestia turned to the guard. "Yes?" they asked simultaneously.
The guard fumbled to find the right words, before simply pointing out the window. Outside, a massive fireball was flying directly at them. Falling was a more accurate description. Celestia's eyes widened.
"Kaiju," she said, before her horn began to glow.
Luna's glowed as well, as the two sisters de-powered the kaiju. Ghidorah's wings flared out protectively, though he didn't notice. Everyone held their breath as the fireball grew closer, shrinking slowly. Finally, it shrunk to an acceptable size, before crashing through the window.
The fireball made a crater behind the group. Everyone turned to the blackened marble, as smoke began to clear. A being appeared from the crater, hovering above it. King Ghidorah gasped with utter shock.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for the entrance. I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" Mothra asked.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hedorah flew along the countryside. It landed at the base of the volcano, morphing back to its main form. It stood up, looking around. It knew who resided here, and it wouldn't be long til they surfaced.
A roar shook the air. It sounded stereotypical, but the kaiju it belonged to would kill Hedorah on sight if it ever heard that. Another roar followed, a raspy thing. The ground in front of Hedorah erupted, and two kaiju stood before it.
"What makes you come here, sludge?" one asked.
Hedorah chuckled, a horrible gurgling sound. "I need an army," it said simply. "We are all silicon. We are the natural evolution of life. We are the future,"
"What do you want, crapface?" the other continued.
Hedorah ignored the derogatory comment.
"I will reward you well. All I need is a little carnage,"
The first kaiju chuckled sadistically. "I like carnage. Who's first?"
Hedorah chuckled again. "King Ghidorah," it said.
Krystalak and Obsidius were shocked, but either too arrogant or stupid to truly understand the threat the King of Terror would pose. They smiled.
"Sure thing, Boss," they said.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 26 - Before the Dawn
Chapter 26
Before the Dawn
There was a long silence as the Goddess of Peace hovered in the room for a moment, recognizing Ghidorah and Rodan. The two parties simply stared uncomfortably at each other for a long time. Finally, Mothra reacted. She charged forward tackling King Ghidorah to the ground.
"I don't know how you got here, or why, but I will not let you ruin this world like you have so many others!" she screamed.
Ghidorah hissed, trying to shove her off. The butterfly kaiju would not let up, until Rodan grabbed her with his talons and pried her away. "Rodan, what are you doing? You haven't been mind-controlled again, have you?" she protested. Rodan rolled his eyes.
"Mothra, you're not exactly in the best situation right now. Can we all please just calm down?"
Ghidorah got back to his feet, glaring at his long-time enemy. Mothra just glared back. Finally, the three-headed dragon spoke. "Believe it or not, bug, I have no desire to kill you,"
Mothra remained silent, calming. Rodan let go of her as she listened to what Ghidorah had to say.
"Welcome to Equestria, land of peace and enchantment," he said with a slight hint of sarcasm. "Where war does not exist and nothing goes wrong. You know, except the random appearance of kaiju from Earth every once in a while,"
"Ghidorah, is this what happened to you? I thought you died,"
"Thought, or hoped?"
Mothra ignored the retort, and continued. "Do you have any idea of the chaos that has occurred in your absence?" she asked.
Ghidorah huffed. "I neither know nor care," he said, stealing a look at Celestia and Luna. "I have a new life here, and the past is irrelevant,"
"It's funny. For all the terrible things you did, it was miserable without you. You were the worst of the worst, the baddest of the bad. Once you were gone, evil kaiju began rising up. With no top predator, they tried to take your role. It's horrible. We've been trying to round them up and suppress them, but the humans aren't helping,"
"What stupid thing have they done this time?"
"It's the Dimension Tide, the weapon they used to defeat you. The humans have become...trigger-happy, to say the least," she said.
Ghidorah gave her a quizzical look, and she continued. "Emboldened by their victory against you, they began to open fire whenever a kaiju attacked. There was some collateral damage, but nothing they weren't willing to risk. Before I was targeted, I was informed by a powerful psychic kaiju I know that the fabric of the universe was beginning to be torn too much. If they continued, tears would be commonplace, causing them to leak into other universes, eventually destroying their own,"
"So that's why kaiju keep showing up here," Celestia finally muttered.
Mothra turned, noticing the ponies. "Oh, my apologies! I hadn't realized that there were other sentient beings here! My name is Mothra, Goddess of Peace," she said, bowing before Celestia and Luna.
They bowed in turn. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. We rule over this fair land, and welcome you to it,"
"The honor is mine, your highnesses," Mothra replied.
Luna and Celestia were surprised by Mothra's manners, a far cry from any kaiju they had seen prior. Mothra turned again to King Ghidorah. "And what about you? How come you haven't destroyed this place like everything else?"
Ghidorah winced, and Celestia noticed. "King Ghidorah has changed. Equestria is nothing if not a place of forgiveness, and he has found that here. He, alongside Rodan and Biollante, serves as our protector. He has had his powers stripped, which is why he is harmless now, and has responded quite well to the situation," Celestia smiled at the golden dragon. "I am quite proud of him," she said.
Ghidorah didn't smile, but he seemed somehow slightly relieved. Mothra turned back to him. "Based off of my current size, I take it you have taken my powers as well?"
Celestia nodded.
Mothra bowed her insectoid head again. "I understand your fear, but I mean you no harm. I plead, may I have my power returned? I swear on the soul of the planet that I will protect you and your people, so long as they do not take advantage of the Earth and its fruits," she said humbly.
Ghidorah was shocked that she would ask such a thing outright. He was even more shocked, when, after giving a look at her sister, Luna said, "Yes,"
Ghidorah and Rodan both looked at her with shock. "Wait, what? How come she gets her powers but we don't?" Rodan asked, fuming.
Luna raised a hoof in a gesture for silence. "Fret not, Rodan. You have proven yourself as well. It is time we hold up our end of the deal, and returned you your powers,"
Before more could be said, the horns of the two sisters began to glow. Glowing orbs of kind light appeared, one blue and one red. The blue one was absorbed into Mothra, and the red into Rodan. Both seemed reinvigorated, but nothing else happened. Rodan looked at himself, then the ponies. "Hey, what gives? I'm still small!"
Celestia nodded. "We have not only returned your powers, but we have given you new ones - the ability to change size at will. Now, you will not need us to be present in order to fight kaiju. Please, just make sure you are well outside a building before you try to change," she said.
Rodan and Mothra both bowed, but King Ghidorah was bothered. "Wait, how come I didn't get my powers returned?" he asked.
Celestia looked away, guiltily. "I'm sorry, Ghidorah. I want to trust you, I really do, but I need more time to make this decision. I hope you understand," she said.
Ghidorah nodded, but said no more. Slowly, he lumbered away silently. "Will he be alright?" Luna asked, legitimately worried. Celestia sighed, when Mothra answered. "I'll go see," she said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ghidorah stood outside on the balcony. He looked out at the night sky, ignoring Mothra when she appeared next to him. There was a moment of silence, when the insect goddess finally spoke. "You've changed. I can sense that you're not the same as you used to be. You're not just rage and hate - there's something else there too, isn't there?"
Ghidorah remained silent, staring solemnly out at the sky.
"You really care about them, don't you? Somehow, these ponies found a way to make you care about them, didn't they?"
Ghidorah remained silent. Mothra chuckled. "Who would've thought. The king of terror, reformed by interdimensional ponies. I never thought I'd see the day," she said.
Ghidorah sighed. "Hedorah is here. It escaped, and if what you say is true, than it probably knows that other kaiju are leaking into the kingdom. It will recruit them, and lead them against us," he said.
Mothra sighed. "That complicates things. But it is late, the morning draws near, and a lot has happened. We will form a plan in the morning," she said, before searching for Celestia in order to find a place to bed at night. Rodan flew out of the building, heading towards his roost in the mountain peak.
Ghidorah looked up at the night sky, and silently thanked Celestia and Luna for the second chance he had been given.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 27 - Morning Strategy
Chapter 27
Morning Strategy
The next morning, Ghidorah, Biollante, Rodan, Mothra, Luna, Celestia, and Discord all met in the underground hangar where the Super X-P was kept. They all stood around a table, in a room designated the "War Room." Well, designated by everyone save Celestia. She refused to accept the name war, considering it beneath her.
The room was littered with maps of Equestria lining the walls, covered in red ink as the group made their plans for battle.
"Equestria lacks a formal military, and even if we sent all of our guards, they are not trained well enough to combat our foe," Celestia said.
"What of the Elements? Twilight is a princess now, she has responsibilities," Luna added.
"No. This is too dangerous to send somepony so valuable. In any case, the Elements are unpredictable. There's no telling how they may react to something like Hedorah," Celestia retorted.
"What about me?" Discord asked. "Can't I just go and take Hedorah down myself?"
Celestia shook her head. "As much as I would want to, you're unpredictable Discord. You may be reformed, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let you run off on your own without supervision,"
"So, that leaves us then, doesn't it?" Ghidorah asked.
Celestia nodded. "You are our only viable option at the moment. There's no telling if more kaiju have appeared yet, or if they've allied with Hedorah or not. We'll just have to make do with what little intel we have,"
Luna turned to Biollante's avatar. "Are you feeling better?"
The plant pony nodded. "Good. You will stay here, in case Hedorah or any other kaiju tries to attack Ponyville or Canterlot,"
Celestia turned to King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan. "That means the three of you will be heading out to fight Hedorah. We believe we may have found were it went into hiding, and we will send you there," she said.
"The Super X-P will also accompany you. The pilots have already received their orders, and are ready for launch,"
Ghidorah nodded. "So, I suppose we should get going, shouldn't we?" he asked.
The two pony princesses nodded. The kaiju began to exit the room, when Celestia held Ghidorah back. She waited until everyone else was gone. "Ghidorah, I'm letting you go finish this. Please, don't make me regret it," she said.
Ghidorah looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry. I won't," he said simply, before heading to leave.
Ghidorah walked away, when he heard Celestia again. "Oh, and Ghidorah?"
He stopped, not turning around. Celestia paused, trying to find the right words. "Be careful," she said.
Ghidorah huffed, before walking to the launch platform.
* * * * * * * * * *
Trixie, Derpy, and Gatling Gale all sat in their prescribed chairs inside the Super X-P.
"You two ready?" Gatling asked. "We may not come out of this alive,"
Trixie frowned with deep determination. "I'm ready!" Derpy said.
"Let's go," Trixie added.
The machine's engines roared to life, and they were airborne. Not long after, Rodan and Mothra - now at full size - appeared alongside them.
Then something blotted out the sun.
King Ghidorah had flew above them, a single goal in his three heads.
Destroy.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Hedorah stood on the side of the mountain. It sensed its foes coming. Were the hideous blob capable of it, it would have grinned. Krystalak appeared next to him. "We're ready, Boss. Just give the word, and we'll start trashing," he said.
Obsidius erupted from the ground. "Are they coming here?" Hedorah gurgled.
"Yes, friend. They will be here within the hour,"
Krystalak chuckled. "They have no idea what we have planned!"
Truthfully, there wasn't much of a plan. Kill everything. That was the plan. Hedorah slightly regretted that the only kaiju he was able to recruit were absolute morons, but beggars can't be choosers. In any case, the time for planning could come later. As soon as Ghidorah and his allies were dead, and nothing lay before him and supremacy, then Hedorah could plan its next moves.
"They will be here soon. Take your positions," Hedorah said. Krystalak and Obsidius nodded, burrowing back into the ground. Hedorah took on his flying form, and took to the air.
Soon, the battle would begin.
And soon, the world would be Hedorah's.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 28 - The Final Battle
Chapter 28
The Final Battle
Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, and the Super X-P flew towards their destination. The volcano that they approached had been decided to be the most likely place Hedorah would be recuperating. They flew in unison, ready to search for kaiju.
They did not have to wait long.
Suddenly, an explosion shook the air. A blast of fire erupted from the side of the mountain, striking Rodan. The pterosaur squawked in surprise, blasted down to the ground. Mothra flew after him, and Ghidorah hovered in place. The Super X-P began to circle the area as Obsidius arose from the mountain face.
Ghidorah roared at Obsidius, who fired another blast of flame at the golden dragon. Ghidorah was unaffected, but had succeeded in distracting the rock beast long enough for Rodan to tackle it down to the ground. Rodan blasted heated uranium in Obsidius' face, causing him to roar in pain. Mothra flew towards them, charging her antennae beam.
There was a hissing roar, and Krystalak pounced on Mothra mid-air. Mothra was taken off-guard, and her charged beam fired randomly into the air, hitting the side of the mountain. The mountain exploded, and in the smoke Hedorah appeared. It roared its gurgling roar at King Ghidorah, who had landed on the ground. Obsidius and Krystalak had pinned Mothra and Rodan to the ground, and now looked at Hedorah expectantly.
Hedorah spoke. "So, you came looking for me. How predictable. I honestly expected more of you, oh great Ghidorah," it said, saying the last few words full of spite. Ghidorah said nothing.
"Do you honestly think that you can win? This world is mine, Destroyer. I will lead it forward to its logical evolution. Life must die so that we may reign supreme,"
"You are as stupid as you are disgusting, Hedorah," Ghidorah said quietly.
Hedorah's eyes flashed red in what may have been rage. "Who are you to speak, Destroyer of Worlds? Do not tell me that you are somehow different. We are the same. You and I, we're both just monsters. Deep down, we are identical,"
"No, we are not. In days past, I may have agreed. I may even have helped you. But those days are gone, and I am grateful for it. I am better now, Hedorah. And you have threatened me. For that, you will die,"
Hedorah roared. "Fool! How dare you challenge me?"
"I dare because I can,"
Hedorah was quite through bantering, firing a laser blast from its eyes at Ghidorah. The ancient dragon dodged the blast, while simultaneously repositioning his two peripheral heads to blast Obsidius and Krystalak with a quick blast of Gravity Beam. The two mineral kaiju were shot off their opponents, and Rodan and Mothra took a hovering stance to resume combat. Hedorah roared again, before being blasted in the back. The Super X-P fired its magic laser at him, burning Hedorah's cells to a crisp.
Inside the Super X-P, Gatling Gale grinned fiercely. "Suck on that, ya big turd! That's the magic of friendship for ya, bitch!" he shouted. Trixie's eyes were shut deep in concentration as she fueled the beam, and Derpy manned her instruments. "Uh...guys?" she asked.
Hedorah had had enough of the aircraft. Insects had no place meddling in the affairs of titans. Hedorah charged his laser eyes, and Ghidorah realized what was happening too late. The blast fired, hitting the Super X-P in the side. The vehicle rocked, a small explosion on the side. Smoke coughed out of the breach in the hull, before streaming out like black gaseous blood. The Super X-P slowly coasted downwards, before crashing into the ground.
Ghidorah watched this happen in horror. There were ponies on that vehicle. For once, he felt death hurt him. Then he felt strength. They would be avenged, or he would die trying. He flung himself at Hedorah, roaring, and began the battle.
Meanwhile, Rodan and Mothra were busy with Obsidius and Krystalak. The two fought in tandem, striking the mineral twins with wing beats, claw strikes, and blasts of energy. Their opponents returned in kind with slashes, punches, and blasts of heat and crystal. Rodan had had enough.
Charging forward, he grabbed Obsidius by the shoulders with his wing claws. Roaring, he fired his uranium beam directly into Obsidius' mouth. The rock monster roared in pain, its lava beginning to overflow. Unable to contain the power, Obsidius' lava burst from the veins in his rocky body, the monolith of stone, now lifeless, slumped to the ground.
Krystalak roared, enraged at his brother's demise. He leapt forth, slashing off a piece of Mothra's wing. Mothra shrieked in pain, Krystalak firing a blast of crystal shards at her. Yet somehow, Mothra kept her balance. She would not back down. Tackling Krystalak to the ground, she charged her rainbow beams one more time and blasted him in the face. The crystalline menace was stunned, never expecting what came next. Rodan curb-stomped his face in, killing the second of the mineral pair.
Ghidorah and Hedorah continued their battle. The two seemed evenly matched, but Hedorah knew the battle was not in its favor. Not that it cared. It blasted Ghidorah again, but he only shrugged it off with his wings.
"Idiot! You honestly think you can stop me? I am eternal! So long as one of my cells survives, I will reform! All I need is time, and I have all the time in the world!"
Ghidorah grimaced. "Time. You know nothing of time. You have not lived for millions of years, watched whole worlds burn at your feet,"
"I will survive! I will return!"
Ghidorah's eyes flashed with malicious intent. "Do you know what happened to any planet I visited? It died. Not a single cell of life existed when I was done. Soil turned to glass, flesh turned to ash. What makes you think you are so different?
Hedorah gurgled. "You have morals now! You don't have the guts to finish the job!"
Ghidorah took to the air. "Oh belive me, Hedorah, I have morals now. And that is precisely why you must die,"
Mothra and Rodan turned to see Ghidorah glowing golden in the sunlight, looking like a divine dragon sent to enact judgement.
"No! You cannot defeat me!"
Ghidorah's eyes flashed golden, glowing with energy as his gravity beams reached their full potential.
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 29 - I am Become Death
Chapter 29
I am Become Death
As King Ghidorah's power reached its highest levels, each of his heads simultaneously fired their gravity beams. However, these gravity beams were far more powerful than any Ghidorah had ever fired in his long life. Each of the beams hit the same point in Hedorah's body, overloading it with pure gravitational power.
Hedorah's gurgling scream echoed across the mountainside, as every single atom in its body was destroyed. The collective energy of each of the gravity beams resulted in the creation of something unusual. There was a titanic flash of light, and all of a sudden Hedorah was gone. In a flash, the pollution kaiju had ceased to exist. In its place was something...different.
Ghidorah landed, panting. He was surprised he actually felt tired, but it occurred to him that he had never unleashed that amount of energy at once before. As Rodan and Mothra appeared near him, they all took in the sight that befell their eyes.
The combined gravitational energy proved to have been too much. Where Hedorah once stood, there now floated a slowly swirling object, circular and emitting a strange energy. A singularity. A wormhole. Ghidorah had ripped a hole in the fabric of time and space, leading to an unknown world. Mothra flew up to it, investigating.
"It leads," she said, pausing. She could hardly believe it. "It leads to home," she said. "Ghidorah, you've opened a door to Earth. Our Earth,"
Ghidorah and Rodan both looked at the wormhole silently. "You should return, Mothra. That planet needs you far more than this one," Ghidorah said.
Mothra shook her head. "Ghidorah, I think you should come back with me. You've changed. Think of the good you could do if went back!"
For a moment, Ghidorah did. But then he remembered all of the evil he had done, all the horrors that had occurred because of him. He flinched under the mental weight. "No," he said. "I have done too much there. I have committed to many sins to possibly ever change their perception of me. I must stay here. Here, I can start over. I can do things right," he said.
Mothra simply nodded. "Fair enough. Rodan, will you be returning?" she asked.
Rodan thought for a moment. "Sorry Mothra, but this place is way nicer than Earth ever was. I think I'll stay too," he said.
Mothra would've rolled her compound eyes if she could, but didn't. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye then," she said. Before anything more could be said, a roar pierced the air from the other side of the wormhole.
A very familiar roar.
Then, a large, black shape appeared on the other side, clearly about to walk through. Ghidorah's eyes widened.
"No! Not here!" he shouted.
The shape drew closer.
"Mothra, you must stop him now! If he gets through, we won't be able to send him back! Think of the destruction he'll cause!" Ghidorah pleaded.
Mothra nodded. "You're right! I'd love to stay and say more, but it seems fate has a way of messing with plans, doesn't it?"
Rodan smirked. "Tell him that his thighs are still fat for me, will ya?" he shot at Mothra.
Mothra chuckled, despite knowing full well that the joke was not funny. "Very well, Rodan. Farewell, both of you. Perhaps one day we will meet again. Now, I'm coming home for you, Godzilla," she said.
Mothra flew headfirst into the wormhole, disappearing. She appeared on the other side, her colorful image distorted by the cross-dimensional energies. King Ghidorah and Rodan watched as she tackled Godzilla, holding him down. Then, as if on queue, the portal collapsed. Like a shattering mirror, the energy dissipated as the two kaiju looked on, their last window to their old lives gone.
Rodan sighed. "Well, I suppose we'd better return now, shouldn't we?" he asked.
Ghidorah was silent for a moment. This was really happening. After all that had occurred, he could hardly believe it. A lot had changed since he appeared on this planet. Yet, in retrospect, he would say it was for the better. That's when he remembered something. "Not quite yet, Rodan. There is still one unfinished piece of business," he said, before flying in the direction that the Super X-P crashed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Derpy woke up in the wreckage of the ship, flashing red lights illuminating the dim insides of the cockpit. She scanned her area, her vision coming into focus. The vehicle had crashed nose-first, so she was astonished she was even alive. She got up, walking towards the front and the main control panel.
Gatling Gale lay facedown against the controls. She pushed against his shoulder with one of her hooves. Then she saw the blood. His whole head lay facedown in a pool of blood. She gagged, barely holding in her lunch. That didn't last long, as she gave in to her body's demands to vomit. Retching, her lunch spreading out in a puddle of gruel across the floor.
Shuddering, she turned. Gatling Gale was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. She lumbered slowly to her other copilot.
Trixie lay on her back, slumped against the side of her controls. Her eyes were closed, her face peaceful as though she were in a deep sleep. One forehoof lay folded against her stomach, the other splayed out limply. Derpy walked up to her, relieved to find the unicorn still breathing. Slowly and gently, she lifted the unconscious mare and carried her on her back.
Derpy approached the emergency exit. With effort, she twisted the hatch open. She was blinded by the sunlight, but got over it quickly. She pulled Trixie behind her onto the roof. There were no signs of any kaiju. Had they won? What happened?
Then Ghidorah landed in front of her. She yelped, but quickly regained her composure. "Oh....uh...hey!" she shouted at the three headed dragon. Ghidorah snorted in response. "Uh, could we maybe get a lift?" she asked.
Ghidorah's middle head lowered, and Derpy clambered onboard. Stowing the unconscious Trixie securely against a few giant scales, she gave the signal to go.
"We're ready!" she shouted.
Rodan smirked at Ghidorah. "So you do have a heart after all," he said.
Ghidorah huffed. "Let's go," he said.
And they took flight, ready to return to Canterlot.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 7 - The Truth Revealed
Chapter 7
The Truth Revealed
King Ghidorah began to fly back to Canterlot, when he suddenly felt something hit him. It wasn't like the hardly noticable stinging of jets he had grown accustomed to, but more as if he had passed through some sort of warm liquid. Immediately, he felt weak. His powers were being drained again.
Ghidorah felt himself begin to shrink as flight became harder and harder. By the time he had reached the balcony he had been previously on, he had regressed back to his pitiful pony size. He didn't land, as flight had become so difficult that at that point it was more of a controlled crash.
The dragon got back to his clawed feet quickly. "Mission accomplished," he said smugly, grinning at the death of his opponent. Celestia's face was stern. Twilight and her friends had since been dismissed back to Ponyville to ensure that everything was alright.
"You know the deal," she stated simply. "Luna is waiting inside,"
Ghidorah hissed inwardly, realizing that this last fight may well have been the last time he had his powers. He followed Celestia inside, to be greeted by a large table. The table was set with all kinds of vegetarian delights. It was enough to make him want to vomit. In retrospect, he should have guessed that these beings were herbivores. Not that that mattered anymore. Luna was seated at one end, and there were three other empty chairs.
Before Ghidorah could say anything, Luna piped up. "You're hurt," she said simply. Celestia inwardly kicked herself for not noticing earlier. Ghidorah's right neck was bleeding pretty badly, and would probably leak onto the food.
Ghidorah shrugged. "I've had worse,"
"Worse? What could be worse than that?" Celestia asked.
"Try being decapitated five times,"
"Five times? But you only have three heads!"
"I never said all at once,"
Celestia wouldn't have any of it, however, and called for some bandages. Within moments, Ghidorah found his right neck to be bound by white fabric, causing the bleeding to slow as well as significant discomfort. Ghidorah's left head tried to rip it off, but the glares he received from both of the princesses told him this was a bad idea.
Before anything else could happen, they were interrupted by a sudden flash. "Celestia! Luna! I'm back!" a male voice chimed. Both of the royal sisters groaned as a strange figure appeared. He was a tall, lanky thing, at least as tall as Ghidorah himself. He seemed to have been made up of the body parts of many different animals. He wore a pair of sunglasses, as well as a floral print shirt. He carried a suitcase in one paw, and a glass of chocalate milk in the other.
"Discord," Celestia said. "What took you so long?"
"Oh, our dear chef and I were having a wonderful vacation in the tropics! Unfortunately, they had to stay there," Discord's eyes suddenly flashed with malevolent mischief. "That'll teach them not to have authentic, llama-grown bananas!"
Celestia did not approve. "Discord, bring them back now,"
"Aww, do I have to?"
Celestia's stern face was all the answer Discord needed. "Fine. Party-pooper,"
Discord snapped his claws, and with a flash a mare in chef's clothing appeared.
"I'm sorry for your trouble, Gourmet. You can expect a raise this week,"
"It's no trouble at all, your highness. I understand," the mare, apparently named Gourmet, said.
Gourmet left, leaving a satisfied Discord and two very annoyed princesses. Ghidorah, on the other hoof, had no idea what was going on. That's when Discord took notice of the new arrival. "Ah, who is this? An inter-dimensional traveler? Oh, it's been so long since we had one of those! Why, the last time was over a thousand years ago!"
Ghidorah felt simultaneously annoyed and amused by this strange new being.
"You'll have to excuse Discord," Celestia said. "He is the spirit of chaos and disharmony,"
"I do remember that last fellow. He was rather boring, though. Nothing more than a big gorilla," Discord scoffed. "Hopefully you'll be more entertaining,"
"Sister, have we forgotten the matters at hoof?" Luna interjected.
Celestia nodded, before gesturing for Discord to sit in the final empty chair. Ghidorah couldn't help but notice that his own chair was far too small, and becoming very uncomfortable. Before they could begin, something had to be addressed. "Have you anything besides this foul vegetation?" He asked as he looked down at his plate.
"Ah, a carnivore. I really should've guessed as much," Celestia said, as courteous as ever. She nodded to Discord, who merely snapped his claws again. In a flash, Ghidorah's plate had been replace with a lump of roasted meat. Ghidorah couldn't identify what it was, or how it got there, but he didn't care. He began to greedily dig in.
Luna produced a vial of blue liquid, before giving it to Ghidorah. "This is truth syrum. When you drink it, you will be incapable of lying," she stated. Ghidorah looked at the glass vial. His middle head shot out, before swallowing it whole. The head belched afterwards, and he felt slightly queesy as the effects of the truth syrum began to take hold.
"Are you ready to begin?" Celestia asked. Ghidorah nodded all three heads. "Very well. I will start with that creature. You seemed to have recognized it?"
"Yes, I recognized it,"
"Did it have a name?"
"Zilla. What a fool he was,"
"How did you know it? Are there more creatures like him?"
Ghidorah chuckled. "You don't know the half of it! Where I come from, they run rampant!"
"Is there a name to describe them?"
"Of course! We are kaiju! Beasts to make men cower in fear!"
"What are men?"
"A small, insignificant race. They are of little concern to you,"
"And these, 'kaiju.' You are one of them?"
"I am not just one of them, I am the most powerful!"
"Then how did you get here?"
"The humans - or men - had devised a weapon, capable of ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time,"
"A black hole?" Luna asked.
"Yes. They fired this weapon at me and my nemesis, a being named Godzilla. Unfortunately, only I was sucked into the hole. Afterwards, all I remember is waking up in the forest, my powers gone,"
"And who is this Godzilla?"
"He is the king of the monsters. He is my greatest foe, the only one to have defeated me on multiple occasions," Ghidorah's eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "Oh, how I hate him! It's his fault that I am here! Here, without my powers and at the mercy of lesser beings!"
Celestia tried not to show offense, and tried to change the topic. "Zilla. Is he related to Godzilla in any way?"
Ghidorah huffed. "He wishes. Zilla is a pathetic pretender to the throne, nothing more and nothing less,"
Celestia and Luna absorbed the information, before Luna decided to take over the questioning.
"What did you do before you came here? Did you really travel the galaxy, helping those in need?"
Ghidorah winced. The question that would damn him had come. "Yes. I did, in fact, travel through space across the galaxy. But I did not save those in need. No, I did something far different. I destroyed life wherever I found it," He said without guilt. "And I enjoyed it,"
Celestia and Luna were taken aback. "What? Why?"
"Because every predator has its prey. Every planet I came to fell, their native armies and kaiju powerless before me. Mars, Venus, Terra, Planet X! All of them fell, nothing but insects under my feet. I quickly gained a reputation. I began to be known by many names. Monster Zero, The Destroyer of Worlds, The King of Terror, but in the end my true name remained Ghidorah,"
"Then if you are so powerful, how did Godzilla beat you so many times?"
Ghidorah growled. "I do not know. Perhaps because he had powerful allies helping him. Perhaps because I became uncautious. In the end, it matters not. I am still stuck here,"
Celestia thought for a moment. "Where there any kaiju who were noble? Who actually did protect those who couldn't do it themselves?"
"Yes, but I doubt that any of them will come here,"
Luna gave Celestia a hard look. "Do you see, sister? I told you he was not to be trusted! He should be encased in stone here and now?"
Discord only smiled smugly. "I like him. I can only imagine the delicious chaos he would cause,"
Celestia got up from her seat, and moved to stand by the window. As she gazed out to Ponyville, she thought of all the lives Ghidorah had saved just moments ago. Celestia thought about it, and reached a decision.
"I am going to make you a deal, King Ghidorah,"
"I'm listening,"
"I do not know if any more of these kaiju will come to our lands," she said. "But if they do, we are completely unprepared for the threat. We need someone to fight for us, to protect us," She turned back to him. "I believe that someone is you,"
Ghidorah couldn't believe his ears. "Me? Did you not hear what I just told you or are you just that stupid?"
"Neither. I understand that your past is one of darkness and violence, but that was in another universe. Equestria is a land of forgiveness, if nothing else,"
"But, sister-"
"You would do well to remember that, Luna,"
Luna stopped talking, feeling slightly ashamed.
"I will not give you your powers. Only if another of these creatures appears will I give them back, and even then it will only be for a limited time,"
"Why? Why would you offer me this?"
"Because if dark days are ahead for us, the ponies will need a hero. They do not need to know about your past,"
Ghidorah was not satisfied with the deal. "And if I refuse?"
"Then you can enjoy spending all of eternity in stone," Celestia said almost cheerily. Ghidorah felt almost intimidated by how happy she seemed. "Your choice,"
Ghidorah looked at each of the gods he sat in the presence of. He took a deep breath. "Fine,"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Fluttershy walked through the pitch-black Everfree Forest. "Angel?" she called out, terrified out of her wits. The bunny had been outside for a long time now, but had never returned home. Fluttershy got worried and decided to go look for him. "Angel?" she called out again. This time there was a squeek of recognition.
The bunny was stuck, his foot trapped by some vines. "Oh, Angel! You had me worried sick!" Fluttershy said. She immediately set to work cutting the vines with a swiss army knife she had brought. Just in case. Once she was done, Angel hopped onto her back and hugged her fiercely. "I missed you, too, Angel," she said.
Suddenly, she noticed that the vines had retracted, almost as if they had moved on their own. Then she saw it. "Hmm. That hill wasn't there yesterday," she sad aloud, taking in the massive green hill. It was covered entirely in vegetation, and not a speck of rock or dirt showed. That's when it started to glow.
Not the whole hill, of course. Instead, there was a massive orange orb in one side. It began to glow with internal heat, scaring Fluttershy. "I think it's time to go, Angel," she said. The bunny nodded in agreement. As the pegasus turned to run, she found her path blocked by a wall made entirely of vines. She screamed in surprise, before turning back. The orb was glowing again, lighting up the entire clearing. Long, tentacle-like vines tipped with venus flytrap heads had also appeared out of the ground. Fluttershy began to hyperventilate. What was going on?
That's when it appeared. From under the ground errupted a flower, about the size of a cart or wagon. It was big enough for a pony to fit inside. The flower was unopened at first, but slowly the petals began to peel apart. When the flower had finished blooming, there stood a tall, thin mare. The mare seemed to be made entirely of vines and other plant material, with a mane and tail similar to a bush. Her eyes glowed the same orange as the orb. Then, she spoke.
"Do not be afraid, little one," she said. "I mean you know harm,"
Fluttershy began to slow her breathing, calming down slightly. "Who are you?"
"I am Biollante. This is merely an avatar, of sorts, to allow me to communicate with you,"
Fluttershy sat down, putting a hoof to her head in confusion. "So much has been happening, first King Ghidorah, then that lizard thing, now this,"
The plant mare - Biollante - stepped back in surprise. "Did you say King Ghidorah?"
"Yes. Why?"
Biollante's face was almost afraid. "Because I fear you may be in grave danger."
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 20 - Brand New Day
Chapter 20
Brand New Day
When King Ghidorah awoke, Luna was nowhere to be found. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, slowly lumbering towards the door and pushing it open. He looked around, not finding anypony. He sighed, hearing his stomach grumble. He left towards the kitchen, hoping Gourmet might be able to help him.
He walked towards the kitchen, finding the mare already making a large serving of eggs. Gourmet smiled when she saw him enter. "Morning, Ghidorah! Already made breakfast for you!"
Ghidorah grunted, seating himself at the table. His mind was focused on last night. What had been with that dream? And why had it affected him so? He would normally have pondered these questions alone, but fate would have none of that this morning.
Luna walked in, causing Gourmet to stop and bow. "Your Majesty! I didn't expect you this morning! Is there anything you would like me to make?"
Luna smiled. "A toast, please, Gourmet," As the chef left to go prepare the meal, Luna sat next to Ghidorah, her expression becoming serious.
"What was all that last night?" she asked.
Ghidorah sighed, not looking her in the eye. "Bad dream," he said.
"Bad dream? What dream could be so bad to make you of all things cry like a foal?"
Ghidorah shrugged, clearly without energy. "It's nothing. It's stupid, anyway," he said.
But Luna was not satisfied. "Clearly it is something, otherwise I wouldn't have had to comfort you last night,"
Ghidorah groaned, remembering the events of the last night.
"Now, are you going to tell me or not?"
Ghidorah sighed, and told her the events of the dream. How he had a family, a home. How he was happy, something he had never truly felt before. And he told of how it was all destroyed before his very eyes. Luna listened politely, until he finished his story.
"It was just so vivid. I've never experienced anything like it before," Ghidorah said when he finished.
Luna nodded. "Dreams have a tendency of feeling like reality. It's only when you wake up when you realize that something was off,"
Ghidorah nodded. "I think I know why you had this dream, though. Tell me, have you noticed anything strange within yourself since you arrived? Something like, say, an itch you can't scratch at the back of your mind?"
Ghidorah suddenly felt a wave of confusion. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. How would you know?"
Luna smiled. "I guessed as much. I felt the same thing when I became Nightmare Moon," she said.
The confused look Ghidorah gave her told her that he was lost. "I suppose some explanation would be helpful.
"Long ago, I became jealous of my sister. You see, the ponies would frolick and make merry in her day, but ignore my beautiful night. I refused to see reason, and eventually the hate and jealousy inside me caused me to change into a being named Nightmare Moon. I tried to plunge the world into eternal night. I failed, and was punished by being banished to the moon for a thousand years. I finally escaped and tried to do it again, but I was eventually reformed. But during all my time as Nightmare Moon, I felt something. Something telling me that this was wrong. I asked my sister about it after I returned to my senses, and she explained to me that the Elements of Harmony had been the cause,"
"Elements of Harmony?"
"Powerful artifacts that influence Equestria. They are the source of all friendship here, and my Sister told me that they instinctively attempt to root out evil wherever it is found. They try to convice it that what it was doing was wrong, and if it would not listen to reason, force would be applied,"
Ghidorah nodded. "So this dream I had, you think that was the Elements deciding to take action?" Any other being would have been shocked by the discovery of the Elements of Harmony, but few things still shocked Ghidorah. His dream being one of them.
Luna nodded. "The only question that remains is - did it work?"
Ghidorah sighed. "Never in my life have I felt the emotions I felt in that dream. I want to tell myself it wasn't real, but..."
"But you can't quite convince yourself otherwise?" She said.
Ghidorah nodded again. "I understand. I had the same problem once. You know, you and I aren't quite as different as we may think," she said.
Ghidorah said nothing, as Gourmet placed a plate of eggs in front of him. Luna grabbed her plate with her magic, before standing up to leave. "Well, Ghidorah, ultimately what happens next is up to you. Though I have a feeling you know what to do," she said, before leaving, leaving Ghidorah alone with his thoughts.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The light blue unicorn stood at the gates to Canterlot castle. She had to admit, she was surprised to have received a letter stating that she was hoof-picked by the princesses for a secret operation. She only hoped that it was authentic, and she wouldn't look like a foal upon asking for entrance to the palace.
She was about to ring the bell, when she suddenly heard somepony land nearby.
"Who are you? Did you get a letter too?"
The unicorn mare turned around to take in the new arrival. She was a pegasus, grey in coat color, blonde in the mane. Most notably, her golden eyes were crossed.
"Stating that I was picked by the princesses? Yes, yes I have," the unicorn responded.
"Oh, that's cool! Maybe we'll work together!" the pegasus sayed.
The unicorn sighed. "By the way, my name's Derpy!" she said, extending a friendly hoof.
The unicorn eyed her warily, before accepting the hoof.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Or, just Trixie, as recent events have led me to believe," she said.
"Oh, don't be so down on yourself! I'm sure if you weren't Great and Powerful, the princesses wouldn't have chosen you!"
Trixie huffed, before the gates swung open.
Soon, she would know exactly why she had been chosen.
Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies
Chapter 30
Epilogue
King Ghidorah and Rodan returned to the castle without issue. Trixie had minimal injuries, and was treated in the Royal Infirmary. Trixie and Derpy both received medals of the highest honor for their service, and were awarded living quarters in Canterlot Castle. Gatling Gale was awarded posthumously, but had no next of kin for any compensation to be sent to.
Celestia was impressed by Ghidorah's performance. He had saved them all, and she was surprised to discover he had opted to remain in Equestria when the wormhole had been opened. As reward for his services, Celestia had done the unthinkable, something that would be considered foolish by most - she trusted him. And so, she returned his powers to him permanently, as well as the size-shifting power she had given Rodan as a bonus.
A week later, Ghidorah stood on the balcony, looking out over Equestria. Luna and Celestia approached him from behind, smiling. "So, is it finally over?" Luna asked.
Ghidorah shook his three heads. "There is no way to stop the rifts in the fabric of space-time from appearing. As long as the humans on the other side continue using their weapon, more kaiju will enter into Equestria. And perhaps other things as well," he said.
Rodan landed next to them, smirking. "Well, guess we'll just hafta deal with them as they come, huh?"
Biollante's avatar appeared next. "We will all be ready when the time comes," she said.
Celestia looked at Ghidorah and smiled. "I'm sure we will. We are in safe keeping," she said.
Ghidorah turned to Celestia.
And for the first time in the entirety of the three-headed dragon's life, King Ghidorah smiled back.
To be Continued...
