Chapter 28 Promo · 3:27am Jan 14th, 2016
Enjin took a pause in its otherwise tireless pursuit. The kaiser energy was still detectable, and in many ways the signature was stronger than before despite the distance only growing. Standing atop a forested hillside, the echo of the land aspect regarded the low lands before it. Literally able to sense the energy it hunted like a radar, it knew which way to go. Just after it started in its downhill sprint when Enjin stumbled on its footing and nearly doubled over like it was in pain. Rolling the rest of the hill, Enjin spilled out over and slid across the face of a frozen pond. The shade halted and held its chest while trying to get back on its feet, the dark energy composing its solid form briefly writhing and twisting. Fiery lines across its form emitted a stressed, rapidly pulsating glow. Completely losing its footing, the revenant stumbled out onto the ice, slipping across the surface. Enjin’s mask was beginning to melt off amongst the smoke billowing out of its body by the time the revenant re-established its bearings. Unable to pick itself off the frozen pond, the deformed Enjin clawed its way across the ice to get back to solid ground. Reaching the edge of the pond, Enjin swatted away the snow on the ground to dig its fingers into the rock and dirt below. Dim, almost invisible, lines of energy traveled up through its arm and into its energy core. The convulsions, evaporation, and melting halted; allowing the aspect to successfully reform its constitution.
Picking itself off the ice and walking back onto solid ground, Enjin looked back at the lowlands and to the kaiser energy signature far away. Had it the will to emote, it would have scowled. The signature had been relocating every twelve hours or so, swinging through and around the town too fast and too far for Enjin to catch up despite getting close a few times. And now it was experiencing a whole different problem, one Bagan had never encountered before.Prolonged existence in separate realm from host was causing aspect instability, the convulsions being cases where the dark energy composing Enjin's form was literally tearing itself apart. By its estimate, the next convulsion was in one celestial cycle or less.
All too conscious of the time, Enjin regarded its situation with calculative logic. It was too far away and it was running out of time. Desperate times called for desperate measures, or at least creative ones. Concentrating and recalling its form’s alterations when it was undergoing deterioration, Enjin’s core pulsed with light through its chest after it planted all hands and feet on the ground. Repeating the process in a controlled manner, the shadowy mass again convulsed and writhed under its black epidermis. Excess bulk evaporated off, ribcage tightening and contracting, the heel traveled off the ground and into a new leg joint, and a growing light slicing into the cold forest air sent any lifeform that could see it fleeing for their lives; as the earth rattled beneath them.
The hunter kicked off from its position and broke into a sprint, moving in a series of bounds and lunges as much as it was running, and covering much more ground than before.
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Everfree
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Mothra Lea followed Twilight down a narrow, descending tunnel. Having dropped her alicorn disguise, she rolled her shoulders in relief, shifting the loaded saddlebags thrown over her middle. The duo's packs were loaded to the brim with ancient tomes and manuscripts. Having a flock of gyaos randomly drop down on one's study tended to throw off research plans, so they had returned to the abandoned castle to recover some of the materials left behind during the attack. After having done such, Twilight had shifted the focus to something she'd mentioned to Lea but hadn't gotten the chance to show her just yet.
Upon entering the chamber of the awaited, Mothra stole a gasp as she beheld the Tree of Harmony's sanctum. The radiance of the structure was complemented by the way the breeze from the forest beyond moved about within the cavern, the ensuing melody favorably comparable to a wind chime. The Guardian of Mortals and the Biosphere's response was an understatement, spoken in low breath as the sight instinctively gave her a smile.
"Wow, you didn't exaggerate. Where did this thing come from again?"
The little alicorn beamed, trotting around the dazzling formation while holding her eyes up to it with a twinkle in her eye.
"Nopony's really sure. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna say this predates even them. Star Swirl the Bearded once described it as a nexus. Just being around it is enough to feel some comfort, and good magic seems to be even stronger in its presence."
Lea still felt a tad odd around Equestrian magic, light or dark. Being so closely tied to Terra's magic, she was used to her home's rules. Equestria has been a whole new ball game, but one she was beginning to understand well enough. Yet, even as a novice in Equestria's hexes, the peacefulness and warmth of the Tree's aura was infectious.
"I can see what he meant there."
Lea said, looking across the Elements of Harmony and recognizing them based off Twilight's descriptions. After looking over the two other emblems on the trunk, a stylized sun and moon, her eyes were soon upon what Twilight was looking at. A growth from the floor sat about two meters in front of the tree, supporting what would best be described as an ornate, hexagon shaped box. Raising an eyebrow, especially after seeing the slight frown on Twilight's face, Lea looked closer and traced her friend's line of sight to the six openings resembling key holes ringing the box.
"So, what's the story with this?"
The changeling muttered, motioning to the box with a hoof. Twilight shrugged in response, pouting somewhat.
"That's, the problem I was working on until the kaiju showed up. That chest emerged from the tree when we put the elements back into it and nopony seems to know what's inside."
"Well-"
Lea quipped, looking up at the Tree of Harmony as it subtly pulsed with a comforting light.
"-if it's tied to the Tree of Harmony it must be important.... Hm, seems to have six keyholes. Looked into that any?"
"To be honest it was the first thing I did look into. Nothing so far though. There isn't a single mention of the chest in any records from Ponyville, Canterlot, or the castle above. I was just about to look through all my old notes to see if I might find some inspiration or clue when you showed up."
The alicorn shook her head slightly, mind still locked onto the kaiju problem at hand. For practicality's purposes she and Lea had switched up their study on finding the kaiju a way home to finding any sort of method to locate any stray kaiju who'd ended up in Equestria. With Gamera's word to go off of, the gyaos were just the tip of the iceberg. In some ways it gave her some ease. If they focused on sending the original six kaiju back home and somehow managed to do so, they'd just leave themselves even more open to attack by who knows what else crossing over from Terra. Still, the thought of a myriad of monsters running loose in the far reaches of the continent wasn't doing her nervousness any favors. So far the primary study had been on trying to track and locate any stragglers as an early warning system.
"I just hope I'm up to the task. Whatever is in there, I have a feeling we'll need it now more than ever..."
Lea moved over and put an assuring forelimb around Twilight, pulling her distressed friend in closer to her. She cooed softly with a dim glow, letting some of her aura rub off on Twilight to ease some of her stress away.
"We'll find the solution to this, just like we will find the one to the problem my world brought to your's."
Twilight let a tiny smile cross her lips, stretching up a bit to put a wing around Lea's back to return the hug while she rubbed up against her friend.
"It's not your fault Lea."
The changeling sighed, not sure if she should nod or not. The thought of her arrival bringing her conflict onto this peaceful world wasn't something she fancied. Fortunately a stray thought crossed her mind after looking again to the Chest of Harmony.
"Debatable, but, let's not ruin the happy moment shall we?... You know, Equestrian magic might be a different breed than Terran; but magic is still magic on some level. And I think I know someone, or rather someones, who could take a look at this. Maybe give a different perspective."
"Oh? Who?"
Lea turned her head to the tunnel behind them and-
(SEE YOU IN CHAPTER 28!)
You enjoy this way too much.
Oh, I think we know who they are…
Ah, such words are a feast for the eyes. ^_^
When will the next chapter come?
3684817 'They' will certainly be interesting.
Good to know Enjin isn't indestructible.
Tarb, a couple of questions if I may.
1. Enjin is an entity manifested from Bagan's dark powers, and not its own entity, right?
2. Will there be a kaiju vs. Tirek fight?
3. Should these questions be asked somewhere else?
3684932
Everything has a weakness, the divide between a big and a small one is how exploitable is that weakness.
Oooooooooooooooo..... I wonder who they are, but I think I know.
I wonder whom she might be talking about?
I am looking forward to it.
First, having a cliff hanger mid sentence is EVIL. Your trollish ancestors must be proud.
I hope it's Moll and Lora. 
Moll and Lora can use a bit more screen time. 
Speaking of Moll and Lora, was Lora mind controlled by Ghidora in this timeline like in the movies, or did Junior's intervention prevent this? 
Second, is it Moll and Lora?
3686449
Considering there was only one big fight against Ghidorah for those two in 1999, and Ghidorah was having to deal with two opponents at once, I think he fortunately might have been too busy to mind control either of the two sisters for more than a brief instance.
YOU TEASE! You're worse than Alex Hirsh when it comes to teasing your fans.
But then again, that's a compliment to your story-telling prowess. And I think I have a PRETTY good idea whom Mothra is referring to in regards to magic, but I'll let that proverbial pot stir a bit. 