Prompt: This was a very special collaborative story with Speedy, who broached the idea some time ago. You can (and should) check his very own deviantart out here: http://speedy526745.deviantart.com/ for cute. 

He also did a cover art here: http://i.imgur.com/0oN9Eql.png
-------------------------------------------------------------Intro----------------------------------------------------------
>A cloudy day flushed with a tinge of sea salt.
>A distant storm darkened the horizon. 
>Initial forecasts said it wouldn’t arrive until a number of hours later.
>Even so, turbulent waves were already beginning to crash against the shoreline.
>Standing before the evidence, a bespectacled man sighed wistfully.
>All he needed was that perfect window to test the latest invention.
>Sure enough, the day delivered it to him on a silver platter.
>Sunny skies painted the city’s shoreline, making the sea and its slowly creeping cloud cover seem all the more ominous.
>He couldn’t quite shake a nagging feeling in the back of his head as he entered his car and prepared to drive.
>The journey to the lab was quick and easy, but as he pulled into the parking lot, he couldn’t help but notice the shadows sliding towards him from the sea.
>They would have to be quick to seize the opportunity.
>He hurried to the door, taking one last look through the glass doors as they closed.
>The weather appeared to hold steady, the darkened clouds remaining where he saw them on the horizon when he left.
>His gaze darted to the city, or what he could see of it from where he was.
>The lab was located far enough away that only the city’s tallest skyscrapers could be seen.
>The sunlight still painted those buildings such that the reflections across the glass caused the man to shield his eyes.
>He about-faced on his heel and started traveling deeper into the lab, moving with the eagerness of a man about to change the world.
>He might have slowed down, then, if only he knew how true that was.
>Hastily, he turned a corner and entered a large room reserved for testing.
>Before him, a team of people could be seen moving about, checking data on computers, grabbing essential notes, running through equations hashed out on various whiteboards scattered throughout the area, and most notably making adjustments to a large machine in the room’s center.
>He glided behind an assistant wearing the classic labcoat decor of researchers everywhere.
>”Everything ready?”
>The assistant nodded.
>”Everything looks good.”
>”Excellent.  Today, we’ll be making history.”
>The man began to recall all the progress they’ve made thus far.
>The team had been diligently working on a new, fantastic device for the better part of the past year.
>A portal generator.
>It was to be the first of its kind in the world.
>Well, aside from the ones used during small scale testing, which had proven to be very favorable.
>On one particularly successful test, the team passed an apple through six different portals in rapid succession with no detectable errors.
>The portals generated by the device were also far more stable than they could’ve asked for during testing.
>However, today was a special day, and the entire team knew this.
>Today, the team would have one of their own use one of these portals for the first time.
>The portals had been increasingly enlarged in the past few trials.
>The new sizes should easily allow a human to pass instantly from one to the other.
>Our glasses-sporting researcher was more than happy to take the risk himself.
>If this test was successful, they could move on to a final, larger scale test involving vehicles.
>And if that test went smoothly, they could start working with the city to install this and similar devices in key locations.
>Near-instantaneous travel was that close to being a reality.
>The man’s thoughts were interrupted by the assistant from before, nudging him in his side.
>”You’re not getting cold feet now, are you?”
>The man pushed up his glasses.
>”Of course not!  I was thinking about all we’ve achieved to get us to today.”
>”Right. Can’t believe we’ve done so much so quickly...”
>The man honestly couldn’t believe it either.
>This test wasn’t originally going to happen for at least another couple of months, but the aforementioned results at smaller scales allowed them to move the test dates up.
>The man started moving about the room, his brisk pace made all the faster by his excitement.
>He went to each member of his team numerous times, double-checking and in some cases triple-checking all of the necessary parameters.
>This test had to go smoothly, and, unknown to him or his team, the window was rapidly closing.
>Ripples of thunder drummed as the clouds began encroaching on the city’s airspace.
>A curtain of rain began creeping up the coastline towards the city and the lab.
>After an hour of rigorous checking that felt like three, the man stood face to face with the large machine.
>The machine itself was fifteen feet in diameter at its widest point and nearly reached the ceiling of the thirty foot high room.
>Coils of thick wiring threaded up from the sides to the top of the pylon.
>After pacing the machine for the last time, checking it over, he took a deep breath, and stepped back.
>”Fire it up.”
>Seconds later, the machine began to wake up, the many lights and screens adding a rainbow of color to it as it completed its startup sequence.
>A mechanical humming became more audible as well.
>The red sphere, topping the machine like a mechanical cherry, crackled to life before discharging a single beam of light.
>The light shot straight down, appearing to stop level with the man’s chest, ending in a point.
>The man turned back towards his team, all of them a safe distance away.
>”Readouts?”
>”Green across the board!”
>The head researcher nodded.
>The moment he was waiting for was finally here.
>He gave the command.
>”Proceed to Stage Two.”
>”Starting Stage Two!” came the announcement.
>The air inside the room tensed as a dissonant note vibrated their bones.
>The hairs at the back of his neck stood up on end. 
>The point of light crackled and hummed, a dot wobbling and enlarging.
>The air shimmered, roiling in the heat and energy that wafted off of the orb. 
>”Looking good! We’re opening the aperture now.”
>The hum changed pitch, thrumming with an ever higher energy.
>The sphere grew and darkened as if slurping up whatever light dared to touch it.
>”And they said the Hadron Collider was dangerous,” he snorted.
>It was like staring into a ball of deep water.
>Ripples coursed across its surface, flowing and redistributing.
>He watched waves bounce across it, one or two particularly sharp ones stabbing out by a few centimeters.
>A little hiccup was not unusual.
>”Any particular place you want to end up?”
>The man turned back towards the assistant.
>”Just put me on the other side of the generator.  No need to get fancy,” was his reply.
>”Understood.  Opening second aperture now.”
>A second beam of light shot from the top of the pylon, carefully reflected until it appeared to disappear into another point at a similar height to the first beam, on the other side of the generator.
>Soon, there were two spheres of waterlike energy within the testing room.
>”Establishing link,” came from behind him.
>Before long, the sphere in front of him took on a much different appearance.
>Peering through it, the scientist could see the other side of the lab, bordered by the deep, rippling energy.
>A couple of the team members positioned on that side gave excited waves, indicating that they could see the man okay.
>The man gave a few deep breaths, then asked behind him one last time after what felt like minutes but was actually thirty seconds.
>”Final readouts?”
>The assistants took longer to reply on this one.
>There were more readings to verify now that there was an active miniature wormhole a mere twenty feet away.
>”Everything’s as stable as it can be.  The numbers are actually indicating more stability than in small scale.  Proceed when ready.”
>The man nodded, and took a final deep breath.
>It was now or never.
>If this succeeded, they would come one step closer to integrating portal travel into the city’s transport system and revolutionize the world.
>If this failed, there could be a very real chance that this would be the last time any of his colleagues, or anyone else, would see him.
>The simulations had a number of different results for failure, and not a one of them was pleasant.
>He stepped forward into the sphere, melding into the pitch-black mass.
>...
>...
>...
>...”Boss, open your eyes.”
>It didn’t even occur to him that he had them closed.
>He opened them quickly, and was first greeted with one of his team resting her arm on his shoulder, giving him a worried look.
>”How do you feel?”
>”Like I’ve been pumped full of energy.  Was the test successful?”
>She responds with a smile. 
>“Look for yourself.”
>As he surveys the room, he sees that he is on the other side of the generator, completely fine.
>The members in front of him have already begun to applaud him.
>A glance back through the portal shows that the rest of the team is doing the same.
>One member in particular was already pumping his fist into the air.
>He stepped back through the portal, making sure it wasn’t a dream, and making sure to keep his eyes open this time.
>A flash of deep blue, and he’s out, back where he started.
>”All five digits on each hand. Glasses and clothes still on. We did it!”
>If there wasn’t any cheering before, there was now.
>The science chief breathed a sigh of relief as the celebratory actions from his team began to escalate.
>Someone popped a champagne bottle in the back.
>He immediately turned to his station to document the results, the widest smile of the day plastered across his face. 
>As the chief started cataloguing the test, the storm ravaged around the lab.
>Unusual, out of season, and ahead of its predicted schedule, it was determined to close the scientist’s window of opportunity with a slam.
>Torrential downpours pounded the facility and the far-off city.
>Flash flooding was looking more likely by the minute as the storm raged on.
>Unfortunately for the scientists, the testing room was too deep in the facility for anyone to notice.
>The pelting of the rain on the roof was easily drowned out by the hum of the machine and the celebration of the team.
>The team had broken out the celebratory wine to honor this impressive achievement.
>Before anyone could pour a glass, though, an especially loud crackle of thunder rumbled through the walls, temporarily matching pitch with the two spheres.
>A surge of electricity sparked outwards.
>That wasn’t supposed to happen. 
>More than a few eyes were drawn to the readouts.
>One of the bars was yellow.
>”Not good!” one of the lab techs noted, louder than necessary.
>The chief scientist shot him a warning look, but the lab tech wasn’t even paying attention.
>The ambient electricity in the air was starting to affect the portal.
>Electromagnetic disturbances were clashing under the oppressive demands of the storm outside.
>”The storm!  It must’ve gotten here faster than predicted!”
>The chief scientist had a worried look in his eyes.
>Worry turned to drive as everyone else was already scrambling back to their posts.
>”Shut it down, now!”
>One of the lab techs flicked the cover off of the emergency shutdown.
>The fingers spread out to slap the big, red button when another hand grabbed his wrist.
>”Are you nuts?!”
>”We need to deactivate it, sir.”
>The chief scientist pulled his fellow researcher away.
>”Follow the procedure!” he growled.
>”But sir-”
>”If we break any of this equipment, it’ll be a disaster!”
>A boom made everyone inside the lab jump.
>A power surge.
>The one in a million chance of a direct hit.
>The lab went dark.
>Or rather, it would have gone dark, had it not been for an eerie multicolored glow emanating from the center of the room.
>The chief scientist glanced towards the source of the glow.
>The portal generator sat, sputtering in the middle of the room, the hum at even more of a fever pitch than before.
>Electricity occasionally arced to and fro on the machine, and all the lights and screens were glowing even brighter than before, the machine covering half the room in its light.
>The two test portals were somehow still there, although they looked far less stable than they did a mere minute ago.
>Before anyone could process this turn of events, a heavy thump sounded as lights and systems tried to power back on.
>The portals warped and twisted around like someone was trying to pull them somewhere else. 
>The power flickered once again, along with what readouts and lights had struggled to remain faithful.
>Circuits fizzling, the generator’s computers whirred with their own choir.
>A warning buzzer sounded, normally to warn bystanders to stand clear of it starting the portal generation procedures.
>”Wait, what’s it doing?”
>One of the lab techs poked his head out from behind a rotating chair.
>He glanced at a console next to him and threw himself to the floor in a panic.
>”It’s not reading the portals right! It’s trying to relocate them!”
>The power flickered again and in the darkness, the portals changed position.
>A scream from the chief’s left catches his attention.
>Where there once was an assistant, is now one of the portals, smeared sloppily across a section of the floor.
>A thud across the lab seconds later draws his attention next.
>He spots that same assistant, in a near-fetal position.
>Seven feet above that assistant was the other portal.
>The science team collectively reeled in shock.
>An error such as this was utterly unprecedented.
>The chief glanced at the mess of a portal nearby, wheels turning in his head.
>Even in the dim light of the generator, he could detect something amiss.
>He looked back at the portal above the assistant.
>The inky darkness was strange, not to mention its shape. 
>It was chaotic, distorting around its contours. 
>He glanced to a particular screen on the computers.
>They were linked, but as much as he squinted at it, he couldn’t see through the strange, murky blackness that made his skin crawl.
>This wasn’t right.
>The power flickered once more as another rumble of thunder sounded overhead.
>When the lights turned on, the portals were joined by a third one sitting over the machine itself.
>No matter where he looked he didn’t see its twin in the room.
>It sucked in air like a vortex, inhaling smoke from fried circuits.
>It disappeared with the chaotic lighting, but so did the others.
>The room was left void of portals, though the machine was still angrily throbbing and the warning buzzer howled intermittently. 
>In such an emergency, there really was only one solution...
>”Emergency switch!  Now!”
>The machine suddenly powered down, taking the light in the room with it.
>”I hit the off button, sir!” another assistant called from his station.
>Answering the assistant to the contrary, the machine suddenly roars back to life, arcs of electricity still darting about the frame.
>Screens booted up, progress bars and data charts filling their displays piece by piece.
>”It’s restarting!”
>”I can see that! Turn it off!” he bellowed.
>”Trying to!” yelled an assistant who was mashing a large, red button, terror running through his voice.
>They looked around the room, expecting at any moment that a piece of equipment or another person would soon be sucked through a portal.
>Yet besides the thrumming equipment and sniffling assistant, the room remained quiet.
>The chief stared at the malfunctioning machine, truly baffled for the first time today.
>”What on earth is going on?”
>The lab tech from earlier popped back into his chair to study the console.
>It only took thirty seconds for his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.
>”Uh, boss…  I’ve got some bad news…”
>The chief is by the tech’s side in seconds.
>After a full minute of studying the output on the screen, he bolts for the doors out of the room without so much as a word.
>His team all hesitantly glanced at each other before taking off after him through the lab’s main lobby.
>Together, they threw the doors open.
>All momentum died.
>Before them was a world in pandemonium.
>Portals of varying sizes littered the raging ocean in front of them, as well as the skyline of the city to their left.
>Some opened, others closed, all at random.
>Clouds were rapidly becoming misshapen by the sporadic vortexes.
>Rain and wind seemed to be coming quite literally from all directions.
>Some portals even gushed gallons of water and unseen sealife from other portals opening far below the ocean’s surface.
>Others were mysteriously drawing in air or belching strange atmospheres.
>The tech huddles next to a teammate nervously as a sinkhole opens up nearby.
>The dirt was sucked into a portal that becomes visible for a fraction of a second before closing.
>Seconds later, out over the ocean, another portal opens, dumping all that dirt straight into the churning waters.
>Their eyes darted from place to place, trying to explain this cataclysmic result.
>Strangely, none appeared near the lab building itself though there was evidence a few had previously.
>The chief scientist turns to his team, and can see the varying degrees of panic in their eyes.
>”You all get back to the lab.  Shut the machine down, somehow, and repair it.”
>”But what about you, boss?”
>”It’s stopped spawning portals inside the lab. I’m headed out to the rest of the city to see if I can bring people back here where it’s safer.”
>His team nods and rushes back inside.
>”Boss?”
>It’s the assistant that fell through the portal.
>”What is it?”

-------------------------------------------------------------G1------------------------------------------------------------

>”Be careful, okay?”
>Across time and space, a forty foot tall filly looked at her caretaker with concern as she began to trot off.
>The ninety foot tall goodra-pony hybrid turned her head with a smile.
”I’m only heading to the city to do some shopping; ya don’t have to worry about me!  Stay outta trouble while I’m gone!”
>The filly nodded her head, the oversized ribbon attached to the back of it bobbing up and down with noticeable earnest.
>With that, the large pony started trotting down the peaceful suburban street.
>Her steps shook the ground a decent amount, walking just gently enough that nothing was in danger of collapsing.
>Her gaze fell on the city’s urban sector.
>What was at times a thirty minute commute for most would only take her ten minutes at the longest.
>Her eyes lowered towards the black paved street that her hooves fell upon in a rhythmic motion.
>The road was striped with the two parallel yellow lines normally seen on major suburban roads, but there were also cream-colored lines criss-crossing the pavement, forming an ‘X’ pattern that extended all the way down the street.
>This pattern on the road designated it as a “crossroad”.
>These roads were far stronger than the others, and were able to handle her better.
>She looked behind herself absentmindedly and smiled at the sight beyond her lengthy, thick tail.
>Despite her immense weight, the road showed very little signs that she had just walked on it.
>Facing forward again, she picked up her pace down the road, putting a slight bounce into her trot that shook the ground a little harder.
>Occasional passers by on the sidewalk would wave up to her.
>She’d smile and use one of her long horns to wave back at them.
>When she came across the occasional oncoming car, the car would come to a halt, waiting for her to step over it completely before it proceeded.
>There was a special law in place for crossroads that made it the fault of the driver, and not her, if she stepped on the vehicle for any reason.
>Any car using a crossroad had to pull over for her as if she were an emergency vehicle.
>However, there were still some that didn’t want to wait, and the pony had gotten pretty good at navigating these impatient drivers.
>She approached a T-junction with a divided highway.
>Both sides of the highway to the left of this road sported that same crossroad designation.
>Cars on either side were already slowing to a stop as she approached.
>She had the right of way by a long shot and everyone knew it.
>She gingerly made her turn to the left and started traveling down towards the urban district, picking up her pace slightly to an acceptable one for a highway.
>The cars ahead of her had already sped off, their owners wanting to give her plenty of room.
>The cars behind her had also backed off to a considerable degree.
>Traffic in the oncoming lanes was becoming more and more scarce.
”Get these groceries, make some dinner, and relax,” she said as she trotted.
>An easy enough sequence of tasks, surely.
>Unknownst to the cheery pony, that list was about to have a few more items added to it.
>Her next step didn’t find the highway.
>Gabby blinked at the realization.
>Time seemed to slow as she quickly looked down.
>A massive swath of deep blue had appeared directly under her.
>It looked like someone swiped a huge paintbrush sloppily and quickly across the landscape.
>The pony tried to use her horns and tail to latch onto any semblance of the ground as gravity began to kick in.
>Solid footing seemed to be too far away from even her impressive reach.
>Cars on either side of the disturbance screeched to a halt, some even smashed into each other as a result.
>Everyone looked on in shock as the enormous creature began rapidly descending into the strange patch of…  something.
>A few onlookers helplessly stood near the edge of the swirling, rippling shape.
>There was no way to save her.
>With a shrill, panicked scream that shattered the windows of many vehicles, the pony’s form disappeared into the rippling blue.
>Only seconds after, the swath disappeared.
>Like a fleeting mirage, the landscape it had been obscuring looked as if nothing even happened.


-----------------------------------------------------------C1--------------------------------------------------------------

>The chief hadn’t even traveled a mile from the lab and he was already facing problems.
>Portions of the road have become adversely affected by the portals.
>Some parts have been washed out due to portals redirecting ocean water.
>Others parts have been completely swallowed up by portal-generated sinkholes.
>Still other portions suddenly had mounds of muddy earth deposited on top of them.
>Rounding a bend, the chief found himself at one such sudden mountain, this one blocking the whole road.
>He tried to slam on the brakes, but the rain-slicked road didn’t award his tires any traction.
>Only making matters worse, a portal opened up right in front of him, large enough for his car to enter.
>He simply tried to remain in control of his car as it skidded into the murky blue.
>It filled his vision and he braced for whatever was to come next.
>Seconds later, a large portal opens up on a rain-drenched thoroughfare.
>Out of this portal rockets the chief’s car.
>After wrestling for control of the vehicle and recovering from the impact, he finally manages to stop the car and pop the door open.
>The first thing he does is look back at where he came from.
>The portal that spat him out is already long gone, cars that were stuck behind it moving forward again.
>”Guess we won’t have to test with vehicles,” he mused before looking around.
>Sirens from emergency vehicles fill the air. 
>The chief scientist cannot peel his eyes away as a portal opens in front of a fire truck, consuming the entire machine.
>He searches for a moment before spotting another portal form and disappear, stranding it on top of a four-story building.
>The bewildered driver opens his door, unable to believe what he saw through the truck’s windows.
>The rest of the crew leave the truck as well, surveying their current surroundings.
>After what seems like an eternity the chief scientist finally stops staring at the vehicle’s current resting place.
>He goes back to his car and hops inside before his lab coat becomes any soggier.
>The car starts up after three tries.
>At least something was going right today…
>He starts going down the roadway, trying to navigate the fleeing, panicking populace.
>A humming behind him forces a glance at his rearview mirror.
>Where his car was a few seconds prior is now the half-sphere of another portal.
>He entertains the thought of where that portal would’ve taken him as it closes shortly after and leaves a new pothole in the street.
>”This is insane!  How am I supposed to get people back to the lab with all of this going on?!”
>A horn blaring to his left distracts him.
>He turns to look and his eyes widen.
>One of the city’s transit buses emerges and comes to a squealing stop, terrified driver still pressing his fist into the horn like his life depended on being as obnoxious as possible.
>The onlooker shakes his head with a grin.
>He never would’ve guessed one of the things his portal project was supposed to replace would be a potential solution.
>”That could work, but one wouldn’t be enough…  Where is the bus depot?  And for that matter, where am I?”
>By this time he’s a mere twenty feet from an intersection.
>However, the near-gridlock of the road ahead means a snail’s pace is the best the chief can hope for.
>As the car inches closer, the radio gives a dull, repetitive buzzer.
>”We interrupt this broadcast with a breaking news update.  The mayor has declared a state of emergency. National guard as well as regular armed forces are being deployed from…”
>He ignored whatever else it said in favor of the task at hand.
>Finally, he’s able to reach the intersection, and looks at the names of the two streets.
>He then takes out a GPS from the glovebox.
>Now is not the time to be making guesses.
>The device zeroes in on his location.
>When he locates the bus depot, he groans audibly.
>”Of course I’m halfway across the city from it!”
>He turns the car down the left street, which seems to be emptier traffic-wise.
>He only makes it a block and a half before he’s stuck again.
>”Great.”


-----------------------------------------------------------O1-------------------------------------------------------------

>”Isn’t it great?”
>The voice echoed loud and true despite the absorbent padding along the ceiling.
>It petered out with no response besides the water lapping gently at the edges of the massive moon pool that dominated the room.
>Floodlights perched over a large doorway illuminated a lone, human figure.
>He looked to either side, eyeballing a walkway encircling the inside rim of the domed chamber. 
>Just in front of him, stabbing into the darker center of the room, was a concrete pier extending from the door and walkway behind him.
>Water splashed turbulently at the edges of the pier, going from inky black in the shadows to crystal clear whenever it spilled over the surface.
>The sprawling moon pool was thick with alien strands; glowing blue lures that wavered back and forth under the slow current just outside of the floodlights
>In the middle of them, a small island sat with a spiraling cone and two bizarre trees sprouting from a thick tangle of more strands.
>The man arrived at the end of the pier and tapped his foot impatiently.
>A pair of outcroppings backed by hardened plates pitched forward from beneath the waves, flicking water across the small sea.
>The two massive ears were definitely trained on him now.
>”I know you can hear me.”
>The distinct beat of his shoes was joined by bubbles drifting to the surface, ruffling the disturbed pool further.
>The spire reached higher and higher as the island hoisted itself upwards.
>A gray, equine body slid from the depths, stopping when the surface lapped at the withers.
>Water ran from the bushy strands of her mane, their tips still glowing as they draped across her forehead.
>It splashed onto a darker plate of chitinous gray and below it, snaggleteeth poked out from a tight-lipped crevice.
>The island opened its eyes, two electric blue spotlights coming to focus on the lone figure on the dock.
>They groggily blinked at him.
>Crocodilian nostrils flared in a deep sigh.
>A menacing cavern slowly opened below them, teeth backlit by an electric blue from the throat.
”Yes?”
>The handler was clearly nonplussed at the rumbling, girlish voice.
>”I know you’re tired from the sparring, but you weren’t listening at all, were you?”
>The ears moved back, guiltily flicking water behind her.
“Um, maybe..."
>The kaiju trailed off, massive form freezing in place.
>The sea of swaying, twinkling lights around her suddenly ducked below the water with a whoosh.
>”Something wrong with your tail?”
>The kaiju turned her head side to side, searching for something.
>The pair of drooping antennae opened their petals, exposing glowing cores.
>The man looked between them in confusion while the equine monstrosity scanned the lapping waves.
>"Orchid?"
>A visible shiver ran down her body.
>He started to step backwards as her eyes roved over him without stopping like he wasn’t even there.
>”What's wrong?”
>There came a rumble, deep and coursing.
>The hallmark of tons of moving water.
>An alien current slipped between her dangling tail strands.
>She ducked her head below the water, searching in the darkened chamber until her projected searchlight fell across a strange object lurking in the waves.
>She was staring at a ball floating just under the surface, trying to make sense of its deep, shimmering blue. 
>Slipping around its edges were confusing visions of the rest of the chamber that surrounded it.
>The edges rippled and wavered with every passing second, like it was struggling to maintain its composure.
>She could feel a pull coming from it.
>Curious, she reached forward.
>A flurry of bubbles escaped her jaws in a watery yelp as suction gripped at her hoof and part of the attached foreleg.
>Suppressing the instinct to instantly pull back, her eyes widened further.
>It wasn't the suddenness that shocked her but what was inside the hole.
>Besides the water rushing over her missing forehoof was nothing but a cool breeze and a tingling sensation.
>She waved the limb around to find something solid to touch.
>"Orchid!"
>The domesticated kaiju snapped her view upwards to where a voice was calling over the water.
>"Get away, it's another breach!"
>The many strands of her tail wound together, splitting and flattening out at the end into a fluke.
>The mock whale's tail beat up and down and the kaiju tore herself away.
>Having lost its prize, the sphere started to fluctuate.
>Pieces of it flared outwards like a miniature star.
>The water stopped flowing as it spun out on its own and disappeared.
>A tingle ran along her antennae as they jolted upright.
>She followed them with a turn of her head.
>Another void rested on the water.
>This one was bigger.
>Much bigger.
“Uh oh,” the kaiju squeaked, and the water roared around her, sweeping her inside the mysterious ball.
>As she sank, she kicked with everything she had.
>Her tail thrashed, bringing her ear just high enough to hear over the rapidly forming whirlpool.
>”Breach! Breach in the den!”
>The designated kaiju keeper turned away from the intercom and locked eyes with her.
>Orchid reached a hoof outwards towards the figure, distorted by the turbulent water, her voice mixing with equal parts air and water as she gave one last cry.
>She was dragged into it, swallowed up by the swirling mass.
>The orb dissipated, spinning out into a cloud of bubbles without a trace of the kaiju creature.
>The only sound that remained were siren claxons and a lone figure staring into the depths as the water gradually resettled. 

-----------------------------------------------------------C2--------------------------------------------------------------

>In the lab, the chief’s team is hard at work trying to shut down the portal generator.
>Some are pouring through schematics, others are looking at readouts on screens.
>One thing going in their favor is that the power has come back on and has remained stable.
>Same couldn’t be said for the generator, which kept powering down and restarting every couple minutes.
>Its continuous cycle of overcorrecting portal positions by opening new ones in new places has left most of the science team exhausted.
>Feeding data and counter-commands to shut them down has yielded limited success.
>”I’ve got it!”
>Nearly all of the rest of the team crowds around the assistant, who’s been set up at his station pouring through relevant data.
>No one else in the room was more hesitant to risk breaking the one and only device of its kind, but the lead assistant is forced to eye a side panel with soldering intensity.
>”It’s not the cleanest approach, but if we remove the wiring from behind this panel here, we can--”
>”We can prevent power from cycling to the machine when it next restarts, and keep it shut down!” one of the techs peering over his shoulder completes his sentence.
>”Isn’t that risky?” the tech asks.
>”You have any better ideas?”
>A defeated sigh is the only reply.
>The tech pipes up again. “I’m certainly not getting near it.”
>A chorus of agreement rings out from the rest of the team.
>The assistant sighs this time.
>”Alright, fine.  I’ll do it.  Gonna have to get gloves for it, though.”
>The team gives him space as he gets up from his station and leaves the room.
>Ten minutes later he returns sporting heavy-duty construction gloves.
>Usually these gloves are reserved for the “hands-on” techs that actually build equipment.
>Now, they represented the best shot of shutting the machine down.
>The assistant strode toward the machine, and more notably, the side panel.
>The arcing from the machine had toned down considerably, but the occasional stream of rampant electricity darted about it from time to time.
>Four undone screws and a tug later, the wiring behind the panel is exposed.
>What should’ve been a somewhat organized mesh of wiring was now a melted heap of metal and different-colored coatings, congealing into one solid mass.
>The assistant put both hands on the mass of metal.
>Electricity arced as if in defiance of his act, but his gloves kept him safe.
>He pulled at the metal.
>No movement.
>He grunts, grits his teeth, and tries again with more oomph.
>It still doesn’t come out but he felt less resistance this time.
>”Third time’s the charm.”
>He plants a foot on the machine for balance and tugs with all his might.
>The glob of former wiring is freed from its prison, the assistant tumbling backwards from his efforts.
>Sparks fly like wildfire as the electricity suddenly has nowhere to go.
>Seconds later, the machine powers down.
>It tries to spurt back to life, but with a majority of the connections gone, it cannot.
>The team breathes a collective sigh of relief as the machine finally goes quiet for the first time since the malfunction.
>The assistant looks down at the baseball-sized hunk of metal, then back up to the rest of the team.
>”Someone, call the chief.”
>No one even got the chance.
>The phone rang before they could so much as blink.
>The tech is on it in a heartbeat.  ”Hey, chief, you okay?”
>A chuckle of sorts from the other end.
>”I’ve been better.  Making any headway?”
>A sudden beeping echoes through the lab before the tech can respond.
>The chief can hear it on his end.
>“What’s going on over there?”
>The tech is at a readout screen and combing it over.
>”Um, uh…”
>”Spit it out.”
>”Chief…  I have good news and bad news.”
>The chief scientist was already rubbing his temple with his offhand.
>”Joy. The good news?”
>”Machine’s off and the portals are closing.”
>”And the bad news?”
>”Two of them are still open. Something’s coming through them. Something big.”
>”Hold on; what is?”
>”Two….  somethings. We don’t know what they are but the mass coming through is enough to force the apertures to remain stable while they pass.”


-----------------------------------------------------------G2-------------------------------------------------------------


>Up and down lost all meaning.
>It was simply falling.
>Thankfully, it ended almost instantly.
>Gabby hit the ground with a painful thud. 
>The hard concrete was still warm from the afternoon sun.
>Certainly far wetter than she remembered.
>She blinked the dizziness from her eyes.
>The cityscape was alien to the hybrid.
>What skyline she could see was unfamiliar.
>She turned her attention to the ground.
>That distinctive cross pattern was absent from the road’s surface.
>She shifted her gaze up slightly.
>People could be seen sprinting and driving away from her.
>If they didn’t share a city with her, they’d at least know about her, and her reputation for being gentle.
>This reaction proved the opposite case.
>Focusing on what she could hear, the sounds of the weather, panicked screams and sirens began to fill her large ears.
>She staggered to her hooves, wincing in pain a little from the impact.
>Looking down after standing, some of her fears about the roads were confirmed.
>She was standing in a huge crater of her own creation, and it was already rapidly filling with rainwater.
>She lifted her forehooves out and onto the roadway.
>The gentle steps were accompanied by a sound she hadn’t heard in a long time.
>She glanced down at her hooves and winced again.
>Large cracks spread from where they met the pavement.
>She could only imagine what the ground directly beneath them looked like now.
>Gingerly she stepped forward, pulling her back hooves out of the crater.
>The nearby buildings shook noticeably as they made two new potholes.
>She took a better look around.
>Looking forward, the street ended two blocks away in a T-bone junction.
>Looking back, the street seemed to extend farther, curving away out of sight after roughly three blocks.
>Tall buildings flanked her on either side, with only one or two of them short enough for her to peer over without standing on her back hooves.
>She looked back in time to see a squad of police cruisers struggling to navigate through the car-clogged junction at the end of the street.
>She half-expected a number of them to turn down the street towards her, but they all pushed through the mechanical crowd down the road to her left.
>Something was higher on their agenda than her sudden arrival.
>She set her sights on the T-bone junction and started trotting carefully, determined to figure out just what that something was.
>Ahead of her, the cars caught in the traffic jam started blaring their horns wildly.
>Some drivers swerved their vehicles onto the sidewalks to escape.
>Some took to abandoning their cars in the hope that they could outrun the behemoth.
>Others could only look in a mix of awe and fear as the giant creature began moving towards them.
>The ground began shaking in a rhythmic fashion as she approached.
>Some car alarms were set off by her movements, only adding another instrument to the orchestra of panic.
>The hybrid pony gave a slight frown as she realized her predicament.
>There were too many cars and people ahead for her to step over.
>She stopped her advance, her forelegs mere car lengths from the gridlock.
>She cleared her throat.
”I don’t want to hurt any of you; I just want to get by is all.”
>Although she kept her voice down, it still rang clear over the fleeing crowd and was easily heard over the raging storm.
>It did little to calm anyone’s nerves but she could see some of the runners staggering a little.
>It never occurred to her that these people might not speak the same language.
>Somehow, most of the cars in the street managed to all get turned around and out of the way, allowing her to access the intersection.
>With a couple ginger steps she eased towards the intersection and looked left.
>Her eyes widened at the sight.
>The six-lane thoroughfare looked as if both a riot and a tornado went down it simultaneously.
>Damp papers, office furniture and what she thought for sure were chunks of building interiors littered parts of the street.
>Traffic was reduced to one lane either way in some stretches.
>The road was also littered with large piles of mud.
>She used one of her horns to scratch her head in confusion as her gaze drifted to the nearby buildings.
>Sides, corners, and complete sections of them were just, gone, exposing the interiors to the elements.
>It looked like someone had taken a knife to them and just cut out chunks.
>The traffic was so confined by all the debris that she could, in theory, trot down the road after the cop cars she saw earlier.
>She looked ahead and saw the parade of flashing lights amidst the congestion.
>All the people opting to flee by foot had apparently taken shelter in the nearby buildings, as the road ahead was clear of them.
>She carefully stepped out into the intersection, over the traffic, and into the unused two rightmost lanes.
>The drivers finding herself under her form were torn between looking at the moving monstrosity and keeping their eyes on the road as she aligned her hooves with their destinations.
>Traffic kept moving, but no one was sure of what this latest threat to their safety planned to do, until…
”I’m going to follow you all down the road to see what’s going on.  I don’t wanna step on any of you, so no sudden movements, okay?”
>There were no discernible reactions to her decree, but at least there wasn’t any panicked swerving.
>Taking in a breath, she started to trot down the road, being careful to stay in her two lanes.
>Every person nearby could feel the tremors caused by her steps, gentle as they might be.
>Some of the evacuating drivers had their nerves rattled as her left hooves landed nearby.
>Aside from the crash course in driving during an earthquake, everyone remained as calm as the present situation would allow.
>People gawked at her from the windows of the buildings as she trotted past.
>Flashes of red, yellow and white caught her eye as she traversed another intersection.
>Her curiosity getting the better of her, she took a detour down the street to her right.
>This road was almost as narrow as the one she crashed into, but thankfully mostly devoid of cars.
>She moved towards the source of the flashing lights: a chest-high building.
>Reaching, turning, and facing the structure, she gasped with a mixture of surprise and horror as it became painfully clear what this was.
>She lowered her head closer to the building’s roof.
”How did a fire engine get here?”
>Her gentle voice rattled the bones of the engine’s crew for a number of different reasons.
>As the massive creature stared them down, the fire chief re-opened the car door and slowly motioned at the nearest fireman. 
>”Psst, Chuck, get back inside the car. They can’t see movement. Get back inside really slowly and-”
>His comrade bolts for the door, leaping in with a yell.
>”Bitch, does that look like a dinosaur to you?!”
>Gabby sighed lightly as the crew scrambled back into the vehicle.
”I’ll get you all down from there.  Just hold on to something.”
>”Hey uh, Chief, it’s talking to us.”
>”Not a dinosaur,” the other nodded.
>Most of the crew buckled up.
>Those that couldn’t, held on for dear life.
>She extended both of her horns towards the vehicle, making sure she had a careful yet firm grip on it, which was harder than normal thanks to the rain.
>With a grunt of effort, she carefully lifted it from its perch on the rooftop.
>She had to resist the urge to have her horns coil around the truck as she maneuvered it to terra firma; after all, she didn’t want to damage it.
>As soon as she set it down, she raised one of her appendages and saluted the truck with it.
>The fire truck stuck around for mere seconds before it turned around and took off down the damaged roadway.
>She smiled and performed a u-turn of her own, heading back for the thoroughfare.
”Hopefully they can get where they were going...”
>She turned back onto the main street, eying the conga line of cop cars ahead of her.
>The law enforcement vehicles had only managed to travel one more block while she was rescuing the truck.
>She kept trotting, minding her steps and flattening any debris her hooves came into contact with.
>As she briefly paused to look at all the chaos, a single thought lingered in her mind.
>If she didn’t cause this, what did?
>The answer came with a splash.
>The hybrid pony lifted a forehoof, shifting her weight to the side to lean ever so slightly.
>She stared at the rapidly growing puddle inside the newly formed pothole.
>There it was again.
>A shock wave coursed across the surface, splashing at the center.
>Gabby narrowed her eyes, watch the puddle repeat the action again and again with growing energy.
>She turned her head down one side of the intersection.
>Judging by what she could hear, the shaking was coming from that direction.
>She looked back towards the main road she was on currently.
>The police vehicles were nearly out of sight for her as the street wound around a corner.
>Looking down the side street again, she could make out the fence of a city park a few blocks down.
>Her curiosity getting the better of her, Gabby broke off her pursuit and wandered down the side street.
>As she carefully navigated the street, she could feel the vibrations getting stronger.
>She hoped the source of the shaking would yield the answer to her question.

-----------------------------------------------------------C3--------------------------------------------------------------


>Storms, portal machines gone haywire, a populated city reduced to a disaster zone…
>...and now he was plotting bus routes.
>Amidst the panic, it was almost funny.
>The radio was still playing music.
>He wondered if this was what it was like when old Nero played the lyre as the city burned around him.
>The violin thrumming through his speakers abruptly changed into the shrill call of the   emergency broadcast tones.
>He switched stations. 
>He already knew what the emergency was.
>He’s been navigating it for quite some time now.
>Piles of debris have been added to the list of obstacles that he’s got to avoid.
>This roadway for the time being was devoid of traffic so occasionally he looked up.
>Once proud skyscrapers were doing great swiss cheese impressions.
>Not a single one avoided having some section of it carved out.
>Papers fluttered out of exposed cubicles, scattering like parade confetti.
>Coffee machines dutifully dispensed coffee pots that were left cracked on the pavement around them.
>Partially teleported doors, walls, and more scattered across the streets. 
>A piece of glass hitting the sidewalk made him glance up at a pool table teetering on the edge of an office building window.
>The billowing breeze rocked the table back and forth over what bits of glass remained affixed to the broken window.
>He tried to take his eyes off of that and glanced at his sideview mirror.
>Sure enough, he still had a bus right on his bumper.
>He half-expected the driver to bail on him after a couple of blocks.
>He had also expected the driver to not believe his tale.
>”Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose,” he muttered.
>He turned back to the road, and glanced at the two streets on the intersection.
>One look at the GPS told him he was only a block away from the depot.
>He started to compose himself.
>After all, he’d have a lot of talking to do once they got there.
>He had to convince them to let him use their buses to evacuate civilians to a far off lab that many didn’t know about.
>A daunting task to say the least.
>”Here’s hoping I have a high enough charisma stat.”
>They pulled into the bus depot.
>The chief pulled his car into a parking spot close to the building.
>The bus, meanwhile, circled around to one of the bus slots, opting to keep the engine running.
>The scientist sighed before exiting his car and walking into the building at a brisk pace.
>The pacing bus manager stops and stares at him as he enters.
>”Who are you?”
>”The man who knows what’s happening.”
>The manager crosses his arms.
>”And we should listen to you, why?”
>”Because I know what’s happening. Do you?”
>He gives a thoughtful gaze before uncrossing his arms and sighing.
>”No, I suppose I don’t.”
>He goes over to a chair and slumps into it.
>”So, Mr. Important, how can I help you this fine day?” He asks, the sarcasm oozing from his voice.  “I take it you want to flee the city like everyone else?”
>The chief shakes his head to the contrary; the manager nearly drops his jaw at this.
>”I need your busses.  All of them.”
>”And why would I want to honor that request?”
>”So I take it you don’t want to be evacuated to safety then?”
>He goes silent for a few seconds.  “Fair enough.”
>The manager slides the chair over so that he’s in front of a computer screen.
>The scientist goes and stands nearby, peering over the manager’s shoulder as he pulls up the bus list.
>”We only have a fraction of the full fleet here. Most of them haven’t checked in since whatever’s going on started.”
>”How many?”
>”Six.  Seven with the one that followed you here.”
>”How many are out there?”
>”Three more.”
>”Can you call them back here?”
>The manager flips up a glass box covering a big red button and presses it without a moment’s hesitation.
>Under it is a label that reads ‘Emergency Recall’.
>He looks up at the chief and dons a smug grin.  “Way ahead of you.”
>The manager tabs over to a new screen.
>On this screen is a map of the city, permeated with the routes of the buses that are currently out, as well as their locations.
>”Seems the farthest one is about ten minutes out,” observes the chief.
>”That would be if there wasn’t gridlock traffic, a raging storm, and a bunch of blue globs and debris everywhere,” corrects the manager.  “You’re looking at at least twice that time.”
>’This is why the portals would’ve been better,’ the chief dares to think as he steps away from the computer.
>Five minutes pass without incident.
>One of the recalled busses pulls in.
>Seconds later an irate woman barges into the depot office and heads straight for the manager.
>”Why won’t your driver take me to my stop?!”
>”Sorry, all regular bus lines are closed,” the manager replies with practiced precision.
>”But I just bought the ticket! He has to go!”
>”We’re not a regular bus line anymore.”
>”Why not?!”
>”Talk to that guy.”
>The chief barely has any time to raise his hands in defense before the woman is all over him.
>”Well?!”
>If her nails were claws she’d tear him apart on the spot.
>”I can explain everything, but you’ve got to calm down!” the chief retorts, clearly not as used to angry customers as the manager.
>It takes all of the woman’s restraint to cross her arms and instead tap her foot impatiently.
>The manager leans over towards the chief, raising an eyebrow.  “I’d like to hear that as well.”
>The smug grin is again plastered across his face.
>The chief sighs dejectedly and begins the explanation.
>He makes sure to purposely leave out the part about the two unknown somethings.
>No sense in adding even more panic.
>Fifteen minutes later he concludes his story.
>The manager pipes up first.  “So it’s basically your fault is what I’m gathering.”
>”Yes it’s completely my fault that the lab got struck by lightning,” the chief retorts with a sneer.
>The woman is considerably more silent as the two men go back and forth for another minute.
>She finally manages to speak up once they pipe down.  ”So, what now?”
>The chief adjusts his glasses.  “Once the last bus comes in, we take all of them to my lab, picking up as many stragglers as we can en route.”
>”Is it safe?”
>”As I explained earlier, the portals stopped appearing around my lab first, and my team already shut down the machine.  It’s the safest place I can think of.”
>Right as he finishes that sentence, the final bus rolls into the depot.
>”Last one’s here,” the manager says looking up from his monitor.
>”Good, then let’s get moving.”
>The chief turns and walks for the door, lab coat billowing behind him.
>The other two exit and board the first bus as the chief briefs the other drivers on the situation.

-----------------------------------------------------------O2-------------------------------------------------------------


>Twelfth street was a sight to behold. 
>A small crowd had gathered outside of the Liquid Bar and Lounge.
>In the center, a man stood in shock, snapping picture after unbelieving picture of his car.
>Or what was supposed to have been his car.
>There had been an awful noise outside and when one of the waitresses asked who the owner of the old roadster was, he nearly choked.
>He felt sick just looking at the perfectly cut gap between the front and rear axle.
>The antique was cleaved neatly in two like someone had just sliced through with a blade folded over a thousand times.
>The insurance company was probably already thinking of ways to squirm out of this one.
>Changing to video recorder for video evidence, he turned upwards as a shadow overtook his phone’s view.
>It was a dark blue balloon without a tether.
>No, a floating ball?
>He jumped at the loud snap of electricity suddenly arcing overhead.
>A waitress ran out from the restaurant while the manager growled something about not needing a fifth smoke break.
>Voice cracking, she pointed upwards.
>”That’s what I saw!”
>The deep blue orb seethed, reflections of the street and the gaping crowd mixing across its contours.
>A large ripple ran across it, marking the opening of the floodgates. 
>The stench of salt flooded their senses as a column of seawater continuously dumped itself onto the middle of the street below.
>Onlookers scattered about, trying to escape the inundation that quickly overwhelmed the sewer drains.
>All except one.
>As soon as he felt the growing tide soak his shoes he spun around, cameraphone still rolling.
>He was lucky enough to be the first to catch something else emerging through the sphere.
>A grey obelisk slipped out from the abyss, shining damp as the water rushed endlessly around it.
>Most of the crowd immediately turned and scattered.
>The stumpy something emerged sideways, flexing and testing the air.
>Apparently it was unsatisfied with its surroundings and thrashed about, spraying buckets of water haphazardly across store windows wherever it happened to punch through the torrent around it.
>Brazen, it redoubled its efforts drenching a few panicking bystanders, signs, and worse still, his precious, beautiful automobile.
>Regular rain was usually not a problem.
>Seawater, was an entirely different story.
>”Shirley!”
>Desperately, he hoped that the water damage wouldn’t be too bad on the interior but he knew better at this point. 
>More patrons pressed themselves up against the glass doors in awe, drawn by the sheets of rain periodically slapping against the building, several of them already waterlogged from when they had fled inside.
>A couple too far back to witness the monster worm, tried to flag down a waitress as she, too, approached the front.
>”Some storm, huh?”
>The few who still lingered outside behind parked cars and shop facades were treated to an experience in the splash zone, a new set of outcries for every wave that doused their shelters.
>The monster swiftly retreated back into its three-dimensional hole, leaving one last gout of water to empty out before it dissipated entirely. 
>The survivors of the incident slowly looked each other over.
>Silence reigned over the street before a man wearing a bowler hat slowly peeked out of from behind a mailbox. 
>”What the fuck was that?” he astutely asked.
>For a moment, no one could answer.
>A minor crackle of electricity dancing along a hanging stoplight wire was the only reply.
>With a loud pop, the entire scenario unfolded a second time.
>The ones who didn’t immediately flee stood transfixed as they noticed another shadow encroaching over the road.
>A new rift hung over the street, expanding outwards as it hovered slightly above and to the right of where the first one had.
>The cameraman glanced between it and the image on his phone screen. 
>It was growing with every passing second.
>He did what any soon-to-be star cameraman did.
>A finger touched the edge of the screen and the image zoomed out to capture the entire view. 
>A few people started to run further into the back of the bar as a dull rumble started to emanate from the orb 
>The camera caught a deluge of water pouring out like a waterfall. 
>A knee-high wave crashed against the window, much of it leaking through the doors of the establishment as parked cars and people were washed from their positions outside.
>The cameraman wrapped an arm around a sidewalk tree, determined to catch what happened next. 
>The portal crackled as the grey intruder returned, bringing the rest of its body with it.
>A massive, gray form emerged from the shimmering blue sphere.
>In the blink of an eye, the street was filled with a massive beast.
>The aquatic equine landed with a painful thump, punctuated with rattling trash cans and sidewalk trees.
>The photographer fell backwards from the impact with a yowl.
>As he hit the ground, his desperately clutching fingers bumped the replay button. 
>He blinked away his fright, staring at a grey mass falling in a slow, frame by frame motion on the screen.
>At the far end of the leviathan, a glittering, whale-shaped tail smashed down over a stoplight at the end of the street first, the rest of the body catching up.
>The object fell like a particularly unaerodynamic anvil into the clearing formed by the torrent of seawater.
>Almost clearing.
>Beneath it, was his car, caught dead center beneath a wide, glowing mark of an alien nature.
>The image was soon replaced by the rest of the body falling across the road until the monstrous, very surprised and frankly terrified, face filled the camera.
>The man miserably spat some water from his mouth.
>As close as he had been, his clothing was utterly soaked in cold, oceanic water. 
>Shakily moving the smartphone out of the way, he tried to steel himself for what was to come. 
>Just as the camera had shown, his car no longer existed. 
>”Shirley!”
>It had been replaced with some kind of sea monster; more than likely not something covered in his insurance policy.
>While the man mourned the loss of his beloved car, the beast he was filming stirred to life.
>Glowing eyes flittered open, making him and the viewers in the bar collectively wince as the harsh lighting painted them an electric blue tinge.
>Coughing and sputtering in confusion, her whale’s fluke unraveled, lengthy tail hairs going limp.
>The lengthy strands of hair spread out and draped across the street, slapping a parked car.
>Her antennae slowly unfurled as she blinked her eyes, looking through the shocked figures in front of her while slowly piecing everything together. 
>If a nearby car’s alarm would give her a moment of peace. 
>Orchid’s wide-eyed gaze drifted to the street sign at the corner not far in front of her, and then to the bar, reading the lounge’s name before flicking from face to terrified face of the patrons slowly backing away from the doorway.
>She didn't recognize the city at all.
>Another blink and her ears rotated as her attention snapped to the citizen directly before her.
>The man was fixated on a tire resting on the sidewalk.
>His anguished expression and the mild pinpricks of something underneath her made her suddenly all too self-conscious.
“Uh....”
>She was dimly aware of everyone flinching as she opened her mouth, adding to the electric-blue glow with its own backlight.
“...sorry. I’m sure the Defense Corps will pay for the damages.”
>The pained look dissolved into disbelief.
>”The what?”
>Now her expression became as confused as everyone else’s.
“Pan-Pacific Defense Corps? I’m that one kaiju they have?”
>The stunned silence she got in replay did nothing to make her any more confident.
>Furrowing her brow with worry, she tried to wash the doubts from her mind.
>Carefully, Orchid started to stand up, only to find that the street was particularly narrow as is. 
>Trying to twist around, she delicately brought a foreleg around, gritting her teeth as her rough hoof scraped at a storefront facade when she tried to reposition herself. 
>A neon sign clattered to the sidewalk just before her hoof planted itself with a bang that left a web of cracks on the asphalt.
>She gave out a hiss of remorse as she scooted backwards a short distance, plowing over a decoratively placed tree.
>Pieces of metal shed off of her, a few clattered to the ground while other scraps were scraped against the concrete.
>The kaiju pony carefully pushed herself up onto all fours, rising higher and higher over the man and his tragic scene.
>The man fell to his knees and shook his fists angrily at no one in particular when the soaked, mangled remains of his prized vehicle were revealed to him, and everyone else.
>Every car enthusiast patron in the bar silently shared his pain.
>Orchid planted herself a fair distance away in case he suddenly bolted the wrong direction.
>Brushing off a set of waterlogged fuzzy dice from her flank, she tried to take stock of the situation.
>The damage was worse than she had ever seen.
>From her viewpoint over the top of a few low buildings she could see the true extent of the damages.
>Pieces of skyscrapers with bites taken out of them, vehicles in disarray, people staring at the new addition to the skyline and fleeing.
>She cautiously lifted a forehoof, casting the mourning human in shadow.
>The despondent car owner stirred, looking up to watch the colossus poised above him to take a step.
>As he finally found the strength (and sense) to run to safety, the kaiju pony slowly turned her head this way and that.
>Everywhere she looked there was just more damage and scared citizens, scattering whenever they noticed her.
>Her ears twitched, flicking as she listened to distant sirens.
>The air was tinged with panic, and not just from the ones around her.
>There was only one conclusion.
>Elsewhere across the city was the gravest threat she could imagine.
>A kaiju not engineered by humans.
>What else would take a bite out of a building?
>Resolved, she started towards the intersection, only to stop at a loud scrape.
>Checking behind her, a traffic light at the other end of the street was ensnared in her tail. 
>The luminous ends of the hairs danced as they unwound themselves, dropping the fixture with a loud clang.
>Trying desperately to ignore the embarrassed flush growing across her face, she plodded onwards.
>She had to stop whatever was threatening the city, that much was certain.
>The kaiju pony made it to the intersection, nearly stepping on a compact car that swerved to avoid her as it sped down the cramped cross street.
>Keeping a mind out for further traffic, Orchid paused to examine the unfamiliar roadway in either direction.
>Focusing on pinpointing the sirens over the clatter of rain, she failed to realize she was being approached from behind.
>A splinter group of the military force sent to aid with relief efforts rumbled on down a nearby debris-strewn roadway.
>The armored column’s radio was tense until one voice from the front entered the crossroads and saw what was waiting for them. 
>”Holy shit!”
>The driver at the front panicked, stopping in their tracks.
>All sixty-eight tons of warmachine lurched, treads rattling over the concrete. 
>The ones behind bumped into them, steel clanging against steel as the ones in the back of the group tried to compensate.
>After much confusion, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and a menagerie of trucks and humvees, came to a halt.
>”It’s here! The thing’s right here!”
>The commander and lieutenant looked to each other disconcertingly
>”The what?”
>”Big fuckin monster!”
>”Is that the one the boys in blue mentioned?”
>”I thought the location for that one was across the city from here.”
>”It was…”
>”Looks like something straight out of a B movie.”
>The commander furrows his brow.
>”And it just became a double feature,” he adds dryly.
>Various gestures of agreement stem from the company of troops.
>”So what do you think it is?”
>”Not from any movie I’ve ever seen.”
>”Well look at the eyes,” someone pointed out. 
>”The spice must flow~” he said hauntingly.
>”Does it matter?”
>”We can rule King Kong out.”
>”Yeah.”
>”Totally.”
>”Agreed.”
>”Okay, what else?”
>”Wings?”
>”Nope.”
>”Mothra’s out then.  Scales?”
>”Kinda?”
>”Alright so maybe we’re dealing with Godzilla.”
>”Permission to fire?”
>Radio silence, as well as actual silence, follows this question before the commanding officer speaks up.
>”Hell no, soldier!  Never works in the movies, probably not gonna work now! Hold your fire!”
>”Should we look for a weak spot?”
>”Does this look like Call of Duty to you, soldier?”
>”...Maybe?”
>Soldiers who have actually played the game start bashing the rookie over the radio frequencies as the commander surveys the situation.
>He wasn’t going any farther without a plan.
>He’s the commanding officer of this company for a reason after all.
>”Charlie, take the trucks, swing around and encircle it. The tanks and I’ll hold here in case it makes a move.  Move out!”
>”Sir, yes sir!”
>The trucks start advancing towards a nearby street, but not before one last bit of radio chatter comes through.
>”...and that is why the AK-47 is better than the AR-15.”
>”Slavshit!”
>Now he just had to figure out how to deal with this.
>His lieutenant was quick to make a suggestion.
>”You know that other monster the police mentioned on the radio? What if we get this one to fight the other one like in that one movie!”
>The commander silently stared at his fellow officer.
>”Oh my God, Johnson you’re a genius.”
>”Company, advance!”
>The armor resumed its mechanical march towards the monster to the tune of grinding gears and revving engines.
>Orchid is far too preoccupied to notice the company’s approach despite all the racket.
>Or so they thought.
>Her two antennae opened up of their own accord, revealing two cores glowing with the same intense electric blue that her eyes emit constantly.
>The antennae started slowly moving towards the advancing military, like suddenly half of their vehicles had become magnetic.
>Or like they were weapons tracking newfound targets.
>That’s what went through the commander’s mind as he gave out the ‘hold’ signal.
>As soon as the vehicles stopped moving, the antennae stopped too.
>The commander dared to have his company inch forward.
>The antennae resumed watching them like organic cameras but again resumed their old position shortly after they stopped.
>An otherwise-laughable game of red light green light played out between the tanks and the antennae for several minutes.
>Each side would start and stop movement in sync with each other, until the commander reached a desirable safe distance.
>One soldier popped out from a tank.
>”Shouldn’t we get closer?”
>”You wanna be eaten, rookie?” the commander snaps back.
>A rumbling sounds off before any of the troops can speak any more as they are bathed in more bright blue light than they thought was possible.
>A certain kaiju finally caught on to the military presence.
>The monster turned towards the mechanized force, staring down with obviously menacing intentions.
>A single, dastardly heavy-looking hoof raised into the air.
“Hi.”
>The radio crackled.
>”Orders?!”
>As much as his B movie knowledge was telling him not to, trying to communicate seemed to be the most logical option.
>He rose up from his seat, holding up a megaphone, hand shaking like it was trying to rebel and attack his own face.
>”H-hello!”
>The sea monster beamed.
“Finally, someone who can speak!”
>”We come in peace!”
>The giant beast blinked at them for a moment before shrugging it off in favor of a question she was becoming desperate to know the answer to.
“You know about the Defense Corps, right?”
>His second in command nudged him with an elbow.
>”Think it knows we’re pointing cannons at it?”
>Without skipping a beat, the commander pushed his Lieutenant back into his seat.
>In that moment he was so glad the megaphone had such terrible sensitivity.
>Clearing his throat, he spoke again.
>”O-of course we do!”
“Oh, good. I was so worried I was somehow on another planet or maybe an alternate dimension or something!”
>The commander and entourage exchange uneasy looks.
>”Er, right, well we need you to follow us.”
“Is it a kaiju attack?”
>”Sure, why not.”
“I knew it!”
>”Just follow us, please.”
“Okay!”
>The radio crackled to life one last time.
>”Alright column, advance!”
>The blue beast followed, hoofsteps landing with distinct thuds as the hardened hooves dug into the concrete wherever they landed.
>Eventually they reached a point where the assembled forces would go no further.
”Down here?”
>”Yes, the monster is that direction.”
“Wish me luck!”
>”Break a leg!”
“Okay!”
>When she was out of sight and definitely out of earshot, the commander allowed himself a self-satisfied smile.
>”No, really.  Break a leg.”

-----------------------------------------------------------C4--------------------------------------------------------------


>”Watch your step.”
>Another passenger, another rescued citizen. 
>”That’s the last one!”
>Or rather, that was the last one the buses could accommodate.
>The chief had sent the busses along his meticulously planned emergency route, hoping to pick up as many passengers as possible along the way.
>The halfway point was recently passed, and the busses were all filled to capacity.
>Rain had stopped falling from the sky minutes ago, but the clouds were far from leaving.
>The chief and several of the patrons feared that the storm could get it’s second wind at any moment, with the near-constant sounds of thunder permeating the sky. 
>The man in the labcoat gave the mustachioed driver behind him the thumbs up.
>It was getting more than cramped inside the bus.
>”We’re coming up on the park.”
>The bus driver slammed on the brakes.
>The scientist in chief catches himself on the railing and adjusts his glasses.
>”What?!” he whirls around to look at the driver, who is pointing down the street, mouth agape.
>Stomping its way towards the park, is a massive beast with a bright neon blue mark blazoned across its flank.
>A dangling tail of fiber optic wires with blue tips bob with each completed step, hovering over the street.
>Alien antennae on its head stop bobbing as it turns its head.
>It stops only long enough to lift a steely hoof into the air. 
>”Is it... is it waving?”
>The moment passed as the monster resumes its march and plodded over the low fencing that lines the park, eyes narrowed determinedly as it ignored the onlookers in its wake.
>Glancing in the same direction, the chief gasps in horror as another beast appeared from a street across the park.
>Lavender horns curled backwards, a mauve underbelly, and a thick tail were a few of its features.
>In the stunned silence, the chief withdrew a phone from his pocket.
>Hand shaking, he hit the speed dial.
>Meanwhile, back in the lab. 
>”Yeah, boss?”
>”I think I found what those two big somethings were.”
>”We did too, it’s all over MyFace and Bill from accounting snapped a picture.”
>A pleasant ping came from a smartphone elsewhere in the room.
>”It already has 100 likes!”
>”Yeah, I just fave’d it,” another assistant piped up from the background.
>The chief cleared his throat.
>”We need that portal generator back up as soon as possible.”
>He turned to the bus driver, showing him a map.
>”We need to get there.”
>”We’d have to go by the park!”
>”It ignored us. Let’s go.”
>Not too far from the spot of their first contact, the commander and his unit rumble along one of the less-ruined streets.
>His lieutenant pipes up from a nearby vehicle.
>”Sir, we’ve intercepted some radio chatter.  Seems to originate from this city’s bus system.”
>The commander raises an eyebrow.  “Why should I care?”
>”Because it contains good news, and bad news.”
>The commander chuckles a bit.
>”We haven’t done this one in a while; what’s the good news?”
>”It appears that the bus system has been converted into an evac convoy.  It’s rounding up civilians as we speak.”
>”That’s… impressive, actually.  And the bad news?”
>”It’s currently in the park district.”
>The second-in-command looks behind him as they continue on.
>Meanwhile, the commander has an epiphany.
>”And we just sent that monster there, didn’t we?”
>The Lieutenant gives him a coy look.
>”Sir, yes sir,” he mutters.

----------------------------------------------------------Duel------------------------------------------------------------

>The park had seen prettier days.
>A quarter of a gazebo had vanished, leaving a growing pond in the center 
>Large puddles were scattered across the soaked ground while the turtle pond splashed at the tallest edges of the shoreline.
>Splashing into one of those puddles was a large, lavender hoof.
>Gabby had looked down to negotiate the fence, and her face twisted as her hooves visibly sunk into the mushy ground.
>Looking back up, she saw that the source of the shaking she’d felt was standing there, mimicking her own wide-eyed stare.
>She looked over this other beast across the landscape from her.
>Like her, it seemed this creature was at least somewhat like a large horse.
>The mane and what she could see of the tail were tipped with glowing blue lights.
>Antennae protruding from its head also were glowing at their tips, petals open like new flowers while the cores were pointed at her.
>Between them was a large horn with that same electric blue spiraling its way up the cone.
>Its wide eyes were projecting the color onto her like a pair of floodlights.
>She could almost swear she could see that same glow coming from the creature’s flanks, but she wasn’t sure.
>The most worrying thing was that it seemed to have some kind of armor plating on it.
>Every times its ears moved she could see hardened panels across their backs.
>Right across the bridge of the nose was another, but more worrying were the hooves that each gave the same dull shean.
>Whatever it was, it looked like it was ready for battle.
>Something she hoped she didn’t have to do today.
>Neither beast moved until Gabby noticed the way the other one’s hair seemed to squirm on its own accord.
>Her face twisted as she entertained the thought that the beast’s hair might be alive.
>She swallowed her anxiousness and took a deep breath.
”Nice to meet you, I’m Gabby and-”
>The blue kaiju huffed, standoffish with her adversary.
“-Orchid.”
“It’s a pleasure.  I was wondering if--”
>The glowing creature was quick to cut her off with a flick of its tail.
”I know what you are. You’re here to terrorize the city!”
>Gabby accusingly pointed a hoof towards the grey beast.
”Isn’t that what you’re doing?  I know I certainly didn’t cause all this!”
>Orchid shook her head.
”I’ve never met another kaiju before, but I was taught that I should never listen to them if they tried to communicate.”
>Gabby frowned and curled her horns.
”Kai-ju? What? Wait, how do I know you’re not the monster?”
“Because I’m the only kaiju with the defense corps.”
“Defense what-now?”
>The blue one stomped a hoof into the loamy soil.
“See? I knew it!” 
“That’s not enough proof! What if you just made that up?”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Uh huh!”
>A safe distance away, a recon unit watches the ‘battle’ unfold.
>Two sniper teams seem to be the main sets of eyes for the troops.
>Nonetheless, every soldier with a strong enough scope is watching intently.
>”My money’s on the purple one.”
>”No way!  She doesn’t look like she knows how to fight at all!  Mine’s on the gray one.”
>Roughly half of the unit nod in agreement.
>”We still don’t know what she’s capable of.  My money’s still on that one.  I’ve learned not to judge so quickly.”
>Surprisingly civilized discussion takes place among the troops as they look on.
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
>Unbeknownst to the two of them, a convoy of buses is trying to silently slip along the edges of the park.
>All of the passengers are plastered to the parkside windows looking at the two towering monsters bickering at each other like siblings.
>Neither kaiju remembering what an inside voice is is causing headaches for many of the riders and what onlookers peeked out through building windows.
>The city was otherwise silent as the never-ending echoing series of rebuttals dominated the soundwaves, blaring over sirens and radios alike.
>Gabby had been yelling until she was red in the face, her adversary sporting a strong blue tint across her cheeks as well.
“This isn’t going anywhere!”
“You’re using sound waves to attack the peace!”
>The lavender hybrid looked flabbergasted for a fraction of a second.
“Okay now I know you made that one up!”
>Orchid dug her hooves into the soil.
“I was warned about you.”
“By whom?”
“The Defense Corps.”
“There you go again…”
>The sea kaiju stomped a hoof for silence.
“I’m gonna save everyone!”
>Gabby nodded despite herself, until Orchid continued, that is.
“And to do that, I’m gonna take you down!”
“Wait wh--”
>She was again cut off by a series of thunderous booms as her would-be adversary went into a charge.
>If she were hit where she stood currently, it would be disastrous for both her and the buildings nearby.
>Angrily shaking her head, she too broke into a sprint, adding her own earth-shaking steps to the chaos.
>She didn’t have far to dash as the blue one surged across the ground, tossing mud and flower beds into the air.
>The next move was quick with practiced efficiency.
>Orchid stopped before impact, digging furrows into the ground as she halted and spun around.
>The tail was brought to bear, prehensile strands balling together into a solid, brightly colored mass as they swung towards Gabby.
>The lavender horse’s eyes went wide as Orchid executed her maneuver.
>Gabby quickly skidded to a halt, and slammed her hooves into the ground to brace for the impact.
>Surely her tail hairs couldn’t hurt that much, right?
>Wrong.
>The bulk of the tail hairs struck her on her side.
>The blow nearly knocked the wind out of her, and certainly knocked her off her hooves.
>Her massive body hid the ground with a thud, and the momentum caused her to skid across the ground like a makeshift bulldozer.
>Grass and trees alike were either flung aside or mowed down beneath her.
>Skidding to a stop just shy of the bordering fence, one thing was on her mind.
>Whatever that was, it wasn’t made of normal hair.
>She was back on her hooves in short order, and barred her teeth.
>Her side may have been bruised, but she wasn’t going down that easily.
>She bounded off for her assailant once more, her thundering steps ringing against the tall buildings surrounding the park.
>Before reaching the kaiju, though, she reared back a forehoof for a punch aimed at the side of her face.
>While not a fist, Orchid was no stranger to the human art of a boxing match.
>Craning her neck to the opposite side, the oceangoing kaiju ducked into a sidestep, narrowly avoiding catching it on her nose as she slipped by.
>Her growled rebuttal came as a leg-sweep, a forehoof lurching forward and then to the side as she tried to catch Gabby off-balance.
>The attack hit its mark, and while it didn’t hurt as much as the tail did, it sent her skidding and again nearly caused her to break through a boundary fence of the park.
>More upset at the fact that she nearly caused unintentional damage to the city for the second time within a few seconds.
>Gabby stood up again, wiping a bit of mud from her cheek, and started inhaling.
>At the same time, a blue orb was forming half inside, half outside her mouth, and it was rapidly growing bigger.
>Orchid blinked in confusion, and that hesitation cost her dearly.
>When the orb was jawbreaker sized to the hybrid pony, she exhaled forcefully.
>From it shot out a narrow sky blue beam, aimed square at the kaiju’s chest.
>As close as they were, the stream struck point blank.
>The instant it made contact, Orchid yelped at the frostbitten pangs around where her neck melded with her chest.
>Instinctively, the blue kaiju tried to get away from it but the beam continued to pour ice across her as she hastily stepped back.
>Frost spilled across her front, the supercooled air creating a mist that wrapped around her and licked at her sides.
>The beam petered out a few short seconds later, leaving a shivering Orchid, wisps of cold trailing from a piece of ice affixed to her front like a medallion.
>Teeth chattering, the kaiju shook it off as best she could.
“What was that?!”
>The chilled kaiju was only dimly aware of someone calling out in the distance.
>”Holy shit, that was ice beam! It’s just like my Japanese card games!”
>”I don’t think it’s supposed to be that big, though…”
>Gabby nodded in the direction of the shouting.
“That’s right, or, that’s at least what I’ve been calling it.”
>She then glanced in the correct direction, and her eyes went wide when they fell upon the busses.
>She wondered internally what all those busses were doing in a line, and so close to the two of them, for that matter.
>She started softly trotting away from the bus line, and the edge of the park. 
>The would-be defender was taken aback.
>If they already knew about it then obviously the military’s intelligence was on par today.
“Now, could you just...”
>Gabby was already snickering, a playful grin tugging at her mouth.
“...chill out?”
>Somewhere in the distance, someone hollered.
>The opponent would have made a retort, but she was too busy testing the icicle splattered across her chest.
>An uncontrollable shiver twitched underneath Orchid’s nose plate as she tapped the cold formation with the hard edge of her hoof disbelievingly.
>A series of loud “tink” noises echoed over the park.
>She looked back up at Gabby, eyes wide.
”You shot ice at me!”
>The goodra-pony exhaled, a few trailing cold vapors visible but rapidly fading.
>She shrugged.
“It’s a thing I can do.”
>Gabby donned a thoughtful expression for the time being.
>It certainly wasn’t a thing she could do more than once.
>It--no, she--might dodge it, and then what?
>It would be catastrophe if it struck a building.
>A rapid banging distracted her from imagining a frozen skyscraper.
>Orchid tried to chip away at the ice with another hard hoof.
>Gabby decided to make use of the precious seconds while her opponent was busy.
“So, can we stop fighting now?”
>The tapping stopped for only a moment.
“Nope.”
>Soon, the park echoed with the sound of hooves on the ground
>The blue kaiju was on the move again. 
>Orchid was trying her best to stay confident but she still shuddered with every cold pang that continued to jolt through her from what little pieces were left on her.
>Clearly she needed to get back to the basics.
“Pretend like it’s a jaeger…”
>She muttered her thoughts aloud to herself as she pounced left and right in a serpentine dance, dodging phantom beams that could erupt at any moment.
>Her pattern wasn’t so much a zig-zag as it was like she was practicing ballet. 
>She glanced out of the corner of her eye, studying the way her perceived target was obviously just staring at her, trying to draw a bead.
>In reality Gabby was just trying to figure out what in the world she was doing.
>But that wasn’t stopping Orchid from narrating her thoughts.
“If I can just just disrupt the targeting system, I can stop the ice laser.”
>”Ice beam!” a distant voice corrected through a megaphone.
>She probably only had one shot at this. 
>No, wait, that’s it!
>She skidded to a halt, dirt-caked hooves slipping over puddles and digging into what soaked grass remained.
>Inwardly, she grimaced, but sacrificing the park grounds was the best option.
>Literally, in this case.
>Orchid flattened her tail and scooped it low into the dirt.
>The tail lurched upwards and forwards into a flicking motion, starting from the tip of her dock to the sparkling end.
“Mud toss!”
>The shack-sized glob of mud took flight while an onlooker cried out.
>”That’s not what’s it called!”
>Unfortunately, Gabby was in too much of a daze from the kaiju’s movements to defend herself.
>The mud struck the hybrid right in the face.
>Gabby staggered about the park grounds, using her forelegs to clear away the mud until she remembered that her hooves were even muddier.
>She went back on all fours, using her horns instead.
“Pffffbt pffbt pffbt!  Muuud! Blech, it’s in my mouth!”
>Being partially made of goo was starting to have its drawbacks as she tried to wipe the mud from around her eyes, nose, and mouth.
>She even went so far as to stick her tongue out and rapidly wipe away the taste of the grounds.
>Her face was still coated in mud, but she could at least open her eyes.
>The other kaiju had already crept close during the distraction.
>Jotting that down mentally, Gabby looked around for something that she could use.
>There were only so many things she could do before the city itself became at risk from her actions.
>She wanted to pacify her quickly before things got that far.
>During her lament, her eyes settled on a large tree, already-uprooted from Orchid’s evasive maneuvers.
>It was well within the reach of her retractable horns.
>She saw the tree and instinctively seemed to know what she had to do next.
>This must’ve been what leveling up was like.
”Frenzy Plant!”
“Frenzy wha-”
>Orchid was cut off by a mouthful of vegetation.
>The improvised plant slapped the kaiju across the face, the trunk landing with a solid thunk.
>”It’s super effective!”
>The top half of the tree was left dangling like a broken bat.
>Orchid reeled, hitting the ground with a heavy thump that shook what plants were still standing.
>Any ice still affixed to her broke clean off from the impact.
>Groaning and cradling her horn, she noticed a jeep sitting idle at the nearby edge of the park.
“I’m getting pretty beat up here.”
>”You have to keep going!”
“I don’t thi-”
>”The guardian legion is on it’s way!”
“Yeah it’s… that’s...”
>The kaiju trailed off uneasily. 
>Her snout scrunched up and her eyes narrowed.
>”Um, commander, she called it the ‘defense corps’.”
“...”
>”Oh yeah. Those guys.”
>Nubby, crocodilian teeth poked out from her frowning lips.
“Are the jaegers moving in soon?”
>”Yeah, we got moves like jagger.”
>The kaiju glared at them in the most nonplussed way she could manage.
“You have no idea who the defense corps is, do you?”
>”Maaaybe?”
>Gabby trotted across the grounds to the fallen kaiju.
>She wore not a face of triumph, but one of concern.
“Are you alright?”
>Orchid flicked her ears incredulously.
“What kind of kaiju are you?”
“The not destructive, not rampagey kind?”
>They each glanced at the thoroughly ruined landscape around them.
>The park looked like more of a construction site, with trees, flowers and grass alike replaced with an ocean of mud and a lot of giant hoofprints.
“I didn’t know it was going to do that much damage…  I was aiming for tiring you, not knocking you out.”
“And I was just trying to stall for the mechs.”
“Mechs?”
>Orchid nodded as if this was the most sensible thing in the world.
“Yeah, the jaegers are supposed to fight kaiju to protect humanity!”
>Of course she said this with more than a little bit of pride, stamping one hoof into the dirt and sticking her chest out.
“But… aren’t you a kaiju?”
“I just do training.”
“With this ‘defense corps’ of yours, right?”
“I don’t understand how any of you haven’t heard of them by now.”
>The hybrid shrugged.
“Hopefully those mechs won’t be needed, ‘cause I never intended to fight in the first place.”
>Orchid cocked her head to the side, wet, alien hair slowly squirming.
>Gabby thought for a moment before she panned a hoof behind her, at the actual city.
>Aside from a few cracked windows, the buildings nearby were in good shape.
>Well, as good a shape as having holes randomly torn out of you could leave a building in.
“Do you recognize this city? ‘Cause I sure don’t.”
>She turned back to Orchid, frowning.
“And nobody actually knows this ‘defense corps’, right?  I want to wager you’re not familiar with this city either.  Otherwise I’m sure I’d be swarmed by those mechs by now.”
>The seahorse nodded her head, a slightly pained look on her face.
>Obviously she wasn’t comfortable with this realization either, but still, Gabby continued.
“So neither of us know where we are, but…  Something’s still bugging me.”
>Again her eyes locked with Orchid’s.
“You could’ve attacked the city, but you didn’t, and you just said you were gonna fight me to save everyone.”
>Gabby paused for a brief moment, idly pawing at the ground with one hoof.
“If I were here to rampage, I would’ve already been doing it, and there’d be fewer buildings left standing before we’d cross paths.”
>She could see Orchid tense slightly as if expecting her to make good on this.
“Despite not knowing these people, you were willing to protect them and this city just as much as I was.”
“Yeah, from you.”
>Gabby pointed a hoof towards a nearby building with its fair share of holes in it.
“I didn’t do anything like this.  I can’t do anything like this.  ...Can you?”
>Orchid squints at the distant cookie-cutter missing section of a building.
>Finally, something seems to click as her features literally light up.
"Almost."
"Almost?"
>Orchid stood, walked over to a still-standing park merry-go-round and lowered her head.
"NAM!"
>She pops her head back up, pieces of twisted metal poking out from her lips.
>A news camera zooms in on Gabby making various disgusted and queasy faces as the viewers can hear Orchid chewing to the tune of groaning and breaking metal.
“Nam nam nam nam..."
>Her eyes do manage to fall back on where the merry-go-round was.
>Sure enough, the remnants of a bite mark in the remaining piece don’t match what’s virtually all over the nearby structures.
>Although she wasn’t putting that missing half-circle in the fence past the blue kaiju now.
>Her gaze shifted beyond Orchid and the park’s fence to the convoy of military troops just… sitting there?
>She pointed at them with a forehoof.
“...How long have they been there and why aren’t they shooting at us?”
>”It’s fun to watch!”
“Watch..?”
>Gabby glanced past the convoy.
>A van with “Channel 7 DOX News” printed on the side with obnoxiously red lettering was parked on the sidewalk.
>Looking further away, she could see at least a dozen such trucks and vans positioned around the park and at least as many camera crews staring back.
>She was beginning to feel a little self-conscious.
>She fell back to a sitting position near the blue-gray horse.
>It was the last anyone ever saw of the “Tired? Try public benches! It’s not just for hobos!” bench.
>The mayor felt a pang of joy at the demise of the last relic in a line of very poorly thought out city works advertisements, though Gabby merely sighed aloud.
“I should’ve known the media would be all over this...”
>One of the tank commanders nearby spoke up.
>”You’re giant, talking horses straight out of a bad B-movie; of course you’re going to be on the news.”
>”More like a fanfic of a fanfic that was a crossover between something really stupid, like ponies and-”
>”Shut it, Nelson. Anyway, what did you expect us to do?”
>Meanwhile, the bus convoy had snaked its way out of the park district, but it was certainly not a smooth ride.
>Every big quake jostled vehicles and passengers alike.
>The chief thought surely that one of the impacts would’ve caused them to flip.
>Luckily, the only things that did get flipped were a few stomachs.
>As the lead bus turned onto the road that would eventually take them towards the lab, the chief had a lot of thoughts to sort out.
>After all, he was directly responsible for unleashing two monstrosities on the city.
>But even before that realization, a million questions.
>How did the portals bring them here?
>How do we rebuild?
>How much will it cost to rebuild?
>Will this cost me my life’s work?
>What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
>How do we send them back?
>As the busses began traveling the winding road to the lab, another, much more important realization crossed his mind.
>He had no idea where in the lab he’d put all the rescued civilians. 
 
-----------------------------------------------------------C5--------------------------------------------------------------

>Back in the lab…  
>”Okay, we can probably turn it back on again.”
>Another one of the assistants scratched his head with a clipboard.
>”And why are we turning that back on?”
>The two turned to the portal generator, or, what was left of it.
>The machine had blatantly seen better days after the hasty shut down procedures.
>A large piece of the inside had been soldered and duct-taped back together
>”In case you didn’t figure it out, there’s aliens now.”
>”Radio said they were horses.”
>”Alien horses, whatever. We can suck them back out through the portals.”
>After everything that had happened today, he could still hear the other lab technician sucking in air in surprise.
>”We haven’t tested something like that and you know it!”
>”You got any better ideas?”
>This must be a motto around here.
>Like last time, there was no counter-idea.
>Most of the assistants started shuffling off towards their stations.
>”Bring ‘er back online, nice and slow.”
>Various points of data flooded the computer screens as the lights on the machine started coming on one by one.
>That is, until everything went blank seconds later.
>The team had varying degrees of a panic attack.
>There was no way the power could’ve gone out again, could it?
>Everything else was still working, though, so that clearly wasn’t the case.
>They powered down the machine and started it back up.
>This procedure had to be repeated twice before it went fully online.
>Each technician wasn’t above giving it worried looks even while it whirred loudly to life.
>”This thing’s more stubborn than my car in the winter!”
>Those techs that could hear it over the humming nodded in agreement.
>”Readouts?”
>”Green across the board and holding steady.”
>”Alright.  Reports indicate that the aliens were last seen at the park closest to the bay.  Get the coordinates for it, and place the first portal there.”
>A nearby assistant nods and starts clicking away with his mouse.
>Seconds later, he types a stream of numbers into his computer.
>He then looks up at the chief’s stand-in.
>“Second link?”
>”Anywhere, just put random values.”
>He was about to dispute it but doesn’t want his ear talked off again and inputs a second stream of numbers.
>”Coordinates set.”
>”Do it.”
>The tech hits his enter key.
>The red sphere atop the machine begins glowing brightly once more.
>The humming also increases considerably.
>With no direct visual indicator of success, everything relied on what came back in the readouts.
>”Anything?”
>”Data’s coming in now.”
>The information is pouring across the screen, but the tech’s trained eyes pick up every character.
>”Portal is stable.  Readings indicate it’s…. Wait, that can’t be right...”
>The main assistant looked annoyed.
>”What, can’t be right?”
>”The portal generated over the bay instead!  We missed!”
>”I thought I told you to place it over the park!”
>”I did!”
>”Let me see!”
>The assistant is over the tech’s shoulder in an instant.
>He looks carefully between the two windows snapped on the monitor.
>One gives a google search result for the park’s coordinates, with the numbers highlighted.
>The other has a snapshot of the coordinate feedback from the generator, with the location given along with the numbers.
>The assistant looked between the number sets five times before he conceded to his eyes.
>”They’re…. exactly the same!  Augh, the generator didn’t recalibrate properly!  Shut it down!  We’re going to have to figure out why the numbers are off, first.”
>”Deactivating.”
>The machine began powering down with little fanfare.
>The readouts on various monitors stopped pouring in.
>”I thought we had ironed out all of the machine’s kinks!  Could this day get any worse?!”
>Something clicked and popped from deep inside the portal generator.
>Suddenly, the machine roared back to life, its second wind not unnoticed by anyone in the room.
>The main assistant’s hand found its way to his forehead at a breakneck pace.
>”Was the portal at least dispelled?”
>”Nope.  It’s still there.  Even worse, according to the data it’s expanding.”
>”How?!”
>”Remember those other two that managed to stabilize because something big was coming through?”
>This got everyone’s attention and they all crowded around the nearest monitor.
>The room collectively stared at a warning indicator.
>MASS-STABILIZED
>”Uh oh.”


-------------------------------------------------Battle Royale-----------------------------------------------

>The commander slapped his forehead, dragging his hand down his face.
>”Oh, great, they can both talk,” he said like he was undergoing the worst migraine since Bill from accounting had to do his tax returns. 
>”What if they do that thing where they combine forces and fight us?”
>As much as he didn’t want to think about that, someone else piped up from the radio.
>”Don’t even. That movie was the worst in the series!”
>”Bite me, Williams, your choices sucked! Worst movie night ever. Objectively bad.”
>The leader was at the end of his patience with this. 
>”Goddamnit shut up! Why is my company full of fucking nerds?!”
>His cry of rage echoed over the damaged park.
>Snipers turned their heads.
>Helicopter pilots yanked on the control sticks.
>Camera crews winced.
>Gunners tightened their grips on the big red buttons.
>Even the kaiju both looked his way.
>But something didn’t add up.
>The lavender hybrid pointed a hoof at Orchid.
“So… if you were defending the city…”
>The aquatic kaiju nodded and returned the gesture towards Gabby.
“...and you were defending the city...”
>Both kaiju looked towards the assembled military forces loitering around the park’s perimeter.
“...and they were defending the city, who are we actually defending it from?”
>In the resulting silence, Gabby felt her horns curl and not one of Orchid’s hairs moved except by a dull, fey breeze.
>A dull snap of lightning crackled, followed by a whoosh of air.
>”Big floaty purple thingy, two o’ clock high!” 
>Gabby doesn’t know where to look at first, before Orchid nudges her and points in the correct direction.
>High above the bay floats a perfect, blue sphere, already big enough for the pair to enter simultaneously, and rapidly growing bigger.
>What lies within the confines of this sphere can only be described as the deepest, darkest ocean water that either has ever seen.
>Both of their eyes widen at the sight.
>After all, they wouldn’t be soon forgetting their encounters with such an object.
>A few more hair-raising seconds pass before this orb stops expanding.
>A featureless blob drops out of the sphere’s base, the orb beginning to fade immediately afterwards.
>Neither kaiju, nor anyone else for that matter, can make heads or tails of the shape before it lands in the water with a tremendous splash.
>The orb meanwhile rapidly loses size and shape, fading into nothingness seconds later.
>Before any military can make a move, the two towering horses start making their way down the street towards the source of the almost-tidal waves.
>This street was a straight shot to their destination, and was six lanes wide, awarding enough room for them to approach side-by-side.
>With an order from the commander, the nearby military fell in line behind the two kaiju, their rugged vehicles more than a match for the potholes left in the street.
>Seems they would take no shame in using the pair like gigantic riot shields.
>A news helicopter was already beginning to buzz over the beach when they arrived on the warm sands.
>Sniper teams perched in the beachfront buildings and the kaiju were scanning the still turbulent waters for that mysterious shape.
>The search was abruptly called off as something broke the surface, water and aquatic life cascading off of its form.
>The thing was tall and spindly, standing semi-upright like a gorilla while its legs dipped into the surf.
>Disproportionately small eyes surveyed the scene from above a massive, piranha-like jaw.
>Tall and solitary, it dominated the scene by sheer virtue of its height.
>Its own recon done, it starts marching towards the city.
>Or, more accurately, towards the two large four-legged creatures standing in front of it.
>Despite the water, the tremors from the creature’s steps could be easily felt, even by the two kaiju.
>Gabby couldn’t help but start her own saunter into the waves, her curiosity on overdrive once again.
“What…. is that thing..?”
“You mean besides bigger and scarier than both of us?”
>Orchid waded towards the newcomer easily enough until it had stopped to watch the two of them.
“Hey, do you think it talks, too?”
>Orchid pushed herself higher out of the water, flattened her clustered tail hairs into a whale fluke, and slapped it against the surface of the water for attention.
“Hi!”
>The creature stared, lower jaw slowly unfurling.
“My, what big teeth you have.”
>The beast had a response prepared.
>“RAWRAWRARGHAAWR!”
“Ooooh.”
“I’d, uh, take that as a ‘no’!”
“I know! Nonverbal communica-”
>A long, spindly arm lashed out, sideswiping just below Orchid’s shoulders
>Taking the blow to her upper leg, she fell into a giant heap of horse.
>Gabby glared at the strange creature before looking at the water kaiju.
“Are you hurt?”
>Orchid grimaced, rising that much further back out of the water. 
>They both glanced down at a clean slice oozing a blue, alien fluid.
“I’ll be okay.”
“...Is that your blood?”
“Y-yeah.”
>That was all either horse needed to see to know that this monster meant business.
>They returned their focus back on the new intruder.
>The seahorse sidestepped next to Gabby.
“Hey, do you have any more of those special powers that can take something like this?”
>Gabby grimaced.
“Only if we want to level the city too.”
>Orchid looked at her incredulously. 
“Are you sure you’re not an evil kaiju?”
“I’m not going to use it!”
>”ROAR”
“Well do something!”
>The monster had its eyes fixated on Gabby as it took another stride across the bay.
>Her voice picked up with its every step closer.
“Um, um, um!”
>Driven by pure instinct once more, she lurched forward.
>Her steps thundered out across the bay, each hoof-fall accompanied by a powerful splash.
>Before any of the three monsters could register what had happened, Gabby had thrown her entire body into the creature as an act of retaliation.
>It stumbled back into the surf, its landing generating a strong quake and a huge spray of water.
>Gabby panted, only now realizing what she had just done.
>Orchid meanwhile looked on from her spot in the bay, a buoy dancing about wildly near one of her forehooves.
“Did we win?”
>Before the hybrid could get a word in edgewise, the creature broke the surface for the second time, unleashing a powerful roar.
>Gabby nearly went half-deaf from being so close to it.
>It also didn’t help that it was being aimed directly at her.
>Orchid’s ears twitched at the sound of glass shattering from the shore.
>Taking advantage of the distraction, the creature slashed at the lavender monster with its claw.
>The blow struck her clean across her chest; the momentum that came with it sending her tumbling through the water past the seahorse.
>The earth shuddered each time her body collided with the ocean floor.
>The other kaiju winced, hurrying across the surf towards her fellow defender. 
>Gabby staggered to her hooves, already wincing from the pain.
>Across her two-toned front were three deep gash marks.
>A red goo dripped from her wounds to the waters below.
>Back on the beach, the commander muttered something under his breath.
>”It’s never that easy.  Not even in the movies.”
>That’s all the commander could say before nearly losing all of his hearing from the newcomer’s bellowed reply moments later.
>Once his ears finally stopped ringing, he pulled out his trusty radio and addressed his company.
>”Guns high!”
>All the personnel he could see stopped cupping their ears and snapped to attention.
>”Ready!”
>All sorts of mechanical weaponry could be heard coming online.
>”Aim!”
>The barrels of the tanks rotated, locking onto the bigger of the three combatants.
>....
>The radio went silent for an agonizing twenty seconds before someone else crackled over the speakers.
>”Sir?”
>”Hold.”
>More time passed.
>In the distance, the monsterhorses had rallied, blood still seeping into the bay.
>They came back with a two-pronged assault.
>Orchid jabbed at the enemy with her horn while Gabby fired another ice beam, raking it across the taller monster’s front and up along its neck.
>”Requesting permission to fire?”
>”Have you ever seen a monster movie where the army’s ever won with conventional weapons?”
>The dull drone of an open frequency was the only reply for several seconds.
>”No?”
>”Exactly.”
>”What do we do, then?”
>The commander turned towards the source of the increasingly turbulent waters.
>Without turning his radio off, he spoke his thoughts aloud.
>”Hope that those two can handle it.”
>”What are the odds?”
>The taller creature convulsed before spines erupted through it’s chest, shattering the ice while the two smaller kaiju gaped.
>Orchid looked particularly sick as it nonchalantly ripped more of the frost free from its neck.
“Why can you even do that?!” 
>The response was another nauseating screech.
>The commander lowered his binoculars and plucked the radio from the worried looking lieutenant beside him.
>”How many people do you think you can fit on your tank?”
>A heavy thump rang out in the distance.
>Troops turned from transport trucks and gunners peered through protected glass.
>”As many as we can, now let’s go!”
>Still, even as the armored convoys rolled off the beach into the city proper, a few couldn’t help but stare at the ongoing battle.
>Gabby readied herself for another attack, but as soon as she splashed a single, noisy step, an idea came to mind.
>She stopped and looked at Orchid.
“This might seem weird, but… Are you good with electricity, by any chance?”
>The monstrous pony blinked and pointed at her horn.
“My horn has an electrical field.”
“Works for me.  Follow my lead.”
>She glanced up at the partially cloudy sky, her horns contorting in weird ways.
>Nearly instantly, the cloud cover increased threefold, and a steady downpour erupted over the city.
>This was light to the kaiju, but near washout conditions for the area’s normal-sized denizens.
>Orchid stared at the dark sky, confused.
“Storming again?  I didn’t hear any thunder.”
“Working on that.”
“On what?”
>Now she concentrated on the beast, who had been thrown off by the rain for a split second.
>That was all the time she’d need.
>She started charging up, no visible indicator of her power rising, but Orchid’s antennae parted their petals wide. 
>She could certainly feel something building up from the focussed Gabby.
>Right at the point where the seahorse would swear she was glowing yellow, a large burst of electrical energy pulsed outwards from her.
>Orchid yelped in surprise at the energy radiating out from her, but noticed that most of it shot up into the clouds.
>A second later, the clouds above the monstrosity glowed an intense yellow, before a huge bolt of lightning surged forth from that spot, plunging towards the tallest object in the area.
>Its head.
>The bolt struck dead on target.
>The creature reeled and let out an ear-splitting screech of pain, parts of it charred from the white-hot bolt.
>It sank low on its legs, limbs unable to support the weight as they dealt with the tremendous shock to its systems.
>Groaning, it teetered back, limbs spasming as it fell into the waters of the bay.
>Unfortunately, it wasn’t the end. 
>Gabby’s jaw dropped as it started to stir.
>It had essentially shrugged off one of the strongest attacks in her arsenal, with little more than charred skin.
>It blinked unsteadily, but in that instant, a mass of blue lights had appeared next to one of its forearms.
>The very one with traces of red across its claws.
>Orchid bit down on the offending arm, crocodilian teeth tearing into flesh before clamping down. 
>Finding whatever grip she could, the smaller kaiju immediately threw her weight to one side, dropping into the waves and rolling.
>An onlooking marksman furrowed his brow as the larger creature was yanked into its own spin, large enough that half of its body was flipping, spraying water while the other half thudded across the floor of the bay like someone drumming their fingers on a table.
>Beneath the noise of the aggravated screeching and Orchid’s determined growls, he frowned.
>”Think I saw that at a zoo once.” 
>”How did it end?”
>There was a loud snap and crack of ligaments twisted beyond their limit.
>The beast’s arm was broken, leaving it to coddle the injured limb.
>The blue kaiju unlatched itself and teetered unsteadily to her hooves.
>Dizzy, Orchid turned her head like a dog who had completely lost all sense of up and down.
>Her slightly bloodied mouth was turned upwards in a grin as she beamed triumphantly towards Gabby and the shoreline. 
>Her tail splashed side to side into the water like a happy dog’s, barely missing a long, lanky leg that rose up out of the sea from close by.
>Gabby’s eyes widened further; she was already stunned by the seahorse’s actions.
“Behind you!”
>One of Orchid’s ears flipped backwards just in time to hear the whistle of air.
>One moment the tail was wagging, the next, it was tucked between her legs.
>The kick sent the water horse sprawling with a yelp.
>It was Gabby’s turn to watch on in horror as her partner bounced along the bay like a skipping stone.
“Are you okay?!”
>Sorely, a pair of blue eyes rose laboriously out of the water, hind legs stinging.
“Okay, that hurt.”
>Gabby gritted her teeth, her gaze fierce and piercing as she turned back around.
>The monster was still staggering to its legs, one of its forearms limp.
“Ooo you’re gonna pay for that!”
>She tore across the water towards the beast, not even considering its injury.
>If that’s how it wanted to fight, then she had no problems with what she was about to do.
>A pang of pain from her chest only further fueled her anger.
>The wounds themselves were still open, but rapidly healing thanks to the rain.
>Her horns extended considerably and wound together, coiling up.
>Gabby was taking a page out of the water horse’s book.
>Firmly planting her hooves with a few booming steps, she swung her head so that the tangled mass sped right for her target.
>The horns struck right at the shoulder of the dislocated arm, causing the creature to howl in intense pain.
>The cry was lost on the lavender horse as she unwound her horns and she swung her head for another strike.
>Gabby continued the onslaught for several seconds, swinging her head to and fro, her strikes getting stronger and stronger and leaving deeper and deeper gashes in the creature’s arms and front.
>Finally starting to succumb to fatigue and dizziness, she wound her horns together again and delivered a strong blow to its chest.
>If this thing had ribs, she was certain she heard a couple of them break.
>Her horns had patches of the creature’s blood on them, but the rain was already at work washing them away.
>Gabby panted once more as the creature fell back into the water with a high-pitched screech of utter anguish.
>It was tough. 
>Far too tough.
>She knew she had to end this as fast as she could with one final blow.
“Gonna need some help here!  Hold him down!”
“Okay!”
>Orchid turned back to the hulking creature, only to see that it was already looking her way.
“I’ll try.”
>Leaning on its injured arm, the good one reached for Orchid as soon as she closed the distance.
>Just before she prepared to take another hit, the claws retreated with a distinctly alien whimper.
>It regretted that decision and went back to favoring the damaged limb. 
>After a quick breath of relief, Orchid waded as fast as she could, ducking under the surface as a kick went flying her direction.
>Pushing herself forward with her tail, she stayed low, crawling for as long as she could dare.
>She twisted around and came back up like a breaching shark as the leg passed her in its arc.
>The blue kaiju was now right next to the alien body.
>This was when she spotted a problem with this plan.
>Even as hurt as it was, the monstrosity was still twice her size.
>Its pirana-like head was still looking dead at her despite her clever maneuver. 
>It stared down at her large, shocked eyes with its own beady set.
>What’s more, she was apparently in bite range.
>The creature threw its weight towards her, neck extending as it reached out vengefully.
>As close as she was, Orchid didn’t have a chance to get out of the way.
>She winced, as its gaping maw consumed her field of vision.
>It’s jaws shut on its prey.
>A distinct, almost metallic clank caused Orchid to pop an eye open.
>She looked past an outstretched foreleg to see the teeth biting into the hard rim of her hoof.
>The horse kaiju blinked for a moment, noticing its neck muscles straining.
>Her surprise turned to newfound confidence as she pushed herself back onto her rear hooves, rearing up.
>She hung there in mid-air before her other hoof plunged towards the beast’s face.
>It let go, turning aside as her weight drove the forehoof into the seafloor with a hard thump.
>It shook water from its face, one eye watching while it gave a warbling growl at having to roll onto its bad arm.
>It shifted back towards her to find Orchid presenting her side to it.
>A veritable sea of glowing hairs lassoed around its neck yanking its head backwards painfully.
>She went around behind it as it fought to reach around and simultaneously keep its head out of the water.
>Wrestling to keep it pinned, Orchid yelled the short distance across the bay.
“Got it!”
“Great job!”
>Gabby had spent most of the time recovering from her most recent attack, but she had been keeping an eye on the water horse’s efforts.
>She did fear for the kaiju’s safety, after all, and wondered if maybe she asked too much of her.
>Internal relief flooded her as she witnessed Orchid prevail.
>Maybe there was a defense corps after all.
>Spacing out and planting her hooves with four shuddering steps, she started charging energy again.
>She could feel her own mouth getting hotter and hotter as the energy continued welling up within her.
>Rapidly heating air rippled with rapid convection wherever she breathed.
>At one point she looked like one who had taken a bite from a ghost pepper, visibly sweating bucket-sized drops at how hot she was making herself.
>She counted down to zero as the energy continued to build.
>She didn’t want to think about what could happen if she held it for too long.
>But she was right about how much time had passed since she had summoned the clouds…
>Rain drops falling across her snout sizzled as she strained to keep the energy controlled.
>The stormy sky above the bay thinned out and began to disperse.
>A shaft of light fell across her target, illuminating it perfectly.
>She couldn’t possibly miss.
>After what seemed like an eternity, she opened her mouth wide.
>A massive burst of otherworldly flames surged forth, along with what may or may not have been a scream of pain.
>The column widened out as it approached the held monster, easily surpassing the width of Gabby’s own body.
>The unnamed beast whipped its head back, trying to use the vicious spines across its chest to saw through the tendrils that bound it.
“Hold still!”
>Orchid growled at it, struggling to slide her tail further up the torso again.
>Then something bright orange caught her sight.
>Two sets of eyes went wide as the held creature strained desperately in an attempt to avoid the incoming wall of fire.
>Orchid could only pin her ears back and brace as the conflagration roared around her.
>The inferno engulfed the battered monster. 
>Relatively smaller columns of fire shot off from the impact point.
>Two shot into the water, the lances turning whatever water they touched into jets of steam, evaporating enough to let them tear across the sandy bottom of the bay itself.
>Three more shot high into the sky, harmlessly fizzling out after a few hundred feet.
>It looked as if a fiery starfish had attacked the creature on her behalf.
>Behind the target, the smell of burning flesh made a seahorse nearly puke.
>Orchid wanted to cover her snout with her tail, but she knew what would probably happen if she let go of her body shield.
>It thrashed in her grip, trying to get as low into the water as it could, but it was simply too massive.
>The sea around them became a cloud of steam as it, too, gave in to the heat.
>The water rushed back into the heated fog bank. 
>The monster gave an unholy shriek that petered out as the flames consumed its form.
>One would expect Gabby to pose triumphantly after such an attack.
>Sadly, one would be wrong.
>Instead, Gabby stood clumsily, panting heavily and with her tongue way out of her mouth.
>'Hot hot hot ow ow OW OW OW,' rang through her mind as she looked for a cure.
>Not seeing anything she'd prefer to drink, she finally gave in and dunked her head into the water of the bay.
>It wasn’t the best option, or the cleanest, but her immune system could handle it.
>Probably.
>The salt did not help her burning throat much.
>She raised her head back up, warily watching the steam cloud disperse across the bay.
>In its place was the monster, reduced to a charred, crumpled heap.
>It wasn’t moving, but then again, she couldn’t see Orchid either.
“I may have.. overdone it…  Please, please be okay...”
>It was quiet save for the gentle lap of the beach and her own ragged breathing.
>Gabby was about to approach the remains herself when a blackened head popped off with a crack. 
“O-orchid?”
>A second head emerged from the corpse, two spotlight-bright blue eyes returning Gabby’s worried stare.
>It blinked unsteadily, antennae bulbs opening up in Gabby’s direction.
>Steam wafted from charred spots across its face.
>A familiar monsterhorse’s voice coughed.
“Are you sure you’re not an evil kaiju?”
>Gabby smiled, relieved.
“No, I’m not; I promise.  Are you hurt?”
>Orchid stumbled out from behind the fallen monster, looking a little worse for wear.
>Her mane was a mess, the glowing ends now blackened and singed.
>Still, she shook her head, though her eyes seemed firmly stuck in the “wide” position as she examined the other monster who had taken the brunt of the firepower.
>Lips pursed, she wasn’t entirely sure what to say as she started towards Gabby and the beach.
“N-nice job.”
“Sorry…  Didn’t know I had, well, that, in me…”
>Orchid nodded numbly, trying to concentrate on putting one hoof in front of the other.
“I think I need a nap.”
“I’m in more dire need of a glass of water.”
>Steam still escaped from Gabby’s burning maw as if she had unlocked the ability to see her breath during warm weather.
>Her companion just groaned as she waded across the bay.
“Good. I don’t think I could take another… whatever that thing with the fire and the yelling was.”
>Gabby gulped hard, as painful as that was currently with her scorched throat.
“You’re not… mad at me about that, are you?  I… rarely do that, and I apparently really don’t know my limits.”
>Orchid stopped just in front of Gabby.
“Well, no. Because I just realized something.”
“What?”
“That was my first win against an attacking kaiju.”
>Suddenly she found the energy to put a little bounce in her step.
>A bounce that any nearby spectators would surely feel.
“Hey, gimme five.”
>Gabby peered down at the outstretched hoof with an eyebrow raised.
>Orchid temporarily withdrew the hoof, re-examining it.
“Er... gimme… one?”
>Gabby blinked in surprise, before nodding and completing the high-one.
“Ow.”
“Sorry.”
>Gabby willed her legs to continue onward beside her water-fairing partner.
“Would you believe me if I said I’ve never protected a city before?  Well, against something like that, that is.”
“Where were you from, again?”
“Different city, different country, different… planet? I still don’t know wherever ‘here’ is.”
>The two were exhausted as they crept back up onto the sandy beach.
>Orchid dropped onto the sand, some of the soot flaking off to reveal skin already on the mend.
>Strands from her tail dangled into the water, floating along with the waves across the shore.
“I am, so… tired.”
“Ditto.”
>Gabby collided with terra firma in what could better be called a fall.
>A rougher landing than what she would’ve wanted, but her limbs refused to award her the strength for anything more gentle.
>Parts of three deep purple markings on her chest were visible but fading at a slow yet steady rate.
>Soon enough there would be little evidence of the fight at all.
>Their remaining energy was also fading.
>Heart rates and breathing slowing, both sets of eyelids prepared to clamp down to allow each horse to take a much-needed break.
>The sound of motor vehicles posed one final gate barring their entrance into dreamland.
>Both of them cracked an eye open to find a jeep flanked by tanks and armored personnel carriers.
>”What do you have to say to the city you saved?”
>Tired as they were, Orchid managed a grunt.
“Where were you guys?!”
>Gabby would have groaned if her throat wasn’t trying to rebel against her.
“We could have used some help, you know.”
>The commander shrugged.
>”Assisting with evacuation efforts.  We were with you in spirit.”
>The lavender one’s eyes looked past the convoy at the cityscape.
“I guess that makes sense…”
>Throat still sore, Gabby wasn’t feeling up to a Q&A.
>She used her last bit of energy to drag a forehoof up to lay her head on.
>With her horns splayed across the beachfront, she drifted off to peaceful slumber.
>The blue one quirked an eyebrow. 
“You’re not very good at this combat thing, are you?”
>”No one understands my genius.”
>Orchid sighed, opting to drop her chin onto the warm sand, too tired to argue.

-------------------------------------------------------Epilogue----------------------------------------------------------

>At last, the dust clouds petered out, blowing into the distance.
>The last, dull thump of a monster-sized step echoed against the buildings, petering out into the growling of engines.
>Military armor loitered near the two new additions to the beach’s sand dunes.
>The sleepy kaiju remain planted in the spot where they fell.
>”Did they die?”
>”It's just like war of the worlds! The germs got them!"
>"Um, Sergeant, they're just napping."
>The cheering had made the two monsterhorses shift in their sleep.
"...."
"...."
>"...I want a ten-mile perimeter set up an hour ago!"
>Some reporters later attempted to get to the scene but they are stopped by military police
>"Ma'am, this is the event horizon. Everyone who has gone past this point hasn't returned."
>"Wh-what happened to them?"
>"They got taken. You see, this is the event horizon for.... the snuggle zone.”
>”DUN DUN DUN!!!!” the other MP adds.
>The reporter is taken aback, but only for a moment.
>”What do you mean?”
>One of the uniforms pointed behind him.
>”See those things?”
>”Turns out both of them and their tentacle bits keep grabbing people in their sleep.”
>”They just pull them close like teddy bears!” the other MP finishes.
>Camera cuts to a few generic army dudes tangled up in the deadly beasts’ snares.
>”Are they dead?!”
>The two MP’s look behind themselves at the sleeping behemoths and then at each other. 
>”Yes. Everyone’s dead.”
>A voice calls from the tangled, snoring mass.
>"Uh, guys, little help?"
>The MP cups his hands in front of his mouth and yells.
>"Johnson! We'll never forget your ultimate sacrifice!"
>"What?! They're just holding us! Pull us free you idio-"
>"Like I said, ma'am, it's the event horizon.”
>The other one holds up a flashlight to his own face.
>”No one returrrrrns!"
>Behind him, the voice in the distance becomes shrill.
>”Fuck you, Mike!”
>The disturbance only makes Orchid pull him closer, nuzzling him against her cheek until she sighs happily.
>”Like we said…”
>Returning the flashlight to his face, the MP makes a spooky face.
>”...noooobody retuuuuurns. Boooo! The end,” he said, switching the flashlight off.
[roll credits]

-----------Bonus Material-----------
====Portal Panic: Ribbon====

-----------------------------------------------------------R1--------------------------------------------------------------

>For Ribbon, it was all a blur.
>One moment, she was diligently keeping an eye out for her caregiver’s return.
>The next, she was picking herself up off of an unknown city street.
>The earth pony filly started dusting herself off.
>First was her maroon coat, with the most debris appearing on her left side.
>Next, she brushed her seafoam green mane and tail, bits and pieces falling to the street below.
>Finally, she tended to her namesake, the huge red bow bouncing in earnest as she dusted it off.
>The buildings on either side of the street were too tall for her to look over.
>That is, if she wanted to avoid damaging them.
“Why are all the buildings broken?”
>Her maroon hooves stomped an even bigger crater into the pavement as she turned her whole body, craning her neck at all the funny looking structures.
>Some residents had started carefully filing out, summoned by the shaking.
>She finally looked down, having taken in enough of the skyline that she could see.
>What greeted her eyes was a large pothole filled with indiscernible rock.
“I thought the roads didn’t do that anymore…”
>She then noticed the crowd of people forming along the nearby sidewalks.
>Instead of rearing her head back in a panic, she lowered her head towards one of the crowds.
>Most of the crowd scattered to a safe distance, save for one curious soul.
>A little girl was staring at the filly in wonder.
>Her mother was insistently tugging on her arm, but she refused to budge.
>Ribbon got her head low enough, chin resting on the ravaged pavement.
>Two massive yellow eyes locked onto the curious girl.
>They wouldn’t know it, but they were the same age.
“Hi!”
>It was gentle enough to avoid overloading the young child’s ears.
>”Hi…”
>The mother had stopped trying to pull away her daughter, and stared at the filly, slackjawed.
>”You’re pretty…”
>Ribbon lowered her muzzle to the ground, flustered.
“Thanks!  You look so adorabl--”
>She felt something latch onto her nose.
>The little girl had pushed herself into the maroon muzzle, hugging as much fur as her small form would allow.
>”You’re a pretty pony!”
>The mother wore a face that described her internal conflict.
>She was torn between d’awwing at the scene and getting her daughter to safety.
>More of the bystanders drew closer at the heartwarming scene, fully convinced that the oversized filly wasn’t here to harm them.
>Ribbon smiled.
>She wanted to do something to show she appreciated the hug, but with what she had in mind, where they were now was too risky.
>She slowly pulled her face away, nudging for the little girl to follow her.
>The child took off like a rocket after the face, the mother reluctantly giving chase.
>Ribbon again lowered her head, this time above a previously untouched section of roadway.
>She soon felt that familiar feeling of the girl hugging her nose once more.
“Now I can hug you back.”
>She got on her haunches, flank landing firmly in her impact crater.
>Up came one of her forehooves, casting a shadow over the girl
>People feared for the worst, some opting to sprint out into the street for her.
>The hoof meanwhile traveled overhead safely.
>Ribbon rested it behind the girl, and gently pressed it against her snout.
>The girl gave a yelp of half surprise, half joy when she was pressed between the two walls of fur.
>Those would-be heroes backed off after realizing her intentions.
>Conversations broke out amongst the spectators as the hug continued.
>”It’s just a… giant filly.”
>”How… normal.”
>”I know, right?”
>”This one’s the most normal one that’s appeared so far.”
>”You think she’s related to any of them?”
>”Hopefully not that third one.”
>”Oh yeah, for sure.”
>A series of flashing lights caught everyone’s attention.
>The mother gently pulled her child away as a fire engine pushed through the crowd.
>This particular vehicle had a few dents at the corners near the front and back.
>”Bye bye giant pony...”
“Bye bye little girl.”
>Ribbon looked at the girl with that same smile.
>The girl returned it as she clasped her mother’s hand.
>”Do you have… a name?”
“Yes.  Ribbon.”
>”Hi Ribbon, I’m Suzie!”
>The filly noticed the engine had taken center stage in front of her form.
>Out of the cabin hopped a firefighter.
>Soon, the whole crew was looking on in awe.
>”So, why did we take this call again?”
>”Why do you think?”
>”Woah, another one?  Must be our lucky day!”
>”Or unlucky.”
>”Don’t be such a downer!  Last one saved us; I’ve got my hopes up.”
>”Just sayin’.”
“Excuse me?”
>The side conversations dropped as the filly pulled her head up from the ground.
“I think… I’m lost.  I was wondering if… if you’ve seen Gabby.”
>The engine’s driver took point on this one.
>”Who?”
>Ribbon tried again, using her forehooves to gesture a bit.
“You know, Gabby!  Purple hair, purple fur; wait, can you even call that fur?  Anyway, weird antennae-thingies coming out of her head behind her ears, long tail that isn’t made out of hair, have you seen her?”
>The firefighters looked at each other, dumbstruck.
>”No way…”
>”It can’t be.”
>”How?”
>”What are the odds?”
>Ribbon trained her yellow eyes on the crew.
“What’s wrong?”
>The driver spoke up to her again.
>”Gabby, that was her name, right?”
“Yep!”
>”I think…. She’s the one who got our truck off the roof.”
>The filly beamed.
“That sounds like something she’d do!”
>”Ribbon, was it?  We were on call at the time and--”
>”Not to mention scared out of our minds!”
>”Quiet, you!  Anyway, we were responding to an emergency, so we had to leave before we could see where she went…”
>Ribbon’s ears drooped a bit.
>”That, was a few hours back.”
>One of the other firemen piped up.
>”The radio’s been abuzz with something like a giant monster fight?  Like, something out of a terrible B-movie.  Sounds like she might have been involved.”
>The filly bolted to her hooves in a hurry, causing a tremor that set off car alarms and knocked everyone off their feet.
“Where was that?  How do I get there?”
>The driver picked himself up, using the truck for support.
>”Last bit I remember hearing suggests it was at the bay area.”
>He pointed down the street behind him.
>”You’ll need to go that way until you see a park.  It’s about 30 blocks or so from here.  Once you see it, any of the streets to your left will take you straight to the bay.”
>Ribbon crouched down and pushed her muzzle against the crew as a way of thanking them.
“Thank you so much!”
>The crew all tipped their hats.
>”No problem, ma’am.  Now, if you’ll excuse us…”
>Everyone piled into the fire engine.
>One swift u-turn later, it charges off down the street, taking the first right turn that it can.
>Ribbon stood to her full height, unintentionally intimidating the bystanders who had gotten so close to her.
“Go this way until I see a park.  Got it.”
>The crowd in her way dispersed, allowing her safe travel.
>She looked down around her and waved.
“Uh, goodbye everyone!  Hope to see ya again!”
>She then got to walking, her steps gently shaking the surroundings.
>As she traveled into the distance, little Suzie was enthusiastically waving from the sidewalk.
>”Bye bye Ribbon!”

-----------------------------------------------------------R2--------------------------------------------------------------

>The maroon filly trotted down the street, humming to herself.
>She sighed happily at the thought that her guardian might actually be here.
>If the tremors caused by her gait didn’t draw some attention, her giant, bobbing ribbon certainly did.
>A few blocks in was a toy store.
>It and other locations throughout the city were known for one-of-a-kind knickknacks.
>Inside this one, a mother was preparing to give her daughter a rather large stuffed pony plushie.
>”Here’s your present, sweetie a…!”
>Moderate shaking cut the mother off.
>They looked outside as she walked by the window.
>The little girl gasped.
>”I got a pony!”
>Ribbon went on her merry way, the coincidence lost on her.
>She slowed to a stop at an intersection, making cute imitations of a car as she did so.
>The light for her direction was red, and Gabby had taught her to abide by them.
>On the cross-street of the intersection, a convertible was pulled up to the stoplight.
>Two dudes were the car’s only occupants, the passenger clearly flabbergasted at the driver’s tale.
>”There’s no way you got this car for that cheap!”
>”Yes there is, and I just did it!  Honestly, I don’t believe it either.”
>”Yeah yeah, whateves.”
>”All I’m saying is, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
>He looked to his left.
>”Oh look, a giant gift horse.”
>”No way… How is that even--”
>A horn sounded from behind.
>Both parties looked back to see that their light had been green for a while.
>As the driver got the car moving across the intersection, the passenger couldn’t help but stare.
>”How bizarre is this day gonna get?”
>Ribbon patiently waited for traffic to clear, eyes locked on the stoplight.
>It was finally her turn to cross, and she took great care to avoid clipping the light with a hoof.
>She didn’t want a repeat of what happened four lights back.
>After a grand total of 32 blocks, she came across a park on her right.
>Or, at least, what she thought was a park.
>It had a fence around it like a park would, but inside it was nothing but mud and huge holes.
>Ribbon stopped and looked incredulously.
“Is… Is this the park?  It doesn’t look like a park to me...”
>She crouched down in front of a sign on the corner of the fence.
“The sign says this is a park, so…  Wait, what’s that over there?”
>She raised back up and turned her head forward.
>Some of the potholes in the ‘park’ seemed to travel down one of the streets to her left.
>She cautiously trotted up to the holes in the street.
>Upon further examination, she saw that there were two sets, trailing down this road.
“Y’know, they kinda--”
>She looked behind herself at her own trail of potholes.
“--look like mine.”
>She placed a hoof into one of the potholes.
>It fit, with plenty of room on all sides.
“Hmm…”
>She glanced down the ruined roadway.
>At the end of the street seemed to be a mass of…. Something.
>The shining sun was making it hard to tell.
“That nice fireman said I needed to turn left to get to the bay, so…”
>She trotted down the road, playing a bit of hopscotch with the potholes.
>She didn’t notice that the road in particular was closed off.

-----------------------------------------------------------R3--------------------------------------------------------------


>The two perimeter MPs couldn’t believe what their eyes were telling them.
>Nonetheless, a smaller-but-still-big monster was hopping right towards them, causing them to fight for their right to stay balanced.
>”How didn’t we know about this one?”
>”Fell through the cracks?”
>”You moron!  Nothing that big just ‘falls through the cracks’!”
>A strong tremor from Ribbon landing nearby finally sent the guards onto their rears.
>When they managed to get up again, they only saw a wall of maroon in front of them.
>Looking up, they half expected this creature to have its eyes trained solely on them.
>They instead saw only a wide smile form as it seemed to be fixated on something behind them.
>Glancing back, they only saw the other two monsters, still snoozing peacefully, and still cuddled with various military personnel.
>They looked back at each other.
>”...You don’t think that---”
“Gabby!!”
>Her voice rang out across the bay, causing the guards and everyone nearby to cover their ears.
>The kaiju however merely stirred a bit in their sleep, some of Gabby’s ‘captured’ escaping due to the movement.
>Ribbon noticed the reaction of her guardian and… the other… giant horse…
>Wait what?
>This other horse was gray, with bits of darker gray around her nose and hooves, and blue, lots of glowing blue everywhere.
>Despite the horse not waking up, two weird-looking flower-thingies had already opened their petals and were trained on the filly.
>She brought a hoof to her mouth.
“Oooooh, they’re sleeping.  In that case….”
>Ribbon easily stepped over the barrier, not even registering the pleas not to do so from the guards.
>She worked her way to Gabby’s free side, opposite the other horse.
>The filly stretched out onto her stomach, laying up against her caretaker, who shifted a little more at the movement.
>’Gabby might wake up soon, so I may as well wait’, she thought.
>The lull of a heartbeat and the exhaustion from her walk had other plans for her.
>Her head plopped into the sand and she too drifted off to sleep.