Gamera, Guardian of Equestria
Growth Spurt
Dawn broke out on the face of Ponyville. At the edge of the town, sunlight spilled into the windows of a bedroom in a modest cottage. The blonde Pegasus in bed rubbed her eyes with her hooves and yawned. She looked down and saw the rabbit Angel curled up next to her still asleep. She smiled and looked to her other side and saw something buried under the blankets. Pulling them back, she let out a surprised gasp: The baby turtle she took with her to bed was no longer little, but had grown to be almost as big as she was! His shell was a darker tone of green than his hide was, and the small protrusions on either side of his lower jaw became more prominent, actually looking like tusks. His fore and back paws had wicked-looking claws at the end of the digits, and his tail was longer and thicker. The ridges on his shell got more broad and edgier, almost like a razor as shell on his back began to overlap itself more. The turtle opened his eyes, and the big emeralds looked up at her in drowsiness before closing again. Even Angel seemed shocked at this, ducking back under the covers at the sight of the turtle. Flutter shy hovered out of bed with Angel right behind as the turtle continued to sleep, his snores audible as the Pegasus closed the door behind her. "I guess we'll just let him sleep in for now," she said with a nervous laugh. She was still coming to grips that he had a major growth spurt like that, and she still didn't know what kind of turtle he was. What kind of turtle eats coal and grows from a few inches to almost the size of a pony in one night? She went through her books again and still found nothing. She got Angel's breakfast fruit salad ready as she got one for herself and went through her books once more. As she turned the pages, she thought she heard a thump coming from her room, and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw the turtle in the doorway, standing on his hind legs. She left the door open for him a crack in case he wanted to get up, and as he looked around, Flutter Shy let out a frightened yelp at him. The sound caught the turtle's attention and she looked right at her with his big emerald eyes that always seemed to melt her heart and made her fear dissipate like smoke. She floated over to the turtle and landed. His head almost came up to hers, his eyes barely looking up at her. "How are you this morning, Toto?" she asked. As if to answer, the turtle gave a small grunt and looked to the fireplace, seeing the mound of coal and pile of firewood. With his mouth open in an eager expression, the turtle plodded to the coal and wood. He gathered up an armful and began to take in lumps by the mouthful, making loud crunching noises as dust and powder fell from his jaws as he chewed and swallowed. Flutter Shy swallowed nervously as she watched. "Yes Toto, you, uhm, go ahead and help yourself. We have plenty of coal, don't we Angel?" The rabbit couldn't take his eyes off of the turtle as he gorged on the coal. Flutter Shy gulped again, deciding it best that she got some help.
Twilight was already up and about when she headed for the dining hall of her new castle. Opening the large double doors to the dining hall and seeing Spike already seated at the dining table with a bowl and muffins in front of him, she looked into the kitchen and what she saw hardly surprised her. "Well, well, dear Twilight. And here I thought you'd never wake up before your breakfast that I slaved and toiled for got ice-cold." Discord, the Draconequus, was wearing a chef's hat and apron as he came out with a bowl and tray and set it down on the table for Twilight Sparkle. She took her seat and tried a spoonful, spitting it out as she made a face.
"Discord, it tastes like mud!" she complained. Discord laughed.
"Sorry, old habits you know." He snapped his fingers and the contents of the bowl became oat porridge spiced with cinnamon, at least that's how it tasted. Owlowiscious, Twilight's pet owl, flew in from the window with a not in his beak. He landed on the table next to Twilight and dropped the letter in front of her. The Alicorn used her magic to pick up the letter and unfold it, reading its contents.
"Who's it from?" Spike asked.
"It's from Flutter Shy," Twilight replied. At the mention of her name, Discord teleported onto the table, taking the note into his claws.
"From my best friend?! What does she have to say?" Discord hummed as he read, and when Twilight tried to protest, he held up a claw to keep her quiet. "What?! Flutter Shy's in trouble?! We haven't a moment to lose!" As Discord was about to leave, Twilight used her magic to hold him in place.
"Will you please let me read my letter?!" she demanded. Twilight picked it up and read it. She got puzzled when it mentioned she had trouble with her pet turtle. "Well, looks like we're heading for Flutter Shy's."
"Which is where I was headed till you stopped me!" Discord replied, indignant.
"Why, what's wrong?" Spike asked.
"Looks like she's having problems with her new turtle."
"You mean the one she found at Manehattan?" he asked. On the train ride home, he remembered it being packed with the Mane Six trying to get a look at the new turtle that Flutter Shy found. His big eyes made them adore him, even Pinky Pie tried to pick him up and twirl around with him on the train. "How much trouble could one baby turtle be?"
"Let's find out."
Teleporting outside her door, Twilight opened it a crack before Discord burst in. "Fear not, Flutter Shy, for I, Discord, shall save you from the-what in the world!?" The first thing Discord saw was the large two-legged turtle that was eating coal turned to look at him, his mouth full of lumps. Twilight and Spike pushed past and were equally shocked at the sight of him.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Flutter Shy said relieved, floating in front of them. "I seem to have a slight problem with Toto."
"I'll say," Spike replied.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, I just woke up and found him like this!" Flutter Shy replied, looking back at the turtle. He went back to his meal of coal, already having consumed more than half the pile.
"How long has he been eating coal?"
"Since we got home," Flutter Shy replied. Twilight watched the turtle, trying to remember if she read anything about turtles like this.
"We need to head back to where this started," Twilight reasoned. "Flutter Shy, can you remember where you found the egg?"
"Yes."
"Ok, Discord, you and Spike keep an eye on Toto. Flutter Shy and I will head back to Manehattan and try to find out more about him. Maybe if we went to where his egg was found, we'll know more about him."
"Leave it to us, Princess Twilight. We'll keep an eye on this little trouble-maker," Discord materialized a policeman's outfit and a jail cell around the turtle and coal. The turtle looked around, startled, and gripped the bars like a convict.
"Don't try to make him feel like a prisoner, Discord. He didn't do anything wrong." Flutter Shy replied.
"Oh, alright." Discord snapped his fingers and the cell vanished. "But I'm keeping my eye on you, punk. You're on probation." The turtle let out a puzzled grunt. Flutter Shy went over to him and placed a gentle hoof on him.
"You be good now, Toto. I'll be back soon." Twilight and Flutter Shy vanished in a flash of lavender as Twilight teleported them to Manehattan, leaving the baby dragon and Draconequus alone with the turtle. Already it gathered another armful of coal and began feasting.
"So uh, how long do you think that coal will last?" Spike asked. Discord looked down at him with raised eyebrows and an indignant look.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"Well, what do we do when he runs out?"
"Now that is a good question," Discord replied, looking at the dwindling supply of coal that the tusked turtle was consuming.
It didn't take long for them to find the little outcropping of rock and brush of the shoreline. Landing on it, both Pegasus and Alicorn went to the spot where the egg was found. "You're sure it was here?" she asked.
"I'm positive," she replied. "Maybe it washed up from the sea."
"Only one way to find out," Twilight replied. She formed a bubble of lavender energy around them and walked to the edge of the atoll as Flutter Shy was being pushed by the bubble. Both went into the water and Flutter Shy let out a frightened yelp as water washed over them. "Don't worry, the bubble with keep the water out, and give us air to breathe."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Twilight assured her with a smile. They went further and further down into the depths. Fish and other sea life swam past them as they went further and further down into the depths, bright and colorful in a sea of blue. However, the deeper they went, the less bright everything got. Deeper and deeper still, till is seemed like light did not exist at all, aside from the glow given off of the force field. Then, a soft orange light came from the bottom, and it kept growing and growing till became a bright light. Touching the bottom of the ocean, where the deep dwellers like crabs, shrimp and grotesque fish swam out of their way. They saw the light came from a rent in the ocean floor, like a wound cut right into the earth. In the rent was the source of the glow; magma boiled and flowed like the blood of the earth itself.
"Is this where he came from?" Flutter Shy asked
"Looks like it. Remember what happened a little while ago, that earthquake that hit here less than a week ago? Maybe it started here, and it let the egg go."
"But that would mean that Toto was born from lava…wouldn't it?"
"I don't know, Flutter Shy. I just don't know." And in one of the few times in her life, as she gazed into the magma, Twilight really did not know.
Pinky Pie hopped down the road to Flutter Shy's house. After getting home, she could not get her mind off of the cute little turtle with the gorgeous green eyes. Bouncing up to the door she gave it a light knock, waited for a moment before knocking it again. "Just one minute," came a voice from inside. The door opened and Spike looked up at Pinky Pie nervously. "Oh, hi Pinky."
"Hey Spike, are you here to see the cute widdle turtle too?" she asked, a broad smile on her face as she looked around, hoping to see the little reptile. Spike looked even more apprehensive.
"Well, uhm, it's kinda because of him that…"
"Ooh, where is he? I just wanna squeeze him!" Pinky Pie pushed past the baby dragon and stopped and let out a gasp. The house was a wreck; furniture, personal items, dishes, and other objects laid strewn about the floor of the house either in pieces or even smaller pieces. And at the far end of the cottage was a very large hole, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. A small white rabbit poked his head from beneath a pile of rubble and hopped out of hiding, looking around. Pinky Pie just stood stock still, shocked. "I…I don't believe this…"
"I know, it was horrible and…"
"I'll say it was horrible! Someone threw a really great party here and no one thought to invite me!" Pinky Pie looked peeved and shook her hoof. "Well I'll not take it. Whenever a party goes on, Pinky Pie is ALWAYS the first one who hears about it!"
"Pinky, it's not what you think!" Spike stood in front of her.
"Tell me who it was, Spike! Tell me who threw this soiree and I'll show them how to throw a party!"
"No one threw a party here!" Discord popped into the room, looking worried.
"I couldn't find him outside or in the woods, did he come back?" Pinky Pie took one look at the Draconequus and furrowed her brow.
"So, it was you!" She pointed an accusing hoof at discord. "You threw the party that destroyed Flutter Shy's house and had the nerve, the audacity, to not invite me!"
"Oh yes, you just got here, didn't you? You need to be brought up to speed."
"She isn't the only one!" a voice demanded. Standing in the doorway was a very disapproving Twilight and a mortified Flutter Shy. The blonde Pegasus flew in with a shriek, floating over the floor.
"My house, my dishes, my furniture, my books, my things…what did this?!" She looked to Discord with tear-filled eyes.
"Toto did this," Spike said. All eyes were on him. "It's what I was trying to tell you, Pinky Pie. No one threw a party here, Toto went crazy and tore apart the house before making that and escaping!" Spike pointed to the large hole torn in the side of the house.
"No way! Cute widdle turtles don't tear apart houses like this!"
"He wasn't so cute, especially after he ate all the coal he could get his claws on."
"He ate all of the coal?" Twilight asked, going to where the coal pile was. All that was left was just the residual dust and powder from the lumps. "And he did all of this? Why didn't you just use your magic to make more coal?" she asked Discord.
"Well I did, and it kept him busy for a while, and then he just went mad, tore the house apart and burst through the wall!" Discord replied defensively. Twilight looked at the floor and saw a lump of coal was left. She picked it up, examining it. "That's one of the lumps I made." The Alicorn used her magic to burn it, and it burned like regular coal. She used her magic to douse it and turned to the group.
"We need to find Toto and fast. If he could do this to a house, I hate to think what he could do to Ponyville."
"But we don't know where he went. Discord went out and couldn't find him."
"And I'm sure he was looking really hard too," Twilight replied to Spike.
"Humph! Well excuse me for trying to help!" Discord replied with an insulted air.
"It's ok, we appreciate your help," Flutter Shy quickly added, floating next to the Draconequus. Discord smiled at her.
"Why, thank you Flutter Shy. It's so nice to know I have at least one friend here."
"Regardless, we need to get out there and find that turtle! I'll get the rest of the Mane Six, you guys look again, and this time look carefully." The group separated as Twilight left to get the others and the rest went out the gaping hole in the wall.
He fed on the life-giving substance, but it's not enough. He needs something else now, something more life-giving. As he wandered about aimlessly, small moving things scurried away from him. He could feel the life in them, the manna. He grabbed one of them, a long-eared rabbit, in his claws, and felt the manna flowing through its body. Its life was small, but it would do for now. But, just as he was about to give the killing blow, something halted his claws. A promise made, a duty to perform, a charge to be taken. He lowered the rabbit to the ground, and let it go. It bounded away as though its life depended on it. Memories from the past, from so long ago, began to surface. And with that, the turtle turned further into the forest and headed towards the nearest source of manna. Just what this source of life is, he does not know, but he feels he will know when he sees it.
Flutter Shy and Rainbow Dash flew overhead the forest as the rest of the group trekked through the forest. "Oh dear, are you sure that adorable little turtle did all of that?" Rarity asked.
"Pretty sure, Rarity. It was like an earthquake had hit, while a tornado raged inside, right Spike?" Twilight asked, but the little dragon was focused on the white Unicorn and looked up at her, snapping out of his daze.
"Uh, yeah. Tornado. Exactly!" Twilight sighed and pressed on.
"Ya'll sure this is where that varmint of yours went, right?" Apple Jack asked.
"This is where he would head from the house," Twilight reasoned.
"And how do we know that Discord even looked for him out here?" Apple Jack argued. "For all we know, he could have caused that mess."
"Because Spike was there, and I don't think he'd do this, not anymore." Twilight replied. Apple Jack scoffed.
"If you say so." A sound was heard through the forest, like the cry of an animal. The Mane Six stopped in their tracks as Flutter Shy and Rainbow Dash came down to earth. "What in tarnation was that?"
"A…manticore maybe," Flutter Shy said.
"Or maybe a dragon," Spike added. The sound pierced the air again, closer this time. The trees shuddered and the earth trembled, and suddenly something burst through the trunks of the trees. A lion's body, a scorpion's tail, a very large manticore stood before them. The mythical beast roared at them, raising a paw with dagger-like claws at them. Flutter Shy, having perfected her infamous stare that could subdue any beast, was getting ready to employ her secret weapon when a new cry rented the air. The trees behind fell as a large shape lumbered towards them. The ponies stared in awe at the massive frame of the bipedal turtle looming before them. He had grown since this morning, more than tripling in size after feeding on the coal. His tusks had grown, his frame bulkier, his shell more broad and paws turned into hands that could crush stone with bony, blade-like claws at the end of each digit. The manticore took one look at the larger terrapin and hesitated, unsure at how to process the change in events. The ponies just looked up in surprise and shock, unaware of the manticore looking from the turtle to then smaller tidbits. It lunged, and the terrapin fell forward. The Mane Six ducked and covered, but felt nothing. Flutter Shy looked up and saw the terrapin was above them on his hands and knees. The manticore landed on the shell, its claws scraping against the armor-like plates. With a mighty heave, the terrapin lifted himself and flung the manticore off and into the woods. The mythical beast bounded away and the turtle stood up on his hind legs again, watching it retreat. It looked down at the ponies with the same big green eyes as before. While the others stood in shock, it was Flutter Shy who took to the air. Floating to his eye level she smiled at him.
"Toto!" she called, and the turtle answered with a small grunt of recognition. He looked down at the other ponies, then away as he turned and walked off. Flutter Shy tried to follow, stopping in front of him. "Where are you going? Come back with me!" Still the turtle walked on past her. The blonde Pegasus fell to the forest floor, confused and hurt. "Why did he leave?"
"He's not a baby anymore, Flutter Shy," Twilight replied, going up to her friend. "I know you've only known him for a day, but you have to let him go."
"I know, I just wished that it wasn't so soon…" Twilight wrapped a wing around the Pegasus's shoulders as they watched the turtle move on, his footsteps making the earth tremble. Spike heard a sound, and turned to see Pinky Pie sniffling.
"They just grow up so fast, and you just hope you raised them right, *sniffle*." Rarity handed her a hankie, and Pinky Pie blew into it before giving it back. The white Unicorn winced in disgust at the sight of the cloth and used her magic to put it in her pack.
They were growing so fast. Soon, the jungle would be silent of all sounds and be a boneyard. If that happened, they would soon turn on each other till only one remained. Good, such should be the order of things. He knew the nature of the creations of so long ago, and he knew how to control them. As night descended on the jungle, new cries were heard as winged forms took to the air and raided the canopies and floor for life.