//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: GARGANTULON VS. THE SPACE DRACULAS // by Tumbleweed //------------------------------// “Surprise!” For anyone who knew Pinkie Pie (or, perhaps more accurately, anyone who Pinkie Pie knew), a surprise birthday party was something of an inevitability-- the surprise itself being in the where and when far more than the if. As far as Pinkie parties went, this one was a modest affair: she'd only brought a few dozen balloons and a single banner, and there were only six guests present, as opposed to the whole of Canterlot High. “Hey, thanks guys.” Rainbow Dash said, and dumped her backpack to the floor as soon as she walked into her house. “Happy Birthday!” Pinkie Pie practically pounced upon Rainbow Dash, pulling her into an enthusiastic hug. “Since your birthday's on a school night this year I figured we'd just have a small party 'cause most everybody else has got like homework to do and stuff and also I knew you'd be at soccer practice for awhile anyway which means we only have a couple hours to get the partying in before we'll have to go home but don't worry we can have an even BIGGER birthday party this weekend where everybody will show up and we'll get a bouncy castle and it'll be the best thing ever! I just didn't wanna wait 'til then because then you might think I forgot your birthday which would neeeeeeeever happen because if I did I'd be the worst friend ever! You'll forgive me, won't you?” Pinkie's blue eyes began to well up with tears of contrition. “It's fine!” Rainbow Dash said, gently wriggling out of Pinkie Pie's grasp. “Actually ... this is perfect. Sometimes you wanna have a huge party, and sometimes you just wanna hang out with your friends, right?” “Yay!” Pinkie Pie said, instantly optimistic again. The rest of the birthday party played out as expected. The girls fell upon the offered pizza and cake with the locust-like ravenousness of teenagers, soon leaving little but crusts and crumbs in their wake. Idle gossip and cheery laughter echoed through the little suburban house. The gifts came next; a tailor-made jacket from Rarity, a book from Twilight, and so on. Finally, Rainbow Dash came to Fluttershy's present-- a thin, rectangular package. “Feels like a DVD case.” Rainbow Dash said, giving it a little shake. She looked up at Fluttershy, and grinned. “You didn't get me The Songbird Princess this year, did you?” “Oh! Um, no.” Fluttershy instantly turned her gaze downward to her shoes. “Did you want The Songbird Princess? Because, uh, I think I can take that one back if--” “It was a joke, Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean, like, I guess those nature documentaries you like are still kind of cool?” “It's, um. It's not a nature documentary.” “Yeah?” Rainbow Dash canted her head to the side. “Just what is it?” “Open it and find out?” Fluttershy smiled meekly through the pink curtain of her hanging hair. Rainbow Dash nodded, then neatly tore away a strip of wrapping paper-- only to let out a gasp as soon as she did. “No. Way. You didn't. You couldn't. This isn't--” hands trembling, Rainbow Dash scrabbled at the paper, tearing it away. “It is!” “Just ... what is it, exactly?” Rarity ventured, taking a half step behind Applejack, just in case. “Only the greatest movie I've never seen!” Rainbow Dash squealed, then spun the unwrapped DVD case around to show her friends. The cover showed an oil painting of an enormous centipede, looming large above a burning city. Bold red kanji listed the title in Japanese, and then the English translation below it. GARGANTULON VS. THE SPACE DRACULAS “Where did you even find it?” Rainbow Dash clutched the DVD to her chest. “This movie's never been released on this side of the ocean!” “There's an Asian grocery store on the edge of town that sells movies, too. And, uh. I knew you liked those movies, and ... yeah.” “This is the best birthday ever!” Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy, then glanced around. “C'mon you guys, we've got to watch this. It's gonna be so cool, you don't even know!” And with that, she took off to the living room at blinding speed, immediately crouching down to open up the load tray on her DVD player. The rest of her friends followed (albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm), and sprawled out on the living room furniture. After a few moments of fiddling with the remote to bring up the subtitle settings, Rainbow Dash scrambled back a few feet, sitting in the center of the floor like a child watching Saturday morning cartoons. Soon, the movie's title glowed across the screen, accompanied by a shrill, ear-searing monster-screech. “Oh man.” Rainbow Dash said. “This is going to be awesome.” “Now hold on.” Applejack said, furrowing her brow. “I thought Dracula was just one guy? How come the title says he's fightin' more than one Dracula?” “Technically--” Twilight raised a finger into proper pontificating position. “The 'Draculas' could refer to the family of Count Dracula-- though it would be more accurate to call them 'Tepesh' in that case. Or ... maybe Tepeshes. I'm not sure how the plural goes. Maybe I need to brush up on my Romanian.” “Or maybe you should remember this is just a movie, and we should really just relax.” Sunset Shimmer said. “It's not just a movie!” Rainbow Dash complained, even without taking her eyes from the screen, where 'scientists' (one could tell from the labcoats) waved hand-sized blocks of silver-painted plywood at a 'meteor' that appeared to be made from paper mache. “It's a Gargantulon movie! One I've never seen before!” “Hey, lookit Rarity. It's got subtitles just like those fancy French movies you keep on tryin' to get me to watch.” Applejack said, trying to be helpful. “That is ... technically true.” Rarity said, begrudging. “But that's where the similarities end. There's a stark difference between the deliberate artistry of some of the greatest auteurs to ever get behind a camera, and ... this.” “Yeah, this is totally sweet.” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, those fancy movies you like aren't even in color!” “That's called an artistic choice, Rainbow.” Rarity huffed. “Yeah, well, making your movie about a giant radioactive centipede is artsy too!” “No it-- you know what, nevermind. It's your birthday, so I'll just let you enjoy your ... film.” “Thanks!” Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the TV, where a vaguely centipede-shaped puppet curled around a model building built from balsawood. “Woo! Get 'em, Gargantulon!” The girls settled in to watch. As the movie played, distractions arose. Sunset Shimmer started fiddling with her phone, while Twilight Sparkle pretended to read a paperback while stealing glances over Sunset's shoulder in order to spy on her social media activity. Pinkie Pie wandered off to bake another birthday cake (“just in case!” she said). Fluttershy hid behind the couch during the more violent scenes (which is to say, most of the movie), and Rarity and Applejack canoodled when they thought their friends weren't looking (which is to say, most of the movie). Of the seven, Rainbow Dash was the only one to watch the movie in its entirety, taking in every frame as the Space Draculas of Planet Blood put forth their evil plot to conquer Earth, destroying any army that stood before them-- only to be swept away by the force of nature that was Gargantulon, the terror on a hundred legs. Men in rubber suits wrestled. Miniatures were crushed. Puppets were burned. Rainbow Dash watched it all. The credits rolled. Rainbow Dash began to cry. She held her hands up to her face, staring at the television, stunned. She sniffled, sobbed-- loud enough to make her friends take notice. “Uh. Rainbow?” Applejack gently but firmly eased Rarity out of her lap. “What's wrong?” “They did it. They really did it.” Rainbow murmured, shell-shocked. “Did what?” Pinkie Pie leaned through the doorway, bearing a platter with a freshly baked cake. Rainbow Dash's harrowed eyes never left the television, even as the credits finished and the DVD returned to the title menu. Her lip trembled, and she spoke in a small, broken voice. “They killed Gargantulon.”