• Published 5th Dec 2018
  • 1,237 Views, 62 Comments

GARGANTULON VS. THE SPACE DRACULAS - Tumbleweed



When Rainbow Dash gets a copy of the last Gargantulon movie for her birthday, she's left floored by its tragic ending-- which forces her to take matters into her own hands!

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Chapter 4

SOME WEEKS LATER ...

Rainbow Dash watched the city burn.

Years upon years of human achievement lay in ruins, swept away in a single evening. Every smoldering building and shattered piece of military hardware was a testament to the power, the fury of nature.

Or at least to the power and fury of Gargantulon.

The enormous centipede curled around the last standing skyscraper, as if saving it for later. Gargantulon paid no attention to its handiwork-- destruction was in its nature, its purpose. Instead, the radioactive beast turned its multi-eyed gaze across the mayhem it had wrought, and spoke.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash.”

Gargantulon spoke with a deep, smooth voice-- which both made sense for such a huge creature. Rainbow Dash blinked, then looked over her shoulder, as if to make sure Gargantulon hadn't been talking to someone behind her. As Rainbow Dash looked around, she realized she was on eye-level with the monster. She glanced down and saw her bare toes curling against cracked asphalt and flattened cars. Was the city tiny, or had she somehow grown?

It didn't matter.

Rainbow Dash crossed city blocks in a handful of steps,her wispy silken nightgown shimmering close against her skin. Faintly, Rainbow recalled the fact that she didn't actually own anything so frilly, but also that she could probably get one from Rarity if she asked. (Not that she had any reason to ask).

Rainbow stopped in front of the giant centipede, and Gargantulon swung its head down to look Rainbow in the eye.

“I am glad you are here.”

“Me too? I think?”

“When I died, I thought I would be forgotten-- but you remembered. You would not let me slide into oblivion. You alone remembered. You alone cried. You alone were the one who would bring me back from death itself. And I am glad you did, as there is something I now must tell you.”

“Uh. What's that?”

“I love you, Rainbow Dash.”

Gargantulon slithered around the skyscraper, leaning in close enough to Rainbow Dash so she could feel warm, faintly radioactive breath wash over her cheek. Trembling, unable to move, Rainbow Dash could only look upwards as Gargantulon opened its mandibles and--


“Rainbow?”

“Guuagh!” Rainbow Dash jerked awake. She flailed with all four limbs, tangled as she was in the blankets and errant clothing covering her bed. Rainbow panted for breath, then wiped a thin sheen of sweat from her forehead.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy clasped her hands together and leaned forward, eyes wide in concern.

“Fine! Totally fine! I totally wasn't having weird dreams or anything, honest.” Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath, then turned to look at Fluttershy once more. “And, uh. Why are you in my house?”

“Oh! I'm sorry!” Fluttershy recoiled back, tilting her head down to hide behind her pink tresses. “Your mom let me in, and, um. I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss the big movie premiere--”

“Oh crap, that's today?” Rainbow Dash flung herself out of bed, forcing Fluttershy to dodge out of the way for the second time. Strange dream fatigue forgotten, Rainbow Dash streaked (metaphorically and literally) around her bedroom, trailing dirty laundry as she did so. “I can't believe I forgot!”

“It's okay.” Fluttershy murmured, keeping her eyes averted from anything scandalous (for the most part). “I mean, I didn't think Pinkie could get a whole film festival put together so quickly, but I guess there are a lot of aspiring filmmakers in our school, right?”

“Well, just wait 'til they see our movie, and it's gonna give 'em a kick right in the aspiring, right?”

“If you say so?”

“How much time we got before the show?'

“It starts in about half an hour?”

“Got it. You wait here, Fluttershy, and I'm gonna grab a cold-- I mean a quick shower.”


Rainbow Dash showered and dressed in a matter of minutes, and then it was a short walk over to Canterlot High. Most Saturdays, the school was quiet and empty, save for the occasional team practice-- but today, it was something else entirely. The marquee at the front of the parking lot proudly announced the event:

FIRST ANNUAL CANTERLOT HIGH STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL

Pinkie Pie had turned the campus into a fair approximation of a movie premiere, down to the spotlights, the red carpet, and the photographers. Or, well, photographer, as Photo Finish rushed about, taking pictures for the yearbook as the inspiration struck her. A thoroughly stocked snack bar was there to dispense sugar and butter-based treats to the crowd, though for far less than a real theater's extortionary prices.

Fluttershy's rickety minivan was a far cry from the limousines favored by real movie stars, but it still got the job done. Rainbow Dash piled out of the side door, struck a quick pose for Photo Finish, and soon picked out Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle amongst the growing crowd.

“There you are!” Sunset Shimmer waved Rainbow Dash over. “We were afraid you wouldn't make it.”

“Pssh, like I'd miss this! Look at all these people! And they're all here to see our movie! Isn't that cool?”

“Theoretically?” Twilight looked up from the tablet computer which she clutched like a life preserver. “I mean, they could be here for any number of the other student films.” Twilight's glasses slid a fraction of an inch down her nose when she looked down to start scrolling through the schedule. “Micro Chips and Sandalwood did a nature documentary, Vinyl Scratch put together an experimental 16-bit techno-rock-opera-- her description, not mine –and my friends from Crystal Prep even filmed something they've titled Sadistic Machinations, which ... is kind of intimidating but Lemon Zest promised me it wasn't pornographic so I guess it's gonna be okay? Even though that seems like a really weird disclaimer now that I think about it. And that's just the films that people have been talking about-- there's a couple more on the schedule that are bound to be sleeper hits and--”

Twilight looked down at her tablet, and then up at a clock mounted on the wall. “-- they're about to start right now.” Her words came faster, higher pitched as the terrible epiphany hit her. “Sorry, got to get the projector warmed up!” she called out over her shoulder.

“I was wondering when she'd freak out.” Sunset Shimmer said with a bemused shrug. “Look, Rainbow-- I'm gonna make sure Twilight doesn't have a heart attack. See you after the movie?”

“Of course!” Rainbow Dash beamed, and strutted into the auditorium, already envisioning the applause and flowers and fancy gold-dude statues that would be showered on her upon the premiere of the newest (and also raddest) Gargantulon movie.

This was going to be awesome.


SOME HOURS LATER ...



The house lights rose.

The audience cheered.

Rainbow Dash smiled.

She had to.

After all, everyone else was doing the same. All and all, the film festival had been a success-- at least, it was to judge by the reaction of the crowd. On her way out of the auditorium, Rainbow Dash was greeted with smiles. Congratulations. Pats on the back. Fist-pounds. Everyone loved her movie.

It made them laugh.

At Gargantulon.

At her.

But ... that was something, right? She'd made them happy, if for a little bit. And that was the important part, wasn't it?

As the film festival wound down, Rainbow Dash slipped away from the crowds and the cleanup crews, taking refuge in the most comforting place she could think of: Canterlot High's soccer field. She sat down on the first row of the aluminum bleachers, and looked out on the empty field, lit only by the overflow of the spotlights from the main school building.

Rainbow remembered the countless times she'd run across the grass in front of her, the countless cheers and chants her friends and classmates had made-- and in retrospect, they sounded ... forced. Hollow.

“So ... Androidica was built from what was left of Androidicus, right? From Gargantulon Battles Robopsycho?” Someone said behind her. “That's a pretty deep cut right there.”

“Huh-- wha?” Rainbow Dash blinked, turning to look at the one girl who'd found her. It took her a moment to recognize the greenish pigtails and glasses, until her memory finally kicked into gear.“Juniper Montage? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for the director of the best Gargantulon movie in years. Which, uh, is the only Gargantulon movie in years, but that's beside the point.”

“Wait, hold on-- you like old monster movies?”

“Well, yeah? I mean, I like all genres of film, but the Gargantulon movies are just ... fun. That, and they've got a surprisingly relevant anti-capitalist message, what with Gargantulon's unstoppable hunger serving as a handy metaphor for the Japanese economy of the late sixties and early seventies.”

“You sound like my friend Twilight. All, like, brainy and stuff. You must really like Gargantulon movies.”

“Not as much as you do.” Juniper Montage sat down on the bleacher beside Rainbow Dash. “I'm not the one who made a fan sequel to a dead franchise most people have never heard about.”

“Lucky you.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “People think my movie's a joke.”

“You did the best you could, about a franchise you love. It's just that ... most people don't like the Gargantulon movies as much as you or I do. Heck, most people haven't even heard about Gargantulon. All they see is people in weird costumes slapping each other around, and ... well, they laugh.”

“But the people in weird costumes slapping each other around is the best part! It's not supposed to be funny, it's supposed to be awesome.”

Juniper Montage stared out across the empty, dark field. “Can I tell you a secret, Rainbow Dash?”

“Okay, sure, but it better not be about who you've got a crush on because I really don't know you well enough to go that deep.”

“That's ... oddly specific.”

“Look, I'm just keeping my bases covered, alright? I've seen enough movies to know that people start talking about feelings out on empty sports fields when it's all dark and stuff. Either that or they get murdered by mutant zombies in hockey masks. But that's usually at a summer camp.”

“Don't worry, you're safe.” Juniper Montage shook her head. “Look, it's like this. Your first movie was terrible--”

“Hey!”

“--because everyone's first movie is terrible. Like, you know my uncle, right? Currently helming the Daring Do franchise? I've seen his student thesis film. It's awful. Something about a talking hat helping a janitor reconnect with the world after he broke up with a ballet dancer.”

“Hold on.” Rainbow Dash blinked, confused. “The janitor broke up with the dancer, or the hat?”

“I can't remember. It wasn't very clear. Which is only one of the reasons that movie was bad.”

“How's that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Look at it this way. You've already gotten your terrible movie out of the way, and you're still a teenager. And heck, even then, what you and your friends managed to do with literally no budget is still pretty impressive. I bet if you wanted to, if you really studied, really practiced, really applied yourself, you could make a great movie.”

“About Gargantulon?”

“I'm ... not sure about that part.”

“Then what's the point?”

“There ... isn't one, I guess?” Juniper Montage shrugged. “But that's what makes it art. Art doesn't have to have a point.”

“Now you sound like my friend Rarity.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“So long as you don't try to give me a makeover, no.”

“Alright then.” Juniper Montage pushed her glasses further up her nose. “But still. I know it stings to have a movie flop ... but yours didn't even flop, y'know? People just ... interpreted it differently than you intended.”

“They interpreted wrong!” Rainbow Dash snapped, voice cracking even moreso than usual.

“Maybe they did. But there's nothing you can do about that now. Like ... once a piece of art's out there, it's just ... out there. For better or worse.”

“That's awful.”

“That's art.”

“Uuuugh.” Rainbow Dash rubbed at her face with both hands. “Then why even bother?”

“That's a good question.” Juniper Montage leaned back against the aluminum bleachers, sneaker-clad feet stretched out onto the grass. “Why did you bother?”

“I ... I dunno? Like ... somebody had to make a new Gargantulon movie, right? It wasn't like anyone else was going to do it.”

“And you had fun, right?”

“Well, yeah. I got to dress up in a giant centipede costume and break stuff.”

“So there you go. You made your movie for you. It's not like you got paid for it. Or even that anyone paid to watch it. It's just ... there, y'know? And in all likelihood, everyone's going to forget about your fan-film in a month anyway.”

“That's depressing.”

“That's art.”

“You keep on saying that.”

“It keeps on being true.” Juniper Montage took her glasses off and idly cleaned them on the hem of her t-shirt. “But ... even if most everybody did laugh at your movie, I just wanted you to know that at least one person knew where you were coming from when you made it.”

“Really? Who?”

Juniper put her glasses back on and stared at Rainbow, deadpan.

“Oh.” Rainbow Dash said. “Right.”


SOME MINUTES LATER ...

By the time Rainbow and Juniper made it back to the auditorium, cleanup efforts (as directed by a spreadsheet wielding Twilight) were well underway. A handful of students hung around in little clumps, waiting for rides, or just loitering around in an effort to prolong their evening's entertainment for a little while longer.

Juniper and Rainbow passed by the unmistakeable trio of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. The three of them clustered together on a bench, hunched over the glowing rectangle of Sweetie Belle's phone, so distracted that they didn't even notice the older girls walking by behind them.

“Hey lookit!” Scootaloo pointed. “Streamflix has got, like, a dozen of those Gargantulor movies. Cool!”

“You're just saying it's cool 'cause Rainbow Dash thinks it's cool.” Sweetie Belle said, skeptical.

“It's cool on its own, but the Rainbow Dash thing just makes it cooler!”

“Would y'all two stop fightin' and just hit play already? I wanna see what all this hubbub 'bout some monster movie's about. Still gonna be awhile 'til my sister's done cleanin' up, 'n she won't let us help out 'cause a last time.”

“That fire so wasn't my fault.” Sweetie Belle huffed.

“So pick a movie already!” Scootaloo tried climbing over her friend to poke at the screen.

“Fine, fine, we'll watch a weirdo monster movie this time! But which one?”

“How 'bout the first one?” Apple Bloom said. “Makes sense to start from the beginning, right?”

Decision reached, the shrill screech of Gargantulon soon echoed from Sweetie Belle's phone, followed by the bombastic horns of the Gargantulon theme song.

The three young girls went silent.

Juniper Montage raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow Dash smiled.

Comments ( 14 )

I feel legit sad.

So very nice:

Add Raymond Burr or Nick Adams or Russ Tamblyn in, and we might just have something!

Mike

The Ending was simply perfect. I'm envious.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's art alright. I liked Juniper and Rainbow bonding over fandom, and that the CMCs were inspired even if most people didn't get it.

That was a surprisingly-sweet ending to this. Well-done.

Fantastic conclusion. I was wondering if you'd involve Juniper; glad to see that not only did you, you used her fantastically. An inspiring message about art, a hope for the future... and some very questionable fantasies about giant, radioactive arthropods. Thank you for this.

So now Rainbow, Juniper and the CMC have to make a sequel.

Don't worry Rainbow Dash. I'm sure once it gets out there on the internet you'll find a lot more people who get you and your movie. Can't beat the classics after all.

Oh and if Gargantulon has a theme anything like Godzila's I'm sure it's epic. :raritywink:

Great work and nicely written, even if this last chapter took a while to get out. Was a fun read. and tribute to old zany monster moves I admit I have some love for too, if not quite as much as Rainbow aparently does. Thanks for writing! :twilightsmile:

Okay, that opening scene of this... Rainbow, you might need to see someone about that. o_0

That joke aside... this was a great story. Superbly funny through so much of it, and yet also really quite nice too, especially with the use of Juniper Montage being there to talk to Rainbow Dash about her movie and what it means to her. The very ending of the story was really nice too. :pinkiesmile:

hehe, aww. Nice job with the story! :twilightsmile:

That ending made the whole story worth it. :twilightsmile:

Rainbow Dash crossed city blocks in a handful of steps,her wispy silken nightgown shimmering close against her skin. Faintly, Rainbow recalled the fact that she didn't actually own anything so frilly, but also that she could probably get one from Rarity if she asked. (Not that she had any reason to ask).

steps, her*

“I love you, Rainbow Dash.”

Wait what! :pinkiegasp:

“You did the best you could, about a franchise you love. It's just that ... most people don't like the Gargantulon movies as much as you or I do. Heck, most people haven't even heard about Gargantulon. All they see is people in weird costumes slapping each other around, and ... well, they laugh.”

Plus it's the thought that counts. :twilightsmile:

“Alright then.” Juniper Montage pushed her glasses further up her nose. “But still. I know it stings to have a movie flop ... but yours didn't even flop, y'know? People just ... interpreted it differently than you intended.”

Or get a lot of downright negativity like some movie flops have gotten. :fluttershysad:

As a lover of kaiju movies this hit me really hard. Tumbleweed GETS IT.

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