Visions of the Past
Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall. Too strong. Too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy.
-Ishiro Honda
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed. A few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says "Now I am become Death. The Destroyer of Worlds." I suppose we all thought that. One way or another.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer
Deep beneath the waves, rested among an underwater canyon was a leviathan. The beast in itself was a mystery, created and sculpted by nature and the past but reborn in the fires of modern technology. Its titanic, gray form dwarfed even the mightiest blue whale in size and weight. Three pairs of strange, bone white, coral-like spikes covered its very back, from its neck to its long, segmented tail. Its arms, while somewhat small, were muscular and ended in eight, sword-like talons; four on each hand and sharp enough to cut through flesh, bone, concrete or even steel. Its legs were also muscular and trunk-like, with four toes on each foot bearing a wider but equally sharp claw. The head of the beast was very reptilian but had some cat-like features such as a mammalian nose and small, pointed ears on each side of its head. A pair of fangs sticking out of its upper jaw betrayed the beast's carnivorous nature, even though it could find nourishment from nuclear energy.
Even asleep, the giant gave off an aura that demanded respect and, if there was no respect to give, fear. Awake, the monster was a living nightmare, fueled by rage and a desire for revenge towards the humans who created it. Who created him. The leviathan went by many names and titles: Kaiju Alpha, God of Destruction, Nature's Messenger, Butcher of Tokyo, King of the Monsters. However, he had one name that would always send chills down the spines of those who heard it and associated it with the destruction he left in his wake: Godzilla.
Deep in his slumber, Godzilla began to dream of a day long past. The day his life turned upside down.
The Godzillasaurus lifted its head groggily and turned to the opening of its cave, aroused by the noises outside. Curious, the dinosaur rose up with a sleepy growl and walked out into the sunlit jungle of Lagos. As it continued to walk, the sounds grew louder. It soon entered the clearing and it saw what looked like strange, bipedal creatures in different colored skins. They appeared to be fighting each other with objects it had never seen before. They would point these objects in different directions and make them pop. It let out a roar that turned the creatures' attention to it.
The creatures then pointed at it and ran in the opposite direction. The dinosaur, in its curiosity followed them, knocking down trees as it went down its path until they reached the shore. Suddenly, something hit its shoulder, forcing a yowl of agony from its fanged jaws. Before it could recover, it was bombarded by more objects until it collapsed on the sand. After what seemed like hours of unconsciousness, the Godzillasaurus opened its eyes and saw some of the creatures surrounding it. With a roar, the dinosaur fully sprung awake, its natural instinct to protect itself in full control of its actions. Wasting no time, the dinosaur swung its tail at a row of the bipeds, knocking them to the ground and snapping at those were were still standing. The dinosaur stomped down and crushed one biped before grabbing another fleeing one in its jaws. The creature gave out sounds it did not understand before it applied pressure and crushed its spine, with proof of a noise equivalent to that of a snapping twig. Wounded gravely, the dinosaur limped back, hoping to reach its cave and heal even though it had lost so much blood. However, just twelve feet from its home, the dinosaur's eyes began to droop before it collapsed once more and allowed the darkness to take it.
Suddenly, just like that, the dream faded and for some reason, it felt as though Godzilla were floating in nothing. He opened his fiery red and orange eyes and found himself standing in a void. Shining dots lay at his feet while wisps of thin blue clouds danced like ocean waves all around him. Where was he?
"Forgive my intrusion, great beast of this world," a feminine voice told him, "I will not stay here very long."
Godzilla turned his head to the left and saw a large speck of light, almost like a star, shining in front of him. A figure began to appear within the light until it finally became clear. What Godzilla saw made him narrow his eyes and curl his lip in anger. It was a human woman appearing to stand eye-level to him in mid-air. The woman was tall and neither thin nor round, more like in between. Her skin was as white and pale as a pearl. Her heart-shaped face bore eyes that were as blue as the morning sky. What really struck Godzilla as strange was her long hair, which was colored as the sky at night with bits of silver dots sprinkled in like stars and rippled like a river. She wore an indigo gown with bits of silver dots mixed in almost like her hair with her bare feet sticking out from underneath as well as a black necklace with a crescent moon-shaped symbol and a black tiara atop her head.
"Rest assured, you're still dreaming." the woman told him, "As for why I am in your dreams, even I cannot say. Something just drew my attention to this world. To you."
Godzilla lowered his lip slowly but his eyes remained narrowed. "Who are you and what do you want, human?" he asked, his growling mental voice echoing throughout the void.
The woman laughed softly. "Forgive me, I've merely taken the form of the denizens of this world. This is what I truly look like." she said, raising her left hand to reveal an image of a sapphire horse with large bird-like wings, a black splotch above her hind legs with a moon mixed in and a mane and tail much like her own hair, a similar necklace and tiara, silver blue hoof guards and a spiral-shaped horn on her forehead. "My name is Luna, Equestrian princess of the night, daughter of King Absque and Queen Stellae and sister of Celestia, Equestrian princess of the sun. As I said, I cannot say what drew my attention to this world nor to your dreams."
She then began to pace back and forth as if pondering before coming to a seeming conclusion. "Perhaps it is because we have something in common."
Godzilla leaned his head nearer towards 'Luna', his snarl ever more present and his eyes now fiery slits. "We have nothing in common, human, horse, princess! You have no idea of the life I have lived or the battles I've fought! You have no idea of what I have seen and you will never understand the things I have lost! NO IDEA!" he roared.
Luna stared at him unwavering and smirked. "Perhaps we can decide that for ourselves."
Godzilla once again lowered his curled up lip and gave her an inquisitive look. "How exactly do you intend we do that?"
The woman kept her smirk as she climbed up invisible stairs towards the Monster King's gigantic head and placed her hand on it. "By looking into each others' pasts." she answered.
Before Godzilla could react, the void suddenly dissolved into what looked like the interior of a castle, with decorations of horses on tapestries and statues. He then saw Luna in her horse form with a bitter pout on her face while another horse, this one slightly taller than her with a rippling mane and tail colored like the northern and southern lights, a white coat with a hint of lavender with a sun on her hindquarters, magenta eyes and a golden necklace, tiara and hoof guards, walked in behind her. Luna turned around and spoke up.
"One day, Celestia, one day. That is all I am asking of you. No sun, just night."
The white one, Celestia, shook her head. "Sister, we've been over this before. We need to uphold a balance between the moon and sun. That was the job mother and father gave us before their ascension. I see no reason to destroy that balance, even for one day."
"I can see a reason." Luna snapped.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Please enlighten me."
"For you, the ponies always play and romp in your sun. Do I get the same thing at night, when the moon and stars I worked so hard to call upon are in the sky? No! They are ignored and forgotten by the ponies asleep in their beds."
Celestia sighed. "Luna."
"All I am asking is one time for the moon and stars to be dominant."
"Luna."
"The balance can always be reset, there are always exceptions."
Celestia stomped her hoof onto the ground and startled her sister as her voice rose to an echoing roar, "LUNA, THAT IS ENOUGH! I WILL NOT ALLOW THE BALANCE TO BE SHIFTED JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL THIS IS UNFAIR. THE SUN AND MOON WILL RISE AND FALL AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE. I WILL NOT HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOU AGAIN. IS THIS UNDERSTOOD?"
Luna was about to retort until she saw the stern look in her older sister's eyes and sighed, "Yes... Celestia."
Celestia walked off, satisfied, unaware of the malicious passing glare from her little sister.
Luna's incorporeal form stood within a damaged jungle as a band of human soldiers circle around what looked like Godzilla only smaller, lacking the back spikes, having a light brown color to it as well as a yellow underbelly, under-developed arms and a more elongated jaw laying side-first on the ground, its body covered in fresh wounds.
One of the humans cried out, "ATTENTION!"
The rest of the soldiers fell into position before one of them stepped forward.
"We deeply regret that we must leave our savior behind. We pray that he will never hold it against us in his heart."
Luna thought she saw tears in his eyes.
"Please forgive us but, w-we are helpless! T-there is nothing we can do. We can't carry you, we cannot take you to safety. We hope your wounds heal quickly and that you will recover full health. We, the Lagos Garrison of the Japanese Army, will never forget how you saved our lives. Never!"
One soldier walked up to his commanding officer and bowed.
"The boat's leaving. Shall we present arms?"
The man simply nodded.
"PRESENT ARMS!"
The man turned to the Proto-Godzilla and saluted him as guns and flags were presented. As the soldiers marched way, Luna watched them before turning her attention to the wounded beast, sorrow and sympathy rising within her.
Godzilla watched as Luna angrily paced back and forth in what he assumed was her room seeing as it was decorated in moon symbols and star maps. He could hear her talking to herself.
"One day. That is all I asked for. Just one day. Stupid Celestia. Stupid balance. Oh, and how could I forget about those ungrateful ponies who sleep through my night? They think it is so simple to raise the moon and stars, making sure the constellations are in the right place at the right time? Hah! I say thee nay! I shall make them appreciate my night. Even if I must make it eternal."
"I believe we can make that possible." a slithering, hissing voice told her.
Luna, and Godzilla, turned to see a strange creature appearing to be comprised of shadow with ruby-red eyes hiding in the corner of her loft untouched by her sister's sun.
"Who are you? What are you?" Luna asked, a little scared and curious. The shadow creature chuckled as it slithered over to her, wrapping itself around her like a snake.
"I? I am named Shadowfright, loyal soldier of the Nightmare Forces."
"Well then, Shadowfright, was it? What do you want?" Luna asked suspiciously.
"I was merely passing by, o' beautiful Princess of the Night, and I could not help but overhear your endeavor. I merely offer the services of myself and my fellow Nightmare Kin."
"What do you ask for in return?" the Night Princess asked.
Shadowfright stopped and tapped his mist-like claw to what Godzilla assumed was a chin.
"I ask for nothing in return other than to see the moon shine in the sky for all to see. After all, Celestia's job is easiest, all she needs to do is raise the sun. You, however, have more to do, not just the moon itself but also the stars that shine." he answered.
Luna bit her lip in hesitation before making her decision.
"Very well, Shadowfright." she replied.
The shadow creature gave what appeared to be a smile before responding, "Excellent decision."
Luna watched as the Proto-Godzilla slept from the mouth of its cave, her hand resting on the opening. Time had passed and, while its wounds had healed, the scars still remained, mottled against its brown flesh. She began to feel sorry for the creature before her. Just then, she began to hear a noise far off in the distance, as though someone were counting down.
"T-minus fifteen seconds until detonation. All personnel return to safety."
Luna then noticed the beast had also been stirred by the voice and began to lumber to the mouth of the cave. For a brief second, the foot of the creature passed through her translucent body like somepony stepping through floating steam.
"14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1."
Before Luna could react, there was a sound louder than a thunderclap and a flash of light brighter than the sun. This was followed by a burst of wind which cut down every tree in its path and sent sand flying in the air. She also heard the Proto-Godzilla scream in what seemed like agony as it was swallowed by the light. When the debris cleared, Luna was beheld with a frightening sight. The once beautiful jungle now burned, trees were flattened and the sand was turned into molten glass. She then saw a leviathan creature rise slowly. The monster raised its head into the sky and her ears were filled with the sound of an angry war god.
SKREEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNKKKKKK!
The scene dissolved again for Godzilla, this time to Luna standing in a corner, her blue eyes narrowed as if she were waiting impatiently. He then heard Celestia calling out for her until she came around the corner.
"Luna, there you are." she said.
"Yes." Luna responded, her voice cold as she slowly spoke her words. "Here. I. Am."
Celestia sighed with relief before walking towards her sister. "There were some guards talking about how they heard you talking in your room. What happened?"
"NOT ANOTHER STEP!" Luna yelled. Celestia stopped in her tracks with a confused and worried look on her face.
"Luna, what is the meaning of this?" the white princess demanded.
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?!" Luna snarled.
Celestia stammered at first until she regained her stern voice. "Is that what this is about? I told you once before, Luna, I will not risk the balance for something as selfish as that. I also told you I did not want to have this conversation with you again."
Luna ignored her as she strode up to a pedestal decorated with two winged horses flying towards each other. "There can only be one princess in Equestria," she snarled before stopping in front of the pedestal and reared up on her hindlegs "and that princess... will be ME!" she finished before slamming them down, shattering the stone, her eyes glowing white. The shattering of the stone sent cracks running until a window was shattered, revealing the sun. With a gaze full of contempt at her sister, Luna rose up again, slower this time, with her wings spread. As if responding to her movements, the moon began to rise until it blocked out the sun. Just then, tendrils of what looked like shadow began to pour out and approach the blue princess.
Luna let out a small cry as the shadows swirled around her, wrapping her in a ball which briefly glowed a fiery red before turning into a dark blue. Suddenly, the ball burst open revealing what appeared to be Luna, only... different. Her mane and tail now looked more like mist with stars mixed in. She had a much more rounded head with a much longer horn and a light blue helmet. Her wings had turned from bird-like to a mixture of feathered and ending in a leathery tip similar to a bat. Her eyes were cat-like while her teeth now shifted from being flat to sharp fangs as she cackled. Her fur had also changed from a midnight blue to a pitch black. After laughing for a while, she finally stopped and glared before destroying a statue of Celestia with a bolt of energy from her horn and tearing the ceiling with another, allowing moonlight to seep in.
Celestia shot upwards and hovered above her sister. Luna saw this and shot another energy blast at her, only to have the white horse dodge it. The white sister landed and locked eyes with the renegade princess, whose eyes had narrowed into sapphire slits.
"Luna, I will not fight you. You must lower the moon! It is your duty!" Celestia commanded her, a hint of sadness in her voice.
Luna gave her sister a confused look before frowning. "Luna?" she said, "I am, Nightmare Moon!" With that she reared up and gave her wings a strong flap. "I have but one royal duty now... TO DESTROY YOU!" With that 'Nightmare Moon' charged at Celestia.
Luna now found herself in a city at nighttime. While the stars and moon did shine, they were almost hidden by the light given off by the blazing fires. She then started to walk through the city as sirens blared all around her, her bare feet not even touching the ground. Suddenly, she saw streaks of fire soar through the night sky and hit something covered in smoke. What emerged from the smoke made her eyes widen in shock. It was Godzilla. However, it wasn't the same Godzilla she met in his dreamscape. In the dreamscape, Godzilla was gigantic and had a aura which invoked fear and awe at the same time, but now all she felt was fear. He looked almost demonic with flames illuminating his ash gray skin and bone-white spikes which boomed like bells as they clattered among each other, his eyes glowing like embers. Behind her, she saw a platoon of artillery platforms on strange wheels roll up to the leviathan and pointed their cannons up at him. They fired their rounds upon the angry beast which turned his attention on them.
Godzilla's spikes began to flash a bright blue and a stream of silver blue fire erupted from his mouth, sending the tanks into the sky before lumbering on his way, the earth trembling beneath his very footsteps. He then curled his tail in the air and slammed it into the side of a building, shattering windows, bending steel support beams and turning concrete into dust. Godzilla then came to another building and dug his claws into it, tearing it away brick-by-brick before setting it ablaze with his fire. Luna gazed in sheer horror at the sight in front of her. She was now seeing just how devastating Godzilla could really be and how powerful he truly was. She then turned her head and saw a human woman holding her children close to her as the fires crept closer and closer while Godzilla's roar echoed throughout the city.
"Don't cry, we'll be with Daddy soon." the mother told her son and daughter, "Just a few more minutes and we'll be with Daddy again."
Forgetting she was only in a memory, Luna rushed forward in an attempt to save them, however, she was too late as the family was consumed by the flames. Luna's eyes began to fill with tears before she heard Godzilla roar again.
Suddenly, the scene dissolved and she was underwater. Luna noticed there were two men wearing diving suits with air being pumped to them. One of the men was carrying a device that resembled an hourglass. The man carrying the device placed it on a rock and signaled his partner the device's condition. His partner pointed at something which turned out to be Godzilla beginning to wake up. The man with the device signaled whoever was pumping air to them to pull up his colleague. Just as the man was pulled back up while the other one cut his air tube just as Godzilla began lumbering from his sleeping state. "Ogata, you and Emiko go and be happy together," the man said, "have a good life for me." Godzilla's gigantic foot stepped down next to him, causing the device to activate, sending up a plume of bubbles.
Luna gazed in shock as Godzilla writhed in what seemed like pain as the bubbles increased in number. She saw the man collapse as if he were a tent that had lost its structure and Godzilla's silhouette as he swam away.
Godzilla found himself outside the castle as both Celestia and Nightmare Moon shot into the air. The former Princess Luna shot bolt after bolt of blue energy at her horn while her white counterpart took the time to simply dodge them before turning tail and flying away, with Nightmare Moon giving chase. Finally, the corrupted princess struck the white horse dead on and sent her spiraling into the castle roof. With her white foe defeated, Nightmare Moon cackled maniacally. Just then, there was a flash of light and Celestia rose up again, this time with six gems circling around her in a fast moving fashion. Nightmare Moon noticed this and fired her energy bolt only for Celestia to counter with a multi-colored blast of her own, outright consuming the dark horse's beam, but also engulfing Nightmare Moon herself. The blast then flew out towards the moon, leading to a rainbow-colored explosion before dots of lunar maria shaped like the head of a horse appeared on its surface.
The Night Princess watched in awe and horror as Godzilla grappled with his opponent; a giant beast with an armored carapace like a turtle but with spikes like a porcupine, a dog-like head with six curved horns crowning its skull and a smaller horn on its snout and a spiked tail. The beast let out a honking roar before breaking free, only to have the leviathan grab the side of its head and slam it into a building. The scene dissolved in a different city where she saw a slimmer looking monster with a boxy head and back spikes that looked almost like reverse shark fins charging at Godzilla. Godzilla sidestepped the monster and swatted it with his tail. That was immediately replaced by a giant winged monster, almost like a bird but with red scales and leathery wings, scratching and pecking at Godzilla. Godzilla responded by releasing his fire at the its spiked chest. Luna was then shown another vision, this time of Godzilla fighting what looked like a metal duplicate of himself but with a strange machine on its back with two rods ending in what looked like diamonds.
Godzilla unleashed his flame at the metallic pretender only for it to respond with a golden blast from its abdominal area, causing him to stagger briefly. After recovering, the leviathan charged and locked talons with the machine before twisting them off and headbutting it. These images shifted again, this time to that of Godzilla fighting what looked like a golden hydra with three heads as opposed to the usual four, gigantic sail-like wings and a dual split tail that seemed to tower over him. The gray leviathan shot his fire at the auburn beast only for it to shrug it off and respond with bolts of lightning from each of its mouths. Godzilla recovered and lunged at the winged hydra, causing it to let out a melodious cackle as it fell. That shifted again to Godzilla fighting two enemies this time; one that looked like a giant white butterfly with large multi-colored wings, blue eyes and a musical shriek while its counterpart was as black as coal, had red and black wings, a demonic-looking head with red eyes and yellow spikes all around it, red spikes on its abdomen and six, long legs with three sharp claws on each one and let out a battle cry in the form of a harsh scream. Godzilla tried to hit both monsters with his fire only to have them dodge while the black one shot energy from its eyes. Godzilla pounced, his jaws open with the possible intent of biting it in half. He was too late, however as his enemy barrel-rolled away, his fangs biting down on empty air.
Luna then saw Godzilla in yet another city from atop a building, this time there were no other monsters, just him. She then noticed humans firing at him with machines that shot electricity, only seeming to anger him. With a furious roar, Godzilla stomped down on the humans and let loose his blue flame before proceeding to tear a gash in a building and setting another one ablaze. She then heard a voice in her head that sounded almost like... Godzilla.
"I was the last of my kind, and you turned me into the first!" it growled angrily at first before ending in an almost sorrowful tone, "This is why I punish you. Because I never thought I could be made lonelier." Godzilla then raised his head and roared into the sky.
Both Godzilla and Luna opened their eyes and saw they were back in the void. They locked eyes, their minds full of events from their past.
"I have but one royal duty now... TO DESTROY YOU!"
"I was the last of my kind, and you turned me into the first!"
At first, Luna wanted to hate the leviathan in front of her after seeing the atrocities he had committed. She wanted to raise her fist and reprimand him for his actions. However, she then thought about how he came to be, how painful it must have been for him to turn into a living nightmare.
Luna was the first to speak up. "I understand. I understand perfectly, great beast. How it must have been for you to have your life taken away. To become a monster."
Godzilla frowned. "Perhaps we do have things in common after all, Luna. But, let this be known, Princess of the Moon, this changes nothing. Nothing you can say or do will change my mind towards the humans and what they did to me. You may call it slaughter, I call it execution."
Luna sighed, "My aim was never to change your mind, but I will say this, before you return to your crusade, try to think of the humans who showed you at least some kindness, no matter how little or how much."
Before Godzilla could respond, a moon rippled into the void above Luna, a wind seeming to blow towards it. The princess turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "It is time I took my leave. Before I go, however, I must ask your name."
The King of the Monsters replied, "The humans refer to me as 'Godzilla', so Godzilla it shall be."
Luna ascended towards the moon, "Farewell, Godzilla." she said before seeming to swirl into the moon like a whirlpool, leaving Godzilla behind in the void.
"Luna. Luna, wake up."
Luna groaned as Celestia's voice entered her ears coupled with her sister's hoof prodding her side.
"Wake up, Luna. Unless you want me to raise the moon all by myself." her sister teased.
Luna rose from her bed, and locked eyes with her sister.
"Very well, sister." she replied groggily as she walked towards her own loft.
"Luna, before you go, I have something to ask you." Celestia called out.
"Yes, Celestia?"
"Whose dream did you visit?"
Luna thought for a second before answering, "Someone far away from here."
As she reached the twilight sky, she began to think about Godzilla. How each of them were so different and yet so alike at the same time. Both had lives they could never take back, committed atrocities in the past and live with those atrocities. However, Luna was not Godzilla and Godzilla not her. Her jealousy in the past attracted the Nightmare Forces to her and turned her into Nightmare Moon. It was her choice that led to her fall from grace. However, the Nightmare's hold was purified twice, once by the Elements of Harmony and for a final time by love and compassion after it had corrupted one of the Element Bearers. Godzilla was not given a choice to become a monster nor was there any way for him to be cured. In a way, she felt sympathy for the leviathan. True he did terrible things, but at the same time there was great tragedy behind it all. Maybe I can't change his mind, but that doesn't mean he can do it himself. she thought.
Godzilla pondered Luna's words as he began to think about the humans who truly showed him compassion. He thought about the man who saluted him as he lay wounded and on the edge of death back on Lagos. Then he thought about the first woman to enter his mind, a psychic named Miki Saegusa. However, he thought about how the man on his old island abandoned him. How he allowed his fellow humans to transform him into what he was now; a freak, a mutant, a monster. These were the very same thoughts going in his mind as he incinerated him. Miki was no better. She created a mental link when they first encountered each other, a link he could feel as she piloted the second man-made, robotic mockery of him. Then he began to remember some of the monsters humanity had unleashed. The beast created from the cells belonging to human, plant and himself, the crystalline abomination of a "brother", the mantises mutated and enlarged in a selfish attempt to control the weather, the dragonfly queen and her swarm unleashed after humans dug into the earth, the giant monster made of toxic sludge attracted to Earth by their pollutants, those two insectoid beasts who fed on radiation let loose onto the world from their underground imprisonment as a result of humanity's greed and the abomination created by the very same weapon that failed to end his life. It did not matter if they were accidental or not, humanity brought them into the world. It was all their fault.
Godzilla's eyes flashed open as he began to stir, startling the sea animals that had gathered around on his slumbering body. His mouth opened, sucking in water to fill his gill-laden lungs as well as any other marine life too slow to escape to a safe distance to fill his stomach. Luna's words were forgotten. Even the humans who showed him compassion hurt him one way or another. Besides, he still had a war to fight.