The Cine-magic Series: Godzilla

Nightfall. Daunting, yet strangely calming. Everyone onboard the train remained quiet as the it rolled through the mountainside. A lazy fog surrounded the environment, lowering the visibility and putting everyone on a higher alert. Of course, not everyone was as attentive.

"I gotta say. This has probably the most entertaining things have been since we got here," Rainbow said.

"I would hardly call this entertainin'," Applejack said. "Considerin' what's at stake here."

"That's exactly the thrill of it: Being on a risky mission with dangerous cargo for a greater cause. It's like being in a spy movie."

"Except that's going to actually happen eventually." Pinkie said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, what?" Rainbow's attention turned to the random earth pony. "What do you mean that's going to happen eventually?"

Pinkie chuckled giddily. "You'll find out...evenutally."

Her chuckles turned into a laughter, like she had just shared the funniest joke ever. None of the other occupants joined in though. Rainbow and Applejack had confused, skeptical looks, but quickly chalked it up to Pinkie just being Pinkie.

I really should invest in some spoiler warnings.

While Pinkie was laughing up a contagious storm, Twilight was recapitulating the plan over with the rest of her friends.

"All right, main points; we're delivering bombs which are to lure the MUTOs and Godzilla, which will detonate and thereby killing them."

"That's the simplest way of putting it," one of the soldiers said.

"But, I thought Godzilla was the good guy," Rarity broached. "I remember Dr. Serizawa saying he was the way nature balances itself out."

"I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around that," Twilight said candidly. "I mean, nature having a failsafe of such magnitude."

"That "failsafe" is also putting lives at risk," the soldier said. "If Godzilla reached land, the destruction would be unimaginable. It's better to take them all down with the lowest risk possible."

"Something tells me we might be a little too late on the unimaginable destruction," Spike eyed a destroyed railroad bridge they were passing by.

"So, how are we going to detonate these things," Pinkie hopped onto one of the warheads. "I don't a fuse anyway."

"It's right here," Ford pointed to a control panel from inside the exposed bomb. "Sergeant Morales. Give me a hand."

Ford and Morales grabbed a side of the panel and removed it from the warhead.

"I thought all these nukes detonated by remote control," Morales said.

"The MUTOs knock out everything electric. Including detonators. Thing is you can't even get in range without these things going haywire."

"So, then how do these bombs, um, explode?" Fluttershy asked brashly.

"With this," Ford, with the help of Morales, picked up a different panel and placed it in the nuke. "It's an timer fuse. It's what they used way back then."

"It works on a timer instead of remote control," Twilight concluded.

"Exactly."

"Okay, that's actually pretty cool," Rainbow take to the air to get a better view.

"I 1,000% agree!" Pinkie continue hopping on the nuke.

"Hey, get off of that! It's not a toy," the master sergeant yelled from the next flatbed over.

While Ford and the other soldiers were situating the fuse, Rarity took the time to lean against the bars of the flatbed's platform and take in a deep breath of the cool, night air. She took of her helmet, allowing her elegant, royal purple mane flow against the wind. Spike then came up to her.

"H-Hey, Rarity," he stammered.

"Hello, Spikey," the stunning unicorn smiled sweetly. "How are you enjoy our little trip."

"Well, it's certainly quiet and the surroundings beautiful. Not as beautiful as you, though."

Right as he finished, Spike quickly smacked his mouth shut. His face purged of it's lavender color and replaced with a hot pink as he blushed. The young drake was expecting some kind of admonishment from Rarity, but instead was met with her lovely, little laugh.

"Oh, Spike, you are quite the flatterer. Even when I'm wearing something as industrial-looking as this."

She motioned to the rough, camo-colored jacket and helmet she along with the others were sporting. Spike gulped. While it was true that a military uniform was far from attractive, Rarity seemed just as breath-taking in it, according to him.

"O-Of course, Rarity," Spike said. "You can make anything beautiful."

Overloaded with embarrassment, the baby dragon dipped his helmet and turned away from the unicorn to hide the burning blushing that was growing brighter on his face. While Spike didn't notice, but Rarity also turned away from him, hiding a blush of her own.

"Am...I interrupting something?" a timid voice asked from behind.

Spike and Rarity peeked over to Fluttershy staring at them. Half of her face was hidden behind her mane and helmet.

"Oh, not at all, darling," Rarity waved a hoof dismissively.

"Yup. Nothing going on here," Spike added with a forced, innocent smile.

Fluttershy, herself, couldn't help but a smile a little at the twos' hidden chemistry. That smile falter once she, too, hoisted herself onto her back hooves and leaned against the bars.

"Are you two...s-scared?"

Spike and Rarity turned to her.

"Well, of course, Fluttershy," Rarity was the first to speak. "After everything that's happened, it's hard not to."

"Yeah. It's like it's a nightmare that keeps getting worse," Spike agreed.

"I, well..." Fluttershy paused. "Yeah, all of that, but aren't you scared of what's to come? We are traveling with a bunch of explosives and...what if we run into one of the MUTOs again?"

"Oh, you need not worry about those horrible creatures, Fluttershy," Rarity said confidently. "I doubt we'll be having to so those things anytime soon."

While the two mares and dragon were discussing what the closing future held, Ford was explaining to the workings of the timer fuse.

"This...This is old school. Clockwork."

"So, it's like an alarm clock?" Applejack inquired.

"Pretty much," Ford replied.

"Takes a licking, keeps on ticking," Morales said wittily.

Hearing that, Pinkie thought of licking the warhead.

"Hmm," her tongue slid across the cold metal. "Pah! Gross!"

"That was meant as an expression," the sergeant said.

"Pinkie," Twilight reprimanded.

"Sorry. Him saying that brought up an idea I just couldn't pass up," Pinkie rubbed her tongue with a toothbrush that appeared out of nowhere.

Ford let out a chuckle. Suddenly, a resounding boom echoed through the mountain range. Everyone's attention was drawn toward the perpendicular mountainside where a mushroom rose from behind it. Everyone's expression turned grim.

"What the heck was that?" Rainbow questioned.

All of a sudden, the train violently jolted. Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike flopped to the floor from the sudden change in momentum. The train's brakes squealed and screeched as sparks sprayed the ground.

"What is going on?" Rarity asked in a panic.

The military train finally grinded to a halt just beyond a tunnel. Ford looked back to the mountainside. He could see artillery and more explosions over the top of the elevated tree line.

"Holy shit," a soldier muttered.

"That can't be good," Twilight said nervously.

"What could they be shooting out?" Spike asked.

"What else? The MUTOs!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Fluttershy let out a frightened gasp and clasp her hooves over her mouth.

"S-Surely it's something else, Rainbow," Rarity tried to remain calm, putting a comforting hoof on Fluttershy.

"With our luck, Rarity, it can't be anything else."

"Sergeant Morales, get down here with that radio," the master sergeant ordered. "On the double. Move, move!"

Ford turned to Morales. Something insidious was going on.

"C-Can we just stay on the train? Wear it's safer?" Rarity, by now, was holding onto Fluttershy.

"I said get moving!" the master sergeant barked.

Begrudgingly, the Mane 6 and Spike disembarked the train. The rest of the soldiers, including Ford and Morales, followed.

"Ah have ah very bad feelin' 'bout this," Applejack said quietly to the others.

"This whole mission's been nothing but a bad feeling," Rainbow said.

"Let's just see what we're up against now," Twilight said anxiously.

The gang all hurriedly made their way the front of the train. They could hear the distant popping of gunfire beyond the mountainous slope. Once they reached the front, the soldiers were only met with the pitch-black entrance of the tunnel was sitting not even a dozen or so feet away. Morales handed the master sergeant the radio.

"Snake Eyes, this is Bravo to November. Is the bridge clear? Over."

All that came out from the radio was more gunfire and people yelling. Something serious was happening, but that wasn't enough indication for the master sergeant.

"I say again: We got a train of VIP cargo headed for the coast. Is the bridge clear? Over."

"I have a distinct impression that bridge is not clear," Twilight said.

"I will be the one to make that call, as soon as I receive confirmation of whether it's clear or not," the master sergeant said aggressively.

"Well, considering that all I hear is yelling, they've clearly ran into something," Twilight stepped ahead onto the train tracks. "Doesn't really take much to decipher that."

"And that something is the MUTO," Rainbow steadied her helmet.

"We don't know that for sure," the master sergeant said.

"Seriously?" Spike said. "We're in the middle of a monster crisis and you think whatever is attacking them up them is something else completely?"

"I'm not going to jump to conclusions!"

While an argument was starting to emerge, Ford cautiously trekked ahead, staring down the opening in the mountain. The tunnel had a curve inside, not allowing the lieutenant to see through to the other side.

"Ah'm just saying it don't take much gumption to figure out what's goin; on out there," Applejack said. "And we should be doing something about that."

The master sergeant sneered. "I will make radio contact first before coming to a decision."

He turned his attention back to the radio. Rainbow rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"You don't argue with the master sergeant," one of the soldiers advised.

"Snake Eyes, I need a sitrep," the sergeant said. "Are the tracks clear? We are at phase line yellow. In the next 10 mikes, we're advancing to phase line red. Secure or not? Over."

Again he was met with yelling and screaming. Then there was the sound of a monstrous growl that echoed from the opposite side of the mountainside. It stopped everyone in their tracks. All except Ford, who pressed ahead into the tunnel.

"Still think it could be anything?" Rainbow asked sarcastically.

The master sergeant gave her a nasty look. It did become apparent though that an investigation was warranted. So, some of the soldiers, including the Mane 6 and Spike proceeded into the deep, dark tunnel. Thankfully, the soldiers' were equipped with lights, which meant they could at least see where they were going. The slick walls of the tunnel seemingly glowed as the lights danced around, looking for anything out of place. Every so often, Sergeant Morales peer back to see if anything was following them.

"I really don't like this," Fluttershy shook profusely.

"Neither do I," Rarity added.

"You can always go back to the train," Rainbow said bluntly.

"And miss out on the show? no, thanks!" Pinkie said dramatically.

"This isn't a game, pink one," one of the soldiers said.

"Maybe not for us," the pink earth pony spoke amicably.

"It's too late to back down anyway," Ford said as they reached the end of the tunnel. "We've already made it this far."

They discovered that the tunnel connected to a large trestle bridge that spanned over a river. The bottom was barely visible, however, due to the thickening fog. Not even the mounted lights could break through the dense mist. All was quiet and calm, as if nothing ever even happened.

"Wow. We're pretty high up," Rainbow observed.

"About 200 feet or so," the master sergeant said.

"You think it's intact?" Ford asked.

"Only one way to find out," the master sergeant said. "You wanna take the top?"

"Sure. You check below." Ford turned to the ponies. "Rainbow, Twilight, Fluttershy? You think maybe you could provide us with some aerial coverage."

"You got it," Rainbow saluted.

She spread wings and took to the air.

"We'll keep our eyes peeled," Twilight followed after the cyan pegasus.

"Uhm...w-w-what she said," Fluttershy gulped and hesitantly took off, as well.

She didn't want to. She really didn't what to. But, Fluttershy also didn't like the idea of crossing over a constricting bridge. At the very least, in the air, she had a lot more wiggle room if the MUTO did appear.

"Come on. Just do it! she mentally yelled at herself.

As brave as she could, Fluttershy flew after Rainbow and Twilight. Though, her braveness amount to her shaking so bad, she had to hold her helmet to keep it from falling.

"Sergeant Morales, you come with me," Ford said. "What about you girls."

"Ah think we'll stay with ya, Ford," Applejack said.

"Agreed. Better to stick with ponies you know best," Rarity added.

"Um, I'll stay, too," Spike said.

"Don't forget about me," Pinkie said playfully.

"Seems a bit unbalanced," Morales mumbled under his breath.

With that out of the way, the three teams began examining the bridge. The master sergeant and another soldier climbed down one of the trestles fitted with a ladder. Bats squeaked and screeched as they flew by. The two cautiously searched around rocky shorelines. All that they could see through the foggy darkness were trees and the bubbling river at the very bottom.

Back on the top of the bridge, Ford, Morales, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Spike carefully stepped across the towering bridge. It was impossible to see the end of it, which made the bridge look it went on forever. The ponies and dragon, despite seeing everything appearing normal, were incredibly on-edge. An insidious paranoia was setting.

"I don't mean to sound pejorative, but shouldn't there be...something happening," Rarity said fearfully. "We saw those and explosions and people yelling and the growl, but there's nothing here."

"Ah'm with ya there, Rares," Applejack said. "It's like just disappeared or somethin',"

"Like one of those ghost stories where somepony goes and missing and there spirit haunts the place they disappear, so somepony else goes to investigate and they disappear, too," Pinkie droned on. "Then, some more ponies go searching and the ghost appears and they're all "AAAHHHH!"

The gang all jumped a bit from the mare's dramatization of her over-the-hill analogy.

"...and they go running back home going "The ghost is real! It's going to get us!"

"I think we get it, Pinkie," Rarity almost shouted.

"I know. I just love telling a good story."

"We don't need anymore freak-outs," Applejack said emphatically. "That's the last thing we need while on a bridge."

That's when Sergeant Morales tripped. He had misplaced his step to where most of his foot was set over the awkward space between the railroad ties. He smacked against the wood ties, dropping his flashlight. The suddenness of it all cause the ponies and dragon to jump again. The beam of light swung wildly as the flashlight disappeared into the fog.

"Shit," Morales hissed.

"Oh, don't scare us like that," Rarity said reprimanded.

"I tripped."

"Here, let me help ya up," Applejack took the young man's hand and hoisted him back up. "Morales, was it? You all right?"

"Yes. Thank you," the sergeant said.

Down below, the master sergeant and other soldier inspected the embankments around the river. All was completely silent until they heard something crash into the ground behind them. The two quickly turned around, guns drawn. It was Morales's flashlight. It rolled along the leaf litter.

"Jesus," the master sergeant lowered his gun.

The two soldiers looked up at the bridge, but trying to spot the rest of the team was impossible. An dull, orange glow could be seen out of the corner of their eyes within the fog. The master sergeant and other soldier turned, guns drawn again. The glow grew brighter and brighter like it was heading toward them. A flickering shape seemed to be creating the glow, which it was indeed heading toward the two. The master sergeant and the solider, upon realizing what it really was, jumped clear as the remains of a burning tank smashed into the rocky embankment.

Shattered stones flew everywhere. Then, as soon as it appeared, the tank was swept away by the river's current. The master sergeant quickly got back to his feet. His gun remained drawn, in case anything else were to happen.

"Jones, you all right?" he called out.

"Yeah, I'm good!" the soldier responded.

The two soldiers inched back over to the shoreline. In the river, burning military vehicles were being carried off by the water. Well, there was no sugarcoating here. Something really bad must have happened for all of this to occur. The master sergeant took out a whistle and started blowing a morse code message to the rest of the group on the bridge.

Meanwhile, Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy had made it to the other side of the bridge. From what they gathered, nothing appeared to be abnormal or off, and there seemed to be no signs of a fight of any kind, which left them confused and concerned.

"Bridge looks perfectly fine," Rainbow, for whatever reason, decided the best course of action was to push against the metal framing of the bridge. "This is one sturdy bridge."

"And it connects to another tunnel," Twilight observed. "But, we saw all the chaos happening from the other side of the first tunnel. Where is it now?"

Both Rainbow and Fluttershy exchanged worried works. They couldn't come up with any kind of answers.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," the cyan pegasus alluded. "It does mean we have nothing to worry about now."

"Well, it didn't all just disappear, Rainbow," the troubled alicorn argued. "Something was obviously happening here and I'm asking "where did it all go?"

"What if the MUTO's still here?" Fluttershy asked fearfully. "Maybe it...t-took down all those other soldiers and it's waiting for more."

Rainbow looked around the entire valley. "Fluttershy, if the MUTO was still here, we'd definitely would've spotted it by now. Even in all this fog, we would still be able to see it."

"So, did the other soldiers flee, perhaps?" Twilight hypothesized.

"Maybe," the rainbow mare shrugged. "That's probably the most sensible conclusion we can come up with."

Fluttershy felt an unnerving sensation crawling through her body. The fur on the back of her neck rose and she grew more alert; a primal instinct of something dangerous nearby. Twilight and Rainbow took notice of their friend's sudden rigidness.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked gently.

"Does...Does a-a-anypony else get the feeling we're being w-watched," the yellow pegasus stammered.

Rainbow and Twilight looked around tensely. Although they couldn't see anything, their bodies were yelling at them that something was their. Sweat began forming amongst the three ponies. A bright light shone, highlighting them. The three mares all let out a shriek of terror. Thankfully, the quickly realized it was just Ford and the others.

"Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy!" Applejack called them.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. You guys made it across."

"Yep. Despite what earlier had entailed," Rarity said.

"Yeah, we we're discussing that," Rainbow said. "Nothing seems to be wrong though."

"Bridge is intact," Ford said.

"Bulldog, this is Eagle," Morales radioed to the train. "All clear to move out. Over."

"Roger that, Eagle," the radio responded.

"Eagle? You look more like a sparrow to me," Pinkie said.

"It's my codename," the sergeant said, exasperated.

"Oh, oh, give me a codename! Name me "The Party Animal."

Sergeant Morales let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Oh, Pinkie," Rarity chuckled.

At least, her innocent jokes brightened the mood. The Mane 6 and Spike were having a good chuckle. Even Ford was smiling a bit. Despite all that was happening, these ponies were definitely the light through all this darkness. However, nobody noticed the massive figure rising from within the trees.

Now that they were given the green light, the remaining soldiers scrambled back onto the train.

"Let's go! Let's go, people!" one of the ordered loudly.

He clambered onto the locomotive as it began moving again. It's horn blared as it entered the tunnel. Down at the bottom of the valley, the master Sergeant and the other soldier could the train's horn echoing out from the tunnel. That's when the sergeant received a staticky message from his radio.

"Say again. I do not have a visual. What is your position?"

He tried to receive some kind of signal for communication, but that came out was incoherent static.

"Unreadable. Say again. Over."

Neither her nor Jones were paying attention to what was in front of them. A massive shape began to move, kicking up dust and rocks. What was initially assumed to be a tree was instead one of the MUTO's front legs. The two soldiers stepped back and armed their guns as the massive beast carefully stepped over the bridge.

Ford, Morales, the Mane 6, and Spike were caught in the middle. The color drained from their faces upon seeing the MUTO now walking alongside the bridge. Both Rarity and Pinkie were about to let screams of terror when a purple glow enveloped their mouths and closed them shut. Twilight frantically shook her head, a horrified expression frozen to her mouth.

Spike let out a quiet, frightened squeak. He practically hid himself underneath Twilight, holding her back left leg like a lifeline.

"Hit the deck!" Morales said quietly.

He and Ford lied flat on the backs on the track. The ponies and dragon did the same, Forcing Spike to slip out from underneath Twilight. The two lay still side-by-side. Flutteshy lied flat on her stomach. She covered her eyes, not wanting to see the MUTO so up close and personal.

"Just stay quiet," Twilight whispered as quietly as she could.

The group could only watch as the bat-like creature stepped closer and closer toward them. All except Fluttershy watched it's every move. Ford aimed his gun at it, just in case it did something life-threatening. Each of the MUTO steps shook the entire valley. The MUTO let grunts and growl like it was looking, or perhaps hunting, for something.

It dipped down underneath the bridge. A intense wave of fear washed over the group as the creature disappeared from sight. They could still hear hellish noises it made. It's glowing, slit-like eyes peered through the gaps in the railroad ties. Sergeant Morales's radio started crackling and buzzes. The terrified sergeant frantically fiddled with it the try and turn it off.

"Turn that thing off," Rarity hissed in a barely discernible voice.

"I'm trying. Help me turn it off, man," Morales desperately whispered to Ford.

He fiddled with it more, but the radio kept making noise. That's when the MUTO rose back up. It started imitating the radio's crackling which meant that it not only heard it, but now knew something was there.

The group watched with bated, fear-stricken breaths. It's body rose, soon towering over the bridge. The dim moonlight glimmered against the MUTO's black, leathery skin. Things became truly nightmarish when the MUTO faced the group. It opened it's narrow maw, displaying it's set of jagged, fang-like teeth. The jig was undoubtedly up. The MUTO was preparing to consume each and every one of them, human, pony, and dragon alike.

"What do we do?" Rainbow whispered in a panic.

Given the circumstances, there wasn't much they could do. Twilight, unfortunately knew this. Running away or fighting it off weren't a possibly given the creature's size, but staying still was going to get them eaten. Twilight began to sweat like crazy.

"Uh, Uhm-"

HONK HONK

Through the thick fog, the sound of the trains horn blared. This thankfully got the MUTO's attention. It in the direction of the sound, then imitating it, not very well mind you. The MUTO started heading for the train, stepping half it's body onto the other side of the bridge. That meant, Ford, Morales, the Mane 6, and Spike got a clear view of the monster's underbelly. Above it's hindleg laid a clear, glowing sac that was carrying a large amount of small orbs.

"Ugh, sick," Rainbow said with disgust, turning her eyes away.

Some of the other ponies turned away not wanting to see the graphic asset. Rarity closed her eyes tight, keeping the bile rushing up her throat from spraying out.

"Tell me when it's gone," she said through gritted.

As the MUTO vanished into the mist, the group all stood back.

"Never mind that. It's going after the train!" Twilight exclaimed.

"It's going to eat those warheads once it gets it's hands on it," Spike added.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked helplessly.

Suddenly came the sounds of people screaming and gunfire along with a disturbing roar. Ford aimed his gun out, expecting the MUTO's return.

"We oughta go back up their and help 'em," Applejack said.

A bright glow appeared from the fog. The train, now engulfed in flames was barreling down on them.

"Too late!" Pinkie shrieked dramatically.

"Run!" Ford yelled.

He and the others had no choice but to book it. They ran as fast as they could down the narrow bridge. The burning locomotive, however, was fasting. It was getting closer and closer with each terror-filled second.

"Move it, run!"

"I just want to wake up!" Pinkie cried.

"It's gaining on us," Rarity screamed.

Sergeant Morales noticed one of the MUTO legs swing for the bridge.

"Ford!" he tried to warn, but the leg crashed against the bridge. "Aah!"

Splintered wood flew everywhere as sections of the trestle began to collapse.

"JUMP!" Twilight yelled.

Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike leapt off the bridge and dove down toward the river below.

"Cannonball!" Pinkie curled up her arms and legs.

One by one, the gang splashed into the freezing waters. For a brief moment their was relief. Relief that they were safe away from the MUTO or the burning train. Pinkie and Twilight were the first to resurface.

"How was that cannonball, Twi?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

Twilight was still getting to her bearings after her body was forced into freezing water. "It was...It was great, Pinkie-how are you able to keep such a positive attitude? We literally almost died!"

"But, we didn't. And that's what matters." Pinkie then looked up, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks. "Though that might not be a guarantee."

"What? The MUTO?" Twilight looked up, confused to what Pinkie was getting at.

That's when she saw the burning locomotive plummeting straight at them. The alicorn swore she felt her soul leave her body. Just then, Rainbow resurfaced.

"What did I miss?"

"Look out!" Twilight screeched.

She pushed Rainbow down beneath the surface. Pinkie drew in a huge breath before diving back down just as the diesel smashed into the water. In a brief moment in time, nothing happened. Nothing but rush of the river and the slowly sinking train. As luck would have it, Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike all managed to resurface, gasping and coughing. None of them were hit by the falling train.

"What'n tarnation was that?" Applejack said in shock.

"I think the MUTO was waiting for us," Ford said. "It was trying to ambush us."

"That would explain why everything was so quiet earlier," the soaking alicorn admitted.

"I-Is the MUTO after us?" Fluttershy coughed.

The gang could barely keep afloat against the rivers strong current, but that wasn't the worst part. Like out of a horror movie, the MUTO grabbed at the train cars that were still on the bridge. The first one dropped, causing the monster to let a aggravated bellow. Between dipping back below the surface and gasping for air, Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike were forced to watch the MUTO feasting on the radioactive payload. It ripped the second warhead off the flatbed and bit down it, trying to fit it into it's mouth.

"We need...get out of here," Rarity gasped. "We need to get away from that thing."

"Wait, where's Sergeant Morales?" Rainbow asked.

They remembered the sergeant getting pushed off the bridge when the MUTO's arm slammed into it. However, there was no sign of him now, nor no sign of the master sergeant or the other soldier.

"Guys, where are you?" Spike called out.

"Morales? Morales!?" Twilight yelled.

"Can anypony here us?" Applejack asked loudly.

The only thing that replied was the MUTO. It let out a roar as it finished gulping down the first nuclear missile. With no one and nothing to help, the Mane 6 and Spike began to panic.

"Somepony, help us!" Fluttershy screamed.

Rainbow grunted as she forced her wings to unfurl. Despite being as soaked, she was able to get into the air.

"Come no. There's got to be somepony here!"

Wreckage rained down from the damaged bridge. Pieces of wooden and metal pelted the river. Some of them landed right on the pegasus's head.

"Ack! Ow!"

"Rainbow, get back down here!" Twilight cried. "If the MUTO spots us, we're all dead."

Despite wishing to find any other survivors, Rainbow was forced to acknowledge that, right now, they were still in grave danger. She sunk back down into the cold water.

"How many more allies most we lose before we beat these monsters," she shivered, more so out of emotion than the cold.

That was something the others couldn't really give an answer to. None of them wanted to see more people die, but, after everything that's occurred, death seemed to follow in their wake.

"I don't think we should be thinking about this," Ford suggested.

"Maybe... we don't have to assume they're dead," Pinkie said.

She shivered as she finished the last word. Even being an optimistic, happy-go-lucky pony, death was just as morbid and disheartening to her then to anyone.

"Then where's Morales!? Where's the master sergeant?" Rainbow asked in tear-stricken frustration. "How long can we survive until one of us runs out of luck, huh?"

Pinkie almost seemed to curl up into herself, even though she was submerged in water. Twilight decided to speak up.

"Rainbow..."

Her words failed her. Whatever reassurance that was coming out died in her throat. Rainbow caught this.

"What? Everything's going to be fine? Nothing has been fine, Twilight!"

"Rainbow!" Applejack spoke up this time.

"Tell me I'm wrong, Applejack," the pegasus snapped. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but this mission is pushing me to the brink. We're being forced to stand idly as those monsters make a mess of everything. And that..."

Rainbow began to tear up. Internally, she tried to keep herself composed, but the dams had been taking a beating for the last couple of days and they just couldn't hold out anymore. Fluttershy instinctively came up to her and embraced her, which Rainbow took without resistance. She hated getting this emotion in front of others, but she just couldn't find the strength to hold it. All Fluttershy could do was hug her and comfort her.

"We'll get through this Rainbow...somehow," she said, but her tone betrayed her.

She was just as broken up about this than Rainbow. And so were the others.

"Is this really what it's going to amount to? Nothing but destruction?" Twilight whispered.

"Why did we come here? I can't take it anymore," Spike began to tear up.

"Ya'll... I..." not even Applejack could find it in heart to bring reassurance.

Rarity and Pinkie just started crying outright. Things had reached a whole new low. They were all on their own. Nothing but the destruction of the MUTO and the unforgiving hold of the river washing them away.

Pacific Ocean

"He's going under!" a man said over the radio.

Alarm blared inside one of the many warships that surrounded Godzilla.

"Boats, sound the collision alarm. Frame 180," the ship's captain ordered.

More alarm went off. The captain raced over to the nearest window just in time to see Godzilla dive completely under the water. Personnel onboard the flight deck watched dumbfounded as the monstrous kaiju disappeared under the night-darkened surface.

Some ships that were too close tipped a little as the massive body kicked up waves. One of which was the USS Saratoga. Admiral Stenz was focusing on maps of the coast when the sound of rolling writing utensils snapped him out of his concentration. He curiously watched then pencils roll down the table and smack against the telephone sitting at the edge.

"We're losing visual, admiral," a female officer stated.

Stenz got up from his seat and turned to face the monitors which were showing Godzilla swimming though the pitch black depths. The officer met his gaze.

"He's diving. Changing course and moving fast. I've got him at 33 knots and picking up speed. He's gonna outrun us sure."

The admiral let out an apprehensive exhale. Something had gotten Godzilla's attention which was hastening his approach to the California Coast. It must've had something to do with the MUTO, which just made the possible situation even worse. Combined with the fact that he had recently received word that the train of warheads had been ambushed by one of the MUTO's, and suddenly the plan had a huge risk of being compromised. What worried Stenz the most was if they could come up with a backup plan in time before the MUTOs and Godzilla reach California's big cities. For now, he could only hold his breath.

The morning sun had been shut out by the thick, merciless cloud cover. It didn't help that the mist was still present, all be it thinning. A coyote was standing by the shore of the river, a part where it had narrowed and calmed down.

"Go on! Git!" a southern-accent voice yelled at it.

The coyote raced away as Applejack stumbled along the shore. While not horribly injured, she still had a few good cuts on her body. She was trailed by Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Spike, and Twilight who were faring any better.

"I guess that fall did more of a number on us that we thought," Rainbow eyed the cut to her right wing.

"Could've been worse," Twilight said, nursing the gash to her left cheek. "It was more so the bridge collapse and debris falling on us than the fall."

"And we're not the only ones," Spike said.

He, too, was covered in cuts. But, what really disturbed the ponies was all the debris that littered the shoreline. Trees, railcar pieces, cars, and worse of all bodies lay strewn about. Fluttershy shut her eyes, unable to bare seeing the morbid sight. However, two bodies stood out amongst all of them. Rarity, who was conscious, was trying to wake up an unconscious Ford.

"Come on, Ford. Wake up," she pleaded as she nudged him.

"Rarity!"

The unicorn turned and her expression lit up upon seeing her friends.

"Oh, girls!" she galloped over to them, all of them embraced in an emotional group hug. "T-Thank goodness you're all okay. I-I-I was so worried I lost you all."

"We're okay... For the most part," Twilight said. "But, are you okay, Rarity."

"I'm fine, Twilight, don't worry," Rarity assured. "B-But, Ford...sniff...he won't wake up."

"Fordy!" Pinkie galloped over to the lieutenant.

He began to moving and cough weakly. He was completely covered in wet sand. He even spit some out of his mouth.

"Ford!" Rarity was right by his side. "Are you okay!? I couldn't wake you, darling. I-I assumed..."

"I'm fine," Ford coughed out. "Are the others okay?"

"Yes, Ford, wer' okay," Applejack said gently.

"B-But what about the others," Fluttershy forced herself to scan through all the other unmoving bodies littered around.

Twilight hesitantly brought a hoof against one of the bodies necks.

"No pulse," she said quietly.

A wave of sorrow and heartbreak came over the ponies and dragon. More casualties. More innocent people dead. Applejack took off her hat. She brought it over her chest and closed her eyes. It was the least she could do to pay respect. Pinkie and Fluttershy were a mess, Rarity and Spike were trying their best to comfort them. Rainbow just sat on her haunches, her wings hung lazily to her sides. She let out a defeated sigh and closed her eyes. Twilight helped Ford onto his feet. Her ears flicked as she caught a distant sound.

"What is that?" she said.

"What is what?" Ford asked.

The alicorn couldn't put her finger on it, but she could her a distant, thumping sound, but it was getting closer. Her friends picked up on this too, which knocked them out of their tear-filled stuper.

"What is that noise?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know," Rarity said.

"Is it the MUTO, again?" Pinkie sniffled.

To that, Rainbow shot right back up, her wings now flared out in defense. "Where is it? Where is it?"

Her tone became angrier the second time she asked. Thankfully, it wasn't a MUTO. Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike all spotted a military helicopter coming from where the river took them. They watched as it hovered several yards away from them. A second helicopter appeared, this time much larger and carrying a cargo sling.

"Let's go," Ford stumbled toward where the choppers were.

With the help of Twilight and Applejack, they along with the others trudged over wreckage and debris. They could see soldiers on the ground yelling who knows what. The sling had already been attached to what they were looking for. One of the nuclear warheads from the train, the only one that survived.

"Hey. Hey!" Rainbow yelled to get their attention.

The soldiers had completed loading the warhead onto the sling.

"Watch the swinging!" one of them warned as the dangerous load was being hoisted into the air.

"No swing!" a second soldier yelled.

Hey!" another soldier gestured and pointed to something.

One of the soldiers turned to see what he was pointing at. He saw Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike all stumbling over to them, injured and dirty.

"Hold on!" the soldier yelled.

To them, it was miracle anyone had survived the attack at all. He could tell that they were not in the best shape, though.

"MEDIC!"

to be continued