The Cine-magic Series: Godzilla

To say being taken to a top-secret facility in a foreign countries to be interrogated and likely imprisoned was on the cards for the Mane 6, Spike, Ford, or Joe was a lie. But, it was happening now and the only thoughts simmering with the group was nothing but of dread and fear, and perhaps a bit of annoyance. Except, Joe, of course. He subconsciously knew there was the possibility he was going to get the answer he pined for, for the last fifteen years.

The truck rolled into the grounds of facility. Suited guards directed the driver over to a holding area guarded by two armed guards and a gate. One of the guards came up to the passenger side where the officer showed his identification. The guard walked aside allowing access through.

"This is it, huh?" Spike glumly held his head with his hands. "Being put in a cell for trespassing. Didn't know I had it in me."

"You actively choose to join in on this retrieval mission," Rainbow pointed.

"We all did," Twilight corrected. "And now we're all paying the price."

"I guess crime really doesn't pay," the cyan pegasus sulked.

"You don't say," Rarity groaned sarcastically, really emphasizing to the sell the point of Rainbow's obvious statement.

"Um, g-girls?" Fluttershy spoke up meekly. "As bad as being jailed is, c-can I bring attention to what they're hiding. If that's all right with you."

"She's right," Joe looked out through the thick windows of the containment doors.

Through it was the clear sign of something abnormal. The rest looked with mortification. It was hard to describe; it was black with a red-orange glow pulsating through the middle. It looked to be made of some kind of rock-like material.

"What the hell is that?" Ford asked.

"I don't know," the old plant worker replied.

"Neither do I," Twilight added. "But, I have a really bad feeling about it."

"Maybe it's some kind of power source," Ford hypothesized.

"Of what?" Applejack asked in confusion.

"I really don't know. I really drawing blanks here," the army worker said.

"You know what I sense?" Pinkie said cryptically.

"...What?" Rarity asked, almost too worried to be willing to even ask.

"I don't know. But, I do sense something," the pink mare responded.

"Ten seconds. Ten seconds," a man said over the PA.

Dozens of workers scramble over to the formation, which was beginning to pulsate and emanate faster. Some workers set down cases which held special instruments for gathering info on whatever the mass was doing. They opened the cases and held the instruments towards the rocky mass as it emanating grew more rapid. They watched with bated breaths as the pace quickened further and further until it sent out a great pulse of energy. The thing that was effected from the blast was the electronics. Lights and computer screens flickered, then returning to normal. Above all the hustle and bustle was the main monitoring area that overlooked all the goings-on around the facility.

"Seven-point-two seconds and getting stronger," a bearded man, the head researcher, pointed to one of the computer screens showing the energy waves. "We're trending exponentially. That's our new curve."

Two men stood upon the surveillance deck as they eyed the rocky mass. The one on the left was Gregory Whelan, one of the scientists leading the examination of the unknown mass. On the right was Dr. Ishirō Serizawa, another scientist.

"Jesus, it's worst than we thought," Whelan stated desolately.

"Excuse me, Dr. Serizawa?" a man came up to the pair.

Dr. Serizawa turned his head so he could just barely make eye contact with him.

"Two men, and a group of colorful animals were just arrested in the Q-zone."

"You arrested animals?" Whelan asked, put-off by the fact that the team wasted their time to do such.

"They're more than that, it seems," the man replied. "They have the ability to talk. Despite that, it's clear just by looking at them that they are not natural. They are...cartoonish, so to speak."

An uneasy silence extended throughout the room.

"We've got bigger problems here," Whelan rolled his eyes. "Have Dr. Graham take a look."

"She did, sir. She sent me," the man answered. "Of the two men, one of them says he used to work here, doctor."

Dr. Serizawa had, by this point, fully turned around to face the messenger, showing his interest had spiked. While the information alone wasn't that significant in the grand scheme of things, the seasoned scientist knew that this man could have insightful info on the power plant that went down fifteen years and, by proxy, might know about the truth behind the mass they were monitoring. With that in mind, Dr. Serizawa followed the man deep into the out facility. He was soon led to a small janitor's room where Joe was being kept, while being interrogated by two other men. He found Dr. Vivienne Graham in front of a table examining the disks that were on the mystery man.

"You're not fooling anybody when you say that what happened fifteen years ago was a natural disaster," the two doctors could hear Joe's resolute defiance through the giant glass window.

"Found these disks in his bag," Dr. Graham held up a hard drive.

Dr. Serizawa took it and studied it along with the other belongings found in Joe's bag.

"Not sure what to make of it."

As they two looked through the new info, Joe was slowly growing more impatient with two men inside with him.

"Not an earthquake, it wasn't a typhoon. Okay? So stop--" the old worker growled in frustration. "Look, I'm tired of talking to you about this. I want my son...and those ponies and lizard, too. I wanna see my son. I wanna know that they're all right."

He turned his attention to the armed, Japanese guard standing beside the interrogator.

"This guy, this guys knows," he points to him. "He knows where he is."

The disgruntled man then said something to the guard in Japanese.

"I want my son. And I want my bag and my disks." Joe angrily got up from his chair. "And I wanna talk to somebody in charge, not you."

"Sir, please," the bald man tried to calm him down.

"No, not you," Joe snapped. "I'm done talking to you. All right?"

He turned to the window to see Graham and Serizawa looking through his disks.

"You're looking at me right now, like I'm in a fish tank, right? That's fine. Because I know what happened here."

The two scientist looked up to meet Joe's gaze.

"And you keep telling everybody that this place is a death zone, but it's not. You're lying. Because what's really happening is that you're hiding something out there. I'm right, aren't I?"

Not only was Joe losing his cool, he was also starting to get emotional. Tears threatened to spill from eyes as the agonizing seconds of recalling all the heart-wrenching memories.

"My wife died here!" he screamed. "Something killed my wife."

Serizawa's studious gaze began to soften as he continued to hear more from Joe. While knowing of the treasure trove of new information was at the forefront of his mind, he was a sympathetic man and he couldn't feel but feel a little bad for Joe.

"And I have a right to know! I deserve answers!"

Joe turned away from the window and paced around to try and recollect his thoughts and emotions. While he was doing that, Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham went back to viewing through the confiscated items. What caught there attention the most were the cartridges.

"All these items they found on him," Dr. Graham said quietly. "And the date. Look, fifteen years ago."

"I thought all of the data from that day was lost," Serizawa whispered.

"I guess not," the female scientist said.

Then they turned their attention the old graphs that showed all the readings on that day. All of a sudden, the lights began to flickered and buzzed.

"You see? You see?" Joe said. "There it is again. That is not a transformer malfunction. That is an electromagnetic pulse."

Serizawa looked back to the old readings. They bared a striking similarity to the current readings they were getting from the mysterious mass. He took off his glasses, dumbfounded by what he was learning.

"It affects everything electrical for miles and miles and it is happening again. This is what caused everything in the first place. Don't you see that?"

Joe stomped over to the window. His face was not even a few inches from the glass.

"And it is gonna send us back to the Stone Age. You have no idea what's coming."

Graham turned to Serizawa, who just stood in silent astonishment. She was getting freaked out, not from what Joe was saying, but the fact that he was right and the implications of such. Then the lights began flickering again, along with the entire facility began rumble. The electromagnetic pulses were getting stronger.

In the main control room, things were falling into chaos. The entire room shook as alarms blared of an emanant danger. The readings on the computer screens spiked to an all-time high.

"The pulses are seconds apart," the bearded scientist declared, racing around the room. "They're getting stronger. It's affecting the power grid."

"Any radiation leakage?" Whelan asked.

"Gamma levels are still zero," another scientist answered. "It sucked all three reactors dry."

Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham hurried into the control as the situation was growing more dire. The pulses were coming in faster like an increasing heartrate. Another electromagnetic pulse rocked the facility. It had gotten strong enough to the point that the rocky outside of the mass was beginning to crumble and fall apart. At ground zero, researchers and scientists alike scurried back the broken pieces of stone crashed to the ground.

"It's done feeding," Dr. Serizawa said.

Whelan caught sight of the old readings in the older scientist's hand.

"What's this," he grabbed the papers and looked through them. "Jesus, it's the same pattern."

"Fifteen years ago. It's what caused the meltdown."

"It's an electromagnetic pulse," Graham explained. "That's what it's building to. Converting all that radiation until it hatches."

The other scientist were astonished, yet horrified at such a revelation.

"We have to shut down," Serizawa notified.

Knowing of the potential dangers that was to come, Dr. Whelan began barking out orders.

"Secure the grid. Wildlife protocols."

The lab-coated scientists began scramble to initiate the emergency protocols. Things were getting out of control and fast. They were running out of time. One scientist grabbed a speaker to the PA and also began stating orders to everyone down below.

"All personnel, clear the first perimeter immediately!"

More alarm went off as the security protocols went into action. The giant cranes that overlooked the perimeter were to string over a fixed construction of high-tension wire of the rocky mass. The idea was that it would act as a net should things get even worse. The crane operators worked carefully, but quickly to secure the area, all the while, everyone down below began evacuating the perimeter. The driver of the truck shouted something in Japanese before abandoning the vehicle, leaving behind Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike.

"What's going on?" Ford banged on the windows. "Hey, where you going?"

"Wha...Did the guy just abandon us?" Twilight asked angrily.

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't look to be good," Rarity indicated skittishly.

Through the thick glass, the group could see the people hurrying about, wires being covered over the mass, and even a helicopter was getting a visual over the isolated area of chaos.

"What in the hay is going on?" Rainbow asked, growing more frustrated over the fact that she wasn't getting answers, and terrified over the fact the said lack of answers possibly meant worst-case scenario. "Where the hay is Joe, as well?"

"Didn't they take him to be interrogated?" Spike quizzically reminded.

"I want out! I want out!" Rarity frantically began banging on the doors. "Let us out! You can't keep us in here!"

The rest of the Mane 6 joined her in trying to break open the doors. Outside, things are coming to a crescendo. The masses pulses were becoming more and more frequent. Every jolt of electromagnetic forces caused the entire electric grid to flicker and sputter. Finally, however, the wire net was now completely casted over the perimeter. Researchers raced along the elevated catwalks to reach safety. One smashed an alert button, signaling the protocol's completion. An alarm blared and warning lights in the control room lit up, casting the room into a lurid, ghastly red.

"Grid's secure," the head researcher said.

Whelan, who by this point was stressed beyond belief, had taken off his glasses. Upon hearing the researchers confirmation of the grid's protection, he lowered his head. The bald scientist felt a small wave of relief wash over him, but Whelan knew this wasn't the end of it.

Dr. Serizawa stared at the pulsing mass with sorrow and trepidation. He didn't want to do what he was about to do, but it was necessary for their safety.

"Kill it," he said, his voice barely above a gruff whisper.

Graham and the other scientist stood in regretful silence. Like Serizawa, they knew it had to be done. The head scientist weakly nodded and mashed his palm against the failsafe button. Within seconds, massive bolts of electricity sprouted from the electric lines. They crackled and sparked as they pierced through the orange-glowing mass. Everybody was forced to shield their eyes as the bolt lit up the facility.

"What'n Celestia's name are they doin'?" Applejack asked in stunned horror.

"Ooh, must be a lightshow," Pinkie seemingly grabbed a basket of popcorn out of nowhere and starting munching on the popped kernels.

They watched as the bolts danced across the mass.

"What the hell?" Fordy said to himself.

The rocky mass could no longer take the electric onslaught. Large chucks of the jet-black stone broke free and crumble to the ground. Once again, everyone on ground level rushed away to avoid getting crushed. Finally the shocking stopped and everything went silent. The massive spike readings on the computer had dropped completely, showing no sign of life whatsoever.

"All readings are flatlined," the head scientist announced.

Whelan cleared his throat and put his glasses back on. "Get a visual."

Down below, the researchers stared at the seemingly inactive mass with stunned silence. One unlucky fellow ventured up through the catwalks for a closer look. He shined a flashlight at the mass. The first thing he noticed was the black, sludge-like goo that ran down the mass. Then he spotted something moving amongst the stone and slime. The suited researcher leaned closer over the edge to try and get a more clear visual.

Suddenly, whatever was moving violently lurched out and the rest that was attached to it followed. The rocky mass exploded as the creature inside burst out, letting out a triumphant roar. The creature was gigantic, grey and black in color. It's head was flat and triangular, and it's four forelimbs end on a long spike. It slammed it's front leg into the ground, sending out a invisible wave of electromagnetic force.

"Jesus," Whelan said, horrified by what he was witnessing. "Check the grid. Hit us with an EMP. We're losing power!"

The lights and machines throughout the facility all went dead, flooding the facility in darkness.

Meanwhile, Joe was mopingly sitting down in a chair. He was still stuck in the storage room with no sign of when he was being let out. The lights then flickered before dying completely. Joe looked up in surprised, then he heard a click. He turned his head to see the lock had deactivated. The door swung open just a hair, just enough to see people running around in a panic.

"Let! Us! Out!" Rarity feebly pounded on the doors, but it had become blatantly apparent that no amount of pounding or begging was going to open them.

"Ugh, I feel so useless just sitting in here," Rainbow crossed her front hooves.

"Hello? Is anypony there?" Twilight called through the doors.

However, all she could see was the people running away along with the industrial lights turning off. The alicorn could hear screaming and yelling outside. What about? She couldn't discern.

"Seems like somethin' spooked 'em," Applejack observed.

"What did spook them exactly?" Spike asked.

The group of ponies, dragon, and human heard a loud, titanic growl coming from where the rocky mass was supposed to be.

"That answers that question," the young dragon shuddered, fearing the worst.

"W-What was that?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

"I have no idea," Ford said.

"Whatever it was, it didn't sound good," Twilight said with concern.

Back up in the control tower, the scientist were scrambling to get electrical systems back online.

"Get the backup generators online," Whelan instructed.

"Were working on it. That pulse fried every circuit," one of the scientists said. "Check the cage."

"Trying the backup generators," another scientist flicked a line of switches.

Finally the power was back up and running. The lights turned back on, illuminating the facility and displaying the giant creature breaking from it's stone cocoon. It shrieked and roared as it finally broke free. The scientific team were immediately frightened over the hulking creature's presence. The tower shook as the creature stomped around.

"Everybody out! Now!" Whelan exclaimed.

Nobody needed to be told twice. The researchers made a mad dash to the emergency exits. Dr. Graham was still too shocked to move with the crowd. Only as her fellow acquaintances pushed by her, only then did she realize that she needed to escape, too, less she be in harm's way. The gnarly being stomped it's forelimbs against the ground and shook around to get the excess rock and slime off of it.

Joe found himself on a catwalk. He saw numerous people scaling down the flights over stair on the towers. One group hurried past him, to scared of their endangered lives to even give the old plant worker a second glance. Joe looked around to find what was going on that was causing such a panic. Then he heard the angered wailings of the creature. He turned to the center to see titanic being trying to break free of the wire net over it. Joe stood in complete shock. Was this the creature that was responsible for the nuclear meltdown? He looked down to the ground and saw the containment truck that brought him there. Joe knew that his son and those ponies and dragon were likely still in there. He had to save them.

Inside the truck, the Mane 6's futile attempts of breaking out had degraded into an all out panic.

"Get us out!" Twilight slammed her hooves against the doors.

"Don't let that monster eat us!" Rarity wailed.

"What even is that thing!?" Applejack asked, terrified, while at the same time trying to comfort a scared Pinkie.

"I can't unsee it, I can't unsee it!" the cheery mare had turned a complete 180 and was in utter hysterics.

"We'll be okay, Pinkie. Ah won't let that thing git ya," Applejack bravely comforted.

"I doubt you'd have any say in the matter!" Rarity shrieked. "Have you gotten a look at this size of that horrid thing."

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was not helping her friends out in trying to break open the doors. Instead, she was too freaked out by the monster, her eyes still glued to it. She recognized the creature, the one that was taking on the larger, reptilian one in her nightmare. It was right there, in reality, likely to kill them all.

"Fluttershy, why are you just staring off into nothing?" Rainbow asked in frustration. "We need to get out of this stupid box."

"I-I...I've seen that creature before," the frozen-still pegasus squeaked at.

The ponies and dragon stopped what they were and turned to her.

"Wait, you mean that's the creature from your dream?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Fluttershy said weakly.

"But, what change does that make?" Rainbow asked. "That thing is clearly not friendly."

"I-I don't know, but...I..." Fluttershy couldn't think of anything to say.

She had to face the facts. Confronting the creature would led to their deaths, and hoping it would save them from the clutches of this research facility was just disgustingly wishful thinking after seeing how violent it was being.

"I don't know," she finally said. "But, that creature holds some significance here."

"She's right," Twilight backed her up. "If the vision showed the creature, then it plays some part in the conflict."

"Clearly the bad side," Rainbow said. "That's the most evil-looking thing I've ever seen."

"Well, maybe it's just scared that it's trapped," the violet alicorn looked the creature as it tangled with the wire net.

"So, you're saying we should free it?" Rarity asked incredulously. "Twilight, have you gone mad? That thing is not friendly."

"I mean, we won't really no that for sure unless it's free," Spike argued.

"No," Ford spoke up after remaining silent for the better-half of the discussion. "I'm inclined to agree with Rarity. With all the damaged it's caused, it's not here to make friends."

That's when the sound of sirens could be heard getting nearer. The facility's fire department had arrived to assess the situation. The group watched as the fire engines raced by.

"Hey! Let us out! Hey" Ford pounded on the windows to get their attention.

"Help us, please!" Twilight shouted.

The ponies and dragon went right back to trying to break open the doors. The firefighters exited the vehicles and stormed the caged area, but immediately stopped. Two spike limbs slowly crept over the containment walls the grasped the high-tension wires. The creature pulled down on the wire net. The crane holding the portion of the wire cage was forcibly bent forward. It creaked and groaned as it was being pulled down. The tower section snapped into and the entire machine collapsed. As it went, the second crane tipped over and fell against the third which caused a domino effect. The cranes tipped and fell. The final crane began to collapse over the catwalk Joe was standing on. He quickly realized that it was going to fall on top of it.

"No! No! Wait, wait, wait! Stop!" he tried to stop the workers from running past him, but it was no use.

The tower fixture slammed onto the catwalk, taking out several people in the process. Joe managed to hold on to the guardrail. He was just a couple feet from being crushed. However, it wasn't the only thing it was about to land on. Ford saw the falling crane about to land on the truck.

"Get down! Brace!" he ordered.

"What? Why?" Twilight questioned.

"Just do it!"

The massive crane arm slammed against the truck, sending it careening across the pavement. The Mane 6, Spike, and Ford were thrown around like they were in a tumble-dryer.

"Ford!" Joe shouted, scared for his son.

The ponies screamed in fear and agony as they flipped end over end in the truck. Thankfully, it came to a stop, leaving it's occupants disoriented.

"Gah! What'n tarnation was that?" Applejack looked around.

The doors to the truck had been broken open, only for it to show the destroyed crane slowly being dragged over the edge of the containment hole. The crane operator screamed and banged on the cracked windows for someone to save him. But, it was far to late for him. The group stared in stunned horror, Fluttershy buried her face in Applejack's chest, not wanting to witness the operator's demise. The machine went over the edge.

"Oh, dear Celestia," Twilight muttered in shock.

Applejack lowered her hat in sorrow.

"We...Wha..." Rainbow was still in shock of what had transpired in the last several seconds.

“He just…t-the screaming…hrrk,” Spike had to keep himself from vomiting.

Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy started crying, both out of sheer terror and the fact the they just witnessed an innocent fall to their death.

They were all distraught. This was the first time they ever witnessed an actual death. Unfortunately, things were about to get much worse. The wires from the net were still attached to the tower. When the crane went over the wires were stretched as far as they could go.

"Oh, no. Girls," Spike pointed to the collapsed tower that was lying over the catwalk Joe was standing on.

The others turned to find the former plant worker standing on the damaged walkway. Ford and Joe stared at each other. The realization of what was about to happen hit them both at the exact same time. In the blink of an eye, the catwalk gave way and Joe plummeted into the pile of twisted metal.

"Dad!" Ford screamed.

"No!" the Mane 7 all shrieked in despair.

"Joey!" Rainbow took off to try and find him, but more parts of the tower fell atop the pile.

Ford and others were about to race over to rescue his father when the roar of the creature stopped them in their tracks.

"Oh, no," Rarity squeaked.

The team of friends slowly turned around to see one spiked limb creep over the edge and planted itself on the pavement. The flat-headed creature rose above it's containment and let out a monstrous roar. Fluttershy swore she felt herself pee a tiny bit. The creature second front limb slammed to the ground, breaking a pipeline. Poisonous gas blasted from the broken pipe. Firefighters and EMS ran for the lives as the creature stomped away from it's wired prison. Some were unlucky enough to be crushed as it walked across the crumbling pavement.

"Merciful Celestia," Twilight said in terror. "Rainbow, get back here quick!"

"But, Joe!" the rainbow-maned pegasus hovered over the mess of crane parts.

"There's gas spilling out!" Ford crawled back into a truck and put on a gas mask. "Twilight, get that shield up again!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, sounding more frantic.

Rainbow wanted to find Joe, but with Twilight imploring her to come back, she forced herself to fly back to her friends. She trotted into the truck where the others were hiding.

"Girls, come on. The thing isn't that scary," the raucous mare said.

"It's the gas I'm worried about," Twilight conjured up her magic and enveloped her friends in the protective bubble. "That pipes been broken."

She pointed to the shattered pipeline that was now spewing clouds of gas the air.

"We'll get Joe back, Dash. Don't worry," Applejack reassured.

"I just want to go home," Pinkie fearfully shivered in the farm pony's embrace.

"There, there, sugarcube. We'll be okay," Applejack soothed.

The group of scared friends could only watch now as the gigantic, bat-like creature let out a mighty roar. Facility personnel ran off in different directions to escape the being's stomping ire. Then, the creature opened up a second pair of limbs which turned out to be a pair of giant, leathery wings. Ford, the Mane 6, and Spike went wide-eyed as the creature took to the skies and disappeared within the dark clouds.

San Francisco, California

"Well it was absolutely unlike anything I've ever experienced before," a woman explained her experience of the earthquake that tore through Japan.

The TV showcased the damage left by the tectonic tremor. All the news outlets were broadcasting the unforeseen tragedy, and for Ford’s wife, Elle, it was the stuff of her worst nightmare.

"Yeah, it's, uh, Ford Brody," she said through the phone. "Japan to San Francisco."

When she caught wind of the earthquake that caught all of Japan off-guard, her first thoughts were of the safety of her husband. Followed by the safety of the Mane 7. Now she was on the phone trying to find any info of Ford's well-being. So far, she was turning up with nothing.

"Okay, could I at least...If you could let me leave you my cell-"

The call ended, leaving Elle with the faint, crackling hum of an empty phone call.

"Hello?" the nurse was on the brink of breaking down. "Damn it!"

She slammed the phone down and sat down on a chair. Elle put her hands over her face and exhaled. She was on the brink of an emotional breakdown. Her husband and friends were stuck in Japan where a massive earthquake occurred, and she was getting no answers on what happened to them or if they were even alive.

Elle removed her hands from her face, trying so hard to keep from crying. She turned to Sam, who was standing in the kitchen. While he was fairly young, he was old enough to know something was wrong and it involved his dad and pony-slash-dragon friends. It upset him and seeing his mom so upset as well made Sam feel even worse.

"I'm sorry," Elle got up from the chair and walked over to her son. "Hey, it's okay."

She pulled Sam into a comforting hug.

"It's okay. Daddy's gonna be okay."

"What about the ponies?" Sam croaked.

"Yes, they'll be okay, too," Elle reassured. "Daddy's gonna be okay, and our little pony friends are gonna be okay."

She held her son as tight as she could. she didn't know if Ford and the others were going to be okay, but Elle was not going to tell Sam that. She was going to hold on to the hope that they will come back to them unscathed; Ford, the ponies, dragon, and Joe. All of them.

To be continued