Invasion of the Astro Monster: Destroy All Ponies

Chapter 22

A Grave Threat

King Ghidorah sat on the balcony, watching the sunrise. It had been a week since his strange dream. The past week had been quiet. No kaiju had appeared, and life had returned to normal for most ponies. But Luna and Celestia were not "most ponies."

Luna was busy with some sort of project. Ghidorah rarely saw her, she always seemed busy. Even when she was present, her mind seemed far away, as though she were planning out something. Nevertheless, her interactions towards him were decidedly less aggressive. Perhaps she felt some sort of sympathy or pity towards him. He didn't know. He just cared that there was one less problem for him to worry about.

Celestia, however, had become the opposite of her sister. Ghidorah had no idea what she was up to either, but he felt as though she were consciously avoiding him. She had become more antagonistic towards him lately, and that put him on edge.

Ever since the dream, he didn't know what to think. He had been thoroughly shaken to his core. The dream had showed him exactly what it was like to lose everything one could care about. Was that what he must have looked like to all of the lives he had destroyed? Ghidorah was old. Very old. He had lost count of his age a very long time ago. And as long as he could remember, he had served no purpose other than to bring death, pain, and misery. And for the first time in his life, Ghidorah understood exactly what that meant.

He felt strange. As though his whole life were a lie. He thought back to the day he was pulled into the black hole. He had almost succeeded in destroying the Earth once and for all. How many lives were lost because of him? How much did he hurt the world? Not long ago, he wouldn't have cared. But something about how vivid the dream had been had shown him just how far he had fallen. What was he to do?

Perhaps this world, Equestria, was a sign. Here, there was no violence. There was no suffering. Not until he showed up. Now, fate had offered him a choice. He could continue to be the way he was, and let the world burn, or he could change. He could become better, maybe even a hero. He could fight to protect those who couldn't. Ghidorah was torn. He still felt intense rage and hatred - that hadn't changed. But for once, it wasn't at the universe, it was at himself. He hated that this was bothering him, and he hated that deep down, he knew what was the only viable option.

He knew that if he wanted not to survive, but to live, he would have to reform. But could he? Or had he fallen too far? Was it even physically possible for him to change. He looked out at the world, before looking down to see Ponyville. He remembered the ponies he had met when he first arrived here. They had been so kind, so unprejudiced. How could they be that way?

Perhaps he just needed to learn how to be a bit like them. Perhaps he just had to give others a chance, rather than simply destroying everything in sight. Ghidorah looked up as the sun continued to rise. Celestia said that he could never change. He would prove her wrong.

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The guard walked through the streets of Canterlot. Even though things had been quiet lately, the Princess had demanded that everypony stay on high alert. He passed by a nearby donut shop. He never ceased to be amazed that such a thing could exist in the upper-class society that was Canterlot. Funny how life worked.

He considered stopping for some donuts, but decided against it. After all, he had a job to do. That's when he heard a bumping noise. He turned to its source, seeing a figure cloaked in darkness disappear down an alley. Apparently it had been there for some time, but completely still. He didn't even notice it until it moved. He tried to get a good look at it, but it disappeared too quickly. He gave chase.

As he entered the alley, a powerful smell overcame him. It was so strong! It reminded him of the oil used in some oil lamps he had seen. He never liked the smell. That's when he noticed something else. There was a large stain on the ground. It was black and grey, and seemed to be left by a sticky ooze. A few bits of the stuff were still stuck to the ground. The guard coughed. It smelled awful, but he had to press on.

He moved forward, into the dark. Then he gasped as his eyes laid on an awful sight.

There, hidden in the dark of the alley, was a skeleton. The skeleton of a pony. No flesh remained. Instead, however, were more pieces of black sticky goo. The smell had reached its apex in this area. Holding his breath, the guard levitated the skull closer to him so he could examine it. That certainly explained the missing ponies report from the other day. But things didn't exactly add up. He would have to alert Princess Celestia at once.

As the guard left the alley to make his way back to Canterlot Castle, he never noticed a pair of crimson red eyes watching from the darkness.