Princess Celestia marched down one of the many halls in her castle. Her hooves hit each marble tile hard, ringing a note of lingering anger with each step. Behind her was a smaller unicorn stallion wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope behind his neck. He trotted and struggled to keep up with the princess's longer strides as he followed her down the hall.

The stallion's voice echoed a mix of various concerns and a bit of panic, "Princess Celestia, please listen to reason. Your leg has not completely healed yet. I implore you, return to your quarters and get some rest."

Celestia was obviously defiant and aggravated, she kept her muzzle facing forward as she plainly replied, "I'll be fine!"

"Princess, with all due respect, I am the royal physician, and it is my duty to ensure that you stay healthy and-"

"And you have done your part well," Celestia interrupted, "And though I do understand the importance of your services, doctor, at the moment, they are not required. You are dismissed."

"B-but prin-"

Celestia finally stopped and turned her head around to face the stallion; her motions were astoundingly quick an no less suppressing, enough so that the poor doctor instinctively flinched. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the pony's soul and her voice tore through it as she said, "Now..."

The Stallion wasted not and instant before running away. His rapid steps echoed through the otherwise quiet hall. The silence finally returned bit by bit as the pony ran, only to be dispelled again by Celestia's own steps. She aggressively marched onward. She continued on until reaching her destination. A large double door, decorated with golden trims and imbedded jewels, separated her and one of the most important facilities of the castle.

Two royal guards stood by either side of the doors at all times. They immediately noticed princess Celestia's presence and snapped to attention. As she got closer, the guards opened the doors for her. Now nothing stood between her and the room inside. Celestia's frown began to fade upon sight. It was a place of wonders. It was a place where woes simply washed away.

It was her personal dining room.

One of the best parts of the small facility wasn't the nearby personal kitchen or the fluffy cakes they made, it was secretive. Nothing that occurred inside was ever heard of outside, and here, Celestia could act however she please. Even as a common, exhausted, working pony. Even so far as to drop her royal personality. So she did. As the doors closed behind her, Celestia walked over to the soft seat that was always there for her, and dropped her heavy muzzle on the table.

As if on cue, the nearby door to the adjacent kitchen opened up, and out walked an earth pony servant. She was a kind and well aged mare, who worked here for decades as sometimes as maid and other times as Celestia's personal waiter. Her coat had once been a bright yellow and her mane a beautiful white, but time has taken its toll, as it does for everypony sooner or later, and both colors had lost brightness and hue. Her mane and tail were once short and free-flowing, but they now had lines of grey rather than untamable strands. She wore a simple apron, but that was her personal preference rather than any real regulation. Her position was secret as is, so there was no use for formalities or proper appearance.

The mare walked over to the tired princess, "Princess, what a pleasure it is to see you again. I hope you are well; I've heard you've been injured by that horrible alien in Ponyville."

Celestia began to smile a little, "Word travels fast, doesn't it?"

"Even in the halls that don't exist. But enough about me, what can I get you?"

"Oh, Daisy, you know more than I do. Surprise me."

"As you wish, Princess." Daisy made a small bow before returning to the kitchen.

Celestia waited patiently. The room was completely quiet, maddening to some, but to Celestia, it was just another perk of the secret room. Peace. Here, she could escape the world if only for a moment, left with nothing but her own thoughts and perhaps a slice of cake.

Celestia was enjoying the silence. Time would bend without her focus, and here minutes could feel like hours, or vice versa if she fell asleep. However long it was, it was interrupted by another's voice, "Feeling better already, sister?"

Celestia didn't get up, but instead lazily twisted her head and looked around with one eye. It was her sister, Princess Luna, sitting right across the small table. "I'm fine," Celestia replied.

"You don't sound fine," Luna leaned in closer, "What's bothering you?"

"I've been hoping it would never happen, I hoped they'd just never come, but I should've known they'd come eventually."

"What are you talking about, Celestia?"

"The Humans."

"The what?"

"The alien; that's what they call themselves. They live in a dimension next to ours. They're very destructive, especially in groups. They're mostly driven by greed or hate for one another. They've no magic in their world, but they just kill each other without it."

"K-kill?"

"Death is so casual to them. They've little sympathy for any life outside of their immediate family. It's even a noble and praised profession, to end the lives of others. They pride themselves on the tools of death they make. They're creative and skillful, but all in the wrong way. It's all they're good at. They write their history in each other's blood and start wars for every stupid reason, and every time they constantly find new ways to kill each other. They'll spend generations creating grand and breathtaking cities..." Celestia took a moment's pause; she sighed and her voice now echoed an odd mix of pity and anger, "and destroy them in the blink of an eye."

Luna slowly shook her head, "Sister, surely there is more to them than that."

Celestia's brows curled forward, "Do not show sympathy for them, Luna. They'll hurt you in more ways than you can imagine. Please, at least try to understand this from my view. I wake up every day not to raise the sun or wear a crown. This kingdom is my nest, and whatever the circumstances may be, I make sure every pony under my wings are safe. Discord once ruled with terror and chaos, but I don't hate him. Chrysalis attacked this city, but I don't hate her."

Celestia's emotions softened. She reached over to grab one of Luna's hoof between her own, looked closer at her sister and said, "One night, darkness consumed your heart and you sought to end more than just my reign, but I don't hate you."

She let go of her sister's hoof. Her eyes wondered off in thought, "When I think of those...things..." Celestia's eyes snapped forward, looking directly at Luna's again. Her expression quickly turned aggressive in the brief moment and it leaked from her voice, "I have nothing but hate."

Luna herself lost eye content and stared at the floor. She seemed disappointed; she almost whispered, "Is that so?" She got up and started to leave the room.

Celestia called out, "Luna, what are you doing?"

Luna almost grinned, "Nothing," she replied.

"Don't you dare do anything about the human!" Celestia was obviously concerned, but anger still lingered in her voice.
"Relax," Luna said, "It's not as if I know what cave that thing likes to crawl around in." Luna casually, but quickly left the room closing the door behind her.

Now out of earshot, Luna mumbled under her breath, "But I do know where it sleeps..."

Luna quickly walked down the hall, up the spiral staircase, and through the double door that lead to her own private quarters. A large, decorated bed dominated the center. To the left were glass doors that lead to a balcony outside. To her right was a dresser that doubled as her desk. On it where dozens of unfolded scrolls strewn everywhere.

All but one of them were reports, many of which detailed the same event. The last bit of parchment were notes written by Luna herself. She hadn't been doing nothing while ponies were supposedly being attacked by a violent alien. At first, she was just looking over the reports as they came it, but Luna soon found herself investigating them.

There was something odd about the human. Celestia's description of it was the final push to drive Luna to do something. She walked over to the mess of scrolls on her desk and looked down at one parchment to read her own notes one last time.

Luna turned around to stare out her window. She'd seen this horizon literally millions of times, and knew every detail. She focus of the little blur in the distance edge, the Everfree Forest, and lost herself in thought.

Of all the scrolls she collected, not a single one reported a death.

Author's Notes:

Dun dun duuuuuuun

It'll make sense soon, I promise.

Hope you all enjoyed.