“It’s so frustrating just sitting here and doing nothing.” Prince Shining Armor tapped his right hoof as he complained, fidgeting in place as he looked out the window. It had only been an hour since his sister and her friends had left for the Royal Sister’s Castle, but his anxious pace back and forth, which he would stop in place every few moments did not help relieve any stress he felt. Anything could have went wrong: from their group stumbling upon that creature, or a native Everfree Forest creature, or even worse, the creature being responsible for an injury.

“I understand how you feel, Shining.” Princess Cadance walked up to his left side, leaning against him, which she closed her eyes. “You and I both want to be there to protect Twilight. It’s hard waiting to know if they found something, hoping that none of them are hurt.”

“We all must hope for their safe return.” The two ponies turned to face Princess Celestia as she spoke, seeing her eyes glimmer with barely a hint of fear. It didn’t sound like she was too concerned, but with the knowledge they knew for how much Celestia cared for her former student, Shining and Cadance sensed that she was just as concerned for their safety as well. “In the end, that is all we can really do, even if it pains us to be doing nothing.”

Shining looked to the ground, shaking his head as he groaned. “But there must be something we can do! Isn’t there some spell to find their location, or what about an image we can summon to see what they’re doing?”

“You must be patient, Shining Armor.” Princess Luna stood up as she addressed him. “The danger they are facing is extremely great. It is rather a good thing that they are possibly taking their time, instead of rushing it and creating a drastic situation.”

“But what if they’re in danger right now? What if that creature is almost upon them as we speak? I can’t let my little sister be in that situation. We need to--”

A flash of purple light cut Shining Armor off as Twilight appeared in the middle of the throne room, quietly she groaned and rubbed her head. “Note to self. Even teleporting with alicorn magic doesn’t stop headaches from happening.”

“Twilight!” Shining Armor ran up to his little sister and wrapped his hooves around his sibling. “Are you okay? What happened, and where are the others?”

“They’re fine. Or at least Pinkie Pie and Rarity are. I don’t know about Applejack and her group. I didn’t get a chance to find them yet.”

“Find them? What are you talking about?” Cadance asked as she walked up beside Shining, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… I decided that it might be best if we were to… I don’t know. Split up?” Twilight let out a nervous chuckle as she smiled at her brother and fellow princesses.

Celestia stared at her former student, closing her eyes. “Twilight Sparkle. You do realize how dangerous an idea like that could turn out with the creature on the loose.”

“Yes, I understand, Princess Celestia. But it was a risk that led me, Pinkie, and Rarity to finding an interesting video device that has proved invaluable.” Twilight pulled away from her older brother. She walked up to the steps of the throne, a smile on her muzzle as she said, “And the assumptions you and Luna made have proven to be true. This creature is, in fact, an alien lifeform.” The room went silent. Twilight looked behind her shoulder and saw the princesses’ steady gaze burning against her.

“So our speculations were true. This creature is not a native of the Everfree Forest,” Celestia said. The answers they had been looking for were true, but that did not stem the uneasiness of what this creature could potentially do. She returned her attention to Twilight. “Was there anything else you learned about this creature?”

“Yes. The creature is definitely from the stars. That much we know.” Yet there were questions Twilight still had. “But I don’t know how it came to be, or if these aliens were naturally produced.” It was an unsettling thought; Twilight hoped that these creatures did not come from some sort of twisted phase of evolution. “But I do know this. The creature, the ‘Xenomorph,’ as it is called, was accidentally brought here by more aliens.”

“Wait. There’s more of them?” Shining Armor asked.

“No… the Xenomorph is just one of the aliens. The other foreign creatures I’m talking about are beings like the ones inside that mirror world where Sunset Shimmer is. Only this version is more technologically advanced than the ‘humans’ of that world.”

“That is rather… unsettling,” Luna murmured. “So are they friendly?”

“I… didn’t get a chance to find out. They were all dead when we found their ship.” Another bout of silence filled the air before Twilight continued. “I can say that most of them passed after the ship crashed, but I believe that the rest were most likely killed by the Xenomorph.”

“Such an unfortunate end to all of them.” Celestia closed her eyes and breathed in like she was silently praying for them before opening her eyes again. “I was going to ask about the odd item you found, but your friend’s lives are more important at the moment.”

“Of course. I was hoping to find them first before I showed you anything. This is information I wanted to relay to you before I left to find them,” Twilight said. She turned around and began walking down the red carpet.

“Hold on there, Twily,” Shining Armor called out as he trotted up to her. “You think we’re leaving you to go back alone this time? Because I’m coming along with you.”

Twilight stared at her older brother, turning her gaze to the floor. ‘I’m actually glad he’s willing to come along. Even if I was in that forest with my friends, the thought of the Xenomorph traversing through the treetops didn’t exactly make me feel comfortable.’

“We shall come along as well.” Celestia, Luna, and Cadance walked up to the two ponies. “The bigger our group, the better our chances that the creature may leave us alone.”

Twilight’s smile brightened as she looked up to her former teacher. With a nod, she walked up to the other princesses, her smile disappeared when she looked between her friends and family. “Can we please get going? My friends are still in the Everfree, and the longer they spend there, the more likely they’ll run into trouble.”

“Of course.” Celestia looked to her sister, nodding before turning to face her niece and doing the same. Three lights emanated from their horns until the group disappeared in a flash of light as they teleported to the Everfree Forest.

“Can this get any more boring?” Rainbow yawned as she walked alongside Applejack. The shadows of the forest crept around them. The sun’s rays of light barely broke through the many leaves covering the branches above them. “Seriously, how long have we been out here? We haven’t found anything to help us, and I’m still surprised that freak hasn’t shown up yet.” She let out a chuckle before saying, “Think it’s scared of us?”

“Ah highly doubt it, Rainbow Dash. It probably ain’t woken up yet.” Applejack rolled her eyes at the her friend’s cocky nature. But Rainbow did have a point. ‘We ain’t seen a lick of that monster yet, and it’s been more than an hour, that’s fer sure.’ Could it possibly be asleep? If it was, then that meant they were still in the clear.

“What if it realized the mistake it made by scaring us ponies, though? Think about it, we could totally take that thing on.”

Applejack sighed before shaking her head. “Fer the last time, Rainbow. We ain’t gonna fight that thing until we know a little more ‘bout it.” It was possibly the worst idea that Rainbow could ever think of. “And don’t try and be some hero, either. Ya saw what happen’d to the Royal Guard the last time we--”

“Girls.” Fluttershy interrupted Applejack. “Sorry, I just thought I heard a branch snap. Or something going through the bushes.”

“Yer alright there, sugarcube. No worry ‘bout bein’ cautious and all.” Applejack nodded at Fluttershy in approval.

Rainbow snorted as she stared at Applejack. “So what do we do if the freak catches us, just turn tail and run?”

“Definitely.” Applejack frowned as she saw Rainbow’s eyes widen. “Don’t tell me you were thinkin’ of fightin’ that there monster? If it does surprise us, the only thing we can do is outrun it.”

“What if it catches up to us? Do we just keep running and hope it doesn’t take one of us down?”

Applejack stopped, rubbing her eyes with a hoof as another sigh escaped her. “Look, we all just plan for that if we ever cross that bridge. But right now, we just need to keep lookin’ and--”

A roar echoed behind them. Applejack quickly turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t the monster, but… a manticore. It raised its tail as it growled at the group of ponies. ‘This doesn’t look good.’

“Oh great. This stupid manticore’s roaring probably woke it up now!” Rainbow yelled as she pawed at the ground as well, flaring her wings.

“Wait, hold on, everypony.” Fluttershy stood in front of the five ponies, looking to the manticore with a smile. “Aww. Who’s a good little kitty?” She spoke in a quiet and gentle voice as she walked up to the large feline. If one thing was for certain, Applejack was glad to have Fluttershy and her ability to talk to animals. “Now it’s rude to speak with such an aggressive tone. Why don’t we lower our voices and calm down, hmm?”

The manticore lowered its ears, looking away like a foal being scolded. “There we go. Now if you would please keep your voice down, we would really appreciate it.” Fluttershy smiled softly as she reached a hoof out. The large feline looked back to her, only to hiss and slowly backed away. She flinched, taking a step back. “What’s wrong? It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” Another growl emanated from the creature. It raised a paw, aiming towards Fluttershy. The paw stopped as it stared into her eyes.

Applejack watched on as Fluttershy used The Stare. Only Fluttershy could use it, which she only did on animals that misbehaved. It raised its tail and flared its wings as it backed into the brush, slowly disappearing from sight.

Applejack continued to stare, not sure what to make of the odd behavior it displayed. “Well that was pointless.” Rainbow frowned. “What the heck was it even doing over here anyway?”

“That was odd…” Fluttershy murmured, lowering her hoof to the ground. “It sounded like it was frightened of something.”

“Frightened? We ain’t all that much of a threat to it.” Applejack drawled as she raised an eyebrow. “You sure it just didn’t spook itself?”

“I’m positive.” Fluttershy turned around and looked at Applejack. “It must have seen something to scare the poor thing. But I don’t know wh--” Her eyes widened as her mouth went agape, her lips quivered while she slowly backed away.

“H-hey, sugarcube? Is everythin’ alright?” Seeing Fluttershy’s pupils shrink, Applejack felt her fur stand on end at what could be standing behind them. She gulped and said, “There’s… somethin’ behind us, ain’t there?”

A sickening squelch echoed behind them. Fluttershy screamed at what she saw, and Applejack and the others turned around to see one of the guards being lifted up into the air. They all let out a gasp. A blade black as night had pierced through the stallion’s neck. Blood dripped down to the forest floor, a few of the drops trickling down the creature’s eyeless gaze as they saw the one thing they were hoping to avoid.

“Everypony… we need to get outtta here!” Applejack yelled. She grabbed Rainbow Dash by the tail and turning her around, then nudged Fluttershy the other way as she, her friends, and the remaining guards ran into the brush. The sounds around Applejack began to lessen until she could only hear the beating of her heart pounding away in her chest. ‘This was the exact thing I didn’t want t happen! And now that monster’s probably chasin’ us down!’ She looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw the creature quickly catching up to them at an incredible speed.

“Shoot! That dang creature’s catchin’ up! Everypony run faster!” Applejack looked back, her breath catching in her throat as the monster launched itself onto one of the other guards, growling and screeching while blood spattered on the surrounding foliage. Screams erupted from the stallion beneath.

“No!” Rainbow Dash yelled, turning around and running straight at the creature.

“Gosh darnit, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack quickly ran up to her side, grabbed her by the tail with her mouth and yanked her back. “We can’t do anythin’, Rainbow! Yah gotta leave him behind!”

“But--”

“Just go!” She shoved her again, and Rainbow skidded forward until she reluctantly picked up the pace again. Applejack looked back, her ears folding against the sides of her head as she saw the stallion reaching out to them, yelping and crying out in pain. She closed her eyes, forcing the tears back as she and Rainbow caught back up with the others.

The echoes of their hooves drowned out the unharmonious sounds filling the forest. Everypony kept their gazes forward as they continued to run. Applejack stared ahead, the thoughts in her mind rushing around in a panic. ‘T-this is crazy. Ah knew splittin’ up was a bad idea. Why’d we all have ta listen ta Twilight?’

Applejack began to slow down to a trot, and her friends and the remaining guard did the same. They stopped once they moved into an open area lit brightly by the sun. “Is… everypony okay?” Applejack asked as she slowly caught her breath. She received a nod from the guard and Rainbow Dash, with Fluttershy emitting a tiny squeak. “Fluttershy?”

“T-that was horrible…” Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves, letting out hiccups as the shock finally set in.

“There, there, sugarcube. Everythin’ is gonna be okay.” Applejack walked up to her friend and wrapped a hoof around her. “We lost that monster, so everythin’ should be fine.” As she ran a hoof through Fluttershy’s mane, she sighed. ‘Let’s just hope we did. Ah don’t know how much more Fluttershy can take… how much Ah or Rainbow can take...’

The brush they came through rustled before going quiet. Applejack looked up as she scanned the perimeter. “Everypony…” She stood up, frowning as she flattened her ears. “Ah think it caught back up.” The others stood up, looking in the direction Applejack stared in. “Come on… let’s find Twilight and the others and regroup. We’ll be saf--”

Applejack yelped as she felt herself get knocked down. Pushing herself up with unsteady hooves, she turned to see the creature on top of the other guard. The monster growled and bit down on the guard’s throat, ripping and tearing until blood spattered on the ground in front of him. The guard let out a breathless scream before shuddering on the ground, collapsing until his body soon became still. Applejack stepped back. The monster slowly turned its bloody muzzle to them, hissing while it crawled towards the three remaining mares.

Looking back, Applejack quickly backed up to her friends, standing close by them as they formed a line. “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy. Whatever yah do, do not break this line. If we stay in this formation, we might get this creature ta leave us.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure it will leave once we’re all dead.” Rainbow scoffed, glaring at the creature as it came closer.

Applejack stared at the ground, rubbing her head with a hoof before she turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy. You’re the only pony here who can make a creature freeze in its tracks with your Stare.”

“But-but-but this isn’t some normal manticore… this is a creepy and terrifying monster!”

“Ah understand.” There was a chance of the Stare working, but Applejack didn’t know for how long. “But this alien here is just another critter. If it’s an animal as well, Ah’m sure yer Stare will work the same.” To reassure her, Applejack raised a hoof to her shoulder and smiled. “You’ve been good with that trick before, so why not try it now?”

Fluttershy kept her gaze on Applejack’s, gulping before turning to face the snarling alien. “O-okay… here it goes.” She took a deep breath, opening her eyes as she gave the creature a very hard Stare.

The creature turned to face Fluttershy, screeching and growling at the sight of her cyan eyes. It brought a clawed hand to its face and backed away from the three mares. Seeing that its effects worked, Fluttershy began to walk closer to it. “You should be ashamed of yourself! Killing other innocent ponies and creatures that don’t deserve to die in such horrible ways!” Her yells seemed to drive it back even more, letting out a longer screech. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in!? What would your mother think of your violent behavior!? She would be ashamed of you!”

Applejack brightened as she watched Fluttershy work. ‘If Fluttershy keeps this up, then we’re home free.’ But at the mention of a mother, the creature stopped backing away. Its metallic-like teeth gleamed in the sunlight as slime dripped down to the ground before it, snarling at Fluttershy. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, her mouth dropping open as she saw the tail heading straight for Fluttershy. In that second, all Applejack could think of was that the Stare hadn’t worked. ‘It… wasn’t affected by it… b-but how?’

“Fluttershy, no!” Rainbow Dash jetted towards the unmoving mare and shoved her out of the way. A scream erupted from her, accompanied by a sickening crunch.

“Rainbow Dash!!” Fluttershy flew back, skidding across the ground and out of harm’s way.

‘Rainbow Dash… you idiot...’ Applejack’s eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat as she saw blood dripping down on the ground in front of her friend. The creature lifted Rainbow up, moving her closer to its muzzle, opening its mouth wide open as a second mouth showed in the darkness of its mouth. “No… no!” Applejack yelled as she ran towards the creature, bringing a foreleg up and knocking her hoof against its jaw. The alien screeched as it skidded back on its back legs. Rainbow Dash flew off the tail and landed a few feet behind Applejack.

Glancing over her shoulder, she gagged as she saw the large wound opening Rainbow Dash’s stomach area. Fluttershy ran over to their friend, but she could do nothing to help ease her friend’s pain.

That was it. Applejack turned to face the creature, now standing on its hind legs as it hissed at her. This creature had harmed too many ponies already, and Applejack was not going to let it hurt her friends anymore. “You… filthy, disgustin’ freak! Ah’m gonna make sure yah never get back up!” Applejack charged the creature, yelling at the top of her lungs. The alien roared, jumping back onto all fours as it ran at her as well.

She raised a hoof and swung at the alien, but it jumped out of the way. Applejack gasped, ducking out of the way as one of its clawed hands brushed past her stetson. She brought another hoof up, striking the creature's chest. She smiled, bringing her left hoof up to its muzzle, but felt something solid hit her right side. The world tumbled around her as she skid across the ground, yelping and grunting.

Quickly, she got back up, her eyes widening as she saw it in mid-leap and almost on top of her. Growling, she crouched, positioned her back legs towards the creature, and kicked. She felt her back hooves make contact against the jaw of the monster with a satisfying crack. The alien roared as it sailed in the air and slammed into a tree.

Applejack smiled as the creature lay still. ‘Maybe… Ah knocked it out...’ A low-sounding growl resonated from the creature. It slowly looked up and hissed at her. ‘Oh… great.’ It stood up, seemingly shaking the kick off like it was nothing. Growling again, Applejack watched as it charged her, running on its hind legs in a hasty approach. She ducked again as it swiped at her, yelping as the other claw scored the left side of her muzzle.

Jumping back, she held a hoof to her cheek, blood dripping down as she pulled her hoof away. ‘Just… ignore the pain.’ She looked up, only to see the creature screeching as it charged her again. She positioned her back legs again and kicked as it neared her, but it dodged her attack almost effortlessly. ‘It… knew what I was going to do...’

An exploding sensation of pain erupted in her stomach as she felt its claws dig into her flesh. She let out a short-lived scream and felt the world around her rush by. The air was knocked out of her as she felt her back smash into the ground, the pain increasing as the creature’s claws pushed in further.

Applejack screamed again as she felt a stinging pain in her right shoulder. Having a quick glance, she saw the tail’s blade digging into her flesh. She felt like her shoulder was about to separate from her body. Looking back up, she froze when she came face to face with the monster, its slime dripping onto her chest and face as its mouth opened. ‘Is… thi-this really it?’ The second mouth slowly came out and opened its jaws. ‘T-this… is how Ah die...’

Applejack let out another yelp as the alien was knocked off her, the tail coming out of her in a blistering sensation of pain that ran up her nerves. She grabbed her injured shoulder with her left hoof and sat up to see beams of light flashing and hitting the creature. Its cries of pain echoed in the forest as it took off, the magic energy blasts slowly beginning to thin out until all was finally quiet. She looked to see where those energy blasts came from and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Twilight and the princesses surveying the situation.

“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out as she rushed to give Applejack a massive hug. Applejack felt tears of joy trickle down her muzzle, but she winced as they came in contact with the claw marks on the left side of her muzzle. “Applejack… are you alright?” Looking up, she saw her friend’s own tears dripping down her face.

“Ah… Ah’m fine,” Applejack replied, grunting as she tried to get up, only to yelp in pain as she fell down.

She felt hooves push against the left side of her barrel and saw Twilight shaking her head. “No… you’re not alright.” Applejack glanced over her friend to see Princess Cadance standing over Rainbow Dash, a blue glow swirling around the stomach wound as it slowly closed. She watched as Rainbow began to slightly move, letting out quiet moans as she winced from the pain. “There is no way that you are alright.” Applejack returned her gaze to the distraught mare in front of her.

Looking away, she closed her eyes and laid back down. Hoofsteps echoed in the grass next to her, and she looked up to see Cadance standing over her. Applejack grunted as she felt the alicorn’s magic moving over her shoulder and muzzle, groaning at the pain that went up and down her nerves. “There,” Cadance said as the blue light faded away. “I… was able to heal you… unfortunately, magic healing can only do so much. You two will need to see a doctor in Canterlot immediately.”

Applejack could only nod, accepting the help she knew she needed. She felt Twilight’s hoof wrap around her neck. Looking in front of her, she could see Rarity hiding her muzzle with her hooves, and Pinkie’s hair deflating slightly at the sight of their friends. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna only stared, but the worried frowns on their muzzles belied their worry for their friends. Applejack could only let out a sigh as she was guided forward.

A shadow moved over her; Applejack looked up to see Celestia staring down at her. “Twilight, I want you and Princess Cadance to bring Applejack and Rainbow Dash to Canterlot Castle’s hospital. They need to be treated by the best doctors immediately.”

The only noise that seemed to fill the air was Fluttershy’s crying as she continued to weep for Rainbow Dash. Applejack saw that her friend was moving, but only slightly. ‘Please… let her be okay...’ In a flash of light, the forest disappeared from her sight as Twilight and Cadance teleported the two wounded mares and their friends to Canterlot, leaving Princess Celestia and Princess Luna behind.

Princess Celestia let out a sigh, shaking her head as she saw one of the three dead guards lying on the ground. Approaching the once-living pony, she closed her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry my little pony… you should not have died in such a terrible way.’

“Sister.” Princess Luna walked up to Celestia’s side. “Are we going to continue with the plan?”

Celestia opened her eyes and looked towards her little sister. “Yes. We must form a shield around our old home so that this Xenomorph cannot escape.” Celestia opened her wings and lifted off into the air. She scanned the ground below her but saw no sign of the alien moving through the forest.

“Do you think it has returned to the castle?”

“It seems that way.” They had to be sure, otherwise it would be freely roaming Equestria for who knew how long. “Let me take first watch. But we shall both stay here in case it is not inside the barrier.” Approaching the castle, Celestia slowly stopped and pointed her horn at the ancient set of ruins as she floated in mid-air. A light gold shield formed around the castle, which engulfed the perimeter and cut off all exits.

The two sisters scanned the castle grounds; they could not let one area go unchecked until they were sure it was contained. Movement caught Celestia’s eyes, and sure enough, there it was, staring at the shield that had formed around its new home. “So we did capture it.” A heavy weight lifted off her shoulders. “Alright, Luna. You may leave me to take the first watch.” Her sister nodded before flying off, teleporting in a flash of dark blue light.

Celestia ascended up to the sky with another quick flap of her wings, landing on a cloud and kneeling down on it until she felt comfortable. As she stared down at the Xenomorph, it looked up to spot her. Celestia did not blink her eyes as the creature stared back, its teeth glinting in the light. It ran at the shield and slashed at it. The bubble rippled from the attack, but it had no effect on Celestia as she continued to keep her eyes on the creature. ‘Such hatred… how could a creature be filled with so much anger?’ It stopped its assault on the shield, hissing at the bubble around it before running back into the castle.

She let out a sigh and shook her head. “For now, this creature is sealed… but I wish I could see to my ponies who were injured. I need to know for certain that they will make it.” It was the only thing Celestia could hope for. After seeing Rainbow and Applejack in such a state of injury, she could only keep her faith in the doctors at Canterlot Castle; they needed all the fortune they could get.