Author's Notes:

Now there is a part of this chapter that I know will confuse many. That being Twilight mentioning another character's name besides Nyx. But hopefully I'll get to that in the first story here sooner or later. Other than that, I hope you enjoy

A light gold flash illuminated the stone bridge as Princess Celestia appeared from within the surge of light. She turned her attention to Applejack, Rarity and Twilight, who stood in front of her, and spoke. “Alright, everypony. Time is of the essence, so please make your visits as quick as possible.”

“Of course, Celestia.” Twilight looked over her shoulder. “I’ll hurry Nyx along and get everything she’ll need.” Looking ahead, she ran off into the town, disappearing behind one of the houses.

“And I shall gather my sister’s belongings. I doubt she’ll give me much trouble, but hopefully we can move along in an orderly fashion.” Rarity took off at a quick trot, leaving Applejack the only mare standing in front of Celestia.

“Now I understand all the secrecy, Princess. But what about the others? Surely they’ll be wonderin’ where their friends and family are?” Applejack tilted her head as she asked the princess.

“You are correct, Applejack. That is why I’ve notified a few messengers to make sure that nopony worries about where Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie are. All they shall receive is that the girls will be on an investigation, nothing more.”

That was at least some good news. Even Applejack knew how important this mission was, and that telling the public that the killing machine from a month ago had returned did not seem like a fine idea. “Ah’ll be quick as a fiddle, Princess Celestia. Just have ta let mah sister and grandmother know I’m goin’ somewhere fer a while.”

Celestia nodded back. “Just be sure to not let them know where you are heading. Who knows what they will try to do if they realize what our investigation is actually looking into.”

With a quick tip of her hat, Applejack ran down the street of Ponyville. She winced as a pain sparked through her right shoulder. She frowned as she spotted a missing line of fur on her coat that was her scar. “That dang creature.” Menial tasks had gotten more difficult after the injury that nightmare had inflicted upon her shoulder with its spear-like tail. Shaking it off, she ignored the annoying throbbing sensation and continued on at a slower running pace.

It was some matter of minutes before Applejack spotted the farm on the horizon. Turning her gaze to the house, she had considered what she should tell her younger sister and grandmother. It was best to make sure that they only knew that she’d be gone for just a little while. Telling them what this investigation was about was going to be trickier. After all, she knew how hard this was going to be. ‘Curse mah bad luck with lyin’.’ Being the Bearer of the Element of Honesty did have some downsides. She would find out how it all played out.

Reaching the door of her house, she grabbed the knob and opened the entrance quickly, closing the door and sighing. Granny Smith was in her chair, a convenient spot for once. “Granny Smith. There’s somethin’ Ah gotta tell you and Apple Bloom.” Scanning the living room and kitchen area, she didn’t see any sign of her sister. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”

“Ah’m right here, Applejack.” Looking up, Applejack saw her little sister leaning on the railing of the staircase. “In case you were wonderin’, I already got all mah chores done.”

“That’s good ta hear, Apple Bloom. But right now Ah need ta let you two know Ah’m gonna be gone fer a bit.”

“Gone?” Granny Smith raised an eyebrow at her granddaughter. “Where you goin’ in such a hurry, Applejack?”

“Yeah. When were you gonna tell us ‘bout this?” Apple Bloom rested her forelegs on the railing, tilting her head as she gave the same questioning stare as Granny Smith.

“Look y’all, I wasn’t even aware of this type of situation until it recently turned up. But Ah shouldn’t be too long. Maybe about a few hours ’r so before Ah get back.”

“Back… from where?”

“Well… I’ve been asked by Celestia ta go on this investigation. Guess there’s another creature that’s popped up over near some island that she needs help gettin’ rid of. Me and mah friends are gonna go look this over. So like Ah said, this shouldn’t take too long.”

“But where did this creature come from? And how did Princess Celestia find out about it?” Granny Smith asked as she slowly rocked back and forth in her rocking chair.

Applejack looked to the ground, licking her lips before speaking slowly. “Well… some ponies have been disappearin’. Ah can’t figure out what’s been draggin them off, but Ah think we ca--”

“Wait. You said ponies were disappearin’? That only happened when--” The young filly’s eyes widened, until they lowered into a glare accompanying a frown on her muzzle. “Applejack… is there somethin’... Ah don’t know... ‘important’ that you’re leavin’ out of the picture here?”

Looking away for a brief moment, Applejack bit her lip as she tried to find an explanation for all this. Returning to meet the glaring gaze, Applejack frowned. “Don’t give me that glare there, missy. Ah was just sayin’ that Princess Celestia needs our help with this creature. It’s nothin’ we can’t handle.”

“This creature sounds awfully similar to that other one the princesses got rid of a month ago. Is that what you’ve been told to take care of?”

Applejack’s frown deepened, but she could no longer feel like she could keep this a secret. “Look… Ah can explain--”

“So it is that monster that pony-napped Sweetie Belle, isn’t it!?” She flinched at the higher volume Apple Bloom’s voice reached as she yelled at her sister.

This was the situation Applejack hoped she could avoid. However, it was unavoidable at this point. Sighing, Applejack looked her sister in the eyes and murmured. “Yes… It may be. Princess Celestia, mah friends, and I are gonna go find this Xenomorph and destroy it if it’s there.”

Apple Bloom growled and glared at her older sister. “When were yah plannin’ on tellin’ me and Granny Smith here!?”

“Princess Celestia asked me not ta let you two know where I was goin’.”

“So yer puttin’ the princess’ orders before lettin’ yer family know what’s goin’ on?” Granny Smith stopped her rocking in her chair, simply staring at her granddaughter.

“Well what else was Ah supposed ta do? She didn’t want ta start panic here in Ponyville after what happened about a month ago. Why else would Ah try and keep this information here secret?”

“But why did yah not want ta tell us?" Apple Bloom quickly walked down the steps and up to her big sister. "I could go with yah and teach that--”

“No!” Applejack yelled, her younger sister’s eyes widening as the elder sibling yelled. She let out a sigh before murmuring in a shaky tone. “Ah’m not losin’ anypony else, Apple Bloom. Losin’ our big brother was enough, and Ah don’t need ta lose my little sister as well.”

“But--!”

“No ‘buts’, Apple Bloom.” Applejack kneeled down to her sister’s level. “Please… I know how much yer hurtin’ as well, and I know yer not such a young filly no more.” Letting out another sigh, her frown lessened. “But Ah couldn’t bare the thought of losin’ another family member.” The sadness deepened, feeling a small ache in her heart. Nothing felt the same after Big MacIntosh died.

“Ah know yer a brave filly. But just bein’ brave ain’t enough. This… the Xenomorph won’t sit around fer yah to attack. It won’t stop until yer… dead.” The cold hard facts needed to be told to this young filly if she were to fully comprehend the situation. “Please, Apple Bloom. Ah’ll be fine. You need ta stay here and watch after yer grandmother. Alright?” Applejack rested a hoof on her sister’s shoulder.

Apple Bloom looked away, shaking under her hoof, before suddenly wrapping her hooves around her older sister. Applejack softened her gaze, lowering her ears as her little sister whimpered into her good shoulder, closing her eyes as she felt tear drops trickle through her fur. “J-just promise me, Applejack. Promise me you’ll return home.”

Applejack pulled away, raising her younger sibling’s chin up with a hoof and staring into her tear filled eyes. A faint smile formed on her muzzle as she used her free hoof to wipe away the tears. “I know promises can be broken… but Ah’m goin’ ta try and keep this one. I’ll come back home. Ah won’t leave you and Granny Smith.” Leaning forward, she gently pecked the filly’s forehead with a kiss and stood up.

She looked to her grandmother and frowned as she continued to rock in her chair. “Ah understand, Applejack.” A small smile beamed on the older pony’s muzzle as she murmured, “Make sure ta give that varmit the regards of the Apple Family.”

Hearing Granny Smith say this, Applejack smiled, tipping her hat before exiting the house. Quickly as she could, she ran back down to Ponyville, pictures of her family and kin rushing around in flashes as she moved along. ‘Ah’ve never been one for sayin’ this… but please… Big MacIntosh… Ma and Pa… Keep watch over me… for Ah don’t have a good feelin’ fer what’s ‘bout to happen tonight.’

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity called into her boutique as she opened the door, the bells jingling as they announced her presence to the building. It was unusually quiet. Rarity scanned the kitchen and dressing room and she found it to be clean. ‘Hmm. Sweetie Belle should be here, correct? Then where is she?’ There was no place else for Sweetie to go except for their parent’s house near the river.

‘Maybe she is just sleeping? After all, the little filly does easily tire herself out with those drawing and magic sessions now and then.’ It was certainly an explanation alright, but a theory that formed a frown on Rarity’s muzzle. Walking into the room, she closed the door behind her and made her way up the stairs. Returning her thoughts to a memory, she was horrified that her sister had been learning defensive spells, from Twilight herself no less--the best friend who had promised her that she would only be studying levitation spells. ‘I completely understand if the circumstances were necessary… but why does my precious little sister need to learn such violent magic?’

The answer was obvious. But that ‘creature’ was nowhere near Ponyville or at least hopefully so. Either way, the fashionista would rather not have her one and only sister study spells that could harm others. Opening the door to her sister’s room, she smiled as she spotted her resting underneath the covers of her bed. Gently pushing the door further open, she quietly walked up to the side of her sister’s bed, pressing a hoof to Sweetie’s side and softly shaking her. “Sweetie Belle… time to get up, dear.”

Sweetie sighed and scrunched up her muzzle. Rarity pulled her hoof away as she noticed tears dripped down the left side of her muzzle. “Sweetie… please, wake up darling.” Rarity leaned closer, nuzzling her sister’s neck gently as she tried to wake her up.

Sweetie slowly opened her eyes. As she met her gaze, she wrapped her hooves around Rarity’s neck. Rarity had definitely gone through this before. There had been a couple of times when she would try and wake Sweetie up but it took multiple attempts before she would finally wake up.

Rarity returned the favor, gently wrapping her hooves around her younger sister. When she heard the filly quietly cry, she ran a hoof through her mane and tried to calm her down. “It’s okay, Sweetie. Your big sister’s here. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”

It was the most she could do to help comfort her sister. Sweetie Belle unfortunately had the terrifying privilege to see what would happen to a pony who was impregnated by a Xenomorph. Even worse, the pony she saw become a host for that disgusting and foul creature was Rarity. It was an event she wished her younger sibling could just forget altogether, and even she desired to be rid of these unholy and grotesque scenes replaying in her mind.

Lifting a hoof up, Rarity gently grabbed her sister’s shoulder and pulled away. “Are you going to be alright, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie looked up with her tear-filled eyes, rubbing her nose with a hoof and sniffling. “I… I guess so.” Rarity never hurt so much in her life to hear the pain that emanated from her sister. It had felt like she was finally getting better, but it seemed now that she was going back to how she was before, and quite frankly, it felt like Sweetie was almost right back where she started.

Letting go of her shoulder, Rarity gently lifted Sweetie’s muzzle before asking, “Do you want to talk about the dream you had?” She received a slow and shaky nod. Sighing, she smiled in hopes of keeping her sister calm. “That’s alright. I understand that it… was not a fun dream, was it?”

Sweetie nodded again, turning her attention to the ground as she looked away. This was getting them nowhere fast, Rarity thought; she decided it might be best to get her going. “Well… Sweetie. I’m going to ask you something here, but please do refrain from arguing, okay?”

“W-why? Is something happening?” Sweetie murmured, hesitantly bringing her gaze back up to her sister’s.

“Well… not at the moment, currently. But you see, Princess Celestia has asked me and my friends to go look into something. Seeing as how that this could take all day, possibly, I need you to pack just a few things and head on over to our parent’s house.” This was no surefire plan, but it would help keep Rarity at ease if Sweetie was someplace safe for the time being.

“But… Rarity…” Sweetie flattened her ears, the bed shaking slightly.

“Sweetie Belle, listen. I promise I--”

“But I don’t want you to leave!” Rarity flinched at the tone her younger sister used. “Please, don’t go.” Seeing Sweetie in such a pathetic state was disheartening. She herself didn’t want to leave the poor filly to be alone, but her friends were counting on her to be there. "That dream I had... i-it was about you." Rarity's eyes widened. "I... s-saw what happened to that pony, Kettlepot. And then in m-my dreams... h-he was replaced with y-you..." Rarity felt Sweetie's grip tighten. "I-I don't want that to happen to you..."

“Sweetie… I wish I could stay. But this mission Princess Celestia informed me about requires a mare who’s keen on attention to detail. I understand my friends are good about that in their own ways, but I don’t see them getting very far without my help.” The poor thing. It was no wonder that her dear sister was so frightened of her leaving.

“I don’t want you to go, because Mom and Dad don’t understand what I’ve been through… what we went through…” Sweetie pushed her muzzle into her older sister’s shoulder, Rarity feeling the cold drips of sorrow staining into her fur. “I-I don’t want to lose you… I d-don’t want my big s-sister to d-disappear.”

The sentiment itself was heartwarming. Rarity’s smile brightened a little as a few tears of her own escaped her. “I know, Sweetie. I understand how you feel.” What her little sister said was true. Their parents did not understand what they had gone through, and it did annoy her to great lengths when they tried to compare her situation to something that would have been easier to bear. “But I am afraid that I cannot stay.”

As Sweetie went to protest, Rarity brought a hoof to her lips, silencing her little sister. After her sister stopped trying to speak, she rested her forehead against her sibling’s, closing her eyes as she spoke. “However… I’m not going to go away forever, Sweetie Belle. It will only be a short while until I return, alright?”

Pulling away from her younger sister, she watched Sweetie nod before wrapping her hooves around Rarity’s barrel. She couldn’t help but let out a tiny sigh, turning her attention to the outside world. What she wouldn’t give to just completely forget about that moment in life, that terrifying and excruciating thought of carrying something so foul inside her body. She only had hope that there was no more ‘creatures’ to be found at the facility she and her friends were heading to.

“Nyx!” Twilight shook her head as she heard her voice echo through the castle hallways. The response was only silence. Twilight frowned as she trotted down a hallway. “Nyx! I need to talk to you for a moment. Nyx!?” Still not a peep to be heard from her adopted daughter. ‘Where could she be? Is she asleep?’

Her ears swiveled as she heard a faint noise. Stopping her trot, she focused in on the noise for a few moments to hear nothing but silence. “Mom!” As she heard the yell, she raced to a sprint at the desperation in her daughter’s voice.

“Nyx! What’s going on!?” Twilight yelled back as she ran up to her daughter’s door, threw it open and scanned the room. “Nyx? Where are y… ahhh!” She screamed as she saw the nightmare standing at the end of the room, poised in a lunging position. She quickly hid back around a corner, breathing in erratic motions and bringing a hoof to her chest. If the creature was in there, Nyx was in the most immediate danger. “Don’t worry, Nyx. I’m going to get rid of this freak of nature!”

“Mom, wait!” Twilight heard her daughter call out, but ignored her and fired a beam at where the Xenomorph stood. The ball of light phased through the nightmare and hit the wall behind it, the image turning to static before the picture became clear once more. She blinked before seeing strands of light emanating from the device she had in her possession. She walked over to the device and looked at the creature shown in the holographic image. That same beast was responsible for all this, and could still be alive to cause even more pain. The light faded away as she turned off the device, the image disappearing with it.

She sighed and turned around to see her daughter shaking as she crawled out from under her bed, a frown of her own as she sniffled. ‘Nyx... ‘ Seeing those tears drip down her muzzle was heartwrenching, but she couldn’t understand why her daughter would disobey a rule.

“M-mom… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break the rule of watching what was on the device. B-but I was just so curious about it that I… I…” Nyx quickly ran up to her mother, hugging her and quietly sobbing into Twilight’s shoulder.

“Nyx… I’m sorry you had to see all that… I’m so sorry.” However furious Twilight was with Nyx, she couldn’t let that frustration get the better of her. What she had seen was just terrible, even if Nyx shouldn’t have gotten onto the information the device held in the first place. Pulling away, she wiped the tears from her daughter’s muzzle. “...How much of it did you see?”

Nyx sniffled again. “I… I saw everything. Even the stuff before and after the part I saw that month ago... when that horse was killed. I just got so tired of being left in the dark that I… let my curiosity get the better of me.”

Twilight blinked, looking down to the ground. “I wanted to keep you safe… from the information that was held in this device here.” She pointed to the electronic item, hovering it next to her as her frown deepened. “I realize that this holds so many dark secrets… secrets that nopony else should ever have to know.” It was about high time that this was gone, maybe even going far as destroying it to hide any reminders of the past.

‘But… what about April? Should I just forget what happened to her?’ April, as Twilight had come to learn, was one of the more unfortunate victims of this disastrous event. She may have been one of the humans, but she had come from a hard life, and she had gone through more pain than anyone else, from her father dying to her mother becoming an addict of alcohol. There would be no forgetting the female human, especially after finding her body impaled in the spaceship that had brought the Xenomorph to their world.

Returning her attention to her daughter, she leaned into her and kissed her forehead. “I’m glad that you told the truth. So to keep this from ever happening again, I’ll take this to Canterlot and keep it within the archives so nopony else can learn the dark secrets within this device.”

She nodded, wrapping her hooves around Twilight again. “I’m sorry… I just wanted to know. I didn’t realize how bad the video was.”

Twilight shushed her daughter, running a hoof through her mane. “It’s okay. You’re not in trouble for this.” Having seen the video herself, Twilight knew that was punishment enough, especially since Nyx had not relapsed into the former stage that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were unfortunately experiencing.

Standing up, she pulled away from her daughter. “Now I want you to gather a few things from your room. Princess Celestia is having me and the girls go over to an island to investigate a facility. I don’t want to leave you here alone, so I thought it might be best to bring you over to your grandparents’ house.” Nyx smiled and nodded, going about her room and collecting a few items before standing in front of Twilight with a small one-sided saddlebag. “You ready to go?”

Nyx lost her smile as the frown returned. “The facility you’re going to… does this have anything to do with the creature that was in the video?”

Twilight was rather surprised that she would ask her a question like this, but the frown on her own muzzle didn’t deny the truth. “Y-yes… unfortunately. I can’t go into details, Nyx, but it’s not good.”

Instead of pursuing the thought any further, she wrapped her hooves around her mother again, Twilight closing her eyes and feeling a few tears escape her own lidded eyes. “Please… be careful, Mom. I don’t want to lose you…”

“I… I know, Nyx.” Kneeling down, she pecked her daughter’s cheek with another kiss and smiled. “Don’t worry… I’m coming back.” She only got a nod in reply from her daughter. She stood back up and walked alongside her daughter as they exited the castle. As they walked to the bridge, Twilight looked over her shoulder and took a long stare at her home one last time. Whether this was the last time she saw this place again was unknown. But she promised herself that this wasn’t her end and that she would return to her family and friends.

Turning back to the front, she saw Princess Celestia waiting alongside Rarity, who smiled as they saw the two coming up. “Hello there, Twilight.” As they approached, she giggled as she lowered herself to Nyx’s level. “And it’s good to see my little angel, Nyx.” The filly laughed as she hugged her. Rarity looked up to Twilight as she embraced the little filly. “Did you happen to see where Applejack was, by any chance?”

As Twilight went to answer, she heard hoofsteps behind her. She turned around to see her friend trotting up to them. “Ah’m here. Took a little longer thanks ta mah dang shoulder. Everythin’ go alright with yer family as well?”

Rarity affirmed with a nod. “Sweetie Belle is safe with our parents. She should be fine, I hope.”

“That’s good ta hear.” Applejack returned the nod, looking to see Twilight and Nyx. “And what about you two? Where’s Nyx goin’ ta go with… well, with Spike gone?”

Twilight frowned at the mention of her number one assistant’s name. “I decided it might be best to take Nyx to my parent’s house. She’ll be fine there while we go to the island. Everything alright with the other Apples, Applejack?”

Tipping her hat a little, Applejack frowned. “Yah could say that.”

Seeing Applejack’s frown, Twilight decided it was best to not press further into the matter. “So.” She looked up to Celestia as her former teacher spoke. “Is everypony ready to head back to Canterlot?”

They all nodded. Celestia closed her eyes and her horn lit up in a gold light aura. Twilight turned to see Ponyville, taking in the town’s scenery and look one last time. This town was a place she considered home, far more than she did Canterlot, even though it was her birthplace. There were so many memories, many more good than bad, even if the terrible event caused by the Xenomorph had affected her friends and herself, both mentally and physically. She just hoped that both she and her friends could return after this investigation. In a flash, she disappeared along with the others in a light gold flash, with the last moment for the girls to relish in the thought of their home. They all hoped they would come out of this alive… and not become more broken than before.