1055 AD, January 25th

“Sister, I really do not wish to have this talk.”

“I’m just saying that I’ve known Twilight since she was a filly, so I know a bit about her. Her likes, her dislikes, her favourite activities – you just need to ask.”

“I really don’t think-”

“Unless I’m reading you wrong and it’s one of her friends you’re after. Not to worry; I know a lot about the sexual possibilities involving the three races.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Is it Applejack? I can relate – a strong, rugged mare with good hospitality and unrivalled honesty? Who could resist? Oh, and that earth pony stamina; long nights of pure bliss. Although, Pinkie is quite the party pony; I’m willing to be she’s hyperactive in other areas, too, if you catch my drift. Hm, but what about the pegasi?”

“’Tia…”

“Rainbow Dash is a bit of a tomcolt, but she pulls that off well. She’s also very loyal and an avid book reader. You could give a new meaning to the term ‘taste the rainbow’. Ah, but what of Fluttershy? Sweet, kind, shy, and so caring… and I’m willing to bet a tiger in the bedroom. It’s always the shy ones, am I right?”

“This is like a dream I once had. I woke up crying. Sobbing, really.”

“Rarity has an eye for art; she’d enjoy coming up to watch you bring the night out. Then later on, you two could make some magic of your own. And of course, there’s Twilight. Now it is a bit strange to think of the filly who has been like a daughter to me and my sister doing the Bucking Bronco, but-”

“Sister!”

As Luna contemplated diving out the window to escape this psychological torment, a streak of green fire flitted between them and an instant later, a scroll materialized from thin air. Celestia caught it with her magic before it hit the floor.

“Oh, a letter from your little crush and her friends… who you also probably have crushes on. How convenient.”

“‘Tia, why must you torture me so?”

Smirking to herself, Celestia spread out the scroll and read. Luna watched as her older sister’s brow suddenly furrowed and her smile vanished and was replaced by a frown. She raised an eyebrow as her sister continued to read in silence.

“A bit for your thoughts?”

“Ponyville…”

Luna sighed. “I should have guessed – that town seems to have unusual magnetic properties when it comes to danger.”

“Three mysterious creatures were found; two of them were dead on the spot while the third was killed by Bonbon and Lyra Heartstrings.”

“The candymaker and the lyre player – excellent sweets and music.”

“Twilight says the creatures' physiologies are very different from any creature in her books.”

“How different?”

“She’s included an illustration,” Celestia looked at a separate piece of paper, tilting her head quizzically. “It… appears to be a cross between a bat and an angler fish.”

Celestia handed Luna the paper and the younger sister studied the drawing in silence for a moment. She had seen many unusual things in her time – dreams notwithstanding – but even so…

“Quite a hybrid,” She murmured softly and looked back at her sibling. “Are we sure Discord is reformed?”

Celestia read on. “As reformed as he’ll ever be, but Twilight writes that she’s questioned Discord and he swears he has no hoof in this. She thinks the creatures may have come from the Everfree forest.”

“Makes sense,” Luna nodded. “Many strange critters inhabit those woods and though it is not often they stray, it does happen.”

“Regardless, she’s preparing the Elements of Harmony in case this is an omen for bigger things to come,” Celestia lowered the letter to rest on the floor in front of where she lay on a comfy cushion. “Oh, and Spike mentions the creatures are ugly and smell bad.”

“As does everything from the Everfree. Should we send some of the guards?”

“Between Discord and the Elements, there should be no need. While it’s true Discord is still a wild card, I truly believe he will aid them should anything happen.”

Luna reached out with her magic and brought the letter in front of her to examine it. “She isn’t asking for any support.”

“If that’s the case, then she must be writing to just inform me of events,” She smiled and tittered a little. “It amazes me of just how much she’s grown up.”

Briefly, her gaze travelled to the fireplace – specifically, the picture frames lining the top, one of which showing a small purple filly beaming as she performed a basic illumination spell as a white alicorn watched on proudly.

Celestia blinked and turned back to her sister. “I should write back and let her know that if she does need help she can always ask.”

She reached out with her magic towards her desk for an empty sheet of paper and quill. Before she could bring them to her, there was a hurried knock at the doors.

“Come-”

The doors were enshrouded with golden magic and were thrown open to let in a white stallion with a luxurious mane.

“… in.”

“Aunties!” Blueblood cried. “Something dreadful has happened!”

“Your supply of shampoo ran out?” Luna asked, the sarcasm in her tone palpable.

Celestia shushed her sister, even though she was also irritated at her adopted nephew’s arrival. He had a tendency to over-exaggerate things. Once, he called in half the Royal Guard to help him with a mouse that invaded his home.

“As hard as it is to believe, it’s even worse than that!” Blueblood lifted a hoof to his forehead in dismay.

“What is it, Blueblood?” Celestia was not going to be very amused if it was his conditioner supply that ran out.

“A beast has invaded my room in the castle! It entered through my window and attempted to roost on my head! It was hideous! Simply hideous! And the smell...”

“Blueblood…” Luna sighed as Celestia narrowed her eyes in thought. “This rivalry you have with birds must stop. Perhaps if you stopped trying to punch them, then maybe they wouldn’t peck and bite and release their bowels all over-”

“Excuse me…” Celestia looked closely at the frantic stallion. “This… creature you speak of. It smelled bad?”

“And it’s hideous! And it is most definitely not a bird; it looks like… like…” He visibly strained for the right word. “A monster!”

“Calm down, Blueblood; deep breaths, remember?”

Blueblood did a few breathing exercises – subconsciously making a few entertaining expressions – before he nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes, well… I meant to say that it is certainly no bird. For one thing, it does not possess feathers; it appears to have… armor.”

“Armor?”

“Armor – yet it appears to be part of its body instead of something that is worn. Another thing I noticed before I ran… err, strategically retreated was that it possessed numerous legs and glowing white eyes,” He shuddered. “I never did like insects.”

Celestia rose. “Let’s have a look at this monster.”

Luna also rose and followed her as Blueblood led them to the room. Along the way, Luna nodded to two passing guards, and they obediently trotted after. Blueblood continued describing the invading creature.

“It came up to my knees, but it was rotund and quite large; I’d guess it was as wide as my perfectly proportioned torso. It had six legs with three on each side and it sort of hobbled along. When it first entered, the daft thing fell of the windowsill and landed on the floor. The sound woke me up and that’s when I decided to… strategically retreat and come find-”

“It ‘woke’ you?” Luna echoed without breaking her stride. “I thought Star Secret asked you to overlook some documents regarding a petition to fix up an old theatre.”

“Yes,” Blueblood grinned though it looked more like a rictus. “That’s… correct! I was reviewing them while sleeping. You can commit so much brainpower to something when you’re not conscious, don’t you know?”

“That hardly seems-”

“Oh look, we’re here!”

Celestia stopped just outside Blueblood’s door and cautiously placed her ear against the ornate wood. A few moments passed before she bent down to look through the keyhole of the brass door handle.

“Do you see anything?” Luna asked, tilting her head and straining to pick up any strange sounds.

“There are papers scattered across the floor…” She replied, straightening. “But that’s about it.”

“Perhaps it left?”

“Maybe…”

Celestia’s horn lit up and she opened the door, pushing it inwards to reveal more and more of the room inch by inch. The guards behind her tensed and got ready for a confrontation. However, once the door was fully pushed open and the entirety of the room was revealed, they were met with a rather unimpressive sight.

A black, round creature not unlike a pill bug was bumping its head repeatedly into the wall underneath the window, the soft dop-dop-dop sound filling the room. As if sensing their presence, the creature painstakingly turned to meet their gaze with two large, glowing white eyes.
As Blueblood had mentioned, its chitinous exoskeleton formed small scales which seemed to cover its entire body. Six legs – they appeared too big and long for its body – supported it, also covered in scales.

It made a chittering noise from somewhere – its mouth wasn’t visible – and crawled forwards. It managed four feet before tipping forwards and landing on its back, leaving all six legs to flail helplessly in the air.

“Well… it’s certainly… not very aesthetically pleasing.” Luna commented with raised eyebrows.

“Smells worse than my kid’s diapers in here.” The unicorn guard – Spark Shot – muttered.

“That’s the monster, not me.” Blueblood said quickly, eyes darting back and forth.

Celestia stepped forwards and examined the creature suspiciously. “Appearances can be deceiving; do not let your guard down,” She watched as it finally rolled back upright and began moving towards the desk. “I wonder if this creature is related to the ones that were sighted in Ponyville.”

“Ponyville’s under attack?” The earth pony guard – Titan – looked at the princess of the night.

“Again?” Spark Shot added.

“It’s not entirely clear…” Luna replied. “We’ve received a message from Princess Twilight about creatures of unknown origin entering the town, but it doesn’t seem to actually be in any danger at the moment.”

Celestia flinched back slightly as the creepy-crawly spun about to face her, almost tipping over in the process.

“I don’t care how fertile the land is…” Blueblood said with a scowl. “I would not settle anywhere near the Everfree forest.”

With a symphony of chitters and clicks, the creature ventured towards her with its front legs raised, as if to attack. Had it just been the raised legs, it wouldn’t have been very threatening. However, as soon as it crept forwards, the scales underneath its eyes suddenly parted to reveal two more eyes, slightly smaller than the first two, but glowing just as brightly.

The princess of the sun took a few steps backwards, wings lifting tersely. She didn’t know how it would react to sudden movements, so if she took things nice and slow-

“Princess!”

Before Celestia could shout an order to halt, Spark Shot leapt forwards and placed himself between her and the creature, horn enshrouded in a bright orange aura.

“No, don’t-”

The creature suddenly stopped and began shaking violently. The scales covering its front suddenly folded and receded underneath each other in a complex organic puzzle to reveal six eyes which rapidly changed from a pristine white to a crimson red. The chittering was replaced by a shrill hiss; coming from both its lamprey-like mouth and the steam shooting out from between the vibrating scales covering the rest of its body.

Spark Shot pulled back, eyes wide. “What…?”

“Get back!” Celestia quickly ushered the stallion back gently, but firmly with a large wing, lowering her horn with an offensive spell prepared.

The creature appeared to… expand. The scales covering its body parted in waves, revealing more scales underneath which followed suite. Four layers later, a smooth, wet, grey carapace emerged, steam rising from it. The scales that were pushed apart from its growth proceeded to fold into each other to form large plates that covered the sudden increase in area. The expansion happened faster in some places, leading the creature to stumble and fall about, sickening snaps and cracks accompanying its every attempt to remain balanced as it grew higher and higher towards the ceiling.

“What… in… Mother Faust’s name…” Titan was dumbstruck as he watched the rapid growth.

With a violent slam of the right leg closest to its head – the vibrations knocked a few pictures of the walls – a mesh of armor plating crept down to cover the front of the appendage and the creature finally stopped growing.

Gone was the small round bug-like appearance – the thing that stood in the middle of the room easily towered over Celestia; the plates on its back scraped the ceiling’s plaster. Shrill hisses spilled from its terrifying mouth; green-tinted drool seeped over its fangs to stain the exquisite carpet.

“I told you it wasn’t a bird…” Blueblood squeaked, his right eye twitching and his pupils mere pinpricks.

Celestia, though wary, had faced foes greater in size than this during her long lifespan; what she really feared was her loyal subjects getting in harm’s way. Her guards were brave and would fight valiantly, but they had little experience with any opposition that wasn’t a disorderly drunk or rambunctious group of hormonal colts.

Blueblood was… well… he was Blueblood.

“My little ponies…” She spoke calmly, but with as much authority as possible, never taking her eyes off the creature as it made threatening gestures. “Leave now.”

“Leave?” Spark Shot questioned. “But, princess-”

“We don’t know what this creature is capable of. Luna and I have a greater chance of surviving anything it can throw than you three.”

“My sister speaks true,” Luna added. “We can survive wounds that go through our hearts – can you?”

The guards didn’t answer, but stubbornly glared at the creature.

“As your princess, I am ordering you to leave and to warn the rest of the castle,” Celestia hated using her title against the Royal Guard, but it was necessary. “Now.”

They remained for a moment longer before quietly, but quickly shuffling away, careful not to make any noise in their armor. Blueblood gave his aunties a concerned glance before leaving as well.

The two sisters were finally alone with the invader. Luna entered the room and shut the door behind her with magic. The creature fixed its glowing red eyes on her and hissed loudly, some of the fangs pushing outwards from its mouth to scratch at the air in her direction.

“Sister, I’m hoping you have a plan of action.” Luna whispered.

“This thing is big and we should presume it is strong as well. If it gets aggressive, then it could cause tremendous damage. Furthermore, there are a lot of staff members in this wing; if it got out of this room, it might turn on them.”

“Shall I cast a Containment spell on this room then?”

“Please – augment it with electricity, too.”

Her sister’s horn glowed and Celestia felt a tingle in the air as walls of cobalt light blocked off the entry points to the room.

The creature shuddered violently before rearing up to the ceiling and letting out a piercing shriek.

The cry somehow managed to be high and low at the same time. The high-pitched tone burrowed into the two alicorns’ skulls and made their eardrums vibrate; the pain was debilitating and their vision quickly went blurry from tears. The rumbling baritone that accompanied the shriek in a flanging effect travelled through their bodies; it upset their stomachs and made them feel ill.

Unbeknownst to the sisters, items with glass properties shattered within the room and in a large radius of the room. Ponies and guards going about their business a considerable distance away reacted with shock upon seeing these items shatter and those that were close to the creature’s location covered their ears, horrified at the sound echoing through the castle corridors.

Once the cry ended, the creature’s eyes shone even brighter as it lowered its head and charged.

In such an enclosed space and with their senses numbed, none of the princesses could react in time to avoid the creature as it slammed into Celestia, the force sending her into the barrier. Celestia writhed and cried out in pain as electricity coursed through her.

“Sister!”

Luna turned – her head still swam and she salivated as bile rose in her gullet – and received a vicious swipe from one of the creature’s legs. She hit the wall and left a fairly large island of cracks in the plaster. Bouncing back, she staggered forwards and was hit again, this time getting sent through the wall in a shower of dust.

A floor below the room Luna was knocked into, Harmonics – an ageing noble stallion with a penchant for writing horror novels – tapped his hearing aid suspiciously as heavy thuds sounded above him and bits of dust rained down. After a few seconds of thought, he shrugged before going back to his latest work.

Meanwhile, Celestia was having a rather rough time.

Between getting her senses scrambled, being charged by a giant bug and being electrocuted, she was understandably having difficulties working up enough concentration to perform a spell.

It didn’t help that the bug had immediately launched at her as soon as it finished batting her sister through the wall and was currently trying to devour her whole. The only thing keeping her flesh on her body were her hooves pushing against its head and holding the gnashing mouth at bay.

‘You know you’ve been through a lot when staring down into a gaping maw of some beast is old hat. I’m a regular trailblazer for these types of things.’

Celestia cast a Kinetic Impact spell and the creature was thrown back to collide with the far wall. A large chunk of it crumbled upon impact, but the barrier held, spreading across like a puddle of water to fill the gaps. Interestingly, the creature didn’t seem to register the electricity even as tendrils of it danced across its hide. It was quickly back on its feet in no time and charged again.

Celestia conjured a barrier to absorb the blow. The impact and force was such that the shield cracked and she was still forced back a few feet. With a surge of magic, she repaired the damage and made the barrier wider as the creature attempted to step around it.

Enraged, it shook violently, steam shooting out from the crevices in its armour – what the purpose behind the steam was she had no idea – and stamped its front legs. Celestia made a small hole in the middle of her barrier and let loose a Fire Spray spell, channelling her magic into a continuous stream of fire.

As with most living creatures, it panicked upon sighting fire and scrambled backwards. When it bumped into Luna’s barrier and realized it was trapped, it let loose another crippling shriek. Celestia cast a Zone of Silence spell around her head, but she had still been exposed long enough to make her concentration waver; the flames snuffed out, but not before flaring to the right and setting the poster bed’s drapes alight.

‘Ooh, Blueblood is not going to be happy about that.’

Seeing the fire still there, the creature doubled its efforts to escape and stabbed at the floor, ripping the carpet to shreds and tearing out huge slabs of linoleum.

Celestia’s eyes widened as she saw cracks race under her hooves and dropped her barrier to lift the creature into the air. It may not have been as large as a dragon, but it was still strong and heavy. There was something else to it, too; something that made it very hard to keep her telekinetic hold. It was like when she was a filly and started learning levitation for the first time.

Just then, Luna appeared from the next room, shaking her head. Her sister turned to her and her lips moved. Celestia removed the noise-dampening spell.

“-to me!”

The white alicorn nodded and released her hold. Before the creature could hit the floor, Luna’s horn flared and a corona of blue light surrounded it. Its cries and struggles of protest ended abruptly as strong forces kept it from moving an inch. This was no mere telekinesis; Luna was readily manipulating the very forces of gravity to keep the creature suspended, something that was infinitely more complex.

“It has quite the hit…” Luna moved her jaw from side to side until there was a sharp crack. She grimaced in pain. “Curses… Foul being – let’s see how you handle being crushed into nothingness!”

The corona intensified and the creature’s entire form shuddered before vanishing, leaving Luna to compress nothing but air molecules.

Surprised, Luna cut off her own spell before she accidentally created a black hole. Celestia blinked in shock before looking around, tensing for an attack. However, all was still and silent.

“Sister, the bed’s still on fire.”

Celestia nodded dumbly. “Could you get that? You know I’m not very good with frost spells.”

Luna lowered her horn and a cold wind bloomed forwards, snuffing out the flames and covering the charred bed in a blanket of twinkling frost. That done, Luna’s eyes and horn immediately lit up as waves of magic, invisible to the naked eye, scanned the room. Within seconds, she ended the scan and turned to her sister with a bewildered expression.

“I sense absolutely no foreign magical residue.”

Celestia performed the scan herself. “Yes, I...” She ended it and shook her head. I don’t sense anything either. Teleportation was not used in its escape.”

“Then how did it disappear like that?” Luna mused. “And the growth. How did it expand to such a size without magic?”

“I have no idea, but in any case…” Celestia grimaced and placed a hoof against her temple, residual pain from the creature’s shrieking. “Whatever it was, it bore several traits similar to Twilight’s descriptions. What’s happening in Ponyville could be happening here and we must act swiftly to counter.”

Luna nodded. “We should put the castle on alert for future attacks and send several guards to Ponyville to protect it. I shall stay here and see if there’s anything that can be-”

“Hello?” At that instant, a large unicorn mare entered the room, raising one eyebrow as she surveyed the mess. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Star Secret...” Celestia smiled upon seeing a familiar face. “I’m afraid we may have a bit of a situation on our hooves.”

The unicorn stepped forwards. “Would this situation have anything to do with those inequine shrieks not five minutes ago?”

“We are being assaulted by dangerous creatures of unknown origin.” Luna bluntly said. “They have already been sighted in Ponyville and just now we engaged in combat with another. It disappeared and left no magical residue, so there is reason to suspect it is not magically inclined in any way. Even so, it was capable of feats which would prove implausible without the use of magic.”

Star Secret sighed with the beginnings of a scowl on her face. “I see.”

Celestia noted with some amusement how Star Secret seemed more frustrated and annoyed than worried and frightened. The mare was so calm and level-headed; Celestia made a mental note to have some tea with her at some point, to see if she couldn’t get her guard down and share a laugh.

“Star Secret, could you relay the news to the Royal Court and help in preparing Canterlot for future attacks?” Celestia looked out the window. Was it her imagination or was the sky a little darker than before? “I must send a letter to every settlement in Equestria; I doubt these attacks will be restricted to Canterlot and Ponyville.”

“Of course.” Star Secret turned and trotted out of the room, narrowly avoiding a collision with a couple of worried guards.

Luna and Celestia exchanged a look as the guards entered, surveying the damage and searching for any signs of danger.

“I’ll drop by the Royal Archives for some analytical tools and books,” Luna said and lit up her horn. “There must be something related to this.”

“Good luck, my sister,” Celestia moved to go write the letters before blinking in realization. She turned to Luna. “Oh, don’t worry – I’ll slip you some notes about courtships and mating rituals later.”

“Oh… goody…”

Luna disappeared in a flash of blue light and Celestia walked out the door, almost knocking a running Blueblood to the floor.

“Aunty, I was worried sick! What happened? What of that brute of an insect?”

“It’s gone.”

“Thank heavens, what a… Why is there smoke coming from my room?”

“Because… Hey, those birds really grind your gears, huh?”

“…”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: The old theatre is, through a technicality, under Blueblood's name, which is why 'Star Secret' referred to him for the petition to have it cleaned up. Otherwise, she'd have only gone near him to throw bird seed and/or trade insults.

Note 2: Celestia refuses to stop trolling everypony.

Note 3: Blueblood refuses to stop punching birds.