Jay leaned against the doorway to Celestia’s balcony, watching the two mares outside speak softly to each other. The virus had been invited to watch the two Alicorns move their respective spheres, setting the sun and raising the moon. He also knew that this would be the first time Luna allowed him to experience her aura. Unfortunately, she seemed to be having second thoughts, if her intense yet quiet discussion with Celestia was anything to go by. He wanted to walk out to her and tell her it was okay and that she didn’t need to do it, but he had been asked to not listen in or interrupt. Respecting Celestia’s request, he had lessened his hearing and waited by the doorway.

The cool air graced the few pieces of skin that wasn’t covered in his clothing- actual clothing. It had been a day and a half since he and the two mares had shared themselves with each other. Later that day, when they had begun to get up, he had gone to create his fake clothing like he normally did. Before he could, Luna had asked him to begin wearing real clothing rather than colored viral cells. When he questioned her as to why, the two Alicorns had done nothing but give him a sly grin. His clothing was nearly identical to how it was before; a white hoodie, blue jeans, dark blue undershirt, and black shoes. Idly, he noticed that his hoodie, shirt, and shoes matched the colors of Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis respectively.

“Jay?” Celestia called to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked to see her waving him over, Luna looking incredibly nervous. The virus strode over, his footsteps nearly silent on the marble. He came to a stop next to the two mares, his herdmates, and looked to Celestia with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“Luna’s going to let you feel her aura when she raises the moon. I’m going to be suppressing my own so the memories don’t mix together.” The Solar Alicorn explained. Hearing his suspicions confirmed, he turned his attention to Luna.

“Are you sure you want to do this? If that’s what you were discussing with Sunshine, you don’t have to go through with it. You looked really worried and I don’t want you to do something you aren’t sure about.” Jay spoke with a tone of concern and understanding lacing his voice, formed by his care for Luna.

“I want to, Jay.” Luna said resolutely. “I...I think I love you and I want to share this special moment with you.”

Jay couldn’t help the wave of warmth and happiness that washed over him when Luna spoke. Without a second thought, he gently grasped her muzzle and guided her lips to his, softly kissing her. Her lips pressed into his own and a wave of love washed over them both. A moment later, they parted and Luna spoke, correcting herself. “No, I know I love you.”

“I love you too, Moonbeam.” Jay said with a joyous grin leveled her way. She nodded to Celestia and stepped back, approaching the edge of the balcony. Right before they started, Luna glanced over her shoulder and winked at him before facing forward again. Their horns lit up, filling the air with magic as they wove their spells. The sun began to slowly set while the moon rose, peaking out from behind the horizon. As the moon rose, a gentle blue glow began to surround them as Luna’s aura slowly took hold of him. Unlike Celestia’s, which felt guiding and gentle, Luna’s felt comforting and passionate. The moment Jay felt Luna’s aura, he began to understood just how perfectly the two sister complimented each other. In an instantaneous moment, Jay felt his mind connect with Luna’s as he flashed back into the past.

Luna nuzzled into Celestia’s neck, feeling the warm white wings wrap around her blue body, hiding the shy Alicorn from the astonished gaze of the Guards and other servants. They stared at the legs hanging down beside Celestia’s own legs, the light blue tail resting above the majestic waving one, the dark blue muzzle poking out from under Celestia’s wings, and the long horn and soft feathers sticking out from underneath their cover. The onlookers knew immediately that they were watching their Princess carry another, smaller, Alicorn. Celestia walked briskly, bringing her little sister to the room near her own that had long since awaited its owner.

Before long, Celestia’s pace brought them to the room that had been set aside for her since the castle’s creation, barely less than a millenium ago. The older sister pushed the door open with her muzzle, closing it behind her with a quick spell. The alabaster Alicorn crossed the room in long strides and lied down on the large, satin black bed, folding her legs underneath her. Slowly, her wings drifted down and revealed Luna to the cool night air, courtesy of a slightly ajar window.

“Come, Luna. Rest now beside me so that I may see you.” Celestia said softly, her tone filled with nothing but love and care for her little sister.

Luna slowly crawled off of Celestia’s back feeling as if her body was about to give out at any moment. She was exhausted mentally, physically and magically from her recent ‘cleasing,’ an event that had happened less than an hour ago. Her mind still had not fully processed that she was back on Equis, back with her sister, and that her sister still loved her. It had passed so fast, a series of impressions rather than real memories, that she doubted she would ever understand it.

Finally, mindful of Celestia’s sensitive wings, Luna managed to roll off of the larger back and come to rest next to Celestia, lying on her back without the strength to roll herself over again. Her hooves moved feebly in the air, unable to generate enough momentum to flip her. Celestia, seeing the younger’s distress, used one wing to gently roll her over and press Luna against her side, covering her in the same wing. The former Nightmare relaxed as she felt the familiar heat that Celestia emitted, one that she hadn’t felt in a thousand years. The moon was cold, desolate, and an all-around depressing place when one was stuck inside of it for an eternity. Compared to her prison, Celestia’s side was the Valley of Life and Luna found herself snuggling against it, her head coming to rest on her folded forehooves.

Celestia’s muzzle came down and gently nuzzle Luna’s smaller neck, returning the affection she had been given so few minutes ago. When she pulled away, her fur was left feeling wet. Luna realized dimly that her big sister was crying. Luna found the strength to speak, her voice weak and raspy from a lack of use, though a tone of despair coated it. “...Why? Why cry?”

Celestia spoke, her voice sounding choked with emotion. “I’m s-so happy you’re b-back, Luna. I hoped so d-desperately that you w-would be yourself when you r-returned. When I was captured, I felt so...so broken that I had f-failed you, just as I d-did a thousand y-years ago. But my student c-came through, cleansing you of the c-corruption.”

Celestia nuzzled her again, more insistantly, leaving behind more tear stains in her coat. “N-now you’re back. I love you, little Lulu.”

A thread of happiness pierced the cold shell around her heart, warming her to the core. Luna slowly returned the nuzzle, nearly being knocked over when Celestia’s larger, stronger frame pressed firmly against her side. “We love thee, Tia.”

The wing around her tightened, holding her close against the elder mare. Dimly, Luna heard Celestia begin singing a song she had made for her all those millennia ago. “Feeling tired, by the fire, the long day is over~”

Celestia paused for a second, hoping against hope. Her efforts paid off a moment later when Luna’s voice slowly continued the song. “The wind is gone, asleep at dawn, the embers burn on~”

Both mare’s felt their throats tighten, making it hard to breathe or swallow as their emotions broiled. Memories from thousands of years ago flashed unbidden across their minds’ eye. Celestia finished the song, her voice sounding strained even to her. “With no reprise, the sun will rise, the long day is over~”

Celestia broke down, tears streaming down her face even as Luna did the same, strength returning to her actions as the younger mare nuzzled her sister’s face gently. Luna’s hooves snaked out, wrapping around Celestia as best she could. The pair held each other, slowly crying away years of pain and fear, replacing it with love and joy. Finally, their tears slowed to a stop, leaving both of their ancient hearts feeling lighter than ever. Luna, tired from the Harmony magic and from crying her heart out, began to slowly drift off.

Before she could fall asleep, she looked up to Celestia, her eyes shining in fear. “Please, we beg of thee, don’t leave us tonight.”

“Never.” Celestia replied, one hoof brushing a stray lock of mane out of Luna’s face. “I’ll be right here until you awaken.”

Luna nodded and rested her head underneath Celestia’s, feeling her big sister rest her head behind her own, their necks crossing. Luna, lulled by a loving warmth encompassing her entire body, fell asleep peacefully for the first time in a thousand years.

Jay’s eyes snapped open, his mind returning to his body in an instant. He was lying on the ground for some reason. Before he stood, sobbing reached his ears and his head snapped to the side. Luna, lying on the ground a few feet from him, was sobbing her heart out, twin trails of tears running down her face. Jay was over at her side in a flash, pulling her into his lap as he held her comfortingly. Sharp clops sounded out as Celestia jerked herself out of her shock, quickly running over and wrapping her wings around them both. “Oh, Mother, what happened? The aura took hold, you both stiffened, then you both collapsed and Luna started sobbing! My mind jumped to my fears and I locked up!”

Jay didn’t answer, just holding Luna in his arms as she buried her muzzle into his chest, wetting his clothes with her tears. The virus didn’t care about his clothing. All he cared about was the mare he loved who was crying in his arms. Slowly, Luna’s crying slowed down as the minutes passed on. Her head slowly moved back and forth, his warmth comforting her as it reminded her of Celestia’s own aura. Nearly an hour more passed by, leaving Luna’s tears dried even as she slept in his arms. When he moved to stand, Celestia’s wings unwrapped around him and they both stood, Jay carrying Luna. The virus walked back inside and set the younger mare down on the bed carefully, then crawled in next to her. Celestia joined them a moment later, lying on the other side of Luna even as her wing wrapped over the younger sister. The virus lied in silence, his eyes watching Luna in worry as she slept peacefully, dried tears being the only evidence that she had been crying.

“Jay?” Celestia asked softly after a time. His blue eyes slowly drifted up and met hers, concern and worry in both of their eyes. “What did you see?”

Jay didn’t answer for a few short moments, before he finally spoke up. “Moon’s first night back.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, understanding flashing through them. Her wing tightened around Luna, though not enough to wake her up. “Oh, Luna…”

“This is why she didn’t want to share her aura, isn’t it?” Jay asked sadly. “She is afraid of what memories she’ll have to relive.”

Hesitantly, Celestia nodded. Jay snorted in reply. “I shouldn’t have let her do this. It’s my fault she broke down. I should have been more firm about her not showing me her aura until she was ready-”

“She is ready.” Celestia said firmly, breaking him out of his funk. “She chose to share her aura with you because she loves you, just as I do.”

“It hurt her, Celestia.” Jay said insistantly, too bothered to use his nickname for her. “Loving me hurt her.”

Jay recoiled, his face actually stinging from Celestia’s magical slap to his cheek. “Stop that now. Luna loves you and that’s not going to change. She knew what she could see but she still showed you. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Jay asked, a slight tone of hopelessness in his voice.

“Because she trusts you.” Celestia replied. “And she believes that she can accept all of her mistakes as long as you are by her side.”

Jay fell silent, pondering on Celestia’s words. After a time, he nodded, much to Celestia’s palpable relief. He gently pulled Luna onto his chest, prompting Celestia to scoot closer and wrap a wing around them both as she spoke. “For now, just rest. Let her get some sleep and we’ll discuss this when she wakes up, okay?”

Jay nodded. “Okay, Sunshine.”

Celestia’s muzzle snuggled into his neck, relaxing with a sigh as she let her earlier worry fade from her. Jay tried to do the same but found he couldn’t disperse the sight of Luna’s tear-soaked face from his mind. His grip on the lunar mare tightened subconsciously, holding her close to him. His mind slowly drifted into a state of half-awareness, tetering between sleep and awareness.

Half an hour later, he snapped awake and hissed out. “Celestia!”

Celestia snorted awake, looking at him groggily. “What?”

Jay started moving, gently setting Luna to his side and standing up quickly. “Something’s coming from the Everfree toward Ponyville!”

The virus knew it was whatever the Wolf’s Curse caused. It seemed like there were several, the vibrations his other form sensed being far too many to be from a single source. Celestia sat up in alarm, glancing to Luna. “S-should I wake her up?”

Jay shook his head. “No, let her sleep. Gather some Guards and send them to Ponyville.”

Celestia hesitated, wanting to say something as Jay moved toward the window. Finally, she spoke. “Okay, I’ll gather some Guards and send an alert out to nearby Rangers. I’ll be leading the Guards there myself.”

Jay nodded, knowing it would be useless to try to disuade her from putting herself in danger. These were her ponies, her student, and her family that were in danger. Nothing was going to stop Celestia from showing up. “Be careful, Celestia.”

“And you as well, Jay. Don’t let Luna wake up to find you hurt or...gone.” The worry in her voice was clear.

With a final nod, Jay leaped into the air and began gliding toward Ponyville, ejecting small amounts of biomass behind him to keep up his momentum. As he flew through the air, moving at easily a hundred miles an hour, his mind ran wild with ideas of what was coming from the Forest. One thing stayed the same no matter what, though. I hope I stop them long before they reach the town.

The Scorpius scuttled through the woods, seeing the edge of the Forest just ahead of it. It chittered in excitement, snapping its mandibles in hunger. The scorpion-like astral knew that their target wasn’t in the town anymore. It was on the mountain as well as the Alicorn they hungered for. The ponies weren’t as tasty as Alicorn-flesh but they were hungry from their run through the forest. The town would be enough for now.

The Scorpius emerged from the edge of the Forest, seeing the sleeping town some distance ahead of them. To its side, about ten meters away, a wooden Ursirium shouldered its way through two trees. The bear glared at the scorpion, knowing that there wouldn’t be enough Alicorn to share. It would be a competition between all the beasts. Suddenly, the bear stumbled to the side as the ground rose up below it as something tunneled through the ground toward the town. It stopped a few meters ahead of them and a large purple worm surfaced, its four-piece jaws coming open as it tasted the air, its eyeless head swinging around as it searched for electromagnetic signals. The worm dove back below the ground, quickly turning around and returning to the Forest in a raising line of dirt.

The Scorpius sniffed the air again. The scent of the Mark was getting stronger. The Cursed pony was coming back to town. No, coming towards them. The Ursirium and the Scorpius quickly darted behind the cover of the trees, the Scorpius dimming its glow to remain hidden. Across the border of the forest, it heard several other creatures take up positions of ambush, waiting for their prey. They weren’t stupid; whatever their target was had killed an Old Alpha and likely was a threat even to the beasts of the Inner Forest.

The Cursed was coming from the air and the Scorpius looked up, seeing the strangest creature it had ever seen just as it landed lightly on the ground. It was no pony, instead standing on two legs. Strange coverings coated its form and it seemed to have no natural weapons or armor. It was weak. Apparently, the Scorpius wasn’t the only thing to think so. The ground shook lightly as the worm burrowed through the ground and burst out just in front of the Cursed, jaws open wide to swallow it whole.

Jay shifted to the side, dodging the worm that was larger than him. It was purple with rough skin, almost scaled it seemed. It’s mouth opened into four sections like a flower, a dozen rows of serrated teeth ready to rip into whatever it couldn’t simply swallow. As the worm came down behind him, its jaws closed, the shape making a small spike that it used to push dirt and rock out of the way and over its body, burrowing into the ground moments after it landed. The thing must have been five meters, if not more. The virus grunted, it would be a long fight if there were a lot of these things. He would have to make sure none of them went into the town.

His second form expanded, forming an underground viral wall to block any burrowers. Viral tendrils were ready to lash out at whatever tried to walk toward the town. For now, the town was defended. He hoped there would be no fliers. Jay stood still, feeling the vibrations in the ground. Torn rock and upturned dirt surrounded him from the worm’s last attack, making it hard to look for prints to see if something had already gone toward the town.

The virus leaped to the side, formed a blade in his right arm, and slashed outward as the worm burst up beside him. To Jay’s horror, the blade deflected off of the worm’s skin and impacted the ground, cutting through the rock like paper. The virus was forced to leap to the side as the burrower struck again. His eyes were wide, mind running incredibly fast as he tried to think of a way to power himself. He was hesitant to finally intigrate Luna’s, Celestia’s, and Chrysalis’ DNA because he didn’t know what kind of mutation it would force, nor how destructive said mutation would be. Shifting his arm from a blade to a massive fist, he decided to try blunt force against the worm. When it next struck, he dodged the strike and punched the worm with his unnatural strength. The worm was knocked to the side as Jay felt several bones break in the worm’s side.

Jay grunted in surprise. “Didn’t think a worm would have bones.”

The worm burrowed at him again, coming from directly below. Jay stepped quickly to the side and grabbed the worm with his gargantuan hand, quickly shifting his left arm into the same thing. Several tendrils came from his back and suspended the worm’s head above ground, stopping it from burrowing into the ground again. With the front half suspended in the air and the back half still underground, Jay started slamming his fists into the worm’s side. With each strike, the beast shuddered as the strange skin and bones cracked and bent under his force. Finally, the skin- that Jay now realized seemed more like chitin rather than skin- cracked enough that grey blood was beginning to seep from the wound. Seeing the blood, Jay sent a small tendril into the bloodstream and began injecting every poison he knew of, hoping at least one would have an effect on the strange creature.

The worm started thrasing as the poisons began affecting it, powerful cords of muscle tensing and relaxing as its body shook from side to side. Jay was forced to let go of the monster and leap back out of the way. The ground shook with a loud thud when the worm hit the ground. Instead of burrowing away like he suspected, the worm simply lied on the ground as it spasmed, slowly dying. After a minute or so, the virus watched the hard skin slowly turn black when the beast finally died. He walked up to it, his arms returning to their natural state, and kneeled down to examine it. His hand came out and rested on its side, feeling the slightly wet chitin coated in dust and grime from the underground. He tried to force several tendrils through the chitin only to fail on all accounts. The hide was simply too resistant to sharp objects.

The virus felt vibrations on the surface from only two or three feet behind him. Leaping up and over the worm, he dodged whatever strike was planned. Rolling when he landed, he looked over the worm to see a large bear-like creature made of wood. Stepping out of the woods, two more approached slowly, a sick intelligence glittering in their eyes. Mostly unbeknownst to Jay, several Scorpius and another being watched from the woods, following their instincts to attack him one group at a time. Their instincts for tradition, like the Old Wolves, overpowered their brutal intelligence, preventing them from simply swarming the Cursed. It infuriated the rudimentary intelligence of the beasts to no end, yet they followed their traditions.

The lead Ursirium reached him and reared back, swiping at him with a paw. Jay swayed out of the way, ducking under the swipe, and came up with his arm a blade. He sliced at the bear’s side, biting into the roots but not very deeply. The bear roared in agitation and seemed to go feral, several swipes coming at him in the space of a couple seconds. The virus dodged the first two only to be caught by the third. His arm came up naturally to block the strike only to be thrown away when his arm was ripped off from the strike, a surprising burst of pain concerning him due to his lack of nerves in his body. Jay landed several feet away, flipping to his feet as he seethed. How the fuck are they so damaging to me?

Watching the bears closely, he started to see a soft glow coming from underneath the intertwined roots of the bears. The light was sickly green, pushing its way through the roots. As he looked, he realized just why they were so powerful. The bears- and possibly the worm- were magical. The bears were likely made by magic but he didn’t know what the worm’s magic was, if it even had any. The virus started to regrow his arm, concerned to feel that the virus’ reproduction rate in that region had been slowed from the strike. He felt a spark of fear as he realized that, if he took enough damage, these creatures would be able to destroy this body. If that happened, they would continue to the town and his second form might be destroyed fighting them as well. If that happened, he would be dead.

Shifting his mindset from blocking strikes to dodging them, he decided to fight aggressively rather than simple retaliate to strikes to him, as he had done for years. His arm regrown into a large blade, he charged forward at the bear and shifted his other arm into a second blade, swinging both at its side right where he had struck before. Both strikes struck directly onto the previous cut, one after the other, before Jay pulled back. The single root had been cut clean through, though both halves were held in places by the ones woven onto it. The virus knew he would have to cut several of the roots to expose the interior of the bears. Unfortunately, his poison trick likely wouldn’t work on a being made of wood and magic. The three bears growled in anger, slowly stalking towards him.

In the woods, a large spider began making its way down the edge of the forest as it caught the scent of an Alicorn, the same that it had smelled before. It was only a few minutes from the town, which had begun to awaken when the worm had hit the ground with an earth-shaking impact. Its earholes caught the sound of shrieking ponies, the high-pitched whine forcing it to wince as two small slates came down to cover the ears, muffling the screams of fear as ponies saw the fight near the Forest. A small explosion sounded out from behind it, forcing it to stumble lightly. The Aracuvo circled around the small town and nestled itself into a large dip in the ground, its hide changing into a dark green that matched the ground as it waited. After a moment of thought, it turned slightly darker.

Thumping hooves sounded out as a large group of armored ponies approached, heading toward the combat and the town. They avoided the dip, having no desire to climb down into it and out the other side when they could just walk around it much easier. Easily a hundred ponies passed, none of which looked into the dip. The spider wasn’t worried; they wouldn’t notice it anyway. The ponies would have been a good meal, but the Alicorn will be far better. The Guards passed and the Alicorn followed, several dozen meters behind the group as she wrote on a small scroll before sending it away in a puff of magic. The Alicorn, the horrid white one, walked past the edge of the dip. In the distance, the bears roared in unison, their voices drowning out everything else.

In a quick strike, the Aracuvo darted up and grabbed the Alicorn, dragging her down into the dip. Her voice, angelic to ponies but horrifically painful to it, screamed out in a cry of pain as her legs, wings, and barrel were pierced by the barbs on the spider’s legs. Her scream rose in pitch and agony as fangs sunk into her side, injecting venom that would both paralyze her and liquify her internals. A second later, her scream cut off abruptly as the venom took hold. Her eyes shone with terror, flickering rapidly as her chest rapidly panted but her body remained still, unable to move as most of her muscles locked up. The spider’s mandibles clicked together in anticipation, the scent of an Alicorn making it salivate. The spider nestled into the dip again, covering the mare with its body as more of its barbs pierced her side, golden-tinted blood leaking out and pooling in the bottom of the dip. The wait had begun. It would not be long before she was ready to be drained, its venom slowly overpowering the natural healing of an Alicorn.

In the distance, the Ursirium had stopped roaring a few moments earlier, a seemingly dead silence taking over afterward. The spider’s mouth twisted into a horrifc mockery of a grin, sure that nothing could have heard the Alicorn’s scream.

Jay ducked, weaving between the strikes of two Ursirium as the third barreled past, trying to crush him between its weight and strength. Had it not been for his unnatural speed, it would have worked. Jay’s attuned hearing picked up the sound of metal-clad hooves trotting in unison. Because of the timing, Jay didn’t know how many Guards had arrived and he didn’t want to take his attention off the bears to glance. His only thought was that Celestia was now in danger along with soldiers and the town of Ponyville. Leaping over a low-swiped paw, he slashed down with his blade and severed yet another root. To his immense relief, a large chunk of the side of the bear falling off with a roar of pain and rage. The bear staggered, off balance from losing a good forty pounds of roots. A glowing green core, pulsing with magic like a heart, was in the center of the bear’s chest cavity, small wisps of pure magic flowing off of the core and into the roots.

Jay darted forward before the bear could recover and grasped at the core with his left clawed hand, tearing it out in a single motion. A blinding light flashed through his eyes as he lost most of his senses suddenly; balance, hearing, motion, touch. Only pain remained as his vision faded back to normal sight, revealing the fact that he was flying through the air and knocking down several trees. Leaping to his feet and promptly collapsing, the virus took a moment to see the damage. Most of his left side was missing, including part of his head. His chest was blown open, though nothing was there except more flesh. Forcing himself to heal, he ran back into the battle and took in the sight.

The bear he had torn the core out of was gone, nothing but a scarred crater left behind. Wisps of energy still flowed through the air, the last remnant of the magic holding it together. The other two Ursirium, littered with roots hanging from only one end, stared in shock at the remains of their brother. Sixty meters away, easily a hundred Guards gaped in awe as he stepped back out of the woods, surprised that the three presences he had sensed did not attack yet. The disturbingly clear shock in the bears’ eyes quickly shifted into fury as they faced him. Powerful jaws opened wide and a deep, echoing roar filled the area, physically flattening grass and pressing against his front as his clothes flapped in the gust of air. Then their voices linked, constructive interference making the roars more than double in volume. Ponies dropped in pain, covering their ears in a desperate hope to not be deafened. Jay withstood it all, the roar itself not being magical and therefore easily ignored.

The roar stopped suddenly, the bears returning to glaring at him even as they seemed hesitant to continue the attack. They almost seemed like they were waiting for something. Jay flinched; for a moment, it had sounded like he heard Celestia scream in the distance. A thought hit him like Disarray. Wait, where’s Celestia?

Slowly backing up, he approached the Guards, noticing with satisfaction that the four under his command had joined the rest. Surprisingly, he also spotted fully armored Town Guards and Rangers in the mix. He came to a stop next to one high-ranking Ranger. With a glance, Jay recognized him. “Corporal Dancer?”

“Jay.” The Ranger replied. “Good work on the first.”

Jay nodded but was in no mood for pleasantries. “Where’s Princess Celestia?”

The Ranger frowned and glanced around, not seeing her anywhere. “I’m not sure. She was right behind us when we arrived, writing a letter to her student to gather the Elements just in case.”

“How far behind you?”

The Ranger shrugged. “Thirty meters? Forty?”

“Fuck!” Jay cursed angrily. “Hold the line. Have the Pegasi sweep around the bears, keeping them distracted. Unicorn’s should barrage a focused spot on each bear, then destroy the core. Have the Earth ponies as physical support wherever needed.. I’m going to look for the Princess.”

“Sir, she’s probably just at the Library with Miss Sparkle.” The Corporal protested.

“Do you want to take that chance?” Jay asked seriously, staring at him. After a moment, Dancer shook his head. “Good. Hold the line.”

With the final saying, the virus took off around the town, heading toward where he thought the scream originated from. Hopefully, he would find that it really was nothing more than his imagination. Jay wasn’t going to take the chance, though. Behind him, he heard slow steps as the last ones he had sensed followed behind at a sedate pace, not bothering to rush or run to keep up. Jay entertained the thought that they knew why he was running and where, but it only ended up creeping him out.

He following the hoofprints until he found where he thought the scream came from, having circled to the eastern side of town, the direction of Canterlot. A quick glance revealed nothing that he could see. No blood stains, no bodies, no scarred earth, and no magic remnants. A viral pulse followed the sight check, revealing nothing. Frowning in concern, he sent out a quick pulse of sound, using the return to map the world around him. His frown only grew when he discovered a dip in the ground, more like a hole, that he couldn’t see from his position. Rushing over, he looked down into the hole from the edge and felt his non-existant heart stop, horror taking hold.

Down below, a massive spider stared at him with eight faintly glowing eyes. The monster was easily eight feet across and twelve long, a massive foot-long stinger jutting from its abdomen. Eight long legs were folded beneath it, holding Celestia prisoner. One glance to her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was terrified, in pain, and likely unable to move. Jay almost used his whipfist to tear the spider off of Celestia only to pause, seeing the six-inch barbs covering every inch of the creature. If he had to guess, they were stabbing into Celestia as well. Tearing the spider off would be a horrible mistake that would take half of Celestia with it- only half.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to think any longer. The spider stood, unfolding its legs and crawling out of the pit as it let Celestia go. This movement revealed two large punctures in her size, oozing a sickly yellow solution. A glance at the spider’s mouth revealed a large tube-like structure, making him realize that Celestia had been poisoned with digestive acids. Rage took hold of half of his mind, but only half. The other half was dedicated to his second form, which coalesced under ground and burrowed to Celestia. While it was moving, the spider reached the surface and stared at him. Another glance at Celestia felt like it was physically biting into his heart. I need to get it away from her.

Jay darted forward and grasped the spider’s front leg with his clawed hand, feeling the barbs bite into his virus without truly piercing it, and threw it away. A horrific screech sounded out while the spider was airborne, though it was much better than the deafening roar the Ursirium had emitted. It landed a dozen meters away, stumbling to its legs as it glared at him. Far off movement caught his attention as he glanced to his side, seeing three scorpion-like creatures approach slowly. They reminded him of Luna’s mane, partly black with hundreds of stars sparkling deep within. He eyes rested on the stingers as he thought. Great, more poison.

He looked back into the hole. “Sorry, Sunshine. I gotta get you away from here. You’ll be fine.”

Looking into her eyes, he could almost see the ‘what about you?’ The fact that she was worried for him even through her pain was not lost on him. “Not so much for me, I’m afraid.”

As he spoke, his second form drilled out of a small hole and reformed next to Celestia. Her eyes widened though her body didn’t move. Jay picked Celestia up and began to move, a dozen tendrils chipping away at rock at an immense speed as he burrowed away, collapsing the tunnel behind him. Once his second form and Celestia were far away from the battle and a story underground, he got to work. His second form began to quickly spread his tendrils into Celestia’s body, entering through the already-made holes in her sides. To his horror, he found that most of her organs had already been partially liquified. If he was able to neutralize the poison, she would most likely survive and heal. Fortunately for them, he was able to do more than just ‘neutralize the poison.’ He hoped.

“Hold the line!” Corporal Dancer yelled out. Several Guards shouted wordlessly in reply, shoving their shields against the hordes of Timberwolves, blades and spears quickly making short work of the fragile monstrosities. The Ursirium roar had done more than just stagger and deafen a number of ponies. It had also summoned quite a number of Timberwolves from the Forest. While the ranks of canines dashed themselves against the interlocked shields of the Royal Guard, the two remaining bears hung near the Forest and were slowly retracting roots from nearby trees to replace their damaged parts.

Earth ponies held their shields against each other, locked against the oncoming tide of wood and magic. Unicorns reinforced the enchanted gold, further bolstering their ability to stop the beasts as levitated weapons darted in and out of faux flesh. Pegasi dashed in from above, slicing apart the large roots that served as the spines of the wolves, stopping dozens in their tracks. Behind the line, Rangers had taken up position on crates and carts borrowed from the town, their arrows swift and sure. Heavily armored Rangers were spread intermittenly throughout the line, smashing apart wolves in a single strike.

Without the bears assaulting the soldiers, the combat was easy and efficient. Of course, the Ursirium took that moment to finish their healing and rejoin the fight, lumbering their way toward the line, the only thing that separated the town from death and desecration.

Jay stared, watching the large spider and three scorpions as they spread out around him, taking up points at the four cardinal positions. They worked with more than simple instinct, showing a basic understanding of tactics that concerned him. If these beasts were intelligent, how many more were there and how likely were they to target Equestrians?

Seeing the powerful magics radiating off of the four monsters, the virus made a decision. Reaching down within himself, he found his store of DNA. Quickly locating three unique double-helix shapes, he consumed them. His cells shook and twisted as powerful energies flowed through his veins, unnatural mutations rapidly taking place as the DNA of three immortals were absorbed in one instance. His coding turned, shattered, and rebuilt itself as his body restructured without his desire or input, all together an incredibly painful process.

His legs thickened into massive trunks of chitin-covered muscle. His body extended backward, another set of legs growing out behind him even as his torso grew higher, morphing his body into that of a centaur as genes of two ponies, a Changeling, and his own form mixed to make a new mutation. Below his arms, another set grew even as all four arms grew longer, thicker, and black chitin began to cover them. His arms shifted into four separate tools, a blade, a claw, a shield, and a whip. Six tendrils erupted out of his back, each one razor sharp and swaying ominously like snakes. His nose expanded into a full muzzle, six rows of razor sharp teeth filling it. Three horns grew out of his head, the center one sweeping back while the sides pointed forward like weapons. Finally, his eyes shifted. Two more grew out below and to the side of his normal ones, then two more below those. One set saw in infrared, seeing the heat each creature emitted. The final set saw in some new vision, capable of seeing the magic of all beings.

Rising from his knees, Jay growled powerfully at the beasts, the deep sound shaking the ground and causing the monsters to regroup in front of him, cautious of the Cursed’s new form. Raising his blade and claw, the edges began to glow in a faint blue light as energy coursed through his veins. With an unholy roar sounding as if it came from a dozen voices, Jay charged at the beasts, his steps thundering the ground.

Author's Notes:

First chapter of the Invasion. Next chapter will be out tomorrow around the same time. As always, don't hesitate tell me what you think and point out any errors you see.