Twilight woke from her slumber, clawing desperately against the crushing depths that had so cruelly tried to contain her, only to find that there was no crushing depths, only a light blanket. A blanket that was now slightly heavier as it was weighed down with a significant amount of sweat. Panting and out of breath, the unicorn cast her sheets aside and sat upright, her eyes wide with fear.

“What the hell was that?” She muttered to the empty room.

With her pulse, and breathing slowly coming under her control, Twilight looked around the room and found that everything was in order. She was not trapped at the bottom of the ocean fighting and struggling against some alien will and all consuming aggression but was instead struggling only against her thin blanket, and the cold air that swept through her open window. Drawing the blanket tight around her body, the woman stumbled out of her bed and moved to shut the window.

As she neared the balcony she noticed it was brighter than when she had laid down for her nap. Pulling the curtain aside Twilight realized that she had missed far more time than she had first thought. She caught a glimpse of a few scattered groups of ponies walking the streets of Ponyville, some heading towards work while others were out for an early morning jog or flight.

Pulling the window closed tightly, and drawing the curtains, Twilight turned and looked over to her clock and found the clock displaying the time of seven ten. Groaning to herself, the mare gathered up her sweat stained sheets and deposited them in the laundry basket, grabbed herself a dry set of clothes and headed for the bathroom.

After a quick, and thoroughly enjoyable shower, Twilight felt a hint of a smile cross her face as she considered just how much sleep she had gotten. Despite her nightmare, she slept for far longer than she had ever managed to accomplish as an adult. She hoped that meant that she wouldn't be quite so tired as she was a little irritated that she had missed so much time that she could have spent being productive.

Brushing off her worries for now, the mare descended down the stairs and into the main library. Where she found Spike laying face down on the returns desk, snoring loudly, his desk clear of comics save for the one he was using as a pillow. Smirking to herself, Twilight turned and scanned the comic section and found that every single new arrival had been labeled properly and was now marked with the appropriate age restriction.

“Oh Spike.” Twilight muttered, her horn glowing as she gently picked the dragon up and out of the chair, levitating her assistant towards his bed.

The unicorn trotted silently up the stairs, her every step slow and deliberate lest she wake the sleeping child floating before her. Something made more difficult when the dragon curled up in mid air and stuck his thumb in his mouth, prompting Twilight to nearly stumble up the stairs, overcome by just how cute that was.

Making it the rest of the way up the stairs and entering their apartment once more, Twilight swiftly deposited Spike into his own bed before making sure the curtains were drawn and the door was closed silently. With a soft smile on her face Twilight crept away from the dragon’s room and headed back downstairs.

Landing back in the library, Twilight trotted into the kitchen, and more importantly towards her coffee maker. Twilight pulled the curtains above the sink most of the way shut, her still half asleep brain recoiling at the sight of light so early in the morning. Thankfully she had made coffee enough times that she could do so with her eyes closed, a boast that was surely tested as she stumbled her way through the process of making the dark brew.

Once the machine was started and the coffee making process began, she slunk over to the small breakfast nook and slipped into the booth, her magic pulling down a small, ill used notepad from atop the fridge. The pad of paper was relatively thin, and contained only a few pages occupied by any content, but the few that did were absolutely covered with thoughts, ideas and notes that filled even the margins.

Opening the book and flipping to the first empty page, Twilight began to recount her dream in as much detail as she could manage, her pen flying across the page as she put her experiences to paper lest she forget them. Still, despite the fact that she came directly to the kitchen and instantly began to record her nightmare, the details were already slipping through her fingers. She remembered two peaks, drowning, struggling against something otherworldly, and resisting desires not her own, and ultimately losing and waking back up. Things like why she was drowning, or what this strange desire were lost by the time she was able to put her pen to the task.

Nibbling nervously at the tip of the writing utensil, Twilight wracked her mind in an attempt to recall more information. Nothing came of it though, and by the time the coffee machine dinged, signalling the first batch was complete, the memories had nearly slipped completely out of her grasp.

Shaking her head, Twilight closed the dream journal and set it back atop the fridge, ready to be used the next time she wished to record another strange dream or terrifying nightmare. Hopefully next time the dream would be unique at least, as she was getting rather tired of endlessly drowning.

Looking over at the coffee machine across the room, Twilight sighed and lit her horn, too lazy to get up and actually pour herself a cup the old fashion way. The cupboard opened, a cup was selected, and the small coffee pot lifted, a steady stream of the deep brown liquid pouring into said cup. Only for her quiet moment to be ruined when suddenly a memory flashed before her eyes, transporting the girl back to her dream, and instilling within her a portion of the rage she had experienced in that terrible nightmare.

A crack followed by a smash brought the girl back to reality where she realized that she had shattered the coffee pot with enough force to send shards of glass flying across the room. Thankfully the coffee itself was in her cup and not all over the place as that was one loss she wouldn't be able to accept. The pot however, was a loss, one that was unfortunately frequent, and she sighed deeply, looking down at the shattered remains of her faithful coffee receptacle.

With a shrug of her shoulders the girl conjured her magic, and gathered up the shards of glass, scooping the remnants of her small one cop coffee pot into the garbage. Standing up from the booth, Twilight made her way over to her cup, not trusting her magic to do the job lest it end up like the pot.

Something caught her eye though and she looked over, noticing that a shard of glass was sticking out of the wall. “Well that's odd.” She muttered, plucking the peice of glass out of the wall and giving it a brief look before tossing it in the garbage with the rest of the trash.

Confused by this discovery she scanned the room once more, though thankfully she didn't find any more glass shards sticking into the walls of her kitchen. That didn't mean there werent a few scratches she found where she had first assumed there was none.

“I really need to get the magic weights out again.” She muttered to herself, the girl making a note of getting them from her parents the next time she was in Canterlot.

She was about to sit back down and enjoy her coffee when she noticed the sound of footfalls coming from the other room, alerting her to the fact that she had accidentally woken Spike up. The girl planted her palm into her forehead and sighed, mentally berating herself for her stupidity before reluctantly popping her head into the other room and catching a glimpse of a wide eyed Spike trundling hurried down the stairs wearing a pair of loose fitting pajama bottoms.

“I heard a crash, what happened?” He asked, the young dragon stumbling down the last few steps, still bleary eyed and baffled by his sudden awakening.

“I just broke another coffee pot is all.” Twilight remarked tiredly.

“Another one?” Spike sighed, leaning heavily on the wall at the bottom of the stairs. “What is that, the second one this week?”

“Third actually…” Twilight muttered awkwardly, the girl rubbing the back of her neck and looking away. “I may have broken one the other day when you were out with the cutie mark crusaders.”

Spike lifted an eyebrow and eyed his caretaker curiously. “Let me guess, you are going to get the weights from grandma and grandpa’s right?”

Twilight chuckled and nodded. “The next time we are in Canterlot or they come out for another visit. I promise.”

“Good, because if I have to make idle conversation with mister Brown Nose again I think I might break the next one myself.” Spike remarked with a smirk.

“Sorry Spike.”

The dragon shrugged. “No big deal, besides, it gives me an opportunity to go hit on Rose Leaf again.”

Twilight giggled, giving the dragon a playful punch on the shoulder. “Oh you fox you. How's that going by the way?”

“Good, I think.” Spike shrugged. “I’m not sure how to approach things though.”

“You came to the right place then because-” Twilight began, only to be cut off by a deadpan look from Spike.

“Twilight, we both know how well your experiences with mares, and stallions have been.” Spike exclaimed. “I think I’ll ask Rarity what she thinks, as contrary to popular belief she actually is pretty good at the whole dating thing.”

The unicorn frowned, her cheery disposition vanishing in an instant. “I was going to say that I had an excellent book on the subject.”

Spike chuckled. “I should have known.”

“Woah, rude.” Twilight replied with a chuckle of her own.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Anyway… Sorry I didn't wake you up yesterday but you were sleeping so soundly and then i got caught up organizing everything and time just kinda slipped through my fingers.”

Twilight pulled the dragon into a brief hug before pulling back. “Don't worry about it Spike. It seems like I needed the sleep. Unfortunately I got the same nightmare as usual.”

“Again?” Spike winced. “You really should send Luna a letter or something you know. Dreaming of drowning this frequently is a sure sign that something is messed up in that noggin of yours.”

The unicorn ground her knuckles into the dragon’s head spines, a smirk on her face. “I’ll have you know that my noggin is fine. Furthermore where did that respectful little man I raised go? Because I want him back.”

Spike rolled his eyes and brushed Twilight’s hand away. “Yeah yeah, he's right here. He just turned into a sarcastic teenager with a weirdo for a mom.”

“You say that like I wasn't always weird.” Twilight shot back with a smirk on her face.

Chuckling to himself, Spike took a step back and looked up at his parent with a slight look of confusion. “Hey have you been working out with Rainbow Dash again?”

“Yeah, a little bit, why?” Twilight asked, looking down at her arms, half expecting to find new muscles there and actually having her assumption validated.

“Well your getting pretty strong.” Spike began, poking the girl’s arm with a clawed finger. “Which is funny considering just how tiny your twiggy arms are.”

Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. “Haw haw Spike. Now you just sit down while I make breakfast.”

“Wait.” Spike caught the girl by the arm and stopped her in place, leveling her another deadpan look. “Did you pick up any of the reheatable foods from the store?”

“N-no, I was going to make you some eggs and toast how you like.” Twilight replied, smiling a little too widely.

The stare continued until Twilight sighed, shoulders slumping.

“I’ll get more cooking lessons first.” She muttered, turning to the booth and plunking herself down into her usual spot.

“That's what I thought.” Spike replied with a smirk, making his way over to the refrigerator and pulling it open.

The dragon pursed his lips and stared into the dimly lit fridge, searching for something that was edible amidst the small mountain of condiment bottles that somehow accumulated within. Just as he had made a selection and was about to reach inside he stopped, his cheeks bulging. A sudden fiery belch brought forth a scroll that materialized in the midst of his flames, which landed on his outstretched hand.

“Huh that's weird, usually she doesn't send stuff this early in the day.” Spike muttered, turning the scroll around and noting that the usual royal seal was in place only this time the stamp was red as opposed to the usual gold or green.

“What is it Spike?” Twilight asked, leaning back in the booth and trying to see what he saw.

The dragon sprinted over to the table and displayed the scroll’s seal. “It's red Twilight! Not even Discord earned a red seal? What does it mean?”

“We better open it and find out.” Twilight muttered, her magic pulling the scroll from his grasp and quickly cracking the seal, the scroll unfolding before her.

“To my most faithful student

Something has occurred that requires your immediate presence in Canterlot. The replacement librarian is on her way, and I would ask that you pack your things immediately and make your way to the train station as soon as possible. I’ve already sent news of your arrival to the station master so you need not worry about tickets or times as the schedule is being altered in order to ensure your timely arrival. I cannot at this time give you more details, but one thing I’m afraid I can tell you is that this mission will be longer than most, and I fear you will be away from Ponyville for some time.

Though I hesitate to ask this of you, I know your expertise is required, and may make the difference between life and death. Please do not speak of this to anyone save for Spike, whom I encourage to join you as I feel that you will require his assistance in the coming weeks and months.

Your friend, Princess Celestia.”

Twilight blinked, her jaw hanging open as she continued to stare at the scroll for several silent seconds.

“Holy shit.” Spike muttered.

“Language.” Twilight reprimanded.

“Sorry, but you gotta agree this is a holy shit kinda moment.” Spike replied, gesturing to the scroll.

“Appropriate situation or not, you should still watch your language young man.” Twilight reprimanded again. “We will get food in Canterlot or on the train, start getting your stuff together, I’ll meet you in the library in ten minutes.”

“Right.” Spike nodded and ran up the stairs.

Twilight on the other hand stood there a moment silently staring at the scroll, images of her dream coming to her sporadically, though none were any more than a brief glimpse. Shaking her head, she pushed the strange dream, and the scroll out of her mind, rolling it up and tucking it away, should she need to provide it as proof for whatever reason.

Sighing to herself, Twilight followed after the dragon, a frown plastered to her face.

“Ready to go?” Twilight asked, as she went over a brief list of her own stuff.

Spike nodded confidently, hefting his suitcase in one hand while adjusting the strap of his back pack with the other. “Ready, boss.”

Twilight nodded, gave a glance to her three suitcases before levitating two behind her while dragging the wheeled one with her left hand. “Perfect, let's go.”

Together the two creatures left the library behind, not bothering to lock the door lest the lock out the replacement librarian. Plus it just plain wasn't needed in such a small and peaceful village such as Ponyville. Next they began a quick jog over to the train station, few ponies or other creatures muttering any form of hello given how determined Twilight’s expression was.

In no time at all they were at the station, the large locomotive idling while the aged conductor stood nearby, his eyes lighting up when he noticed Twilight approaching.

“Thank goodness you’re here. The princesses’ letter has the station master in an absolute tizzy. You better head over to the royal car and quickly before that old fart has a heart attack,” exclaimed the male.

Twilight nodded. “Thank you Silver Whistle, we’ll head straight there.”

The conductor nodded and maintained his position while the other two creatures went straight for the large silver and gold car directly behind the engine. Upon entering, a whistle was sounded and the train immediately began to pick up speed, startling the dragon who stumbled into an empty seat.

“Holy cow, he wasn't kidding about old man Strict Schedule being worked up.” Spike lamented, stumbling to a stand and looking about the car.

Though mostly empty there were two ponies at the back, one of which had his face plastered against the glass, snoring contentedly while the other was nose deep in a book. Their clothing was expensive, both wearing suits and hats and both too occupied to notice Twilight and her much more humble appearance.

Normally Twilight would have attempted to dress up at least a little if she was going to Canterlot in the royal car but she had been in a hurry and didn't want to dirty the few nice clothes she owned in case there was some sort of diplomatic meeting she may need them for. Meaning she had dug something out from her high school days, namely a pitch black skirt and an equally dark t-shirt that had some band logo she no longer listened to plastered on it.

Giving the rest of the large, spacious and well decorated car a quick glance, Twilight sat in the nearest seat, levitating her and Spike’s bags under them for easy access. Spike settled next to her and glanced nervously over his shoulder.

“Who are they?” He whispered, jerking a thumb in the direction of the other two ponies.

“I’m not sure.” Twilight whispered, glancing back at the pair curiously.

One was a tall, thin grey earth pony with a finely combed silver mane and utterly immaculate top hat. His white eyes scanned the page of the unmarked book idly, the gold buttons of his perfectly tailored suit glinting occasionally in the indirect sunlight. From his hat, to his equally as perfectly tailored slacks, everything about his appearance screamed that he was a stallion of taste and refinement.

Something that his companion seemed to lack in the extreme.

The snoring unicorn stallion against the glass wore a dull brown suit and a dark green tie. Both of which seemed to fit him poorly and by the looks of it, had been stored incorrectly, resulting in many creases. His grey mane was tucked beneath a simple baseball cap that had definitely seen better days and was held together by mere strings. Something that served as a stark contrast to the rest of his appearance which at least sort of looked professional.

“I’ve never seen them before.” Twilight muttered only to frown when she noticed how blatantly Spike was staring. “That's rude, you know better than to stare.”

Spike shook his head and turned back around. “I’m sorry but they just look like quite a pair don't they? One stylish and sophisticated, the other down to earth and relaxed, they remind me of something out of a comic book.”

“This is real life Spike, meaning you can't stare at them for minutes at a time without things getting weird.” Twilight tsked, before turning back around.

Over the next few hours the attendant came through the car and took several orders for refreshments and food, coming back several minutes after that with everything they ordered. Though Twilight was hungry, ravenously so after her long sleep, she couldn't bring herself to eat very much. With Spike being the one to eat the majority of her meal while the unicorn continued to contemplate what her dream might mean and if it had anything to do with the sudden summoning.

Despite all her knowledge, she didn't have a frame of reference to analyze her dream in a meaningful manner. Plus with how piecemeal her memory had become since she woke, she was supremely glad she brought her dream journal with her. Hopefully Celestia had answers to not only what was happening, but if Twilight’s nightmare was somehow connected.

While this happened, the two stallions continued to keep to themself, the unicorn in the drab suit sleeping the entire way to Canterlot while his companion never once looked away from his book.

Twilight didn't pay them any attention though as her eyes were glued to Canterlot from the time it was a distant point on the horizon until they arrived within the city itself. She was also the first off the train, with Spike in tow as they made their way out of the station and towards the castle.

Though he complained about Twilight’s quick pace, Spike didn't do so too loudly, or too insistently as he understood very well why she had taken to jogging all the way to the castle in the first place. With such a long stride, it didn't take them long to reach the castle itself, the ivory towers and layers of fortifications rising above them like a great monolith and nearly blocking out the sun which had yet to reach it's zenith.

It took only seconds of conversation for them to pass through the gate, the guards having already stepped aside the second they saw the unicorn approaching in the distance. With nothing in her way, Twilight strode confidently up to the castle and slipped inside the massive double doors, paying no mind to the guards, nobles, and commoners that filtered in and out of the castle.

The only thing she was careful to take note of was Spike, as she didn't want to lose the young dragon due to her haste. Thankfully Spike was old enough, and in good enough shape to keep up with the longer legs of his parent. Easily keeping stride with Twilight as she made her way up to Celestia’s study where she had been informed the alicorn currently was.

Approaching the unassuming door of the princesses’ study, Twilight nodded to the guards, not needing to exchange words and potentially delay her meeting with Celestia. Followed closely by Spike, Twilight stepped inside the poorly lit room, the door shutting silently behind her.

The room itself had only the dim fire burning with a small hearth to illuminate the area, the curtains having been drawn at some point. Before her sat Princess Celestia who stared down at a peice of paper from behind her ancient oak desk.

“I’ll be with you in a moment Twilight.” The alicorn muttered, gesturing towards the small lounge area beside her desk.

Having experienced something like this many times, Twilight turned away from the alicorn, and made her way over to the fireplace area and more specifically the large and surprisingly plain yellow couch that filled nearly the entirety of one of the walls. Plunking down into the comfortable peice of furniture, Twilight made sure to deposit her and Spike’s luggage near the door. The dragon himself took a seat a few feet away from Twilight after adding his own flame to the fire and successfully stoking the dying embers.

Now illuminated by more than just a tiny bit of light the fireplace had produced until now, Twilight quieted her nerves by looking around.

As usual the study was as mysterious as it was homey, the many paintings and memorabilia covering nearly all the walls not dominated by the fireplace, and the two large bookshelves. The desk was the focal point of the left half of the room, Celestia’s high backed faux leather chair drawing the eye to where the alicorn continued to frown, her eyes scanning the paper at an impossible speed.

The other half of the room was slightly cozier, with a lazyboy chair next to the fire, and a coffee table between it and the couch. As she sat there, nervously scanning the room, Twilight couldn't help but remember all the discussions that had occurred in this room.

The alicorn had used her study as a place to impart wisdom to the unicorn and indulge in important and often times long winded discussions of a more cerebral nature while also occasionally using the space to discuss things in a more relaxed and personal environment. Something Twilight was certain wasn't going to happen considering just how stressed the alicorn looked, and how intensely she stared at the paper before her.

Twilight’s gaze lingered on the alicorn herself, who was as regal, and as graceful as ever, though that regal grace was marred by the signs of stress, and consistent irritation. She knew that alicorns didn't need to sleep, but if she didn't know that Twilight would have assumed that Celestia was suffering from minor sleep deprivation given the uncharacteristic frown on her face. Her appearance was as perfectly tidy as ever though, the alicorn having donned a somewhat more relaxed yet no less royal floor length dress.

A dress that was mostly a virgin white, the edges of which were embroidered with fine gold in the pattern of flowers of some kind. Her golden crown rested firmly on her head, though was skewed slightly, something the alicorn didn't seem to notice at the moment.

After a long while, she sighed, folded the paper and set it aside, turning to Twilight and Spike. “My apologies Twilight but I am afraid that report required my full attention.” Celestia announced in a slightly tired tone.

Twilight shook her head. “It's no problem Celestia, I’m just glad to have a moment to sit and relax.”

The alicorn chuckled mirthlessly. “Relaxation is something I don't think either of us are going to be able to accomplish for some time.”

“What do you mean? What's going on?” Twilight asked.

“It must be something pretty crazy if you used the dreaded red seal.” Spike added.

Celestia nodded gravely. “I’m afraid so, and though I cannot say much right now, one thing I can say is that if I had a seal higher than red, I would have used it.”

Twilight’s jaw hung open as did Spike’s. “No way.” She muttered weakly.

Celestia sighed and stood up from her desk. “Come. I will explain more on the way, we need to move quickly as time is of the essence.”

“Where are we going anyway?” Twilight asked, barely keeping pace with the alicorn who strode confidently out of the room and into the hall, her guard’s falling in on either side of her.

Behind them Spike scrambled to keep up, the dragon tugging his luggage along as the four ponies began to put some distance between them and leaving the lone male to sprint after them.

“Manehatten.” Celestia replied simply, turning down another corridor before proceeding down all but hidden staircase Twilight hadn't noticed before.

“But wouldn't it have been faster to meet there and just take the other train…” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Were taking the array there aren't we?”

The alicorn nodded. “As astute as ever I see. I’ve managed to work out the last of the kinks on the array and will be using it to transport you there personally while other less essential personnel take a more traditional means of transportation.”

“Okay so what is in manehatten? It's not Discord again is it?” Twilight asked, the unicorn’s speech growing quiet as worry began to seep up her spine.

Thankfully the alicorn dismissed such a notion quickly, shaking her head as she passed through a pair of double doors and entered an area of the castle few had ever seen. “No, though after you see what we are dealing with you may very well wish it was him.”

Twilight shuddered at the thought, following close behind Celestia as she pushed her way through another door, not waiting for the guards on either side to do so for her.

“So what are we dealing with anyway and why haven't you contacted my friends if it's such a big threat?” Twilight inquired.

“Yeah, aren't the elements of harmony the silver bullet for like every big bad dude?” Spike asked, the dragon panting as he struggled to keep up.

“I’m afraid they would do little in this instance as the newest threat is not expressly evil, though it may have power that dwarfs even my own.” Celestia replied, waving off a pair of guards before passing through another set of doors and trotting confidently down a long, poorly lit stone hall.

“Please, you have to tell us what's going on.” Twilight half asked half stated.

Celestia shook her head. “I’m afraid words fail me at the moment, the best I can say is that a large creature of some kind has washed up on a beach. A creature that could very well lay waste to our entire civilization if it was so inclined to do so.”

Twilight stopped in the middle of the hall, her luggage clattering to the floor and nearly knocking Spike over in the process. “My dream…” She muttered.

Turning to her student, Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You dreamt of such a creature?”

“I dreamt that I was drowning, and there were these two peeks and a hidden beach, then there was a bright blue light, and pain, and rage.” Twilight replied, her voice falling to barely a whisper by the end.

The alicorn nodded slowly. “You have most likely had your first premonition. All powerful mages experience them intermittently, though I’m surprised you have experienced one at such a young age. Be aware that for as long as this threat exists you may experience more of these visions.”

“Well she is pretty powerful.” Spike added.

Blushing slightly, Twilight shook her head. “But it didn't feel like a premonition. It felt like I was-”

“There.” Celestia finished, prompting Twilight to nod weakly. “That is how most feel like. Others will leave you as an impartial observer while some may even put you in the place of a neutral third party watching the event, but we do not have time for that right now.”

“R-right.” Twilight stuttered, grabbing her bags and jogging to catch up with the longer legged princess.

“The arrays are just ahead, we will send your luggage and things through first, after which we will arrive together near the site of the creature.” Celestia explained.

“How big is this thing anyway?” Spike asked.

Celestia shook her head. “We aren't sure, but it has to be at least over a hundred meters tall. I’m sure they have managed to measure it by now, though I have not received the report just yet.”

Flashes of the unicorn’s nightmare popped into the young girl’s mind, images of the peaks, the bay and the now scarred landscape coming unbidden to her. For a moment she was no longer walking down the long, dark hallway with her mentor and her assistant but was instead striding through the surf, her massive legs easily able to part the water that resisted her advance. Then she was back in the hallway once more, a massive room looming ahead of her.

Once inside Twilight realized that this was a hub room of some kind and several unicorns, scientists and guards filled the area. Most seemed to be off to the side running calculations and refining the many arrays that filled the area while others simply stood there scratching their head or otherwise doing nothing.

The arrays themselves were large squares labbeled with place names and filled to the absolute brim with circle after circle of consecutive runes. The magic emanating from the room was enough to make the unicorn’s horn itch and she looked up to Celestia, only now realizing that the alicorn had just finished talking.

“I’m sorry what?” Twilight asked.

“We are here, please release your luggage and allow Sergeant Dew Drops to take it to the array.” Celestia repeated.

“Oh yes, sorry about that.” Twilight muttered, releasing her luggage and allowing it to get ushered away by the attentive guard to her right.

“So why am I here if the elements are not needed?” Twilight asked, keeping one eye on her luggage as it was carefully arranged in an array several feet away.

“It seems as though your harmonization work will come in handy as apparently the creature gives off a unique signature that you may be able to track.” Celestia looked down at the unicorn. “I am not wholly certain about this however, the site leader should be able to tell you more on this subject.”

Twilight nodded, and watched as her and Spike’s luggage vanished in a flash of white. “My comics better not get wrecked.” Spike muttered under his breath.

Sharing a chuckle, the two mares glanced down at the pouting dragon. “I’m sure they will be fine.” Celestia asserted.

“Are we ready to go then?” Twilight inquired, noticing that the unicorn attending to the array had taken a step back, her horn dulling as she completed whatever spell work that needed to be completed.

“It seems likely.” Celestia replied, before walking over to the unicorn and exchanging a few words. “We are indeed ready to go, Twilight, Spike, if you wouldn't mind.” Celestia gestured to the center of the array, and following after them.

“Oh this is so exciting.” Twilight whispered.

“If only it was under better circumstances and I had more time to test things.” Celestia added before turning and nodding to the attendant. “Please don't move you two, and be aware this may not be an entirely pleasant experience.”

Twilight had barely a second to ponder what exactly could be unpleasant about a mere teleportation spell, only for her world to disappear, and in the same second, reappear. Her stomach seemed to appear a second later then the rest of the woman, as it turned viciously. Twilight managed to take two steps to the side before violently expelling what little she had eaten only hours ago.

Wiping her mouth, Twilight looked down to find that at least she had managed to throw up on the ground, and not the array, though that still meant she had vomited directly into a small flower bed. Looking around, the unicorn found that she was outside a small cottage, the array having been placed on a solid stone pad that was at the center of attention for a whole host of ponies that flew, and trotted this way and that.

Trotting over to the unicorn, Celestia extended an arm around the shorter woman’s shoulders, squeezing her gently.

“Are you alright my dear?” Questioned the princess in a low tone.

Twilight nodded. “I’m okay.”

“That is good, though I fear as though the same cannot be said for poor Spike.” Celestia added, gesturing to a few feet away where Spike lay curled up in a ball, hands clutching his stomach.

“Aaaaugh, I’m never eating pancakes again.” Whined the dragon.

“Is he going to be alright?” Twilight asked nervously, glancing nervously at the dragon.

Celestia nodded. “He will be fine in an hour or two, some creatures take the trip a little harder than others I’m afraid.”

“Is it fine if he stays here a while?” Twilight inquired.

“Absolutely.” Celestia replied before turning to a seemingly random pony and pointing at her. “Find someone to keep an eye on Spike and deliver him to us when he is feeling better.”

The guard saluted. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good, let us be off. The sooner you see the creature, the sooner you will understand my desire for speed, and discretion.” Celestia announced before trotting off in a seemingly random direction.

Twilight trotted to catch up, the unicorn remaining silent as she noticed that two new guards appeared out of seemingly nowhere, taking positions on either side of them and ensuring that the flow of traffic went around them. It was at this point that Twilight noticed a few things, the first one being that there was far more activity than she first thought.

In the distance she could hear trucks struggling against a hill, their payload weighing them down. Above them pegasi and bat pony alike flitted this way and that, a few of which seemed to be on patrol while the others were directing their ground bound cousins, or were ferrying supplies away to unseen locations.

The second thing she noticed was that they were indeed near Manehatten, though that was only close in the broader sense as they were in the middle of the briar woods. Fresh trees had been cut, and the entire area was locked down as troops and supplies were gathered. The wooded area around them was thick with underbrush, though by the look of the sheer amount of pony power gathering around them, that wouldn't remain that way for long. The air itself also tasted different, and Twilight was dimly aware that she could smell the ocean from here.

Following Celestia closely, Twilight paused from her endless gawking and looked up at the nearly nine foot tall alicorn.

“Why did you arrive here and not at the site itself?” She asked.

“The array is finicky, there are certain areas where mana naturally gathers that make things easier.” Celestia explained. “And this is the closest we can get without risking the possibility of only teleporting half of whatever we try to transport.”

Twilight gulped, her imagination conjuring an image of only one half of a pony appearing at the center of the array, the entire right half of their body having vanished.

“That sounds like a good idea.” She muttered, the unicorn silently thankful that she had already lost her breakfast, and thus couldn't lose it again.

“It's not quite as dramatic as your no doubt imaging, but it is a remarkably unpleasant experience. One that I am not keen on making anyone experience.” Celestia replied.

Twilight nodded, noticing that the path they were walking on was more built up then she had first noticed. The path itself was covered by a black rubber tile of some kind that contained numerous thick wires that flowed from the camp they had arrived in, and went straight off into the distance. On either side of them earth ponies and unicorns alike worked hard to clear the bush while also bringing in thick metal sheets that when fit together would create a partial dome no doubt meant to hide and protect any persons that took the long walk from their arrival point to the site in question.

Putting all such worries out of her mind Twilight looked up at her mentor. “You said you don't think the creature is evil, could it be possible that this creature is little more than an animal?”

Celestia shook her head. “Preliminary scans shows that it's brain structure is so unlike anything we know of that using our current analogues for intelligence may be nearly useless.”

Twilight lifted an eyebrow. “But you assume it is not intelligent regardless?”

Celestia nodded. “It's frontal cortex is on the smaller side in comparison to the rest of it's brain, and areas associated with more complex thought are similarly underdeveloped. That may mean little however, as griffons for example have a smaller frontal cortex then ponies but they have an identical capacity for complex reasoning.”

“Right, size doesn't necessarily indicate intelligence, or lack thereof.” Twilight added.

“My thoughts exactly, but regardless, I think it may be an animal due to the testimony of a mare who was present when it first appeared.” Celestia concluded. “She said it came out of the water and immediately started thrashing as if it was struggling against something she couldn't see. After that it seemingly randomly attacked one of the cliff sides and destroyed it despite there being no reason for it to do so.”

“Hmm, that does sound odd.” Twilight muttered. “But what about-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt Twilight, but we are here.” Celestia declared.

Twilight looked around and realized that they stood just barely inside a massive bubble of some kind, a bright semi transperent globe that encompassed everything for several miles. Runes and magical symbols that the unicorn had never seen before littered the surface of the shield, something that would usually draw her attention, though this time was dwarfed by a far stranger sight.

The water in the bay was gone, and at the bottom of said bay was the oddly familiar form of the strange, and massive reptilian monster. The creature lay face down on the bottom of the bay, arms at it's side, while numerous ponies surrounded it, some laying cabling of some kind while others were erecting structures. The scale of construction was massive, and Twilight could even see that a large group of unicorns were holding the water at bay while a troop of construction ponies were building a massive concrete wall to keep the ocean out.

Even that didn't hold her attention for long though, as Twilight nervously glanced over to the destroyed peak. Her gaze lingering on the deep trenches and blasted land mass that was a mere shadow of it's twin on the other side of the bay. Nothing was left alive, not a tree or single blade of grass had survived the monster’s attack, leaving what little wasn't directly touched by it's blue flame an ashen grey.

Without a word Twilight stepped forward, her gaze drawn back down to where the great monster lay at the bottom of the bay. He was every bit as massive as Twilight had imagined him to be, though something about the way he lay there, utterly defeated and completely limp took away from the aura of intimidation she had expected to feel.

Something that she couldn't say the same for the ponies that worked here, as most gave the monster an occasional nervous glance, as if they were fearful he may wake up at any moment and destroy them all. Twilight however felt something different, and though there was indeed fear that still burned in her chest, she also felt a strange sense of concern for the monster. From the way it lay there it looked injured, though it sported no obvious exterior wounds of any kind.

“What happened to it?” Twilight whispered.

Celestia shook her head. “We don't know, it merely collapsed and all scans have confirmed that it seems to be in a deep slumber of some kind.”

“Fascinating.” Twilight muttered.

“Someone else will give you the official tour shortly, for now let me be the first to welcome you to Monarch site fifty four.” Celestia declared.

Author's Notes:

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