//------------------------------//
// Creature 
// Story: Encounters 
// by Dai Kirai 
//------------------------------//

        The machine just stayed in that one spot, “In peace we come.” It stated again in that same dead voice. But there was something else about that voice that bothered her, she just couldn’t figure out what it was through that accent.
Twilight couldn’t believe that thing was talking. How could it? It wasn’t organic and shouldn’t have been alive; let alone able to talk. Her breathing started to pick up speed and she began to panic. Synthetic life was something no Equestrian had even considered up to this point and she was staring at an example of it in the face. No! Bad Twilight! Don’t freak out and don’t jump to conclusions! The pony thought. She took a deep breath and started thinking again, this time from a calmer perspective. Ok, start with what is known. First, it is inorganic. Meaning it did not create itself. It is not acting aggressive so its creators are probably controlling it. She took another steadying breath and looked over at Mystic and realized he was studying the machine while its attention was focused on her. Better keep its attention on me for a while so Mystic can finish his test. I can always think this through later. She didn’t know what might happen if this, whatever the hay it was, noticed somepony was running tests on it.
Twilights sat down and put on her most regal expression. She had to keep this thing occupied and figure out as much about it as she could. “Forgive me, but I don’t even know what to call you. Do you have a name?” She inquired. Twilight was also using this as an opportunity to figure out its language capabilities. 
The machine just continued to look at her with that little black box; staying completely still and it was starting to unnerve her. After about a minute of this it replied, “M.A.L.P.” and went quiet again.
Twilight tilted her head to the left microscopically. Whatever that name was she knew it was in no language she had heard of before. ‘Mehp’ was what she thought it had said but wasn’t sure and didn’t want to insult it. Wait, if it wasn’t alive, could it be insulted? Twilight asked herself, No! Focus on the task at hoof. She looked back toward ‘Mehp’ and asks her next question. “Is that your name or your species? You look quite different from most of the life around here.”
The machine was quiet for another minute, still staying completely motionless. “M.A.L.P.” was all it said in the end.
Why was it taking so long to answer? That was one thing Twilight couldn’t figure out. She looked over at Mystic out of the corner of her eye and saw that his horn was no longer glowing. Her ears rose slightly, subtly asking if he found anything out and Mystic gave a slight nod back. He had! She barely contained the squeee that had wanted to force its way out. Progress! She then returned her attention to Malp. 
There was one last thing she wanted answered before she wrote to the princess about this. “Why are you here?” She asked, dead serious. That question would dictate her next actions.
This time the silence went on longer than any of the previous times. “Check Safety. See if threat.” The responses were emotionless and-
AHA! She’d finally figured out what about the voice sounded off. Malp is saying each word separately as if each word had been looked up before it was stated. Whatever is controlling this machine had to be looking up each word that it heard and had to speak from a dictionary. No, that didn’t make sense. If they were looking it up in a dictionary it would take longer than a minute to decode and recode a message between languages. She needed to get that letter to her mentor so that they could figure out what to do next. “Malp, if you will excuse us. We need to contact Celestia with news of this recent event. Will you be fine here by yourself and not leave the room?” 
While Malp took its standard amount of time answering, Twilight picked up her quill, ink, and parchment and carried them behind her in a purple telekinetic field. Mystic Dawn took this opportunity to stand and got ready to move toward the door. Neither was going to leave until they received an answer from their guest.
“Yes. Wait.” They both nearly jumped when Malp answered in what seemed to them like a louder volume. 
Twilight opened the door from the other side using her magic. She held it open just long enough for Mystic to exit, then followed him and closed the door behind her. She followed him down the hallway toward the intersection and turned left. As they entered the housing unit, he turned into a random room and looked at her; Twilight saw the worry in her counterpart’s eyes.  Before she could say anything, Mystic’s horn is surrounded by a lime green aura as he closed the door and started casting spells on the walls of the room. Twilight wondered what he was doing until she realized it was all the same spell. For some reason, he was casting layer upon layer of sound dampening which reduced the air vibrations from sound to an almost negligible amount after one; let alone the four he had cast. 
After he finished casting his spells he looked Twilight in the eyes. She could see his naked fear and the sweat dripping off of him from overexertion of magic. She decided to wait until he was ready to speak, let him gather himself. Mystic worked his mouth a few times with no sounds escaping. He closed his mouth, licked his lips and took a deep breath. “No magic!” He rapidly blurted out, catching Twilight off guard. She tilted her head to the right a little to signal that she was confused; afraid that talking might shake him up more. He took another breath and stated in as calm of a manner as he could, “That creature has no magic.” His eyes were a little large hoping that Twilight would grasp the significance of what he had just said.
Twilight let out a sigh and drooped her head. “Of course it can’t use magic, it’s a machine; as in, not alive to begin with.” She looked up only to see complete shock in his eyes.
Mystic just stood there for a minute letting what his fellow researcher had said to sink in. He let out a sigh of his own and responded in what he hopes wasn’t too condescending of a tone. “I know that. What I meant was that there was no magic in it. The metal and everything else is it made of contains no magic. As in that machine has never been around magic.” He decided to let her process that for a minute.
Twilight started to cough as she realized the implications this could have. Everything in the world had some sort of magic to it. Not just living things like ponies and trees either, but nonliving things like rocks and gems. That was how they were able to so easily use gems to store and shape magic; they already contained magic and thus the ability to contain more. If something had no magic what would…. Her mind stopped working as questions started popping into her head.
Mystic saw the gears grind to a halt in his counterpart’s head as the point he was trying to make finally hit home. He even knew what questions she was going to ask and was deciding on whether or not he would wait for her to ask them. He decided on being nice and filling her in on the other things he had discovered. “It was also using electricity, and massive amounts of it. It was using so much that I couldn’t even get an estimate of it. And that string behind it going back into the void? I think that is supplying the creature with power.” He knew just how scary this was, it was incredibly advanced and would likely be over 500 years before something like that was even beyond the theoretical stage in Equestria. But he still hadn’t told her the most disturbing aspect of this creature yet. “And due to it containing no magic. It will be heavily resistant to any attempt to use magic on it.” He finished talking and he was glad he was.
Twilight was completely stricken except for one stray fact that kept floating through her head. “But, how do you know it is resistant to magic?” She knew he always had evidence, especially before making grand statements like that. 
He took a deep breath. “Because I used a simple telekinesis spell on the string. It required using about three times more energy than it normally would on such a small object.” He waited for her outrage. Instead all he received was silence. He looked up to see her stricken. Her ears were folded back and her rump had hit the ground. He expected to be yelled at for doing something so reckless, if the creature had found out there was no telling how it would have reacted. It was just as reckless as when Twilight had tried to go through the void a few weeks prior. That was why he had put up so many sound dampening layers though, he had no clue what kind of magic that creature could get through or how easily.
He was broken out of his reverie as Twilight started speaking. “Letter” She had set her parchment and ink well on the ground and was levitating her quill in her magic just an inch over the paper. “I need to tell the princess about this immediately. She’ll know what we should do next.” The quill started to move over the parchment while Twilight mumbled to herself, the quill putting the words on the paper as fast as she could write them.

Dear Princess Celestia,
We have made contact with a creature that has come through the void. It seems to call itself Malp. At the bottom of this letter there is a picture of the creature. It seems peaceful and has just stayed in the same spot since it arrived through the void. It seems to know basic Equestrian, but we have yet to ask it how it acquired such knowledge. It appears to be highly advanced technology. Mystic estimates it is at least 500 years more advanced than anything we have ever seen. It was using so much electrical energy that Mystic was unable to even estimate its consumption. It doesn’t appear to be alive and is constructed using metal and rubber. We know that it can see and talk and listen. We had a brief conversation in which it seemed to need time to translate but it was faster than should be possible. 
There is a problem though. It appears to come from a place without magic. When we surreptitiously ran a test on an extraneous part of it, the string we believe is for its power supply, we found out that it requires at least triple the energy to move it as it would something native to this world. I believe it is a machine and is being controlled from the other side of the void. It stated that it came here to ‘Check safety. See if threat’ and that is all it will say. 
I believe it is prudent at this juncture to see what you would like out next step to be.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle


She magically sealed the letter and placed a ward over the rolled parchment so that only Celestia herself could open it. A ward was a protective spell that would only activate if someone tried to force it open and could do anything from just destroying the letter to lighting the perpetrator on fire. She quickly picked it up with her magic and opened the door to leave. “I have to make sure Celestia gets this as soon as possible and will be back in a few minutes.” She thought that Mystic didn’t look as shaken up as he did a few minutes ago. As she headed back toward the intersection she could feel the sound dampening spells dissipate as they were dispelled and displaced by Mystic.
When Twilight got to the intersection she took a look to her right to make sure the door to the research chamber was still closed and then headed to the left. When she got to the door she looked at the two ponies still standing guard. Neither one deigned to look at her, figuring if she came from the inside then she wasn’t a threat and would be leaving in a minute. 
Twilight cleared her throat to get one of the guard’s attention. When the one on the left, who happened to be a pegasus, looked at her she handed the parchment to him and asked her favor. “I need this delivered to the Princess Celestia immediately. Take it to the tree house and give it to my assistant Spike. He’s a little purple dragon and pretty hard to miss. Tell him its urgent. Can you do that?” She could technically do this herself but she didn’t want to have to be scanned back in just for a five minute trip.
The guard picked up the letter with his wing and held it in front of his face, staring at it. “What is this?” He asked in a slightly gruff voice.
“It’s warded in case you were wondering, so don’t open it. It’s a progress report on our research here. We just had a major breakthrough and need to inform the princess immediately.” She quickly explained. 
The guard gave her a disapproving look, which was quite different from their normal stoic expression. “Ma’am, I am a royal guard and one of the best. Which is why I was personally selected by Princess Celestia for this job and am too professional to look at mail that is not for me. I will deliver this message for you if I have to walk to Canterlot.” With that he put the letter in his mouth, and pumping his wings, took to the sky. 
Just as she turned around to go back into the facility she saw another pegasi land and took the formers position next to the door. She headed back into the facility and closed the door behind her. She could Mystic at the door to the void with his horn glowing. She walked up to him and sat down, waiting for him to stop whatever it was he was doing. As the aura around his horn slowly faded away he opened his eyes and straightened up. “Sorry. Just wanted to make sure it was still there and that it was still alone. It hasn’t even moved from what I can tell.” His voice was strained and he was fighting to stay awake. He had used a lot of energy and brain power that day.
Twilight nodded her understanding. “The letter is away and we should hear from her soon. Why don’t we take watches? I’ll take the first and you get some sleep.” As he nodded his head in confirmation she opened the door and entered the room. She wanted to see if she could figure anything else about this creature. She had only been gone for an hour.

Celestia was sitting in her study looking over the crop and weather estimates for the coming year. These reports had come in for her approval after seeing what the earth ponies would need for their farms and what the pegasi could provide. It was all worked out before it got to her but she liked to double check things like this and saw how the different sides were getting along. Disputes in subtle areas could be used to predict future difficulties.
Her study was in one of the towers in Canterlot Castle. The room was round and fairly large with a fireplace on one end. She was laying down on a large dark magenta pillow with violet red ruffles and a gold colored pillow along the back third. It was large enough to hold both her and her sister comfortably and was located a few feet in front of the fireplace. The walls were decorated with scrolls and tapestries she had acquired over her many years as ruler.  
As Celestia was looking through the end of the report, a ball of smoke began to form and curl in front of her. She looked up from her papers to see the smoke finish forming a ball and with a small pop of light turned back into a rolled up piece of parchment. She smiled, happy that her student had learned a new lesson in friendship. Very few ponies knew how to send a letter straight to her by using dragonfire to burn the scroll and Twilight’s assistant was one of those few. She decided to take a break from the estimates to see what her student had discovered. She stopped when she saw the red seal designating the letter as urgent. The leader of Equestria then ripped open the seal to see what was so urgent and correctly surmised that it must have to deal with the void. 
As Celestia read the letter she started to plan what she should do next. There was nothing to do about it being advanced. But, if it was another culture there was an expert out in the field she could call in. As for the creature saying safe, did it mean for something to visit or to conquer? That was a big issue she would have to address personally, especially if it was resistant to magic. Twilight was right as this needed to be addressed immediately.
Celestia moved her crop and weather reports over to her oak desk at the other end of the room and pulled out a fresh scroll. She dipped her quill into the inkwell and started writing.

Dear loyal subject,
This letter has been written in a safe manner in case it falls into enemy appendages. We have an issue here that needs your specialized skills. There has been an encounter with what can only be surmised as a completely alien life form. I know your current study has taken a long time but I am recalling you. You are to get out of there as fast as can be safely achieved. You will return to the fallback location where a carriage will be waiting to take you to the creature. This is urgent and you are authorized to use any means necessary to return. I will arrange for a briefing for you in three days, make sure you are there before then.
Signed,
C


The missive then disappeared in a puff of smoke that then curled and streamed out an open window into the wilds. Celestia knew it would take about a day for her researcher to get back to civilization. She exited her study and looked at the two guards watching her door. She didn’t really need the guards, but they were more of a symbol and an early warning system. She was still vulnerable if she was asleep or not paying attention. She looked at the first guard, “Swift Shot,” She knew the names of every pony in her employ “I need you to get a chariot out to this location as quickly as possible.” She handed him a small slip of paper as she spoke. “Tell them the pony they are to pick up will use a code word to prove their identity. They are then to take them straight to Ponyville.” She then walked away down the hallway.
“Right away your Majesty.” The guard bowed his head. “Where are you going?”
“To Ponyville. There is something I need to address personally.”

Celestia landed outside of the research facility with the two guards on duty barely even acknowledging her. As she went to enter the front door, the two guards blocked her path. She looked down at them, “What is the meaning of this?” Her tone serious and her eyes hard.
“Sorry about this, but everypony that enters must be scanned and searched.” The guard replied, ever the stoic.
“Even your princess?” She questioned the guard.
“If you are the princess. Queen Chrysalis has proven capable of mimicking an alicorn. And if you try to force your way in, the place will lock down before you can even reach the front door. Now spread your wings and lower your defenses so my counterpart can scan you and see if you really are Princess Celestia.” The guard ordered, ready to attack if she declined.
“How do I know you are really guards then?” She asked, hoping to find a hole in his logic.
“If you were the princess you would already know that. And if you aren’t the princess I would never discuss our security precautions with you.” He replied, starting to lose his patience. “Now submit immediately or we will be forced to view you as a threat!”
Celestia spread her wings and lowered her defenses enough for the unicorn guard to run a scan over her. All she could do was scowl while a pegasi guard looked through her feathers and her hair and the unicorn scans her for anything she could be hiding and checking her magic signature and any spells she was currently running. After a few minutes the search stopped and the same guard spoke back up. “You are free to enter Princess.” He states in that same stoic fashion and just looked forward again, scanning for any potential threats. 
She stared down at him. “Do I even get an apology for being accosted by my own guards?” Her tone irate and cold. 
Typically this tone would cause most ponies to immediately cower and start apologizing profusely. All this guard said was one word and barely even moved. “No.”
Celestia huffed and headed into the research facility. As she entered a small smile crossed her features. She would have to recommend to his superiors that he receive a commendation. She would make sure he received something for doing his job so well. She had made sure for many centuries that her guards were the best at what they did and would always do what was best for Equestria. Her smile grew even larger as she saw two ponies waiting for her outside the door to the void room. 
Celestia could see that the green unicorn and the purple unicorn were arguing over something and she used a little magic to augment her hearing. 
“But I barely had a chance to ask if it needed anything before you dragged me back out here. There are so many questions to ask it.” The purple one stated.
“Yes, but we need to wait to see what Celestia wants us to do. And in asking questions you might give something away.” The green one replied back.
Celestia had finally gotten within earshot of the arguing ponies. “I would have to agree with Mystic Dawn on this Twilight Sparkle.” Her voice was back to its normal cheerful and loving tone. She enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on her student’s face.
“But...” Twilight started to stutter before she got herself under control. “But why are you here. I expected you to just send a letter or to take a day to get here.”
Celestia smiled at her student that never realized how important she was or how important her discoveries often were. “I needed to see this new creature for myself. Besides, now that progress has been made the security had to be checked.” There was another reason Celestia had come personally; there was no telling how a letter would get in here without being opened for security. She really was playing this by ear.
Normally Celestia would have let Twilight stay in charge but this was a special situation and she knew things that Twilight simply couldn’t have learned yet, if ever. “Okay, I will go in with you two, but it will be under a veil. It would be best for neither this thing nor the ones that may be controlling it not to know I am there. Try to set up a diplomatic meeting for a week’s time so that we can set up our own theories and diplomats. Also you may need to talk more with it to build up a rapport. ” She iterated, knowing she would have to explain more.
Twilight took a minute to digest this information. “But what do traditional wedding garments have to do with this? And couldn’t it still see you?” Twilight had no clue what some of this meant but she would rather ask the question than look like a fool later.
Celestia briefly smiled at her prized student, always knowing what questions to ask. She wasn’t surprised that Twilight didn’t know what a veil really was; she had worked hard to make sure it stayed hidden. Some magic was just too powerful for the average pony to know about. “A veil was originally a spell designed to keep one hidden while in plain sight. It’s a type of disguise spell that is very difficult if not impossible for the average pony to pull off. It in effect makes the pony invisible as long as the veil is undisturbed. The only problem is that it doesn’t block sound or the magical presence of the caster.” Not all of this was true, but Celestia hoped that it would discourage study. 
“But, Your Majesty. It is resistant to magic. It would require a lot more energy than normal to fuel the spell.” Mystic let out; worried that Malp would still be able to see her. 
There was still so much that Celestia’s ponies did not know about magic or the world around them. “This particular veil affects the air around me and doesn’t touch anyone’s senses. It only affects the world directly around me. So long as nopony enters the area of the veil or talks to me, it won’t even know I am in there. There are only a few ways to see through one. The main way is by detecting magic and if what you two say is true, they won’t be able to detect magic due to them not knowing it exists. And most of the others may tell them something is in there but not where.” In reality Celestia knew that the creature might be able to see magic, it was just another form of energy that it could apparently use at unprecedented levels. As the regent of the sun however, she knew all about different types of energy, including heat energy, and how to hide them to all but the subtlest blip. And to obfuscate its detection ability further she would be hiding behind Twilight the whole time. “And make sure to levitate something above you like reference books.” Celestia didn’t know what this new creature could do, so she had to assume, for now at least, that it could do at least as much as magic. 
Twilight started to question her teacher, but when she looked into Celestia’s face she knew this would be based upon trust. “Ok.” Twilight easily agreed, she trusted the princess completely and worked so hard to make sure she never failed the princess. She lifted up her writing supplies and looked at everyone. At least she tried to but all she could see was Mystic and she could barely feel Celestia at all. Wow! She thought to herself. That must be some powerful magic. Well, here goes nothing. Twilight took a deep breath and opened the door into the void room.