//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: UB-01 Part 1 // Story: An Ultra Catastrophe // by TheEpicKyurem //------------------------------// A woman with lone blond hair looked through a portal, her eyes gleaming with excitement. What she saw inside was a large city with a tall crystal castle at its center. A smile formed on her face as she turned around from the portal and walked away from it. "Soon, my children and I will find a new place to call home," she said. "Far away from the one I left behind..." Twilight stepped off of the train, the sun shining so brightly in her eyes that she had to squint. She waited for the rest of her friends to get off, before setting off for the Crystal Empire. "Finally!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That train ride felt like it took forever!" "Rainbow Dash, dear, you should really be more patient," said Rarity as she rolled her eyes at her. "Yeah," Applejack sighed. "I can't count how many times you complained on the way here.." The group entered the city, only to be greeted by empty streets. There was nopony in sight, and Rainbow Dash swore that she saw a tumbleweed pass by. "Hey, where is everypony?" asked Pinkie as she looked around. "I think it may have something to do with the strange creature that came here..," said Twilight. "We should keep our guard up." The group made their way to the castle in the center of the city. Underneath the castle stood the Crystal Heart, slowly spinning on its pedestal. Beside the Crystal Heart stood Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. "Twilight!" said Shining Armor when he saw them. "We're so glad you're here. These strange creatures have been appearing everywhere, and we don know why, or what they even are." "Don worry big brother," Twilight said. "That's why we're here. Princess Celestia sent us to investigate these creatures that you have seen. Where was the last lace you saw them?" Suddenly, Shining Armor's face went pale. "T-T-Twilight..," he stammered, pointing behind Twilight. "I-I think you should t-turn around.." "Shining, I never seen you so scared before. Why are you acting like thi-" Twilight cut off her sentence as she turned around, a look of fear creeping onto her face. The rest of her friends turned as well, and looked in fear and awe. Floating in front of them was strange, jellyfish-like creature. It had markings on its head that looked like six-pointed stars, and had 12 tentacles, some smaller than others. Its body was completely white except for the tips of some of its tentacles, and its head looked like it was transparent. After a short period of silence, Fluttershy spoke. "W-W-What is t-that!?" she asked, fear in her voice. The creature just floated in front of them. It seemed to be studying the ponies in front of it. Then, without warning, it summoned multiple bright gems, which were then launched at the group. Twilight quickly put up a shield spell, blocking the gems. "I don think it's here to be friendly," said Applejack, before getting into a fighting stance. The creature then launched a purple glob at her, which she just barely managed to dodge. Applejack then ran up to the creature, turned around, and kicked it, sending it flying backwards a little bit. The creature soon recovered, however, and the proceeded to grab Applejack with its tentacles, squeezing her. "Hey!" yelled Rainbow Dash "Nopony hurts my friends!" She flew strait at the creature and hit it, making it loosen its grip on Applejack just enough for her to escape. The creature regained its balance and launched a colorful wave from its tentacles at Rainbow Dash. It hit her, making her fall to the ground. Applejack ran to Rainbow Dash, making sure she was alright. Meanwhile, Rarity stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. "Normally, a lady such as myself would never fight," she said. "But when somepony hurts my friends, I will rip them to shreds!" She then used her levitation to lift the creature up into the air before slamming it into the ground. "That is for hurting Applejack," she said, before slamming it into the ground again. "And that is for hurting Rainbow Dash!" She then proceeded to throw the creature, making it land in the middle of the street. The creature, however, simply got back up as if nothing had happened. "Brr-rrr-rrr!" it shouted, before launching another volley of gems at the group. Twilight cast another shield spell, blocking them. "What do you want?" she asked, confusion and worry in her voice. The creature just stared at her, despite not having eyes. She stepped back a little, watching the creature. Suddenly, the creature flickered in and out of existence. "W-What?" Twilight stammered, unsure of what just happened. There was a sudden flash of light so bright that everyone had to close there their eyes. When they opened there eyes, there were more of the same creature in front of them. "There are more of them!?" said Rarity, backing away from the creatures as they closed in on the group of ponies. Suddenly, a beam of magical energy hit one of the creatures, sending it flying back. "Everypony inside the castle!" said Shining Armor. "I'll hold them off!" As everyone ran into the castle, he fired multiple balls of magical energy at the creatures. Most of them hit their targets, but the ones who were not hit shot green globs at the unicorn. Shining Armor quickly put up a shield spell to deflect them, but he didn't see the the creature that was behind him. The creature suddenly grabbed Shining Armor, wrapping him with its tentacles. He twisted his head back and fired a magic beam from his horn, but it did little damage to the creature. The creature squeezed harder, and despite his efforts to stay awake, Shining Armor fell unconscious.