With a deep breath Celestia walked towards the table of waiting Ponies slowly, her steps hesitant. This was not a tale that ones so young should have to hear, even a watered down version of it. Approaching the table conversations petered out and slowly each pony turned and bowed lowly before the Princess. Sighing mentally Celestia spoke "Rise, my Little Ponies, you should not feel the need to bow around me, as you have become just as important to Equestria, if not more so, than I..."
The group of 6 rose, most with confused looks on their faces, while one simply beamed up at her. "Let me elaborate. Within you all is the power to protect Equestria, through the bonds of your friendship the Elements can stop those who would wish you and your fellow Ponies harm, or ruin upon our fair Equestria." The ponies around her sat a little straighter and their faces flushed ever so slightly from the praise, their eyes moving from the Princess to each other, their smiles growing a little wider. Celestia blinked, noticing a faint glow coming from a saddlebag sitting nearby, and chuckled softly, obviously the Elements agreed.
Leaning over Celestia gently took the strap into her mouth and tugged the bag on to the table, carefully pulling each of the Elements out and arranging them on the table. "Saying that, I would like each of you to continue wearing these, and try to stay together as much as possible. Until Nightmare is located, we cannot afford to lose one of you, or have one of you away should she appear again. With one of the Elements missing, they become nothing more than intricate stones..." Twilight looked down, feeling a little ashamed for running off, leaving her friends and the Elements behind to wake Celestia. "I am very proud of you, My Little Ponies, you've done a great service to your country and fellow Ponies, I watched from inside Nightmare's cage as you overcame each obstacle through the strength of your friendship, and refused to yield to her tricks... But I am afraid she is only a single problem among many. The more dangerous foe we face is the creature that stopped Nightmare from being cleansed. I managed to disable most of its body after chasing it down in the Everfree, however it disappeared afterwards, I seem to have ah... Exhausted myself..."
Blushing ever so slightly Celestia looked away for a moment, briefly longing for her bed, then shook her head, turning back towards the table. "Now, what has happened since I was returned to the castle? I see you all look rather awake...?" And rather clean now that she thought about it. Biting her lip imperceptibly Celestia glanced slyly down at her own coat, groaning mentally as she realized she was still covered in mud and grass, her poor bed must look even worse!
"Weeeeeeeeeeelllll! We got through the forest, which was like, SUPER easy without big blue chasing us! Then Twilight was like 'BOOKS' and her brother was like 'CASTLE BOOKS' and we got to ride in a CHARIOT which was a ton of fun! Then we got here and had breakfast! Which was weird because it was still dark outside y'know? I think only Applejack wakes up and has breakfast BEFORE the sun comes up, do you do that Princess? Is that why the sun is always up at the same time? Is it? Isitisitisit???" Celestia leaned back in surprise as the pink pony in front of her continued to babble, not taking a breath or slowing down. Celestia looked around the table cautiously, hoping something had not gone wrong with Pinkie, but instead she was met with amused smiles and stifled giggles. "AND THEEEN! We all took a shower and then a nap! OH! Those beds are amazing! It almost feels like I'm still in one! And then we came here cause Twilight needed more books!! Then she needed to get you so she went and got you and now here you are!"
Blinking a few times Celestia's eyes wandered the table only to find the pink pony back in her seat, she hadn't seen her move, but one moment she been talking animatedly only inches from her muzzle, and the next she was sitting down patiently... Shaking her head slowly Celestia snuck a look at Twilight, only to get a shrug and soft smile. "I... See... Well... I'm glad you all had time to eat and sleep, as a long search is ahead of us. Once my guards bring in the Knight we shall be able to track down the source of his power, which should be Nightmare Moon herself."
"Speaking of which, Twilight, about those books you requested." Twilight's ears perk up at this and she glances over at the Librarians desk, not seeing Midnight Star she turns back, tilting her head in confusion. "I'm afraid they will, for the most part, not be of any aid to you... However, I can answer any questions you have about the creature, and Nightmare herself... The same invitation extends to all of you, any questions you may have I will answer. To make this simple lets start with you Applejack." At this Applejack's eyes widened and she sat up a little straighter, gulping softly.
"A-ah me? Well uh.... What exactly is it? Ah only saw some shadow pop outta nowhere, it looked kinda big but other than that ah couldn't make heads or tails of it. Ah thought maybe the Nightmare had tried blocking th' Elements with a piece ah stone or somethin now that I think about it'" Applejack said, rubbing a hoof over her chin. Around the table most of the other ponies nodded along, frowning as they try to think back on what had happened.
Nodding slowly Celestia looked around the room, hoping that one of them had seen more, but only Twilight looked even remotely certain that what they had seen was in fact a creature. "And you Twilight?"
"Well... I certainly saw the outline of some sort of creature, but the Elements blocked most of its features, it looked vaguely like a Minotaur with some sort of sword, and thinking back maybe a shield, but I couldn't make out more than a general shape..." Twilight frowned, looking down at the desk as she replayed the fuzzy memory over and over in her head.
Thinking for a moment Celestia let the group think for a few moments longer, hoping one might remember something, but unfortunately no new questions came. "I see. Well then I shall have to describe it. The Knight is roughly twenty hooves high, made entirely out of metal, it can move faster than a manticore and absorbs most magic used against it, hence why it was able to survive being hit by the Elements. However, it still is badly damaged. Even now my most elite guards are most likely picking up its remains and bringing them back to the Castle for safe keeping, and help in finding Nightmare, however, this is not why I bring it up now."
"There may be a small chance that several of these constructs are still in existence. Either deactivated, their magic sleeping so to speak, and awaiting Nightmares call, or roaming endlessly on the orders of Nightmare, like the one you encountered. When Luna and I ruled together there were no more than one hundred of these constructs, each holding a a modicum of intelligence, copied from a soul that was from a once living warrior who lived his entire lifetime in battle. This, coupled with its incredible strength, speed, and endurance, makes it an incredibly powerful foe..." Finishing Celestia bowed her head, expecting justifiably scared silence.
Instead, her head jerked up in surprise as Rainbow Dash laughed. "Oh c'mon Princess! That thing got wiped with one hit from the Elements, easy peasy! Something that slow isn't gunna be an problem for the Dash" Smirking Rainbow casually floated around on her back. "And twenty hooves? That's like, what, not even the size of bear? We took on a Manticore and won! No way this thing could beat us even without the Elements!" Around the table several heads bobbed in agreement, although Fluttershy simply shrunk into her seat a little and Twilight frowned.
Sighing Celestia shook her head. "Then I suppose I shall have to tell you the story you would find in the books Twilight wanted... This story is about the Queendom of Ord, it once rested far to the west, and was a relatively small land, at least compared to Equestria or the Griffon Kingdoms, but it held a now, as far as we know, extinct race."
Celestia motioned to a globe on a nearby table "Twilight, if you would be so kind?" Twilight lit her horn and pulled the globe from the other table, setting it down in the center. Nodding in thanks Celestia leaned forward, carefully turning the globe until she found an area far west of Equestria. "This was once the land called Ord, you may not be able to see it properly bu-Oh thank you Twilight, as you can see it is a relatively small land bordered on all sides by mountains." Celestia pointed up to the three dimensional magical construct Twilight had made, showing a massive rolling desert that was indeed surrounded by mountains, in fact there only seemed to be a single way in, or out, of the desert, in the top left of the map where two mountains did not touch.
"This land was once inhabited by an incredibly hearty race known as the Lamias, a hybrid race whose origins are lost to time. Nevertheless the legend goes that the first creature to enter this land, a great adventurer, fell in love with the first Lamia he met. Their union created the city of Jormungandr in the center of the desert, and the land of Ord was created, named after the Ordian mountain range that surrounded it." Without prompting a small city appeared in the middle of the map, with two Saddle Arabian like ponies, one dressed in rugged adventuring gear and the other with a comically large crown, happily watching over it.
"Er, Princess, what did these 'Lamia' actually look like?" Twilight said, frowning as she tried to imagine the two Monarchs, the visages changing to Minotaurs, then Griffons, then back to ponies before Twilight looked to the Princess.
Celestia thought for a moment before speaking "I cannot speak of the appearance of the first Queen and King, as I did not meet them, in fact Equestria as a whole did not make their acquaintance until the Queendom had been established for several hundred years. However, when I did meet them the Queen resembled that of Abyssinian, but with a snake below the waist." Confused silence reigned around the table as they all stared at the Princess, and then eyes slowly traveled to the magical picture as a 'Lamia' appeared...
"Like this...?" Twilight said, her eyebrow raised as the strange creature materialized next to her adventurous husband.
Nodding and smiling in approval Celestia continued, "Very good Twilight! Very similar to that, however there was no King at the time I met the Queen, but that was due to how long Lamia's live. Each Lamia could live up to an excess of two hundred years, as a result they often had multiple partners throughout their long lives. Don't forget back then ponies did not live long past their 60's, and many other races much younger."
Rarity shook her head, frowning as she stared at the image of the Lamia Queen, now missing a husband "How sad... To know you have to watch a beloved age and fade away before your very eyes... I cannot even imagine..." The table grew somber at the thought, and Celestia quickly moved on.
"Ahem... Moving on... When I finally met the Queen of Ord we very quickly grew to enjoy one anothers company, and agreed upon setting up trade routes as well as free migration between our two countries. As a result of this both our country and hers was improved, the influx of ponies into her country meant the city expanded even more, and became a very popular tourist destination, and Equestria gained access to the vast mineral riches her Queendom could provide. As time went on more ponies arrived and decided to stay, as a result their population expanded, unfortunately that also meant the more water was needed."
"The primary source of water in the region was from aquifers, buried deep underground, and with the help of Equestrian engineers and the Lamia we managed to create a proper water system, soon the desert city was turned into a paradise. However, this caused one major problem for the Ordians... You see, deep underground, hiding from the hot sun, was a creature that would later be known as the 'Olgoi-Khorkhoi', a massive Tatzlwurm that lived in the water, and was trapped due to the massive mountains that surrounded it. It was able to tunnel through the sand rather easily, but not through rock..." A worm the size of a city slowly appeared on the map, towering over the sprawling city and terrifying the Lamia Queen.
"At the time my Sister and I, Luna, were in a neighboring country securing a treaty that would keep our borders safe, and while it was close, it was still some hours away even by flight. Thankfully, my Sister was a master of teleportation, and with simply the general direction and location of the city of Jormungandr, she was able to teleport herself, her personal guard, and her Knight to the city. By the time I arrived the battle was nearly over, the great worm was nearly defeated, before I arrived however it managed to land a blow on my sister..." The giant worm appeared to be battling an Alicorn of indistinct shape, while she was physically similar to Princess Celestia, this Alicorn was darkly colored. The Alicorn was dodging around the massive creature firing magic blasts into its sides and back, trying to push it away from the city, when suddenly a particularly powerful swing from the beast's tail sent the Alicorn flying in to the cities palace.
"Unfortunately the area that my Sister landed in was the Queen's personal quarters, and several of her servants and concubines saw her, and panicked, thinking she was some how the summoner of this great beast..." The scene changed to show the inside of a great palace, and standing among the rubble was the dark Alicorn, before her were many ponies and snake like beings, all cowering before her in fear.
"This caused my sister to fly into a rage, terrifying the servants and concubines even further, which fed in to her rage and loneliness even more, that was when I think the Nightmare truly sunk its claws deep into my Sisters heart... As what happened next still haunts me to this day..."
With a deep breath Celestia pointed to the worm "Without a moments hesitation my sister attacked the worm with all of her rage, grief, and loneliness... Before she had simply meant to immobilize or drive it away, but now she attacked it with the intent to kill, it was then that I arrived, I moved to help but the civilians were running towards the great beast, and I made them my priority. It was when I moved to intercept them that I found the truth, they were running from my sister's Knight's, who chased them down, murdering them with ease like scythes through a field of wheat." Celestia bowed her head, clamping her eyes shut as she continued in a strained voice.
"They gave no mercy, to adults, the elderly, no matter their age any Lamia caught by the Knight's were killed. My guard and I started to engage the Knights, and while they were not as powerful as the one you encountered, they were still adept warriors, they ignored my own guards and myself except to dodge or parry as we tried to stop them, each one slaying another Lamia even as we desperately tried to stop it." The scene had once again changed, instead of the larger worm it showed that of a street view, with Celestia firing a magical blast in to the back of several strange bipedal creatures with long wicked looking swords, the Lamia's fleeing in terror before them...
Around the table was silence as they watched the scene play out, their eyes wide at such widespread death, although the magical picture did not show any actual death, the stark horror on each Lamia's face was clear as day, others lay behind the Knights, face down and limp...
Celestia turned to Twilight, surprised "Twilight, although it was brave of you, you did not have to envision this for us..." Twilight blinked and turned towards Celestia, her eyes wide and confused.
"But... But I didn't do this, a-after the palace scene I thought you... But your magic..." Twilight's eyes widened further and her head jerked towards Rarity, finding only confusion. "W-wait if it wasn't you o-or Rarity then who was it?"
The magical construct of the city suddenly exploded outward to surround them, solidifying, color and details filling the construct as a dark laugh filled the library...
"Who indeed?"