Hmm ... I believe the most appropriate course of action at present would be to observe the one known as Twilight. I should aquire as much info from her as I can ... Her mind meld seemed to have been incomplete. She was blocking a certain cache of thoughts with sheer will of mind ... Perhaps I underestimated this one. Still ... This is a major setback ... I shall have to conduct a second battery of testing.
I lifted my tentacles as to wrap them around one another. Within a few seconds, I shot up unto the air, propelling myself high up into the sky, allowing myself a better vantage point. I began to scan to the area for the two equines, enabling the detection of heat sources. It appears the two are not far from here ... Excellent ...
Twilight limped forward, half carrying Fluttershy who, despite not being hit, was in a massive amount of mental pain. Fluttershy could feel something in the back of her mind, so tiny that even she thought it was nothing. But within that tiny, most obscure of thoughts, lay the seed of a devious experiment.
It was getting dark by the time Twilight and Fluttershy reached the front door of Twilight's library, and Fkuttershy hastily opened the door, running inside, and cowering in a corner of a bookshelf. Twilight sighed, and approached her, shutting the door behind her with a kinesis spell. She spoke in a reassuring tone, " It's alright Fluttershy, we're ... we're safe now. That , that thing can't get us here."
"Well it seemed to find us just fine at the cottage ...", Fluttershy choked out, mourning the loss of her animal compatriots, but most of all, of Angel.
"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I can toss up a smaller version of the protection spell my brother used. Would that make you feel better? I don't think it would do anything but attract attention to us though Fluttershy, it couldn't have followed us all this way without anypony noticing. Why would it anyways as a matter of fact? Wouldn't it have just blown us away the second it got the chance? Look, I know your scared , but this isn't forever. I think it would be beneficial to both of us, to just get some rest for now. I can send a letter to the princess in the morning." , said Twilight, drifting up the stairs to her open air room.
"Why can't w-we send a letter now?", retorted Fluttershy, clearing her tears a bit, and starting towards the stairs.
"Luna and Celestia have their monthly security meeting today, and it'd be rude to interrupt, even when something as strange as this happened. Fluttershy, we've faced much worse in the past, all this creature seems to be able to do is blow things up, even Discord was more creative with how he interfered with us. Don't worry, I've got it under control.", Twilight spoke, laying down in her bed, and inviting Fluttershy in. Fluttershy sheepishly looked at Twilight. "Oh, don't be so insecure, we're friends, and it's just for the night."
"Oh alright, if you say so Twilight ..." , Fluttershy replied, hopping into bed beside Twilight, and snuggling up to her beneath the covers.
Twilight began to think of what to write to the princess tomorrow. In reality, she really had no way of explaining this to her. I mean, despite what she said to Fluttershy, this was the first time she was truly scared of a foe. Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Discord, Chrysallis all came with apprehension and worry, but none of them struck fear into her quite like this beast. This thing was so alien to her, so unlike anything she could possibly imagined. Even the way it moved seemed out of place, fluidly and without forethought. She despised this vile manifestation of evil.
And yet, she both admired, and envied it all the same. When the creature stole her reserves of knowledge, she felt ... empty. She felt as if her life's work had been invalidated in seconds. This creature, had learned what had taken her all her life to accomplish, in just a few moments. It boggled her mind to think what kind of evolution would allow such a thing to exist. It made her jealous. It made her angry, but most of all, it fueled her ambition.
As she lay there in bed, she came to a conclusion, that might both destroy her, or elevate her to beyond the power of even the princesses. She would not be sending a letter to the princess in the morning. She would not call for help, and she would not run from this opportunity. She was determined to learn the secrets of this creature, not just for herself, but for the sake of pony kind. Think of the things it could do, being able to learn what takes years of intense study, in mere seconds. Twilight, even as she drifted off to sleep, retained a crazed look in her eyes.
While she was putting everypony around her in danger, she knew in her heart that the outcome of this experiment was too good to pass up. Too rare in occurence, and too great were the rewards if she succeeded. Yet even as she slumbered, she felt as if she was being watched. Observed. Studied. Premonitions are generally wrong. However, today was opposite day.
The sky was still, the stars sparkling above a peaceful town. It was not meant to last. The sky above the small, sleepy village of Ponyville began to convulse, and crackle with electricity. Cerulean streams of magic scorched the ground, setting alight houses and awaking the residents to the screams of their fellow denizens. A portal of swirling energies opened up just above town hall, cracking like thunder and sending lighting streaming down upon the ground below. The citizens of the town had been awoken, and at the time, could do nothing but stop in a state of curious fear, as a mass of silver fell from the portal, burning green light surrounding it.
The ponies looked upon in awe and horror, helpless to stop what was to come. The object impacted the ground, sending a shock wave through the ground, and leaving behind a crater that smoke billowed from. The portal warped into nothingness in an instant, as the last streak of lighting ceased, and the only sound in the whole town was the raging of fires. The town held it's breath, a few brave souls daring to approach the crater, and sneak a glance in.
Smoke obscured whatever had come crashing down from the heavens. The few brave ponies stared on in anticipation, that was sated not a moment later. Leaping through the smoke, aglow in jade energy was a massive figure, clad in sparkling white armor. The ponies cowered in terror as the hulk looked down at them with burning green eyes, before dismissing them. The creature looked at it's arm, several plates retracting to reveal a small glass screen. On it was a gps of sorts, able to track high concentrations of magical energy, ranging on a scale of 1 to 10.
Mackenzie was surrounded by a base magic reading of one, eminating from every single pony. Winged creatures seemed to give off a slightly higher reading, around 1.5, while horned creatures gave off a meager 2. She could see she was getting nowhere.
With a quick motion, she launched herself into the air, landing atop a building's roof, and scanning the area. She was detecting a large concentration of magic coming from a nearby area. It gave off an impressive 9.5 on the scanner. Even Brother Corvus only displayed a nine. The creature must be nearby.
Bounding from building to building, avoiding the flames raging on certain rooftops, she quickly reached her destination with an unearthly elegance that seemed improbable in what appeared to be such a heavy suit of armor. She raised her scanner to her face, reading the source of the magic anomaly coming from not 20 meters away. Slowly lowering her scanner, the arm plate retracted the scanner back inside the armor, allowing Mackenzie a view of the anomaly. It seemed to be just a simple tree, easily distinguishable from the rest of the buildings.
Only one problem. It was lit up like a christmas tree, ablaze with cerulean flames engulfing the trunk and branches. Mackenzie remained stalwart, reaching behind her, and grasping the small metal box fastened to her armor. She clicked a small tear shaped button, and the case began to unfold, each piece of the intricate container reforming into a compound bow that nearly matched Mackenzie in height. She readied her bow, allowing her free hand to spark with energy. Within a moment, a hardlight construct formed in her hand, in the shape of an arrow, tipped with a teardrop shaped edge. Notching the arrow, she sprinted into the blaze, knocking through the side of the trunk with a blast of energy from her gauntlet.
Yet even as she approached the supposed goal of her quest, the scanner, locked away in her armor told a dire truth that went unheard. Storming into the blaze, Mackenzie failed to notice the low beeping sound the scanner was making. With a final beep, the scanner's glass cracked, the device overloading. It was only designed to go up to 10m yet it held a much higher threshold up to a 100 rating. The approaching anomaly had broken that threshold with ease.
High concentration of subjects ... wonderful ... I wasted no time in setting to work. I wonder what else I can discover. Magic crackled from the tip of my tentacle, disintegrating the screeching equine instantly. It seems the subject has reacted similarly to the past batch of candidates. Flailing appears to be a universal reaction, an intriguing reaction to pain. Each subject has also displayed a large amount of duct fluid known as tears right before incineration. At present, they appear to serve no function ...
Several minutes ago I observed a large arcane storm rip apart the sky. I have yet to investigate. The experimenting opportunities are endless at present, especially with the number of subjects in the area. I hear a loud thud behind me, and I turn to face a large stallion, who has just tripped over a pothole. He reacts in the same fashion the previous subjects do, as expected. The equine runs screaming away from me, but I decide to conduct a regrowth test, channeling energy into a tentacle, and easily bisecting the fleeing pony.
I float over to where the scorched pony lay, and wait for several moments, expecting some sort of regeneration. Hmm, it appears when bisected, neither half regrows. That's, unexpected ...no matter, this land is rich with information. Still, it troubles me the knowledge I've acquired from Twilight. Ponies are simple and messy beings, yet they are exceptional in their own way. Such interesting evolutional divergence, and yet they all manage to retain the same base attributes.
Even more unexpected is that all organisms to date seem to be unable to sustain sudden removal of organs. Are no organs removable? Just then, a pegasi streaked over me, fleeing from the flames of a building raging with flames. I easily snatched it out of the air with a tentacle, bringing it in full view of my eye. I began to rend the yelping creature apart, testing the flexibility of their bones. This is a fragile species. The deformed, mutilated corpse yielded the result that bones are surprisingly inflexible. I'm not one to question or make judgement on information, but I find their knees obscene ...
Aside from this, the creature's mewling appears to increase during dissection. I've also noticed several smaller adolescents seeking their maternal unit. I shall have to investigate in the future ... A building toppled down beside me, the burning husk crashing to the ground. I quickly shot out of the way, avoiding the flames. I observed a burnt corpse, charred beyond recognition. These creatures really can be repulsive.
No more subjects appear to be in the vicinity, how disappointing. I suppose I should investigate the sky debris now. I quickly floated towards the large plant which seemed to serve as a domicile. Interesting taste in housing. I could clearly see a large hole in the side of the base of the tree. It glowed an ethereal green, while the flames seem to be a shade of blue. I suspect a foreign entity has intervened.
A large explosion occurred overhead as the top of the tree burst into bright green flames. I observed a large metallic object crash down from the building, tumbling and rolling several times before stopping. It appears to be bipedal, very much different from the standard equines I've encountered thus far. The silver biped rose to it's feet, grasping a tension device, and wielding a hard light projectile.
The creature fired at me suddenly, as I just barely dashed out of the way. Hostile elements detected ... This should be fun. The silver female remained silent, constructing another arrow before notching it and taking aim. I charged a ball of plasma firing it just to the left of the subject. She sidestepped, and looked at me with a mocking pose. She almost seemed to say 'missed me' through her body language.
The plasma ball suddenly split at a 90 degree angle, hurtling towards the warrior, and striking her in the side. The impact sent her flying, smoking from the intense heat. Did I now? I approached the subject, ready for dissection, but I did not anticipate her to rise again, quickly rolling out of my reach. She took a hand off of her bow, and I observed a large electrical surge in her gauntlets. She let loose a torrent of chain lightning, a few blasts striking my carapace, while most of them scorched the ground. Irrelevant. I fired off another plasma ball, this time hurtling straight at her. Again she sidestepped, and again the blast split. But this time, she reached for a small triangular panel around her waist, grasping it in her hand. The device expanded in an instant, wrapping around itself to form a shield with overlapping panels. The blast struck, forcing her back a few feet, but she remained unharmed, the shield absorbing the hot plasma.
I shall have to try another approach. Quickly sending a blast of sound through the ground, I located several small tectonic disruptions. I dug my tentacles into the ground, channeling magic into each disruption, and directing them towards the creature. She raised her shield once more in anticipation of another attack. The ground beneath her exploded in a violent eruption of earth, stone raining down upon her. She was forced up into the air, scorched by void energies.
For a moment after she got to her feet, she looked at me. She reattached her bow to her back, the contraption folding up into a case neatly. Her burning jade eyes stared at me, as we waited for the other to make the first move. She slowly reached for her belt, grasping a small metal cylinder. Similar to the shield device, the cylinder shot out to form a nearly five foot sword that she seemed to be able to grasp in one hand with relative ease.
Just as I thought she was about to advance, her whole suit seemed to surge with magic. Her suit began to glow the same color as her eyes, an unusual green. In under ten seconds flat, she manged to imbue herself with extremely potent energy. It gave off a signature not unlike my own, but it had been tampered with and altered. Quite peculiar.
Armor and weaponry aglow, she charge forward, shield raised, and fiery eyes set upon me. I began to surge with magical energies, directing them into my tentacles to be used as amplifiers. I allowed a vast amount of energy to surge into my eye, readying myself to perform the life form disintegration beam. With one final pulse of magic, a laser surged forth from my eye, striking the warrior dead in the center of her shield. I maintained the beam for as long as possible, letting forth as much energy as I could manage.
The beam died with an audible hiss, as I observed the warrior on the ground, smoke emanating from her armor. I began to approach it. The aura of green energy had seemed to have dispersed itself, and even the inset wells of energy appeared to dim. The silver warrior, with a quick motion, thrust her sword upward, impaling my right tentacle. I looked down at the specimen with disapproval.
The fire in her eyes reignited, as she stumbled to her feet, retracting the sword from my tentacle. How bothersome. With one final glance at me, the subject lowered her weapons, allowing them to retract and clip on to her belt. She began sprinting away from me. Oh no you don't ... She raised a gantlet to her side, a blast of green energy hitting a burning building. I began to give chase, but the unstable structure collapsed, blocking my route. I suppose I could simply fly over it, but for the time being, this one seems to be nothing more than an annoyance. I shall have to remain watchful for this ones incursions into my affairs. Still, her abilities are extraordinary for a mortal being.
Until next time I suppose ... now then back to the study ... A pony ran past me. And then another. And another. The ones in hiding began to flee the buildings that were alight. It appears that genders are more easily discerned by the pitch of their cries ... Useful. As I continue the study of these strange beings, I feel its time to check up on my little , "side project" ...
Twilight was on the verge of collapsing. With a final heave , and a spark of magic, she lifted the unconcsious Fluttershy beside her, setting her down. Twilight collapsed with a sigh on the edge of the inferno that was Ponyville. Her mind raced, unable to make heads or tails of what had happened only minutes before. The vast amount of arcane energy awoke her in a cold sweat, and in a matter of seconds, the building was alight with strange blue flames. By this point Fluttershy had arisen, but it was too late. A piece of flaming branch had come crashing down through the roof, incapacitating her. Twilight quickly removed her and raced out of the building, hearing only the cries of fellow ponies and the crackling of the fire.
But then, as she made her way to the edge of the library, escaping the blaze, a large explosion could be heard. She couldn't have known what it was at the time, just passing it off as a store of chemicals overheating and reacting violently. Still, even as she lay there, exhausted and confused. Her guess was as good as anypony else's as to why this fire had started. She knew of certain chemicals that could produce unusual flames, but no one struck her as the type to have volatile reactants just lying around. Plus, it wouldn't explain the sheer breadth of the fire, for it seemed to have spread across the whole town by the time she was torn from her sleep.
Moreover, chemicals, even those infused with magic, wouldn't account for the vast amount of energy she had sensed. It was just all so frustratingly confusing. The magic had to have come from somewhere, but where could it have come from? Twilight thought back to a time when she was but a filly, and she had been invited to observe the raising of the sun and moon. Celestia, though more potent than anypony she had ever witnessed, was nothing compared to this. Where Celestia's magic tingled within her, this burst of arcane magic stung harshly.
Twilight began to drift off to sleep, safe enough from the raging flames, and utterly spent. Her eyes became heavy as she struggled to keep them open. It was a battle she could not fight. Her eyes quickly shut, her mind drifting off to a better place and time. Fluttershy on the other hoof had been fighting all night, and unlike Twilight, the fight began when her eyes shut. That tiny little spec of a thought, crammed into the very back of her mind had wasted no time in making itself known. The thought plagued her psyche, and like a virulent plague it swept through her mind, inhabiting all of her brain, until there were no other thoughts inside of her.
She had only one thing on her mind as she slumbered. Acquire subject for further testing, designation : Twilight Sparkle. The Butterscotch pony rose from where she lay, her eyes not hers. They burned with a hot magenta light, illuminating the lavender pony she seeked. Fluttershy quickly dashed to Twilight, and slung her on her back before spreading her wings. Twilight began to rise from her slumber, seeing her friend grasping her. Fluttershy turned her head to glance at Twilight, revealing her hot burning eyes. Twilight was stunned for a moment at the horrifying sight before she began to kick and thrash.
She beat at her friend's sides, hoping to break free, but her grasp was suffocating. FLuttershy had her in an iron grip as she began flapping her wings. Twilight tried to wriggle out of her hold but to no avail. She began to channel energy into her horn, but Fluttershy thwacked her over the head, blurring her vision and causing her horn to flicker.
As Fluttershy took flight with her new hostage, a silver streak hurtled towards the pegasus as she took off. The streak hit her with a resounding sonic wave, sending her smashing into the ground below. The lavender unicorn opened her eyes, trying to unfurl her wings as she plummetted to the ground below. She panicked and had a hard time opening her wings. Thinking fast she began to perform a barrier spell, bracing herself. Sparks flew from her horn as she encased herself in a bubble of magic energy. She closed her eyes in anticipation.
She readied herself for the collision. She waited for a second, and then two, and then three, until finally she could bear it no longer. Twilight's eyes shot open, and what lay before her was not the cold earth she had expected, but the glistening chestplate of a monolith being. The towering figure quickly glanced over to a small heap of yellow, and with the flick of her wrist, a seething beam of jade energy shot out towards the heap, exploding in an awesome display of power, leaving a crater that billowed green tinted smoke.
She lowered her barrier in awe, gazing up at the visage of the tall biped. The creature kneeled down slowly, bringing her face to face with Twilight. They both stood there, one in awe and fear, and the other in curiosity. Neither spoke for several seconds until finally, a low, comforting voice resounded throughout Twilight conscious. A telepathic speech, much like the tentacle creature's. But this voice spoke confidently, and sternly. Even as the voice spoke, Twilight's mind drifted, thinking about the circumstances at hoof. She thought of the Princess, and how she would react to all of this. She thought of Fluttershy who must've been grievously injured, if not dead, but Twilight snapped back to reality, the voice regaining her attention as it spoke.
"I, am Mackenzie, Twilight." Twilight was startled by the knowledge of her name for a moment, but the soothing voice of Mackenzie comforted her in some strange way, even as she worried about Fluttershy. At last the voice continued, with a powerful statement.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore. You don't have to run from him anymore. I'm here now...." Mackenzie communicated reassuringly before continuing.
" ... And I am your Guardian ..."