The Guardian

by InsaneBatPony

Black Box Rampage

1

Celestia sat on the chair in her room. Her court closed a few hours early so she could have some time to herself in light of recent events. She sat at her desk in her private quarters and stared at the piece of parchment there. She could not wrap her mind around the words written by Starswirl the night before from his bed. She became enraged and flung the desk at the wall and yelled in frustration.

“What does it mean?! I don’t understand!”

Celestia collapsed into her bed and closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down some before continuing her seemingly insurmountable task of deciphering the prophecy that Starswirl had provided her. Before long she gave up for the day and flew out to Canterlot Gardens.

2

“Run! You have to leave now!” bellowed a massive creature Luna did not recognize. An explosion shook the environment and debris fell from the roof nearly hitting her and another creature by her side. “Get out of here! I can’t hold them off forever!”

“They want you, not us! You have to jump ship!” screamed the creature next to Luna.

“I know! I will not jump ship with you two still on it! Now leave!” bellowed the larger creature.

Luna was picked up by the creature by her side and was flung over its shoulder. A blast rang through the air and a small explosion of blood and sparks erupted from the large creature’s neck. It roared in a garbled voice and smashed a creature wearing strange clothing and holding an odd looking object into the wall with a hoof that had five thin strands stretching from it. A plume of fire blasted through an opening in the wall causing the massive creature to fall to one knee. The large creature was enveloped and its skin began to burn and bubble off.

Luna and the other creature managed to get behind some kind of see through wall. She was put down on the ground while the other creature punched at this large metal box with lights on it. Luna went over to the glass wall. She watched as some of the smaller monsters poured in through the door spewing fire from strange contraptions at their sides. The large creature had been enveloped in flames until she saw it shoot a clawed appendage glowing orange into one of the smaller creatures impaling him and throwing him into one of the others. He shot up roaring and began to swipe and punch at the smaller creatures and then she felt the ground shake and a sequence of explosions. She fell on the ground and managed to see the large monster and the other creatures floating on the other side of the wall and be sucked out rapidly. She was picked up by the thing hitting the metal box. It stopped and looked out to where everything had disappeared. All that remained was the darkness of the outside.

“I’m so sorry.” it whispered.

3

Luna shot up screaming. Guards were already inside and waiting. Princess Celestia was at her bedside looking at her with a horrified look.

“Luna, calm down it was only a dream. It wasn’t real. Breath little sister please, just breath.” Celestia said, hugging the Princess of the night.

“But it was so real. I felt like I was living it.” Luna cried.

“I know, I could hear you screaming from the gardens, your guards tried waking you up but you wouldn't.”

Celestia laid Luna back down onto her bed and dismissed the guards. She kissed Luna on the forehead and left hoping that this time she would have pleasant dreams. Celestia walked back to her room and found the paper that she was looking at earlier on the ground. She looked at it this time with more alarm.

The creation of a race long past and forgotten, lost to the stars. A creature birthed by hate and desperation. A beast forged in blood. A blood-lust that cannot be quenched, suppressed. A father searches for his child. A daughter who does not remember. Memories Suppressed, forgotten. Royalty that does not belong. A secret kept. A forgotten enemy will return.

“What's going on?" she whispered, aggravated. "Starswirl, I wish you could have told me what this means.”

4

Applejack woke up at her usual time just before dawn to get ready for her day of working the Apple Orchard. She straightened her mane into a ponytail and did the same with her tail. She went to wake Big Macintosh, only to find him up and about already. She smiled a little and went to Applebloom’s room. She peered through the door to find that her bed was in the same state as it was the night before, messy and unkempt.

“Where in tarnation is that filly?” she asked.

Applejack looked all around the house and her sister was nowhere to be found. She made her way out to the barn and other small sheds that were around it. She opened up the large barn door and saw Applebloom lying inside against a wall in the small amount of light available. Applejack went over and stubbed her hoof against a hard metal object. She jumped back shaking her hoof wildly in all directions trying not to scream. She set her hoof down and carefully felt around for Applebloom. She heard a raspy breathing sound in her ear and looked over to where it was coming from. She saw nothing except two large red eyes staring at her. She let out a scream and jumped away tripping over the wagon that was in the barn.

“Ow, that hurt.” she said, rubbing her back.

Applebloom shot up in instantly after hearing her sister scream and fall over stuff. “Are you okay sis?”

“Ah’m just dandy. What in tarnation were you doing out here anyway sleeping in the same place as that thing?”

“We were playing and I fell asleep. Why did you call mister giant, thing?”

“Mr. what now?" she questioned. "Never mind. Ah called him ‘thing’ because that’s what he is. A thing! It’s lucky ah don’t call it ‘monster’ instead. Ah don’t ever want to catch you out here again! Do Ah make myself clear young lady?”

“Yes, Applejack.” Applebloom said, with remorse.

“Good. Now go get ready for school.”

Applebloom ran out of the barn and into the house.

“As for you, stay away from my sister! You may be acting all nice and such but Ah do not trust you and Ah don’t think Ah ever will. You stay here where you can’t’ cause any trouble!”

Applejack grabbed the cart full of tools and left the barn leaving the giant alone in the barn. The giant stood up nearly hitting his head on the ceiling if he didn't duck down. He looked down at his non-retractable claws. He flexed them around a little bit and made a high pitched whine. He reached down to his metal plated thigh and tapped the center of it twice. The sound of a small hydraulics system hissed and opened a small compartment. He tapped his clawed finger around it to find that it was empty. The giant kept feeling around for whatever was supposed to be there. The giant panicked and ran out of the barn leaving one side of it in shambles.

The Apple family, stunned by the sound of shattering wood, stood frozen at seeing one side of their barn laid in shambles. The giant stood there moving his head this way and that, until his head locked in its normal position.

Area scan commencing…

Scanning for sensitive material…

Scanning…Scanning…Scanning…

Not found…

Priority Alpha…

‘Override’

Password: ‘Suppression’

Password Accepted…Priority Alpha Overridden

Requested Action?

‘Independent search priority’

Command Accepted…Priority shutdown successful

“What in the world was all that about? Family, keep that thing occupied for while Ah go see Twilight. She can probably figure this out.” Applejack called to the rest of them. “Can ya’ll do that for me?”

“Eeeyup.”

Applejack took off to go see Twilight about what could have caused the giant to go on a short rampage that destroyed most of her barn.

5

Twilight eyed her desk and the small thin box that has on top of it.

“What is this thing? I know it’s some kind of box but it's not opening. I've researched and researched and nothing like this exists outside of magic spells and yet there is no sign of an enchantment.” Twilight ranted to herself. She heard a knock at the door. She slowly walked over and opened it to see who it was. Applejack stood outside with a panicked expression on her face. “Applejack? What are you doing here?”

“Goodness Twilight, you look awful what have you been doing?”

“Researching our big…friend and trying to figure out what this box is.” She showed Applejack in side and pointed over to the desk. “There’s no way to open it. The only thing I can think of is that it’s just a solid brick but it sounds hollow when I tap on it.”

"Ah assume you didn't find anything judging on how all you books are piled everywhere."

"Nothing." Twilight said, with disappointment.

“Well, first things first, you need to get yourself cleaned up, your mane is mess and you look like you haven’t slept in days. But Ah need your help. That giant thing destroyed my barn this morning in some kind of rampage. Ah thought you of all ponies could help me figure out why.”

“Where was Applebloom?”

“At school when it happened.”

“Could that have been the reason?”

“Ah don’t think so. It didn't put up a fight when ah asked Applebloom to get ready and go to school.”

“Alright I’ll be down there in a bit. Go back home and try to keep it under control until I get there.”

“Thanks a lot Twilight.”

“No problem.”

Applejack left quickly to see what kind of devastation the giant might have caused since she left.

6

Twilight made her way over to Sweet Apple Acres after an hour and found the entire Apple family except for Applebloom, who was still at school, taking cover in a small trench outside of the farm. Twilight wondered what was going on until a barn wall came hurtling through the sky at her. It crashed a couple meters from her and she ran and jumped into the trench with the rest of the Apple family.

"What is it doing!" Twilight yelled over the sounds of cracking wood and metal clangs.

“Ah don’t know! When Ah came back he was throwing things everywhere and destroying everything!”

Another piece of the Apple family property came hurtling to the trench causing them to move down the length of the trench to avoid getting struck by it.

“For Celestia’s sake! Why is it doing this? It wasn't threatened was it?” Twilight yelled over the commotion.

“No!”

The giant stopped and stood again moving his head from side to side again.

Area scan commencing…

Scanning for sensitive material…

Scanning…Scanning…Scanning…

Found…

The giant’s head snapped toward the trench and his vision scanned through the dirt and he saw four skeletons shifting around slowly huddling in close to each other. His optics narrowed to an object outlined in blue. The giant charged at the trench.

“He’s heading over here!” Applejack yelled. “Move everypony!”

They jumped out of the trench as the giant neared quickly. Twilight jumped out of the trench and was tackled by the giant mid jump and they skidded to a stop a ways away. Twilight was in shock, breathing heavily and struggling to get loose. The giant ripped off her saddle bags and threw her away like trash. Twilight struggled to regain her footing and composure after that and watched as the giant ripped her bags to shreds. The black box fell to the ground the giant threw away the destroyed bags and lifted it up in two of his clawed fingers.

Scanning…Scanning…

No Damage Detected…

‘Independent Search Priority Deactivate’

Command acknowledged…

Deactivating Independent Search Priority…Deactivation Successful

The giant tapped his thigh once again opening the small container and slid the box inside. The giant walked to a tree and sat down leaning against it.

“That is what he was after?” Twilight whispered, to herself.

“What was he after that was so important he destroyed Mah barn!?” Applejack yelled pointblank at Twilight.

“Remember that box thing that I had rainbow dash pick up for me at that crater in the Everfree?”

“Yeah.”

“That box is what he was after, but why?”

“That’s what Ah want to know! He destroyed mah barn over it!”

“Applejack, help me round up everypony, it’s time we got to the bottom of what this thing is and how it got here in Equestria. But first let me get your barn and everything else fixed up.”

Twilight’s horn glowed violet and she cast her Fail Safe spell to restore the property back to its original state.

“Boy howdy Twilight, thanks a lot for the quick fix on the place.”

“No problem, now let’s go get everypony here, I need to see what that box contains.

They both left Sweet Apple Acres to find all of their friends including the Cutie Mark Crusaders seeing as they have already had more experience with the monster by the tree.

Comments

[InsaneBatPony]

Why You no Comment?!

[Equestrian Templar]

1556474
Because it's such a good story?

But seriously. Original and good story. More, I cannot say.

[skultech]

I think people don't comment, because your story isn't that popular.
Only 37 people have viewed this.

[InsaneBatPony]

1572638 I meant on the story in general it just happened to end up on this specific chapter.

[skultech]

1572800 Well then I'll adjust my comment here.
Not that many people have read your story at all.
I think this is partially to blame on the slow updating of your story and when you do update it isn't that much.

[RoadRunneR]

This story is relevant to my interests but the material provided doesn't fulfill my needs.

...

MOAR!

[InsaneBatPony]

1577994 I hope that the up and coming chapters are more to your liking then.

[The Eccentric Mister E]

If it helps I decided to leave a comment on every chapter of this story.

For this chapter, I can only assume this is some kind of man-made android cyborg robot thing with really cool weapons and gadgets.
I can not wait for the answer to be revealed!

[JDPrime22]

I have no idea what this thing is!!! BUT IT'S AWESOME!!!!

[Nuclear Grenade]

Robocop

[Dredgen]

3268915 No it's machinopopo

[AlicornCreator]

I really hate racist ponies. How about I call the entire pony race "Monsters" for starving another.... bet they’d hate that.... with their sheltered selves.....ò_ó

Love the story but I hate it when something that’s saved them is called a monster and is clearly or can live completely harmlessly if they leave it ( him or delve ) alone did peacefully