Vigilante

Princess Celestia sat upon her throne as the trio of guards finished telling her about their findings. The news left the solar princess's stomach churning, as the guards described the scene to the best of their abilities.

"Three unsolved murders... and in Canterlot, of all places!" Celestia shook her head and sympathetically frowned at the three guards who were still shaken up at the crime scene that they recently saw.

Celestia took note of this and cleared her throat. "Thank you three for informing me of this... incident. You may now go to the barracks and rest. You've earned it."

The guards bowed their heads to the floor in unison before turning and marching out of the Throne Room. Then Celestia sighed before floating a scroll and a quill in front of her while another trio of guards approached her, awaiting orders.

"It's time for Twilight and her friends to return to Ponyville," When she finished writing the letter, her horn lit up, and lit the scroll on fire, causing it to flash and disappear in the wind.

The guard in the center of the small group saluted before asking, "And what of the city, Your Highness? And the citizens?"

Celestia thought for a moment before levitating another stack of blank scrolls in front of her. "I want you three to check every single corner in the city. Make sure nopony else was attacked, and report any and all findings that any potential witnesses have come across... but most importantly, keep the crowds under control. Have those who are frightened be evacuated to any distant relatives, or someplace safer than here, and have it done before the evening."

The guards tilted their heads confusedly. "Y-your Highness? D-do you mean..."

Celestia nodded her head and looked out the window worriedly. "Once the Element Bearers are out of the city, we will no longer accept visitors, nor will the ponies who refuse to leave be able to do so. As soon as the evening comes, Canterlot will be under lockdown."

Twilight Sparkle sat in the center of her guest bedroom, staring at several sheets of paper, scrolls, and parchment papers that were taped onto the walls side-by-side. Her eyes appeared to be strained, as heavy bags sunk below them, and her mouth was forming a worried frown.

On each sheet of paper were words from multiple ponies that were all unfortunately caught up in, what was eventually called, the "Ponyville Bug Butchery".

She didn't understand who could've killed the changelings in such gruesome ways, nor could she understand why, but after hearing the news in Canterlot, she feared that she may end up finding out if she and her friends remained there any longer.

On the bright side, though, at least Fluttershy was safer, with the creature no longer inside the Everfree Forest. Unlike she, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack, Fluttershy, despite being the timid one of her group of friends, was actually bold enough to stay in Ponyville to continue protecting the woodland critters... and her house was the first one that was in the creature's path! Rainbow Dash tried to convince her otherwise, but she was firm on her decision.

Being the loyal one of the group, Rainbow Dash agreed to fly back and forth to deliver letters to each other, as well as to check up on Fluttershy's wellbeing. Her willingness to do so, as well as her constant reports of Fluttershy doing well, was one of the few things that allowed Twilight and the others to at least feel a little more comfortable... but only a little.

Despite the good news about Fluttershy, throughout the month that she and her friends stayed in Canterlot, under the supposed safety of the city's walls, she still had nightmares of the creature, and what it could possibly do to Fluttershy... and anypony else unfortunate enough to stand in its path. The investigation that was taking place in the city was more than enough evidence that this creature didn't hold its strikes for ponies, like what Doctor Voice assumed when he interviewed Twilight... which was shortly after she and her friends returned to Ponyville from Canterlot.

As Twilight continued to stare at the writings on the walls, her baby dragon assistant/little brother, Spike, slowly opened the door with a plate of fruit salad in his claws.

Seeing that she was so lost in thought, he cleared his throat and stepped inside.

"Um... Twilight? Are you okay?" he asked, only to receive an ear twitch as a response. He sighed before walking a little closer to her.

Like Twilight, the events from Ponyville left their scars on him, as well... and considering the fact that he's a baby dragon, one could only imagine the feelings that he held deep inside. Being so early in life, and already witnessing death and destruction, there were several debates on if they should wipe his memories so that it doesn't scar him for life.

Being his protective caretaker, Twilight refused, stating that if his memories were to be wiped, he would only continue to be traumatized by the events again and again, should they repeat themselves... and since the investigation held outside was more than likely from the same creature, the odds were quite high in that matter.

Spike waved his claws in front of Twilight, hoping to get her attention. Unfortunately for him, though, once Twilight was lost in thought, there were only a select few things that could snap her out of it.

He waved the fruit salad in front of her nose, hoping that it would get her attention. Seeing that it didn't, he gently placed the plate on the ground in front of her and walked up to one of the papers in front of her. Then, ever-so-gently, he started moving it away from the wall. This, of course, caused Twilight's ears to twitch, and snapped her back into reality.

"Huh?!" she began, only to notice Spike standing in front of her for the first time that day. "Oh... Spike? What's going..." She looked both ways before her eyes trailed down to the fruit salad near her forehooves. Smiling sheepishly at Spike, who deadpanned at her with his arms crossed, she scratched the back of her mane with a hoof and asked, "Oh... I did it again, didn't I?"

Spike nodded his head and replied, "Yeah, only this time you were looking a little more worried than you were last time," He frowned at her with a sorrowful look in his eyes before walking up to her and placing a claw on her shoulder. "Twilight... I know you're scared. We're all scared, seeing how that thing is somewhere in Canterlot... but remember, though! As menacing looking as that thing is, there's no way that it could harm Fluttershy! Also, since it's here, I'm sure Princess Celestia will-"

Before he could finish his sentence, his cheeks puffed out. His stomach started to gurgle before he looked away from her, opened his mouth, and belched out a sparkling smoke that materialized into a scroll. The scroll fell into his eager claws while Twilight looked over his shoulders to get a better look at the contents of the letter, no doubt sent to them from Princess Celestia.

"Well," Spike began, turning towards Twilight with a brighter smile on his face, "it looks like we're moving back into Ponyville!"

Canterlot Crime Scene

Crime Scene Investigator Critical Eye stared emotionless at the scene before him. Several guards blocked the alleyway while a few curious citizens gathered in front of the guards, trying to get a peek at what was going on. Any that did, however, quickly turned away, regretting their decisions.

The hooded stallion continued to lie there with the bugs continuing to eat his insides up. The smell continued to fill the air, and the fellow investigators next to him backed up a few steps to hold their noses. Critical Eye, however, remained in place, rubbing his chin in thought.

"So you're all saying that this corpse must've been lying there for at least a few days?" he asked, turning towards the other two investigators.

The first one nodded his head and replied, "Indeed. There really aren't many other ways how his insides would start to smell like this... and let's not forget the bugs! There's probably so many inside him, I'd wager that he's been sitting there for four days... maybe even five!"

Critical then turned towards the dumpster nearest to the dead stallion, where a few more investigators avoided looking at with nauseous expressions on their faces. "And what of the other two?"

They shook their heads and replied, "They both are... indescribably butchered, but... they appear to be fresher kills... supposedly from last night, even. The conditions that their bodies are in, however, makes it impossible for us to get their identities... more than likely unfortunate witnesses that saw Hidden Blade there."

Critical rubbed his chin again and hummed to himself. "If that were the case, then why did the murderer spare Lady Pin Point last night, with only a blunt-force blow to the side of the head?"

The others shrugged their shoulders before another one replied, "Maybe it doesn't kill mares? It's clear that the bodies are all male, and changelings don't even have a specific gender, anyways... but other than that, I'm not sure, exactly."

Critical nodded his head before trotting back up to the hooded corpse of Hidden Blade. "Very well, then... it would seem that there are no other options, left."

He removed his black hat, revealing his short, dark-brown mane, along with his dark orange coat and horn. His emerald green eyes focused on the corpse before he muttered to the others within the area, "Stand back, please. I'll need a clear view of the area that the crime took place in before casting the Phantom's Eye spell."

The other investigators nodded their heads before backing away, closer to the guards. Then Critical's eyes began to glow pure white, and as soon as he closed them, his horn glowed yellow. Soon would he see and hear the events that transpired within the alleyway that night, almost as if it were happening that very moment... to him, at least. In thirty real-life seconds, the last thirty minutes of Hidden Blade's life would flash before him.

Little did he know, however, that the scenes he was about to witness would more than likely scar him for life.

Canterlot, One Night Ago

When Critical's vision became clear, he checked his hooves, only to find that he was transparent. He smiled, knowing that the spell was working, and proceeded to look around the area.

He didn't have to look far when he heard the sound of a mare crying out of a mixture of pain and fear. Her cries were silenced when something entered her mouth, muffling her voice, and causing her to make slight gagging noises, along with a few coughs.

Critical gulped, shuddering to think about what was going on. Regardless, though, his job required that he investigate what was going on. He turned around, only to gasp and look away from the scene.

The mare was a bright pink-coated mare with a light blonde mane and tail. Over one of her ears was a white petaled lily with a bright yellow center. Her cutie mark was a trio of lilies blooming.

WARNING: EXPLICIT RAPE SCENE AHEAD!

Standing in front of her on his hind hooves was Hidden Blade. Though Critical's view of the events was blocked by the location he was standing, the sounds that the mare made, mixed with Hidden Blade's movement patterns, made it clear that he was raping her. During the brief moment that he saw the events, he also noticed another stallion wearing a suit standing over her from her back side. Both of them held switchblades in their teeth as they had their way with the poor mare.

Critical, despite having to investigate, couldn't handle watching the events and tried focusing on the area around them. He then noticed a third stallion, who was facing the exit of the alleyway, more than likely watching out for any curious ponies that would be wandering around... though since it was raining pretty heavily at the time, the sounds of the events were mostly blocked out by the rain and the occasional thunder. What's more, the princesses were very protective of the "Bearers of Harmony", as she called them, and had several groups of guards stationed within the palace grounds to keep them safe from the monster responsible for the "Ponyville Bug Butchery".

Little did they know, however, that several guards were still recovering from the invasion prior to the creature's sudden appearance, and the repositioning of the remaining guards that were healthy zeroed out the security of the streets they were on... making it the perfect location for crime to take place unnoticed.

After a few minutes of unnatural noises, the mare began to cough, catching Critical's attention. When he turned to look again, he saw that the stallions were no longer moving their legs, but were holding their switchblades closer to the mare with demented glares on their faces.

"What's the matter, Lily? Too much for you?" Hidden Blade asked in a medium-pitched, scratchy tone.

Lily's high-pitched voice was shaken and wavy. Her eyes were covered in tears, though the tears were quickly washed away by the rain. Unlike the three who were assaulting her, she was an earth pony, and couldn't use magic to cover herself from the rain.

"P-please, s-sir... p-please s-stop... please... please... n-no more..."

Hidden Blade deadpanned at her before folding his left hoof over the handle of the blade and placing it closer to her throat. "Oh? What, are we not good enough for you?!" He chuckled before shaking his head and turning towards the third stallion. "Hey, Solid Gold! I think this mare still has a hole that hasn't been filled, yet!"

Lily's eyes shot open and her jaw dropped. "W-what?! N-no, please! Anything but that!"

Hidden quickly silenced her by slapping her across the face, sending the lily from her mane onto the ground. She was about to yelp when Hidden's forehooves gripped her head, angled it forward, and pressed her head towards his member once again, silencing her yelps into muffled cries.

The third guard quickly made his way up to them and grinned before lowering onto his back, scooting directly under Lily, and moving her tail away from her nether region, exposing her marehood for all to see.

He used his forehooves to part her lower lips before slowly lowering the mare until his own member was pressed onto her. Despite this, though, Lily tried keeping him from entering her most sacred of areas.

The other two stallions noticed this and rolled their eyes before pressing their switchblades onto her throat, drawing a little blood from it in the process. "Get down, you little slut... or you can say goodbye to your pretty little face!"

Lily whimpered and sniffled a few times before slowly lowering her rump, resulting in an unwelcome slap from the stallion who was standing over her hind quarters. Finally, once she felt the third stallion's member part her lower lips, she started breathing heavier, bracing herself for the upcoming pain.

Losing their patience, the leading stallion slapped her in the face once more, pulled his member out of her mouth, and shoved the lower half of her back down all the way, causing her to scream in agony as blood quickly started dripping from her marehood, coating the third stallion's member in thin streams of red. To silence her again, he re-placed his member into her mouth and began bucking it deeper down her throat, causing her to make more choking noises.

RAPE SCENE ENDS HERE.

Critical couldn't stand seeing any more of this and turned his head, only for his eyes to widen as he noticed a huge, shadowy figure slowly approach from the shadows of a wall, almost as if it materialized from out of the shadows.

It wasn't the size of the creature that startled him, though. No, it was the fact that he couldn't even see it clearly... almost like it had an aura around it that caused his spell to avoid detecting it. If anything, he was starting to worry that the creature could see him, though... almost like it knew he would be watching the events unfold, and disguised itself in a magic barrier.

The creepy metallic sounds of the creature's chains dragging across the stone floor was more than enough disturbance to stop the stallions from doing what they were doing. They looked towards the source of the disturbance and gasped before pulling themselves out of Lily.

The two supposed "guard ponies" were the first to react. They moved away from Lily and held their switchblades out towards the shadowy figure while Hidden Blade quickly lifted Lily onto her hooves again and firmly pressed his switchblade back onto her throat.

"Hey! The Tartarus do you think you're doing here?! Can't ya see we're busy?!" Hidden Blade growled through clenched teeth.

The shadow-coated figure said nothing, but continued to move towards Lily, almost as if it were completely ignoring the criminal's warnings.

Hidden Blade grinned menacingly before looking at the first guard pony. "Silver Light, I don't thing this hornless minotaur gets what we're talking about... care to demonstrate for 'em?"

Silver nodded his head and brushed his white mane to the side, revealing his silver colored horn. "I'd be delighted to!" His horn glowed white and materialized a small blue fire ball on the tip of it. Then he lowered his horn and launched the ball of fire towards the shadowy figure's head.

Once it hit, the figure stepped back two times before proceeding towards them again. The second guard, Solid Gold, levitated his switchblade with the tip facing the creature and sent it flying towards the creature at a blurring speed.

The creature lifted its left hand towards the switchblade, causing the blade to pierce right through it.

The figure looked at its hand before gripping onto the handle of the blade and pulling it out, seemingly unfazed as it wiggled its fingers around.

Solid and Silver stared wide-eyed at the figure as it slowly looked at them. Then it lifted the switchblade up with the tip of the blade tucked between its right pointing finger and thumb. Finally, in an unbelievably fast motion, it threw the switchblade into Silver's left shoulder, while the force of the throw sent him flying back, and onto a dumpster.

He screamed loudly while the other two looked at him in shock. Then Hidden glared at the figure and shouted, "OH, NOW YOU'VE BUCKED UP!"

Lily's eyes shot wide open as the tip of the blade pressed even firmer into her throat before sliding across her throat. Her life flashed before her eyes as her own blood began to spew from her throat. Her muscles fell limp as her vision quickly faded away. Then her eyes grew dull, and her breathing ceased. Shortly following that, her heart stopped beating, and her life swiftly faded away.

Critical Eye stared at Hidden Blade in disbelief as the criminal released the dead mare from his grasp and turned towards Silver. "Don't worry, Silver! I'll get that out of you!"

Solid took this opportunity to lift a different dumpster into the air and launch it towards the figure. Again the figure was sent backwards, only this time it landed on its back. Solid, however, didn't stop there and repeatedly bashed the figure with the dumpster while it continued to take the hits directly to the face, the chest, the arms, and the legs.

Finally, Solid lifted the dumpster up to the rooftops and slammed it into the creature one last time.

Smiling triumphantly, he turned towards his friends, who smiled and nodded their heads at him in silent appreciation. Then he trotted up to them to try helping Silver with his wound while Critical examined the creature who was apparently the victim of a unicorn's temper.

Suddenly a strange hissing noise echoed from below the dumpster, and a green mist flowed around the creature. Unsure of what the mist was, Solid trotted towards it curiously, yet with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, now! Looks like you can take quite a few hits! Not all creatures could handle that, y'know? Guess you can consider yourself lucky that I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the creature's left hand shot up and gripped onto Solid's throat, halting him from speaking, and causing him to gasp for air. Then the creature's thumb curled up and firmly pressed into his throat, crushing his wind pipe, and making him wheeze as he tried fighting for air, even after the creature released him from its grasp.

As Solid began weakly crawling towards his friends again, fumbling in the process, the creature lifted the dumpster up from its chest effortlessly, and with one hand, while Silver and Hidden stared at it in disbelief, petrified with fear at the creature's unnatural strength and endurance. Even Critical Eye started to feel terror, despite not really being there.

Solid stared at the creature once more and lifted his forehooves in a defensive manner while his vision began to blur with tears from the lack of air circulating into his head. Then the creature lifted the dumpster up and, just as quickly as it was "given" to him, he swung the dumpster onto Solid, fracturing several of his bones, cutting multiple muscles in his body, breaking a few pieces of his ribs completely out of the skin, and dislocating his horn.

But to everypony's shock, the creature didn't stop there. It lifted the dumpster up again with a large blood splat on the back of it, and smashed it into the stallion again and again, repeatedly, and unmercifully, until it hit him ten times. When it was over, it lifted the dumpster up into the air and smashed it over Solid's mutilated skull, flattening it completely, and sending an eyeball out of the socket.

The creature then opened the dumpster's lid and lifted the battered, flattened remains of Solid Gold, minus his head, and placed it inside the dumpster, then looked at Hidden Blade and Silver Light.

Silver began to breathe heavily before gripping onto Solid's switchblade from his shoulder and yanking it out, sending a small stream of blood squirting out of him, and causing him to yelp in pain.

Hidden Blade, however, took a few steps back and stared at the dumpster that held the remains of his friend. He was a murderer, that much was true... but this creature was far more sinister than he was. This creature was a demon.

He began to shake as his back bumped into the end of the alleyway while his guard stood his ground in the center. The creature, however, began to approach Silver without showing even the slightest bit of injuries from the dumpster.

Silver held the switchblade forward and glared at it. "DON'T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER! YOU HEAR ME?!"

Once again the figure ignored his comments and continued to move forward. Silver gritted his teeth before charging towards the creature with his switchblade held forward. As he charged, however, his switchblade glowed and quickly morphed into a claymore. The blade was enchanted to the point where it was sharper than diamonds, though.

When he was within reach, however, his horn glowed again. Before he could strike, he teleported behind the creature and, with a loud war cry, impaled the claymore into the creature's chest.

The creature stood motionless while Silver released his grip on the claymore and moved in front of it. Then the creature fell to its knees and continued to stare at the claymore while Silver tilted his head, popped his own neck, stood on his hind legs, and raised his forehooves in a boxing manner.

"You should've listened, you foul beast! But eh, it wouldn't matter! You've got quite a bounty on your head, anyways... so maybe it's for the best that you showed up and-"

Once more, the creature's left hand shot up and firmly gripped his throat, stopping him from speaking. Silver's eyes shot open as he realized that the creature didn't even have blood flowing from its chest... almost like it didn't even have a heart!

The creature then placed its right hand over the tip of the claymore and slowly pressed it backwards until it fell out of his back. Then it gripped onto Silver's horn and, with a loud crack, snapped it clean off of his forehead, drawing large amounts of blood from his forehead, and causing him to gag and choke even louder, due to the pressure that was built up on his neck.

Then the creature examined the horn curiously before placing it on the floor, gripping Silver with its right hand, lifting the claymore with its left, and lifting it over its shoulders, causing Silver to close his eyes and flinch at the incoming attack.

To his surprise, however, the creature pierced the claymore into the ground and moved him back to its left hand. Then it reached its right hand over its left shoulder and, for the first time that night, revealed its stallion-sized machete that rested on its back.

It rotated the machete in its hand until it was gripping it reverse-style, and pierced it into the ground as well, with the sharp tip facing the outside area of the alleyway.

Before Silver could react, the creature picked his horn back up, drew its hand backwards, and jammed the horn inside Silver's throat, forcing some of his teeth out, and causing him to gag once more. Then, with its fist still in his mouth, it rotated the horn until the tip of it was touching his tongue, and wedged it in deeper until it broke the skin from the outside of his throat.

He began to twitch and gag as blood started spewing from his mouth... but the creature didn't stop there. It removed its hand from his mouth, gripped onto his hind legs, and lifted him into the air upside-down. Then it turned around to where it was facing outside the alleyway, lifted him over its shoulders, and slammed him into the ground, fracturing most of the bones in his body, and forcing the tip of his horn back inside his throat.

Rather than pick him back up and continue bashing him into the ground like he thought, the creature released his hind legs and gripped onto his forelegs. Then it began to drag him backwards, almost like it was trying to keep him from being spotted... or so he thought.

Mere seconds later, and he felt the tips of both blades reach the area below his shoulders. Then the creature's actions became clear, and he surely didn't like it. He tried to move, but his injuries were too strong, and he was unable to even budge without severe pain stopping him.

The creature waited for a few more seconds before firmly stretching his forelegs out and quickly pulling him backwards, and through the blades.

He wheezed as he saw the creature lift his forelegs up and toss them backwards, into the dumpster where Solid was disposed at. Then his vision began to slowly fade... and yet, the creature still wasn't done with him.

It lifted him by his hind legs again and scooted to where it was behind the blades, and in the left corner of the alleyway. Then it lifted him behind its shoulders, similar to a baseball bat, and looked towards the inside of the alleyway, where Hidden Blade was still frozen in shock, disbelief, and complete terror. Finally, with practiced accuracy, the creature swung Silver into the blades, with the claymore slicing through his waistline, and the machete slicing through his neck.

His torso flew halfway through the alleyway, landing right in front of the dumpster that he was knocked into first. His head, however, flew right in front of Hidden Blade, staring at him in horror with his cold, dead, lifeless eyes. As his eyelids lowered halfway, his horn found its way towards the tip of his throat, but stopped once it reached the thickest half of the horn.

Hidden Blade couldn't handle it anymore. He broke down in tears and tried pleading for his life as the creature slowly approached him, disposing of Silver's legs and torso in the process.

"OKAY! I'M SORRY! I... I PROMISE, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! PLEASE, J-JUST... JUST SEND ME TO THE DUNGEONS, A-AND I'LL TURN MYSELF IN! I SWEAR!"

As he continued to scream and cry, the creature lifted Silver's head by the horn in his throat, turned around, and walked up to the dumpster; yet again disposing of the corpse. Then the creature began walking towards the end of the alleyway.

Hidden Blade's breathing began to normalize as he sighed in relief, thinking the creature believed him. Little did he know, however, that the creature was only picking up the claymore, and was headed his way again. When he looked up, he gasped when he saw the creature looming over him with the claymore held horizontally.

It gripped him by his throat before he could even scream, and lowered the claymore towards his waist. Then the creature pressed its thumb into his throat, disabling his windpipe, and causing him to gag and gasp for air.

Finally, in one fluid motion, it placed the tip of the claymore on the wall, and slid it across, and through Hidden Blade's waistline, just below his jacket.

He began to spit up blood as he felt the agony, but was unable to scream. Then the creature tossed the claymore backwards, causing it to bounce onto the lid and land inside, with the force of the bounce closing it, also.

As Hidden's vision began to blur with a mixture of tears and blood, the creature reached into its coat and pulled out a small vial with a strange, orange liquid in it. Then the creature reached down and held the vial in-between the newly formed crease where Hidden was halved. Finally, the sound of glass shattering filled the air, and a strange, rancid odor began to flow from Hidden Blade's wound.

It was then that Hidden saw, from the corners of his eyes, a large number of bugs approach from the garbage bags and the cracks from the ground, most likely attracted to whatever that strange liquid was.

Hidden Blade tried to move, but he lost too much blood for that to work effectively... not to mention the fact that his hind hooves were no longer attached to him, so it would only make things worse for him. All he could do was stare at the creature as it stood back up, walked towards Lily's dead body, and lifted her off the ground, cradled into its arms. Then Hidden began to feel the insects crawling inside him, biting more than just the liquid that was inside.

The lack of air circulation began to have its effect on him, as his vision began to blur and darken. He saw the creature reach into its jacket again and pull out a strange, metal tube with a red button on the top of it. When the creature clicked the button with its right thumb, a green fire emitted from it, engulfing both it and Lily into the green flame, and making them disappear from clear sight.

"Dragon Fire?" Critical Eye asked aloud as he saw the strange shadowy figure vanish. He then felt the spell start to dissipate... Hidden Blade was about to die, and he was about to return to the present day. Before then, however, he heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching... the hoofsteps of none other than Lady Pin Point, prior to her being knocked unconscious.

Critical Eye looked at the machete that the creature left behind, which was somehow lodged out of place, and hidden pretty well in the shadows, and managed to put two and two together.

"Hm... perhaps it just reappeared to pick its weapon back up," He saw Pin Point begin to draw nearer, yet fade from existence as the spell continued to dissipate. Then he saw the creature reappear in the shadows of the wall, facing forward, seemingly unaware of him watching it. "Still, though... what could you have possibly done with Lily?"

The creature continued to stand there while Pin Point trotted closer, three houses down the block.

Strangely, the creature turned towards Critical Eye and slowly knelt forward. Then it raised its right hand, and moved it closer to his horn while his eyes began to widen. "N-no, way... t-there's absolutely no way that you... h-HUH?!"

As soon as the creature's hand reached his horn, it flicked the tip of it... and he felt the contact, right before fading into the present day once again.

Canterlot, Present Day

As soon as the spell finished, Critical's eyes shot open and he gasped loudly before stumbling backwards, yelping in alarm as the completely bizarre event from before took place. The creature, despite being there one night ago, was able to see and touch him, even though he was just an apparition from the future, protected by a spell that should've made him as visible as the air.

The nearby investigators quickly rushed back to him while one of them asked, "Critical! Are you alright?!"

Critical closed his eyes, placed his hooves on his forehead, and groaned before shaking his head. "The... the thing, it... it saw me! It... it knew I was there, and was capable of killing me if it wanted to!"

The other investigators gasped before looking at each other uneasily. "S-sir... how can that be possible, though?! You weren't even there at the time!"

Critical nodded his head and replied, "I know that! It... it touched my horn, and... and I felt it! I swear to Celestia, I felt it!"

The investigators nodded their heads and gently patted him on the back. Then they let him catch his breath for a moment before asking, "So... did you find anything?"

Again, Critical nodded his head and replied, "Indeed, I did. First of all... the three dead bodies are all criminals. The flattened one with its head below the dumpster is Solid Gold, guilty for multiple charges of rape, assault, and armed violence. The one in several pieces is Silver Light, who was guilty for illegal imports, armed violence, and rape. And as you all may guess, Hidden Blade was their leader, guilty for robbery, violence, illegal substance abuse, rape, and now, murder."

The other investigators gasped before repeating, "Murder? Who was the victim?"

Critical rubbed his chin in thought before asking, "Does anypony happen to know of a 'Lily' that turned out missing?"

Before anyone could answer, a guard rushed up to them and cleared his throat. "Mr. Critical Eye?"

Critical turned to the guard and nodded his head. "Yes, officer?"

"Miss Pin Point has woken up, and requests that you see her immediately."

Critical looked at the other investigators, who shrugged their shoulders, then looked back at the guard. Then he nodded at him and said, "Lead the way."

Canterlot City Hospital

As the yellow coated mare with the long, blue mane and emerald green eyes stared off into the distance, she couldn't help but wonder just what all had happened last night. She was so lost in thought that she barely even noticed the door open, along with the nurse trotting in.

"Miss Pin Point?" the nurse asked in the common Canterlot noble accent.

Pin Point looked towards the nurse, slightly startled after being broken from her thoughts, but she quickly calmed down and asked, "Y-yes, Nurse Calming Mind?"

Calming smiled and stepped to the side. "You have a visitor. Would you like to see him now?"

Pin Point nodded her head and replied, "Yes, ma'am. That would be lovely, thank you."

With a nod, Calming motioned inside the room for Critical Eye to enter. Once he did, he smiled weakly at the mare before him and bowed his head respectfully. "Lady Pin Point, I take it?"

Pin Point nodded her head and replied, "Indeed... and Investigator Critical Eye?"

Critical nodded his head and smirked. "Indeed. I must start off by saying I admire most of your artwork... your cutie mark suits you quite well."

Pin Point lightly chucked before waving a dismissive hoof at him. "Oh, please. My art work isn't as impressive as your findings during your investigations, Mr. Critical Eye."

Critical snickered in response before scratching the back of his mane uneasily. "Well... as strange as it may seem, I know you were the one who called me in, but... I might need your help as well."

Pin tilted her head confusedly. "What? My help?! How so, exactly?"

Critical sighed before taking a seat on the chair next to the hospital bed. Pin took this as her cue to lift the headrest up with the controls while he began explaining his unusual situation to her.

"Well, as it seems, the creature that we're dealing with has a powerful ward around it... a ward so strong, that I was unable to see it clearly. Seeing how you're a world-famous artist, and was able to see it, I was hoping you might be able to draw the creature out for me?"

Pin Point blinked at him, staring in disbelief. Then she started to snicker, before chuckling, and finally, she broke out into a fit of laughter.

Though confused and slightly worried about her sanity, Critical let her laughter continue, until it was out of her system. Then, once she was able to speak again, she looked at him and shook her head. "Oh, how ironic this is then, huh?"

Critical tilted his head confusedly. "I beg your pardon?"

Pin then reached towards the end table at the opposite corner of the chair Critical sat in, and levitated a scroll of paper towards him. "I called you up here so that you could have this... in case nopony else saw the creature."

When Critical saw the drawing, however, he tilted his head confusedly. "You're sure this is the thing we're looking for?"

She nodded her head and replied, "Indeed, it is... why do you ask?"

Critical rubbed his chin before stating, "Because I have no idea what this creature even is!"

Canterlot Castle, One Hour Later

Princess Celestia continued to sit on the throne and stare at the picture as Critical Eye finished his story. Then she held a worried look on her face, before turning towards the guards from earlier.

"And you're sure that it was Dragon Fire that the creature was using?!" she asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice.

Critical nodded his head and replied, "Yes, Your Highness... it was."

Celestia then tilted her head at the guards and asked, "And you three have already sent the Element Bearers to Ponyville, correct?"

The guards nodded their heads and saluted. "Yes, Your Highness! They should be halfway there, now!"

Celestia nodded her head and stood from the throne. Then she trotted towards the window and looked towards the sun, as she began to move it towards the evening position. "Then... it would seem that this creature is far more dangerous than I thought... perhaps it could even be the biggest threat we've ever seen."

Critical tilted his head confusedly before trotting up to her. "W-what makes you say that?"

She closed her eyes and lowered her head. "If it's immune to magic, and is able to use Dragon Fire... then the shields wouldn't even matter. It could still bypass it if it wanted... and it could still strike anypony within the city limits... but what's worse," she looked at the curious investigator and concluded, "it could be anywhere... and at any time!"

Ponyville, Fluttershy's Cottage

Fluttershy hummed peacefully as she continued feeding the woodland critters in the valley. Her bright yellow coat blended with the sun at that time of day, and like her wings, her pink mane and tail flowed gently through the wind. Her bright blue eyes were closed as she continued to feel the long-needed feeling of joy about her friends' upcoming return.

She spread several seeds across the field for more of the critters to eat up, then proceeded to fly towards the chicken coop, where she herded the chickens into the pin and closed the gate. Then she proceeded towards the rest of the critters.

As she continued humming a small tune to herself, a small green hummingbird flew towards her and began chirping. She turned towards it and gasped before smiling widely at it.

"Hummingway? Oh my goodness, it's so good to see you again! How are you doing this fine day?"

Hummingway chirped a few times, but appeared to have a worried expression on his face. This caused Fluttershy's smile to drop.

"Wait a minute... please, start from the beginning. What did you see?"

Hummingway continued chirping before motioning his head towards the Everfree Forest, while also moving his talons back and forth, pretending to be walking in the air.

Fluttershy's mouth slowly began to open, her eyes began to widen, and sweat began pouring from her forehead, as the hummingbird continued telling her what he saw. When he finished, Fluttershy cried out, "ELIZABEAK WENT INTO THE EVERFREE FOREST?!", though her panic caused her voice to weaken.

When Hummingway nodded his head, Fluttershy looked back and forth before slowly flying towards the entrance of the forest. "O-okay, Fluttershy... i-if I can get in and out before t-that monster f-finds me... o-or Elizabeak... t-then everything will be fine... r-right?"

Hummingway flew closer to her and perched on her scalp, assuring her that he is there with her. She smiled and nodded her head slowly. "T-thank you, Hummingway... b-but you don't have to. It could be too dangerous for you!"

Hummingway shook his head and chirped a few times again, then motioned his right wing towards the Everfree Forest.

With a nervous gulp, Fluttershy slowly trotted closer to the border of the Everfree Forest. Then, after taking one last look at Ponyville, she stepped into the dark forest.

Little did she know, however, that a pair of pitch black eyes were watching her every move.