Location: Canterlot Castle, Celestia’s Study

Celestia sat behind her desk, quill in hand and a large stack of papers on top of her desk. It was the second day of the second week as her sun shined high in the morning sky, bathing all of Equestria in it’s warm glow.

It has been over a week since the incident with Dusk and the horrible creatures he calls the Zerg. Since then, Celestia has been terribly, TERRIBLY busy and stressed beyond comprehension, shifting through the paper work that was piled on her desk.

Since returning to Canterlot, the Princess first had to make sure the Royal and Lunar Guards that were horribly injured/traumatized from the incident were properly cared for, along with their families notified and compensated for. Briefly afterwards, Celestia and Luna both came to an agreement to keep Dusk and his Zerg a secret from the public, the last thing she and her sister needed is panicked ponies coming to their court.

Then there was the issue of defending Ponyville and most importantly Twilight and her friends from Dusk and his army of Zerg. Twilight and her friends may have defeated foes like Tirek in the past, but without the Elements of Harmony they cannot hope to face against Dusk, the stallion proved that all too well.

So with this in mind, Celestia sent a large portion of the Royal Guards within Canterlot to Ponyville under the guise of defending the town from monsters of the Everfree Forest, almost half of the active guards within Canterlot were sent.

However, both she and Luna knew that sending those guards will do little against Dusk’s army of Zerg. Fortunately, Dusk seemed to be content of leaving Equestria, and by extension Ponyville, alone if what he said a week ago was anything to believe.

Even now Celestia herself still couldn’t believe what she had heard from Dusk. The fact that he wanted to leave their world in order to return back to wherever part of the universe his kind came from, it was all too surreal.

But how else can she explain Dusk’s unknown powers and the appearance of the monstrous Zerg. No matter how much Luna wanted to say, Dusk and his Zerg were not from Tartarus.

If the vast universe is truly filled with monstrous creatures like Dusk’s Zerg, then what would she do if these same monsters come to their world? To Equestria?

Celestia shook the thoughts from her head. She has more important matters to worry about then potential visitors from outer space. But for now, all Celestia can do is wait. Wait until she and her sister comes up with a way of preparing themselves for Dusk’s next move.

Celestia placed down her quill as she took a moment to rub the stress and exhaustion from her eyes. On top of worrying and planning against whatever Dusk may have planned next, she and Luna still have their responsibilities as Princesses to worry about. Though Luna has less responsibilities in terms of paper work and daily political/public negotiations compared to her.

The lucky mare.

Celestia could have handled all this relatively easily, after all she has been doing this for over a thousand years. But what really made her current situation stressful was the ever present issue of the Council of Nobles, especially when they learned the truth about what has happened over a week ago.

Celestia let out an exhausted sigh. The Council has been a pain in her flank for many centuries, and she has no one to blame but herself.

The Council of Nobles is a group of some of the most influential and richest ponies within all of Equestria. While Celestia and her sister oversee diplomatic relations and sign numerous treaties, policies, taxing policies and future projects for Equestria, the nobles oversee and organize all the trading convoys and supply routes with all of Equestria’s allies and supply/distribute all consumer products within Equestria.

The council was first formed by Celestia herself after Luna’s banishment, initially to assist and elevate some of the responsibilities with running and supporting Equestria to avoid a fallout.

At first the council was made up of some of the most trustworthy and honorable noble families that Celestia had the upmost pleasure to know in the past. However, over the course of a thousand years, most of these families either withered away in time or became greedy and corrupted with their own power.

Of course when either happens, Celestia tries to find suitable replacements, however, in the past century she was hard pressed to find nobles that she could trust to have the needs of her ponies as their main priority.

Now most of the Council of Nobles are headed by some of the most influential and pig headed Noble Families that causes Celestia far more stress then needed.

Though Celestia loves all her little ponies, these nobles always reminded her that even her little ponies can be just as cruel as some of the other races of this world. Take what happened to her sister for example when she returned to the throne.

In fact, now that she thought about it, the Nobles also drove Dusk to where he is right now.

Celestia shook her head as she sighed once more. She could simply disband the council outright, but that would mean losing the support of the majority of the noble families and by extension any and all trade with the other major kingdoms of this world.

The only silver lining with these nobles is the fact that these same nobles do their jobs well, if one can overlook their superiority complex and two-faced personality. Though, not every noble within the council is terrible, there are nobles who take Celestia and her subject’s interest to heart but these same nobles are few and in-between.

But all that aside, Celestia couldn’t help but clench her hands in anger when representatives from the Council of Nobles approached her about the confrontation with Dusk and his Zerg. It wasn’t the fact that they somehow knew about the event that made Celestia angry, it was HOW they learned of the incident that made her furious.

Supposedly a day after the confrontation with Dusk, the nobles of Canterlot caught wind about their return as well as the guards who were injured from the incident.

At first, representatives from the council directly confronted her and her sister about what has happened, but both she and Luna simply gave the same explanation they gave to the rest of Ponyville.

However, this did little to convince the council as they kept hounding both Celestia and Luna for answers for days afterwards.

Eventually, the council learned of what has truly happened from one of the recovering guards. Despite the guard needing rest due to their injuries and traumatized by the incident, representatives of the Council “asked” the guards about what has happened the same day they returned.

Eventually the worst case scenario has occurred as the nobles got all the answers they wanted about the incident, learning about Dusk and his Zerg army based in the Everfree Forest.

Celestia moved the bangs of her mane from her face. Three days ago the Council called Celestia and Luna for a private meeting and demanded that Celestia should send all of Equestria’s forces to immediately remove and eradicate Dusk and his Zerg, going so far as to volunteer their own personal guards for the attack.

Fortunately, the Nobles had the mind to not make this information public, but many of these nobles threatened Celestia and Luna to do something about Dusk or else the Council will take matters into their own hands.

If Celestia was any lesser being, she would’ve banished the entire council to the moon right there and then if it wasn’t for the simple fact it would just make the situation worse then it already is.

So she held herself, and especially her sister, back from doing anything they would later on regret.

She remembered the scathing glare she received from Luna when she stopped her from speaking back to the council. The last thing they wanted was the council taking the situation into their own hands and inciting a war with Dusk and his Zerg, many innocent lives were at stake.

Fortunately, Celestia, Luna and the Council of Nobles eventually came to a compromise. Celestia would send the Captain of the Royal Guard with an army to Ponyville to STRICTLY guard the town from Dusk and his Zerg, but in return the Council will nominate and send one of their own to oversee the security of Ponyville alongside the Captain.

Of course both Celestia and Luna knew the Council had ulterior motives with this, but this was the best compromise after three hours of negotiating (aka, arguing until they came to an agreement). Also, Celestia had complete faith in her Captain and Twilight to keep the Representative in check.

And as an added bonus, Celestia told the council that their representative must have both her and Luna’s approval before going to Ponyville.

That is why she’s in her study with obvious bags underneath her eyes. The nobles sent a massive list of representatives as well as their background information.

So far, Celestia and Luna didn’t approve any of these representatives, many of them were known to be either incompetent for the task, transcripts forged rather deceivingly, or easily the worst possible pony to send to Ponyville.

Celestia slammed the side of her head onto the desk, she then stared balefully at the considerably large stack of papers just mere inches from her face.

“Tia. Don’t sleep on me now, we still have five more hours to choose a representative the nobles gave us or else they send one of their own without our consent.” The other occupant in the room said as she shifted through her own pile.

Did Celestia also forget to mention that they only had three days since the meeting to approve a representative from the council?

Celestia moaned. “I know Luna. Any luck on your end?” Celestia asked as she lifted her head to look at said Alicorn.

Luna gave another profile transcript a stern look before sighing and throwing it away. “No luck sister. Like I said ten hours ago, and I will say it again, they are deliberately sending the worst possible ponies to us knowing that we will pick none of these ponies so they can send one themselves.” Luna said in a tired but frustrated tone.

Celestia sighed. “I know Luna, but this is the best outcome we can possibly negotiate, the last thing we want is the Council inciting a war with Dusk out of pride. I refuse to have innocent lives lost because of the rash decision made by a small group of ponies, especially with what Dusk and his army is capable of.” Celestia explained as Luna stared towards another transcript with a stern frown.

“I know sister. I know.” Luna said with a frustrated sigh. “I just wish we could just banish the Council of idiots to the moon and be done with them.” Luna said in an annoyed tone.

However, Celestia frowned. “Luna, you know very well we can’t do no such thing. The repercussions of such an act greatly outweigh the benefits.” Celestia reminded.

Luna gave her an incredulous stare. “Then why didn’t you disband the council at the first sign of corruption and greed?”

“Because Luna, at the time it was only one or two noble families, easily replaceable. But it eventually got to the point where the Council deeply ingrained themselves in Equestria’s economy, making it so that they have complete control of the economy.” Celestia explained, looking at another profile paper.

Luna sighed. “Sometimes you’re just too kind sister. Now we’re reaping what you have sowed almost a millennium ago.” Luna said as she ripped another transcript in half.

Celestia couldn’t help but agree. “Yes, Luna. I know that very well…” Celestia said as both princesses continued their search.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Celestia called out.

Immediately, the door opened to reveal a rather elderly looking unicorn stallion with light brown fur and hazelnut brown mane, tail, and neatly combed moustache. He’s currently wearing a red suit over a light blue dress shirt and dark brown dress pants. To finish his attire is a pair of small reading glasses resting on his snout, giving him an educated demeanour.

Celestia smiled, recognizing the stallion. “Why hello Kibitz. What brings you here?” Celestia asked in a kind tone. Kibitz is Celestia’s Royal Scheduling Advisor, he’s in charge of scheduling and keeping Celestia informed of her daily schedule. He also serves as one of Celestia’s secretary of sorts when needed.

The now named Kibitz bowed politely to Celestia and Luna each. “Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. I came here to remind you of the deadline for choosing the representative for the Council of Nobles, but it seems there was no need.” Kibitz said, looking at the mess of papers on Celestia’s desk and around Luna.

Both Celestia and Luna sighed. “Yes kibitz, we are very aware of the deadline and as you can very well see, we’re still deciding on the representative.” Luna said in a tired tone.

Kibitz frowned in thought. “I see your majesty. How rude of the council to keep you two from doing your duties properly with all this if I may say so myself.” Kibitz said, his tone stern.

Celestia smiled. Good ol’ Kibitz. “Thank you for your sharing your opinion Kibitz. Is there anything else you want to report?” Celestia asked.

The stallion shook his head. “Nothing else your majesty as you cancelled all activities for this entire week. But since I’m here, may I be of some assistance?” Kibitz asked, gesturing to the pile of unread transcripts.

Celestia shared one look with Luna before giving Kibitz a look of relief. “Your help will be most welcomed Kibitz.” Celestia said in a grateful tone.

Kibitz shook his head as he took almost half the pile of papers off of Celestia’s desk. “no need to thank me, your majesty. I am but your humble servant.” Kibitz said as he soon shifted through the transcripts with practised speed.

Soon enough a calm silence descended on the occupants of the room, the sound of paper flipping and the scratching of a quill could only be heard.

Eventually, the silence is soon broken by Kibitz. “Your majesties, I may have found a potential representative.” Kibitz said, immediately catching the attention of both Alicorns.

“Who is it!?” Luna asked with wide eyes, her tone laced with desperation and hope.

Kibitz handed the transcript in his hand to Luna. “Here your majesty. Have a look.”

Luna levitated the transcript in her magical hold before taking it in her hands. Her eyes went back and forth, quickly reading the transcript. Soon her curious expression slowly turned into a scowl.

“Kbitz, don’t you know the Council make false transcripts for us to read. This pony may be a fake for all we know.” Luna said as she handed the transcript to Celestia.

“I know that all too well your majesty. The stallion that I suggested has quite a famous reputation, due to his previous experience within the Royal Guard.” Kibitz explained.

Celestia nodded in agreement, not taking her eyes off the transcript. “I have to agree with Kibitz. I know this pony first hand. After all, he used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard, the predecessor to Shining Armor before he retired in order to lead his family’s jewellery business.” Celestia explained.

Kibitz nodded. “Yes. Hard Helm led the Royal Guard well into his old age. He led by example and leaves nothing unfinished or poorly done. He expected the best and has done his best for this kingdom.” Kibitz explained.

However, Celestia frowned. “However, he wasn’t the best stallion in terms of personality. He was an elitist, thinking that ponies, especially the unicorns, are better than all other races in this world. He often looked down on the other races of Equis and even the Pegasus and Earth ponies within the Royal Guard. Often driving them away from the Royal Guard in favour of Unicorns.” Celestia explained with a frown.

Kibitz nodded. “Agreed. But his loyalty to you is unquestioned during his time as a Captain. He followed your orders to the letter if it meant for the betterment of the kingdom.” Kibitz interjected.

Celestia nodded. “That is true… what do you say Luna?”

Luna nodded. “After hearing it from you sister, there is no denying his experience. But is it wise to send some pony like Hard Helm to Ponyville to oversee its security?” Luna asked in a concerned tone.

Kibitz replied. “I apologize if this sounds rude, but what other choice do both of you have. Unless there is another representative you wish to approve, then Hard Helm seems to be your best choice.” Kibitz said.

There was a moment of silence as Celestia and Luna both shared a look. A silent decision was made between the both of them as Celestia turned her attention back to Kibitz.

“You’re right Kibitz. Hard Helm is-”

Suddenly a swirl of smoke appeared above Celestia before disappearing with an audible pop of magic. Soon a scroll landed on Celestia’s desk.

She immediately recognized the scroll. “A letter from Twilight? Sorry Kibitz, but I need to read this. It may be important.” Celestia said as she unrolled the scroll.

Kibitz shook his head. “No worries your highness.”

Celestia nodded as she began reading the scroll out loud with a serious expression.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I apologize if this letter interrupted anything important, but something absolutely terrible has occurred in Ponyville.

Over the last three days, hundreds of injured animals came to Fluttershy’s home from the Everfree Forest. Both Fluttershy and Ponyville’s resident veterinarian Dr. Fauna worked three days straight to heal the injured animals.

I was unaware of this until the third day when a horribly injured Manticore rampaged through Ponyville. Fortunately, no pony was injured but the Manticore passed away from its injuries shortly after I subdued it with a sleeping spell.

Soon after, my friend Rainbow Dash led me and Captain Sun Shield to Fluttershy’s home and that’s when I saw the injured animals.

It was horrible Princess, there were so many injured animals. Rainbow Dash, the captain and I asked Fluttershy why the animals were so injured, and we all came to one horrible conclusion.

Dusk. We think Dusk was the one who attacked these animals.

I don’t know for sure why Dusk would do such a thing, but the captain theorized that Dusk did it so that the animals can’t be used to spy against him due to the fact that Fluttershy can communicate with them. Which is INSANE!

Right now as you’re reading this letter, medics from the Royal Guards and Dr. Fauna are working around the clock to treat the rest of the injured animals.

And poor Fluttershy, I haven’t heard from her since that day, all I know is that she’s resting in Rainbow Dash’s home for the time being.

I write this letter to you, asking what we should do about this. Dusk couldn’t be responsible… right?

I will wait for your reply. And please, I desperately need help with this. I’m worried.

Your ever faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Once Celestia finished reading, she slowly placed the letter down on her desk.

There was nothing but silence as Celestia stared sternly at the letter before her.

The tense atmosphere was soon broken by Luna. “Sister. How shall we approach this?” Luna asked, her tone serious.

Celestia closed her eyes, pondering on the very same question.

“Your highness?” Kibitz asked worryingly.

Immediately Celestia opened her eyes as she rose from her desk. All the stress and exhaustion that was plaguing her just mere minutes ago evaporated, in exchange, she felt nothing but stern determination.

If Dusk truly was behind those attacks, then he has gone too far.

“Kibitz, I have two tasks for you.” Celestia said in a serious tone.

Kibitz solemnly nodded. “What are these tasks you speak of, your majesty?” Kibitz asked, trying to hide the worry in his tone with professionalism.

Celestia levitated the transcript in Luna’s hand to Kibitz. “Your first task is to send a message to the Council of Nobles. inform them that Hard Helm is to be their representative to Ponyville as declared by Luna and me.”

“And the second task?” Kibitz asked as he neatly folded Hard Helm’s transcript into his pocket.

“Your second task is to send another message to the Captain of the Wonderbolts. I wish to meet with her.” Celestia said.

Kibitz nodded. “As you wish your majesty. And by your leave, I shall carry out these tasks you have set for me.” Kibitz said as he turned and immediately left the room.

Once Kibitz left, Luna spoke. “What are you planning sister?” Luna questioned in a slightly curious tone.

“We need information Luna. We need to know for sure that Dusk is the one behind those attacks that Twilight wrote about.” Celestia explained.

Luna frowned. “And the Wonderbolts?” Luna questioned.

“They are some of the best fliers Equestria has to offer. Not only that, but their senior members are trained for situations such as this.” Celestia explained as she magically pulled out a blank scroll and started writing.

Luna still held her frown. “I see why you would use them. But if Dusk discovers that we’re spying on him…”

“He won’t. Captain Spitfire won’t be easily caught. She herself conducted numerous successful missions and never once was she caught in the act. She will know what’s at stake and approach the situation accordingly.” Celestia explained as she finished her letter and magically sent it to Ponyville.

Celestia finally turned her attention to Luna. “I trust her and whoever she brings with her to do the task I have in mind.” Celestia said, in a serious tone.

Luna sighed. “Fine. But we must come up with a contingency plan in case Dusk decides to attack us.” Luna said as she and Celestia soon made their way out the door.

“I agree Luna. But what’s most important now is information on Dusk’s Zerg and their movements. Because right now, we have no idea what they are planning on doing, and if we want to defend our subjects we must be prepared for anything.” Celestia said as she made her way down the hall, pondering on their next step.

Location: Main Hive Cluster, Gem Mines

Dusk stood overlooking the hundred-strong pack of Diamond Dogs as they slowly made their way out of the cavern.

It has been three days since his subjugation of this particular group of Diamond Dogs, since then he has given them three days to prepare themselves to begin their raid all across Equestria.

Their first target is a small village located just northwest of Canterlot, a village named Oakwood town.

Now Dusk is watching as the large pack of canines slowly made their way out of the caverns, prepared to raid this small village and those that soon come after.

“Master, is everything to your liking?”

Dusk turned his gaze towards the red-vested Diamond Dog, Rover, and the other two dogs, Fido and Spot. Dusk never truly cared for these canines but made an effort to know their names so he knows who to address.

And these three are currently bowing before him, afraid to be within his presence.

Dusk gave a curt nod. “Yes. Just make sure to raid the villages quickly and draw the attention of the Royal Guards. Once that happens, move onto the next town. Are we clear?” Dusk questioned in a solemn tone.

The trio nodded their head vigorously. “Of course! Diamond Dogs smart! Diamond Dogs will follow master’s orders to the letter!” Rover said.

Dusk frowned. “And remember. If any of you Diamond Dogs decide to betray me…” Dusk’s eyes glowed to reinforce his point.

The trio flinched back in fear. “Y-Y-YES! YES! We never betray you, master! You’re the boss! Always the boss!” Rover quickly said as Dusk’s eyes dimmed.

“Good. Now you three get moving. You’re wasting time.” Dusk ordered as the trio was more than happy to leave his presence.

Once the trio left, Dusk turned and exited the cavern and made his way through the mine’s tunnels.

Within an hour, Dusk exited the cavernous mines as he made his way towards his main Hive. Along the way, Dusk observed the Hive Cluster around, watching the traffic of Zerg, each of his Zerg carrying out a given task.

Dusk felt a sense of pride at the amount of progress his Brood has achieved so far within the past month. His Brood is growing by the day, his territory now comprises a large portion of the Everfree Forest and his Leviathan in orbit is nearly complete with two more in production.

As Ceres approached the main Hive, Broodmother Vash exited the Zerg structure, no doubt sensing his arrival.

The Broodmother gave a regal bow. “My lord.”

Dusk returned the greeting with a curt nod. “Vash. How goes the Brood?”

“The Brood is well and strong my lord, our numbers are increasing by the day. Your Leviathan will be ready to hatch within three more days.” The Broodmother replied.

Dusk nodded. “Good. Continue overlooking the Brood. For now, we’ll wait until the Leviathan is finished and prepare ourselves for the next phase of our plan.” Dusk said, however, he could sense the Broodmother has more to say.

“Speak your mind Vash.”

Vash nodded. “My lord… I am concerned about finding new evolutionary traits for our Brood.”

Dusk nodded in understanding. “I understand your concerns. This forest and the local fauna yields little to no notable essence for our evolution.” Dusk said.

Vash hummed in agreement. “Yes… finding new biological upgrades for our Brood has been difficult. Like you said, none of the wildlife or the local fauna within the forest has any notable traits. Those that do, our Zerg already has it in a far more superior form. If we want to increase our chances of evolving our units, then we should spread our territories to encompass the entirety of these lands. However, that will just attract unwanted attention for our Brood.” Vash explained.

Dusk gave an impressed nod. “You’re learning. Good. The last thing I want is more annoying monarchs to be interfering with our plans to return to the rest of the Zerg Swarm. As for new evolutionary traits, I have already something in mind.” Dusk said.

This caught the Broodmother’s attention. “What do you mean master?” Vash asked in a surprised tone.

Dusk concentrated as his hand glowed with magic. “The use of magic is common amongst the denizens of this world from what information I managed to collect. This is the only advantage the denizens of this world, especially the monarchs, have against our Brood. Magic can be used in various different ways ranging from creating a simple source of light to controlling the very celestial stars themselves.” Dusk explains as he extinguished his magic.

He continued. “Magic comes in many different forms, but overall it’s something the Zerg cannot simply replicate. But that doesn’t mean we cannot find other ways of using it to our own advantage.”

Dusk then created a small green bubble the size of an apple in his left hand. “Using my own Unicorn DNA, we can integrate magic into our own Brood. Though limited, we can still use this to create powerful Zerg units capable of using either magic or enhanced psionic abilities.” Dusk explains as he absorbed the bubble and looked towards the Broodmother.

“This is where you come in Vash. You will assist me with integrating my Unicorn DNA into some of our Zerg units. To see which of our minions can be enhanced to newer heights.” Dusk said, sensing the Broodmother’s barely contained excitement.

“Yes my lord. I shall assist you with this task!” Vash said, her tone laced with excitement.

Dusk nodded. “Good. Now… let’s discuss those patrols that have been attacked.” Dusk said.

Three days ago since subjugating the Diamond Dogs, Vash reported that a patrol of ten Zerglings, four Hydralisks and two Roaches were attacked by an unknown enemy force located at the far east side of the Brood’s territory.

Dusk knew that it wasn’t any armed forces from Equestria, he would know immediately if any Royal Guards or other armed forces from Equestria moved into the forest. Also, the attack was located right at the edge east of their territory, a considerable distance from any settlements and deep within the heart of the forest.

Vash nodded. “Yes. For three days we’ve been searching for any possible trace of those who dared attack us. I have commissioned Overseers to patrol the area, however, nothing has been found so far.” Vash explained.

Dusk nodded, the unknown attackers attacked far too swiftly, silently and efficiently to be from the Royal Guard. Five Zerglings were killed, two Hyrdralisks were injured and one of the Roach’s was blinded, all in the initial attack.

Of course, the remaining Zergs tried to locate the unknown attackers, but whoever they were they were invisible to the Zerg’s heightened senses, no possible trace was found of the attacker’s identities.

All but one thing.

“Yes. But these unknown assailants left one crucial thing for us to examine.” Dusk said as a single Drone exited the Hive at his command.

As the Drone approached Dusk, a single arrow can be seen within its right claw as Dusk took the arrow from the Drone before dismissing it.

Dusk inspected the arrow in his hand. Unlike the bolts used by the Night Guards for their crossbows, the arrow in Dusk’s hand was finely crafted. The shaft of the arrow was made and carved to near perfection, green leaf-like feathers glistening in the sunlight and cut for efficient aerodynamics, and the arrowhead is made from an unknown metal that closely resembles steel.

But what caught Dusk’s attention the most about the arrow is the green inscriptions carved into the shaft of the arrow. The inscriptions were written in an unknown language, but there was no doubt in Dusk’s mind about the functionality of these inscriptions.

What he has in his hand is possibly the very first weapon he has ever held that is imbued with magic.

Dusk then turned his attention towards Vash. “Whoever, these attackers are, they have access to magic weapons if this arrow is anything to go by. Plus, due to the location of the attack, I believe there may be an unknown force within this forest.” Dusk explained as Vash realized what he meant.

“We are not alone.” Vash said what was on both of their minds.

“Exactly. The patrol that was attacked may have encroached onto their territory, but make no mistake Vash. I fully intend to find these attackers and where they came from.” Dusk said, his tone filled with cold conviction.

However, before Vash could give her words of agreement, Dusk suddenly sensed an alert from one of his Overseers.

“Intruders detected my lord!” Vash exclaimed as Dusk immediately looked through the eyes of the same Overseer that has alerted him.

Unlike the rest of the Zerg forces, Overseers are genetically altered Overlords with superior senses due to their highly evolved optical receptors, able to detect cloaked or burrowed units that would otherwise remain hidden from the vast majority of the Zerg Swarm.

And through the Overseer, Dusk can clearly see multiple unique signatures moving through his Brood’s territory.

From what he could see there were 30 intruders in total moving in three separate groups of ten. Each group then slowly diverged from one another as they move swiftly through the forest, no doubt searching for something.

There was no doubt in Dusk’s mind that these intruders were from the same faction the previous unknown attackers are from. They were organized in their movements, no individual trailed too far from the group and each followed one another in an even spread while maintaining a quick and even pace.

Dusk frowned. These intruders were highly trained.

Through the Overseer’s eyes, Dusk can only see the psionic outlines of these intruders. So far he can see that these intruders were bi-pedal beings and were traversing through the forest far too swiftly for them to be any normal pony, even a Pegasus.

It was then Dusk noticed that each of these individuals weren’t actually running through the forest, they seemed to be leaping through the forest, no doubt using the trees to swiftly cover ground.

In the few seconds he took to observe these intruders, two of the three groups are already halfway towards his Hive Cluster.

Dusk’s frown hardened. “Vash. Send the nearest patrols to intercept each of the three groups of intruders. Drive two of these groups away from our territories, but leave one group alone until they reached the Hive Cluster. I need at least one of these intruders alive.” Dusk ordered in a serious tone.

“It shall be done.”

Soon enough, Dusk saw eight separate Zerg groups nearby taken off their patrol routes and started converging on the intruders. Dusk then sensed the Hive Cluster was in a frenzy of activity as hundreds of more Zerg units moved directly from the Hive towards the three separate groups.

Dusk clasped his hands behind his back as he soon made his way towards the Hive. A ghost of a smile spread across Dusk’s stoic features, eager to meet his guests.

“Rangers hold your position. Movement up ahead.” Yessera whispered out loud as she and her squad of Everfree Rangers held their position on top of the trees.

Soon enough a large group of monsters burst forth from the bushes. About 20 creatures in total.

Yessera’s Ranger’s remained silent and still, only moving with the leaves as the wind blew through the trees. Their armour made and woven from the very leaves of the trees of Evera, light as a leaf and stronger than the thick hide of a Hydra. Alongside their armour, their green hoods and cloaks naturally camouflage’s them with the very forest itself, hiding them from the eyes of outsiders.

But in this case, the very monsters that dare infest their sacred forest.

It happened around a week ago, their scouts reported large migration of injured animals escaping the west side of the Everfree Forest from large horrifying monsters chasing down and mercilessly killing the animals.

The deer folk knew very well that animals killing other animals is the way the Goddess of Nature, Evera, has set for all life to do. It’s all part of the natural cycle of life and death.

But what these monsters were doing was not natural. These monsters were determined to slaughter all life they come across, even going so far as to rooting out innocent animals from their homes and killing the young.

These creatures were not of Evera’s creation. They were an affront to all things that belong to nature.

Once King Aspen was informed of this, he immediately ordered the injured animals to be treated. It took around two days to heal every injured animal that came into their domain, it was absolutely horrible what has happened.

When there were no more animals to heal, King Aspen then decreed to the rest of the Deer folk that he will rid these monstrous abominations from the Everfree Forest. To find and drive them out of the Everfree once and for all.

With this decree, King Aspen sent a single squad of Everfree Rangers to find the territory of these abominations and to test their defences. It was easy for the Everfree Rangers to locate the territory of the horrid monsters; the entire forest ground of their territory was covered in a strange purple mud. Fitting for monsters such as them.

Once they did locate their territory, the Rangers at the time observed and tracked a group of monsters for awhile before returning back to King Aspen.

What they informed the king was shocking none the less. The monsters were not the feral beasts they initially thought to them to be. They were organised, patrolling their territory as if ordered by a higher power. However, for the entire time they were tracking the monsters, not once did they noticed their presence. The Rangers even attacked the group of monsters, scoring five kills and injuring the others before retreating.

With this new information in mind, King Aspen ordered three squads made up of some of the best Rangers in the Everfree to infiltrate into the enemy territory to find their base and possibly find out the identity of the one leading them.

And as Captain of the Everfree Rangers, King Aspen rested the success of this important mission on her shoulders.

Yessera watched in complete silence as the group of monsters are seemingly searching around the vicinity as if they expected them to be here.

Then one of the large serpentine monstrosities turned its burning red eyes directly at her. Yessera stayed stock still as the creature held its burning gaze, she didn’t know whether or not the creature can see her.

Before carrying out the mission, every Ranger was blessed by the Druids, deer folk who held a powerful connection with the nature of the forest. The magic they used further conceal the already silent Rangers to be one with the forest, but even then the Rangers can still be spotted if they are not careful.

Crouching beside her is Ranger Illia, a long time friend and loyal to a fault, but known to be brash with her actions. Which explains why Illia slowly nocked her blessed arrow and slowly aimed it at the creature. The others followed her example, however, Yessera placed a firm hand on Illia’s bow, signalling to the rest of her squad to hold their fire.

King Aspen strictly ordered them to not confront the creatures unless absolutely necessary. Yessera will uphold this order to the best of her abilities.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, a distance shriek caught the monsters’ attention. The creatures below her roared before quickly exiting the vicinity towards the direction of the shriek.

Only after making sure the last of those monsters were gone did Yessera allowed herself a small sigh in relief.

“Do you think those creatures know that we’re here?” Illia asked.

Yessera frowned in thought. “I believe so. However, it seems they are only aware of our intrusion into their territory. If we’re careful and use the forest to our advantage, then they will not be able to locate us Illia. On that note, you almost gave away our position if I didn’t stop you.” Yessera said in a stern tone.

The one named Illia frowned. “I apologize Ranger Captain. I thought that creature saw you.” Illia explained.

Yessera shook her head. “That’s fine. Remember Rangers, King Aspen strictly ordered us to locate the base of these abominations, identify their leader and retreat immediately back to the Everglade. The success of this mission rest on our shoulders and the other Ranger squads.” Yessera said as she received nods from each member of her squad.

Yessera returned her attention towards the forest before her. “Rangers move out.”

The Rangers resumed their mission as they quickly transverse through the forest, bounding from tree to tree making the barest of noise when doing so.

Yessera’s squad made their way deeper into the forest, only stopping when more patrols of creatures passed by before resuming their mission. The Ranger Captain soon noticed that the deeper into the forest she and her squad goes the more creatures they run into.

They must be close.

“Captain. This is…”

“Yes, Ranger. It’s the Valley of Evera’s Wrath.”

Yessera, as well as her Rangers, stared at the mountainous wall of rock with knowing and awed gazes respectively. On the other side of the mountainous wall lays one of the fabled legends of the Deer folk, the Legend of Evera’s Wrath.

Long ago in the earliest days of the Deer folk, even before the reign of the Alicorn Monarchs, the demon Tiphon emerged with his army of demons from the mountain once known as World’s Peak and started his rampage through the Everfree.

King Glade, the first king of the Everglade, lead the Deer folk against this great demon and his army. Countless lives were lost as King Glade and his people desperately fought back against the horrid demon and his army.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Evera, the Goddess of Nature, bestowed a powerful amulet to the king to use against the demon Tiphon.

The Heart of the Everfree.

With this amulet, King Glade brought forth the wrath of nature against the demon and his armies, pushing the demonic horde back to the very mountain they emerged from.

With one final fight, King Glade gathered the raw energies of nature itself and destroyed Tiphon so that he may never return to harm their people ever again.

With Tiphon’s destruction, the World’s Peak Mountain is no more and in its place is the Valley of Evera’s Wrath.

Since then, the valley is considered scared grounds and to be left alone. Every Deer folk who has ever lived knows of this legend and made sure to pass it on to the younger generations so that the legend of their people’s salvation lives on.

Yessera knows the legends as well as any other Deer folk. And like her people, she revered the Valley of Evera’s Wrath as sacred grounds, something not to trespass without the King’s most explicit permission.

Now she feared of what she may find on the other side.

“Ranger Captain, do you think these creatures have-”

“Quiet Tinsel. What you are insinuating is blasphemous. Those creatures won’t dare desecrate the valley with their filth.” Illia scolded, however, Yessera couldn’t help but feel dread at what the Ranger was insinuating.

“There is only one way to find out for sure.” Yessera said as she slowly approached the wall of rock.

“Captain! It’s forbidden to trespass into the-”

“I know that very well Illia. But if these creatures trespassed into the valley, then as Rangers of the Everfree we must know for sure before reporting back to King Aspen.” Yessera explained before she started bounding up the mountainous wall.

Soon after a moment of hesitation, her squad followed after her as they quickly made their way to the top. Once they reached to top of the wall, Yessera and her squad quickly and silently made their way over to the other side of the wall that faces into the sacred valley, crouching down to observe.

What they saw was worst then they can ever imagine.

The once beautiful valley is now a settlement derived from the deepest pits of hell. The lush grass that covered the valley is now covered in purple mud as massive constructs of pulsating flesh and bones filled the valley, each and every one of these buildings pulsated and moved as if they were alive.

But what caught the Yessera’s and no doubt her squad’s attention the most was the massive living construct in the middle of the valley. It looked reminiscent of a castle but if the castle was alive and had massive blades for towers and pulsating growths on its body.

Yessera was speechless. This was far worse then she or any Deer folk could’ve imagined, but not only that but from their vantage point, she can see thousands of creatures moving between the living buildings.

They needed to return. King Aspen must know about this.

“What in Evera’s name is all this Captain?” Ranger Illia asked in a shocked tone.

Yessera looked back to her squad as each and everyone looked at her with wide eyes filled with disbelief and worry. She can forgive them for their shock, after all, even she herself is having a hard time digesting what she is currently seeing.

Yessera turned her attention back towards the valley. “I don’t know Illia, but whatever this is, this must be the base of those abominations. We must return to the Everglade and inform King Aspen about this.” Yessera said as she and her Rangers soon scaled back down the mountain.

Just as the last of the Rangers reached the ground, Yessera turned to address her squad.

“Alright! This is what we’re going to do. Illia and I will track down and find the other two Ranger squads and inform them to return back to the Everglade. The rest of you will return straight to the Everglade and immediately report to King Aspen about what we found. Am I understood?” Yessera asked as she received nods from everyone on her squad.

“Good. Now let’s mov-”

“SKKKKRRRRREEEEIIIIIIIIII!”

In a blur of motion, Yessera turned behind her only to meet a fanged maw.

THWWIP! SHINK! “SKKREEIII!”

Fortunately, before the creature could kill Yessera, an arrow flew past her head and pierced the creature through its maw. Yessera immediately saw dozens of lizard-like monsters emerging from the forest and charging straight towards her.

“AMBUSH!” Yessera cried out as she quickly nocked an arrow and fired it at the nearest creature, killing it with a headshot.

Just seconds into the battle, the Rangers were firing arrow after arrow with deadly accuracy, scoring kill after kill as they aimed for either the head or for the eyes with each arrow as the lizards relentlessly charged the group on all sides.

Though one or two managed to make it to melee range, the Rangers took these lizards down with agile martial skill and finished these lizards with their personal knives or arrows.

However, the lizards were quickly gaining ground as their numbers seemed endless no matter how many each of the Rangers manages to take down.

They need to escape.

“RANGERS! GET TO THE TREES I’LL COVER YOU!” Yessera exclaimed as she fired three arrows and killed three more lizards.

Immediately her Rangers leapt to the trees, but to Yessera’s shock some of the lizards fluttered their insect-like wings and tackled three of her Rangers from the air.

Yessera immediately fired three arrows into each of the lizards holding down her Rangers. However, this left her wide open as a lizard tackled her onto the ground.

“Arrugh!” Yessera yelped out as the lizard creature held her down.

“SKKKREEI!” the creature shrieked, throwing saliva and spit into Yessera’s face.

Yessera pulled out her knife and stabbed the creature in its neck, but the creature shrieked in pain before jerking its head to the side and bit down on Yessera’s extended arm.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Yessera shrieked out in pain as reactively let go of her knife still lodged into the creature’s neck. The creature bit down even harder on her arm as a copious amount of blood started trailing down her arm. Yessera tried to kick and punch the creature off of her but to no avail.

“CAPTAIN!” Yessera heard Illia shout as she turned her head to her Rangers.

Her squad was safely in the trees as they started firing arrows towards the creatures below. They were about to fire a volley towards Yessera’s position but suddenly the very ground exploded around Yessera.

“HHHRRRRRAAAAAAAAA!”

Once her vision cleared, Yessera’s eyes widened in terror as she saw massive serpent creatures in front of her. The newly arrived creatures then started firing projectiles at her Ranger which they managed to dodge but just barely in some cases. The Rangers were kept from firing their arrows as the lizard creatures started to bite and stab at the surrounding trees her Rangers are using for height advantage.

Immediately, Yessera came to a decision.

“RANGERS LEAVE! GO! GET OUT OF HERE!”

“WHAT!? WE’RE NOT LEAVING YOU, CAPTAIN!”

“YES, YOU ARE! YOU MUST RETURN TO THE EVERGLADE AND WARN KING ASPEN ABOUT THIS! THAT’S AN ORD- AHHHH!” Yessera shouted out but was quickly cut off as the lizard stabbed one of its scythe-like appendages into her left shoulder.

Yessera bit through the pain as she briefly saw Illia’s frustrated expression among the trees. “I SAID GO!”

Finally, Yessera saw Illia and the other Rangers retreating back into the forest as the surrounding lizards made chase after them. Yessera silently prayed to Evra that her Rangers make it home safely, if not then her sacrifice would be all for nothing.

Yessera suddenly noticed the serpent creatures staring at her prone form. Their eyes glowing red with bloodlust as they hissed menacingly at Yessera and gathered around her.

Yessera closed her eyes as the adrenaline from the previous events soon wore off, her right arm still in the lizard’s mouth was numbed with pain as her shoulder, on the other hand, is screaming in pain.

Yessera closed her eyes. ‘So this is it then. This is how I die. Being eaten alive by these abominations…’ Yessera thought as she smiled. ‘Well I hope you monsters enjoy your meal while it lasts because when King Aspen hears what has happened here today, he will kill every last one of you abominations.’ Yessera thought as she silently accepted her fate.

“So your ruler calls himself King Aspen. Quite a unique name compared to the other denizens of this world.”

Yessera’s eyes immediately shot open as she heard somebody approach her. Soon enough a pair of orange eyes belonging to a grey-furred and black-maned head stared directly into her own just above her vision.

Yessera’s eyes widened even more in recognition. It was an outsider, a pony from Equestria.

“Speechless are we? You didn’t expect a pony of all beings to be here didn’t you.” The pony said, slowly crouching down to one knee towards Yessera. From his facial features and masculine tone of voice alone Yessera deduced that this pony was no doubt a stallion.

“Y-You! W-What are you doing-”

“Here…? I could ask you the same thing. What business does your king have in these neck of the woods?” The stallion asked, his stoic cold eyes bored into Yessera’s own. Eyes that don’t belong to any pony from Equestria.

Another thing that rose alarm bells in Yessera’s mind is the fact that none of the creatures in the vicinity is reacting to him in any sort of hostile manner. It was as if-

Yessera’s eyes widened in both shock and realization. “You… YOU’RE THE ONE LEADING THESE ABOMINAT- AAAAAAH!” Yessera screamed as the lizard twisted the scythe-like limb deeper into her shoulder.

The stallion gave a small chuckle. “How very perceptive of you. Your kind is a lot smarter than you first appear to be. Forgive me if I sounded rude, but it’s not every day I have unwelcomed guests coming into my territory.” The stallion said with a smile. Yessera will not be fooled by this stallion’s two-faced personality, this stallion no doubt wanted information from her, to interrogate her, that’s why she is still alive.

But he will find out first hand that she will not break so easily. Even if it means that she has to take her own life to protect the Everglade.

“Suicide won’t help your current situation. I won’t allow you to end your life so easily Yessera, Captain of the Everfree Rangers.” The stallion said much to Yessera’s shock.

Yessera was speechless. How did he know her name and rank? None of her Rangers said her name out loud or even her full official rank. Unless…

Yessera’s eyes widened in realization.

“I see you finally realized. I have been reading your mind this entire time.” The stallion’s eyes suddenly glowed bright orange. “I already have taken all the information I need from you. But there is still something I need you to do for me.” The stallion said as Yessera gritted her teeth in boiling anger.

Yessera spat a wad of blood at the stallion, staining his white lab coat. “Go to hell monster! Why should I do anything you say!?” Yessera spat back out of spite.

The stallion’s smile dropped as his expression turned stone cold. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
Before Yessera could react, the stallion glowing eyes glowed brighter. Soon Yessera’s vision turned black as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, I’m back again with another two chapters.

Now to answer some questions you readers may have with this chapter.

1. The Council of Nobles? It makes sense why they were formed and how they became such an influence on Equestria’s society.

2. Will Zerg be able to use Magic? As explained by Dusk, the Zerg are not attuned to the magic of Equis, so they won’t be able to use spells. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be enhanced by magic.

3. Who are the Deer folk? Read the next chapter to find out.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions just leave them in the comment box below.