Ghost Intelligence: Insect Investigation

The next morning, Twilight woke up still feeling mentally and physically sore from the incident with the bug-bear yesterday. Seeing as nothing else could be done, she decided to inform Princess Celestia about the ordeal. Seeing as how Spike was still asleep, she decided to write the letter herself as she got out a quill and parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to inform you of an event that has transpired yesterday prior to the wedding between Matilda and Cranky Doodle Donkey. A bug bear appeared in Ponyville and terrorized the town upon arrival. Thankfully, my friends and I were able to incapacitate it and send it back to Tartarus, but we would still like to know more about it so that we can prevent something like this from occurring in the future. If you have any information regarding this creature, it would me most appreciated. Otherwise, I will see what I can find here.

Your faithful student and friend,
Twilight Sparkle

At that moment, Spike came down from upstairs and saw that Twilight had a finished scroll in her magical grasp. "So you finally managed to write your own letter to the Princess, did you?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Twilight giggled and spoke kindly to Spike. "You know it's not like that Spike. I just didn't want to wake you up too early is all. But you can send this letter to the Princess for me."

Twilight floated the scroll over to spike and he took it in his claws. He then opened it to give the letter a once-over before nodding, rolling it back up, and igniting it with his fire breath, turning it into a stream of magical smoke that made its way to Princess Celestia. "So what did end up happening to that bug-bear? You never told me after you and the others came back from Cranky and Matilda's wedding."

"Well Spike, it's actually quite an interesting story..."

As Twilight relayed the bug-bear story to Spike, a sparkling trail of smoke wafted into Princess Celestia's study and took the form of a scroll. Right away, she knew it was from Twilight as she opened it and observed the writing inside. As she continued reading, her face went from happily calm to worriedly nervous. She then got out her own quill and parchment to let Twilight know that she would find out whatever she could. She sent it off and then walked out of her study and down the hall, being careful so as to not let anyone else see her worried expression. Soon, she reached the royal library and walked in. Celestia observed the books shelf-by-shelf until she came across one with no title on the cover. She pulled the book back and triggered a chain reaction that opened a door in the wall nearest to the shelf she was standing in front of.

She walked through the newly-opened passageway while recovering her grim face as the door closed behind her. Once it did, torches automatically lit up one after another, lighting the hallway and revealing a staircase. As she reached the bottom, she came to another door and stopped to catch her breath. 'I haven't asked for help from these ponies in a long time. I truly hope that they will accept what I have to offer them.' She took a deep breath and enveloped the door in her magical aura, causing several pressure plates to appear around it. She pressed them all in a specific order, causing the door to open and revealing another library/laboratory. As soon as she stepped in, hundreds of books began to fly off their shelves and onto others with some coming very close to hitting Celestia. Acting fast, she used her magic to stop the books in their paths before letting them fall to the ground.

A voice suddenly rang out as if it was coming from all directions. "Stop right there intruder! State your business immediately or you will be expelled from the room post-haste!" The voice sounded robotic and somewhat distorted.

It was then that a sudden blur came from around the corner and stopped right in front of the princess, revealing a brown unicorn with a moss green mane and tail and grey eyes covered by thick glasses. His cutie mark was that of a brain trapped in a large cage. Upon seeing who it was, the pony almost instantly froze up and regretted what had happened. "Oh my! Princess Celestia!" He then acted without any hesitation and cleaned up the books that were on the floor, placing them onto their proper shelves. He then led Celestia further into the chamber. "I was wholeheartedly unaware that you were coming to visit us today! Would you like to hear my theories regarding the geysers in Yellowstable National Park? Or perhaps you would like to observe my newest magical discovery. It is quite innovative if I do say so myself."

Princess Celestia was taken aback by how much this pony had offered to let her in on. It was then that she noticed the large number of empty Demon Energy Drink cans scattered around the floor, leading her to believe that this rambling was nothing more than just that. "Thank you Mr. Mind Trap, but I am merely here to relay a message from my student in Ponyville."

Mind Trap's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah yes, I recall that bright student of yours quite well princess." Trap's horn lit up brightly as he and Celestia found themselves in a study where two ponies were sitting in front of a fireplace looking over various spell books. They looked like a younger Twilight and Mind Trap himself. Celestia took note of the calendar on the far wall and sighed in mild annoyance. Mind Trap always had a thing for overdoing it with the magic, like using a time-travel spell to recall a memory. In relation to Twilight, he was her back-up tutor in whenever Celestia was swamped with too many royal duties. "I recall her brilliant mind and how well it managed to comprehend my admittedly eccentric personality. Even so, I knew she would be the perfect student for you Celestia." The two teleported back to Mind Trap's study. "It seems that we made the correct choice in making her an alicorn, didn't we Celestia?"

Celestia shot Mind Trap a dirty look before lightly scolding him on his apparent insolence. "Actually, it was mine and Luna's idea. Granted, Luna was skeptical of it at first, but still. All you did was approve of the test that we had decided on giving her."

A new voice then rang out. "She's right, you know." A mildly muscular, dark gray pegasus pony jumped down from atop the bookshelves and landed between Mind Trap and the Princess. He had a silver mane and tail as well as a cutie mark depicting a sail being blown by a strong wind current. "If it weren't for Celestia and her trust in your abilities, you likely would not have been any help to either her, Luna, or Twilight herself."

Celestia had managed to regain her smile upon seeing the newcomer. "Tempest Tailwind. How are you doing?"

Tempest turned to address the Princess. "Quite well your majesty, thank you for asking. Although it is rather troubling when my dear brother over there stands there while drinking nothing but that garbage over there." The two looked to see Mind Trap downing another can of Demon Energy Drink before throwing it to the ground and crushing it under his hooves. "If you ask me, the only thing demonic about that stuff is what it does to your body." He and Celestia shared a small laugh upon hearing that. Tempest then cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Now then, you were about to request something of us Princess?"

Celestia's eyes lit up as she recalled the initial reason for her visit. "Ah, yes. I wished to speak to the two of you regarding a letter I received from Twilight Sparkle." Celestia took out the latter and presented it to the two ponies.

Tempest was about to take it when it became enveloped in a grayish-silver aura and it floated over to Mind Trap. He then undid the scroll's seal and unfurled it. He hadn't even looked at it for a second before throwing it into the air and shouting. "A bug-bear? In Ponyville? Impossible, they all became extinct years ago, and those that weren't killed were sent to Tartarus so that they wouldn't be able to cause any further damage! How is this possible? How, I ask you?!" Mind trap was frantically bouncing off the walls seemingly in complete panic.

In response, Tempest quickly flew up and caught him before he could hit the wall again. "Easy there little brother. Remember what we talked about regarding that energy of yours? I swear to you, those Demon drinks are pure energetic poison." He then reached into his bag and pulled out a thermos and poured himself a cup of the liquid inside. "Why can't you ever settle down and have some nice mint-chamomile tea? It clears your mind better and has a much better taste to it, especially when you add a dash of lemon and a whisper of honey. Would you care for some Princess?" Tempest held the thermos cup out to Celestia as Mind Trap shot a look of disgust towards said cup.

Princess Celestia looked at the cup that was offered to her and decided that she could use something to calm her nerves after this sort of ordeal. She politely took the cup with her magic and sipped gently from it. She let the warm beverage sit on her tongue for a bit, taking in the different flavors mixed into it, before swallowing it and sending it down her waiting gullet. "(Sigh of relief), you are quite right Tempest Tailwind, I do feel much more relaxed." She returned the cup and decided that now was a better time than any to elaborate on the situation regarding the bug-bear. "Anyway, it is true that the bug-bears that were not killed were sent to Tartarus to be contained, but it seems that one has escaped and recently let loose its wrath in the town of Ponyville. I would like you two to find out the reason behind it and take action accordingly.

Mind Trap seemed to be taken aback by this request from the Princess. Tempest, on the other hoof, seemed to be quite excited. "Awesome, it's about time we got to experience the world of Equestria for ourselves. What do you think, bro?" Tempest turned to Mind Trap, but instead of seeing him, he found two large suitcases sitting next to each other. "Uhh, Mind Trap?"

Mind Trap then sprung out from around the corner carrying another suitcase and placing it with the others. "Oh man, this is very exhilarating. I have always wanted to interact with the denizens inhabiting this great land of ours and now I finally have the chance. I wonder if any of them have any interest in the logistical workings of magic and individual spells. Or perhaps they might like to hear my theories regarding Stonehayge. (Gasp) I could absolutely tell them everything about my progress in obtaining a brand new substance that could recharge and boost a pony's specific magic. Or perhaps even-" He did not even get the chance to continue as he saw Tempest dumping the Demon Energy Drinks that he had packed down the drain and throwing the empty cans into the recycling bin. "Wait, what are you doing? Stop! Those are my fuel! I need those to pursue and expand my love and expertise of magic and how it functions in relation to us all!!" He then fired a spell at Tempest, causing his entire body to go completely numb and fall over.

Tempest tried to move, but he was unable to feel any of his appendages. "Look dude, I know you like these things and I respect that, but they have to stay here in the lab. You can't really expect ponies to take you seriously when they make you run your mouth like a super-charged cloud mower, can you?" Tempest looked as his brother took on a sad and depressed face. He then sighed and made a decision. "Fine, you can take them with you." Mind trap gained a gleeful smile on his face as he bear-hugged his older brother. "However, there are a few conditions that I want you to follow." Trap raised and eyebrow and signaled his brother to continue. "First, only one of these things per day, no more and no less." Trap nodded and Tailwind continued. "Second, you let me do the talking whenever we come across another pony. Don't say a word unless I tell you to." Trap nodded his head in agreement again as Tailwind put forward the final condition. "Finally, let me out of this spell please. You don't want to have to carry me around on this trip, do you?" Trap blushed and cast a counter-spell on Tempest that allowed him to regain the feeling in his body.

Celestia smiled at the bond between brothers and addressed them once again. "Very well, now that that's settled..." She then teleported a folder with a document in it to her side and floated it over to the two ponies. Mind Trap took it in his own magic as Celestia spoke again. "...according to intel from Special Agent Sweetie Drops in Ponyville, the bug bear seemed to come from the vicinity of the Whitetail Woods. So I recommend that you start there."

The two ponies nodded dutifully as they headed for the far wall where Mind Trap triggered a pressure plate that opened a door leading to a chute big enough for two ponies to slide through. Tempest jumped in first and then followed by Mind Trap. The door shut behind them as Celestia wished the both of them luck before exiting the room herself and returning to her chambers.