Fetura 2: Sisters Plight

The basement was dimly lit as the unicorn stroked his long white beard to think, all while pouring over scrolls and textbooks, looking for the information that eluded him.

“No. No. Argh, I was so close!”

The old stallion rubbed his eyes before heading over to another table in the middle of the room that was littered with all kinds of remains lay on trays, he used his magic to lift the latest tray up and held it in his silver aura. On the tray lay a limp black vine that was thin, frail and barely showing any signs of life. Star Swirl the Bearded tried to infuse magic into it, attempting to strengthen it. Slowly it started to grow but the moment he stopped, it withered again and turned a sickly grey then finally died.

“These offspring are just too weak.“

He looked across the room to where a glass tank held a mass of slithering tentacles, pilled and squirming atop of each other. The dark purple tentacles looked like they could have been multiple creatures, but no; this was the one and only of it’s kind and it was seemingly invincible, staying strong and healthy without being constantly fed, though it did have needs. Star Swirl had long ago seen the potential for the creature to be used to protect equestria. The Fetura would obey his every command, understanding and following his wishes. But no matter what he tried, he couldn’t summon a second one. This creature was a one of a kind, there was no other like it, and no other wizard had been powerful enough to summon it after being shown the spell. Over time he learned the creature could lay eggs, spitting them out from the tips of its tentacles, however any attempts to hatch these eggs resulted in failure, and only after many experiments, Star Swirl learned that the eggs needed a host to incubate them in.

One day he managed to convince an earth pony mare to subject herself to his experiments. In exchange, he’d give her more bits then she’d ever seen in her lifetime, and once it was over, she’d have that wealth doubled. When she heard that it involved impregnation, she had a belief that she’d carry the baby of the great Star Swirl the Bearded, however she was horrified when he had forced the Fetura onto her to violate the mare in such a cruel manner. She screamed and struggled against it, refusing to be violated by the monster; but it held her tightly as it laid its eggs in her womb, as Star Swirl expected. The unicorn had to only wait a week before the eggs started to split and crack inside her, however something was wrong and he had to remove them from her body. The egg itself seemed to be eating itself from the inside, seemingly starved of what it needed to grow. While this experiment was deemed a failure, he did feel he was on the right track. It needed a host, just this one didn’t work. Of course he couldn’t have her telling any pony about this and he wasn’t evil, he couldn’t just kill a mare in cold blood. Instead he changed her memories, making her think she’d been away on vacation and the bits he originally gave her came from a lucky lottery ticket. He had no intention of paying her the rest he promised though since she didn’t even remember the deal anymore and she already had enough now to never work another day in her life. Star Swirl continued this with different ponies for years with each experiment showing the result that unicorns bred stronger Fetura spawn than the others, but again, they wouldn’t last longer than two weeks. He had long believed that the eggs fed on the host's magic, feeding on it and growing, but it needed a lot! Alas he’d never find a female with as much power as himself, it didn’t seem interested in a male host.

Then as fate would have it, the answer presented itself to him. Celestia and Luna, two alicorn fillies who would possibly become the most powerful ponies Equestria. They would be perfect hosts! But he’d need to get close to them. That’s when he came up with a plan. He would become their personal advanced magic teacher, teach them the ways of the most powerful of mages, and as they grew up he’d gain their trust; and then do what needed to be done.

He had fully intended to wait until they were a little older so they would be able to withstand the Fetura’s advances, able to use their bodies as hosts for the eggs inside their wombs without any damage, but when his young pupil had taken his private spell book before he intended and incredibly learned to summon the Fetura by herself, he knew he’d never get a better chance than this moment. He had placed the summoning spell inside his spellbook under the guise that it was a “Heat Relief Creature” summoning spell, hoping to one day pass the book of advanced spells to the alicorn in her teen years and she would, in her time of private need, see it during her first heat and cast it on herself. He never imagined she’d cast it so early in her youth though.

As soon as he felt the spell being cast, he quickly tapped into the filly’s portal opening the way through from his basement. He couldn’t see beyond the portal but he saw the fetura instantly raising up, wanting to go through. It knew. And recognizing the tell tale movements of the Fetura’s mating process, he allowed it to continue, but held the beast back from fully going through and losing it. Despite knowing where he’d find it in the end, he couldn’t risk it not returning to the basement. Risking anypony knowing where it came from.

Though Celestia’s parents were away on a diplomatic mission that night, he still had to find a way to stop the guards from helping her, should any hear Celestia’s cries for help. Using a complex spell, he made all the guards in the castle freeze in place and made each of them invisible. So should Celestia somehow escape the room, she wouldn’t see the guards frozen and suspect foul play with her rescue. What he didn’t count on was Luna. He’d completely forgotten about the younger foal and he had no idea she knew about his secret chambers in the basement of the castle. The moment he saw her there, he had to abandon his plans and go with her to save Celestia so as not to rouse any pony’s suspicion that he was responsible. Star Swirl went as slow as he dared with Luna, not teleporting and moving at a fast trot. Once in the room, he blasted the Fetura, purposefully back into the portal and then lifted every spell he had cast that night.

Guards had come of course the moment the foal’s screaming and crying could be heard and he had to call for doctors to help. Once at the hospital, he’d learned the Fetura had indeed successfully laid its eggs inside her womb, but the doctors were desperate to remove them. Star Swirl tried to dissuade them from doing that, trying to warn them it might cause more damage, but they were so sure they could do it without further damage to her body that the grey unicorn had to agree to help. He’s waited so long for this, he couldn’t let them ruin this now. After the surgery, he took the eggs the moment he could and returned to his lab. The results were far better than he could have imagined. Not only had they grown strong in the few short hours they were in her, but they had produced a different creature entirely, and they didn’t hatch from the eggs, these grew from the eggs! This proved that these were not eggs at all, but rather like seeds. However, it too died just a few days later. If only he could have more time to let it grow. If only there was no pony to get in his way.

The new mutated Fetura was almost black and had strong nubs on its length, if it had matured, there’s a chance they could grow into sharp thorns like on a rose stem. If a creature like that could follow orders like the Fetura did, it could be used to house dangerous enemies, or even surround territories to protect from outside invaders in times of war. The creature was resistant to most magic after all. Not even he himself had been able to damage the monster when force was needed, only contain it. No pony in Equestria was stronger in magic than he was, except perhaps the two sisters. If they ever tapped into their true power, they could easily stop it. That’s why he had to act now, before they’d deny him the chance. If only other ponies saw what these creatures could do, they’d understand that the ends surely justify the means.

Star Swirl then walked over to the Fetura and looked down at it.

“Don’t worry my pet, I’ll get you what you need soon. Then together, we’ll protect all of Equestria. Celestia may be avoiding me, but there’s still one more option. It’s now or never.”

Starswirl placed a blanket over the top of the Fetura’s tank and then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind himself. After he was gone, a small green tentacle, no bigger than a foot long, appeared from the bottom of the glass tank. It climbed slowly all the way up the side of the tank and fell over the side of it to the floor. Its tip raised up and turned left and right, checking the room. Spotting something, it crawled towards a corner of the room where there was a crack in the wall. The separate green tendril then inspected it and a moment later, stretched itself thin and then escaped through the crack and into the castle.

----

The moon shined bright in the night’s sky. The Canterlot garden was always a beautiful sight at this late hour on a clear night. The white glow of the flowers illuminated themselves above the grass, looking like a shade of dark blue, the sounds of the nocturnal wildlife echoed softly and yet not one of them could be seen. Everything was so different and seemed so much more beautiful to Luna. The filly walked around the large garden with all the other animals that were hidden and sleeping in the trees, ducks by the pond, tucking their heads under their wings. It was so magical. The blue alicorn passed by a small section of tall grass near the bushes and placed the grasshopper down among them. The insect then turned to face the princess, giving a grateful chipping noise.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Hoppy! Will I see you again when I get home from my new school?” Luna asked, smiling down at the grasshopper.

It chirped twice, and seemingly nodded before it turned and hopped away. Luna giggled and then decided she should do as her sister instructed and head for bed now. It was a shame though because it was such a beautiful night. No pony was around, the wind was still, the temperature was still nice and warm after such a hot day. A little play time couldn’t hurt, right? And so she stayed in the garden, chasing fireflies, hooting back at owls, rolling in the grass that was wet with dew, but she didn’t mind a few wet flicks of water on her coat, this was her happy place after all.

After a final lap around the pond and sneaking past the ducks without disturbing them, she decided it was time to return inside. A flash of magic lit up the garden grounds and Luna then noticed that there was now a large shadow looming over her. Her stomach lurched, thinking her mom had caught her out of bed again. Jumping up to face the pony behind her, she was surprised to find instead it was Star Swirl, her heart was still pounding though. Why was he here?

“Luna, delightful to see you tonight. Still out at play, I see,” he said with a smile.

Luna however didn’t smile back. Her sister had told her to stay away from the grey unicorn, especially since that night with the monster. She didn’t know why though.

“So, are you excited for your new school to begin tomorrow. Learning about Equestrian history, its incredible species outside of just ponies, and of course, how to be a Princess?” Star Swirl asked, making polite conversation. But Luna looked away from him, simply murmuring a positive response.

Luna looked about, looking for an excuse to leave. She didn’t wanna be near him. She saw the ducks hadn’t responded to his presence either, which was pretty odd, also it had become very quiet. What happened to all the animals? Star Swirl meanwhile just looked confused at the filly’s hesitation towards him until a realisation came to mind.

“Tell me, young Luna, has your sister told you to avoid me? To not talk to me?” Luna looked to the ground and then nodded yes. He shook his head in disappointment and then audibly sighed. “That’s such a shame. I was just about to hit a breakthrough that would help her too.”

Star Swirl turned and walked away. Luna looked to the unicorn as left, only just releasing what he said. She then ran after him.

“Wait!” she said, running to stand before the stallion. “You can help Tia?!” Luna asked with hope in her eyes.

“Well certainly I can, but sadly I need the help of an Alicorn to do what must be done, and your sister won’t talk to me anymore so there’s nothing more I can do to help. Unless...”

“U-unless what?” The young princess spoke with desperation.

“Well, perhaps you’d be willing to help me, Luna? You’re still young, but you are an alicorn after all.”

Luna hesitated for all of a heartbeat. Her sister had warned her to avoid the stallion, but he said he wanted to help her, and she’d do anything for Tia.

“Okay! I’ll help you Mr. Star Swirl!”

The stallion breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m so happy to hear that. I just know you’re going to grow up to do amazing things! Follow me, Princess Luna, we have little time to waste.”

Star Swirl turned towards a door into the castle where a guard stood motionless, as they always did. The unicorn opened the door and together the pair walked into the castle, with Star Swirl closing the door behind them both. Once it clicked shut there was a faint pop of magic over the garden, suddenly all sound returned and the guard himself turned his head and looked about.

“Was somebody just here?”