The Hell-Roach
History:
Remember when you were young and were told, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite!”? Well, you can a least be thankful that this monstrosity of a bug isn’t one of those bed crawlers.
Hell-Roachs, also known by our tongue as Gândacul Iadului, is a walking nightmare given life. One such Hell-Roach was alive at the time when I was young, we called him Insectă Zâmbitoare, or Smiling Insect in my language, due to it’s disturbing gapping smile whenever it approaches. At the time, the Hell-Roach seemed to be ruthless and aggressive killing machines, wiping out any species that would, in it’s eyes, seem like food, or threats to it. As I got older however, I found that the Hell-Roach can be killed... from the inside. Let’s just say that traveling down through it’s guts and stabbing it with a dagger multiple times was not on my to do list of creatures to stop from harming anyone. Even today, I still get nightmares about it that one Hell-Roach, even though it may be gone, but not forgotten in my mind. If even look behind my shoulder, I would get the sense that it still follows me wherever I go.
Appearance:
The Hell-Roach was known for it’s burnt brown colored, hard exoskeleton, two spike tipped antennas, four mandibles (two on each sides of it’s mouth), eight legs, but it oddly prefers to stand on it’s four rear legs, using the other four to either grab or strike at it’s prey. It also has a four stinger, scorpion like tail that can spit out black sticky acid, it could also spit acid from the mouth, but that it rarely does that. It’s abdominal area is heavily guarded by it’s hard exoskeleton, making it impossible to kill it. The most disturbing about this creature is the eyes, crimson blood red eyes with slit like pupils, when I stared at it’s eyes... Sweet merciful Luna, it was like looking at much darker side of it.
Personality: Hell-Roaches are extremely docile and seemingly impossible to kill, which is shocking considering it’s hard and heavy exoskeleton inhibits is not flexible, so as to how it can move incredibly fast is still unknown. Some of it’s preferred tactics was to play the long game, waiting for prey to be drawn out and taken out by either using it’s stinger, spit it’s acid, or, and it was a very rare and scary occurrence, and I witnessed it first hoofed, eating it’s victim whole in one gulp. It also has been witnessed to snap victims necks to make them look backwards, cling prey to walls or ceilings with it’s acid to show that it may still be or was there on it’s rampage, or drag it’s victims down to it’s hive before it continues it’s hunt.
Height: 12 m
Weight: Unknown, but I can only guess that it’s heavy than 24 ton boulder.
Lifespan: Unknown, once again, I can only guess at the time it was at it’s adult stage and it was around for at least four hundred years.
Diet: Carnivorous
Origin of Name/Discovery: My ancestors, four hundred years ago, were fighting against our enemy at the time, however that battle was interrupted by a stinger like tail, that was when they saw the Insectă Zâmbitoare, smiling sinisterly as it was ready to begin it’s hunt, killing almost all of my ancestors. The name that it was given came from it’s gapping smile it shows as it goes for it’s kill.
Habitat: It’s original living habitat is still in question, but it’s hive incredibly huge, so huge in fact, it could stretch out for miles, probably longer than any of the Equestrian Games areas, five or seven of them give or take. I can only guess that it retreats underground when it ends it’s hunt, but I doubt that it ever ends it’s hunt.
Language: It doesn’t speak, but it oddly laugh. No joke, it can laugh while it hunts. How it even does it is still unknown, but it does this for it’s hunts and lure in it’s suspecting victim.
Intelligence and Emotional Capacity: The only emotional state it goes it is it’s creepiest smile, but it can oddly show some anger or frustration. As for it’s intellect, it’s incredibly smart and a fast learner, by the time it’s armed prey attacks, it would strike back fast, and by fast, I mean damn fast.
Reproduction: While I discovered it’s hive, I found that the Hell-Roach’s eggs were like a bird, or dragon eggs, a tough outer shell, incasing and protecting it’s young inside. How it’s life cycle works is still unknown, but I can only hypothesize that it can produce asexually, as evident by it’s strange low bellowing laughter it made... Celestia Christ, I can only imagine how that goes with male on female.
Strengths and Weaknesses: It’s very tough to kill with it’s hard and heavy exoskeleton, it’s docility, and it’s forementioned stinger tail. The only weakness that I found was to kill it from the inside, and had I able to learn magic at the time, I could’ve pulverized it with a shockwave blast, or better yet, cook it from the inside with a fire spell.
If Thrived in Equestria: That is something that I’m seriously scared to even think about, hearing it’s laughter like it owns the place. Honestly, I don’t think that the royal guard would even kill that thing, they would be wiped out clean before they could plan their strategy. Even Princesses would even have difficulty taking down that abomination of evil, it would kill them on the spot and drag their bodies back to it’s hive, getting back out on it’s hunt, waiting for anyone to come in contact with it.
Overall, Hell-Roaches are one of the scariest creatures I’ve ever encountered... it was also the very same sorry son of a bitch that killed my father... and not just killed... but eaten alive... I’m at least thankful that it’s dead, including it’s hive.
Author's Note
This creature was based on my fear of cockroaches and of Edgar the Bug from the film Men in Black.
