It was pretty quiet in the city of Canterlot right now. Ponies were moving around doing different things, but there was a sense of dread that lied within them. They didn't know what it was, but they knew that it wasn't good. Inside the castle, Celestia was busy sitting in day court listening to different ponies share their issues. She never really liked to do this, but she didn't want to be rude to her fellow subjects. However, some of these issues that they had would work better with a therapist than herself. At this point, she was absolutely bored out of her mind and wished there was something else she could do right now.

As if it was on cue, a letter popped out of thin air and Celestia picked it up. She was a little surprised by this, but still curious nonetheless. She read it through and knew that this took much higher importance than what she was doing right now. She told everypony that day court was closed now for the rest of the day and they could come back tomorrow. Many of them weren't too thrilled with that idea, but they filed out regardless. Once they left, Celestia pulled out the paper and quill and began writing back to Twilight telling her to come to Canterlot at once along with her friends.

She sent the letter and sighed. If what her former student was saying was true, then they were in serious danger. It had not been too long since the Everfree Forest invasion that happened during the Summer Sun Celebration and that was a mess. They did not want to have another national security threat and they must do whatever they could in order to prevent that. She figured with something like this, she would have to go wake up Luna. The younger sister might grumble at first, but after being told that there was a serious situation, she might change her mood very quickly.

She went into Luna's room and attempted to wake her up. She said "Luna, I need you to wake up." This was of the utmost importance and she didn't want to delay any further.

Luna grumbled and said with annoyance "Sister, why are you here in my room? Can you not see that I am sleeping right now? What is so important that you had to come wake me up from my slumber right now?" She was sleeping peacefully, and then she had to get disturbed from her sister from some reason. She wanted to know why.

Celestia said "Luna, I had just received a letter from Twilight about a strange creature that they ran into in Baltimare and described that this thing was quite hostile towards them. She believes that this could be a national security threat and I agree. If we have something like this residing in our home with so many of our subjects nearby, then we are in grave danger."

Luna could see the worry in Celestia's eyes and said "You are right, sister. This is important and this thing must be taken care of right away. Where are we to begin?"

Celestia said "I told Twilight to bring herself and her friends along to Canterlot so we can discuss what we do next with this creature."

Luna seemed satisfied with that answer and said "Very well, sister. I shall join you out there with the others."

After a little bit, the Mane Six had made it to Canterlot and they walked towards the castle. The guards opened the doors for them to the throne room and all of them except Twilight bowed before Celestia.

Celestia smiled and said "Hello, my little ponies. It is so nice to see you all again and I hope that you are doing well. However, as much as I would like to speak about your lives, there is a much more important topic at hoof here."

Rarity asked "If I mind by asking, Your Highness, how exactly are we going to deal with this creature? He is clearly quite powerful and acts aggressive towards others."

Celestia said "I'm not exactly sure quite yet. That is why I have called you all here so that we may discuss what our next steps of action are."

Luna stepped in and said "Hello again, my fellow ponies. It is wonderful to see you all again."

The Mane Six turned around and expressed happiness at seeing the night princess. Twilight asked with curiosity and excitement "Luna, what are you doing here?"

Luna said "My sister has alerted me to this dangerous threat that lies in Baltimare and I have decided to contribute as well."

All of them went over to the planning room and they began to discuss what they should do about Knuckles. After a little bit, it was agreed upon that Celestia and Luna would visit the creature's residence themselves while the Mane Six kept watch over Canterlot. The two sisters said that they would not be gone long and if anything goes wrong, they would just teleport out of there as quickly as they could.

The two of them set out for Baltimare and the Mane Six waved goodbye to them. After about 3 hours, they finally arrived and began looking around. Luna asked "Sister, where are we going to find this creature's residence? This city is huge and he could be anywhere." Baltimare might not have been the biggest city in Equestria, but it was definitely not small either. It had almost 600,000 ponies living there and that didn't include the entire metropolitan area which was just a little bit over 2 million. So, if they were going to find this creature, they had a lot of ground to cover.

Celestia said "Twilight said that we needed to look for a large mansion sitting on top of an island in Horseshoe Bay which shouldn't be too hard. According to her, that is where the creature lives and from what she described it as, it makes perfect sense. Someone who doesn't like to be disturbed would definitely live on an island away from the crowds so they can live in peace and never worry about outside interference from others."

Luna said "Indeed, sister. While this creature is a threat, it is very smart for him to be alone on an island if he doesn't want company. I can only hope that he would be less aggressive towards us."

Celestia said "I hope so as well, Luna. But he is probably not expecting us, so he might just be as hostile as he was to the Mane Six. But this creature shouldn't really stand a chance against the rulers of Equestria." If only she knew what she was really going up against.

Knuckles was busy inside exercising in his personal home gym. He might be really strong, but he needed to stay in shape whenever he fought enemies, especially ones that were really dangerous, such as ones that could wield powerful magic or try to kill him with the sword. He was currently bench-pressing 1,200 pounds and doing 600 reps in sets of 60. You would think he would be sweating like a pig, but was barely breaking a sweat. Part of his supernatural abilities was it being able to keep his sweat levels down so he wouldn't create a puddle on the ground of his sweat.

The point was that he was really strong and was easily over three times the record here in Equestria. So much so that even the most athletic ponies would be embarrassed at how much he could lift. He got up from the bench and used one of the towels to wipe the sweat off of his face. He might not get it from his armpits, but it had to go somewhere, so it would often appear on his forehead whenever he was doing his workouts. He heard his cell phone ring and he answered it.

Knuckles said "What is it, Malcolm? I'm currently in the middle of a workout right now and I usually do not like to be disturbed." Whenever he did workouts, he would usually like to blast very loud Skillet music on his speakers in the room and remove all distractions in the room so he could focus.

Malcolm said "I apologize for the interruption sir, but there is someone at the door."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and said "It better not be those six ponies again. I swear, if they are at my door, I am seriously going to give it to them."

Malcolm said "It is not sir, but it looks like these are even more important ponies."

Knuckles seemed curious at that and said "Oh? Who might that be?" If more important ponies were here, then it would be key for him to let them know that he does not wish to be disturbed and be left in peace.

Malcolm said "I think it's best if you take a look for yourself, sir."

Knuckles sighed and grumbled a bit. He had been enjoying his workout and now he had to pause it because more ponies were at his door. He said "Alright. I'm coming up. Just give me a minute." He hung up the phone and set it down. He was about to head out, but he figured that he needed to change his clothes and put on some deodorant to look more presentable. The last thing he wanted was to stink in front of guests. He might not have liked to have company around, but he knew about proper hospitality when guests were over.

After throwing on a change of clothes and spraying on some deodorant, he went upstairs to the security room and saw who it was at the front doors. He said "Huh. I did not expect them to show up. No matter though. I will dispose of them just as easily as I did with those six ponies." He pressed a button and the security camera launched two tranquillizers at Celestia and Luna, which knocked the two unconscious. He pulled the lever as well and the two princesses fell through the hole. "Alright. I'll be back, Malcolm. Just gotta take out the trash again."

Down below, the two princesses stirred and got up. Luna said with anger "How dare that creature shoot us with tranquillizers to put us to sleep and then trap us in this random place!"

Celestia got the tranquillizers off and said "Luna, this shouldn't come as a surprise to us. He did not expect us to come and he simply acted in retaliation. He probably felt threatened and sent us down here to see what it is what we want from him."

Luna huffed in anger and said "If you say so, sister. But he is getting no sympathy from me."

Knuckles said "Well, those six ponies sent the rulers of Equestria because they were beaten. How pathetic."

Celestia and Luna turned their attention to his voice and the latter said with fury "Who said that?! Show yourself at once, creature!"

Knuckles chuckled a bit and said "Now, now, princess. Now is not the time for violence. I simply saw you show up to my house and I wanted to have a chat."

Celestia raised a brow and asked "By shooting us with tranquillizers?"

Knuckles said "Of course. I didn't know what you were planning, so I had to do that and send you down here so that I knew you wouldn't try to harm me."

Luna didn't care about that and said with anger "You will pay for capturing the Princess of the Night!" Luna charged up her horn at Knuckles and Knuckles only shook his head.

Knuckles charged up his red lightning and said "If that is what you want." Before either of them could charge at one another, Celestia stopped them.

She said "Enough! Luna, fighting him in combat is not going to help things! And you! What exactly are your plans for Equestria?! Are you going to harm my little ponies?!"

Knuckles smiled and said "I have no such intention. As long as I am left alone, your ponies will be spared. You leave me alone, then we won't have problems. If you provoke me, then we are going to have issues."

Celestia hardened her gaze and asked "Why are you even here in Equestria? I can tell you are not from here nor have I ever seen something like you."

Knuckles glared at her and said "Last time I checked princess, this is my home and I can reside here if I so choose. It's quite comical if you ask me. I have lived here for five years and you have never noticed. But as soon as those six ponies got their ass beat, then you suddenly pay attention. Sad really."

Both Celestia and Luna seemed surprised at him saying that he has lived here for five years and they knew he was right. They never noticed until the Mane Six mentioned it within the last day or so.

Celestia asked "Alright, if you have been living here for five years, then how did you get here?"

Knuckles said "I do not know, princess. I was just sitting in my room one day and then I showed up here. That's how it's been ever since."

Luna asked "And what of this "ultimate power" you speak of? Do you plan on taking over Equestria?!"

Knuckles glared at her and said "Absolutely not! As I told those six ponies before, that is none of your business. It is something only my tribe has known and only those who are part of it can know. Our duty has always been to protect it, not to use it for evil. But a certain group seemed to not see that. However, they are long gone and now it is my responsibility to find it before anyone else does."

Celestia said "If that is what you wish, then we will not press any further on that question. We will take our leave now and you better not hurt my little ponies again or else you'll face consequences that not even your powers could save you from."

Knuckles said "Wouldn't dream of it. As long as I am left in peace, you have nothing to worry about. So, you can get out now."

Celestia asked "Do you mind telling us where the exit is?"

Knuckles said "Turn around behind you and if just keep walking straight, you'll get there." Celestia and Luna did so and after a few seconds, Knuckles teleported them out of there by snapping his fingers. He felt satisfied and let out a sigh of relief. "Finally those ponies are gone. Hopefully, they will be the last ones that ever show up to my house and I can live forever alone in peace. I'm starting to get hungry, so I think I'll have a snack." He turned around and left towards the kitchen.

Outside, both of them were not happy at him teleporting them outside. Luna said "He did the exact same thing as he did for Twilight and her friends! I swear, I have never met a creature that rude in my life. He better keep his word or else I'm going to give it to him."

Celestia said "I'm mostly sure he will, Luna. He could be lying, but he seemed pretty serious about not conquering Equestria. The only thing he seemed focused on was to find an ancient treasure that was within his family, which is nothing too bad. However, he needs to be careful because certain artifacts can overwhelm wielders and cause them to turn evil. Let's just hope that isn't the case."

The two of them headed back to Canterlot and after another few hours, they returned to the city successfully. The Mane Six were waiting for them in the castle and Twilight asked "How did it go, Princesses? Were you able to get any information out of him?"

Celestia said "I'm afraid we didn't have much success either. He mostly just told us the same stuff he told you all. Very vague and evasive. It looks like we may have hit a dead end on this one."

Luna added "He may have improved slightly in attitude because we were there, but he was still very aggressive and hostile towards us regardless."

Rainbow said "Well, that just sucks. I was looking forward to knowing why he was even here in Equestria in the first place."

Celestia said "However, there was something interesting we did get out of him."

All of their ears perked up at that and Twilight asked "What would that be, Princess?"

Celestia said "He told us that he had been living in Equestria for five years and no one seemed to notice he was there until you all showed up at his house. Unfortunately, he said he couldn't remember how he got here, but he didn't seem to care that he was here. Also, he said that he had no intention of threatening Equestria as long as he is not disturbed. But we have no idea if he is actually being truthful about that."

Applejack asked "What exactly could make him say he's bein' truthful?"

Celestia said "Well, he said that his tribe's duty was to protect the artifact that was known as the "ultimate power," and not to use that for evil. However, he said that a certain group didn't seem to understand that and stole it from him. So, now it was his responsibility to find this artifact and restore his legacy."

Rainbow said "He told us that "Flash Magnus and his people" were the sworn enemy of his tribe. Could this be the same group he was talking to you guys about?"

Celestia and Luna looked at each other and realized that Rainbow may have been onto something. Luna said "Starswirl never mentioned anything about stealing an artifact nor fighting a tribe. But neither of us did read his journal, so we have no clue about that."

Fluttershy asked with curiosity "So, what happens now?"

Celestia sighed and said "Well, it's best we leave him alone for now as he has made it clear he does not want to be interrupted, but we should just keep an eye on him just in case he decides to try something."

Everypony agreed that was the best course of action and the Mane Six left Canterlot to return home to Ponyville. As the train was going along, Twilight was staring out the window thinking about this entire situation. This creature had been really aggressive towards all of them, but maybe there was something more going on that she didn't know about. What if Fluttershy was right? What if he had been suffering through years of pain and didn't want to be around anyone?

Twilight had her fair share of tragic events, but she had always managed to push through regardless. She always had a support system since birth, but maybe Knuckles didn't have that. He could have had no one throughout his life to support him and he chose to be alone so he could ignore it. Maybe Knuckles was not as bad as they all thought he was. Twilight still didn't know what to do about it, but she would truly like to know more about him so she could figure out why he has become the man he is today. She just needed to figure out how to do it. It wasn't going to be easy, but she would find a way no matter what. It didn't matter to her what it would take, but she would get her answers regardless of what Knuckles thought. She could definitely guarantee that.

Author's Note

AN: Happy 4th of July everyone! It's wonderful living in the country called the United States of America where we can celebrate our freedom and live freely without government intervention. If you live in Britain, I hope you aren't offended by that. Anyways, I'm not happy with how things are going in our country right now, but I'm not ashamed to be an American. Enjoy the freedom while you still can because it will not last forever. In the words of Ronald Reagan himself, "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people." Hope you enjoy your 4th of July and the chapter!

Next Chapter: More Investigation! After gathering intel from Celestia and Luna, Twilight begins to wonder if there is more to Knuckles than what they have all presumed. She is still skeptical about him, but she wants to find out more about him so she could get to know him. It won't be easy though as he made it clear he doesn't want company at all. Will Twilight be able to get him to talk, or will Knuckles still refuse to mention anything about himself?

Until then, my fellow readers