Grogar took a couple of steps back from his work. It had taken him longer than usual to complete, considering the amount of blackstone, astrodermis, and psychosteon he had to synthesize. Yet, it was all worth the effort. He admired the completed forms of three large beasts, taller than himself, made from the schematics gathered during his little venture into the Everfree Forest. The bright Hadesflame spotlights of the massive circular chamber shone from atop the ceiling on to the newborn beasts, making their armor, scales, feathers, and fur glisten under the magical light.

The first beast resembled a male manticore, its coat was a vibrant crimson, with orange stripes that faded as they narrowed downwards. Its remarkably fluffy mane was a lighter shade of red, with streaks of the darker crimson from its coat. Its face was flatter, almost primate-like, with two upwards-pointing tusks from its lower jaw and a crest of four horns that protruded from its forehead. The lower set of two curled behind its feline ears up to near its cheeks, while the two above that spread to the side. Its eyes were yellow and slitted. It had eight limbs in total: four legs of a large feline, two chitinous pincers folded between the front legs, and a pair of draconic wings furled on its back. It kept the scorpioid tail, but it branched into three more stingers after four segments.

The second resembled a cockatrice, its avian head now looked more like an eagle with gold feathers and specks of black, with a plume of black feathers with gold highlights on its head instead of the comb of a rooster. It had three sets of eyes, all black with red pupils. Its draconic body was covered with similarly golden scales that faded to black near their tips. Its talons matched its eagle head, with sharp curved claws at the end of each digit, with the two inner digits raised due to their enlarged, sickle-shaped forms. The spines at the end of its draconic wings were hooked and black in color, just like the spines that ran along its back. Its long serpentine tail was tipped with two axe-like bony structures from either side.

The third and final beast was more artificial than the other two. This was where most of the blackstone went. It was a massive quadrupedal lupine golem; its body was entirely made up of a mix of overlapping and segmented armor, made out of a black crystalline material with a reflective sheen and dark blue highlights. Between the gaps in its armor were blue flames that flickered and acted as matrix to keep the pieces of armor together.

The first batch of Grogar's new legion of beasts. Formed out of the schematics of Equestria's own mighty monsters. The first couple of batches will be commanded to protect the surrounding region of Ponyville, and these three in particular will be roaming around the castle and act as non-technological sentinels just in case somebeing found out how to cut the power from the Nova Core. It was fairly unlikely, but still possible.

'You've still got it, old buck!' Grogar thought to himself with a proud smile.

All he needed to do now was to reveal them to the world.

It was later in the day when Grogar finally finished preparing for his small presentation. Every one of his friends were gathered in front of a massive reflective dome set in an open area near the castle.

Grogar walked up in front of the assembled beings and cleared his throat, "Hello everybeing! First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for coming today. You see, for the least few weeks, I have been toiling away in my workshop, working on a project of mine that I had been planning since my second day here in Equestria." he started pacing, "As you all know, Ponyville is located in very close proximity to the Everfree Forest, the anomalous, magic-rich region has a tendency to be quite an... 'annoyance', to the local populace, yes?"

Everybeing nodded and murmured in agreement.

"And Ponyville's location typically causes it to be within the trajectory of many potentially world-ending catastrophes as well, yes?" Grogar asked again.

The Equestrians agreed with that.

Grogar smiled, "Well worry no more!" he dispelled the cloaked dome, "Behold! Ponyville's new custodian force!"

The reveal of the three towering monsters nearly gave the Equestrians heart attacks, while the Tellusians clapped and stomped their forelimbs to show appreciation.

"G-Grogar, what are those?!" Twilight asked while pointing a hoof at his creations.

"I'm glad you asked, princess!" Grogar motioned a hoof towards the beasts, "These three beautiful darlings are my creations. Based upon the schematics I gathered from the Everfree not too long ago. They shall act as Ponyville's specialized guard against potential sieges. These three in particular shall guard the surrounding area of the castle and occasionally the Star Forge if the need arises. You know, I did actually send my own proposal to the diarchy to ask for a permit," he scratched his beard, "Imagine my surprise when I learned that there was no preexisting knowledge in Equestria regarding beastcrafting!"

"Are you sure they're... safe?" Rarity asked hesitantly.

"Oh, absolutely, Miss Rarity. Why, they wouldn't even dare to hurt a fly unless they're commanded to!" Grogar assured.

Applejack took a step forward, "That's nice and all, but I don't think ponies'll take too kindly to havin' monsters runnin' around the place."

Grogar waved a hoof, "Ah yes, that's why I have given them the ability to go into stasis. When they are not active, they will transmutate their bodies into blackstone and hide themselves in a localized sub-dimension located in their designated areas. They can be alerted automatically if they sense an oncoming threat, or manually from me."

Pinkie walked up to the golden cockatrice and waved a hoof, "Hello!"

The massive six-eyed beast nodded, "Hello to you as well, Pink One." it replied telepathically.

"They can talk?!" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.

Grogar nodded excitedly, "But of course! They wouldn't be effective protectors if they were unable to communicate now, would they?"

"Beastfather has tasked us with ensuring the safety of every being who resides within this castle. Our siblings will secure the other sectors of this settlement once they are done incubating." said the manticore.

The ponies were obviously put off by this. Three giant monsters who look like they came from the deepest depths of Tartarus, speaking to them with their minds, and are willingly protecting them. Ponyville's going to be one heck of a tourist destination, that's for sure.

Fluttershy timidly approached the massive chimeric feline, "Um... may I touch your mane?" she asked softly.

The manticore lowered its head, "You may."

"So soft..." Fluttershy muttered as she ran her hooves through the beast's mane. The little interaction seemed to have calmed the ponies down.

Grogar chuckled at the sight looked back at the assembled beings, "Well, now that everybeing's settled down, what do you think?"

Cosmos teleported beside him and patted his back, "Knocked it out of the ballpark, buddy!"

Midnight nodded, "Your skill in beastcrafting never ceases to amaze me, old friend. I assume you shall be resuming work on Tiamat after this?"

"Absolutely. A couple of finishing touches and the Commander will be on their way!" Grogar affirmed.

Twilight could only look the beasts with a concerned look on her face. While she appreciated that Grogar wanted to help keep Ponyville safe, she was unsure if using living creatures like the three beasts was a good idea. Sure, they'll heed every command given to them, but what if somepony was able to take control of them? Such an event could lead to Ponyville's destruction! Twilight was about to go through an entire train a thought when one of the beats approached her. It was the armored wolf.

"You seem troubled, ascended one." it said with its echoing telepathy.

Twilight jumped; the telepathy felt odd in her head, "O-oh! It's nothing! I'm just thinking, that's all." she assured with a wave of a hoof.

The wolf continued to stare at the princess for a moment, its flaming blue eyes flicking in the breeze. Twilight was starting to squirm under its unwavering gaze.

"Uh... could you-"

"You doubt our loyalty." the wolf stated, iterrupting her.

Twilight's eyes widened, "W-what?! No, I don't-"

"You fear that an enemy will be able to override Beastfather's will. Is that correct?" it asked.

Twilight paused for a moment before nodding slowly, "That's... pretty much it, yes."

The wolf lowered its head, "You have nothing to worry, ascended one. For we are beasts of blackstone. No form of magic shall be able to affect us."

"How does being a 'beast of blackstone' make you immune to magic?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Blackstone is a material that makes up our very beings. It negates any and all magic that makes contact with it. It is derived from void matter. A form of matter only accessible by Beastfather. How Beastfather obtained it, I know not. Those who were not blessed by Oblivion would not be able to do affect us by magical or technological means." the wolf explained.

Twilight's eyes widened, "Really? A material that negates all kinds of magic?" she asked.

The wolf nodded, "Indeed. You may fire a bolt of magic at me and see for yourself."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

The armored beast simply raised its entire body to its full height and tapped its chest with a claw.

Twilight took this as a 'yes' and lit her horn. She fired a small blast of magic directly at the wolf's chest plating. As the magical bolt made contact with the plate, it was immediately absorbed into the armor itself, leaving no trace of whatever that spell was left on it.

She tried to fire a stronger blast, but it had the same results. Twilight then fired a constant beam, and it dissipated as it touched the armor. It really did negate magic. To what degree, she didn't know. Maybe she should ask Grogar for a couple samples.

A sudden ringing sound could be heard from Grogar's direction. His bell was swinging beside him in his magic, each strike caused a wave of yellow energy that attracted the beasts toward him. Grogar then lit his horns and summoned three glowing yellow orbs. Each orb floated over to each beast, which promptly ate them.

Grogar nodded in satisfaction, "They're now bonded to the castle itself. For now, though, they'll stay in their sub-dimensions until the need to call upon them arises."

With that, the four beasts transformed into statue-like forms, encased by a layer of blackstone, and descended into the ground.

"How are they doing, Starlight? Any irregularities discovered?" Grogar asked as he stood in front of a massive tank of orange liquid that was imbedded into a wall. Inside it was a large five-headed wyvern that curled up with its wings and tail. The beast was significantly taller than the first three. Each head was of a different color than the others, with their own specific set of spines, horns, tusks, fangs, and frills upon their faces.

Starlight turned her holographic gaze from her projected screen to the ibex, "Everything's doing great! I honestly think we can get them up and running now.'

Grogar nodded, "Good, good. And their connection to the others?"

Starlight looked back to the monitor, "All safe and secure! Miscommunication is now an impossibility. "

"Wonderful!" Grogar clapped his forehooves together, "Now to wake them up!"

It took Grogar and Starlght quite some time to drain the tank and move the massive wyvern onto the awakening altar, Grogar had to reshape the doorways and halls to clear the way. But with some extra help from Golden Feather, they were able to gently lay it down upon the comparably small altar surrounded by a magical array made of runes and ritual circles.

Golden Feather looked at the unconscious five-headed beast upon the altar, "Oh this is so exciting! You know I rarely ever get to see you these rituals, Grogar."

"I suppose you're in luck then. With Tiamat as the Centurion, the beasts shall become an impenetrable bulwark, protecting Ponyville from all sides." Grogar said as he approached his designated spot on the ritual circle.

"You might want to blip back to your saucer, Goldie." Starlight added.

Golden put a hoof to her avatar's mouth, "Oh my, that much distortions?"

Starlight nodded before blipping back herself, "Yup."

As the holo-ponies floated their saucers towards the room's doorway, Grogar began to mutter incantations while he channeled primal magic through his hooves and into the array. Yellow energy coursed through the bells on his harness, hooves, and the runes, which then flowed into the altar right under the slumbering beast.

The body of the wyvern twitched and shuddered as it absorbed the incredible amounts of primal energy given to it. Motes of yellow light started to manifest around its torso the longer the ritual went on, with arcs of black energy appearing throughout the rest of the beast's body.

In a flash of bright light, all of the surrounding energy converged into the wyvern, leaving the room silent as three beings watched with anticipation.

'Hopefully that was enough.' Grogar hoped in his mind.

The beast opened their eyes on each head and rose from the altar. It used its clawed and winged forelimbs to brace itself as it slowly approached its creator. Each head turned their gaze to the blue ibex who stood in front of them. Tiamat was born.

"Your humble servant has awakened, Beastfather. We await your command." Tiamat stated. Their telepathic voice sounded like different five beings speaking at once.

Grogar smiled and nodded, "Greetings, my beautiful creation. You are hereby declared Commander of the Ponyville Blackstone Legion. Can I trust this responsibility unto you?"

The various eyes of the five-headed beast glowed and dimmed, "We will serve 'til Oblivion shows mercy."

"Very good! Now, we'll go back to the surface so you can meet your lieutnants." Grogar said as he lit his horns.

Fluttershy was still thinking about those giant creatures she met earlier today from Grogar's showcase, especially the manticore with the very soft mane. It was very polite for a creature with such a monstrous appearance. She wondered how it would be like if her animal friends talked to her that way, she'd imagine Angel would probably use it to complain and ask her for more food while she was away with her friends... On second thought, maybe she's better off communicating with them like normal.

She continued to hum to herself as she filled up the food bowls for her animal friends. Fluttershy then brought them outside so they can finally eat. As she made her way outside, she was absolutely shocked by the sudden appearance of a giant yellow portal on the other side of the small creek, thankfully she didn't drop the food bowls. She saw Grogar, Starlight, and Golden Feather walk out of it. Though it seemed like Grogar was waiting for something or someone else to go through.

Not a moment later, five heads emerged from the portal, which were followed by a towering draconic body, with clawed wings as its forelimbs. It almost looked like the hydra she encountered at Froggy Bottom Bog when Twilight was trying to figure out Pinkie's Pinkie Sense. Fluttershy trembled at the sight, but was soon pulled out of her thoughts by Grogar's shouting.

"Gah! What the- Why are we here?!" Grogar yelled at nobeing in particular.

Golden Feather projected a screen, "Looks like the distortions hadn't dissipated enough for you to make a stable anchor."

Grogar facehoofed, "Of course... always those blasted distortions..."

Starlight looked around the area, "Looks like we're just outside Fluttershy's place."

Grogar turned to the cottage at the other side of the creek and its pegasus inhabitant, "Apologies Miss Fluttershy! We had a little problem with the portal spell!" he yelled from his location.

Fluttershy didn't know what to make of it, so she just decided to approach the group. She glanced at the towering hydra-dragon-thing as she got closer.

"Oh, that's okay. It's just an accident." she paused, "Um, is that a new... er, beast?"

"Indeed, it is. This is Tiamat, they are the commander of Ponyville's new beast legion. If you ever have any concerns regarding a beast around your property, you may contact Tiamat for more information." Grogar explained.

Tiamat lowered one of their five heads, "Greetings, timorous one."

Fluttershy jumped at sound of the telepathic voice, "Y-yes, hello."

She took a step closer to pet the head at the tip of its snout. Oddly enough, it seemed like Tiamat made a purring noise when Fluttershy did so.

"Looks like somebing's made a new friend!" Golden giggled at the sight.

Grogar looked at his newest creation. Tiamat was wagging their tail as Fluttershy continued to pet one of the heads. The other four, despite not having the required facial muscles to express fluidly, appear to be jealous of the lowered one.

'Perhaps... this is a good way to show they can be trusted?' Grogar mused. He knew that the citizens of Ponyville would have a pretty hard time adjusting to the sudden appearance of giant beasts roaming around their homes, even if said beasts are guaranteed to never cause harm to them or the town itself. Maybe having the leader be friends with one of the most timid ponies in town would do their reputation some good.

Grogar stroked his beard, "Hm... Tiamat, would you perhaps like to have your outpost located nearby?"

The four unoccupied heads turned to their creator, "Yes! W-we mean... if you so choose, Beastfather."

Gorgar chuckled, "Miss Fluttershy, would you mind if Tiamat goes into stasis near your cottage?"

Fluttershy stopped scratching behind the lowered head's frills, "Oh, um, that's okay." she replied with a smile and continued scratching. One of Tiamat's hindlegs started to stomp on its own.

Grogar looked at the admittedly adorable sight with a content smile. Maybe he should make some for the diarchy as well.

Inside the digital ether of the archives, Sunset going through Grogar's list of required materials. He tasked her to locate their approximate whereabouts so that he can go find them. Sunset was combing through the projected map of the Frozen North and the Crystal Empire from her global scan when she got a ping for something.

Sunset zoomed in to the tagged location. There, she saw a massive bright red crystal mostly covered by a pile of snow. It emanated vast amounts of dark magic and malefic energy. She knew what this was thanks to the near limitless information within the archives.

A shadow prison. Used in Skyros to imprison unredeemable criminals or... used to store Umbrum rebels by the Heralds of Oblivion, by Mage Sombra specifically. The fact that it's releasing so much malefic energy means that it was likely filled to the brim with the latter.

Sunset smiled. Looks like they're all going to get a new toy to experiment with soon.

Author's Note

Grogar's still making monsters! Even in other universes.

The Tellusians have got their eyes on something very intriguing! Looks like Midnight's going to meet another one of her siblings' counterparts sometime in the future!

Next chapter: There's another mirror portal?!

If you want to share ideas on how this story should go, consider commenting!

Corrections and criticisms are more than welcome, I can't improve without those now, can I?
Have a good existence!
:)

"Remembered forever, the land of Equestria"