STANDARD DISCLAIMER: MLP, its characters, and locations, and logos, and probably some other things are © Lauren Faust and the Hasbronies.
I
The Trolls' Den
Equestria – as the Equestrians of the nation-state of Equestria also called their entire planet – was by-and-large a world beset upon by many calamities. Tragedies wrought by mere diseases or plagues appeared in Equestrian history texts as mere footnotes when compared to grander stories of angered Chaos demigods who, in hateful but queer bids for revenge, would transform the nation's road systems to soap, and the rains to chocolate.
And denizens of the Earth Pony settlement of Ponyville would often quake in fear at the mere mention of the nearby forest's name, Everfree, for in it dwelt beasts that fueled the nightmares of all who lived nearby. These horrors did the grand power of the Princesses keep at bay, for the most part, for any creature of the forest possessing at least a modicum of intelligence knew not to anger them. (For their part, the residents of Ponyville could however list off quite a few dimwits that had ruined their village half a dozen times over the last few years.)
But Equestria, the nation, merely constituted a small portion of Equestria, the planet, itself vast and wide, and which contained its own Horrors and Unknowns. It is likely that most ponies had had the story of 'Quickfoot and the Manticore' read to them as foals, and had probably seen the elaborate paintings of Ursas Major by Prism, in which the spectral-coated monstrosities were depicted to tower as high as Canterlot; but there were creatures beyond the nation's borders for which Equestrians had yet no conception or name.
Happily, these creatures normally would not make their way to the nation of Equestria, allowing the denizens the live on in blissful ignorance of them.
However, it so happened that in the fifth year after the return of Princess Luna, marked in the new Celestial calendars as the year 5 AR (standing for After Return), the northern borders of Equestria briefly suffered under a minor incursion of brutish beasts that would come to be known to all as 'Trolls.'
The general populace of Equestria had 'til this time only a vague comprehension of Trollkind, and what little they knew they owed to anecdotes passed on from visiting Griffons. Were a curious pony to offer a Griffon a few drinks, they would be more than happy to pass on their experiences and tales.
As the Griffons described them, the creatures stood on two gigantic feet, and grew higher than three times the length of a pony, sometimes even higher for longer-lived males. Walking on feet allowed the Troll to use its arms, which ended in grasping hands with long, bony fingers, to pulverize its prey should it so need; though more often than not they much preferred to use giant clubs fashioned from fallen oaks.
Trolls in particular appeared to prefer to gorge themselves on bear meat; Trolls also found as many uses for the parts of bears as ponies did for apples, as they clothed themselves mostly in bear skins, and lined their menacing clubs with massive bear teeth. And, indeed, the curved tusks and jagged, razor-sharp teeth that lined a typical Troll's maw looked quite up to the task of rending bear flesh.
Griffons surmised that Trolls probably enjoyed rending other creatures' flesh as well, but never found occasion to ask one. As they related, Trolls were also an incredibly unfriendly lot, and quite dull. The Griffons would mark with wry cynicism that Trolls wouldn't likely be open to the pony philosophy of Harmonious Friendship. Slow to conversation but quick to violence, their usual reaction to seeing a Griffon would be to hurl large stones into the sky. They only seemed to tolerate the presence of other Trolls, and only barely at that – two or at most three Trolls would live together in their terrifying dens, natural caves they lined with the bones and treasures from fallen victims.
And so, it was met with great trepidation in the courts of Canterlot when news arrived that such beasts had made their way into the nation. Stories of ponies gone missing in the northern border town of Stonehaven took on a more ominous tone when witnesses reported sightings of enormous, blue-skinned beasts wielding clubs the size of trees. Nobleponies at court did shudder to think of the consequences of these 'Trolls' reaching as far south as the capitol, and they stamped their feet, and they nervously demanded of the Princesses what the pair intended to do about the whole outrageous affair.
As for the Equestrian Princesses, it was unclear how little or how much they knew about Trolls in their own personal histories, but it became apparent to everypony in court that the royal duo regarded them at the very least as a threat. Luna, in particular, seemed ready to boil over in rage when making the connection between the beasts and the disappearances of ponies.
By their decree, a full-strength platoon of Pegasus guardsponies, numbering fifty-five, was dispatched northwards to secure the town of Stonehaven and defend it against further aggression.
The ponies, commanded by a Captain Swiftwing, flew due north-by-northeast of Stonehaven, where reports indicated the Trolls had been last sighted, and probably where they had set up a new 'den,' if the knowledge on Troll behavior supplied by the Griffin dignitary at court proved correct. When they reached the area, the Captain noted with dismay that the Trolls had chosen the location of their new home well: large, rolling hills, covered in a thick canopy of trees all 'round. Even despite their gross stature, the Trolls would be well hidden from prying eyes above.
And so, the Captain ordered the platoon to split up into squadrons of five ponies apiece, and commanded two such squadrons to fly closer to the forest and scout out possible locations where the beasts might hide. After half of an hour of searching, the first squadron became aware of the Trolls' location, but only after a pony-sized boulder shot out from below at a terrible speed, catching two ponies unaware. The air reverberated with the sound of snapping spines and feeble cries, and the two unfortunate pegasi plummeted downwards as fast as the stone that had struck them, and vanished beneath the treetops. A third pegasus, screaming in rage and alarm, flew down to try and aid his fallen comrades, ignoring the protests of the the other two. As soon as he broke through the forest canopy, the spikes of a massive club were swiftly driven through the side of his head.
Seeing this, and knowing their comrades lost, the remaining members of the squadron hurriedly reconnoitered with the main force; the Captain gritted his teeth at the loss of good soldiers, and immediately called forth four pegasi trained in the use of weaponry enhanced by unicorn magics. They had each at their disposal a satchel of hollowed-out rocks filled to the brim with jagged pieces of metal, which glowed blue with enchantment runes. Upon the Captain's orders, they began to hurl down the stones upon the place where the three dead pegasi now lay. Upon contact with the ground, the enchantments caused the stones to explode with enough concussive force to fell nearby trees and deliver their intended payload.
A wicked smile spread across the Captain's lips as he heard a monstrous scream from below. Vengeance!
He ordered the platoon to push downwards in force, into the forest area cleared of trees by the explosions. They were met with the crumpled form of a blue-skinned Troll, lying breathless in a pool of its own blood. Amongst the trees around them that still stood, the platoon spotted two more of the beasts, one of which clutched a bleeding, limp arm in its other hand, and snarled in anger. The third appeared unharmed.
The Captain bellowed forth his orders, and the platoon split into two large groups and charged forth, vengeance in their hearts and battle-cries in their throats. The wounded Troll they surrounded on all sides, and above as well, and lashed out with blades attached to their hooves and helms. The troll, with only its two eyes, could not track dozens of agile, winged ponies; when its back turned, a single pegasus would close in from behind for a quick strike, then fly backwards to a safe distance from retaliation; it was a battle tactic learned from observing bees and wasps take down comparatively massive animals, and the pegasi had adapted it to armed combat splendidly.
However, though wounded, the Troll still possessed a measure of its strength, and with lightening quick reflexes was able to snatch one surprised pegasus out of the air with its still-useful arm. Before the pegasus could struggle free, the Troll ripped into his belly with its massive teeth, the pony's warm blood spattering across its face, and his entrails stuck in its teeth. The pony died, his face contorted in a spasm of pain and horror.
This served only to further enrage the battle-hardened platoon, which continued to cut and slice the Troll until, finally, it crumpled to the forest floor, blood leaking from hundreds of cuts and tears.
The other half of the platoon didn't fare nearly as well against the hitherto unwounded Troll, who swung its club with furious might. Four pegasi it felled with a single lucky swing. Its other hand it swung madly, batting a couple slower pegasi to the ground. It caught the Captain in a furious swipe with the back of its hand, sending him off to collide with a tree. However, this Troll in the end fared no better than its fallen friend, and ultimately met the same fate. Its final cry rang out and silenced the forest.
But only for a spell. The dismal, uncomfortable din of soldiers maimed began to fill the air shortly thereafter. The Captain, wounded but not seriously so (though for a moment considerably out of breath), struggled to his feet and resumed command. Pegasi soldiers he stationed in a wide perimeter, to warn of and defend against other foes; though the Captain hoped and prayed to the Princesses that the earlier reports on the Trolls' numbers would prove accurate. A few scouts he sent forth in all directions, to find their den; those ponies in the platoon skilled in mending wounds tended to bleeding comrades. One such pony set about cleaning and bandaging a tear on the Captain's head, and cleaning away the blood that had drained into his eyes.
Twenty minutes passed before his scouts returned, and one reported sighting a cave lined with bones – the Trolls' erstwhile den.
***
The Captain glared at the mouth of the cave. The trolls had lined the entrance with massive, sharp, angular bones, and the sight of it reminded him at once of the gaping maws of the creatures his soldiers had just felled. He limped forward, and his eyes were met with the gruesome sight of Death, and his nostrils met Its stench.
Bile churned in his stomach as he realized that his later report to the Princesses would include his conclusions that, yes, the missing ponies of Stonehaven had been found.
A few reflected rays of Celestia's setting sun caught the Captain's eye, though. The corners of his lips pulled slightly upwards, though his eyes didn't match this mirth. Treasure lay here, hoarded by the Trolls, though the Captain didn't at all like the price paid for it.
The Captain at once noticed a large pile of shining gold and silver fashioned into pieces of armor and weapons, plates and cutlery, and even a few battered candelabras. Recently moved here, the pieces shone brilliantly, not begrimed as they were by dust or dirt. The Captain recognized that the weapons and armor appeared to be of Griffon make (and, with a frown, noted the gaping holes in some pieces of the armor). Amongst this lay strewn about many weapons fashioned from lesser metals, such as iron.
He ordered ten pegasi who were otherwise unengaged to begin hauling out the pieces and cataloging them. Melted down, they would make fine additions to the Canterlot treasury, to be certain.
After an hour of such sorting, two pegasi interrupted the Captain while he struggled to word his report to the Princesses. They saluted, and told him of an unusual artifact that they had found amongst the treasures, and upon his questioning they replied only that it be best if he were to examine it for himself.
The Captain stepped inside, and deeper into the cave where the soldiers had mentioned seeing the 'artifact.' There, huddled in a dark corner, he saw it, though his mind struggled to explain what exactly he saw. Quite the opposite of the brightly glowing gold treasures now outside, what lay before him appeared composed of a rusted metal. Iron, he guessed, by the color; but he was unsure.
At first he thought it another piece of armor for a four-legged, vaguely insect-like creature he couldn't identify, standing roughly one-and-a-half times the height of himself; but when he rapped his hoof upon its chest (or its 'thorax'?), a dull thud informed him that this was not a hollow suit of armor, but solid throughout. An iron-work statue of some creature, he wondered? He had served as a guardspony for decades, and during his duty in defending Equestria had seen scores of unusual and at times terrifying creatures (and, after today, he could add 'Celestia-damned ugly Trolls' to that list), but he had never seen nor heard of a creature shaped as this statue before him.
However, it looked … 'incomplete,' was the nicest word he could manage. 'Broken,' perhaps. It struck him as obvious that, aside from the four narrow, angular legs that conjoined together at the bottom of the thorax (or maybe it was better to call it a 'chest'?), and a small head-like structure that protruded forward, that pieces were missing from this statue. Had they been forcefully removed?
He examined the 'head' of the beastly statue more closely. It appeared smooth and round at the top, but flat, squarish and narrower at the bottom. It didn't have any antennae that he'd expect to see on a grasshopper or an ant, and indeed it seemed to house only a single, cylindrical eye in the center. He brought his hoof up to the head, nudging it gently. To his surprise it rotated slightly to the side with an audible, rusty groan. Captain Swiftwing had never heard of statues with moving parts, before.
A second rusty groan turned his blood to ice as he watched the head slowly, slowly swivel back to its previous position. The Captain jumped backwards, hoofblades at the ready for whatever might come.
He began to feel a mite bit foalish when nothing further happened. The statue remained silent and very much like a statue, much to the Captain's relief. He exhaled slowly as the tension left his chest.
The Captain turned and exited the cave, and ordered the two stallions who had originally told him of the statue to haul it outside and put it with the rest. Perhaps a scholar back in Canterlot could make sense of the strange thing before placing it in some museum.
He didn't hear another rusty groan that sounded from the dark corner of the cave.
II
Mutual Misunderstandings
It sat in a cold, dark room, uncertain of how it had arrived. Flamelight trickled in under the threshold of the massive doors, giving it a dim view of its surroundings. It saw smooth stone walls that met at obtuse angles, giving the interior of the room an octagonal shape. A inlaid frieze ran in a ring around the top of the room, portraying a variety of quadrupedal animals it didn't recognize. Though they appeared similar in overall shape, some had wings or horns, some both, some neither.
A representation of the creatures that built this room?
It surmised that this space seemed to serve only as storage for a plethora of artifacts. Weapons, armor, and some designs for which it couldn't imagine a purpose. And itself.
The other objects it recognized, from before. The blue-skinned bipeds had hoarded them, for whatever reason. It had never seen them use the weapons or armor, just heap them up in the center of one cave or another to rust and collect dust.
Where were those beasts now? They had seemed more savage than intelligent to it, and likely incapable of the architecture used in creating its new surroundings, let alone of the relief patterns carved into its walls. Perhaps he had seen the last of them, finally?
It looked again at the carvings in the walls, and a memory began to surface. Barely awake, it had seen one of these quadrupeds approach it in the caves. Inspect it. Had they driven away the Blue-skins, and brought it here, claiming it as some prize?
Other details floated into its memory. The quadruped had donned shining armor, which had circular insignias of some sort, though it knew not what the insignias were meant to represent. Its memories of the armor gave it pause … these creatures, though intelligent and civilized, might be hostile and militaristic all the same.
Again, its eye tiredly swept across the other contents of the storage space. It had been left alone, unwatched, in this room, with all of this material.
Best not to let this opportunity go to waste.
***
Sadness and anger swirled chaotically within Princess Celestia, though one would not know it from her well-practiced, neutral expression.
A messenger pony had earlier flown unannounced into her Day Court, a scrolled parchment clutched between his teeth: a battle report, from the Captain deployed to deal with the threat of the Trolls.
Celestia had opened the report with fearful anticipation, and as her eyes quickly scanned the words therein, a knot began to form in the pit of her stomach. As Swiftwing's report detailed, by the end of that cursed day, four ponies had died on the fields of battle, two had succumbed later to grievous injuries, and a score more rested now in hospital beds. Even this number didn't include the loss of life in Stonehaven, before the guards had even arrived.
She and Luna had both underestimated the beasts, it seemed, and their folly had cost lives. Should she have sent a stronger force? Should she have gone personally to subdue the beasts, and damn the political consequences? She knew better than to chide herself like this, but did anyway.
The funerals had been dreadful affairs. She had stood before mourning ponies, her little ponies, their heads buried in their hooves as tears streaked down like rainwater, all because of her mistakes. She couldn't even remember what she had said during the ceremonies; not that it mattered, since her words had failed to comfort or sooth the pain of the dead soldiers' loved ones.
As she walked back through the palace, her head felt numb, and her eyes for awhile stared off into nothingness, and at nothing, as she struggled to cope with her latest failure. Luna had also attended the funerals, but considering the time of day, returned to sleep at the ceremonies' conclusion. Celestia envied her sister for this, and longed to also let sleep and the passage of Time help numb her pain, if only a little while.
Ironically, even though the Equestrians set their clocks by the passage of the Sun, Time wouldn't stop for the one pony who controlled its movements, to allow even the briefest rest. Celestia had her duties to perform.
One such duty, the inspection of the treasures and trinkets that Swiftwing and his platoon had recovered from the Trolls' den, had at least managed to stoke her curiosity some. A good deal of the gold and silver items could likely be melted down and minted into coin. Perhaps she could give some of the new coin as compensation to the fallen soldiers' families, she thought.
At any rate, Celestia reckoned, having something to distract her at this time would be a welcome change of pace.
She ran into Swiftwing personally on her way down to the storehouses. A twinge of worry lurked behind her eyes when she saw the bandage across his forehead, though she hid this well. Well enough for most ponies, of course, but not well enough to escape the eye of a familiar guardspony. He felt embarrassed and a little ashamed when he thought he detected her worry.
As the Princess and the Captain continued and then concluded their journey to the storehouses, Swiftwing talked animatedly of the statue he had found. “Certainly,” he said, “I've never in my life seen such a creature, even if it is just a statue, certainly.”
“Describe it to me again, please, if it is not too much trouble.”
“Certainly,” the Captain responded, before repeating his observations detailed in the earlier report. Celestia frowned to herself as she began wondering at the severity of the head wound concealed in the Captain's bandages, and decided she would speak later that week with the medical staff. The two arrived at the storehouse, and Celestia used her magic to swing open the massive doors at the entrance, a feat usually requiring the combined efforts of four able-bodied ponies.
Specks of dust danced in the light from the hallway torches that streamed into the dark storehouse interior, revealing mounds of crumpled sheets in seeming disarray, but no objects to be seen. Celestia knitted her eyebrows, and her horn lit up as she she threw more light into the massive storeroom; but this increased illumination served only to confirm that her eyes had not been tricked by the darkness. She had read of shining gold treasures in the Captain's report, so many that she should have been tripping over them already.
Celestia puzzled at the situation, and asked the Captain if they had arrived correctly. After all, she reminded the Captain (while again glancing at the bandages across his head), there were dozens of storerooms spread throughout the palace, and under the palace, and even one above the palace, formed of clouds.
The Captain, also puzzled, affirmed that they had certainly arrived at the correct place.
Just then, a skittering from within the darkened recesses of the room caught their attention; the pair shared a surprised glance, and pressed forward to investigate. Celestia's muscles tensed, and her eyes went wide, as she noticed a hulking form hiding in the darkness. She cast the light from her horn at whatever lay before them.
The Whatever in the darkness, for its part, seemed not to notice its new company, or at the very least to not care so much. The Captain inhaled sharply as he recognized a familiar shape, though somewhat different, and not appearing so broken as he remembered.
Before Celestia and the Captain stood the same statue as the latter had detailed in his report, standing on its four thin, angular legs. Its form, previously a mess of sad rust, now brilliantly reflected the Princess's cast sunbeams, its skin a mixture of silver, gold, and iron.
The Captain inhaled sharply again, filling his lungs to capacity, as the statue began acting very much unlike a statue: the ground sounded with a tak-tak-tak as the statue rapidly moved its sharp legs about, and began walking towards some previously unseen objects on the floor. A pale sky-blue light glowed from the protrusion in front of its torso as it looked around.
As the Captain stared at the creature, he noticed two new dangling shapes below the glowing blue 'eye' that had not been there before: tiny arms that ended in two long fingers and one opposing thumb, usable for manipulating or grasping small objects, he reckoned.
For the first time, other differences finally registered in the Captain's mind: two thin protrusions coming out from the back of its torso that bulged out into wide cylindrical shapes, and again tapered off to sharp points at the ends. These shapes rhythmically bobbed back and forth, reminding the Captain of wings of a sort, though these appendages looked completely incapable of flight.
The Captain stepped forward to demand that the creature identify itself, but Celestia laid a hoof across his chest, slightly shaking her head from side to side.
The blue light of its eye could be seen moving across the floor, much like the focused light beam of the specialized crystals the Captain had sometimes used in various search and rescue missions. It came to rest upon an iron weapon: a long, ancient-looking halberd. The patterns along the staff looked to resemble Griffon war markings, and must have been forged by their talons centuries ago.
In a corner of her mind, Celestia remembered that soldier Griffons specialized in the use of such weapons, being able to grip the long body of the weapon in their talons and thrust the blade forward. Some larger Griffons of yesteryear would have been capable of wielding the cumbersome weapons, but by and large Griffon warriors these days much preferred lighter-weight and more efficient spears. A Griffon halberd such as this proved a rare sight – an antique – and at the very least belonged in a museum or the Griffon embassy.
The cylindrical protrusions coming from the creature's back section began to hum, and a soft blue glow emanated from them, which matched perfectly the light from the creature's eye. Ever so slowly, a translucent, blue cloud began to seep out of from here, and then move towards the blade. The cloud was awash with tiny particles that danced back and forth; in appearance, similar to the dust in sunbeams, but in movement they reminded Celestia of a swarm of insects.
The cloud extended forth from the creature, and enveloped the blade. The latter began giving off a clanking sound as the cloud seemed to hoist it up into the air, where it then slowly spun about in place.
Celestia inhaled sharply. A soft glow, levitating and manipulating objects in the air ... Celestia and Luna had this ability, as did most unicorn ponies. Did this creature use magic, too?
Seeing the Unknown creature twirl the weapon around in its magical mist reminded Celestia of the funerals she had attended earlier in the day, and she remembered the sorrow and the tears.
She clenched her teeth and moved forward, shielding the Captain with her body. She attempted with a motion of her head to wordlessly command the Captain to retreat, though he seemed not to take notice. He stood petrified in fear or wonder, or both, and made no moves.
The creature itself also made no moves. Indeed, Celestia remarked, it had still seemed not to have noticed them approaching it from behind.
All of which could prove to be a cunning tactical ploy, Celestia thought. The Princess's mind raced as she sized up her Unknown opponent, predicting possible moves it might make and thinking of counter-moves: should it turn and lunge with the blade, an upwards push of her magic would propel it into the ceiling, opening it to further attacks; should it stab downwards at her, she could quickly fly into the air and land on the halberd's handle with her feet, immobilizing it; should it tarry too long, she could simply push forward with a large burst of magic, hopefully wrenching the weapon from its grasp.
She did not, however, want to bring her own magic into direct contact with the Unknown's. Its ominous glow sent a chill down her spine.
But the creature did not lunge, nor did it stab downwards. Instead, the halberd began twitching back and forth in the blue cloud. But no attack came.
Celestia looked on in astonishment as tiny pockmarks appeared in the form of the weapon. The weapon began corroding, right before their eyes, and broke down into hundreds of fragments. Fearing a barrage, Celestia flared up her own magic, quickly and quietly casting a large domed shield around both herself at the Captain.
Still, no attack came. Instead, the hundred fragments broke down into a thousand smaller fragments. Then, after a moment, the thousand fragments vanished into thin air as they became smaller still, as if the halberd had never even existed. The cloud slowly receded back to within the creature.
The pair of ponies watched amazed, the Captain's mouth hanging slightly open, as another two limbs then began to sprout out from the top of the torso – though, Celestia thought to herself, the process resembled more the scaffolded construction of a new building than a sapling stretching out towards the sunlight.
Iron bones morphed from nothing, and sinew of silver and gold wrapped itself around as joints audibly popped into existence, giving form to a pair of curving limbs that terminated in long, sharp-looking blades. The ponies grimaced at seeing the full length and reach of the limbs as the creature stretched the new members for the first time.
“What,” the Princess wondered aloud, “are you?” She took a few steps back.
The creature almost jumped, seemingly startled at hearing the voice of the Princess behind it. It turned around slowly to face them – tak-tak-tak – and stared into Celestia's eyes. Celestia couldn't be sure, but she had the feeling that the Unknown was seriously pondering her question.
The creature's corrosive cloud quietly buzzed in the air around it. Celestia's brow furrowed as she tried to understand what happened next: lights began to rhythmically flare up and die down within the cloud. The spectacle reminded her of reflected but unseen lightening within a storm cloud.
And then, words sprang forth into the still air. A mixture of low and high voices of different pitches sounded off, like discordant instruments in an untrained orchestra, as they called out words she couldn't understand.
Celestia tried to fumble a reply as she stared at the Unknown. “I … I'm sorry, I don't...” The Unknown stared at her for a few moments in mutual misunderstanding. It called forth a few more unrecognizable words in vain.
Then, the blue cloud, which had not but a few moments before broken an iron halberd down to vapors, rushed forth and enveloped Celestia's head.