Silver Shield was used to showing up just as things were getting ugly. Inwardly he sighed as he realized that this was just another such occurrence. He rushed towards the group that was obviously investigating the same thing he was...or so he thought. His actual assignment was to investigate the destruction and observe this new stranger. He'd just gotten word of this from his higher-ups and been teleported in with the usual amount of pinpoint accuracy: 5 miles to the north. He'd had to walk all the way to the ruins, and now this was what he'd found. Nothing is ever easy, is it? His horn glowed and he cast his preferred protection spell, a thick shield of ice forming from thin air in between the Stranger (and more importantly, the Princess) and the two beast-like creatures. His brow was furrowed slightly in concentration, watching the creatures carefully to see how they reacted, and more importantly, to see if they broke through his spell. If they did, he wasn't sure he could cast another spell in time to protect them... Then again, he was sure the Princess was perfectly capable of protecting herself. However, it was a part of his duty to see that the Princess was unharmed, if the situation ever arose that she may be. And so he was bound to protect her, even if she didn't really need it. From the looks of the stranger, he...or...she or whatever it was, seemed to have some means of defending itself as well. Come to think of it, why was he casting this shield again? Probably out instinct and pride. He shoved the thought out of his head and turned his attention back to the field.
Silver reacted instantly, drawing his swords and flying at the creature closest to Celestia. With a single slice of his blade, the creature's head was separated from it's body. The other creature screeched and rushed towards him, only to meet a similar fate. Flicking the blood from his blades, Silver turned to 02F4. "I assume you know what those were?"
02F4 approached one of the fallen bodies and sprayed a white mist that burned fiercely when it made contact with the body and the ground around it. As the body burned, the mare narrowed her eyes and replied, "They are horrible Flesh Sacks. The Symbiotry." Soon there was nothing left of the creature, and 02F4 started to go to work on the next one. As she sprayed the white phosphorous, she glanced back at the ponies. "It is the only way to thoroughly destroy them. They have evolved beyond-" Just then, one managed to burrow up underneath Celestia and catch her off guard. The princess yelped in surprise and managed to dodge out of the way, but not before taking a large scratch to her flank. She was a out to counterattack when the creature quickly dove back underground and burrow away. Celestia herself had already cast a healing spell on herself and her wound began to disappear before everyone's eyes. She remarked, "Cunning little imps..." 02F4 immediately stopped what she was doing and scanned Celestia again. Her eyes widened in horror. "What is that? The energy that comes ex nihlo?!"
"Blast and damnation! These things are exceedingly annoying!" Holly began growling at something below the ground, and Silver plunged his sword into the dirt at her feet. A muffled screech from below let him know that he had wounded the Flesh Sack. "Just how many of these things are there?!"
Silver Shield approached the group, his horn dimming down until it was no longer glowing. The wall of ice fell into chunks and began to melt slowly. In response to The Stranger's strange question, he said, "It is not ex nihlo, it is drawn from...ah, never mind. Now is not a good time for a Magical Theory lesson." He blinked. "It is magic. Have you not experienced it before?" Silver Shield asked, with a near untraceable amount of sarcasm put into the question.
02F4 scanned the area. "Sensors indicate that the miserable flesh sacks have all run away...LIKE THE COWARDS THEY ARE!" This last part was directed at nowhere in particular. She grumbled a bit as she turned toward Silver Shield. She shook her head. "We have never seen anything like it. Most Organics that we've encountered cannot produce such energy from their being." Celestia approached. "In our world, there is magic within everypony, and- ugh!" She suddenly lost her footing and dropped to her front knees. "Oh my...what...happened?" She tried toget to her hooves, but found that she couldn't. 02F4 scanned her again. "Scanners indicate that your bloodstream has been infiltrated by foreign bodies." She turned her weapon toward the Princess. "We cannot allow it to spread, or you will become one of them..."
"The Night Princess will be furious if I allow her sister to come to harm." Silver sheathed his swords and rushed to help Celestia up. "Zero-Two-Eff-Four! Can you help her?"
Silver Shield glares at The Stranger when he directs his weapon at the Princess. "That is not neccesary. Kindly redirect your weapon." He helps Celestia to her feet using his levitation, simultaneously turning to face the Stranger with the full brunt of his unamused demeanor. "Has any sort of method been developed in order to prevent this infection at it's early stage?" Inside he was absolutely terrified that the answer would be 'no', but he gave absolutely no sign of that. "That would be the logical course of action after discovering that they are capable of infecting other...organic creatures." He presses his lips together slightly.
Celestia cast a glance toward Silver Crescent. "T-Thank you..." 02F4 kept her weapon trained on the Princess, though her steely gaze slowly softened. She addressed Silver Shield. "Our solution for such an infection prior to today was liberal application of white phosphorous to the infected organism until said organism dissolved completely. Needless to say, this solution lead to the expiration of the infected organism 100% of the time." She retracted her weapon into her back. "However, with your...Magic, perhaps other solutions can be considered." Celestia smiled weakly. "What a relief."
"Princess Celestia has a magical connection to the sun. Perhaps a heavy dose of solar radiation will be able to eliminate the contaminants without harming the princess." Silver shrugged. "Or we could try magic. Whatever works."
Silver looks more doubtful than the other two, frowning slightly. "Do you want me to cast a spell of Healing? Regeneration? Poison Removal? I am not quite sure what I am dealing with." He looks to the Princess, and appears to be thinking. Then he turns back to The Stranger. "What causes the...infected organism to become one of The Symbiotry, as you call them? Have you not researched this?" He sounds faintly annoyed.
Aqua looked more and more frightened throughout the duration of the conversation. The ground began to rumble, and puddles grew at everypony's feet.
Silver glanced over at the frightened young mare. "Am I correct in assuming that you a the one summoning this water? I would recommend that you stop. Those creatures clearly have tunnels below us. Turning the ground to mud may create a sinkhole."
Silver gives a light snort, and glares at the other Silver slightly. "I do not think now is the time for reprimands. She is clearly traumatized."
Silver Crescent looked at Silver Shield with annoyed amusement. "I was not reprimanding her. I was simply stating a fact. In the future, I would recommend that you watch your tone when speaking to me." He then walked over to the mute mare, and pulled a small notepad from his saddlebag. "You cannot speak? Can you write?"
Silver gives one short barking laugh at the other Silver's comment, but does not respond further. "Well then, can you write what happened here in the dirt?" he asks.
She began to paw at the muddy dirt, forming small, legible letters. "I'm not sure... My house caught on fire, and I was the only on to escape. I saw... creatures... I don't really know how to describe them. They were..." she gave a small, hoarse shudder.
"Blast and damnation! This is..." Silver stopped himself, not wanting to frighten the mare even more. "My apologies. This may not be the best place to continue this conversation. Those creatures are still about, and the princess requires medical attention."
