Derran looked at himself in the mirror, examining his body from a variety of angles. It wasn't ego that made him do this, rather it was a matter of practicality. His armor might protect him, but it didn't make him invincible, it also prevented him from checking himself for wounds that might not have been readily apparent. Most people would have asked how you could be injured and not know it, but the Doom Slayer knew that when your adrenalin was up you could easily sustain damage, and not realize it till much later. True Derran's armour kept him apprised of his general physical health, but it never hurt to go that extra mile to be sure.
Satisfied that he was whole, and hearty, Derran frowned at the length of his hair. It looked nice, but in battle an enemy could easily use it as a convenient hand hold, and dying as a result of vanity was hardly an appealing fate. Although, as he wore a helmet that completely encased his head, he saw no reason to worry about it just yet. Besides he wanted to look his best for the Princess, and Lady Dash, simply as a matter of being polite.
"I wonder what miladies Luna and Celestia will think?" Derran wondered aloud.
Luna, and Celestia. . . he wondered if they remembered him? He certainly had never forgotten them, nor would he. Still, he had been gone for almost twelve hundred years, even for immortals that was a long absence. His time with them had been all too brief, but while it had lasted it had been one of the happiest periods of his long existence. He would never hold it against the Princesses if they had forgotten. After all they had done for him he could never think ill of them.
"If they have moved on. . .then so be it, it will not change the vow I swore so long ago. Even if I am forgotten, even should they deny me what they promised, I will always be faithful." Derran affirmed to himself. However; if they did remember, if they did honor their promise. . . "It will not change my duty, it will only make it that much more important." Derran stated to his reflection as he began re-donning his armor. It was a bit more difficult this time, as he needed one hand free to grasp the Crucible. The vile artifact was far too important to risk losing, and though he now walked on holy ground, that was no excuse for lowering his guard completely. he had even gone so far as to carry it into the shower with him. Until he presented it to the Seraphim sisters, the Doom Slayer would leave nothing to chance.
Twilight felt like she was going to throw up. The dinner she had painstakingly made herself, was completely inedible. The bread was the flavor and texture of coal, the soup tasted like dirt, the vegetable stir fry was a color she wasn't even certain had a name, and the pie she had tried to bake had somehow exploded in the oven. Rainbow stared at the mess in the kitchen in shock.
"Run through it for me again, how did this happen?" Rainbow asked, not certain whether to be horrified or impressed by the scale of Twilight's failure as a cook. Twilight's answer came in a mechanical monotone that, combined with her blank expression, made Rainbow wonder if her friend had finally gone off the deep end.
"By the time I got back to the castle I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get everything done in time for when Derran returned. So I tweaked a few things to make it go faster." Twilight explained, with just enough emotion entering her voice to indicate how close she was to complete hysteria.
"Tweaked?! Twilight, the only thing I know how to cook is toast, and even I could have done this better! What in the name of Celestia did you do!?" Rainbow asked stunned.
"Well instead of baking the bread for two hours at 550 degrees I decided to bake it for one hour at 1100 degrees, I thought mathematically it would work out the same. Then I realized we were out of cooking oil. It was too late to go buy some more, and the market was damaged in Garble's attack anyway. So I substituted with the oil I use for my alchemy, and potion making, it's non toxic so I thought it would work for something as simple as stir fry. Then with the apple pie, I threw in a few spoonfuls of yeast to make the crust rise faster."
Rainbow stared at her friend in disbelief.
"And, the soup?" She asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Twilight didn't even blink as she replied like an automaton.
"I think I just forgot to tell the spell to wash the dirt off the carrots and radishes, and they were fresh picked."
"Wait, what spell?" Rainbow asked a hint of accusation in her voice.
"I enchanted the pots, pans, and utensils to finish the cooking automatically while I took a shower." Twilight replied emotionlessly.
Rainbow stared at her friend, not quite certain what to say. However, before she could decide, a voice directly behind her let her know she was out of time.
"Miladies are you- by the Seraphim, what happened in here?!" Came the stunned voice of the Doom Slayer.
Twilight whipped around to see Derran standing there with an expression of shock. She felt a stab of fear as she considered the many possible reactions of the Doom Slayer. Would he be angry, disappointed, insulted? Twilight's mind flashed back to the last time she had tried to impress foreign dignitaries with a feast. Said dignitaries had come from Yakyakistan, and her screw ups had almost triggered a war. Derran might only be one individual, but with the power and weapons he possessed, he could easily turn her castle, maybe even all of Equestria, into a smouldering crater. However, once again, Twilight was surprised by the Doom Slayer's reaction.
"You know Milady if you were having trouble in the kitchen you could always have requested my assistance." Derran said with a chuckle.
All at once Twilight felt a crippling sense of shame. Derran wasn't going to hurt her, he wasn't even upset. Suddenly Twilight felt the emotional weight of the last few days hit her all in a single moment. She felt miserable about everything. About the state of her town, about the ruined dinner, but most of all: about how she, the so called "Princess of Friendship". Was treating perhaps the kindest sweetest stallion she'd ever met in her life. Twilight felt herself fall to her knees out of a combination of physical, and emotional exhaustion. Looking up and recalling her earlier discussion with Rainbow; Twilight realized what she needed to do.
"I-I'm sorry mister Grandel." Twilight said softly looking at the floor.
Derran knelt in front of Twilight out of concern, looking at her downturned head in surprise.
"My dear Lady Twilight, what could you possibly have to apologise for? You were kind enough to prepare dinner for me, and Lady Dash. Even after a long day of managing every detail of the town's reconstruction. You have been working the hardest of anypony, and I forbid you to deride yourself over a few burnt carrots."
Twilight shook her head.
"That's not it." She said miserably.
Derran's expression of surprise, and solicitude grew deeper.
"Then what troubles you Milady?"
Twilight actually felt tears coming to her eyes as she stared into Derran's. They were filled with nothing but kindness, and concern for her.
"I said I wanted to be your friend Derran, but instead of thinking of ways to get to know you, I've been thinking of ways to interrogate you. When I prepared all this I wasn't thinking about how to make you feel welcome, I was thinking about how to get information out of you! I'm the Princess of Friendship, I'm supposed to make friends with strangers, not smile to their face while plotting how to get what I want from them behind their backs!"
Twilight was stunned to suddenly feel Derran place a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"So that is what this is about?" He said with a relieved smile. "Milady I do not think you fully understand what your title means."
Twilight wiped tears from her eye's with the back of her hoof, before giving Derran a perplexed look.
"What do you mean?"
"Being the Princess of Friendship dosen't mean you instantly become it's avatar. Growth does not stop once you attain a certain rank, nor does it mean you have nothing left to learn. Quite frankly I would be genuinely concerned if you weren't at least a little suspicious of me. However even with those suspicions you trusted me enough to let me walk amongst your ponies unshackled, and unsupervised. Others might have at least had me with an escort at all times, or demanded I turn over my weapons, but you did neither. You gave me your trust, offered me a place to stay, and even cooked me dinner, that sounds like friendship to me."
"But-" Twilight tried to interject, but Derran cut her off.
"Milady never feel like you failed just because you were less than perfect. Perfection is a concept to which we may aspire, but should never hope to reach. Only the mad, and the deluded believe otherwise. A great conqueror said it best when he said 'I weep, for there are no more worlds to conquer.' do you understand what he meant by that Milady?" Twilight shook her head. "In a nutshell, should a man, or pony, ever become perfect, they might as well be dead. Think about it, what would be the point in going on? You would know all there is to know, you will have done all there is to do, and seen all there is to see, who in their right mind would want such an existence? Never apologize for not being perfect, only ever apologise for not trying."
Twilight nodded, she would have spoken if she could have, but Derran's words were so powerful they left her speechless. Instantly she felt all the fear, stress, and anxiety from the last few days vanish. She now saw Derran in a new light. As he helped her to her hooves she looked into his eyes, and felt a connection she hadn't before. She now had no doubt that Derran could be trusted, but it was more than just that. She couldn't quite put words to the feeling, but it made her blush deeply as Derran smiled broadly at her.
"Alright then, now that, that is out of the way, I insist that you two ladies head outside while I clean this up, and prepare dinner for you." Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but Derran forestalled her with an upraised hand. "Nu-bup-bup, not a word of argument, you two have had a very busy day, and deserve a chance to put your hooves up."
"You sure Derran? You haven't exactly been taking it easy yourself." Rainbow Dash commented uncertainly.
Deran gave Dash a confidant smirk.
"Milady Dash, to quote an old soldier 'I can rest when I'm dead.', now off with you, dinner shall be ready within the hour."
Dinner was a simple, but thoroughly delicious affair. The starter was a freshly tossed spring green salad, with sprigs of Dandelion and Rose petals, topped with a simple vinaigrette dressing. The main dish was a selection of oven baked vegetables brushed with butter, and then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a few select herbs. Finally for dessert, Derran prepared vanilla ice cream with blackberries. Rainbow, and Twilight dug in immediately at Derran's insistence, and it was all they could do to keep from moaning in delight.
"Derran this is delicious! Where did you learn to cook?" Twilight asked between bites.
Derran inclined his head in recognition of the praise.
"When I was here a millennia ago I learned a few Equestrian recipes, but I was taught to cook by my mother. She said every respectable man must know how to read, write, and cook. She insisted that a real man must be a gentleman, and he must read at least one book every month to ensure his wits did not dim."
Twilight slowed her eating for a moment.
"She sounds like a very wise mare." She said.
Derran nodded slowly.
"She was." He said sadly. "However she passed on long ago."
Twilight nodded in sympathy, before gently changing the subject.
"So what do you like to read?"
Derran perked up as he responded.
"Anything, and everything, though I have particular fondness for tales of war, and romance. Stories of great heroes, fighting for justice and love against impossible odds."
"Isn't that kinda redundant though? I mean you live that life don't you?" Rainbow Dash asked perplexed.
Derran sighed.
"Lady Dash I may be a warrior, but I assure you; I'm no hero." He said softly.
"Waddya mean, a little over two days ago you slew a dragon, and rescued a Princess, how's that not heroic?" Dash replied with a wave of her hoof.
Derran looked up from his meal to regard Rainbow with a sad smile.
"I may perform heroic actions but that is not what I am."
"Well what else would you call yourself then?" Rainbow asked with a small laugh.
"An executioner." He responded simply.
Twilight, and Rainbow both stopped eating. They glanced at one another briefly before Twilight spoke.
"What do you mean?"
Derran took a deep breath as he considered how to respond.
"To be a Doom Slayer, is to be black and white. There is no grey in my world, you are either guilty, or you are innocent. The purpose of the Doom Slayer is to destroy the wicked, I show no mercy, and I feel no remorse. A Doom Slayer cannot be bought, he cannot be bargained with, and he cannot be dissuaded once his course of action is set. I leave it to a higher power than myself to establish the nature of evil, my only job is to find the evil, and see it destroyed."
Rainbow looked slightly nervous, while Twilight calmly asked the pertinent question.
"What is this higher power then?"
Derran looked at Twilight as though the answer should have been obvious.
"Why, the Seraphim of course."