//------------------------------// // Where Dreams Become Nightmares // Story: Guardian // by Thule117 //------------------------------// Derran stared at the vase on the table in front of him allowing his mind to lose itself in the flickering red aura and dancing motes of blue light generated by the flowers held within. Twilight had presented the magnificent blooms to him shortly after dinner, and he truly couldn't imagine a more wonderful gift. The sensation Derran got from watching the flowers was so very relaxing, and he found himself thinking fondly of the mare from whom he had received them. . . "Suprise!" Twilight exclaimed, revealing the glowing flowers arranged perfectly within a vase of clear crystal. For a moment Derran simply stared at the remarkable gift placed on the bedside table. Crocus like red flowers with veins of glowing purple, combined with the gently swaying flame-like red aura and winking pinpricks of blue light, all formed a truly hypnotic effect. "Milady they are exquisite." Derran breathed out. "But what is it for, If I may ask?" He asked, turning to look at Twilight. Twilight felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she met Derran's gaze. "Well. . . I just, really wanted to show you how much Ponyville appreciates everything you've done for us, and. . . for me." Twilight replied shyly. Derran gave a shrug of his armored shoulders. "I am merely doing what is expected of a servant to the Seraphim." Derran explained solemnly, before giving Twilight a gentle smile. "But thank you milady, I truly am lucky to have somepony like you as a friend." Twilight's smile seemed to falter for a moment before returning to its previous state. "Well I'm. . . glad you like it." She said, turning and walking from the room. As Derran watched Twilight leave he felt strange. He was momentarily assailed by the sensation that he was missing something. . . something important. Derran shrugged off the feeling, but it continued in the depths of his mind as he turned back toward the glowing flowers. Derran no longer required sleep, though he could still choose to do so if he wished. However since arriving he had forgone such rest in favor of spending his nights in the library, reading up on the event's of the thousand years he was absent. He found reading helped quiet his mind by giving him something to focus on, whereas sleep seldom gave him such peace. The library was filled with books on every subject, art, history, magic, science, and a complete collection of enjoyable adventure novels written by somepony named A.K Yearling. Derran devoured one book after another, memorizing anything he found interesting or important. However on this occasion he found all he wanted to do was be alone in his room with the flowers and his thoughts. Specifically he was thinking of how much Twilight had done for him since he got to Ponyville. She had graciously shared her home, fed him, introduced him to new friends, and given him her complete trust. She was kind, courteous, brilliant, gentle, and a host of other equally positive descriptive terms. "Truly lady Twilight none can doubt your right to the mantle of Seraphim." Derran thought happily to himself. "Over a thousand years have passed, but the light of the Seraphs still burns as bright as the day I first encountered them." Derran sighed at the thought, he tried not to let it show but he truly hoped he would see ladies Celestia, and Luna soon. He missed them dearly. Derran longed to see Celestia's playful smile, to hear Luna's angelic laughter. To see them again even for an instant would make all his battles up to this point well worth the effort. However, he couldn't complain too much. Having Twilight as a friend had made the waiting far more bearable, not to mention the crusaders, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity. Spending time with the fillies had been a welcome reassurance that innocence still existed in the world, and aided greatly in washing away the pain of sorrows long past. Talking with Twilight, and hearing the stories of her adventures, had reminded Derran of how beautiful life could truly be, and he never tired of their conversations. He hadn't gotten to know Rarity, and Applejack as well as he would have liked, but their brief interactions thus far had been wonderful. Rarity reminded him of his mother, proper at all times, but with a warmth that bespoke a truly kind heart. Applejack's down to earth nature and practicality evoked memories of Derran's neighbors during his time as a farmer on D'nur and made him feel like a part of the family. Rainbow was a welcome distraction, her drive and tenacity reminding him of himself in many ways, while her sense of humor and sometimes over the top ego never failed to make him laugh. For the first time in centuries Derran felt at ease, he felt at home. "Home. . ." Struck by a sudden impulse Derran removed the Crucible from his belt, and glared at the artifact with a look of focused anger mixed with cold satisfaction. Derran could feel the vile energies contained within struggling to break free, and as he held it he sensed a faint whisper in the back of his mind urging him to activate the item. That faint whisper clawed at Derran's subconscious promising him wealth, power, glory, and every other material desire, but in the end found no purchase in the armored walls of his mind. "He who is loved is already rich, he who is humble is already glorious, he who is wise is already powerful, he who is all three posses's all that is worth having." Derran whispered with a calm certainty, before fastening the demonic object back in place, and returning his gaze to Twilight's gift. Ignoring the burning sense of rage the crucible sent in response to being rebuffed, Derran allowed himself to surrender once more to the mystical dance of the flowers aura. Derran's mind wandered back to Twilight's smiling face, as the artifacts empathic threats, and screams of hate faded like so much background noise. "I truly must do something to repay lady Twilight for all her-UHHH!" Derran's words turned to a groan, and he lept to his feet as the room spun around him. "What. . .is. . ." Derran was unable to finish his sentence as he felt the ground rush up to meet him. . . Starlight Glimmer smiled to herself as she tiphoofed away from Twilight's bedroom. Her mentor was sound asleep, as was Spike, nopony else was awake, save for herself and Derran. She was fairly certain Derran wouldn't be able to cause too much commotion after the spell took effect. But just to be safe she had erected a soundproofing barrier around Twilight, and Spike's rooms, triple checking the enchantments to insure they would not end before dawn. "Now on to phase 2." Starlight whispered to herself confidently, as she silently made her way to her room. Once safely back in her own room Starlight began her preparations, first locking, and warding the door with a force field, then doing the same to the window, and finally surrounding her bed in a dome of protective magic. Once more she triple checked everything with a meticulousness that even Twilight would have thought over the top. "If Derran is hiding something I'll be completely safe, plus I can teleport Twilight, and Spike in with me if I need to." Starlight said with a smirk, satisfied that her preparations were flawless. "Now then Derran Grandel, time to take a little trip down memory lane. . ." Fixing an image of Derran in her head Starlight began to channel her magic, first imagining an invisible thread linking her mind to his. The original "Truth of the Soul" spell was supposed to allow one pony to enter another willing pony's mind and experience their memories. However Starlight's improved version allowed it to work on anypony regardless of whether they were willing or not, provided they shared a common memory. In this case Starlight was using Twilight as the memory fooling Derran's mental defenses into letting her through. As she poured energy into the link Starlight felt a peculiar sense of displacement as her consciousness left her body and was pulled into Derran's mind. Starlight felt a surge of pride as she realized the spell was working before everything suddenly went black. An instant later Starlight gasped. Before her stood a pair of massive stone doors seemingly placed in the middle of a silent black void, through which swirled a faintly glowing red mist. The stone was grey but scorched black in places, and covered in cracks and jagged runes that glowed with an evil crimson light. Massive iron chains caked in rust fastened the doors shut, and in the center of the two doors was a circular lock, emblazoned with a single pulsing green rune. Starlight recalled she had seen the exact same rune on Derran's helmet and armor. Looking at the doors Starlight began to doubt the advisability of this course of action. "This is what the entrance to Derran's mind looks like? It's huge, and I can feel how well protected it is, if I had tried to control him. . ." Starlight trailed off with a shudder. For a moment Starlight considered turning back, however she just as quickly dismissed the idea. This door was a reflection of Derran, and if the mind it protected was even half as evil as this door looked, then she needed to know what was inside. Walking forward she pressed her hoof to the door, it felt oddly cool to the touch. For a moment nothing happened, and Starlight wondered if the spell had failed after all. "Maybe the defenses are still too strong. I should probably just-" Starlight never got the opportunity to finish as she was thrown back by the doors violently flying open with a roar like an erupting volcano. Starlight screamed as she was lifted off her hooves by burning hot wind with the strength of a hurricane, and a searing red light forced her to shut her eyes lest she be blinded. A sound like a billion billion screams of rage deafened her, and she felt herself tumbling through the air like a kite in a tornado. Starlight felt herself become apoplectic with rage, then suicidal with grief, then insane with euphoria, then emotionless as a machine. She felt her mind begin to fracture from thousands of conflicting emotions, and strained her will to the limit to retain her sense of self. Pain, pleasure, numbness, she felt all of these and none of these for a time that could have been a single moment or a thousand millennia. Then, just as Starlight felt herself slipping into madness, she fell painfully onto a hard unyielding surface, the discomforts and emotions vanishing as if they had never been. For awhile Starlight couldn't speak, see, hear, or even smell. She stumbled in the dark, trying to find her hoofing. Starlight winced in disgust as she felt herself step in something sticky and wet. Almost losing her balance, she was saved by a hard square object that she clung to gratefully, as she waited to get her senses and voice back. First to return was her hearing, allowing her to perceive dozens of unfamiliar sounds. Metallic clicks, electronic beeps, the hiss of escaping gas, and the faint crackling roar of something burning far away. Starlight could only guess she was surrounded by machinery, and that she was inside a building of some kind. Then abruptly her sense of smell came back, and she nearly threw up. The stench was beyond awful! A foul mix of rotting flesh, sulphur, burnt copper, ozone, smoke, and other things best left unnamed, tainting the air. Starlight struggled to control her gag reflex, as she tried to breath through her mouth as much as possible. "Celestia!" Starlight gasped. "What is that?! It's like being in a burning swamp filled with dead bodies!" She retched in disgust. Then, slowly, Starlight's vision began to return, starting as a white light, it soon transitioned into an unfocused blur that gradually became sharper. Blinking rapidly Starlight saw she was holding onto a grey crate made of some kind of plastic, then she looked up, and surveyed the room she was in for the first time. The breath seized in Starlight's throat, her pupils dilated, and her body became numb. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't, her terror was simply too great. In the flickering of the damaged overhead lighting, dented and torn metal walls smeared with blood resolved themselves. On the floor, Starlight beheld heaps of organs, and twisted human corpses. Symbols that made her head hurt to look at directly were etched here and there in fresh dripping crimson. On one wall, a human body burned beyond recognition was pinned in place by a jagged piece of steel, impaling it through the remains of its shattered chest. Starlight took a horrified step back, only to slip in the sticky substance she had stepped in earlier. Which she now saw to be a pool of partly congealed blood, flowing from a human body that had been torn in half at the waist. Falling to the floor and staining one side of her coat red, Starlight came face to face with a severed human head. Veins and strips of flesh trailed from the stump of the neck, the face twisted in an expression of supreme agony, and fear. Then, as she looked into the head's one remaining eye, Starlight felt herself go nearly insane with terror. Because despite the fact that the head was clearly dead, that one eye twitched, to meet her with it's unholy gaze. Starlight screamed like she never had before, a shriek of primal horror that echoed far beyond the walls of the room she now lay in. Springing to her bloodstained hooves Starlight continued to scream, as she ran at what her half delirious mind somehow surmised to be the door. It opened upward with a faint hiss at her approach, and Starlight ran down an empty metal corridor strewn with bodies both human and unrecognizable. She had no idea where she was running, all she knew is that she had to get out, she had to escape! The corridor soon terminated at another door, and Starlight ran to it out of some wild delusion that it might be an egress from this nightmare. Gasping for breath Starlight skidded to a halt in front of the dented, and blood spattered door. Whatever was on the other side couldn't possibly be any worse than what was behind her. The door was slightly damaged and let out a faint metallic screech as it struggled to open in fits and starts. Sheer terror gripped Starlight at the thought that the door might not work, but it did, but with it's opening a new horror made itself known. They might once have been humans; but now only bore a superficial resemblance to that. Twisted almost beyond recognition the shambling monstrosities bodies looked like they had been partially melted. Their limbs were mismatched, one or the other often being too long or too short. Their flesh had fused to the clothing they wore, on which it was just possible to make out a logo with the letters U.A.C on it. In some places the flesh had melted off completely revealing gleaming white bone and partly necrotised organs. But worst of all were their faces. A gaping hole replaced the area where eyes should have been, making it look like the head was made of wax and somepony had shoved a large white hot metal rod into it. The lips had melted off showing just the teeth and gums, along with part of the jaw bone. Starlight could not believe it, these things should have been dead! Yet somehow, through a magic to foul to even comprehend, they lived. The creatures stared sightlessly at Starlight for a moment, then the closest let out a tortured groan, and took a shuddering step toward her. Starlight shrieked before turning and running pell-mell back the way she came. Passing the storage area she had started in she sighted another door further down the corridor, hoping against hope that it led to safety she rushed toward it. She couldn't stand this anymore if she didn't find a way out of this monstrous pit soon she would surely go insane with fear! She had almost reached the door when, as if in slow motion, something dropped from a darkened air shaft into the corridor. The creature landed with its back to Starlight yet she had no doubt it knew she was there. It to bore a humanoid shape but was clearly even less human than the shambling horrors she had left behind. Long sinewy arms covered in brownish orange skin that transitioned into purple in some spots, ended in hands with four powerful clawed fingers. The body looked emaciated but clearly possessed muscle, and the creature moved in a hunched over manner as it turned to face Starlight on a pair of disturbingly human-like legs ending in clawed tri-toed feet. Two slanted eyes of sickly yellow stared at her with a look of bestial malice, as a long pink tongue slithered out to caress razor sharp teeth. Starlight felt her body go numb as she stared at the creature. It was more than just it's grotesque appearance. The creature seemed to radiate hopelessness, hatred, fear, and cruelty like the heat from a roaring bonfire. Starlight felt despair and horror assail her, sapping away her courage, tearing down her confidence, and in the space of a moment reducing her from a confidant young mare, to a shivering little foal. Then as the creature took a step forward Starlight was jolted into movement by a surge of primal fear that told her that she had to run NOW! Turning around Starlight bolted toward the storage area she had first awakened in. If she could somehow get in and block the door she could undo the spell and escape from this nightmare. As she ran forward Starlight heard a strange crackling followed by a whooshing noise, and she screamed as a jolt of white hot agony lanced through her ear. A ball of red flaming energy shot by the side of Starlight's head to strike one of the zombies she had seen earlier right in its misshapen torso. Half blinded by pain, Starlight still saw the ball of flame burn right through the shuffling creature before melting a small section of the wall behind it to the consistency of butter. Starlight just managed to slip through the automatic door before a second ball of blazing death shot through the area her body had been occupying a moment before. Starlight panicked for an instant when she realized she didn't know how to lock the door before noticing a pair of buttons to the side of the entryway marked lock, and unlock. Smashing her hoof onto the 'lock' button Starlight felt a surge of relief as a loud "Chunk!" was followed by an emotionless mechanical voice saying: "Storage area VX7-Gamma is now in emergency lock down, please be aware that a log of this event has been filed with security, thank you." Starlight felt her whole body shaking uncontrollably from a combination of fear, and adrenalin. Taking a series of deep breaths she tried to marshal her thoughts. Touching her injured ear with a trembling hoof Starlight was relieved and amazed to find that the tip had just been singed a little. It had felt like her whole ear had been burned off. However her relief was short lived as her fear subsided enough for her mind to begin analysing the situation. "Wait. . ." Starlight said aloud, as icy tendrils of fear encircled her heart. "The spell is only supposed to let me interact with the subjects memories as a passive observer. I'm supposed to be like a ghost, unable to affect anything or be affected, so how can those creatures even see me let alone cause me pain, unless. . . oh no, oh Celestia no!" Starlight cried out, panic threatening to overwhelm her as she realized the full implications of what she had done. "I must have screwed up the spell! I'm not just seeing Derran's memories. . . I'm physically reliving them somehow!" Starlight felt her mind reel at the enormity of her mistake, and the possible consequences, but forced herself to focus. "Ok. . . this isn't a problem, all I have to do is end the spell, then I'll wake up in my own bed back in the castle and forget this ever happened." Starlight closed her eyes and focused, ordering the spell to reverse itself and shut down, only to be engulfed by horror when nothing happened. Fighting down her fear Starlight tried again, and once again nothing happened. "No, no no no no NO!" Starlight shouted in panic as she tried again, and again, and again. As Starlight frantically tried for the sixth time to end the spell, her efforts were disrupted by a loud bang and the sound of tearing metal. Starlight turned to stare in horror at the storage room door, to see that the reinforced metal was glowing a cherry red, and parts of it had been raised up sharply as from an impact from the other side. Starlight felt her fear redouble as three clawed fingers punched through the softened metal and began tearing through it, leaving three jagged trailing rents. Beyond which she could just make out a pair of hungry yellow eyes. Ignoring the urge to panic with a herculean effort of will, Starlight began frantically levitating the storage crates scattered around the room into a barricade. Deep down though Starlight knew she was merely buying time. After all if a reinforced metal door couldn't keep that monstrosity out then what chance did a few plastic crates have? That thought was only made worse when the creature punched through the door with one arm up to its elbow, flailing the limb around in a blind attempt to find its prey. Starlight slammed one of the crates against the questing appendage as hard as she could and the monster withdrew its arm with an angry screech that set Starlight's teeth on edge. The monster was not long deterred however, and the ear shattering sound of claws tearing through metal soon filled the small room. Then abruptly the sound ceased, and was replaced by a series of dull thuds, like extremely heavy footsteps. Starlight heard the creature beyond the door chitter strangely as the footsteps closed in, shaking the room slightly with their tread. Starlight felt her blood run ice cold as the sound stopped directly outside the door. For several moments the only sound was the hissing of escaping air, and the snaps of faulty electrical wiring. Then with an unholy roar something struck the door with enough force to send the crates piled against it flying around the room. Starlight just managed to stop one with her levitation before it crushed her skull into pulp, dropping it to the ground with a loud thud. Her view of the door now unobstructed Starlight's eyes widened in horrified disbelief. The door had been half torn away from one side of its frame, and now curled inward on itself. Such had been the force of the blow, that it had bent out the upper part of the frame where the door would normally have withdrawn upward into the ceiling. However the frame had still fared better than the door itself which had torn along the now deformed arch like a giant piece of tinfoil. Starlight just had time to wonder what creature could possibly possess such strength when a massive clawed hand grabbed hold of the remains of the door, ripping it away with a scream of tortured metal. The lights in the storage room had failed after she had fled earlier and it took a moment for Starlight's eyes to adjust to the contrast created by the lights in the hall. But when her eyes did adjust Starlight felt her heart stop. The creature before her stood at least seven feet tall, its scaled hide, black like obsidian glass, covered a bulging musculature that left no doubt of its immense physical power. The monstrous thing stood on two thick legs that bent forward then back, then forward again, like a big cat's if they were to stand upright, terminating in massive paws not at all dissimilar from a dog or wolf. Arms as thick as saplings ended in two meaty four fingered fists attached to a pair of hunched shoulders, atop which sat a head the size of a prize winning watermelon. The head had no visible ears, or eyes, just a thick alabaster skull with an indentation suggesting a nose cavity beneath it, the creature bore no lips, showing its disturbingly human teeth off in an eternal hate filled grimace. Starlight just managed to raise up a magical barrier as the creature let out a deafening roar before lunging at her. Raising its right fist overhead the monster brought it down on the mystical shield with an enraged bellow. Starlight gasped as she was forced to put every ounce of her power into the shield to keep it from collapsing. This creature's strength was comparable to that of the largest dragons, despite it being a mere fraction of their size! Even though Starlight was giving this shield everything she had, that one blow sent a spiderweb of cracks across its domed surface. The cracks vanished just in time as the creature wound up for another strike. The second blow was even more powerful than the first, and Starlight felt her fear spike as she realized that she had burned through most of her reserves of magic. As the monster roared out in unbridled fury Starlight felt tears start to leak from the corners of her eyes and down her face as she realized she was going to die. That might not have been a problem if the spell that brought her here had worked properly. But based on what she had experienced so far Starlight believed the spell to be psychosomatic. In other words: if she died in the memory, she died in real life. Starlight felt her life flashing before her eyes, all the things she had screwed up, all the things she had done wrong. . . The giant creature raised both its fists over its head, and Starlight despaired. The monster clearly wasn't holding anything back this time, and Starlight doubted she could muster the strength to resist its blows. But then her more recent memories flooded into her mind, of the things she had learned, of the joys she had experienced. . . of the friends she would hurt if she gave up. Starlight felt her strength surge at that thought, she couldn't let it end here, she had to keep fighting! If she let herself die here she would be letting down all the ponies who had given her the wonderful life she had now. "BRING IT ON!" Starlight shouted as the creature brought both fists down in a vicious double hammerblow. The creature's fists once again covered the shield in cracks, but despite the strike's immense power, it held, and for a moment Starlight dared to hope. But then the monster howled in rage and began raining blow after blow down on the barrier. Starlight poured everything she had left into the spell, resisting one blow, then two, then three. . . But in the end even the mightiest of mountains shall be ground to dust by an unceasing tempest, and so it was here. As the fourth blow finally caused the shield to shatter, falling in on itself in a form like glittering mist. Starlight fell to her knees her head exploding in pain with the spells destruction at the hands of the vile giant's monstrous strength. Through a near blinding haze of agony Starlight could have sworn the monster wore a cruel smile on its lipless features as it raised its fists to end her, its smaller hissing subordinate gleefully standing behind it surrounded by the twisted forms of the zombies. Starlight closed her eyes and braced herself for the end, wishing that at the very least she could have seen her friends one last time. Then as if in answer to Starlight's silent prayers a beam of brilliant blue white light blasted through the hallway beyond the door, blinding her with its radiance. In an instant the zombies and hissing monstrosity were turned to red mist, and gobbets of steaming meat. The shockwave of the beams passing knocked the ebon skinned giant off balance, allowing Starlight an unobstructed view of the doorway. A moment later, from her prone position on the floor, Starlight beheld a sight that filled her with terror and hope in equal measure. There in the ruined doorway stood a figure, green plates scored by fresh claw marks covered his armoured form, spatters of blood and gore painting a chest, and limbs encased in supernatural metal, leather, and circuitry. In his hands was a large weapon that vaguely resembled a giant tuning fork glowing faintly blue. The figure's face couldn't be seen behind a tinted crescent visor that somewhat resembled a heart, but Starlight had no doubt who he was. The ebon monster seemed to know too, as to Starlight's utter shock, it took a step back from the figure in the door. For just an instant Starlight thought she saw an expression of fear on its hideously misshapen face. However if that fear had been real it was short lived. With a roar of unholy fury the monster charged the Doom Slayer it's fists upraised. A sharp crack and red flash accompanied Derran switching out his weapons. Starlight's view was momentarily blocked by the ebon skinned horror eclipsing the doorway before it was sent staggering back a step with a loud boom. As the creature tried to rally Starlight caught a glimpse of its front, and she felt a sudden urge to vomit. The creature's upper body was covered in blood that poured from a dozen or so small craters pockmarking its chest and stomach. Any other creature would have been dead or writhing on the ground screaming in pain. Yet this monster seemed only to grow angrier, rising to its feet with a roar that shook the walls. The creature only managed to take one step before the armoured figure of the Doom Slayer rushed forward. Dodging under the creature's massive fists The Slayer placed the muzzles of his double barreled weapon to the creature's blood slicked abs before pulling the trigger. Starlight saw the monster's back explode in a cloud of blood and meat that splattered the entire back of the room. The creature fell, cut in half at the waist its torso collapsed forward on its grotesquely spasming legs. Starlight covered her mouth with her hoof as the smell of fresh spilled blood and offal assailed her. Struggling to hold down dinner she took a step forward, only to freeze in mind numbing terror as the bisected monstrosity moved. Despite no longer having a lower body and with most of its organs spilling out of it, the thing struggled to drag itself toward the Doom Slayer. The creature stopped moving only after Derran grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck with a savage twist. Starlight was shaking from head to toe as the Doom Slayer straightened and turned toward her. He had to know this was all her fault, he probably only saved her because he wanted to kill her himself. "Lady Starlight, are you alright, have you been injured?!" Starlight was stunned, despite the distortion caused by his helmet, there was no mistaking the concern in Derran's voice as he rushed to her side. Falling to one knee and placing his weapon to the side, he swiftly examined Starlight for injuries. "Thank the seraphs! When I heard your cries I feared the worst I-" Derran was cut off by Starlight wrapping her hooves around him before bursting into tears. "I-I'm s-s-so s-s-s-soRRYYYHEheheee!" She wailed burying her face in Derran's chest plate neither noticing nor caring that he was covered in blood. Starlight had never felt so miserable in her life. She had ignored her teacher and closest friends when they vouched for this stallion. Then out of paranoid fear she had lied to her mentor, and created a spell to invade Derran's privacy against his will. Then to top it all off she had dragged them both into this forsaken pit where they both might very well die, and when he saved her, she still assumed it was a trick. Derran asking her if she was alright felt like getting bucked in the gut by Applejack, and it was only made worse when he returned her hug. "It's alright Starlight, it's ok." Derran said soothingly, running his hand over her mane to comfort her. Starlight held tighter to Derran as she sobbed uncontrollably. Derran supposed he should have been angry with Starlight, but anger would serve no purpose other than to exacerbate their problems. More than that however Derran felt that no words, however harsh, could punish Starlight more than she already had been. "I-i-it's n-n-not a-alright I-I-I-" Starlight's words dissolved into more sobs as she lost control again. Derran didn't move, simply holding and petting the distraught pony as she cried herself dry. Starlight didn't know how long they stayed like that, but after what felt like an eternity she finally managed to pull herself together. Wiping tears, and snot from her dishevelled features with the back of her hoof Starlight looked into Derran's helmet visor to see her own miserable face reflected in it. "Feeling better milady?" Derran asked, and despite not being able to see his face, Starlight could tell he was smiling. "Yeah. . . I do." Starlight replied, then taking a deep breath she continued. "Derran I am so so so sorry, this is all my fault and if we get out of here I swear I will accept any punishment you feel is appropriate." She said formally. "Tell me how to get us out of here, and I shall consider the debt settled." Derran said gently, grabbing his weapon and rising to his feet. Nodding Starlight tried to think. "Ok well, the spell is supposed to work by isolating memories into small scenes, like in a play." She explained surprised at how much calmer she felt after crying out most of her fear. Derran nodded his understanding. "So there is a beginning, and an end." He stated pensively. Starlight nodded. "Exactly, now I designed the spell to pause in between scenes and give you the option of leaving before transitioning into the next one. I meant it as a failsafe in case I couldn't end the spell once I was inside it. So in order to leave all we need to do is find the 'end' of this memory. Unfortunately I have no idea where that is." She elaborated, finding that focusing on the immediate problem helped keep her panic from rising. "I believe I know where to find this memory's end." Derran said after a brief pause, in a tone tinged with something like regret. "I can get us there but milady you must do exactly as I command." Starlight nodded her agreement immediately as Derran assumed a pose of intense concentration. "Alright, first do you posses a spell that can protect you from extreme environments, specifically: sub zero temperatures, and areas with no breathable atmosphere?" Starlight nodded, suddenly feeling extremely grateful for reading: Havelock's Spells for Explorers. "Yes but only for a limited time, about ten to fifteen minutes in conditions like a complete vacuum or temperatures below about negative fifty degrees." She explained. "Good, and can you still produce a shield to protect yourself?" He asked as he began to plan out the coming battle in his head. Again Starlight nodded. "Yes, but I won't be able to take many hits before it collapses, at least not from any more of those." She said pointing at the monstrous nearby corpse while trying not to look directly at it. Derran slowly nodded his head in response. "That is fine, I believe I should be able to keep that from being a problem, now let us depart." He declared, rising to his feet and heading to the destroyed door. "Follow closely milady, and be ready to shield yourself at a moment's notice." Derran stated as he leaned out to check the corridor. Heading out into the hallway Starlight kept her eyes fixed firmly on the Doom Slayer's back, and pointedly refused to look at anything else. Derran was her anchor in this nightmarish pit, a single point of sanity in a sea of madness and terror. Derran's movements were steady and sure, his weapon held at the ready. His focus did not waver, despite everything, he was completely unafraid. "How are you so calm?" Starlight asked struggling to keep her voice from shaking. "I have been fighting these creatures for hundreds of years, I lost my fear of them long ago." Derran stated evenly. Starlight nodded as they proceeded through another door and down a corridor littered with the corpses of monsters. Though she tried not to, Starlight caught glimpses of the bodies forms out of the corner of her eye. One was a grotesque pink thing lying in a pool of foul smelling blood spilling from its cut throat. Starlight thought It looked like a mutated combination of a bipedal dinosaur, a dog, and a pig. Another was identical to the ebon skinned brute that had nearly killed her, save that its head was missing. There were also several of those smaller orange humanoids in varying states of dismemberment as well as innumerable discorporated undead humans. "What are they?" Starlight asked, more to distract herself than because she wanted to know. "Evil made flesh." Derran stated with a slow hateful coldness before holding up a hand. "Stop. Wait here and put up your shield." He commanded. Derran gave no explanation but Starlight obeyed regardless, feeling no desire to challenge the Doom Slayer's judgement. Through the cyan filter of her protective magic Starlight saw Derran advance on a trio of ovoid doors each with a glowing plate to the left of them. Heading to the center door Derran pressed his armored fingers to the screen. A small beep preceded the soft whirring of some unseen machine. "You may wish to cover your ears milady." Derran stated calmly, standing to the side and aiming his twin barreled weapon at the still closed door with one hand while prepping a small metallic canister with the other. Starlight nodded holding her breath as the seconds ticked by, then the doors opened. The first thing Starlight noted as the reinforced metal slabs parted was that they were the outer doors of an elevator. The inner doors were made of a thick armored glass that allowed full view of the elevator car's interior, and the evils within. They appeared to be a more combat oriented version of the shuffling undead humans Starlight had been accosted by earlier. Their bodies were twisted, their partly melted flesh fused with the armor they had died in. In addition to armor the creatures were far bulkier. Their muscled limbs hinting at far greater strength and mobility than their slow moving and emaciated brethren. One arm ended in a surprisingly human five fingered hand. Though like all the flesh on the creature's body, the skin looked partly melted, bereft of hair or natural wrinkles. However the creatures other arms were what held Starlight's attention. They ended in a hideous mix of metal and flesh sporting a trio of barrels that left no doubt as to their function. All this was absorbed by Starlight's brain in the two seconds before the inner door of the elevator opened and the Doom Slayer struck. The boom of Derran's weapon was a thousand times louder in this confined space, and without the distraction provided by the fear of imminent death Starlight swiftly regretted not heeding the Doom Slayer's earlier advice. The first of the undead was torn to ribbons by the force of dozens of jagged tungsten pellets impacting at mach speeds, painting half the elevator interior a sickening crimson. The other creature reacted with surprising speed, activating a force shield that manifested as a vertical plane of blue energy about a foot and a half wide, and a meter tall. However the effort was wasted, as a small object arced over the shield to land behind it with a clatter of metal against metal. The creature just had time to turn its head before it was sent hurtling out of the elevator as a broken dismembered mess by the grenade's detonation. Starlight only had a moment to consider the shredded corpses and smell of blood and cordite before the Doom Slayer motioned her forward. "Quickly milady." Derran's tone was steady but there was an unmistakable note of urgency that spoke of concern. Starlight doubted the Doom Slayer feared for his own life, he clearly had that well taken care of. It was with some degree of shock that Starlight realized he must be worried about her. This was only confirmed by his next statement. "Make certain you keep behind me at all times, I can weather their attacks far better than you can." Starlight felt a sharp stab of guilt as she nodded and entered the elevator after Derran, doing her best to ignore the sight and smell of the dead monstrosity at their hooves. Starlight watched as Derran pressed his hand to a rectangular plate within the elevator car, and felt a faint sense of vertigo as the doors shut and they began to descend. The journey to the bottom was made in silence giving Starlight plenty of time to consider all the ways she had misjudged Derran. She had violated his privacy, endangered his life, and generally treated him with at best mild antipathy, and at worst open contempt. As the elevator came to a halt, all Starlight could think about was how she could never apologise enough for this. Switching out his super shotgun for his assault rifle, Derran exited the elevator car with all his senses tuned for signs of danger. There had been no enemies here last time, but he could not afford to be careless, not with Starlight in tow. Her safety was priority one, nothing else mattered save that she survive. Derran heard her moving behind him as he made his way through a short wide hallway toward a large ovoid door. As he approached Derran ordered Starlight to conjure her shield again and she obeyed without comment. "Do not listen to the holograms." Derran stated jerking his head at the ghostly projections flanking them, their programming warped by hell energy; they now spoke on behalf of darker masters. Though on this occasion they did remind him of an important detail. "I also advise you to cast that spell that shields you from harsh environments. The area beyond is cold enough to kill in minutes if you are not protected." Starlight nodded casting the spell as ordered and making her coat shimmer as a skintight field of energy enveloped her. The door opened automatically at the Doom Slayer's approach with a faint hiss, to reveal the massive room beyond. It was all as Derran remembered. The raised square platforms, the ledges like partly open corridors, the massive cylindrical machine dominating the center, it was identical to the original right down to the freezing temperatures. Derran lead Starlight down a nearby corridor lined with frost covered glass on one side, and steel plates on the other. The corridor soon transitioned into an open ledge hemmed in by guardrails slick with ice. Turning left and heading through a large perfectly square room, Starlight nearly collided with Derran as he came to an abrupt halt. In front of them was a rectangular platform that appeared to act as a cargo lift. Derran pointed to an opening several meters above the lift separated from the chamber they stood in by a reddish orange energy field. "There, that is our way out, can you teleport past that energy barrier?" "I think so, but what are you going to be doing?" Starlight asked shivering slightly, as even with her mystical protections she still felt an uncomfortable chill. "Unfortunately it is our only way forward. Past that barrier is a train meant to deliver supplies and personnel. The train is currently offline, and will not begin to move again until I destroy the machinery in this area." Derran explained, choosing to leave out Samuel Hayden and how he had disabled the train remotely. As an extra measure to prevent the Doom Slayer from leaving before he carried out the task. He also decided against mentioning Vega or what the purpose of all this was, he already disliked this memory, no point burdening another with its details if he didn't have too. "Right." Starlight replied, sensing that there was more to it than what Derran was telling but deciding to ignore her urge to ask questions. Honestly Starlight didn't really feel like she wanted the answers regardless. Channeling her magic Starlight's vision was momentarily eclipsed by a flash of brilliant cyan light before she found herself looking down at the Doom Slayer from behind the faintly humming field of reddish energy. Derran glanced up at Starlight for only an instant before jumping over a nearby guardrail to the floor of the chamber. Moving toward his first target Derran tried to ignore the nagging thought in his head that he was cursed. Was this a portent for the future? Was he destined to forever tread the path of doom with peace as a mere taunting memory? To find happiness only for it to be ripped away? Derran shook his head, as he banished his dark thoughts. Even if this was his fate, this fight had never been about him. . . In his mind he saw the faces of all the ponies he had met since his return, his thoughts lingering especially on the Smiling faces of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight. "That's who this is about." Derran whispered to himself as he saw the first cooling conduit come into view, and as he took aim at it he felt his sadness burned away like an early morning mist by his reignited conviction. "I'm not here because I want to be." Derran said coldly as he pulled the trigger. "I'm here because they need me to be." He declared a tone of savage pride in his voice as the alarms started blaring. . . Starlight struggled to fight down her fear as Derran vanished from sight. Despite knowing in her heart that he was not the stallion she had convinced herself he was. Starlight couldn't help thinking for an instant that Derran was abandoning her. But the thought was fleeting as her reason swiftly reasserted itself. Taking a deep breath Starlight wondered how she was ever going to be able to make this up to not just Derran, but Twilight. "She'll probably throw me out of the castle on my flank when she finds out about this, and even if she dosen't I might just do it myself." Starlight didn't know what this place was or what those horrible monsters that attacked her were, but she had her suspicions. "Was this the reason Derran left a thousand years ago? Did these creatures threaten Equestria somehow?" That seemed the most likely scenario, but if that was the case why keep it a secret? Starlight jumped as she was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of a screaming alarm accompanied by the flashing red of dozens of emergency lights. However her surprise at the unexpected lightshow was soon replaced by a feeling of mind blasting terror, as from her vantage Starlight beheld a sight torn from the nightmares of only the most depraved of madponies. They arrived in bursts of red light by the dozens. Slavering horrors that exuded a miasma of terror, despair, and hatred. Some were near perfect copies of the creatures she had seen earlier. Emaciated undead lurched forward alongside their more robust armored brethren, while a pair of ebon skinned giants stalked forward nearby. Others however were wholly new to Starlight, on a nearby platform appeared an unholy monstrosity that looked like a giant flayed human corpse fused with some kind of metal armor. As Starlight watched the creature rose into the air on a burst of flame from the chestplate it wore. While a pair of mechanical arms extended from its shoulders ending in what she could only assume to be weapons. Starlight had no further time to examine the grotesque cyborg as a new horror appeared in the air above it. Starlight had to fight down the urge to vomit as a misshapen red orb of flesh and bone turned to stare at her with a single gangrenous green eye. Opening a mouth that seemed to make up most of its body the creature vomited forth a ball of corsucating energy that seemed niether wholly fire nor wholly electricity. Starlight screamed and dodged out of the way as the ball hurtled toward her, only to have it explode against the energy field sealing off the room. As Starlight rose to her shaking hooves she felt her mind begin to unravel. She was going to die, they were all going to die, these creatures. . . they were unstoppable! She didn't need to fight them to know that, their mere number and presence was enough. She felt that same feeling of hopelessness from earlier return a hundredfold. These monsters were an inevitability, they were the end of all things, the death of hope! Starlight turned away from the scene seeking desperately for some form of escape and her eyes fell upon the solution. There at the end of the walkway she stood on was a vast chasm of ice. . . just one leap, and it would all be over. . . "One leap. . ." Starlight whispered stumbling forward as if in a trance. Reaching the edge Starlight stared over the side, the bottom was hundreds of feet down interrupted only by the rail line of the train Derran had mentioned. Starlight felt a strange sense of detachment as she stared into the depths of the icy crevasse. "It will be quick. said a voice in Starlight's head. "At this height you won't even have time to feel it, and it has to be better than what those. . .things, will do, right?" Starlight slowly nodded her head, her mind unable to think of an argument against the voice through the dense numbing cloud obscuring her thoughts. "Right. . .much better. . ." Raising her right hoof Starlight prepared to step out into empty space, then she heard it: Gunfire, and the screams of monsters, calling her away from oblivion. Derran surged forward the staccato chatter of his weapon drowning out the roar of the hell knight as its chest was pierced by a stream of fifty caliber AP rounds. Spinning to one side Derran grabbed hold of an imp who foolishly believed him too distracted to notice it. Pulling the imp toward him Derran interposed the hapless creature between him and a ball of psychic plasma from a nearby cacodemon, smiling as the imps body was disintegrated with an agonized howl. Switching targets Derran engaged the micro missiles to deliver a meal of explosive death straight to the floating horror's open maw. A rain of blood and meat showered Derran in crimson as he reached the hell knight. He wasted no time as he jumped and struck the beast in the chest with a brutal flying back kick, sending the now senseless monster hurtling into a group of possessed, its chest shattered. Switching weapons Derran obliterated the tangle of demons with a casual shot from his rocket launcher, before summoning the super shotgun to his opposite hand to turn a flanking hellraiser's head into a cloud of bone and blood. Derran felt the adrenalin overtake him as his fury rose, and he felt his persona alter. Derran, the educated noble whose kindness and gentle calm had so endeared him to the ponies of Equestria faded in favor of a new mindset. Calm became rage, nobility became savagery, education became instinct, Derran slept, and the Doom Slayer woke. . . A mancubus jumped down from a nearby platform to block the Slayers path only to be met with a barrage of missiles and sent reeling. Its body alive, but marred with bloody craters. No opportunity was given for recovery as the Slayer pulled himself up the monsters bloated form to ram his shotgun into the beast's gurgling maw. The creatures single eye had an instant to register surprise before its head burst like a rotting melon hit with a sledgehammer. The Slayer spent no time admiring his work as he jumped to a nearby platform. Exchanging his shotgun and rocket launcher for something a little heavier, a trio of hell knights screamed as their legs were cut out from under them by a stream of lead from the Slayer's chaingun. The slayer reveled in his bloody work as he dismissed his chain gun for the rail gun. Charging the weapon for a few seconds the Slayer grinned maniacally beneath his helmet before obliterating the three paraplegic hell knights with a lance of charged plasma. However this victory was not without cost, as a pair of cacodemons finally managed to strike their assailant with vomited spheres of blazing energy. The Slayer staggered back for an instant before charging another shot and splitting the nearest cacodemon almost in two with another searing beam of azure death. Switching out his weapon again the Slayer ran straight at the second floating ball of teeth and crimson clearing his path through a group of imps with a stream of blue white death from his plasma rifle. Another ball of psychoactive bile struck the Slayer's chest, and searing pain surged through his body as the burning slime managed to eat a few small holes in his armor. The pain was ignored completely as the Slayer's armor repaired itself and he jumped high into the air. Using his boots at the apex of his leap the Slayer collided with the bobbing red monster that had dared to strike him. Grabbing hold of the thick bone spines growing out of the creature the Slayer placed the plasma rifle's muzzle to the abominations single green eye, before activating the heat blast unit. The monster didn't even have time to scream as its body exploded into ash. . . Starlight stared at the battle from above. She didn't remember the short walk to get here from the edge of the chasm, nor did she recall why she had gone to the edge in the first place. All she knew was feeling a strange surge of hope at the sound of Derran's weapons and then finding herself here. The battle was terrible, and the creatures horrific. But as she watched the Doom Slayer tearing through the hordes of monsters with brutal abandon, Starlight felt a strange sense of calm. Yes these monsters had the power to destroy worlds, yes they could obliterate all she knew and loved, they could. . . but not while this guardian lived. It was faint, but Starlight could tell. . . these creatures feared this human. Despite all their power, despite all the destruction and death they had left in their wake, they could never bring him down, and they were afraid. Starlight felt a sense of grim satisfaction as Derran slaughtered these monsters, had they been any other creature she might have been disturbed. But somehow she knew beyond any shadow of doubt, that these monsters truly deserved it. . . The Slayer grabbed a possessed former security guard by his weapon arm breaking it with a simple upward strike. Before smashing his fist into its head with enough force to splatter it across the floor. The Slayer gritted his teeth as he felt the agonizing sensation of a plasma ball burning through his armor and into the exposed flesh beneath. It didn't matter, pain was irrelevant, for the sake of the seraphs and the light, only victory mattered. Staggering the second undead security guard with a blast from his standard shotgun, and blowing a ragged hole in its chest as he closed the distance between them. The Slayer reversed the direction of the vile creatures left knee with a savage kick, and as the creature collapsed with a screech of pain the Slayer brought his foot down on its skull silencing it for good. However in his haste he allowed his guard to slip. A flash of red light, and a roar of pure hate was the only warning the Slayer received before he was sent skidding across the floor by a savage strike from behind to the side of his ribcage. Hitting the nearby wall and spitting blood from a punctured lung, the Slayer turned and stared into the glowing yellow eyes of one of Hell's fiercest soldiers: a Baron of Hell. Most would have hesitated at the sight of a foe nearly ten feet tall with arms and legs as thick as grown trees, but all the Slayer did was call out another weapon. With a buzzing roar the Slayer hefted the most brutal weapon in his sizable arsenal. It had been far too long since he'd let his precious chainsaw taste the blood of demons. The baron let out another roar as it charged the Slayer its massive fists alight with balefire, a challenge the Slayer was more than happy to meet. The baron raised its fists high in the air intending to bring them down on the impudent insect that had dared challenge its supremacy. . . it was the last bad decision the beast would make. The Slayer's inhuman speed once more stood him in good stead, as he brought the whirling teeth of his weapon into contact with the demonic flesh of the creatures left leg. The baron's attack faltered as it it shrieked in agony. Hell forged muscle and bone being no defense against hardened terrestrial steel. The demon gave another roar as it fell, striking the metal floor hard enough to put a foot deep dent in it. The baron flailed impotently opening its mouth for another roar of defiance, that turned into an ignominious gurgle as the Slayer used the opportunity to widen the beasts smile in a spray of blood and gore. The Slayer snapped his head around looking for a new target as his armor absorbed the dissipating hell energy from the baron and repaired some of the damage to his body. The Slayer hissed slightly as he felt the rib that had pierced his left lung withdraw, flesh and bone knitting, allowing him to breath normally once more. Jumping up onto a nearby square platform the Slayer felt the adrenalin leave his body as he realized the battle was over. He alone stood amidst piles of the demonic dead, unbowed and undefeated. Dismissing his weapon the Slayer mindset began to recede, as Derran Grandel returned to the fore. Ignoring the pain that the adrenaline had formerly kept in check Derran headed back toward the cargo elevator. Starlight watched Derran approach with a worried expression, the strange detachment she had felt during the battle had ended, and was now replaced by guilt. Derran was obviously hurt, he was limping slightly and during the battle he had taken a number of hits that would have killed a lesser stallion. "I am fine." Derran stated calmly before Starlight could even open her mouth to ask. "No you're not." She replied in a strained broken voice, tears coming to her eyes as she recalled all this was entirely her fault. "I can fight, and honestly that is really all I am good for anyway." Derran joked. Starlight didn't know why, but for some reason hearing Derran acting so lighthearted about what were clearly serious injuries made her snap. "JUST WHAT THE BUCK KIND OF MACHO MANTICORE SHIT IS THAT!!?" Starlight roared her face a mask of fury. "YOU THINK NO ONE WILL CARE IF YOU DIE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO TWILIGHT?! ARE YOU THAT OBLIVIOUS?!" Starlight shouted glaring straight into Derran's visor. Seemingly impassive in the face of Starlight's rage Derran gave a weary shrug before responding in a conciliatory tone. "Apologies milady I didn't mean to offend, I was simply hoping to lighten the mood. I assure you I have no intention of dying here. Also I am well aware of the value lady Twilight places on me. The Seraphs are creatures of the light and love all their earthly servants as family. However as her servant I must place your life above my own, as I would for any citizen of Equestria, for that is what I swore an oath to do." Starlight stared at Derran in utter disbelief "Celestia he's more oblivious than I was." Shaking her head Starlight decided that this wasn't the time or place to have an awkward discussion. "Look Derran I don't know what kind of oath you swore, and I don't care. As far as I'm concerned you're life is just as valuable as mine." "It is not a matter of value it-" "Up-bup-bup. Don't care." Starlight interrupted. "Here's whats going to happen: you are going to swear an new oath to me, got it?" Derran arched an eyebrow behind his helmet. "What kind of oath?" He asked with a hint of suspicion. "You're going to swear to me that you will live through this mess I got you into." Starlight stated firmly. Derran considered her demand for a moment before nodding. "Very well." He said slowly. Falling to his left knee and bowing his head, Derran's right arm was placed diagonally across his chest so his fist was over his heart. His left arm perfectly aligned with his bent right knee. The left hand was curled into a fist, and had the knuckles pressed firmly to the ground. "I Derran Grandel, the Doom Slayer, do hereby swear to you lady Starlight Glimmer. That I shall survive this trial with life intact, this I swear under pain of eternal damnation." Derran's tone was solemn and Starlight could tell he wasn't doing this just to make her happy. Starlight nodded her acceptance of the Doom Slayer's words "Thank you." She stated gratefully. "Now what's next?" Starlight asked, feeling more like her old self than she had since they had arrived, what now felt like a lifetime ago, in this pit. "There is an ambush waiting up ahead, and the creatures are far more numerous than they were here, but I have a plan." Starlight gave Derran a hard look. "This plan better not involve any heroic sacrifices." She said in a warning tone. Smiling Derran shook his head as he called a pair of items he had collected earlier from his armory. "No milady, it involves these." He stated smiling as he held up a pair of glowing objects that he had called forth in a flash of red light. The demons clashed again, the mancubi, and baron of hell roaring, one spewing burning death from its arms, the other hurling green balefire at the shrieking revenants that hovered nearby. The revenants responded in kind with barrages of hell energy infused missiles as they gibbered and screamed. The mancubi bellowed in pain as the burning projectiles detonated against its corpulent body doing little real damage but goading it to ever greater heights of fury. Nearby several mindless possessed bore slackjawed witness to the dispute. The sounds of battling demons echoing around the cavernous chamber almost covering up the crackling of electrical energy arcing along the unused UAC rail track power conduits. One of the revenants gibbered madly as its arm was hit by a compressed ball of demonic bio-napalm sending it reeling for a moment. Somewhere in the tortured depths of what had once been a human mind, the creature wondered why its partner had not avenged it. But this momentary thought was soon buried under a combination of rage, and pain induced madness, till it realized that the mancubi and baron had also stopped firing to stare at something behind it. Turning around the skeletal horror fixed its eyes on a train heading through the gate, and then the figure atop it. Instantly the creatures cyber augmented brain screamed with warning signals, as targeting resolutions, optimal approaches, and other tactical data were forced into its lunacy ravaged brain. Target Alpha One: Doom Slayer. . . ROE: Terminate at all costs. . . Target threat level: Maximum. . . The Doom Slayer was moving toward the revenant standing atop the train, hands behind his back, and his head bowed as if in prayer. The revenant's partner moved forward to engage. But for some reason the first revenant waited. Long ago the revenant had been a man, and that man had been a UAC marine. Despite the surgical modifications done without anesthetic, despite the implanted neuro chip embedded in his brain that made him more machine than man, and despite the repeated exposure to the raw energy of hell that made him more demon than machine. The deep buried instinct of a trained soldier told the revenant something was wrong, just as the Doom Slayer revealed what he had hidden behind his back. Suddenly new tactical data burned through the cyber enhanced neurons of the revenants brain. Most of the info was the same, but on seeing the glowing red vial that burned like a flame, and the green vial pulsing like a beating heart one thing was changed. The reading now said: Target Alpha One: Doom Slayer. . . ROE: Terminate at all costs. . . Target threat level: Infinite. . . As the Slayer crushed the vials of mystically empowered combat stims the revenant failed to notice the glowing pony levitating up into the most out of the way corner of the ceiling . . . Starlight Glimmer had seen and done some terrible things in her life. She had run a pseudo religious cult based on the destruction of individuality. She had nearly destroyed Equestria over what now seemed an incredibly childish grudge, and she had come face to face with the Queen of all changelings. But until the moment she saw the full unbridled wrath of the Doom Slayer she had never really understood what "Terror" actually meant. Watching from the location Derran had specified Starlight saw him approach the creatures below with the two vials, one in each hand. She saw the demons stop their battle and rush to engage him, the skeletal jetpack wearing one's firing missiles in a vain effort to stop what was coming. She saw Derran crush the vials and double over for a moment as scarlet flames, and green energy coursed over his armor. Starlight Glimmer saw. . . as a god of death was born. The first revenant was torn from the sky by a leg and hurled into the second with enough force to punch a hole right through the metal wall where they landed in a fiery explosion. Jumping onto a maintenance platform the Slayer landed on a possessed, his foot folding the creature in on itself and reducing it to a red stain on the ground with a sickening crunch. Running forward the Slayer jumped to a suspended piece of equipment to grab the glowing yellow vial he knew would be there, and crush it. Smashing aside the few monsters that were foolish enough to attempt to stop him. Demons teleported into the chamber en-mass as a surge of yellow lightning added itself to the aura of scarlet fire, and green light. Suddenly the Slayer seemed to vanish and appear next to a lumbering mancubus, moving so fast he was almost invisible. Grabbing the surprised creature by the arm the Slayer pulled it off its feet. Spinning it around like some kind of macabre carnival ride. The Slayer used the demon like a flail to send the surrounding monsters flying with the force of a wrecking ball. After a clearing his immediate surroundings the Slayer released his unwilling, impromptu weapon sending it into a nearby wall to explode like a rotten tomato thrown against a concrete building. Then it seemed like the Slayer was everywhere at once. Here an imp was ripped in half, its organs scattered across the floor in a spray of blood. There a possessed security trooper was blown to pieces by a single punch, becoming a fountain of gore. A cybernetically modified mancubus was divested of its arm just before being impaled by it. A revenant was grabbed by both legs and torn in two like a demonic wishbone. Before what was left was used to hammer a hell knight into literal pulp. Another hell knight was struck in the groin only for the fist that delivered the blow to continue up tearing the monster in half. Demons continued to teleport in; but this was no longer a matter of numbers, no army in existence had the numbers to oppose war incarnate. Demons appeared, and demons died. Whatever force compelled them may have been able to overcome their fear, but all that meant was the slayer could wait for them to come to him if he wanted. . . he didn't. Running so fast he almost could not be seen, striking with fists that could reduce mountains to rubble, and shrugging off blows that could obliterate a tank, he crushed his foes with almost laughable ease. A mancubus died in a gout of blood and bile as a hell knight was hurled right through its torso. A cacodemon was struck with a kick that sent it bouncing around the chamber like a fleshy pinball full of broken bones and burst organs. Another hell knight was grabbed in a brutal bear hug and literally crushed in half. A baron of hell strode forward only to scream as its legs were broken by a pair of blindingly fast punches to its knees. Before its head was removed and thrown like a horned discus to decapitate a cyber mancubus behind it. On the battle raged, demons being as meat thrown into a living grinder. Limbs were torn from torsos, organs flew like a hideous form of gory confetti, the bodies of demons used as weapons against their own kind. Until finally. . .mercifully. . .after what seemed an eternity of carnage, it ended. As the Slayer stood knee deep in the dead, the yellow, green, and red energies playing across and around his body vanished. Exploding outward in a massive shockwave, and disintegrating the surrounding corpses into dust. For a moment more the Slayer stood tall surveying the carnage he had wrought. Before falling with a pained gasp to one knee. . . A surge of panic shot through Starlight as Derran fell to his hands and knees. Teleporting to Derran's side she could hear him gasping for breath. "Derran! Oh Celestia are you ok?! What happened?!" Starlight asked frantic with worry. Derran's body shook as he managed to gasp out a reply. "Didn't. . .want. . .to worry. . .you. . .milady." He said before he started coughing violently. Starlight's face became ashen as she realized what Derran had not told her. "Those vials. . ." She whispered. Derran had told her they were a kind of combat stimulant and could make someone nearly invincible. However it only now occurred to Starlight that power of such magnitude must come with an equally high price. "You promised me. . ." Starlight said, her words coming out as a whimper as she started to cry. Then to her surprise Derran let out a choking laugh. "Not. . . going to. . . kill me. . . just. . . takes a lot out of you." He said with a faint chuckle that Starlight couldn't help but smile at. "You really are kind of oblivious aren't you? You should have told me, then I wouldn't be crying for no reason." She stated in mock anger, smiling as she dried her eyes. Derran appeared about to reply when a loud, CRACK! Echoed through the room. Starlight felt a breeze as air was displaced by the arrival of something massive behind her. A smell of brimstone overpowering even the smells of blood and guts filling her nostrils, as the gore drenched steel plates beneath her feet trembled. Turning her head Starlight froze when she saw the red skinned behemoth standing behind her. Seconds ticked by like hours as the creature raised a massive fist burning with green balefire, and Starlight stared into a pair of glowing yellow, rage filled eyes. A roar shook the chamber, and for a moment Starlight was certain it signaled her end as the giant's fist descended. Until she realized the sound had not come from her assailant. Starlight reflexively closed her eyes, and so didn't see exactly what happened next. All she knew was that an instant later the giant was dead, it's body splattered against the opposite wall as Derran stood over her panting, his body and arm extended in a punch. Starlight stared at him as he stood there trembling slightly. "Forgive me milady. . .I seem to have. . .missed one." Derran huffed, and despite everything Starlight burst into laughter at the sheer insanity of them being in the bowels of tartarus and Derran taking the time to use such a cliched sounding line. Derran's voice soon joined in with her as they sat there surrounded by the corpses of demons, soaked in blood, yet just glad to be alive. After what felt like an eternity their laughter finally subsided. Derran lead the way to a gigantic diagonal shaft lit by flashes of electrical energy from a series of massive conduits leading upward into darkness. Standing on a lift platform Derran activated a nearby console and the lift began to slowly rise up the shaft. "So what is this place?" Starlight asked nervously. Derran didn't reply for a moment as he stared toward their slowly approaching destination. "It is where I killed the closest thing I had to a friend in this abominable nightmare." Derran said slowly, Starlight stared at him in shock, and he continued. "This facility houses what is known as an AI, do you know what that is?" Starlight shook her head, she had never heard of such a thing. "It stands for: Artificial Intelligence. Simply put; it is a computer that has the ability to think for itself, to learn, comprehend, and possibly even feel like a human or pony. This one was created by an enemy of mine, and though he played a role in unleashing this horror, I think he came to understand he had made a mistake. A lesson his creator never learned. His name was VEGA, and he gave his life so I could complete my mission." Derran's voice was calm, and Starlight got the sense that he didn't really know how to feel about what he was saying. However she could tell from his posture that whatever had happened clearly weighed on him, and Starlight placed a comforting hoof on Derran's arm. "Whatever happened, I know you would have saved him if you could have." She said in sympathetic confidence, as Starlight had no doubt of her statement's truth. Derran nodded his thanks though his posture did not change. "When I was a soldier, my sergeant had a saying that went: The success of a war isn't measured in the number of lives lost, but in the number saved. I always wondered how he would see this war, and if he would deem it a failure or not." He commented in a tone weary with regret and sadness. Starlight stared at Derran as if seeing him for the first time. Up to now he had seemed invincible, unassailable, and beyond even the concept of failure. It was only now that she understood the truth. That behind all the armour, weapons, muscle, and power, was an ordinary stallion. Derran might seem like a god, but he wasn't all powerful, he made mistakes, he had fears and worries, and like any mortal creature, he too could die. It was a humbling realization. As they finally reached the top of the shaft Starlight saw a long walkway. Dark, except for flashes of electrical discharge from what seemed to be cooling systems, and the occasional small warning light. Without a word Derran started walking forward, Starlight in tow. The air was stuffy, and smelled of burnt metal, oil, and ozone. Moving slowly Starlight jumped at the sound of a pair of gigantic armoured doors parting before them. Beyond the doors Starlight gasped, there in a colossal domed room sat VEGA. It, or as Derran had said, he, was a gargantuan machine that resembled nothing so much as a metallic brain connected to the walls and surrounding equipment by a series of massive cables. "Lady Starlight. . . meet VEGA." Derran said in a voice tinged with sadness, and despite knowing that this was still just a reconstructed memory Starlight couldn't help but sympathetically speak in a hushed tone. "Hello VEGA." She said softly. There was of course no response, as they resumed moving forward, but it wouldn't have felt right not to say it. Stopping in front of a computer console Derran turned to Starlight. "Wait here." Derran said in a subdued tone. Starlight nodded as Derran moved to a point where the walkway branched off to the left and right terminating at two spherical machines whose function Starlight could only guess. Taking the right path, and after hesitating for a moment. Derran grabbed hold of a handle in the center of the sphere, twisting it before pulling out a metallic cylinder covered in red lights and releasing a cloud of steam with an audible hiss. Tossing the cylinder aside, Derran then repeated the process with the sphere on the left. Starlight gasped as the entire facility shook and a vortex of evil red light appeared in front of VEGA amid bolts of crimson lightning. Joining her at the console Derran pressed a button entitled "VEGA BACKUP" before removing a rectangular object from a slot to the side of the screen. The object disappeared in a flash of red light, sent to the extradimensional space where Derran's weapons were stored. "Get ready milady, this is the end of the memory. Good luck, and I shall see you soon." Derran stated as he pressed his finger down on the icon that read: initiate core destruction. Blinded by a blast of red light Starlight focused all her will on ending the spell. She felt a rushing sensation and heard a muffled boom, then her eyes opened. Starlight stared at the inside of her room for a moment, everything exactly as she left it. Dismissing the shield spells she placed around her bed Starlight felt a joyous surge of relief as her eyes started to well up. She moved swiftly throughout her room touching various objects to reassure herself that she was really back, and crying tears of pure unrestrained joy. Then she looked in the mirror, and froze. The tip of her left ear was an angry red where a blister had formed. "Wow the spell really was psychosomatic, good thing all I got was this scratch or I. . ." Starlight stopped dead, the blood in her veins turning to ice as her thread of logic lead to the obvious conclusion. "Oh no." She breathed out making a beeline for the door, dismissing the ward she placed on it and throwing it wide. Running down the hall as fast as her hooves would take her Starlight saw the door to Derran's room was already ajar. Bursting in Starlight felt her guts turn to water. Derran was kneeling next to the bed his hair plastered to his head by sweat, as blood trickled down his face from the corners of his eyes, mouth, and nose. His face was swollen, and covered in bruises, and as he turned to regard his visitor Starlight was horrified to see that all the blood vessels in his eyes had apparently ruptured, making the sclera an unnerving crimson. Struggling to rise Derran managed a pained smile. "I promised you I would live milady, I never promised it would be pretty." He said his voice having a distinct rasping to it, the consequence of his parched and bloodied throat. Starlight was horrified, forgetting any thought of consequence she turned to leave. "I'll go wake Twilight and Spike! Don't worry Derran you're going to be-" Starlight was interrupted before she could finish by a hacking cough. "Stay your hooves, lady Twilight, and master Spike need not be troubled over this." Derran wheezed. Starlight turned to look at Derran with an expression of anger and disbelief. "Excuse me?!" Starlight all but shouted. "HAVE YOU LOOKED AT YOURSELF?!" Derran shook his head as he held up a hand in protest. "These wounds are temporary I assure you, one night's rest shall see me right." He coughed out. Starlight felt her anger rising as Derran struggled to get to his feet. "BUCK THAT! THIS ISN'T A DEBATE I'M GETTING TWILIGHT AND THERE ISN'T A THING YOU CANAAAAHHH!" Starlight's rant became a scream as it felt like her head was split by an ax. The pain reached a crescendo as her vision blurred and the taste of copper filled her mouth. Falling to the ground the last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Derran crawling toward her. Starlight awoke an uncertain length of time later to find herself back in her own bed. Slowly rising she looked blearily around the room for a moment before her eyes fixed on the panting figure collapsed next to her bed. It was Derran, streaks of blood still covering his face as he leaned on the bed frame for support. His breath came in gasps as he glanced up at Starlight with a concerned expression. "Milady are you well?" He wheezed. Starlight looked down at Derran with tears in her eyes. "No." She said slowly. "No I'm not alright. . ." Derran let out a pained grunt as he forced himself to his feet. "What can I do to help?" He asked simply. In reply Starlight burst into tears. "How can you even ask that?! How can you ask what you can do when you've already given EVERYTHING!?" Starlight shouted, looking at Derran through her tears as if ashamed to see him. "I SAW!" Starlight sobbed. "I SAW ALL OF IT!!" Derran's face turned to stone as he realized what had happened. "Y-Y-YOU WERE P-PROTECTING US! A-ALL THIS T-TIME! A-A-AND I T-TREATED Y-YOU LIKE A M-M-MONSTER!!" Starlight screamed in a voice filled with self loathing. "I-I-I DON'T D-DESERVE T-TO ASK F-FOR ANYTHING F-F-FROM Y-YOU!" Unable to speak anymore Starlight buried her face in her hooves as her body shook from an overwhelming sense of guilt and disgust with herself. It was made only worse as she felt the bed shift, and for the second time that night felt a pair of powerful arms encircle her as she cried her eyes out.