//------------------------------//
// Part 24: A Daring Hero's Stand 
// Story: Adventures in the TARDIS 
// by Scroll 
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Just about everything is in place. I practically know this temple like the back of my hoof now. I studied my map of it inside and out, and that includes the secret passageways that most of the natives here aren't aware of anymore. Thanks to that and my sneaky flying skills, I was able to literally go right over the heads of many of the Naga guards here.

Once again I am hidden among the ceiling support columns. Around that, I peek down and notice, to my satisfaction, that one of the temple cultists has finally found the decoy Alicorn Amulet that me and my allies planted. That cultist is delivering the fake right up to their exceptionally large leader, Nelkra Shlog'znof, who is at the base of the giant cobra statue in the sacrificial chamber. To my greater satisfaction, it seems that at least half of the cultist are in this room too. They look busy discussing something among themselves. 

“I found it! The Amulet!” triumphantly declares the Naga who is delivering the fake Alicorn Amulet. I secretly grin at this encounter above because I realize I can finally understand them all thanks to the telempathic blessings of the TARDIS. As the Doctor had explained to me earlier, now that I set hoof in that machine and had been accepted by it, benefits like this lingers.

“You have?” their cult leader, Nelkra, asks in surprised delight. “Bring it to me now!” Nelkra demands.

That is exactly what that Naga was doing. Too bad for them that I'll now intervene. It's high time to make my new début.

I aim Tanon's former crossbow down at this scene. Attached to the end of that crossbow bolt is a plunger that I improvised onto this crossbow bolt thanks to secretly retrieving Toolshed's tools. I then fire the crossbow. As the bolt flies away from my weapon, small coiled rope attached to the back of this crossbow spins at is uncoils. The other end of this rope is attached to the back of the crossbow bolt I just fired. Once the plunger end hits the Alicorn Amulet, I spin a crank at the back of this crossbow to recoil the rope to it. That, in turn, yanks the fake Amulet out of the surprised Naga's hands and eventually delivers it to my hooves.

“YOU!” Nelka roars in outrage as the whole assembly gasps up at me.

Since I have deliberately abandoned stealth at this point, I stand up straight and tip my new hat down at them.

“Sorry, boys,” I call down with a flair of sarcasm in my voice. “But this here is a legendary pony artifact and I'm taking it back. My kind made it and it's our mess to clean up.”

The entire assembly down below me gasps when they realize they can actually understand me this time, but Nelka is the first to voice it.

“You speak our tongue now? How? When?” He then narrows his eyes at me. “Were you creatures just playing dumb with us all along?”

“Just the opposite, actually,” I partially bluff with a teasing grin revealed under the shadow of my new hat. “We find it's not always wise to tip our best hoof to would-be enemies who capture us and try to boss us around. Oh, and ah . . .” I lean down, “the name of my species is 'ponies', in case you're interested to know.” I give a dismissive wave to the lot of them. “You can be the 'creatures' if you want to.”

Nelka quakes with intense fury as he points up at me and demands, “GET HER!”

“Come and get me, boys,” I deviously mutter quietly in a daring tone under my breath before I glide away from the upper columns and make it to the exit of this chamber then curve right into one of the massive hallways of this temple. I hear, to my satisfaction, every Naga gathered here now chasing after me. That probably now even includes their leader Nelkra Shlog'znof. The only thing that bothers me about this situation is I haven't gotten all of the cultist chasing me yet because some of them are spread out in the temple looking for my kind or, more especially, the Alicorn Amulet. Another thing that bothers me is I never gained eyes on Decay either, and he is, by far, the most threatening force in this temple.

I twist one of my ears behind me as I listen to the crowd that's following behind me. The other ear I aim in various different directions ahead of me. I have to find the scattered remaining members of this temple and get them to follow me too.

In my head, I have a mental map of this whole temple. I also know some of the doors in this temple are not only closed now but jammed shut thanks to the Doctor's marvelous alien technology. He claims he's wearing another that makes him hard to notice somehow. Not invisible per se but somehow difficult for the mind to notice.

That's not the only advantage we're trotting into this adventure with. Considering that Decay is on the prowl, we know we really had to up our immune system verses diseases. To combat a threat that strong, we also knew it would require holy magic because Decay's magic is reinforced with dark magic. It's not just a disease but a curse he spreads. One that makes his disease far more effective. To combat that, the fake Alicorn Amulet I'm holding right now is ironically charged with holy magic. That'll give me proper protection just encase I gallop into Decay. I don't even have to wear the Amulet to gain those benefits. Just hold it somewhere on my person. 

For now, I'm choosing not to actually wear it because I know those chasing shortly behind me would expect me to be augmented by dark magic. Those behind me would grow suspicious if I don't pull off augmented abilities that they'd expect me to have if I wear it. While it is true that they wouldn't know precisely how the real Alicorn Amulet would augment me, I don't want to give them an early lead to realize this Amulet is a fake and I might be leading them into a trap.

To keep from galloping too far ahead of those chasing me, I occasionally pause to look over my shoulder. When I see them still chasing me, I give them a teasing flick of my salt and pepper tail then resume on.

An internal map is not the only thing I'm relying upon right now. I'm also relying upon my internal compass. It is guiding me to the right path where I encounter more of the Naga. When I see them ahead of me, I pretend I made a mistake then double back into a different route. Those that spot me quickly realize I'm an intruder, especially with a whole hoard of other Naga already chasing after me. That convinces these new groups to join the chase as well. If they had been more astute, though, they gradually would have realized a bunch of the doors in the temple are suspiciously jammed shut now.

While everything is going according to plan so far, I'm not entirely faking when I give a shocked and sheepish expression to each new group of Naga I encounter before I either take a new route or sail right over them. 

Gradually I thought things would get easier for me as a larger crowd is chasing after me. It is true many of the temple corridors are large, but with an exceptionally large crowd chasing behind me at roughly the same point, they should be bumping into each other and slowing the crowd down. 

That is indeed happening to some extent, but some of them just happen to be well ahead of the rest of the crowd. I hear the swish and whistling sound of their scimitar swings nearly hit me. I glance back at them with a “Yikes” expression before suddenly screeching to a stop and deliberately allow some of them to catch up to me. When they do, I buck my hind legs hard at them. As the kick connects to them, it sails them back to crash into the crowd behind them. This knocks over a bunch of them like dominoes. With that brief reprieve, I spring to a sudden gallop again and use my wings to launch myelf forward, thus giving me a boost that my legs can't naturally do alone.

“WAIT!” Nelka roars above the crowd at one time. That demand brings everyone to a halt, including me. I also look back at him to see what he says next. Nelka gives me a narrow-eyed stare as he says, “She's leading all of us to a trap.”

“Oh really?” I ask back at him in a taunting voice. “Well good for you in figuring that out. I guess maybe you are smart enough to spell big words. I'm so proud of you!”

Nelka narrows his eyes at me further. He stares daggers into me. He knows that I'm deliberately taunting him but that knowledge alone doesn't necessarily fail to trigger him.

“Regardless if I'm leading you into a trap or not, we all know one crucial thing,” I say before twirling the fake Alicorn Amulet on the tip of one of my beige wings. “I still have this.” I pretend to regard it curiously. “I wonder what would happen if I put it on?” I then flash the group behind me with a daring grin. “Another former partner of mine put it on a short while ago, yes? I bet they are still recovering in the infirmary.”

Saying that really ticked them off, but I'm surprised to discover that they are still hesitating.

“Fine,” I say with a tired groan. “Just keep standing there while I get away with the Amulet. That makes my job easier anyway.”

With that, I take off and I don't look back. I grow a secret, devious grin when I hear them eventually take the bait.











“End of the line . . .” Nelkra Shlog'znof begins in a menacing tone but trails off when he regards the water rushing right past him in the chamber with the Stargate. He slithers on in then scans about at the even more unusual sight of seeing this room half flooded with rain water. Not only that, it is still raining in this room thanks to the dozens of storm clouds. He then looks up and notices me peering down at him from on top of the edge of a storm cloud. The right ridge of the scales above his right eye lifts a bit which would have been more noticeable if he had eyebrows of some kind. He then finally finishes his sentence by saying “. . . pony? Um,” he looks around again then back up at me. He then points up at me with an almost comically timid stretch of one of his four arms as he asks me, “Are you, um . . . standing on a storm cloud?” He shakes his head with a double take. “How are you doing that?”

“I'm full of surprises today, aren't I?” I ask back at him with a cheeky grin.

Ain't that the truth! I've even surprised myself today! Here I was galloping all around the temple, gathering up the cultist and luring them into token traps that I've set up in multiple places throughout  using Toolshed's tools. A little nailgun on a trip wire over here and flaming spray can over there. It was funny to watch them stumbling into one trap after another, but none of those traps were supposed to stop or be injure them too much. All I had to do was reveal a few cards to show I was putting some effort into hindering them in order to coax them into thinking I'm steadily exhausting all of my surprises, and little by little, that's true. However, I need to keep distracting them from my greatest trump card. The one that will checkmate this entire adventure. I just need to wait for one more player to show up for that.

Meanwhile I got this room all set up in order to convince them that this is my final stand. I'm not surprised that the Naga didn't know I could do this considering they are very unfamiliar with my species. I'll admit I hardly ever done this myself in the past either. About the closest thing I've ever done to assist weather control teams in Equestria was Pegasi Tornado Duty Day, in my local community at the time, to help pull water from a reservoir into Cloudsdale. Still, it's important to remember that, as a pegasus, I was always capable of affecting the weather like this. Weather isn't as cooperative outside of Equestria though but I brought this in through the Stargate. 

Given the amount of water that built up into this room over time, a bunch of the Naga had to struggle to slither into the room. They aren't as large as their leader so it took quite a bit more effort on their part until the water in here thinned out as it spread to the rest of the rooms. Even after that, though, they are all still getting rained upon.

Nelkra's eyes lowered halfway in a deadpan expression while he lifts an arm with upwardly spread fingers and asks, “Was this your plan? Were you hoping to wash us down through the temple?”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” I replied honestly. “But I'll admit I didn't consider that very likely. It would be a pain in my flank to drag in that many storm clouds through the Stargate anyway. Usually we have a whole team of pegasi doing weather control duty.”

The Naga stare up at me in confusion. Obviously they have little to no idea what I'm talking about.

I lift the wrist of my right forehoof near my muzzle, pretend to clear my throat, then begin again by saying, “Anyway, I figured rainwater on your scaly hides wouldn't pose much of a threat to you. You'll be 'shocked' when you realize the next phase of my plan, though.” I give a cheeky smile again as I bid them, “Enjoy!”

With that, I start bucking repeatedly at the storm cloud I'm standing on in order to agitate it. As planned, it thunders for a brief second before cascading down a bolt of lightening into the water. Water which the whole lot of them are still connected too! As promised, this delivers a shocking experience for them indeed. Multiple times, in fact. I keep kicking at the storm cloud until it exhausts its store of electrical energy. I think it produced a total of eleven lightening bolts. While all that was happening, the pool of water continued to be thinned out as it kept spreading beyond this room, but they were still wet due to all the rainwater so it kept what could have been a targeted attack into an area attack each time.

With that done, the whole group of Naga collapse onto the ground. They are either dead, unconscious, or nervous system too fried to move. In any case, they spasmodically wiggle on the ground for awhile. During that time I continue to see crackles of electricity crawl along the water, zap between their scales and eyes, and flicker off of their metal weapons.

This still isn't my greatest trump card, but I need them to think it is. That way they'll be that much less prepared for the next blow. 

As it stands, the small fry is taken out of commission, including one of their primary leaders. There is only one threat left that has yet to reveal himself. Now that he's lost all of his pawns, I secretly steel myself for the reveal of this game's true King.

While I wait, it continues to rain in this room but much more calmly. Now that I've kicked out most of the energy these storm clouds had, the weather gets more calm in this room.

The Calm Before the Storm!

A chill instantly crawls up my spin when I hear a “ching” sound. Shortly later I'm a bit surprised to hear a eight hoof clomps splash into the still running water. The ching sound continues three more times before I see a pair of recognizable ponies enter into the room; Leg It and Doctor Grazy. However, both of them look worse for wear. Their manes are a chaotic mess and some bits of flesh hang off of them. I gulp when I realize I am now staring at a pair of zombie ponies, but it takes a closer inspection to reveal that what I'm beholding is even worse than that. Their mouths are sewn shut, but their eyes are wide open and they have this crazed look in eyes as if they are in the absolute peak amount of pain a mortal can possibly endure, yet because their mouths are sewn shut, they can't scream. Not only that, but an uncountable number of worms and maggots burrow into and out of their hides, including their eyeballs. Every time a worm dives back into their flesh, the flesh regenerates seconds behind each one. So, not only are the worms/maggots causing damage, but the pair of them are healing just as fast. 

Beholding this, something tells me that I could hack either one of these two to pieces and they'd just keep on coming. Not only that, but they'd regenerate, especially if their hacked off limbs were reattached somehow. Moreover, all it seems it would take is one touch from either one of these to transfer some of their worms to the next host and turn that person into a worm-infested zombie pony as well. A zombie pony alive enough to feel the pain of constant torture but simply can't die for some reason. A reason that certainly has something to do with really despicable dark magic.

Standing on top of both of these ponies (or maybe more accurate to say former ponies) is the ancient corrupted former Silurian, the Worm That Trots now known as Decay. He has a leg on the back of each of the earth ponies. As they move, Decay bends and twists in an obviously unnatural, nightmarish way beneath his mummy-like bandages. In his left claw he carries a rusty-looking brass ball that is swinging on an equally rusty-looking chain. As he swings it from side to side it produces a “ching” sound at each end of the swing. Constant black smoke spews up from this brass ball. In addition to that, a constant rain of worms pours down from the ball into the water  below. Too many worms spew out from that ball to be logical for its size. I'm almost tempted to call that ball “bigger on the inside”, but it seems far more likely that these worms are created through pure dark magic. The way Decay holds and swings this chain slowly seems almost religious in practice. In the back of my mind I can even imagine dark and cultish religious chanting issuing in this room now as Decay enters.

When Decay looks up at me, or maybe the rain clouds, it kind of looks like his face “morphs” to look in an upward direction rather than lifting up his head in a natural way. 

The two “ponies” stop. Decay stares up at me. In return, I stand up straight and push my new hat further down my head and tilt it partially forward to conceal half of my face. I give a very hard stare back at him with a single eye. I don't think my expression has ever been this deadly serious before.

Ironically, that expression of mine seems to make him chuckle mirthfully. I wince as I hear it. He makes an ugly, gurgling sound as he chuckles and when he speaks. In addition to that, I hear a slight hint of his native Silurian hissing sounds but the TARDIS's telempathic translation makes me hear the language I most understand instead.

“I guess somepony feels prepared to face me,” Decay expresses in his ugly gurgle. “I've been trying to infect you for quite some time, but alas . . . my efforts have been for naught. Your immune system has been augmented far beyond normal and that's further secured by that accursed Amulet that you have.” His whole head squishes down to half its normal size for a moment as a wide, creepy grin spreads across his face. His head returns to normal size as if it is this pulsing, puss-thing. “In addition, a bunch of the doors to this temple are now mysteriously locked, and the bugs I implanted in others of your kind have been cleansed the moment they crossed through this Stargate. I had originally planned to use them as my eyes, ears, and sleeper agents when they returned to your lands but . . . Alas.” He shrugs. “Time Lord shenanigans notwithstanding, I would have won this day.” He twists his head to a creepy and unusual degree as he continues to stare up at me. “But this day isn't over yet.”

After everything he said, I now put the fake Alicorn Amulet on immediately. Doing so also frees up a hoof or a wing. I want this item secure on my person. It may not be the real Alicorn Amulet, but it does have an actual enchantment on it now.

“So you know about the Time Lords,” I note with deadly seriousness.

Decay's mesmerizing, wiggling body seems to bow to me as he says, “It seems we have that much in common. I'm well aware of the telempathic translation of their vessels.”

“Their” vessels? Plural tense?

I shudder again. I have to keep in mind how ancient this former Silurian is. He might have even participated in the Time Wars itself which is a concept I've only recently been acquainted with when the Doctor tried to recruit me for an organization he calls “Knights of the Hourglass”. For now I told him I'd consider his offer later.

“What a bold pony you are!” Decay gurgles and purrs as he lifts back up to his normal stooped posture.  “So brave. So daring. So . . .” He trails off for a moment to open his wide mouth and, for the first time, I actually see an opening in his bandages. A bunch of maggots and worms spill out of his mouth as if it was saliva. Instead of teeth, he has bigger wiggling worms in their place. “. . . delicious!” he finally finishes.

At first I just continue to stare at him silently and coldly. The eye I peer at him gleams with deadly intent that is so antithetical to normal pony nature. Raised in a culture that is filled with so much harmony, I'd normally never conceive of this outside of works of fiction, but I know I am beholding an unforgivable monster.

“It's important to you for me to feel fear towards you, isn't it?” I eventually ask. “I'm guessing you can smell it or sense it somehow if I had it, but tell me something . . . what do you sense in me right now?”

Decay just gives me a silent stare.

“Is it fear?” I challenge then lean my head down to peer at him just a bit more closely. “Let me tell you one thing to make sure we get this record absolutely straight. No matter how much you try to hurt me, scare me, or slow me down in any way . . . you are going to fail! My name is Daring Do, you despicable little slug, and I dare you to try to stop me!” I raise my head up straight. “Or even slow me down.”

“You think you are invincible?” Decay asks with a dark chuckle. “I am Decay. All who stand before me rots and decays.”

“Yet here I stand boldly and proudly,” I return. “Am I invincible? No.” I shake my head. “But I am unstoppable because you, or anypony else, shall never be more determined to win than I am. My will is invincible, Thing, and that makes me mighty. For as long as my will endures, I shall always find a path to victory. I am a living, breathing Deus Ex Machina.”

“Bold claims, pony,” Decay mentions dryly.

“I agree,” I reply as I spread then flap my beige wings. “Words are not enough. You may stand there with all of your dark powers, but I am the heroine of this story and only I determine how this story ends. And Thing,” I narrow my eyes at him, “I foresee that your story ends on this day. That's what it's going to say in my book.”

Decay drops his “jaw” to a very unnatural degree. About four feet which is almost as tall as he is. From that mouth he spews out a cloud of black flies.

I dive down and fly right past him. Over my shoulder, just before rounding the corner of the door, I notice him spin his head about one-eighty degrees before he dives off the two former ponies he stood on. He disappears from sight somewhere below the water that is now normally too shallow for him to vanish beneath, and yet he does anyway.

As for the two worm-infested zombie ponies he stood on, the stitching on their mouths tear open and now I'm hearing a constant horrendous scream from them both. A scream that both seems to beg for mercy, and yet they turn around and charge at me in an attempt to tackle me, or at least touch me, in order to spread the infection.

I know why Decay used these two against me. He's trying to get under my hide psychologically. I can't say he entirely failed either, but the results is probably not as he hoped. Seeing this, I've become even more determined to defeat him. If I do so, it might grant a peaceful rest to these two ponies and I know they more than deserve it. Even if they were my enemies, like the other unconscious Naga, the sight of this much pain would still make me determined to destroy Decay because nothing in the world deserves to suffer as much as Decay's curse can wrought.

Because he's been raining worms in the water with his device for quite some time, I no longer trust it. I just keep myself aloft over the ground and tuck my legs in beneath me.

Meanwhile, behind me, I can hear Leg It and Grazy galloping after me as hard as they can. Leg It is starting to gain on me between the two which makes me realize their physical mortal potential endures even after this horrific transformation. I don't even have to glance back to hear them coming because no pony can possibly scream more painfully than these two are right now. This is the absolute peak a pony can scream.

I curve around a turn in the hallway then reach back into my saddlebag as I do so. From it I pull out a hatchet using my mouth then proceed to spit it into my left hoof. Gazing back from below me, thus looking back upside down, I see Leg It rush at me with so much momentum that he actually runs up the wall of the turn before leaping off of that to launch himself at me. Taking careful aim, I fling my hatchet, yet another treasure from Toolshed's treasure hoard (and notably their former friend in life), I end up cleaving Leg It's right leg off just as it touches the ground. Because of that, he trips, tumbles on the ground then gets right back up and continues his chase without that leg. This temporarily slows him down and I finally start gaining some distance from him, but I also observe worms and maggots crawl out of the stump of his leg and slowly start to create a new leg made purely out of worms and maggots.

I gaze forward and I shudder again. The accursed powers of a Worm That Trots is every bit has horrific as I had once imagined, if not more so. This blight should not exist upon this world at all, nor shall it continue to exist for long if me and my friends have any say in it.

Grazy never had a serious chance to keep up with me unless I am injured. She just continues to fall further and further behind even in her unlife state. In life, running wasn't really what she specialized in. Instead of that, she was highly knowledgeable. She was among some of the ponies that once happily taught me about all kinds of fascinating flora and fauna in the jungle of this new continent. She never asked for anything in return for that service either. She was just happy to teach a fellow budding adventuring companion.

Tears rush to my eyes for a brief moment. During that brief moment my resolve cracks just slightly. What happened to them fills me with sadness. Adventures can be like that sometimes. It is a very dangerous profession. Not everypony is going to make it to the end.

But, for as long as I continue to breathe, their legacy shall live on through me. I'll add them to my strength and determination. They are among the reasons why I shall not allow anything to defeat me. For their sake, among others, I SHALL WIN!

Eerily, I start to hear Decay's voice echo throughout the temple. It's almost as if he is the temple. What he's saying isn't successfully being translated this time, but from the sounds of it, it seems to be some Arcane language.

Then I notice a new threat. Cracks start crawling up the walls and ceiling of the temple. It seems as if he's damaging the stone with pure entropic energy. Black spreads from the cracks that seems to be oily acid. There is a sizzling sound indicative of true acid and yet I can't be entirely sure if that is what it is. Not when it comes to the powers of this creature.

This is a problem to me in multiple ways. Not only is the temple crumbling and raining down upon me, but I can't have him in the walls like that when I spring my last trap upon him. I didn't even know he could do this. Maybe it's because of the corrupting energy this cult has been stockpiling in this temple?

Then I widen my eyes. I do know of one area he can't infect. Actually, I know several. If the only reason he can be in the walls is because of the corrupting energy that was amassing in this temple, then I'll simply go to the areas that still has holy energy in it, including the walls. That strategy risks tipping him off to my true plan, and this one doesn't seem to be an idiot either, but I really have to get him out of these walls.

Up ahead, I see an archway holding up the ceiling spread a crack in it then partially collapse. When that happens, the design of the stone reminds me of the gaze of two angry eyes considering its slanted eye position. From that stone, I can even feel his burning hostility towards me. 

Cracks spread further as I near it. That causes me to be certain that it will collapse about the time I catch up to it. He's timing for that exactly. To counter his effort, I launch myself forward much faster at the last second. During that time Leg It attempted another leap at me. I end up just barely sailing past a rain of rubble behind me, but it does catch and crush what is left of poor Leg It. Grazy was safe, though. She didn't even catch up enough to be threatened by that debris.

Despite my better judgment, which is even against the recommendation of my internal compass, I skid to a halt and take one last look back at Leg It. Only one leg and about half of his head is now visible on the other side of this collapse of stones. He is still wiggling that one last limb flailing at me as if to prove absolutely nothing natural can stop him now. He doesn't rely on a normal mortal body to move anymore. The dark magic enchanted worms in his system can ensure it. I realize that the magic itself has got to go or he'll never rest in peace.

I remember how he ran off to meet the other members of the cultist head on to stall them from catching up to me. I remember how his guilt drove him to desperate extremes in order to make up for his previous mistakes. All of that led to a fate that not even the foulest Naga here deserved. A heavy clump of “wrongness” sinks down my throat and pit of my stomach when I witness this. The one eye I can see on the side of his face, which is now bulging out more than it should as a direct result of being smashed, is still as wide, bloodshot, and cracked. 

“I'm sorry,” I tell him remorsefully. “I'll make this right. I swear, and I shall not fail.”

With that, I take off.











I skid to a halt again when I witness Decay directly ahead of me. At first I am surprised he emerged from the walls, but then it occurs to me where we are. The wall with the holy water is near this position. Surely such energy seeped into the walls enough to make him uncomfortable, or even completely unable, to remain within the walls.

“Why do you fight?” Decay asks me with his ugly gurgle and hissing sound. “What fuels your determination? Weren't you just a mousy librarian until recently?”

I'm startled that he realized that. How did he know? It's not as if I've been wearing a shirt that says, “Former Librarian Here” on it.

But then I recall the first time I saw him. When I took off with Doctor Caballeron, Decay didn't follow me then. Instead he just studied me very carefully. If he saw something telling in me then, then he might be as skilled as a detective pony with a cutie mark in it.

It's creepy to realize that this creature has the wits and skills to be a true psychologist and he uses all of that psychological knowledge against those he studies. Always probing for weaknesses. Always looking for chinks in one's mental armor. After all, it's far easier to feed off ones fears if he can find a way to skillfully evoke it.

In a strange way, he reminds me of the Doctor if the Doctor had gone pure evil. Just someone with wit and intellect far above the norm. Someone who would have layers and layers of backup plans for every contingency. A person who is truly ready for whatever he encounters, and he has a great deal of dark magic to back it up. Terrible and normally overwhelming destructive power in the claws of someone who uses it like a skilled surgeon to boot.

“Pretending to be an adventurer?” Decay goes on. “I'm sure you read many books on the subject, haven't you?” He chuckles darkly. “An author and librarian who thinks all it takes to be an adventurer is to put on a pith hat.”

I peer at him carefully. I wonder if he's stalling for something, but in a way, I am too. A few more details needs to be in place. I could also use a moment to catch my breath. My determination can make me almost unstoppable but I need to be wary of my physical limits too. I haven't been at this for long after all. Certainly not to this degree.

Since he's willing to talk for now, and I have a rough idea as to why, I decide to humor him for a bit and engage him back. I have something to prove too, after all. At least to myself.

I remove my pith hat for a moment and hold it aloft as I say, “It is true that this is a symbol for me. Kind of a comfort blanket, you can say.” I narrow my eyes slightly at him. “But it's what it represents that is most important. The feeling behind the meaning of it's symbolic representation. A cutie mark is the same thing. A symbol of what is accomplished so far, but what is important here is to keep going. See the sign, nod in respect to it, then keep on going.”

I put my hat back on my head.

“The thing that makes me a true adventurer is not my hat just like wielding a sword doesn't make a pony an automatic warrior, nor simply holding a hammer automatically make one a skilled carpenter. It's what's in here,” I thrust a hoof to my chest, “that makes one whatever they set their hearts to achieve. It is courage, determination and drive that sets one upon any path. It's a willingness to learn and to keep on growing in that path. A true master of any craft realizes there is always room to grow. I stumbled as I explored a new path in my life. Once I finally gained my balance, I seized the opportunity. I own it. What you see before you,” I spread my wings, “is all that I am now. All that I choose to be.

“I warn you, Thing, that you never encountered a pony like me before. You feed on fear, but today you met your match because your days have come to an end. I won't give you any fear to feed upon. No matter how powerful you think you are, no matter how powerful you actually are . . . today it doesn't matter. Fate finally gave you an obstacle you cannot overcome because this is not your time, Thing. The days of ancient and accursed blights like you are gone now. The world has moved on without you and I'm here to prove you no longer have a place in it. You gave up those rights a long time ago when you surrendered your mortality to your fears and ambition. Shortcuts to power always has a weakness. Those who skip the path of pure and natural progress lacks the integrity to keep themselves stable in the end.”

“I heard that before,” Decay replies in a tone that curiously lacks any hint of cynicism or sarcasm. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he actually believed me. “There were others before you who came to me and made similar promises. Promises that they actually delivered upon. I was arrogant then. I thought I wasn't. I thought I meticulously planned every possible detail, every possible contingency, but truly my full and utter defeat was not part of my plan, yet it happened anyway. 

“I've encountered Deue Ex Machina's before, pony. Enough to realize I need to take those threats seriously. These creatures,” he waves a single pointing claw about to indicate all around us, “raised me from the dead, pony. That should tell you one very important thing; I've been defeated before. No amount of power saved me then, and I realize it could happen again. 

“So here we both stand. Each with reasons to have unshakable resolve. You have your goals and I have mine. They are incompatible, so one of us needs to fall today. Whose story will really end today?”

“What would you like on your tombstone?” I offer. “I don't like you but I do respect you. I acknowledge your presence. After I win, how do you wish to be remembered?”

He actually surprises me when he pauses in thought. He even seems to symbolically close his “eyes” as his bandages collapse down where his eyes would have been. I expected for him to dismiss that request or give some sarcastic answer, but instead he really seems to give this some serious thought.

“That I have many regrets,” Decay finally answers when he “opens” his eyes again. “I followed that which I thought would be an unbeatable master, but the world has clearly turned in a different direction and I sense I have no place in it. Perhaps the only role I have left in this world is to give you one obstacle. Prove your words by beating me. I want to be remembered as someone who gave everything he had in his path. In the end, was it a mistake?” He shrugs. “Maybe, but I'm here now with a new opportunity. Losing once is not a guarantee it would happen again. I won't give up before the fight.”

A very curious moment passes between us. A moment I will have a hard time describing later. What I can say it is a timeless moment when total clarity passes between us. Clarity that is also mixed with mutual respect. He's not underestimating me in the slightest despite how powerful he is. After all, he's been defeated before by those he once considered his lesser and he honestly has learned from that lesson.

From him I feel a kind of sadness and emptiness too, yet curiosity as well about the path that was not taken. The hero and the villain face off against each other and he actually wonders what it's like to be me instead; the underdog who is destined to win in the end.

It's odd, but I can suddenly see myself in his place. What I could have been like if I made different choices in my life. His was influenced by an ancient time. Things were different back then. More desperate. More primal.

When we both come out of our mutual trance, it's funny to me to think I was actually just one move away from winning this game. What I needed to do is right behind him.

I wonder if he knew that. I wonder if he even accepted that. He saw how he is about to go. It saddened him and yet he accepted it. He turned around and engaged me one last time. He wanted to get to know the pony who would defeat him. Him, what most would consider an unstoppable monster. 

So what does that make me, I wonder?

The next few moments seem to go in slow motion for me. I crouch down then spring up. He opens his mouth and launches what seems to be a single worm that quickly grows in size. I sail over him and the conjured worm. My machete sails out of my saddlebag and spins twice in mid air. I catch it with a hoof as I arc back down. I end up cutting the wick of the dynamite hidden in the wall so hard that it not only shortens it, but also ignites it as my machete hits the stone behind it hard enough to cause sparks.

With that set off, I know I have about two seconds before the dynamites hidden in the wall explodes. I crouch down then leap up with a strong flap. As I sail back into the air, a chain of explosions assists my leap and also causes me to angle away from the exploding wall. Once I arrive at the cave ceiling, I cling myself to the cave ceiling using a stalactite hanging there. I transfer my grip on my machete to my mouth then cling to the downward stone spike using all four of my legs and both of my wings. 

Down below me the dynamite explodes which sets off a chain reaction, for there are other sticks of dynamite hidden in the wall too. This is where Tanon Burrows died. I even sparked his dynamite using the very machete that once belonged to him.

The wall explodes into violent shrapnel that would have threatened just about any other creature other than him. However, the gushing wall of holy water that hits him next is a different story. That is something he can't endure for long.

All of my limbs, including my wings, shake as I cling to a stalactite on the roof of this cave. Tears rise due to the strain of my effort. I know I have to avoid that water right now at all costs because the Doctor warned me he would add something to it. Something that will cause amnesia to all of the other Naga in the temple that comes into contact with it. It will erase enough to give them a fresh start in life. Meanwhile he also had been working to close and lock a series of doors so that this water would only flow in a certain direction. I've been working all this time to ensure the Naga will be in the pathline of this water flow. 

The hidden good sect of this temple is safe from this water where they are at. When the water flows through this temple and eventually drains, they'll come out and reeducate all the other Naga that lost their memories. Hopefully their new life will be better than the last.

I had initially objected to this plan when I first heard it. After all there is no justice in it. These Naga have caused plenty of suffering before and all they'll lose for it is the memory of what they did. The Doctor was adamant about defending life, though, and insisted that all life, in any form, no matter what they have done, deserves a second chance if able. 

In hindsight, I finally realize that the Doctor has a point. If there is a way to deal with the evil Naga that neutralizes them as a threat but also doesn't kill them then my conscience remains clear. As a pony who honestly does want to do good in the world, this feels very important to me. It's an option I didn't expect but eventually became glad to have it.

Decay is a different story, though. He doesn't have a true life to defend. The truth is he actually died a long time ago. He's been nothing but dark magic and animated worms ever since. A creature like that really doesn't have a place in this world. Not in a form like that. 

That is why, despite my struggle to hold on, I peer down in order to behold the fate of Decay himself. When I do, I see him give a paltry effort to defend himself by clinging to a stalagmite.

However, when our “eyes” meet, I see something I don't expect. In him to me, I see admiration. I see respect. Sweet Celestia, I think I even see love in him! It's the kind of pride like beholding a daughter that finally surpassed him. Who achieved everything he knew she could accomplish deep down and part of him wanted that. That he existed as a foil, a test, in one last moment and I passed. 

I feel as if he took a mask off and revealed an inner purity that was very well hidden before. After all, that was one really convincing mask!

But beneath that there is a purity that exists hidden within everyone. In this moment he lets go and accepts death. In doing so all ego is forsaken. All “pretenses”. What is left is the absolute core of his being.

When he lets go of the stalagmite, he looks to finally be in peace as he dissolves into the still rushing water.