//------------------------------// // Inner Demons // Story: The Guardian // by InsaneBatPony //------------------------------// 1 The night had ended and the sun was floating in the sky. Volos lay unmoving in the grass by a small pond. His eyes lit up once again and he stirred from his forced slumber. As he moved hardened orange crystals fell from his arms and upper body. He managed to stand up after breaking off all of the crystals. He inspected his hands and noticed that his claws had retracted back into his hands and the blades rested inside his forearms. He brought his claws out of their sheath and watched as his fingers split down the center allowing the blades to slide out of their resting places. He retracted them once more and let the blades come out of his forearms. He turned his arms and studied them and the blades carefully before becoming satisfied with the results of his quick inspection. He sheathed the blades and looked at the pieces of crystal on the ground. He picked up one of the shards and held it in front of his face. 'Scan' ...Scan Initiated... ...Scanning...Scanning...Scanning... ...Scan Complete...Displaying Results... ...Nano-bots found...Type: Unknown...Purpose: Repair Non-Organic Substances... 'Run Systems Check' ...Running... ...Complete...Displaying Results... ...Weapon's Systems Online...Operating At Full Capacity... ...Bio-Organic Substances...Operating Normally... ...Non-Organic Articulation Components...Functional...Operating At 25% Capacity...Damage Extensive... ...Full Repair Not Possible... 'Show Test Phrases' ...Displaying... ...My Name Is... Volos studied the small phrase given to him by the A.I. for a while. He let out a groan and tried to speak. "MY N...Ame I..S VVVOLoS" came his cold and metallic voice. "I...AM...VolOS" he tried again, the same cold voice escaping through his teeth. Volos sighed and sat down on the ground. 2 Twilight rolled under the sheet on her bed as the sun pierced her window with its light. She opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around her room until her gaze stopped on her dresser. A rolled up parchment lay atop her dresser. She slowly got off her bed and walked over to the parchment. She noticed the Royal Seal and in an instant she felt wide awake and opened the letter quickly. When she had finished reading the letter she rolled it up and set it back down on her dresser. She sat back on her haunches and she sighed loudly. "Princess Luna? She fits into this? I know the giant is dangerous but..." she began to think. "I'll have to tell the others the news." she spoke to herself while standing back up. "Spike!" Spike came running up the stairs and stopped in Twilight's bedroom doorway. "Yes, Twilight?" "Take a note." "Now?" "Yes, now." "Okay, what do you want it to say?" "Tell the others to meet me here at the library within the hour." "What's this about?" "It's none of your concern at the moment. Now, get to it." Twilight demanded. Spike scribbled furiously and sent the letters to their destinations. 3 The library became crowded on the main floor as Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash waited for Twilight to come down the stairs. Twilight made her way down and stood at the head of the group. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I called you here because I have recently received a letter from Princess Celestia that is rather urgent." The others looked on with curiosity and some sense of fright. "It said that Princess Celestia is dealing with some urgent business regarding Princess Luna at the castle and will not be able to come as quickly as I had hoped. In the mean time she has asked us to avoid our large friend at any cost. I'm sure this will be no trouble for most of you but..." she looked over to Rarity. "Rarity, if you need help keeping Sweetie Belle away from him let me or one of the others know, we'll help you if we can." "Twilight?" Rarity started, making Twilight look at her again. "When I found Sweetie Belle, she was determined to be around him no matter what. He even gave us his name." This caught not only Twilight's attention but the rest of the group as well. "A name?" Rarity nodded. "What was it Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Uh, he said that his name was"-she gulped-"Volos." "Really?" "Yes. I'll spare you the details but Volos does have a rather tender side." She looked around nervously. "He was fighting a Hydra while Sweetie and I took cover behind a bush and when he beat it, he" "Whoa,whoa, he beat a hydra?!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Well, yes. When I say beat it he more like, tore it to pieces, but that's beside the point. I don't think he is all that dangerous when he is around us." Rarity finished. Twilight pondered her friend’s statements. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Look, I know that he may not appear to be dangerous in certain situations but you need to remember he could attack anyone of us or anything in this town if he chooses to do so. I know you have a different opinion of Volos but please, just do what the Princess has asked. Okay?" Rarity looked into her dear friend's eyes and looked away quickly. "Alright, Twilight. I'll do my best to keep Sweetie Belle away from him for the time being." "Thank you, Rarity. Do the rest of you understand?" The group nodded in unison. "Good. I'll write the Princess again and let you know what is happening." The group said their goodbyes and left the library. Rarity slowly walked trying to figure out how to break the news to Sweetie Belle that she couldn't go see Volos for a while. 4 "What do you mean I can't play with Volos anymore?!" Sweetie Belle complained. "I'm sorry Sweetie, but the Princess asked us to keep away from him for a while. She wants to come see him and hopefully everything will work out in the end." Rarity tried to comfort. "But..." "No buts! I'm sorry Sweetie Belle this is just how it has to be for a while. I expect you to do as I say. I don't like it much either, not after what I've seen but the Princess is right. He can be dangerous and I do not want him attacking me or anypony else. Understood?" "Yes Rarity." Sweetie said downtrodden. "Good. Now go outside and play. And do not go anywhere near the Everfree right now." Sweetie Belle nodded and went out the door while rarity slumped onto her couch and sighed. "How am I ever going to get through this without something going wrong?" she asked herself. 5 Volos had begun to wander around the forest again looking at all of the wildlife and adding entries into his memory core about all of the flora and fauna that resided in the forest. It had only been a couple hours since he had woken up and found that all of his systems had been repaired by the strange Nano-bots. He had already gotten used to it enough to know that now he wouldn't accidently hurt anything with his claws or swords. He kept wandering through the forest. As he walked he began to notice that the light from the sun was diminishing rapidly and was completely blocked out by the trees. He activated his night-vision mode on his optic sensors and continued without much trouble. He came across a small pasture in the darkness. He looked around the empty space cautiously. "Is he ready?" asked a disembodied voice. "Yes. He is complete." answered another. Volos swerved his head this way and that, scanning for the source of the voices. "Good. Send him in with the next detachment." "But he hasn't been tested yet." "Did I stutter?" "No, sir." "I didn't think so." The voices stopped and Volos could see it all clearly before him. The battlefield. He could see them, all of them. The Humans. Shouting, shooting, setting off explosives. Volos looked to the now blue sky above him. Thousands of Drones flew overhead, dropping their payloads onto the enemy and vise-verse. Volos watched as a drop ship landed and dropped off twelve soldiers and a thirteenth clad in battle armor that covered everything except his head. Him. 6 Luna sat in Celestia's study concentrating her magic. Celestia watched over her sister as she conducted this delicate exercise. Luna had beads of sweat streaming down her face as her magic gathered in her horn. Eventually Luna gave out and her horn stopped glowing. She slumped down and panted. Celestia came over and lay down by her side. "Did you find him?" she asked. "No. It's as though he just vanished from the planet." "What?" "He's gone. This was the most powerful location spell I could have mustered, and still he eluded me." "Did you search the entire planet?" Luna nodded once. "This is troubling. Take a break, we'll try again later." "Sister, wait!" Luna called after Celestia. "What is it?" she responded, turning to face Luna. "Why me? Why am I the one who is going through this?" Celestia looked at the floor, a frown forming on her lips. "I do not know. I have often wondered this ever since this began but like you the answer to this question has escaped me as well." Luna frowned and started to cry. Celestia ran over and pulled her into a hug. "Shh, shh, it will be okay. We'll figure this out and our lives will return to normal." "Promise?" Luna sobbed. "Promise." Celestia answered with doubt. 7 "Ralphy!" shouted a phantom as the one next to him fell over his weapon falling to the side. The sound mostly drowned out by sounds of the explosions and gunfire. The phantom kept firing his weapon. No sound reached Volos' audio receiver, it did not have to. He could hear everything without the sound. He looked on, his emotionless eyes keeping watch over the scene unfolding before him. He watched as more and more of the phantoms fell. He noticed that his apparition had not moved. The "Volos Apparition" stood unmoving until he took one step and then another until he was running at full speed toward the enemy units. The Volos Apparition charged like a wild animal at the enemy. The enemy soldiers fired their weapons at him. Their bullets bounced off of the battle armor and fell harmlessly to the ground. Volos' fist smashed into the enemy soldier making his torso explode from the force. He continued to charge, tearing through the soldiers like tissue paper. The one who was considered to be the commander by the attire he wore furiously yelled orders to his men. Within seconds they had mounted an experimental weapon, the reason his army was there. The first functional weapon of its kind, it was simply known as Death's Door. The real Volos watched his ghost charge and decimate soldier after soldier. The Apparition's armor was covered in the blood of his foes and none could stand before him. Volos roared loudly and the apparitions and the visions stopped moving. The scene of the battlefield was still before him. "S...tOp... iT!" his cold voice said into the vision. "E...nOu...gh!" he roared. The visions of the battlefield stopped and vanished. Volos breathed heavily as he remembered that day. The power of the weapon Death's Door and how it nearly wiped out both sides of soldiers, the pleasure he felt as he covered himself in the blood of his enemies, and the feeling of ecstasy as he watched his foes fall to his power. "E...nOU...gh." he panted. Another vision appeared before him. Volos watched as another phantom materialized in front of him. Volos studied the phantom as it materialized and realized that it was him. Blood dripped from the claws in his hands and his breaths were deep and ragged. The eyes were the same but different, they glowed with primal instinct and rage. The mouth of this vision did not move but Volos could hear the words it spoke. "Kill, destroy, decimate. I am Volos, the beast all men fear to see. The battlefield, my home. The blood of my foes, my clothes. My blood lust, unquenchable. I am the author of destruction. I am whole. And I take my place." The illusion disappeared. Volos now stood in the clearing, alone. The sun was now lowering and the light was becoming dim. Volos felt something well in his spirit. His vision began to pixelate and become blurred. 'Run Check' ...Commencing... ...Combat Systems Operating Above Capacity...Sub-System Routines Failing... ...All Non-Combat Systems Shutting Down... Life-Support Sub Routines Functional... All of his systems had ceased except for his combat protocols. His fingers opened down the center and his claws slid from their hiding place before the halves of his fingers clamped down on them again. His body swiveled from side to side as he tried to fight this new feeling. Volos grunted and roared in pain as he felt his heart and lungs work harder and harder. Volos let out on last roar as the sun fell below the horizon. As he roared, blood escaped his mouth in small spurts. He ran off into the trees once more roaring like an animal.