Deathstroke, Equestria's Terminator

by UltimateGunner

Chapter 6: Terror on the Train Tracks

Fluttershy left the commotion after she and her friends were dismissed by Princess Celestia. She ran back to her cottage, thinking about the odd creatures Twilight described.

"Ohhhhh, was that Slade fighting that thing?" She says to herself worryingly as she rushes back to her home, hoping that Slade would be there. Arriving at her doorstep, she bursts through the door and bounces her head around, looking everywhere. The animals inside wake up from their sleep and look at her in confusion.

"Oh, erm, I'm sorry, you can go back to sleep." The animals close their eyes again. Running upstairs, she turns and sees Deathstroke on the wall, his legs crossed in a relaxing position.

"Oh there you are Slade! Thank goodness you're okay."

"Of course I am." he replies with no emotion at all. Fluttershy was still unaware of the name he and others mostly go by. "So you saw me at Ponyville?"

"I did. Some of the others know about you now, even the princesses."

"They know? How did they learn about it so fast?" he asked, getting up from his relaxing position.

"Well, Luna felt a disturbance in Twilight's dream, so they both came to investigate."

"Disturbance in dreams?"

"Oh, um, I forgot to tell you how Princess Luna is also responsible for watching over ponies' dreams." she stated.

"Interesting." Deathstroke replied dryly. "Well, now more guards are probably be on the lookout for me, especially after the commotion I made with that guy."

"Well, what are you going to do?" asked Fluttershy

"I'll hang low for now. Other than that, I don't know."

"Tia, I am going back to my room to fulfill my duties of the night." Luna says to her sister.

"Very well then Luna. Have a good night." Luna smiled and headed back to her room, after they helped the repairs of Ponyville, especially Twilight's house, they needed to return to Canterlot. As Luna was no longer with Celestia, she was about to head to her room as well, until she heard hoofsteps coming from a royal guard.

"Your highness, your shipment has arrived, despite the delays we had we the inspections." he started after he bowed at her presence. "However, there is one problem." Celestia wore a puzzled look.

"What is the matter, my subject?" she asks.

"We found the magical seal on the box was gone, and further inspections have shown that we are missing one of the weapons." Celestia gasped at this. If anypony found out about those weapons and the cause for it, there could be a massive conflict in the monarchy.

"How was the seal broken?" she asks, with worry in her voice. "Was not the spell cast by some powerful unicorn guards I sent?"

"It was, your highness. We made sure no pony would be able to break it, not even high level unicorns like Twilight Sparkle." Celestia pondered in her head, then remembered the creatures roaming Equestria. She made her orders quick and simple.

"Send more guards along with three of the Wonderbolts to pursue the creatures. Also tell all the other guards to attack on sight."

"Yes, your highness." And with that, he ran off. Celestia went back to her room, and said to herself:

"I cannot risk to let them know. I must flush them out."

"So let me get this straight," a familiar cyan pony started, oblivious to everything that happened. "This jar on wheels with a brain in it attacked Ponyville, battled another strange creature, then got away with Applebloom?!" In the room with her was Twilight Sparkle, who just explained everything that happened to Rainbow Dash.

"Yes... That's correct." the lavender pony replies, in a slightly sad tone.

"Ahhhhh man! I seriously missed out on all that?" Although she could entertain herself with one of the Daring Do books, she was still very disappointed that something exciting happened and she wasn't there.

"Well, Rainbow, I think we should worry about Applebloom right now."

"Oh, right. Wait, she was taken by that jar thingy!?"

"Uhhhh, yeah, I just said that R-"

"OHHHHH NOOO!" Rainbow Dash yelled, putting her hooves to her ears. "Ugghhhh! If only I were there I would have taken Applebloom right out that jar's filthy... whatever! Then I'd buck his brain into-"

"SSHHHHHHH!" Twilight shushed her, her hoof covering her mouth.

"Oh, sorry Twi..."

"Nevermind that. You should go back to sleep Rainbow.

*Sigh* "Alright, see you in the morning I guess."

"Goodnight Rainbow."

Fluttershy was sleeping on her couch downstairs, since she wanted to give Slade time to himself, as usual. Speaking of which, he was not sleeping, he was actually scouting Ponyville through the window.

"I got too careless there with the Brain." he thought to himself. "Time for Plan B." He stopped scouting and brainstormed some things he could do, when there was a sudden banging on the door.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK *KNOCK* Fluttershy lifted her eyelids groggily.

*Yawn* "Who could that be?" she said out loud as she turned on the lights and hovered over to the door. As she pulls the door open, she slightly hides her mane at the sight of two royal guards in front of her.

"Mam, we are searching for a creature that stands on its hind legs. Does that sound familiar to you?" She shivered in her head, quickly thinking of what to say to the guards.

"Um, I uh... don't think of heard of that..."

"Well we still need to take a look and see if there's any clues to our search."

"Oh, well, I... suppose you could." Her tone was really awkward. The two guards enter and inspect some of the things in her house.

"Nothing here. Mam, may we continue our search upstairs?" Fluttershy instantly knew that Slade was in danger, and herself as well. If they discovered that she was harboring him, they both would be arrested. Saying no would make things suspicious.

"I uhhhhhhh, ummmmmm.... ok." She had no choice but to say yes. The guards turned away and headed upstairs, a terrified Fluttershy following. She closed her eyes shut in fear.

"......Nothing here." Fluttershy opened her eyes, confused that the guards didn't find anything. "We should get going. Have a good night miss."

"Good night." she replies in a rather quiet tone. The second the guards shut the door behind them, she rushes upstairs, to see that Slade wasn't there.

"Slade!? Where did you go?"

"Not far." Fluttershy turns her head everywhere, and sees Slade crawl out of the fireplace. "Your chimney is surprisingly clean." he finishes, looking at the minimal dirt he has on his armor.

"Slade! There you are! Where did you-"

"Up the chimney, as I mentioned before. I hid on the roof for a bit." he interrupts. "I also heard some knocking on the door, and the voice of some guards I hid from."

"Slade, they're all looking for you and that, jar thing. What will we do?"

"Simple. But it doesn't concern you."

"What? What do you-"

"I'm better off doing this alone. I told you what I do for a living. Better if you don't see me do it." Fluttershy just stood there shocked, thinking about what he just said to her.

"But Slade, you can't-"

"I'm not asking permission." he interrupted for the third time. He opened the window and started to climb out. Before he exited, he said one last thing.

"By the way, others don't go by the name Slade very often. I'm best known as Deathstroke." He leaped out the window, leaving an awestruck Fluttershy behind.

Deathstroke had a plan, or at least, an objective. He needed to find a way to Canterlot, get Celestia to summon the Elements to the palace, then convince them into cooperating with him, so he could fulfill his contract. From what he learned the princess may not agree to his terms, but having the Elements there, especially Fluttershy, may give him a better chance. He would have to take another ride on the train.

"More guards are on the lookout." he thought to himself, observing the multiple groups of guards patrolling Ponyville on the roof of what was probably an apartment. They used their horns as lanterns to emit a bright light ahead of them, allowing the other guards in the group to see well. "Train station's over there. Just need to keep a low profile." He then noticed that there were also pegasi guards patrolling from above, using large flashlights to make spotlights on the ground, similar to those of helicopters.

"Very clever." he mentally complimented. The roofs were a no-go, so he had to reach the train station through dark places, like alleyways. Carefully, he jumped off the roof into a dark alley, hiding behind a cluster of trash bags as a guard shines a bright light into the alley. The guard shines his light around, scanning parts of the area, then leaves along with the guards following, removing the light from the alley.

"These guards are good." he thought to himself as he got up and ran to another alley lane. He saw a spotlight headed for him, so he quickly dove into a pile of sheets. He peeks and sees the spotlight directly above him, which slithers away after a few seconds. Getting up, he peeks from behind the walls and sees from afar what looks like a large treehouse. Not the kind where you build it up on trees, but where the house is literally a tree.

"Twilight's house." he determined, with what he learned from Fluttershy. "I expected the Element of Magic to live in a place more... magical." He already knew that her house was a tree, but he expected the tree to have some... magical stuff. But nevertheless, he continued to trek through Ponyville unnoticed.

"Hmmm, now that I think about it, I could probably get to the train station quick if I grapple over to the foliage above her house." he stated to himself in his head. "But I need a distraction. A big one." Opening up one of his compartments, he brings out an explosive. Carefully, he arms it in the alley he's in, then runs to another one quickly. In his palm was the detonator.

"If you hear something go boom, that's normal." he quietly jokes. "If you feel your limbs blown off, that's normal too."

*click*

"KABOOM!!!" The bomb detonates, sending debris everywhere, laying waste to some parts of the nearby buildings and engulfing them in flames. In a few seconds, it got the attention of all the nearby guards.

"Mother of Celestia!"

"Get the other guards!"

"There are ponies inside! We have to save them!"

"Guards! Hurry!"

Deathstroke heard the commotion of all the guards swarming in on the mess he made. When he was sure no one was paying attention, he armed his hookshot into the foliage of Twilight's house, reeling himself into the large patch of green. Peeking he sees the guards trying to put the fire out, and some others going inside to rescue whoever is trapped inside the flaming house.

"That should keep them busy for a bit." he says out loud, looking over to the train station that was not very far from where he was. "I don't need the next train to come soon, I can get to it without the commotion. But if it does come, all the better." he states to himself.

"BEAST OF TARTARUS!!!" Deathstroke hears the cry of one of the royal guards from far away. "I KNOW YOU DID THIS!!! WHEREVER YOU ARE, I WILL FIND YOU, AND I WILL SLAY YOU!!!!!!" The guard was now shaking his hands hooves in the air in anger. But to him, he was just insane.

*Sigh* "You ponies are overreacting. If you just-"

"CRACK!!! CRUMBLE!!!" The building couldn't hold any longer and collapsed. Directly on top of the dramatic guard.

"Well, forget everything I just said." Deathstroke says humorously. "Rest in pieces son." A few guards manage to escape the rubble, and in their hooves are some of the residents of the now destroyed building. A large gray stallion, a light purple mare, and a filly.

"A family." he presumed. The word loomed around in his head, making him remember his lovely wife and his children.

"TOOT TOOT!!!" He snaps back into reality at the sound of a train approaching the station.

"Good timing." he says to himself as he arms his hookshot. "Just need to do this right." The ponies at the station enter the train, and in a few minutes or so, the train whistles again, signaling their departure. It slowly accelerates, and right after it leaves the station, he launches the speared chain at one of the rear cars, and he quickly triggers the reel. He launches toward the train car, landing him on the side. Carefully, he held on to the roof of the car and detached the spear. He climbs up and stands up.

"Canterlot." he says to himself as he looks at the outstanding view of the castle. "I'm coming for you Celestia. You and I are going to have a talk."

"Captain, what are we looking for again?"

"The guard describes it as a monkey-like creature that stands on its hind legs, and it carries much armor and has odd looking weapons." Spitfire answers to Soarin, who is uneasy about the mission. "We have to be cautious about it, it may be hostile."

"But sir, if we do manage to find it, what will we do?" Fleetfoot asks, with a worried look on her face.

"Celestia's orders are to attack on sight. I need you all to keep a eye out for anything that looks like what the guard described it as." The three pegasi continued to soar through the air, while remaining vigilant. But their real patrolling area was Ponyville, not the journey there. Spitfire believed they still needed to keep watch, however.

*Yawn* "Captain, its already past midnight, and whatever we're looking for could be anywhere by n-"

"FOUND IT!!!" Fleetfoot was startled at Soarin's sudden outburst.

"What!?" shouted a very confused Spitfire. "What do you mean you found it!?"

"Exactly that! It's right there on top of that train!" he points to the roof of one of the train cars, where a strange looking creature was standing. The three of them were shocked at the sight, then Spitfire spoke up.

"Alright folks! You know our orders. Attack on sight!" And with that, the three of them bolted toward it.

"This is going to be a long train ride." Deathstroke complained to himself.

*Whoosh!* He heard a whooshing sound from above him.

*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* He heard two more of them. He quickly turned around to see three pegasi flying straight towards him. The pegasi slowed to a stop and landed in front of him. He heard them talking to each other.

"Are you sure we should attack it?"

"I dunno about this..."

"I say we charge it."

"We should talk it out."

"You know I can hear you." The three pegasi gasp at the sound of Deathstroke speaking.

"Y-You can talk!?"

"Yes. And I can hurt. Really, really bad." He brought out his staff and whacked Fleetfoot on the side of her head, knocking her onto the ground. He learned about the Wonderbolts from Fluttershy, all that information saved him a lot of questioning. Spitfire and Soarin were startled at the sudden attack, and they charged him.

"Whack Whack Whack!" They rapidly threw punches at him, all of which were blocked or didn't seem to effect him. He grabbed Spitfire's hoof and threw her straight into Fleetfoot, who was still recovering.

"Dang it!" Soarin exclaims, as he continues to attack Deathstroke. "What are you made of?" Deathstroke grabbed him and smashed his head into Soarin's skull. This caused Soarin to fall backwards onto the ground in pain.

"The Wonderbolts. I've heard about you and your team are the fastest in Equestria. But tell me, are you fast enough to avoid this?" He brought out his rifle and shot a grenade from his grenade launcher attachment. None of the Wonderbolts were able to react, and as the projectile exploded, they were sent flying everywhere.

"Soarin! Use the flare!" Spitfire shouted to Soarin. The impact injured her badly, and she was holding onto to the side of the train car. She felt the constant rushing of wind flying at her. Soarin, who was injured badly along with Fleetfoot, pulled out a small device from a compartment from his suit and activated it, sending a firework into the sky, exploding into a variety of colors as it reached a good height. He then saw Deathstroke walk over to Spitfire.

"Need a hand sweetheart?" Deathstroke sarcastically asked as he lowered his hand for Spitfire to grab.

"Go to the pits of Tartarus!"

"Thought so." Deathstroke stood up and kicked her off the train.

"SPITFIRE NOOOOO!!!" The other two Wonderbolts shouted in unison as they watched her hit the ground and roll painfully into unconsciousness.

"You obviously can't take me." The two worried ponies looked over to him. "Because you're too slow." This angered the two of them, making them charge recklessly at him.

"RAHHHHHHHH!!!" They both came to a sudden stop as their faces are hit by Deathstroke's staff, which he held horizontally to hit their heads. He picks both of them up and throws them off the train, their bodies violently rolling around.

"You think you're fast. But in reality, you're as slow as a turtle." After a minute or so, he hears a fizzling noise to the side. Jumping to the rear of the caboose, he sees a glowing energy in the distance. Then it seems to pop, momentarily blinding him. When he recovers, he sees multiple airborne chariots made of gold with royal guards. They were pulled by four pegasi guards each.

"THERE HE IS!!!" A guard in the leading chariot shouted, implying hostility toward Deathstroke. "GUARDS!!! FIRE AT WILL!!!" Suddenly, magical beams were flying everywhere, he quickly flipped backwards to avoid the barrage of beams. The bolts heavily dented the caboose.

"GUARDS!!! PURSUE IT!!!" Pegasi guards flew from the chariots and headed straight into him. Deathstroke quickly pulled out his rifle and took aim.

"RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT!!!" Bullets pierced the guards' flesh, killing them and dropping them to the ground with a crack. He then pointed to the guards pulling the leading chariot. With another *RAT TAT TAT*, the guards were killed, and the chariot fell, breaking as it hit the ground. The guards, including the one he presumed was the leader, tumbled out of the chariot, disappearing into the horizon as the train speeds away. Deathstroke puts away his rifle and pulls out his SMGs.

"TAK TAK TAK TAK TAK TAK!!!" He aimed at all the guards pulling the chariots as his fingers were pulling on the triggers, destroying more chariots as they make a loud crack on the ground. A few guards even got crushed by the destroyed chariots.

"POP POP POP!!! POP POP POP POP POP!!!" More chariots were teleported at the news of the sighting of the creature.

"GUARDS!!!" Another guard shouted, with much confidence like the last one who shouted. "DIVIDE AND CONQUER!!!" Without hesitation, the chariots flew in three direction, two flew to the sides, one flew above.

"ATTACK!!!" Guards climbed onto the train car and dropped from above. Soon, they surrounded him, with unicorns charging their horns and levitating swords. The pegasi prepared to charge, with their wing blades set to go.

A few moments of silence passed, then Deathstroke got his sword out, ready to strike with the others. With a great leap, he flipped with his sword.

"SLICE!!!" The guard he was aiming for was killed with a slice of his sword, spilling blood from his chest. Two pegasi guards charged him with their wing blades. He blocked the attack with his sword and swung around one of of them, snapping his neck and throwing him into the other pegasus guard, resulting in them falling off the train. Three unicorns swung their swords at him, only to miss as he ducks. He then shoots straight into their skulls from below, disfiguring their faces as the bullets destroy the skulls and pouring blood onto the train car. The remaining unicorn guards fire more bolts at him, but Deathstroke drops from the train car and hangs from the roof.

"BANG!" Hastily, he breaks the mechanism holding the caboose and quickly jumps to the next one. Looking behind him, he sees the remaining guards fade away into the distance. But they're still close enough for him to see the stunned look on their faces.

"Here's a get well soon present for your Captain." Pulling out his rifle, he looks through the scope and snipes the remaining guards with one shot each.

"TAK! TAK! TAK!" They fall down as the bullets pierce their bodies and leave a bloody mark. He then aims for the guards pulling the chariots, which are advancing toward him.

"TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK!" One shot at a time, the chariots all wreck themselves as they tumble over on the ground. There are only four chariots left.

"That's it! GUARDS!!! Bring in the big guns!"

"But sir!"

"DO IT!"

"Yes sir!"

The unicorns glowed their horns together, connecting their magic and focusing on the area behind the chariot holding the leader.

"CRACKLE CRACKLE!!! POP!!!" The guards slightly cringe at the new weight added to the chariot. Behind them was a cart holding a giant contraption that resembled a cannon.

"GUARDS!!! CHARGE IT UP!!!" The cannon started to glow, specifically on its markings. Markings in which Deathstroke recognized.

"Dammit, that can't can't be good at all." He remembered the symbols from weapons he examined and Shining Armor's well, armor. This, however, was new to him.

"FIRE!!!" The cannon fires loudly, the glowing lights dissipating as a large bright orb flies through the air and heads directly into him. He quickly leaps to the next car before it hits.

"KABOOM!!!" The explosion completely obliterates the train car, shattering it into multiple pieces and violently shaking the train.

"Agh!" The impact sent him back a few feet, stopping near the edge. "Are you bastards that desperate to kill me!? That train car had pe-ponies in it, dammit!" he almost said people, since he wasn't actually speaking perfect Equestrian.

"Then again," he thought to himself. "Maybe it's Celestia that wants to finish me so bad. But why?" Unfortunately, he couldn't ask himself questions at the moment, as the guards completely ignore what he just shouted.

"CHARGE IT UP!!!" The cannon glows again, so Deathstroke quickly got a running start to the next few cars. "FIRE!!!" Another orb is launched, but for some reason it seemed to follow where he went.

"Great..." he sarcastically says to himself mentally. "These projectiles are designed to follow its target before it lands! Damn!"

Hastily, he loaded his nth bullets into his rifle and fires at the orb.

"RAT TAT TAT TAT! SIZZLE!!!" The orb dissipates now that it can't hold due to the disruption of magical energy. He sees the chariot rise to a higher elevation to get a good shot.

"CHARGE IT AGAIN!!!" The markings glowed once more, but this time Deathstroke would not allow it. Quickly zooming in with the scope on his rifle, he aims toward the glowing circle on the cannon, similar to the one on the armor Shining Armor wore.

"SAY YOUR PRAYERS CREATURE!!!" the leader shouted with much cockiness in his tone.

"Speak for yourself."

"TAK!!!"

Just before the cannon was fired, a bullet was sent toward the cannon.

"Tink! Sizzle!" The cannon starts fizzing, the energy gathered now becoming unstable. The chariot was rattling around very violently.

"BOOOOOOM!!!" The cannon exploded, obliterating the remaining guards from the other chariots. When Deathstroke regains visibility, he sees the golden chariot now engulfed in fire, falling toward one of the rear cars. Deathstroke makes a leap of faith to the next car.

"CRASHHHHH!!!" The chariot wrecks the train car. He jumps to the next one before the car he's standing one explodes from the impact. Turning back, he sees the destroyed car disconnect violently and takes the cars behind it with it.

"It was a pleasure killing you. Too bad you're not on my hit list. But then again, I suppose PETA will offer substantial respect for you." As he spoke, he saw the sun beginning to rise from the horizon, signifying the start of a new day. "All of that happened in just one day. This is going to be an interesting journey indeed."

"Ugghhh, where is he!?" Star Sapphire was getting impatient, having to wait for the Brain to return. "It's already morning, he probably got himself abducted or something."

"He was sent to scout and examine the entire landscape!" Count Vertigo yells, who was more patient than the others. "You can't expect him to return anytime soon!" Bane steps in as well.

"We will wait another hour. If he doesn't return by then-"

"Enough." All of them look at Zod. "There will be no more arguments. He WILL return." he finishes, clutching his fist in confidence. Star Sapphire, however, protested.

"Who made YOU the boss anyway!?"

"Fool! You were the one to agree to join us!"

"No one ever said someone like you was leading!"

Silence engulfed the room for a few moments.

"It appears we have a standoff." Zod stated to her.

"I don't think so." Extending her hand, she forms ten spears, and flicking her hand forward, she launches them toward Zod. They were intended to stab him, but instead they shatter as they hit him. Her jaw fell as it happened. Then, with great speed, Zod grabbed her by her neck.

"You will submit."

"I-I-I d-do!" It was hard for her to speak, since she was being choked halfway to death. Zod dropped her onto the floor, and she breathed heavily, gasping for air.

"Does anyone else have a problem with my leadership?" None of the others made a retort. "Good."

"I have returned, Zod." Everyone looked over to the cave entrance to see the Brain slowly making a landing. He sees Star Sapphire breathing heavily on her knees. "Iz zere a problem?"

"Nothing much." Zod answers as she slowly gets up. "Have you done what I have told you?"

"I have General. But we may have a problem."

"And what is that?"

"I found Deathstroke. He fought me, saying that I was in the way of his contract."

"Deathstroke?"

"He claims to be Earth's greatest assassin. He has good reason." Zod motioned his head upward in thought.

"I see. But no matter, only a minor setback. What did you find?"

"I scanned the landscape, unfortunately it iz too wide to examine, so I had to find a map of some sort from a library." With his mechanical claw, he pulled out a book from his compartment and handed it to him. "It iz written in unknown characters, but I believe I can translate it with enough time."

"Good." Zod replied in a dry tone.

"One more thing." the Brain stated, with Zod's attention. "You probably von't believe what the inhabitants here are."

"Oh? Well what could they be?"

"Ponies. Colorful, sentient ponies."

It remains quiet for a few seconds, then Vertigo speaks up.

"Don't be ridiculous Brain."

"I'm not. Zat is vy I have brought zis." He opens up his chamber, and out falls a miniature horse-like creature.

"Wh-What the hay!?" Everyone widens their eyes at her sentience. "What's goin' on 'ere!?"

"Actually, I lied. I brought her here for examination." the Brain stated, correcting himself. "And, interrogation as well." On cue, he opens up his surgery tools. Applebloom's pupils shrink to the size of peas. She tries to run, but Star Sapphire traps her in a force bubble.

"H-Hey! Lemme go!" She tries desperately to escape, banging on the bubble with her hooves.

"I think you've played your part for now, Brain." Zod told him. "You should get to translating that book. We will proceed with the interrogation." Applebloom could only look in fear as Bane, Black Adam, Star Sapphire, Count Vertigo, and General Zod glare at her with menacing eyes. She swore she saw Zod's eyes glow a bright red.

"You will cooperate, you feeble creature."