If You Hum A Few Bars. . .
Among the orderly rows of trees surrounding Sweet Apple Acres Derran Grandel sat on a stump waiting for Applejack's next question. He supposed he should have expected some form of interview, he was applying for a job after all. But it still caught him a little off guard. Not that he expected to get the job automatically, it had simply been so long since he last applied for one that the process had been all but forgotten. The last time Derran had formally applied for work had been when he signed up for the military, and that had been nearly twelve hundred years ago.
Derran was actually rather impressed at Applejack's level of detail, she had started with basic questions about his previous experience with this type of work. However she had gradually begun to make more and more detailed inquiries, that he swiftly realized were designed to tell her his exact level of expertise on the topic of farming. She asked about ideal harvest times, how to tell what a crop's yield is likely to be, what soil was best for what kinds of crop, and so on. Finally after almost an hour, Applejack seemed to have everything she needed.
"Whelp, ah gotta say ahm impressed, y'all really know yer stuff, so why don't I introduce ya ta Granny Smith, she's the one who'll make the final decision." Applejack stated brushing herself off as she stood up.
Derran nodded.
"As you wish lady Applejack." Derran said as he rose, falling in step behind the orange mare.
Apple Bloom, who had remained quiet throughout the questioning, walked alongside Derran with a a smile on her face.
"Don't worry mister Grandel, ahm sure your gonna get the job!" She stated confidently, then lowering her voice she continued. "Mah sis ain't gonna admit it, but she was really impressed, she's got a good poker face but ah can always see past it." Apple Bloom explained in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Ah heard that Apple Bloom! Y'all should show more respect for your big sis." Applejack called over her shoulder in a tone of mock anger.
Apple Bloom just smirked, as Derran gave a soft chuckle at the lighthearted sibling banter. After a brief journey the trio emerged from the rows of apple trees to behold their destination. A huge red barn that seemed to have been combined with a house loomed massively before them, and Derran wondered how the trees had managed to hide the titanic structure from view. Beyond it on a hill was a smaller but equally tall structure that was either a second residence, or an oversized cider house. As they got closer a large stallion with a red coat, and orange colored mane, came through what Derran guessed to be the door to the barn's living area. Noticing the large cross section of an apple on his flank Derran assumed this to be another member of the Apple family. Applejack immediately made the introductions.
"Hey there Big Mac, I want y'all ta meet our new farm hand Derran Grandel, Derran this is Apple Bloom's and my older brother Big Macintosh." Applejack said, confirming Derran's suspicions, and telling him that apparently Applejack also felt that he was sure to be hired.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Big Macintosh." Derran said with a smile as he extended his hand in greeting.
Big Mac gripped the proffered hand in his hoof while wearing an especially welcoming expression.
"Pleasures all mine mister Grandel, ya'll saved my life during the dragon attack so you've already made a good impression on me. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, we're honored ta have ya workin with us." He said without even a trace of hesitation.
"I assure you the honor is mine, your family has an exemplary farm here, it is a privilege to be invited to work on it." Derran said with a slight bow, his tone heartfelt.
"Well thank you, that's mighty kind a ya. I'd love to stay and chat, but ahm already behind on mah chores so I gotta skedaddle." Big Mac said regretfully.
Derran nodded sympathetically.
"I understand completely, please don't let me keep you." He replied.
Big Mac nodded.
"Eeup." He said as he proceeded toward the fields.
Derran smiled at the departing stallion before turning to see Apple Bloom, and Applejack staring at him with open mouths.
"Miladies is something wrong?" Derran asked in concern.
"Ya'll musta made one heck of an impression on Big Mac, he never talks that much to anypony, not even us!" Apple Bloom said incredulously.
Twilight Sparkle stood staring off into space at the train station, Rarity at her side. They had come to greet her assistant/adopted child Spike, and her apprentice/housemate Starlight Glimmer. Primarily they came simply to welcome them home, but partly it was to prepare them for their inevitable meeting with Derran. After Rarity and Applejack's rather intense first meeting with him Twilight decided it would be best for everypony if introductions were not quite so. . . blunt.
Honestly though, Twilight kept finding herself lost in her thoughts. Her mind constantly wandering to the subject of Derran. And not her normal thoughts like, what the weather had been like on his home planet, or what the dominant D'nurean system of government was. Rather she kept dwelling on things like what kind of manestyle he might find attractive on a mare, or what humans did on dinner dates. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Rarity looking at her with a knowing expression.
"So darling. . . who's the lucky stallion?" She asked nonchalantly, a wide smirk plastered on her face.
Twilight's thoughts came to a screeching halt on hearing Rarity's question.
"I-I have no idea what you-" Twilight started to say, only to find herself cut off by Rarity's upraised hoof.
"Oh puleeze darling, don't even try to deny it, it's written all over your face." Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. Twilight's cheeks burned as she tried to come up with a plausible way to refute her friend's words. However Rarity continued before she could finish marshaling her thoughts. "You know if I had to guess. . ." Rarity drawled with a slightly evil looking smile. "I would put my money on somepony new to Ponyville. A certain, knight in shining armor type, who recently rescued a certain princess? Has a passion for scholarly pursuits, extremely well spoken, hard working, knows how to cook. . . handsome?" Rarity said with an ever widening smirk as Twilight's face grew redder and redder.
"OK!" Twilight shouted startling several other nearby ponies, whose irate glares only made her face blaze even brighter. "You've made your point." Twilight grumbled.
"Oh, and what point would that be darling?" Rarity asked with a false innocence, determined to draw the truth out of her friend. Twilight grumbled something inaudible in response as she avoided Rarity's gaze. "Sorry dear didn't quite catch that." Rarity said sweetly, a superior smirk creeping onto her features. Twilight mumbled a little bit louder, but still well below the threshold of understandable speech while staring pointedly at the ground. "A bit louder than that darling." Rarity said the smirk never leaving her face.
"OK FINE, I HAVE A CRUSH ON DERRAN ARE YOU HAPPY!?" Twilight shouted, drawing another round of glares.
Rarity smiled, and nodded.
"Quite. So, have you told him?" She asked examining a perfectly manicured hoof.
"No." Twilight deadpanned.
"Well I'd hurry up if I were you darling, you have a lot of competition if the local gossip is any indication." Rarity stated calmly, continuing to look at her hoof.
Twilight shook her head.
"Rarity, it's not that simple! He used to be married, he even had a daughter! It may have been a long time ago, but I can tell he hasn't forgotten! I don't want him to think I'm trying to take the place of his wife and child, or worse, trying to make him forget them!" She explained angrily.
Rarity instantly stopped looking at her manicure to give her friend an apologetic look.
"Oh goodness darling, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize." Rarity said, suddenly feeling extremely guilty.
Twilight nodded.
It's ok, just promise you won't tell anypony, Derran told me about his family in private conversation, and I don't want anypony to know unless I'm sure he's ok with it." Twilight said sadly.
"My lips are sealed darling." Rarity promised placing a reassuring hoof on her friend's shoulder as a loud whistle heralded the Canterlot train coming into the station.
Soon the platform was engulfed in steam temporarily obscuring the train from sight amid the screech of steel grinding against steel. A moment later the air cleared and a conductor hopped out of the first car. Loudly declaring that this was the green line from Canterlot arriving in Ponyville. The pronouncement was followed a moment later the train car doors flying open to reveal the crowds of ponies within. By good fortune Starlight, and Spike were some of the first passengers to disembark, and instantly spotted their friends waiting for them.
"Twilight!" Starlight called out on seeing her mentor and rushing over, before adding a hurried but sincere. "Hey Rarity."
"Rarity!" Spike called out enthusiastically on sighting his crush, then adding almost as an afterthought. "Oh hey Twilight, how's it going?"
Twilight, and Rarity smiled, and rolled their eyes good naturedly before responding.
"I'm glad to see you both, how was Canterlot?" Twilight asked.
Spike shrugged noncommittally.
"Eh it was alright. So Rarity, didja miss me?" He asked in what he no doubt thought was a suave tone of voice.
Rarity as always, seemed not to notice Spike's come on as she replied.
"Oh of course I missed you Spiky Wiky, we all did." She replied tousling his head spines affectionately.
Spike sighed as he chalked up another zero on the romance meter.
"So Starlight how was the conference on esoteric magic?" Twilight asked with a smile.
Starlight rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Honestly it was a complete bust, I already knew most of the spells they discussed, and the ones I didn't were either boring or useless. For example: one unicorn was obsessed with a spell that would turn your mane polkadot, but only when cast on a wednesday, after drinking a cup of darjeeling tea, and reciting the word 'wallaby' backward six times. He just wouldn't stop droning on about it, it was crazy!" She declared, sounding exhausted by the memory alone.
Twilight giggled slightly at her apprentice's story before replying.
"Funny you should mention crazy things, cause we've had quite a bit of that around town lately." She said with a mysterious smile.
Starlight gave Twilight a curious look.
"Oh, why, is Discord visiting or something?" She joked.
Twilight, and Rarity exchanged knowing glances.
"Oh no darling, this is far a far more exotic type of of crazy, and far less disruptive." Rarity said with a giggle.
Starlight arched an eyebrow.
"Do tell." She replied a bit suspiciously.
Twilight smiled.
"Alright let's get your bags, and we'll tell you all about it . . ."
Derran stood at perfect attention as the elderly green coated mare looked him over from head to toe. She scrutinized him closely as if searching for something nopony else could see.
"Whelp, y'all certainly look like ya kin handle the farm life, an Applejack says y'know plenty about the trade." Here she she jumped up to balanced on a chair on the tips of her back hooves, looking him in the eye like a drill instructor. "BUT!" She shouted with forehooves on her hips, and making everypony except Derran jump. "Ultimately it's up to me to decide whether y'all got what it takes to work on this here farm, we clear young'un?"
Derran nodded.
"Mam, yes mam!" Derran responded smartly not moving an inch.
Granny Smith nodded slowly.
"We'll seems like y'all know who's in charge right well enough." She said stroking her chin with a wrinkled hoof.
Derran gave a curt nodd.
"Mam, yes mam!" He intoned again.
Granny nodded.
"Alright, at ease then young'un." She commanded. Derran fell automatically into a perfect, at ease, position, eye's straight ahead, feet together, and hands clasped behind his back. Granny Smith nodded sharply before turning to face a slightly tense looking Apple Bloom, and Applejack with a warm smile. "I do'n suppose ya'll happened ta find a few more like this un lyin around where he was?"
Applejack gave an audible sigh of relief, as Apple Bloom whooped.
"Does that mean. . ." Apple Bloom asked a wide smile appearing on her face.
Granny Smith nodded.
"He's hired, welcome to the Sweet Apple Acres family mister Grandel! Ah got a feeling yer jus what this old place needs ta get it goin full steam ahead!" She exclaimed, slapping the still at ease Derran on the leg before crying out in pain and rubbing her now sore hoof.
"Mam, yes mam, I will give a full one hundred ten percent, mam!" Derran declared in a clipped tone like he was on a military parade ground.
Apple Bloom giggled at Derran's martial attitude, and Applejack had to turn away to hide her own chuckles. Granny Smith just gave Derran a slightly confused look.
"Huh, didn't reckon ya could give mor'n a hunnred percent of anythin, but if'n ye say so." She said scratching her head. "By the way why are y'all standin like that? This here ain't the army ya know." She said as if just noticing Derran's stance.
"Oh, uh, yes of course, forgive me venerable, old habits and such." Derran replied slightly confused, but deciding not to bother commenting on it as he fully relaxed his stance.
Suddenly Granny Smith glared at Derran.
"Jus who are you calling a vegetable young'un!?" She demanded.
Derran was nonplussed for an instant before the coin dropped.
"What? Oh no, I said 'Venerable' it's a term meaning 'respected elder' apologies I must not have spoken clearly." He explained.
"Oh." Granny Smith replied looking slightly embarrassed. "Well then thank you kindly Mr. Grandel. I'll let Applejack show you where yer'a gonna be workin, ya'll have a good day now."
"You as well venerable, my humble thanks for your time, and for granting me this opportunity. May the Seraphim keep you." Derran responded in a formal tone coupled with a deep bow.
"The who'll keep me where now?" Granny Smith asked scratching her head in confusion, as Apple Bloom, and Applejack burst out laughing.
"And that's the whole story." Twilight finished.
Starlight Glimmer, and Spike sat in the middle of the castle library. Staring open mouthed at Twilight and Rarity for several seconds before speaking.
"So. . .what exactly is he doing here?" Starlight asked, suspicion in her voice as her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Honestly I think coming here may have just been an accident, he hasn't really been too clear on that." Twilight replied with a shrug.
"He k-kills d-d-dragons?!" Spike stuttered in terror as he visibly shuddered.
"Oh don't worry Spiky Wiky, he only hurts evil dragons, like that beast Garble. I am one hundred percent certain you'll be good friends in no time." Rarity stated with a smile.
Spike felt a little better from his crush's reassurance, but privately resolved to stay close to Twilight.
"So if this Derran guy is from another reality, why does he take orders from you?" Starlight asked giving Twilight a searching look.
Twilight shrugged.
"I don't know, but when we first met he called me a 'Seraphim'. I thought it was his people's word for Alicorn at first, but I think there might be more to it than that." She replied.
"Are you sure he's even telling the truth? I mean for all we know he could be Queen Chrysalis in disguise plotting some elaborate revenge." Starlight exclaimed, recalling the Changeling queen with a shudder.
Twilight gave her apprentice an irritated look.
"Ok first off, if that were true he would have just let Garble roast me, second; have you forgotten the warding spell I put up? If Derran was a changeling he would have reverted to his true form the instant he set hoof in Ponyville!"
"you don't even know if that spell works Twilight, It's never been tested on a real changeling!" Starlight countered, a little surprised by how defensive Twilight sounded. "I guess you have a point about him saving you, but aside from an extremely flimsy theory involving an ancient diary, that anypony might have found in the last thousand years, you still have almost no proof he's telling the truth."
"I know he is!" Twilight said, her tone slightly harsher than she meant it to be.
Starlight gave her teacher an annoyed look.
"How could you possibly know that?!" She demanded.
"I just!" Twilight began before realizing she was all but shouting. "I just know Starlight." Twilight stated after taking a moment to calm down.
Starlight was about to say that, that was not reassuring in the least. When Rarity decided to intervene.
"Starlight Darling, with all due respect, you've never met Derran. He scared me half to death the first time I saw him, but I trust him. Just give him a chance dear, and I think you'll see why we're so certain of him." She suggested placatingly.
Starlight gave an exasperated sigh.
"Alright fine but I'm still gonna keep my eye out for anything suspicious." She said pointedly.
Rarity nodded happily.
"I'm sure you'll see soon enough that you have absolutely no need to worry." The fashionista unicorn declared with a smile.
"So. . . when do we get to meet him?" Starlight asked in a slightly strained voice.
"Right now." Twilight declared, swiftly rising to her hooves from her cushion. "I got a message from him just before we picked you up at the train station. He's at Sweet Apple Acres interviewing for a job."
"Or poisoning the town." Starlight muttered under her breath.
Twilight gave her apprentice a dirty look.
"He's probably done with the interview by now, so we'll head out to meet him. When we get there I expect everypony to be polite to our guest." Twilight stated bitingly, before spinning on her hoof and walking out the door.
"What's with her?" Spike asked, surprised at Twilight's behavior.
Rarity considered explaining that everypony get's a little testy when ponies disparage their crush, but instead settled on saying simply.
"Who knows." With a slightly nervous smile.
Applejack stared in amazement at the dozens of full apple baskets in front of her. In less than an hour Derran had filled over a fourth of their quota for that day, and he was still going strong. Darting from apple tree to apple tree in a blur of movement Derran seemed as swift on his hooves (or "feet" as humans called them.) as Rainbow dash was on her wings. Reaching a tree he struck it smartly with his fist, then was gone before the fruit had even fallen halfway to the baskets beneath. After performing the process about fifty times he shot back to the first tree, and without pausing he grabbed two large baskets of apples under his arms. Not stopping for an instant, he placed them in a nearby cart before returning for more. Once the cart was full Derran grabbed hold of the shafts, and all but sprinted down the hill to unload everything. Somehow managing the whole process without bruising or losing a single apple. Soon the only trouble was that Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom just couldn't keep pace. Derran seemed immune to exhaustion, and approached his work with the same furious spirit with which he fought his enemies.
"Alright Derran I think ya'll can stop for a spell." Applejack said, trying not to sound like she was begging, as her brother and sister collapsed nearby.
Derran gave Applejack a confused look.
"Are you certain lady Applejack? It hasn't even been an hour, and we've not even filled half the amount you specified." He said in mild confusion.
"What in Equestria does this fella run on, he's like a machine!?" Applejack wondered as she answered.
"Ah know, an believe me ya'll are doin an amazin job, but this pace really takes it outta ya." She explained with a smile slightly strained by exhaustion.
Instantly Derran felt guilty, he had been so concerned with putting his best foot forward he had forgotten to consider that not everypony had his immunity to fatigue.
"Forgive me my friends, I did not mean to be quite so intense in my efforts." Derran offered apologetically.
Applejack smiled, Derran really was a sweet guy, despite his talent for violence.
"Hey don apologize fer workin hard, jus maybe ease up a mite." She suggested with a smile.
Derran nodded.
"Of course milady, is there anything I can do for you while we rest?" He asked.
Applejack laughed.
"Ya'll really don' get the idea behind restin do ya?" She asked with a wide smile.
Derran shrugged.
"I will rest when I am no longer needed, not before." He replied with a good natured grin.
Applejack kept smiling as she shook her head.
"Ya'll know any good workin songs?" she half joked.
Derran thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Actually, I just might." He answered.
Applejack shot Derran a surprise look.
"Really?" She asked curiously, she hadn't pegged Derran as the singing type.
Derran nodded.
"I know a few old marching songs from my days as a soldier." He explained. "Shall I sing one?"
"Ooh, ooh I wanna hear one!" Apple Bloom cried out, as curiosity and excitement overrode her feelings of exhaustion.
Derran glanced at Applejack, who gave him a nod.
"Very well this song is known as-" Derran began before finding himself interrupted.
"DERRAN!" Called a familiar voice that Derran swiftly traced to a furiously waving figure down the orchards main path.
Derran returned the wave, motioning for Twilight, and the small group with her to come closer.
"Lady Twlight, lady Rarity, a pleasure to see you again." Derran said with a polite bow.
"Howdy Twi, hey Rarity, Spike, Starlight." Applejack said rising to greet her friend.
"Nice ta see y'all." Apple Bloom added.
"Eeup!" Big Mac offered after finally getting his breath back.
Derran glanced toward Starlight, and Spike.
"Forgive me I don't believe I've had the pleasure." He said with a warm smile.
Starlight, and Spike were momentarily tongue tied. Twilight, and Rarity had told them what to expect, but they doubted anything could have truly prepared them for this. Derran seemed to tower over them both, and his armor made him seem larger and more intimidating still. Fortunately Twilight had expected their reaction, and made the introductions.
"Derran Grandel, I'd like you to meet my student, Starlight Glimmer, and my number one assistant, Spike the Dragon."
Derran nodded extending his hand.
"An honor to meet you both." He said formally.
Starlight cautiously gripped Derran's hand, in her hoof, and allowed him to shake it finding his grip firm, but not uncomfortable.
"Nice to meet you." Starlight said slowly, carefully examining Derran's face for the slightest sign of dishonesty, and feeling mildly frustrated when she couldn't find any.
Releasing Starlight's hoof Derran turned to Spike who was trembling like a leaf, the Doom Slayer seemed a lot scarier that Twilight had described.
"N-n-nice to m-meet you, m-mister Grandel s-s-sir." Spike said extending a trembling claw.
Gently gripping the proffered limb Derran gave a reassuring smile.
"Be at ease young drake, you are a child of the Seraphim, and as such, need never fear me." He said inclining his head in a small bow.
Spike nodded, still uneasy, but somewhat reassured.
"I got your message from Lilly earlier, I hope we didn't interrupt anything." Twilight commented apologetically.
Derran shook his head.
"Not at all milady we were just taking a short rest."
"Mister Derran was gonna sing us a song!" Apple Bloom stated enthusiastically.
"Oh? I didn't know you could sing Derran." Twilight said giving her friend a fascinated look.
Derran gave a self depreciating smile.
"In all honesty milady I've only ever done it a few times, and there are far finer voices than mine. However I can carry a tune reasonably well, or at least; well enough that my audience can sit through to the end." He stated with a slight chuckle.
Twilight giggled as she replied.
"Would you mind if we listened in? I would really like to hear you sing."
Derran nodded.
"If lady Applejack has no objections? She isn't paying me to sing after all." He stated with a glance at his employer.
Applejack shook her head.
"Shoot no, I wanna hear this too, sides I'm still a mite tuckered from racin after y'all." She said with a laugh.
Smiling Derran inclined his head before heading to a small hillock where he could more easily ensure his audience would hear him.
"Alright, now as I was explaining, this is an old marching song from when I was a soldier called 'The Guardian's Prayer'. I must ask for your patience as it has been some time since I last sung it and I may be a bit rusty."
His audience watched in rapt attention as Darren took a deep breath, and began his song.
One of the amazing things about Equestria, and one of its greatest mysteries. Was the truly remarkable properties it had when it came to song. It was as if reality itself could alter to accompany the words and emotions of any who would raise their voice in glorious expression of the rhythmic arts. Ponies who had never sung in their lives, could somehow find the tune and lyrics to express themselves. What's more, even the poorest quality voice could somehow sound beautiful as long as the emotions behind it were true. But perhaps the most enchanting aspect of this property, was that even in the absence of any instruments, music could still somehow be heard. While so ephemeral it could almost be dismissed as a fantasy, the sound was nonetheless there.
When Derran began by humming the appropriate tune, his listeners heard it as a phantom organ, that soon transitioned into the music proper. Then Derran began the actual song, and all present were held enraptured.
As Derran's voice echoed throughout the orchard his listeners closed their eyes letting the lyrics wash over them. As they did they could almost see them. . . Thousands of human warriors clad in great suits of armor marching forth with Derran at their head. Unflinching, undoubting, and unafraid they walked forward bearing the banner of Equestria. In their mind's eye Derran's audience saw a great and terrible darkness on the horizon. Creatures of pure evil that while hazy and indistinct were nonetheless far more terrifying than any villain that Twilight and her friends had ever faced.
These imagined foes seemed to taint the very air with their presence and yet the humans were unmoved. Standing before this vile tide of impurity they set shields, readied weapons, and braced for battle. Behind them the listeners could see Equestria, beautiful and peaceful, yet helpless before the darkness that surged toward the wall of warriors. If the line broke, Equestria would surely die. . . But the line would not break, not now, not ever. The song seemed almost to proclaim it as law, that though these men might die, that which they fought for would survive, no matter what.
The song continued and the Apple's felt their exhaustion vanish replaced by a fierce determination and pride that filled their weary bodies with new strength. Meanwhile Rarity, and Twilight felt their eyes grow damp at the bravery of the warriors the song described. In their heads they saw the two sides of the vividly imagined conflict clash in a titanic struggle between light and dark. Each listener imagined something slightly different, but all were moved by the images the song conjured.
See the light in our eyes, doom slayers are marching on
with our weapons in hand for the kingdom and holy land
See the light in our eyes, doom slayers are marching on
See the light in our eyes, doom slayers are marching on
Mödrar våra som är i himlen helgade ditt namn
Att lägga till ditt rike händer din vilja
Som i himlen också på jorden, ge oss bröd idag
Och förlåt oss vår skuld
As the last verse of the song faded into silence the visions the song inspired slowly vanished and the ponies minds returned to the present time.
Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh, cheered and stomped their hooves in the pony version of applause. Twilight, Rarity, Spike, and Starlight simply stared at Derran in awe.
"Land sakes Mr. Grandel that was amazing! Y'all have an incredible voice, heck y'all oughta be a rock star with pipes like that." Applejack declared with complete sincerity.
"That song was awesome! Hearin it made me feel like I can do anything!" Apple Bloom declared.
"Eeup!" Big Mac declared enthusiastically.
Derran gave a humble bow.
"I am pleased you all enjoyed my singing, honestly I'm surprised I managed to recall the proper tune, to say nothing of the words." He replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Darling that was positively divine, your talent is truly too much for words to do justice!" Rarity gushed. "But what did that strange chant at the end mean?" She asked after a brief pause.
Derran smiled.
"Roughly translated it means: Our mothers, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as it is in heaven on earth, give us today our daily bread and forgive us our guilt." He explained with a small smile.
Rarity grinned appreciatively.
"Oh how lovely, it sounds almost like a poem." She remarked clapping her hooves together in delighted excitement.
Derran gave a small chuckle.
"Something like that." He said with a faint smile.
As Derran, and the others spoke three figures remain silent. . .
Starlight watched Derran's every move, and word like a hawk. While she respected Twilight, and her other friends immensely she still felt they were being naive. Even if Derran had been gone for over a thousand years, it seemed almost inconceivable that no records existed of him. He was wholly alien to not just Equestria, but the entire dimension it resided in. So why were there no legends, or myths, or stories about him or at least something like him? Surely the scholars of the time would have wanted to record such a unique creature. Yet even Twilight, who had read almost every book ever printed on weird or mystical subjects, had never heard of him. Add to all that, that Derran claimed to know Celestia, and Luna, but nopony ever heard them mention him, and Starlight smelled a rat.
As Starlight brooded on Derran's loyalties, Spike found himself watching intently as Derran spoke with Rarity. Frankly, seeing his crush chatting away so amicably with the human bugged him. It wasn't as if he'd never seen Rarity with a stallion before, but somehow this felt different. Derran just seemed so. . . charming, he possessed a sort of unconscious appeal that Spike was at a loss to describe. Worst of all Spike didn't think Derran was doing it on purpose, he was just one of those rare stallions who could endear himself to somepony simply by being himself.
Rarity had had crushes, and even romantic obsessions before, but somehow Spike had always known they would never go anywhere. Like with Trenderhoof, Spike had somehow just. . . known, that he wasn't ever going to be interested in Rarity. Just like he somehow, knew prince Blueblood would disappoint her. But Derran? Spike could tell that all Derran would have to do is ask Rarity out one time, and he'd be hearing wedding bells inside a year.
With Spike and Starlight absorbed in their respective thoughts Twilight found herself enraptured in a conundrum of her own. As Rarity, and the Apples spoke with Derran, she proceeded to analyse the song she had just heard. Something about the lyrics bothered her. At first she thought it might be the fact that the lyrics strongly implied that "Seraphim" meant something along the lines of: goddess. That in and of itself warranted a conversation with Derran about the terms meaning, but it wasn't what was bothering her.
Going through the lines of the song Twilight had greater occasion than usual to bless her photographic memory. "In the name of light our enemies chastise? No that's pretty cut, and dry." Twilight thought placing a hoof on her chin. "Into battle facing the fire, seraph thy will be done? No that's not it, what is it, something about this song feels off but what could it-" And Suddenly, it all clicked. It was the chorus that was bothering her "Doom Slayers" were marching on, "Slayers" plural! Twilight's eyes widened as she stared in shock at Derran, it was an idea so crazy she could hardly credit it but. . .
"Could there be more than one Doom Slayer?!" Twilight whispered to herself.
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I think it's safe to say there is only one doom slayer and Twi is letting that one room with her. But pretty sure there used to be more yeah?
nice new chapter.
also the last part of the song, its based from the The Lord's Prayer tho on Swedish correct?
before i read this, what is the romance tag for exactly?
8151845
well you gotta read it to find out lol.
tho its not far in the story where you get a hint.
here is a hint.....
8151850 please tell me its not doom guy at the very least. or do, i really don't care for spoilers when it comes to ships
oh dear. Starlight and Spike is gonna mess shit up aren't they?
8151867 hey could you do me a favor, I don't care about spoilers, so what ships are in this story? I want to know what I am not getting into.
8151880 a bit hard to remember the whole thing, but so far I don't think there are any clear ships, but Twi has a crush on DOOM-guy
i feel like this is hinting at the multiverse theory, which hints at infinite Doomguys teaming up to fight the forces of Hell, am i right or wrong?
8151798 dude, multiverse, google it
8151918
Multiverse applies by default in almost all fiction unless it's explicitly stated by the author that it doesn't.
More important is whether within a story/group of stories (Eg: Marvel, DC, Displaced, etc. which each have their own mini-multiverses) travel is possible and to what extent the author uses it. It definitely applies here since there are already 3 dimensions at minimum (Hell, Earth/Humanities native one, and Equestria). More than one dimension/plane of existence means that there can be (and likely are) more. The question is whether the author is writing a multiverse fic and if so whether he's "jumped the shark".
So, speaking generally; "Infinite Doom Slayers" already exist in the story since each "Doomverse" has one. However chances are that the author won't go for the "Multiversal gang beat" since it would rather neuter 'our' Doom Slayer.
Now whose son are we speaking about?
8152022
Thanks man, I can't tell you how annoying it is when I make mistakes like that, let me know if you see any more.
8152072 happy to help!
*falls asleep because clock is 1:05 AM*
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/002/079/dee.jpg
Damn, purplesmart got the thirst.
Great chapter.
8151916 While I love the imagery that that conjures up, I think it actually refers to the army he was a part of (based off of the spectral soldiers giving directions in the last level of the game) and the fact that they had a war with hell (that they lost).
*<>* moar doom slayers
There may have been more once before...but he may be the last of them.
8152321 weren't those guys called the Night Sentinel? Oh, I haven't read the codex entry, but what if the Sentinels are actually, humans from different dimensions, all seperate dimensions, that proved to be strong enough to fight alongside Doomguy?
I didn't comment on this earlier because I thought it was a mistake, you should fix that. It ''There'' not ''Their''
8156917
First: Thanks for pointing out the error and please feel free to let me know if you notice any more.
Second: Actually burning embers can remain hot enough to reignite for days after a fire has gone out, depending on the conditions. That's why when there's a forest fire they keep an eye on the area for several days after the fire goes out. Or why you can find red hot coals in the ashes of a campfire from the night before.
8157074
Okay, and interesting, me being from a Norway have never experienced that before. Even after a house fire, I've never seen any fire survived a day or more.
Dang, is there anything the Doom Slayer isn't good at?
Enjoy your 300th like!
8180170 Someone doesn´t get the joke...
I think it would be more accurate say that "there "was" more then one" (past tense)
SABATON! \m/ *headbang*
Whenever there's lyrics in stories, instead of the intended purpose, I imagine the character violently spasming on the floor while screaming Allahu Akbar.
He shouldn't be perfect at everything, that is all. He could be great at picking apples, but noticed punching trees and making the apples fall, especially without hurting the trees. That very much has something to do with the earth ponies special connection with the earth. That is all, the rest is pretty enjoyable.
SABATON CAROLEAN'S PRAYER damn good one
That... isn't far-fetched, the recent Doom game somewhat points that being a possibility and footage of Doom Eternal also show that too as a clue... Though the question is why his armor (The Doom Marine) is different from the others - his look like some a space marine would wear while the others are actual medieval-esque armor.
I know I'm way behind on this, but you really should replace "våra mammor" with something like "mödrar våra". "Våra mammor" sounds waaaaay too casual for the lords prayer, since the rest of the text is written in a very old-timey Swedish. "Mamma" is actually more like "Mom" instead of "Mother", which I think is what you were going for.
To give you some context, the original text is "Fader vår" and if you were to write that in the same way you have written it, it would become "Our dad". See my point? :P
9517045
Thank you for the suggestion, I'll write it in a bit later. Full disclosure, I used Google Translate to find out the Swedish translation I needed, so it was pretty much inevitable that it wouldn't be quite right. Same with the latin spell names I used. My kingdom for halfway decent translation software!
9488127
It’s because DS’ armor is demon wrought by The Wretch, a demon that decided to side with DS.
X to doubt.
mobygames.com/images/covers/l/3907-doom-dos-front-cover.jpg 9579693
Just look at the guy in the background So there probably where multiple
EnerrrGY!!!! Hellish one at that! LMOA
Did anybody else sing that to the tune of the Carleon's Prayer by Sabaton? It as the same structure, same basic words, and the same ending
10064417
That was when he was a solider not a mega harbinger of doom to all of demon kind.
... I'm just gonna forget that the doomguy is Swedish.
Jojo stands be like
Does anyone have a link to the song?
11413788
The Carolean's Prayer
Here you go.