> SuperHumans > by WhalenJP > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue: Rage, Brutal, Without Mercy... The forest outside of the once peaceful town known as Ponyville was quiet as it was dark. The magic was quite… feral… The Flora and Fauna were unique to everypony living near the forest, the creatures living in a chaotic cycle called survival of the fittest. There were all kinds of dangers living in the dark forestry, but there aren’t any creatures that are more dangerous than He... Legend tells that of an object laying deep in the dark depths of the forest… An object that was said to be filled with eternal hatred and bloodlust so pure, that even the most evilest of creatures inside the forest don’t go near it... A large stone sarcophagus laid in the middle of a clearing in the forest, symbols glowing red in the dim sunlight that was blocked by the canopy of tree limbs. A symbol larger than any of the ones that were etched in the stone glowed with a menacing aura, as if it was warning anyone not to go near it, to not wake the slumbering beast that laid within. But some of the past wouldn’t stay hidden, one day, it would be revealed, and the one to stumble across this artifact, would be changed forever. Fortunately, the day of reckoning has come in the form of a Queen; One that would make the Caribou, Equestria’s invaders, to tremble at the mere mention of it… --------------------------- Former Changeling Queen Chrysalis ran as fast as she could with her quivering and aching legs, her bare feet stomping loudly through the shrubbery. She kept going despite the need to collapse and pass out, ignoring the tiny flares of pain that was caused by the small sharp branches of close trees brushing past her scantily clad body, causing scratches to appear in her weak chitin. Her breaths were loud in her ears, and her green eyes darted in her sockets as she looked for a way through the thick canopy, a feeling of panic springing up in her chest as she Chrysalis heard the furious yells of her former captors. Her clothes, or what remained of them; were nothing more than mere shreds, her black shirt barely covering her C - Cup breasts and her skirt just covering her thighs as she ran as fast as she could. Chrysalis panted hard as she shot into a clearing, skidding to a halt when she saw the large stone sarcophagus sitting on the ground before her. She only had a moment to feel awed by the strange artifact covered in foreign symbols, before she felt pain emanate in her shoulder as she stumbled forwards and hit the ground hard. After wallowing in the pain for a second, adrenaline filled her body as she got to a kneeling position, her leg muscles aching in protest and cramps. She put a hand to her left shoulder and with no hesitation, pulled out the small arrow that was protruding from her front, gritting her teeth in pain. The former Changeling Queen screamed in pain as the shaft was pulled through the front, her blood coating her hand as the arrow was painfully removed from her. Chrysalis flinched at the sound of a voice, " THERE SHE IS! Get that whore before the forest comes alive to investigate the noise!” Yelled a male’s baritone voice. Chrysalis got to her hands and knees to begin crawling to what may lead to her salvation… Her breathing became shallower and shallower and her body began to weaken more and more as she moved towards the menacing artifact. The sarcophagus was the only thing in her vision that she focused on, making her numb to the pain of the wound, ignoring the sounds of the Caribou foot patrol that she escaped from getting into the clearing. She reached it and placed a bloodied hand on the top, her body giving her adrenaline as she heard the sounds of the Caribou pursuers. " Come on, come on…” She hissed between her teeth as her body got its feet, using the large stone casket as a support. Chrysalis agonisingly reached across the stone sarcophagus, her vision beginning to go blurry at the edges as she felt her lifeblood leave from the open wound. She had heard of the legends about the person lying inside the sarcophagus, in wait to be let out of his prison that was wrongly put upon him. Chrysalis weakly set her hand on the large glowing red symbol that was the mark of the legend, a small smile on her lips, which lit up her face at the joy of finding her only remaining hope. She internally prays that this works, and set free the only thing to stop the filth of the Caribou… Then she began chanting, her voice soft, yet slightly raspy from weeks of minimal water and food. " I am the bringer of salvation, I am the destroyer of evil, I am…” She began. “NOTHING! You are nothing, you little bitch!” Said the voice, being heard in the clearing, " Once I get my hands on you, you’ll wish that King Dainn had executed you like he should’ve!” Said the small scrawny Caribou leader. Chrysalis jerkingly turned her head towards the large squad of Caribou soldiers, her eyes and cracked horn glowing with what little power she had left, and grinned madly at them, " I am your Slayer!” She finished, before collapsing against the glowing sarcophagus, a small tired smile on her face as she fell unconscious into Luna’s dreamworld. The sarcophagus glowed brighter after the chanting was finished, and the top half portion of it cracked and crackled with energy. The energy shot out like bolts of lightning throughout the clearing narrowly missing some of the Caribou soldiers that pursued the bleeding Changeling Queen as they went behind trees to avoid a painful death. The few that didn’t dodge in time got fried to a crisp, their large and small bodies covered in burnt hair and popped eyeballs. The air smelt putrid from the fresh corpses “WHAT THE HELL?!” Said one, covering his eyes of the dust that sprun up from the lightshow, gagging at the sight and smell of his dead comrades. Then, the clearing went deathly quiet as the dust cloud settled down… The light that surrounded the stone artifact dimmed till it was barely noticeable, the sarcophagus practically vibrating in place with energy that made the soldiers wary. One of the bigger broader Caribou slowly came up to it, ignoring the assumedly dead Chrysalis, and got a closer look at the large symbol that caught his attention. He leaned closer till the tip half of his large muscular body was hanging over the stone artifact, analysing the runes with confusion... KABAM! Two pale, furless, and muscular scarred fists shot out from the rock and gripped the large Caribou’s head, holding on to the top and bottom portion of the deer’s skull with an iron grip. The Caribou grunted as he struggled to get out of the grip, but the last thing he saw was a pair of blood red eyes staring up at him as his head got crushed against the edge of the sarcophagus in the strength of a thousand strong. The other members of the squad all yelled out in shock as the large skull of their heavy member got turned to a pulp. Then their attention turned to the crumbling sarcophagus, watching in horror as a tall burly figure rose up from the place it laid. Their final moments of their pathetic lives they could remember, was filled with screaming in terror and pain as the naked burly figure charge them with red eyes glowing with hatred even more pure than the unicorn king, Sombra… --------------- The only thing that The Slayer remembered was waking up, his prison broken and devoid of Argent energy. His red eyes spotted a crack of light in the stone craftsmanship, and he felt his bloodlust skyrocket at the sound of heavy breathing and a faint heartbeat above him. He savagely grinned and clenched his hands into tight fists, his knuckles cracking from what seemed to be ages of being in one position continuously. His strength, and the Slayer’s power of the Seraph welled up inside him fully awakening him… His scarred hands punched through the hellish stone as if it were wet paper, and latched onto a large head that vaguely compared him of a hybrid between a Hellknight and a Baron of Hell. The larger being struggled in the man’s grip, his heartbeat increasing as he tried to get out of certain death… The Slayer felt amused for a few seconds, watching the struggling creature before he easily crushed the skull between his palms, a splatter of brain matter and gore covering his hands and arms in a flow of crimson red. After revelling in the satisfaction of killing something again, the man slowly got up from his stone bed that he laid in for centuries and glared down at the group of furry creatures that dared to awaken him. His strength increased as he cracked his neck on both sides, and set his face into an evil grin. Rip & Tear. He thought to himself as he charged at the now identified bipedal Caribou, and set to work… No one can survive the wrath of the DoomSlayer if they piss him off enough, and walk away to tell the tale... > Chapter One: The Beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: The Beginning... Princess Celestia walked down the dusty and decrepit hallways of the Everfree castle that was once known as the ‘Castle of The Royal Pony Sisters’. Her magenta eyes that held the warmth of the sun in a mother’s embrace were now cold and glowing with endless rage as she briskly walked towards her destination. Celestia was covered horn to toe in golden steel armor, forged in the fires of her sun, and cooled by the rays of her younger sister’s moon. The thousand year old Alicorn opened the large pair of double doors in a burst of magic, blowing the rusting metal doors to smithereens. She didn’t bat an eyelash as she walked into the large room and saw her sister staring up into the night sky, a dead look in the midnight blue Alicorn’s cyan eyes. Princess Luna was wearing the same type of armor as her older sister’s, but her’s was a dark Cobalt steel forged by her guards mares after her banishment a thousand years ago. Celestia took a breath to speak, but was stopped by Luna, goddess of the Night and Dreams, holding up a hand to stall her tirade. " If you think that a lecture is more important than preparing properly for a battle that’ll have a chance to be lost, then you need to rethink that.” She said, her face not leaving the sight of the night sky. Celestia furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering why her younger sister was behaving like this. Like she was about get yelled at... " Lecture, dear Luna? Whatever do you mean?” She replied, walking over to the other Alicorn and sat next to her on the cushioned bench. Luna stared at the stars for a few moments, before turning her head to look at Celestia, her cyan eyes glimmering with concern… " I could feel your anger from the other side of the castle earlier today.” She replied, her voice soft and soothing, not wanting to make her sister angry.  Celestia’s eyes slightly widened at the information, surely she wasn’t that angry some time ago? Now that she thought about It… it HAD been a particularly rough day... Alongside her normal duties when she was Princess Of Equestria and Diarch Of The Sun; Running a refugee camp, hiding from a numerous enemy more powerful than Luna and herself, along with the strong protections of the wards draining her day to day, CAN take its toll eventually... Celestia scooched closer to her younger sister, wrapping her arms over the back of her sister’s neck, and hugged her close. Luna blinked, and then hugged Celestia back… " What were you angry about that I could feel it from here? Was it that prude, Blueblood?” The midnight blue Alicorn asked, her muzzle burying in her sister’s neck. " No, no.” Celestia replied, her eyes shut as she drew in the warmth of her sister’s body, feeling the comforting tingle of Luna’s connection to her wrap around her six foot body. " It’s just… We all have our limits in the world around us before we snap.” The Solar Princess said, her body leaning against the large pillow positioned at the end of the bench, relaxing slightly with Luna snuggling on top of her. Luna propped her head up against her older sister’s chest, lightly sighing as the stress of the past few years started to fade from her body and mind. Celestia snorted as she watched her sibling snuggle up against her D-cup breasts, feeling a tinge of pink spread on her cheeks. " Lulu dear, we need to find you a coltfriend. Otherwise the ponies are gonna start asking if we’re really sisters.” The Alicorn teased, a smile on her light pink lips. Luna’s eyes opened wide and her head shot off her sister’s chest with a bright red blush, stammering. " T-Tia! You told me that we wouldn’t bring this up again!” She exclaimed. Celestia giggled, happy that she got her sister out of her funk… She put a hand on top of her little sister’s lips to keep her quiet, replying. " I know, Lulu. It’s just too damn funny to tease you sometimes.” She said, booping her sister’s nose with the tip of her finger. Luna glared down at her older sibling, crossing her arms in a childish way and her lips in a slight frown mixed with a pout. " It’s not funny, Tia!” She almost raised her voice, but made sure to keep her voice down, lest she wake the refugee camp down below. " Besides, what is a pony to do once they find out that one of their Princesses is a virgin?” She continued, a pink blush rising on her blue furred cheeks as she finished the sentence. Celestia smirked, then grabbed the back of Luna’s neck and laid her gently back onto her chest, enjoying the fact that her sister was blushing brightly at the action. " Don’t worry, Luna. Once this war is over, I’m sure the right stallion; or mare, is out there…” She said reassuringly, then turned to look out over the canopy of trees that surrounded the castle and it’s grounds. " Somewhere.” She muttered to herself. The two sisters just laid there during the next 2 hours, enjoying each other’s comfort and talked about the future, until Celestia and Luna went to sleep... -------------------- *Elsewhere* (Slayer’s POV) He rose up from the prison that kept him sealed for millennia, looking at the large group of strange creatures that had a slight mixture of Demons and deer. He tilted his head and examined the group as they stared back in fear. Then he looked down and saw an equine-like woman with a black armor type skin, bleeding out next to the prison… He remembered hearing a woman’s voice before he awoke, reciting the chant of his mantra. The Slayer stared at the woman--no… Mare, with a blank expression, before slowly turning his head and began glaring at the 15 man group in front of him. There was feeling he felt in his chest, a blazing heat that flares whenever he was in the vicinity of Demons… Rip & Tear… He began to say in his head like a mantra, his scarred body tensing with rage. With that single thought, even though he didn’t have his armor, he charged… He was across the clearing and smack dab in the middle of the group in 2 and a half seconds, laying to waste most of the group with his bare hands and feet. Some panicked at the sight of him charging and tried to shoot him with very primitive weapons, but he dodged and weaved and dashed so that he could get close enough for hand-to-hand combat. With a feral grin on his face, the Slayer set to work. SMACK!POW!CRACK! One goes down with a snapped neck, his large body twisted and twitching in agony as he died a quick death… SNAP!SQUELCH!CRUNCH! Down goes another Caribou with both limbs brutally ripped off and face half-mangled with a severely broken jaw hanging open, his hips and legs broken in 4 places… CRACK!POW!SNAP! Goes a third one with no head and leg down their throat… The Slayer noticed that one of the… Caribou… wasn’t fighting him, just staring out at the carnage he was making with a blanch expression and shaking in his body. After punching down the head of the final Caribou down into it’s chest cavity, the naked behemoth stomped his way to the terrified creature… Within a second, The Slayer punched the deer in the neck, causing him to cough in his closed windpipe, and then had him by the neck. The Slayer easily lifted the Caribou up off the ground, and began to sneer in disgust at the thought that recently came to him about what they were doing here. They were looking to harm a woman, a woman with unfathomable power and an aura that reminded him of--- Mentally shaking the thought off, he easily threw the Caribou against the nearest tree and broke his leg with a strong kick, causing the bone to stick out with a snap… The young Caribou screamed, causing a sense of delight to fill the human’s body at the sound... He was gonna make this one pay, as well as the rest of its kind, and nothing will get in his way from ripping and tearing apart their so-called ‘King Dainn’, until it is done! One thing is for certain, is that The Doom Slayer had returned, and he’s gonna help… Ponykind... Kill all of the Caribou brutally. With that in mind, the superhuman finished the job… ------------------ Chrysalis slowly came to and groggily opened her eyes, wincing at the slight sound of ringing in her ears, mixed along with the pain of the arrow wound in her shoulder, and others that were days to weeks old. The first thing she noticed was that she was in the clearing that she passed out in, and that she was lying against the side of the stone sarcophagus she stumbled upon. The second thing Chrysalis noticed was the headless body of a large Heavy Caribou soldier limply lying a few inches away from her, causing the former Queen to shriek in fright and scoot back a few inches. Then she noticed something else as she looked around… The top half of the sarcophagus is broken open, it’s foreign symbols and malicious energy had faded into nothingness… She heard the sound of something hitting against flesh and she instinctively turned to look at the source. Then her eyes widened at the sight before her… There stood a large furless bipedal creature holding the captain of the squad that was chasing her in a choke grip, his one hand squeezing tightly against the light muscles of the Caribou’s neck. The creature’s red eyes were glaring heatedly at the deer Captain in disgust and hatred, a sneer on his scarred lips as he tightened his grip on the Caribou’s neck. Chrysalis watched in shocked fascination as the creature, no, HUMAN, threw the captain against a thick tree and kicked his left leg hard, causing an audible and loud SNAP! As the Caribou started to scream in pain, the naked human quickly snagged a jagged branch next to him and with the speed of that one rainbow maned pegasus, jabbed it hard into the throat of the deer, causing blood to spurt from the wound, yet still alive. As the Caribou began to die with the branch sticking out his trachea, the human grabbed the deer by the head and twisted it 180 degrees backwards with ease, causing a loud CRACK to echo throughout the clearing. Chrysalis laid there in shock at what she had just seen, and felt a gasp escape her throat… The human’s head snapped towards her as he heard her gasp, and Chrysalis shuddered at the emotions emanating from him via scanning his emotions. It was nothing but hate, pure hate that made her and Nightmare Moon look like fucking toddlers play fighting… The naked human began to walk towards her, his scarred body glistening with light sweat and the blood of the Caribou foot patrol he just killed, causing him to look like a nightmare in her eyes. Chrysalis weakly pressed her back against the stone sarcophagus and watched as the muscular human kneel a couple feet from her.  His red eyes were gleaming, but they held no emotion that she couldn’t detect nor visually identify. She squeezed her eyes shut as the human raised a bloodied right hand towards her face, and winced, expecting to get killed like the rest of the Caribou… But instead, she felt something else… She opened her eyes and saw that his hand was now clean of the Caribou’s blood, his fingers trailing across her chitinous left cheek in a soft caress. Chrysalis felt a blush come on to her cheeks, and a weird feeling in her gut at the naked human’s action. What in the name of Equis is he doing? She thought as the human’s hand trailed down her cheek, then rubbing against her neck in a sensual motion that made her lightly shiver... Then she felt him trail across the top of her barely covered left breast, causing her eyes to shoot wide and a yelp to escape from her mouth, her pink cheeks now a tomato red. She saw the human male smirk lightly, a glimmer of amusement showing up in his eyes at her reaction, and the Changeling Queen glared half-heartedly at him. The other half actually wanted him to continue, maybe even get him to-… Chrysalis mentally slapped herself and screamed in frustration, STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT! She roared at herself. DO YOU NOT REMEMBER ABOUT THE CARIBOU, HOW THEY RAPED AND TORTURED YOU FOR THEIR PLEASURE?! YOU SENILE FOOL! She was so caught up in her self-reprimanding, that she almost missed the feeling of the man’s hand sliding up her left arm to her shoulder, where the arrow wound was still there, bleeding profusely… Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, then squeezed them shut as a flare of pain emanated from it, making her grit her teeth to stop herself from hissing. The human noticed the reaction, and then took his hand off her damaged chitin, he proceeded to hover over the fresh wound with his palm flat. Seeing his intent, Chrysalis opened her mouth to shout at him to stop before he hurt her, but was interrupted… A soft blue glow came from the man’s hand, and shot out of his palm and into her wound, causing it to flare up a bit but then began to feel… nice… It felt like a warm blanket wrapping around you on a winter night... Chrysalis felt surprised, and awed that this being of mass destruction; deducing from what she had seen of the bloody carnage around her and the mangled body of the Captain; was capable of healing. She watched as the wound in her shoulder closed, her muscle regrowing at a fast rate and new chitin growing from around the hole to cover it. In a few seconds, it looked like there wasn’t a wound in the first place, not even a scar... She slowly sat up, being mindful as to not aggravate her other wounds, and moved her left shoulder, slowly stretching the muscles and contracting them as she clenched her hand into a fist. She looked to her right and saw the naked human being amused at her awe, before he stood up and held out his right hand, the same hand that healed her not just a few seconds ago. Chrysalis felt hesitant, but then resolved to give this powerful being a chance as she accepted the man’s hand, allowing herself to be pulled up by the VERY strong human. The human briefly smiled at her, before looking at the carnage around them with an amused huff. Chrysalis looked around as well, and felt amusement as well at the sight around them, and here she was acting like a baby fawn. The human, which the Changeling Queen thinks is called Slayer from what she gleamed in the hieroglyphs etched in the stone artifact; walked next to her, facing the sarcophagus; and grabbed the edge of the broken lid. “ What are you doing?” She asked as she noticed him lifting the heavy stone lid with ease, before bending over to look inside. Chrysalis swallowed at the sight of the human’s ass, feeling a slight tingle run through her belly as dirty thoughts passed the forefront of her mind once again… Damn sexy human and his buns of steel! Although… you could probably launch a boulder at it  and it’d probably split in half! She lightly giggled at the thought, bringing the Slayer’s attention to her as he leaned back from his search and turned his head to look at her in confusion. She waved a hand daintily, trying to keep herself from smiling, “ Keep finding what you’re looking for; I’m just surveying the area.” She lied with ease, lightly sighing in relief when the Slayer went back to digging through the rock. She bit the bottom of her lip and scolded herself internally at her ogling her savior, when she should be on the lookout for more Caribou patrols coming to investigate the screams of pain that the Slayer no doubt caused as he set off on his warpath. The human now leaned back from the edge and pulled out a pair of the most clean boxers Chrysalis has ever seen, causing her to gape at it, much to his amusement… She turned her head away from the muscular human quickly as to not get caught staring without permission, she waited until she began to hear the sound of metal clanking. She turned around to the source and saw the largest green armor that would make Celestia and Luna’s look like paper mache… It had small spikes around it’s foregauntlets, and a shoulder mounted tubular device that made Chrysalis confused as to it’s function. The most noticeable thing was the small collapsible armblade on the left forearm, positioned next to the wrist, so it didn’t accidentally cut off the hand. The human was wearing the armor as if it was his old friend, or home, staring at the helmet with a sense of regret and melancholy that made Chrysalis concerned for her new friend… But then he seemed to shake out of his thoughts, and placed the helmet around his head, hiding those red eyes from view, and behind a clear visor that hid his scarred face from view. Chrysalis won’t admit it, but she had to say he looked fucking TERRIFYING with that armor on… The green armored Titan reached behind his back and a small blue glow shone behind him for a split second, before pulling his arm back and revealed a metallic weapon that looked like a crossbow, but it was skinnier, and more advanced. It didn’t even have a bowstring on it! Chrysalis tilted her head, curious about the strange weapon, but she didn’t want to question it, since the Slayer hasn’t spoken a single word yet. Come to think of it, WHY does he not talk? She thought in contemplation. After standing there for a few moments on that single thought, she noticed that the Slayer was waving his armored hand in front of her face, causing the Ex-Queen to blush out of embarrassment. " Huh? Sorry… Just thinking about something.” Chrysalis replied, shaking her head, " What did you need?” She asked, pretty sure that her new friend was asking where to go. The human gestured with his arms around the clearing, then pointed to her, then the Caribou corpses surrounding them. " Oh! Um… I was escaping these guys.” She replied, gesturing to the bloodied clearing around them, " Then I came upon you and set you free. I’m… pretty sure that you can guess the rest of it.” The Changeling mare finished sheepishly, a tiny smile on her lips. The Slayer stared at her, tilting his head every once in awhile for the next five seconds, before nodding. Chrysalis cleared her throat and continued. " A-anyways, from what I remember, there is a set of ruins that can shelter us nearby from the rainstorm.” The Ex-Queen said as she noticed a large group of dark clouds clustering the skies surrounding the Everfree forest during the conversation. At the sound of faint rumbling coming from the clouds, The Slayer looked at her and whirled his hand in a circle that seemed to say, ' Lead on.’ Chrysalis smiled, happy to help her newly awakened friend… " Right! If I remember my layout of the forest, then the castle ruins should be…” she stuck a finger into her mouth for a second, before taking it out and sticking it up through the air, her glowing green eyes shut. The Slayer tilted his head to the side at the weird gesture she’s doing, but mentally shrugged it off… After a few quiet seconds, Chrysalis opened her eyes and pointed southeast, deeper into the forest. " Our shelter should be that way.” She said, smiling proudly at her skill in finding the castle, where it was rumored to house the royal Pony Sisters and the refugee Rebel camp settled there. The green armored titan nodded his head and aimed his weapon in the direction as he walked; more like stomped through the shrubbery. Chrysalis was close behind, feeling that this day has become better... She was trying to get to the camp so she could assist the Ponies with her and her remaining army, when she got captured by the Caribou ground patrols, causing her force of a hundred to scatter and hide to parts unknown. Chrysalis didn’t know the fate of what remained of her Hive, and she might never know... But now she had an advantage over the Caribou… She had this killing machine on her side, and maybe, Equestria’s. > Chapter Two: Slaughter Of Everfree > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Two: Legend The Slayer and his companion walked through the thick, dark forest of the Everfree, his Combat Shotgun held up in front of him and aimed down the sights constantly in case there was trouble. But he and Chrysalis didn’t need to worry about any dangerous animals coming across them, because the aura and poise of a predator that he exhumed made the larger carnivores such as Manticores, Cockatrices, Chimera, and Timberwolves away and watching them at a safe distance of 30 yards around them. They were watching them, Chrysalis realised with a shudder, remembering the time she first stayed in the forest whilst on the run; A pack of Timberwolves were hunting her and she had to stay the night in a large tree that was tall enough to deter the wolves from climbing after her. The Slayer noticed her shudder and tilted his head questioningly… Chrysalis nervously smiled at the green armored human, and answered his silent question, " I’m fine, Slayer. Just… I want to get out of this forest.” She finished, hesitating on telling the silent man her fear of being surrounded by creatures more dangerous than her. Slayer not included... The Slayer tilted his head in acknowledgement as he raised his Combat Shotgun onto his shoulder, then raised a hand and patted the Changeling on the shoulder gently. Chrysalis smiled up at him, even though she was only shorter than the human, she was 5 ft 10”, which made her head come up to the middle of his glass visor, horn excluded. " Thank you, Slayer.” She said with sincerity, feeling better and slightly distracted from the overwhelming emotions of ravenous hunger that permeated the forest. Then she took a deep breath, and continued on her trek to the Castle… The Slayer stared after her, his head tilting slightly as he traced her body with his red eyes hidden behind the visor. Maybe… just maybe… I could take a break from slaughtering demons for awhile. He thought to himself, before shaking his thought off and quickly followed after Chrysalis. -------------- Celestia woke up, and upon seeing her sister Luna not with her, made her sit up from her prone position and look around the chamber in confusion. Where did she go? She thought to herself as she got to her feet, walking out to the balcony and overlooked the camp. Maybe she went to breakfast earlier than before. She contemplated, but immediately disregarded it as she remembered about her sister telling her about the morning patrol she was overseeing that morning. She relaxed and turned to go back inside the empty chamber to do her morning duties, as well as get ready for the day... But she stopped when she felt the wards suddenly alerting her about attackers that had just crossed into the camp, the distinct magical signature she was familiar with made her eyes blaze. They were under attack, and by the feel of it, it was a Caribou platoon that was attacking... Celestia stopped walking and went full out sprinting, before whirling around and running back towards the open balcony as fast as she could go… She easily jumped over the railing and opened her large wings that unfurled from her back, catching the wind and flapped with ferocity that made her faster in the air than on the ground. She went in the direction of the ward breach and saw at least a company of 300 Caribou,, armed to the teeth with crossbows, swords, daggers, and firebombs. She felt her sister bond get stronger and looked down at the ground that were full of Caribou and her citizens… She found Luna fighting against 4 Heavy soldiers, and seemed to be doing an immense job at holding them at bay. Celestia dive bombed towards her younger sister, dodging cross bolts and bombs with ease, drop kicking the nearest Caribou that was ready to attack Luna. The two sisters went back to back as they began to fight with a liquid grace that made it seem like dancing, their magically conjured swords cutting down and blasting the Caribou back with pierced lungs and licks of flame burns. ----------------------- The Slayer and Chrysalis, who were about 100 yards from the ward perimeter, tensed at the ground shaking beneath them, and the scene of black smoke just roiling above the forest canopy. The two looked at each other, and Chrysalis said, “ They must be under attack! We need to get there, NOW!” She yelled, running towards the smoke pillar at top speed, which was 20 MPH. The Slayer tilted his head to his left shoulder, then right. CRACK! CRACK! He held his Shotgun in a tense grip, before sprinting after the shrinking form of Chrysalis… --------------------------- Celestia and Luna were breathing heavily as their energy dwindled. The shield the two sisters held up with their magic was flickering with every impact of a firebomb, with every slice of an iron sword, and with every slam of a Heavy’s body. The battlefield was full with bodies of both Caribou and Pony forces, heavy casualties on both sides... “ We… We can’t hold out much longer, Tia.” Luna panted, her teeth gritted with light exertion as she tried to keep the failing shield up. Celestia felt just as exhausted… Even though that should’ve been impossible… Apparently the Caribou have found a way to dampen our Magic. She bitterly thought as her hands trembled in pain from the enemy’s blows. Luna hissed in pain as she pressed a shaking hand to her right side of her slim stomach, a wound made from an iron tipped arrow that pierced the armor plating. Her blood trickled down her thigh and dripped to the ground, slightly turning into a small red puddle. The two were against boulder the sisters were backed into by the Caribou. Celestia fell back to Luna’s side, but still kept her hands up to keep the dimming shield from disappearing. Though it is a losing battle… She spoke through her teeth, her head beginning to feel light. “ Lulu… W-We might not make it out of here…” She said sadly, the outcome of the situation becoming apparent to her in what may be their final moments. It came to her sister’s realisations as well… The Lunar Princess sat up into a straighter pose, her cyan eyes glowing lightly with what remained of her magical reserves. She said, a look of sadness, regret, and resignation in her expression, “ Tia….” She said, getting her older sister’s attention, “ If today is the day we die… Let’s send these creatures down to the pits of Tartarus where they belong while we’re at it.” Tia panted, her eyes drooping heavily… But she weakly nodded her head in agreement. “ Yes… Lulu… let’s… let’s send them to Hell, right where they came from!” She said, finishing the sentence by drawing her power from the sun, filling her reserves temporarily and her irises became slitted in the color of molten lava. Luna did the same with her moon, causing her eyes to become turquoise and slitted as well… The two Alicorns got to their feet, their bodies tensing as the shield fell and the hundred forces of Caribou came surging towards the two, their bloodthirst apparent. Luna unsheathed her lunar Scythe that was black in color and an insignia of her moon on the blade. Her older sister summoned her broadsword that glowed white in the heat of her sun. The two prepared to take as many as they can with them… The Caribou were only a couple of yards from Celestia, who gripped her sword and prepared to slice the closest one down to ribbons. Before they were interrupted by a loud noise that hurt their eardrums… BANG! The lead Caribou’s head and torso blew apart in front of them, the grotesque remains falling short a few feet from the Alicorns. Celestia and Luna looked at each other for a moment; confused on what happened; before looking behind and up… Standing on the large boulder behind the two, was a 6 foot green armored behemoth that looked to be a mixture of a minotaur and a pony. Smoking in its hands was a bulky weapon that was metallic in the top half, and wooden on the bottom and back, which the titan gripped with a finger on a small metal lever. The strange weapon smoked and the end with two holes that faced out towards the Caribou were slightly glowing. The entire field went deathly quiet, even the previously shouting and roaring Caribou army... The behemoth tilted its head toward the Princesses of Day and Night, it’s clear glass face gleaming in a glare from Celestia’s sun as it showed the two Alicorns in it’s glass. Then another form, more feminine and was wearing torn and shredded clothes that kept her modesty, her green slitted eyes glowing with power as she stared at the balking Caribou that stopped in their tracks. Celestia recognised the second one more easily than the first… “Chrysalis?!” She asked, her tired voice cracking slightly at the state of the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis nodded, not taking her eyes off the hundred strong force that seemed to be frozen at the sight of them. Or more accurately… The silent intimidating figure next to her… Celestia and Luna looked at the pair, shocked at Chrysalis not saying anything, much less looking at her two enemies… Then their attention turned to the green armored creature that grabbed the top metal half of the weapon it carried, two small cylindrical objects ejecting out and past it’s head. It, or he, reached behind and grabbed two more cylinders and slammed it into the unhinged portion of the weapon, before closing it with a loud clanking sound. It happened in a span of three seconds, giving Celestia and Luna no time to ask what he did… Then the silent creature turned to Chrysalis, head tilted and jerked toward the pair of Alicorns. Chrysalis gently smiled, which made Luna shiver from an emotion she nor Celestia can identify. " Yes, they are Celestia and Luna, rightful rulers of Equestria.” She said, seeming to understand the Titan’s question. The armored creature nodded, before turning to the large Caribou force behind the injured and tired Princesses that were beginning to gather their wits. The titan vaulted high into the air, causing Celestia and Luna to balk at how high it could jump without magic, and landed behind them, back facing them. " Hey Slayer!” Chrysalis called, causing the sneering and glaring Caribous’ faces a few feet from the armored behemoth to pale, shock and horror replacing the bloodthirst they had. They heard of the Slayer from myths and legends, and he terrified the everloving shit out of them being right in front of them in all of his horrific glory... The aforementioned Slayer turned towards the Changeling Queen, his head tilting in question. Chrysalis evilly smirked, and said only one thing… " Rip and Tear them to bits for us, and enjoy causing as much damage as you can.” She declared, which made Celestia and Luna to feel slightly queasy at the malicious aura the creature seemed to give out at those words. The titan nodded, before turning back to the Caribou troops, who gulped and began backing up in terror. The Slayer, which the name sounded familiar to Celestia and Luna, tensed his 6ft body and made his weapon disappear in a small flash of blue light. His gauntlets clenched into tight fists, which made his knuckles to pop loudly… Chrysalis’s crooked horn flashed green with magic before she disappeared for a second, then reappeared next to Celestia, who tensed a little bit at the close proximity of the Queen. She merely smiled at the two Alicorns, before turning to what may be the greatest one sided battle that the three have ever witnessed in their immortal lives. It’d turn into the greatest slaughter ever recorded... " You may want to rest now, otherwise you’re gonna pass out before the fun begins.” The former Queen said, her tone taking that of a friend casually asking about the weather, and not as if she wasn’t surrounded by hundreds of dead corpses and blood staining the ground in large pools. The two Alicorns looked at each other in question, before Celestia sternly looked at Chrysalis. " Fine… But you better be ready to explain what the HELL he is.” She said, pointing her finger at the armored behemoth having a staredown with a large Caribou that was undoubtedly the leader of the troops. Chrysalis nodded her head, following the two sisters and sat down between them, her holed arms resting on her thighs. " Don’t worry, Celestia. So long as you don’t have a reason to piss him off, The Slayer might win the war at the rate he’s going.” She replied, feeling slightly excited at the show she was gonna get. The two Alicorns felt confused, before doing the same. Celestia mulled over the name Chrysalis gave the armored creature, trying to think back to where she heard it before. Slayer.... But Slayer of what? She thought, before watching the carnage, no, SLAUGHTER that the creature began before their eyes... ------------ The Slayer stared at the 6ft Caribou general, his helmet visor not giving anything away, but he was grinning. He felt VERY giddy to take them on with his hands, even with one tied behind his back... Other people, NORMAL people, might’ve pissed their pants in fear at the large army; but the Slayer wasn’t one to be afraid… Besides, he’s faced worse. He’s faced Hell itself, and made the Demons that lived there to FEAR him... The Doom Slayer charged, feeling the three pairs of eyes widen behind him at his top speed, now that he has let go from going easy on Chrysalis’s unofficial race to the battle. His top speed at an uninterrupted sprint was 55 mph, just shy of Rainbow Dash’s speed of 60 mph… (Just Guessing Here…) The Slayer reached the Captain in less than 2 seconds and threw a right hook at the deer’s head, enjoying the way the skull broke apart under the velocity and strength of his punch. The Caribou’s head popped like a watermelon, sending grey matter, bone fragments and blood to spew from his now headless 300 lbs body. As the deer’s corpse fell to the ground, the Slayer zoomed and reached his next victim, pulling his leg and ripping it in half, then slammed the limp metal boot into the screaming Caribou’s face, causing it to splatter like a blood orange. He then used his Dash jets to move away from a molotov being panickedly thrown in his direction, the ordinance spreading fire at the area the human just was, burning with a hot flame that burnt the grass and the dead Caribou’s body. The Slayer simply smirked at the primitive weaponry the deers were now throwing at him, his armor more than enough reflecting the arrows and daggers with no scuffs to his armor. The Caribou stopped with their assault, clearly dumbfounded on why their weapons weren’t doing any damage… They didn’t have enough time to react to what the behemoth did next… My turn. He thought before activating his flamethrower. The Slayer’s shoulder mounted device spewed a hotter flame than the molotov that reached about 6 feet from his position, burning the nearest Caribou to a crisp. The burning deer screamed and bellowed in agony as the flames of Hell melted their skin like it was butter under a thousand degree knife, before dying and collapsing into charred corpses. The rest of the army stared at the sight of their comrades dying painfully, before turning back to the imposing green armored titan whipping out his weapon from before. The Slayer aimed his Super Shotgun at the nearest deer and fired his Meat Hook, the two golden prongs shooting out from the large barrels and stabbed into the Heavy Soldier, causing a small roar of pain to erupt from him. The chain retracted into the weapon very quickly, launching the Slayer at his quarry with a malevolent grin on his face, his red eyes glowing brightly from behind the visor. The superhuman pulled the trigger from his Super Shotgun, and his baby, his trusty long loved reliable baby, sung with the sound of a small cannon and 600 pellets blew apart the Caribou at the speed of light. The deer’s top half exploded from the pellets, his flesh ripping apart as if he were a shuck of corn, a spew of blood escaping from his torn apart body with bone and organs being turned into fragments and mush at the impact, showing it to the outside world. The Slayer instantly reloaded, easily unlatching the top barrels and slamming two more shells in to continue his carnage. He made his weapon disappear and switch it out for his Heavy Assault Rifle, firing at a fast rate, penetrating the bodies of numerous Caribou. The numerous soldiers that were unluckily shot in the lungs, heart and head died instantaneously, blood coming out of the bullet wounds and short cut-off screams in their throats. He then pressed a small button behind the trigger, and a box like panel sprung up from the left side, 3 rows of micro missiles armed and ready to blast apart his adversaries. He pressed a similar, but larger button above and the micro missiles fired out and were embedded into a small group of Caribou, making them bloodily explode immediately afterwards. There were barely any remains from the deer that got shot at… The Slayer switched out his rifle and went to get another from his arsenal, until a big Caribou hit the side of his head, causing the human to go flying. He went halfway across the field in the air, before landing hard into the bloodstained grass, his right fist scraping hard into the dirt to stop his momentum. He got to his feet, and glared up at the Caribou a few yards away, who sneered right back at the kneeling armored titan… " You are formidable, but this is where your puny assault ends.” The burly deer said, his voice baritone and raspy. The Slayer got to his feet and charged towards the large Caribou, no weapon in hand… The deer charged as well, roaring in rage to avenge his fallen brethren. SLICE! The Slayer’s left armblade ejected from its resting place, and he swung in a stabbing maneuver. SQUELCH! The sharp blade sliced into the Caribou’s stomach, penetrating his intestines, the force of the stab sent the upper torso forward. As the burly deer roared in anger and pain; The superhuman pulled the blade out from the large beast’s stomach, then slammed it upwards into the bottom jaw of the head and pierced through the brain. SLAM! The bellowing Caribou immediately was silenced, and he retracted his weapon back, the blade slick and gleaming with blood. The rest of the troops that watched the fight began to retreat, not even caring about the wounded they left behind... The Slayer merely grunted in annoyance, before taking out his largest weapon out of his arsenal. The large weapon glowed green and he pulled the trigger with a large malicious grin… A small ball of bright green energy shot out of the barrel and zoomed towards the retreating forces. The Caribou were almost out of the battlefield, retreating to Canterlot to report of the green armored creature that fought like an unstoppable tank; until the last one looked back, and all that he last saw and felt was bright green and unadulterated agony… KABOOM! The energy orb from the BFG 9000 impacted the rear of the large contingent of deer troops and vaporized them at an incredibly fast rate, green bolts of lightning impacting some and turning their bodies into piles of mush and gore. The Slayer watched as the entire army that so foolishly thought they could take him on get annihilated, a feeling of satisfaction welling up in him at the work he created from a millennia of fighting. He put away the BFG into his slipspace and turned around, walking towards the stunned and horrified group of three equine humanoids that consisted of 2 Alicorn Princesses and a Changeling Queen… -------------- “ HOLY SHIT!” Chrysalis exclaimed, her eyes wide and irises pinpricks during the slaughter she and the Princesses witnessed by one Doom Slayer. The two Alicorns weren’t that far behind her, their jaws slightly agape and their eyes bulging widely at the spectacle that unveiled before them. When the superhuman was done, the green armored titan began walking back to the three, his armor covered in the blood of the Caribou, creating an intimidating image; more than Tirek showing up to take their magic… Celestia felt her mouth dry up at the dim glowing red eyes staring at her from behind the thick visor, and her instincts were telling her to run away as fast and far as she can. The Doom Slayer reached them and stood over the three, looking down at them with his fists clenched, and his shoulders hunched slightly… It was horrifying… It was tense, and the three didn’t know what to say for a few moments. Until Luna spoke up, her voice weak and trembling, “ Th-Thank You…” She said, her cyan eyes going dim as she spoke, her blood trickled down her body. Seeing this, Celestia began to panic, moving to shake her sister by the shoulders. “ No no no no, Luna stay with me… LUNA!” She said, tears began to well up in her eyes at the sight of her little sister slowly dying before her. Luna smiled up at her weakly, her body going limp as time went on… “ I... Never did… say that I… loved you… sooner…” She whispered, her words echoing across the field. Chrysalis and Celestia watched as Luna’s head tilted and her eyes slid shut, her body full lax and leaned back against the stone boulder. It was deathly silent for a few moments before Celestia shouted, her body trembling and mane billowing in a unforseen wind. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!” Her voice shrieked, then slightly deepened as her magenta eyes turned to gold slits. The Doom Slayer watched, his red eyes dimming with sadness at the Alicorn mare that he briefly saw fighting until the very end... > Chapter Three: Reconcile > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three: Reconcile It was pitch black darkness all around her, the feeling of weightlessness made her mind groggy. Her cyan eyes glowed slightly in the darkness of the void, a sense of panic filled her being in a place that could constitute as death... Where… Where am I? Luna thought, her hands moving in front of her face to make sure she was whole and not a spectre. Is this… Is this what it feels like? She questioned to herself, her brow furrowed in confusion, a slight frown on her features as she looked around. Luna couldn’t see anything at all, couldn’t FEEL anything, not even her magic was responding to her commands… Then suddenly, the darkness pulsated like a thick cloud of smoke, closing in around her, suffocating her as if she was in a small burning building that she was trapped in. Her hands shot to her throat, trying desperately to get oxygen in her lungs, before the feeling of inevitable ‘death’ faded, causing her to drop her arms, sucking in air as if it was the end of the world. “ I see that you have decided to join me…” Said a male’s voice, causing the Alicorn to tense. Her head shot up, eyes darting around the void of black to see the source of the voice. But she couldn’t find any… “ You have joined the realm of Death itself.” He said, now speaking as if he was to her left. “ Who- Who art you? SHOW YOURSELF!” She shouted, the feeling of dread shuddering down her spine and forming a pit in her gut, increasing with every passing second. “ As you can tell… You died… So, introductions are in order, I might as well…” The male said, his voice speaking as if he was directly in front of her. " ...Show you who I am.” There was a cloud of darkness, darker than the ones that surrounded Luna, coiling into a tall pillar with small red lightning bolts sparking inside the dark condensed water vapor. The clouds suddenly spread apart, revealing a hairless ape that was wearing a full black shirt and slacks combo, a blood red tie shining clearly in the void as if it were a beacon… His face was hairless except for the brown mane on the top of his head, lopped back and slightly longer than below his ears. His eyes glowing with a white light in the empty sockets, a crooked grin on his lips as he stared at her. The space around him shivered and pulsed, as if it was familiar to him, a low thrum and whispering piercing the silence… “ Time is short, Princess Luna; the world needs your aid…So does the Doom Slayer… Now… might I suggest that you WAKE UP!” He said, shouting with a voice that overlapped with deeper demonic tones, lunging at her. Luna jolted, her eyes springing open and gasping for much needed air for her starving lungs... She quickly got into a sitting position and felt a small spike of pain lance in her side, causing her to look at what may have been a fatal wound. But it was disappearing, the flesh and skin sewing back together to reveal bare blue fur that grew back at a quick rate… What… How? The Lunar Alicorn thought to herself, her left hand tracing her stomach; over the area that the wound originally was. There was only one question on her mind as she got to her feet; The white sheet that covered her falling to the ground and revealing her nude body. Who was that creature? Why did he look so weird? How… How am I alive? Did I fall unconscious? She thought, her body on autopilot as she wordlessly summoned her armor onto herself from the other side of the room. She could’ve sworn she heard a dark chuckle echo throughout her mind; barely there, barely detectable… ---------------- It was deathly quiet throughout the hallways of the castle, causing Luna to feel concerned at what might’ve happened after she passed out… Then the silence was suddenly interrupted by the far wall being destroyed, and a green armored creature that Luna familiarised herself with as The Slayer; his body flew past her as if he was being kicked hard. He landed on the ground hard, creating a small trail of rubble on the floor as he slowed to a stop… Luna tensed at hearing her sister’s voice bellowing through the large hole. It seemed to have a double tone that was reminiscent of Chrysalis, filled with rage and grief. It made her feel a shiver run down her spine... “ YOU KILLED HER!” Celestia said, her glowing and flaming form flying through the hole and past Luna, charging at the Slayer. Luna’s eyes widened at getting a good look at her sister... Her armor seemed to have been warped and barely covered her decently, her usual magenta eyes were now glowing a fiery gold. The armored human barely had enough time to grab the flaming right hook to the face, before Celestia’s left leg kicked out and impacted his armored stomach. “ You should’ve been fast enough! You should’ve tried harder! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!” She screamed, her voice deepening at the end. The flaming Alicorn quickly twisted around on the spot and sent a roundhouse kick to the Slayer’s chest; making him fly down the long hallway further, impacting the wall and he fell hard into the ground. He instantly got back up, his fists clenched; but it was clear he was holding himself back… Luna felt herself shaken with slight fear at the one-sided fight… What happened to cause this? Luna thought to herself in horror, trying to think back to the battle. But it was fuzzy… The Solar Diarch grabbed the Slayer in a telekinetic grasp and threw him back down into the floor, deepening the crater. Celestia slowly moved towards the downed superhuman, a large fireball orbiting in her left hand with a snarl on her features. Her eyes gleamed a brighter gold and her irises were in the shape that seemed to be reminiscent of Nightmare Moon… Luna gasped lightly, finally feeling the shock and horror fill her being at the sight of her older sister. The small sound drew the attention of Celestia, her eyes flaming brighter for a second; before dimming at the sight of the other Alicorn. “ ...Luna…?” She whispered, shock in her double tone voice. The fireball dissipated in her clenched fist, smoke billowing slightly from the closed hand, as she turned towards her. The Lunar Princess gulped at the darker Celestia walked up the hallway toward her… The flaming Alicorn’s eyes traced the mare’s body, her eyes filled with confusion and worry, a small furrow on her brow indicating her mood. How is this possible? She thought to herself. It was silent, the Slayer getting up from his small crater that was created by his own body, staring at the scene with no way to tell what his expression is… Celestia felt something well up in her eyes as she raised a sharp nailed hand; gently placing it on her sister’s cheek, feeling silky soft fur and the warm flesh that made itself known to her. Luna gulped at how warm her sister’s hand was on her cheek; it wasn’t blistering, but still warm enough like feeling a warm fire a few feet away on a cold night. Celestia’s draconic slit irises became less dilated, and she shut her eyelids, taking a couple of breaths… Then she opened them again, her magenta eyes shining with warmth and care, her flaming body dimming into normal and the armor got unwarped and shifted back to normal. “ It IS you.” The Alicorn said, a sense of astonished relief detected in her voice that made Luna feel a sharp pain in her heart, " Your Bond… it is still there.” She continued, her voice wobbling and cracking. It felt like the time Luna returned from the moon, after her thousand year banishment… The two hugged and cuddled for hours on that particular night, never letting go of each other until the next morning. Luna smiled, her lips tugging upwards, “ Hi.” Was all the Lunar Princess had time to say, before her older sister wrapped her arms around her torso in a crushing vice, she would’ve been short of breath if she was a normal pony. Celestia let out a gasp that was a mixture of a sob and a laugh, her cheeks wet with tears that slid down and dripped down to the linoleum floor. Luna returned the hug with vigor, her own tears spilling from her eyes, sniffling. The Doom Slayer felt like he was intruding, and felt uncomfortable at the sappy reunion of the two mares. He turned to leave by going down a conjoining hallway… Before he got brutally stopped by a golden glow surrounding his body. He looked down at the magic that gripped him gently, then caught sight of Celestia’s horn glowing… The human’s head tilted to the side in confusion; before he was answered by the culprit in question. “ I… I need to apologise for my actions against you, Slayer.” Celestia said, sniffling and letting go of Luna, who smiled assuredly at her. The Solar Diarch began walking towards him, her eyes showing a sadness and remorse that made the Slayer even hesitant of trying to force himself to hurt her… If he had the ruthlessness of a Demon. “ My grief, and anger, at the sight of Luna almost ( and possibly had) dying... It got out of control; and I took it out on YOU.” She continued, stopping only a couple feet away from the intimidating behemoth. It was a little bit tense as the Alicorn stared into his visor, before she suddenly bolted forward and wrap her arms around his large frame… “ I’m sorry… I’m SO-SO sorry that I took it out on what may be our newest ally. How can you forgive me?” She said, sniffling as she squeezed the man gently, her eyes closed as she took in the comforting warmth he provided. The Doom Slayer felt uncomfortably shocked that someone would willingly hug him; much less doing so after the carnage he just caused not 30 minutes ago… But then his red eyes looked down at her, softening at the way her head was buried on the crook between his broad armored left shoulder, and his flamethrower/grenadier. He hesitated, a new feeling welling up inside the superhuman as his hands twitched… She looks so peaceful, and yet… sad… Why do I have such a strong urge to comfort her? He thought, before making a decision. I trust them… unlike some OTHERS I thought I could trust. He internally snarled at the image of Samuel Hayden, the head of the UAC Facility on Mars, as well as the cause of Hell's Invasion on Earth. It was one that he practically never had done in the presence of others when he was in his armor... He pulled his hands up to his helmet, twisting it with a small hiss of air... -------------- Celestia jolted as the feeling of comfort got snatched away by the sound of a loud hiss next to her left ear, causing her eyes to snap open. She pulled her head back and saw the Slayer’s hands placed on the side of his metal head, slightly twisted and unlatched from the neck plate. The Solar Princess stared as the armored creature lift up his helmet, and made eye contact with the red irises that slightly glowed in her sunlight. Luna’s eyes widened at the familiar face she saw in the void, but it looked very different; there was no beard, and a smaller crop of mane that was a different color than the other creature’s. The one in the Void had a chocolate brown mane, this one was raven black... Celestia couldn’t look away from those eyes of his, the way they glowed like the color of freshly spilled blood, the way they showed emotion besides hate… The weirdest thing about him was that he looked FAMILIAR to her. “ Who are you?” She whispered, her voice taking on a tone of awe and slight respect. The human didn’t say anything, only staring down at her with those EXPRESSIVE eyes of his… Then he leaned downwards a tiny bit, and hummed a small tune he once heard, as a way of comfort in his home. He kept letting out the deep hum, his voice deep and raspy as if it hadn’t been used for centuries. Celestia slightly shivered at the sound, then realised that she was relaxing at the sound of it… The Slayer kept humming, his arms wrapping around the voloptuous mare, shutting his eyes closed, and his body relaxing… Luna didn’t say anything, not wanting to ruin the moment between them… Although, a small voice in the back of her mind was telling her that the two would look GREAT together… The Lunar Princess shook her head to clear that thought, causing a small insane giggle to ring out from the back of her mind. I must be going insane. She thought to herself. The Celestia hesitantly got off of the armored human after a minute of hearing him him; a small splash of pink rising on her cheeks as she backed away. The creature, no, DoomSlayer, gave a gentle half-smile at her, before putting the helmet back on with a small hiss coming from the suit as he twisted it into place. “ Thank you…” The Solar Diarch said, her hands wringing together, feeling slightly embarrassed at the situation she unexpectedly found herself in. To be honest, he looked cute without a helmet...WAITWHAT?! She thought, her eyes turning wide at the last part, her cheeks turning a tomato red. Luna, on the other hand, grinned widely at the sight... Hmmm… She thought to herself, then blushed at the feeling and sound of her stomach growling loudly. It caught the attention of the DoomSlayer and Celestia, who turned towards the sheepish Alicorn. “Hehe…” Luna smiled slightly sheepish, " I admire the fact that you two are getting comfortable.” She said, smirking at her sister’s light blush, although the creature, HUMAN, cocked his head to the side, a confused furrow on his brows. She continued after filing that away. “I don’t suppose that we could eat a meal after this reunion is over?” Celestia snapped out of her slight embarrassment and snickered, before fully bellowing into a full laugh, the beautiful Melody echoing throughout the castle. The guards mares and citizens that were ordered by Celestia to evacuate the castle for a short time, felt relieved at the sound, knowing their ruler and fellow pony was alright… -------------- The strange group of three were sitting in a small room, Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis lounging on the couch; while the Slayer stayed standing, leaning against the wall facing them. The two Alicorns and Changeling Queen were leaning over the coffee table, a map of Equestria spread out on the varnished and dusty wood, whispering to each other in low tones as they pointed to various locations. The Slayer remained silent; like a guardian; relaxed yet ready to fight in an instant… That is until a small beeping noise came from his helmet… The radio crackled on the superhuman’s speakers, getting the other occupants’ in the room their attention. Then the static cleared up and a woman’s voice came through. “ Mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor 5-3-Sierra-117.” She said, her voice undertone with static, but clear enough to hear. Celestia’s ears perked and her head tilted in confusion as the Slayer reached to the side of his helmet to press a small button. “ He-Hello? Can you hear me? I heard the comlink ping! But… how did you get on this channel?... It doesn’t matter, if anyone can hear me, please respond!” Said the woman, her voice in clear relief, but still having a slight hysterical panic mixed within it now. The Slayer reached to another part of his helmet and pulled out a small microphone, an inch small with a small fuzzy cover on it; before he silently handed it to Celestia. The Solar Alicorn blinked at it for a second, before looking at the green armored human in question… He only tilted his head toward it, and gestured the motion for ‘talk’ with his gloved hand. Celestia took a light breath, nodding in return, and spoke with a clear voice. “ Forward Unto Dawn, this is Princess Celestia Solaris of Equestria. May I enquire as to whom I’m speaking with?” She asked, her voice changing to that of authority. The comm crackled for a couple of seconds, before the woman replied. “ Equestria? Never heard of that before. It… doesn’t seem to be in the logs... “ She said, as if muttering to herself at a fast rate. Then she continued in a clear voice. “ UNSC A.I: Cortana reporting. Me and a friend of mine are stranded, the engines went critical and the craft we’re trapped in is falling into an uncontrolled descent. Requesting immediate assistance, over.” Cortana said, the voice going slightly fast at the end. Celestia tilted her head again, then replied, feeling a certain sense of curiosity welling up in her. “ Cortana, can you give us your precise coordinates?” She said, her magenta eyes slightly narrowing. Cortana responded with a few strings of numbers that made Luna’s and Chrysalis’s head hurt, causing them to rub their temples. Celestia took a moment to digest the information in her mind, before saying in a calm tone, like that of a caring mother mixed with the Princess that all Ponies knew. “ Don’t worry Cortana, we’ll get you out of there in no time.” She said. The comm crackled for a few moments in silence, before Cortana responded. “ Thank you, Princess.” She said, her tone full of relief, before the commlink went dead silent. The Princess silently handed the small device back to the Slayer, and turned towards the laid out map. Chrysalis and Luna shot a look at each other as Celestia traced the map with both her pointer fingers, muttering to herself the same string of numbers that the ‘ A.I’ provided… “ If I’m not mistaken… Then the craft Cortana and her friend are trapped on will land…” She said, trailing off at the end, her eyes narrowing; before they widened in shock. Luna spoke, breaking the tense silence. “ Sister, where are they gonna land?” She asked, her brows scrunched in confusion. Celestia looked up at the Doom Slayer for a few moments, then sighed. “ They’ll crashing near Ponyville. Right outside of Caribou central.” She said, her tone grim and her eyes dead-like. ------------------ High above the world of Equis, a large metal structure that had the shape of a slight rectangle; but was torn in the front of it; fell into the atmosphere in a great big ball of fire; it’s landing zone just a few hundred meters from the newest kingdom of the Caribou... ----------------- > Chapter Four: The Demon & Hellwalker > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Four: The Demon & Hellwalker The day began with the Slayer cleaning his Super Shotgun down in a dark corner of what used to be the castle dungeons. The heavy wooden work table he was using was given to him for his projects courtesy by Celestia; for which he was immensely grateful for… The human was using his extensive knowledge of how to make specific types of ammunition for his weapons; except for Bio Force Gun cells, which was made out of Argent Energy. One day, he’ll find that knowledge on how to make it; so that he could have enough ammo to wipe out Hell if he went back… The Slayer paused in his cleaning, his red eyes dimming slightly as he stared off into the distance. ‘If’? What happened to ‘When’? He thought to himself, his eyes narrowing at the image of him leaving the world that desperately needed him. But what about afterwards? Would he be able to settle down his bloodlust? Would he be able to live normally among a race of purely peaceful people that took him in with no hesitation? Would he be able to find love?... The superhuman gritted his teeth at the idea, feeling a sense of confusion welling up in his chest. Maybe, he just needs to have some patience to find someone interested in him… And a way to show that he wasn’t gonna snap that person’s neck whenever confronted in an argument… He was doing good so far, so that means there’s hope. But first things first… He stored his newly created ammo for his normal weapons into his secondary slipspace, separating the weapons and ammo to keep them from mixing together. The Slayer stood up from his small metal chair that was provided for him by Celestia, for which he was really grateful of that; and slipped on his helmet. He walked through the decrepit halls of the Royal Castle and made it outside to where the two Royal Sisters were waiting for him… The Alicorns were discussing with the Changeling Queen on ways to contact her Hive, and maybe other surviving Hives hidden throughout the country, when said Queen caught sight of his green armor. “ Ah, Slayer, good morning! I don’t suppose you have any last second errands before we head out?” Chrysalis greeted, a smile on her lips as her green eyes spotted his 6ft form approaching. Even though there was an invasion going on around them with no hope for aid from other nations; it doesn’t hurt to smile at the possible outcome of winning… And with the Slayer from legends along their side; it made morale all the more high… Thinking for a moment, The Slayer only shook his head; causing Celestia to smile, as well as Luna and Chrysalis. “Good. That means we can get to the crash site of that craft.” Celestia said, her smile full of warmth, but had an undertone of tiredness to it that the superhuman caught. Did she stay up all night researching? He thought, a weird feeling twinging in his chest at the thought of the Solar Diarch not taking care of herself. The Alicorn either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything; But she reached out and grabbed Luna’s hand, her horn glowing a golden color with the presence of her magic. Luna and Chrysalis did the same, their horns glowing a bright blue and green respectively... The Slayer watched, slightly confused on what the group of three were doing, before he was snapped out of his musings by the feeling of someone taking both of his armored hands. He saw that Celestia and Chrysalis grabbed one hand for themselves, the Alicorn’s cheeks going slightly pink at the close contact. He didn’t notice the blushing, nor the smirk coming from Luna and Chrysalis’s lips; because the combined lights of the Alicorns’ and Changeling Queen’s magic shot in the middle of their group, creating a small explosion of light. Then the group vanished, along with the Slayer, reappearing in the same light as they arrived in a new location. The Slayer shook his head to clear the slight fuzziness that seemed to overcome his mind, and noticed Chrysalis doing the same with a pained expression. “ Holy mother...” Said Luna, staring wide eyed in shock at something behind the DoomSlayer, causing the human to tense. He whipped out his Combat Shotgun from slipspace and he whirled around, aiming his weapon at where the three were looking at… But he soon lowered it, because there was a large metal structure that looked damaged severely from a fight. The Slayer began walking towards the obvious ship, his gun at the ready; finger on the trigger in case he had to fire quickly. The ground around the ship was all darkish, as if the dirt had been burned, all the summer flowers dying immediately because there wasn’t any nutrients in the soil anymore. The group reached a small door that looked like it was on its last legs… The superhuman lowered the Shotgun and punched the center of the door, causing it to go flying into the darkness, clanging loudly as it did so. Celesta, Luna, and Chrysalis winced with every loud sound the broken door made, their bodies tense in case anything heard the commotion. But nothing came... Aware of the fact, The Slayer stepped to the side, and with a one arm gesture to the open door, a slightly bowed posture that reminded of the Alicorns of a butler. Celestia smiled, a small hint of pink on her cheeks as she made her way past the intimidating armored human, “ Thank you, my dear gentlecolt.” She said, as the darkness swallowed her into the bowels of the ship. Luna and Chrysalis did the same, following the golden light of Celestia’s magic that indicated where she was in the dark corridors… The Slayer stood there in the same gesture for a few seconds, then began to gently shake his head with amusement. These mares are gonna be the death of me, one day. He thought in bafflement as he regripped his Combat Shotgun and followed the group in last, his eyes and ears out in case of any enemies. What the group didn’t know or see; was a large patrol of Caribou sent by the King himself, to investigate and pilfer the salvage… -------------- The Doom Slayer and his companions slowly and cautiously walked down the dark and imposing corridors, eyes and ears sharp out in case of any enemies that may try to surprise them… But mostly, it was quiet except for their footsteps, being overlapped by the Slayer’s heavily armored boots clanking on the metal floor. They came to a long room with weird pods embedded on the walls, mostly empty, with a small raised pulpit that had a glowing orb floating above it. “ Do you think that whoever sent the message is hiding?” Asked Chrysalis, a small ball of green flame floating above her palm, in case of any attack. Celestia shook her head, a small frown set on her lips as she walked to the raised platform. “ I don’t think Cortana DID leave.” She replied, a glint in her eye that suggested that she knew exactly where the ‘A.I’ was, eyeing the raised platform with the glowing orb orbiting above it. As the group of three conversed with each other on what their plan of action is gonna be, the human in the room kept his gaze sweeping through the chamber. The Slayer walked towards one of the walls, keeping an ear open in case, his red eyes on the strange pods that lined the walls with a look of curiosity… “ Chief?” Whispered a female’s voice, echoing throughout the long chamber. The Slayer whirled around, his Shotgun aimed at whoever spoke… Then he lowered it in slight confusion, his visor glinting in the floating orb’s light that was bobbing a few feet away from him. “ How? How are you awake?” The orb asked, flashing with every word, “ I didn’t hit the command to wake you up yet... Did it malfunction?” It said with the same voice as Cortana had on the radio. The rest of the group caught onto the fact that the orb was floating in front of their friend. “ I don’t suppose you can explain who this ‘ Chief’ is, can you?” Said Celestia, her magenta eyes glowing slightly in the dark. The orb was silent, before flying away to another pod, this time making it look like it was leaning towards it. “ I can see you in here, Chief. You’re not awake yet, until I need you to…” It, SHE, said as the blue glow dimmed slightly. The Slayer moved till he was right next to the orb, looking in the pod she seemed interested in… Inside was a 7ft armored human with the same kind of color and slightly different design as his, causing the superhuman to blink in surprise. The gold visor glinted at him, as if whoever was behind the glass was staring directly at him… The Slayer shook his head, then turned to the floating orb as it flew towards the podium. “Hm… Scanners detect that there are multiple contacts trying to gain entrance into the ship. Friends of yours, I’m assuming?” Cortana said, the orb blinking out and being replaced by a blue holographic woman with black hair. Then the room shook at the sound of a loud bang, causing the wrecked craft to creak and groan. Celestia almost fell to the metal floor, but was caught by The Slayer; whose reflexes were more than fast enough. Her cheeks glowed pink, and felt a fluttering in her gut at how close he was… Then she snapped out of her daze from another rocking of the room, gently pulling away from the superhuman’s arms. " Cortana?” Chrysalis said, getting the A.I’s attention, " Who is trying to gain entrance?” She had a bad feeling in her gut that she wasn’t gonna like the answer… The blue hologram blinked in and out for a few moments, before replying. " Caribou, miss Chrysalis. Why?” She inquired, her head tilted to the side slightly as her eyes gained a curious look to them. Luna’s face darkened with hate, a snarl on her lips as she said. " The Caribou are our sworn enemy! We should get out there and attack!” She exclaimed, her cyan eyes glowing turquoise. Chrysalis placed a hand on the Alicorn’s shoulder, getting the mare’s attention. When Luna made eye contact with her, the Changeling Queen spoke in a gentle tone, " How do you plan on doing that? They may outnumber us 10 to 1!” She said, her green eyes showing worry for the Ponies that took her in, even if they didn’t have to. Luna’s teeth; which were sharpening into fangs; began to grit against one another as she thought it over. She remembered the pain they caused her and her sister not two days ago; and when the King took the Elements Of Harmony & sealed Discord to places unknown… Luna could feel that part of her that she suppressed start to stir, her eyes began to get slitted into draconic pupils. Cortana watched as well as Celestia, intrigued but didn’t want to get involved… The Slayer on the other hand; had no qualms… He walked to Luna’s side and gently placed a hand on her other shoulder, squeezing very gently as to not break her arm. Luna’s slitted eyes swivelled over to him, and the armored human nodded his head assuringly. The Lunar Princess relaxed after a few tense moments, her pupils becoming more round then oval, and her molars replaced the canines. " I’m sorry. Ever since the beginning of the war…” She trailed off. Chrysalis smiled gently at the mare, causing her to blush. Such a beautiful smile. She thought to herself, then shook it away; her body tingling in an emotion she couldn’t describe. The Changeling Queen paused for a second, sensing that emotion; before her smile became wider, more warming than before. She’d deal with this when the time came... " It’s ok, Luna; but now…” Chrysalis began saying, but was interrupted by the ship shaking a lot more, this time by a bigger explosion. The Alicorns, Changeling Queen, and superhuman looked around at the shaking room, the lights dimming in and out for a few moments, plundering them in a mixture of darkness and light. " I don’t mean to interrupt, but we got about 200 of these Caribou knocking on our door!” Cortana said; her eyes flitting about to the air in front of her, as if seeing an image only that she was allowed to decipher. The Slayer looked at the A.I, before turning his head to the frozen form of ‘Chief’, then he cracked his knuckles… Round 2... -------------- The large force of Caribou Troops were firing explosive crossbolts and firebombs at the large metal structure, roaring in approval at the destruction their weapons caused the metal. Then it was all interrupted by a loud bang, causing the troops to pause… They turned to the source of the noise, and saw a reddish tear hovering above the ground, a malicious energy being exhumed from the edges as it widened. The Caribou nearest to the tear began to walk towards it, their crossbows and swords at the ready in case it was a Pony attack… Then a reddish wave blasted throughout the group, causing them to spasm and scream in agony as the energy got absorbed into them. Their fur and flesh began to slightly rot as if they were decomposing for a couple of days, their eyes turning a milky white, the deformities causing them to become a terrifying image. One screeched an unholy scream and they all turned around to the others, who were standing horrified at what that unknown energy did to their brothers. The bigger one that was closest to the tear pointed at the remaining army, and spoke, “ CONSUME THEM ALL!” He said, a sadistic smile spitting his face in half into a slasher grin. The group of ten undead began to stumble and stagger towards the group, not giving the remaining troops enough time to react. It would’ve been pointless anyways... The big one possessed by the Voice Of Hell, watched in contentment and satisfaction as the horde of Possessed became bigger and bigger by the second. It was amused by the antics of these ‘Caribou’, them panicking and running around like a herd of Pinkys on a charging spree. Then it stiffened as the wind changed towards it’s host, carrying a familiar scent… The Voice inhaled deeply, the reddish-green eyes closing for a moment; until they snapped open, wide with horror… “ HE IS HERE.” It said, turning towards the Hell portal and disappearing through it. It was just in time too… BANG! The sound echoed throughout the site of undead, getting their attention; eerily silent as they located the source. The door to the ship was dented outwards slightly... BANG! Another dent, this time a larger one, appeared on the top left; causing it to open a tiny bit, showing a light. The Imps that ran through the Portal paused in their slaughter of the remaining Caribou army, their yellow eyes narrowing. BANG! BANG! BANG! With every bang, the door began to crumble outwards and begin to fall apart on the frame, bending and twisting as the force of whatever’s on the other side fought their way out. Then the noise ceased, causing the Undead and lower caste Imps to growl in preparation… What they were not prepared for; was the door to go flying off its ’hinges’ impacting a few unlucky Undead as it bounced along the dirt, killing as it did. The Imps narrowed their eyes, adjusting to the bright light inside… Then they all froze in horror… Standing in the light, the clear visor covering his scarred face and red eyes that glowed brightly at the sight of his familiar foes; was the Doom Slayer. “ Slayer.” One Imp muttered in fear, and shock. They all heard the stories about how the one man army slaughtered the Titan; who was one of Hell’s Champions/ Guardians, and the corresponding thousand strong army, with one fell swoop. He was written in the legends as the Hellwalker, the Demon Killer, the Purifier of Worlds. And he was standing right in front of them in his imposing green armor forged by an exiled one… The myths and legends don’t do justice… and they feared… That it was their end… --------------- The ground around the ship shook as the Slayer got to work; while Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis, and Cortana watched from the safety of the Cryo Chamber; per Slayer’s request. He didn’t want the mares to watch what he did to immortal enemies that he knew HOW to kill… After laying waste to all of the Possessed Caribou and Imps; he was flying backwards from a solid punch to the chest. He landed on his feet, creating a trail of dirt and blood as he slowed to a halt; looking up at whatever punched him… He saw a Marauder step out of the freshly new Argent Portal, his BattleAxe activated and tightly held in his hand. “ Usurper…” The demon said, before charging at the superhuman, his speed matching that of the Hellwalker’s. The 8ft demon swung his BattleAxe and the Slayer dashed to the right, avoiding the blade narrowly. The green armored human rolled into a crouch, his muscles tense as the two adversaries began to circle each other. The Marauder snarled and charged at him again, his axe swinging over head to slice the annoying human to gibs… The Slayer ducked and knocked the BattleAxe from his foe’s hand, sending it flying away a few feet. He deployed his arm blade and plunged it into the demon’s thigh, causing a small bellow of pain and anger from his foe; then the human got slapped away and was sent flying. As The Slayer landed on his back, the Marauder growled and stomped towards the fallen human; summoning his Axe from where it lay. It flew into his hand and reactivated, the blade crackling with energy. He knew that the terrifying legend of Hell was weak after all that time in his sarcophagus; and he will NOT spoil his only chance to end that legend once and forever… The Demon raised his axe overhead, the Argent Blade blazing with his life force, ready to plunge down… Then he got interrupted… “ I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Said a deadpan, no nonsense voice behind him. The Marauder; frustrated at his blown chance to kill his enemy; quickly whirled around, swinging his weapon whilst doing so… Then the Argent Blade got stopped by an armored hand. A green armored hand similar to The Slayer’s… The Marauder looked at the being in front of him, who was wearing armor similar to the human behind him, yet different in height and design; but it retained the same aura of intimidation and sheer power. The gold visor hid the eyes from view, showing a reflection of the Demon’s shocked face staring back at him… Then the newly arrived opponent clenched his right hand, the one not holding back the axe, and punched the demon square in the chest, causing the Marauder to go flying over the Slayer. The Argent Axe went sailing in the same direction, deactivating and the handle landing next to the groaning demon… The Slayer slowly felt his strength return to him, and he looked up at the savior standing over him, staring down at him as if taking in his form. The 7ft armored human lowered a hand to the superhuman, and the Slayer took it with no hesitation; lifting himself up with the new ally’s assistance. “ Introductions might be in order, but I believe we should take care of our ‘friend’ here.” Master Chief said, pointing a thumb at the growling and rising form of the Marauder. The Slayer felt his eyebrows scrunch in slight confusion, before the familiar feeling of determination welling up inside him. He nodded his head, smirking behind the visor… The Marauder grabbed his Argent Axe and glared at the two humans standing ten feet away, a snarl in his eyes. “ You and your allies interfere our great work for the last time!” He bellowed out, getting the two armored humans’ attention. With an enraged roar, he activated his Axe and charged at top speed… The Slayer moved his head side to side, cracking his neck, and the Master Chief tensed his body. The two humans looked at each other for a moment, seemingly communicating silently; before nodding… Then the two charged, meeting the Marauder in the middle of the battlefield… As the demon swung his Axe, The Slayer slid onto his knees and bent back, narrowly avoiding the blade by a few inches from his head. The Master Chief jumped above the blade and kicked the Marauder in the face, making it stumble in slight pain. The Slayer kicked the demon in the right kneecap, causing a loud SNAP! The Marauder fell to a kneeling position with an animalistic roar of pain, swinging his Axe at both of them. The blade missed both of the armored humans by a few inches, and The Slayer grabbed the handle as it passed, and wrenched it out of the demon’s grip. The force of the pull snapped the shoulder blade out of its socket, causing the demon to roar again… The Master Chief sprinted up to the Marauder and landed a right hook to it’s face, then a left hook to it’s jaw, causing it to snap loudly. The Spartan then quickly jumped out of the demon’s range as it tried to grab him with it’s only working hand. The Slayer sped up from a few feet and jumped high into the air, landing on top of the monster’s chest hard, breaking a few ribs in the process; causing it to lay on its back. The Hellwalker punched left, then right, then left again to the Marauder’s face; the force behind the punches causing the demon’s face to become bloodied and caving in… The Chief stood back and watched the Slayer’s work as he stomped on the Marauder’s left arm, the bone piercing out of the skin with blood leaking through the wound and spilled onto the ground. “ Interesting.” Cortana said through his internal helmet speakers, “ This guy must be the equivalent of a Spartan; yet… he seems to be fueled by rage, rather than augments.” The A.I. Said, a tone of shock in her voice. John didn’t say anything, only nodding his head in agreement. The Slayer stomped his left boot on the broken shoulder blade, and unsheathed his arm blade, raising it high over his head. Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis sprinted out of the destroyed doorway, but stopped at the sight of the gory battlefield of what used to be a legion of Caribou scattered throughout the entire crash site. That’s when Celestia’s eyes caught the form of the Slayer and the newly awakened Master Chief battling a horned demon with a red axe made of energy. She could see the Slayer raise his left arm, the blade gleaming in the sunlight as it was ready to end the monster’s life… Celestia contemplated quickly on whether or not she should stop the humans from killing the demon so that she could interrogate it for information… But then her eyes hardened and she walked towards them… The Slayer, whose arm tensed up for the killing blow, saw her come up in his peripheral vision; and looked at her, his eyes scrunching in confusion behind his visor. The Solar Diarch kept her face neutral, but the way her voluptuous body was tensing; he could tell that she was angry for some reason. But they all noticed that Celestia wasn’t angry at the superhuman… Instead, She was glaring at the Marauder. Her magenta eyes turned to a gold serpentine, and the way smoke seeped from her eye sockets, caused the demon to shudder… “ I see that you seem to think that you can just come to our world and harm any creature.” She said, leaning over the heaving form of the Marauder, staring into it’s eyes. She smiled, a few sharp fangs poking through her molars shining in the daylight. The Slayer got off the demon, standing back next to Master Chief; who was silent as he watched the spectacle before him… As soon as the green armored Hellwalker got off it’s chest; Celestia’s hand shot down and grabbed the demon by it’s neck; tightening with every second. The Marauder wheezed as it tried to weakly pry off the sharpening claws that were growing out of her nails, piercing his tough skin… Celestia kept smiling, even though her mane was wildly billowing with a flame esque behavior; indicating that she was ENRAGED. The Alicorn effortlessly lifted the behemoth from the ground and came face to face with the Marauder, glaring harshly. After staring for a few seconds at the choking demon, she said in a soft tone, her voice echoing slightly, “ I don’t tolerate such criminal behavior.” A glow came from her hand that was holding the Marauder up by the neck, black smoke encompassing the demon as her magic increased in strength. Her draconic eyes flashed as she bared her fangs at the demon desperately trying to get out of her chokehold; but she tightened it even more... “ The only punishment you shall receive…” She said in the same tone. Flames hungrily spread from her hand and wrapped all around the shrieking demon’s body, it’s skin and armor charring and melting in the heat of a thousand suns surrounding it. The Marauder was dead in a matter of seconds, leaving nothing but a large skeleton in Celestia’s grasp… “...Is death.” She finished, her draconic eyes flashing, then returning back to their normal pupil - like shape and magenta color. She dropped the skeleton of what used to be the Marauder; it’s bones clanking and clacking as it fell into a pile. Celestia took a couple of deep breaths, trying to quench the hungering flame that was calling out for destruction, before turning to her companions… She blinked at the slack jawed expressions from her younger sister and Chrysalis; their eyes bugged out with shock. The Master Chief and The Doom Slayer; even though she couldn’t see their faces, was certain that they were staring at her in respect. The Solar Diarch’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion at the reactions she was getting. “ What?” She asked. The Slayer didn’t say anything; but he walked up to her until he was a few feet away; and kneeled with his helmeted head bowed. The Alicorn frowned for a moment, tilting her head at the sight of a powerful being known as the Slayer kneeling in front of her for no reason. Then it clicked… Her eyes widened as the superhuman looked up at her; as if he was one of her subjects… “ No no no! You don’t need to do that!” She blurted out, feeling her cheeks going red, as she kneeled down to the human’s level; ignoring the blood covering her armored legs. She grabbed the Slayer’s helmet and tilted it up till she could barely see the red eyes behind the polarised visor. “ There’s no need to bow to one who wants to treat everypony like an equal, no matter who is more powerful.” She said, smiling softly. The Slayer remained silent; yet does he EVER speak?… But he slowly nodded his head, agreeing with her logical argument. She’s powerful, also possesses wisdom that seems reminiscent of the Elders. Not to mention how graceful and beautiful she looks-. The Slayer then frowned in surprise, blinking at the last train of thought that ran through his head. He got to his feet and held out a hand for her to take. Celestia felt a flutter in her chest at the sight of his green armor gleaming; the blood of the Caribou that she witnessed him rip apart provide a glowing spatter of red. She took the armored hand and got to her feet, wiping off the drying blood off her armor, before turning to the new ally. “ I don’t suppose you could give me your name? You proved yourself to us by saving Slayer here, after all.” She asked, half-joking at the end. John started to reply, his external helmet speakers blipped with static for a second; before Cortana’s voice answered for him, “ I believe we should probably get somewhere safe before introductions.” She said. Luna and Chrysalis walked to where Celestia and The Slayer was, keeping their eyes peeled for any unwanted guests or other ‘ demons’... They were unnerved at the amount of carnage these new creatures inflicted upon their enemy; worrying that these same creatures would do the same to ponykind... “ Agreed. We need to get back to base, then we can discuss tactics and plans.” She said, scratching her chin in contemplation. Her mind was whirling with plans for future assaults on Caribou settlements; now that they’ve got two powerful allies on their side. That is… if they want to... The Slayer walked up to the Master Chief, before stopping and holding out his left hand… The SPARTAN looked down at the armored hand for a few moments, before doing the same and grabbing the forearm gauntlet, being careful of the arm blade gadget; in a brotherly gesture. “ Welcome to the Rebellion.” Luna said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of getting a new ally, like Celestia. It was nearly time... > Chapter Five: Alliance & New Arrivals > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Five: Alliance After the group teleported back to the Everfree Castle and introduced each other, Celestia took Master Chief and the Slayer to the old throne room; allowing Luna and Chrysalis to get cleaned up of the blood on their armor. The Guard mares wordlessly opened the large old wooden doors, the hinges slightly squeaking as they let their guests in. " We were planning to assault Dainn’s stronghold in Ponyville, but the creatures that are called Demons started appearing in points across the country…” She said, trailing off at the thought of countless ponies getting slaughtered; even worse than the Caribou in terms of brutality. " We can handle both threats, ma’am.” Said the Chief, his visor glinting. The Slayer clenched his fists, his blood pumping with the thought of getting rid of Demons AND Caribou at the same time… They all don’t deserve to live after what they did! He thought. Celestia noticed the reaction and began to feel like she should talk with him later about his history. … And his unquenchable bloodlust... She was curious to know more about him, to get to see the man under the mask… The Spartan walked to the side of the chambers, inspecting the thousand year old tapestries with curiosity. The images depicting of long ago battles being fought and won by two familiar equines… " According to the decayment of the fabric and paint, these images must be thousands of years old. But, how are Princess Celestia and Luna still here?” Cortana asked inside his helmet. That’s when his attention caught into an image that made him feel dread, but at the same time; familiarity... " Princess Celestia.” He said, getting her attention, her eyes slightly glazed over. " Yes, Master Chief?” She said, snapping out of her daze. The Spartan stared at the next tapestry for a moment longer; before turning to the Alicorn in slight confusion. " How long ago was this battle?” He asked, tilting his head towards the painting in question. The Alicorn’s magenta eyes landed on the image, and became dim with fogginess… She walked to where the Chief was, her hands slightly shaking. The Slayer followed close behind, curious himself on the matter… It was a town in ruin, smoke billowing out of the destroyed buildings; a large group of avian-like people carrying armor and weapons charging through the town, blood coating them and the armor they wore. The Princess stared at the faded tapestry with a solemn air, before answering. " This battle was over two thousand years ago. Luna and I got a message from the southern border of Equestria, where there was a crowd of Griffins being reported crossing the border.” The Slayer and John didn’t say anything, feeling as if this was a personal matter for her… " The town that was settled there had a guard station, it’s troops consisting of a hundred and thirty strong.” Celestia snorted, shaking her head at the arrogance she had back then. " How foolish it was to not build more…” She continued. Then she smiled; her magenta eyes turning misty, clouded with memories of times long since past. " We were summoned to try and be diplomatic to the Griffins, our FIRST diplomatic mission! A chance to let newcomers into our lands with open arms.” She exclaimed, her eyes brightening to that of a child at the last part. Then they grew dim again at what she said next, the smile fading into nothing… " Little did we know, we were walking into a massacre.” She waved her left hand through the air and a yellow glow was an indication of using her magic. In a couple of flashes, a couple of metal chairs appeared in front of the DoomSlayer and The Master Chief. After another wave of her hand, telling them to take a seat, they did so… The Chief did it out of curiosity and gentle persuasion from Cortana, eyeing the throne-like seat as if it would jump up and bite him. The Slayer trusted her though; and without hesitation planted himself in the comfortable throne, his gauntleted hands on the raised arms. Celestia looked him over, a pink hue on her cheeks as she noticed how relaxed he looked in the chair. Maybe he’ll be more relaxed without his armor… She thought to herself, a tingling running down her body at the sight of the intimidating figure. Then she shook off whatever was going on throughout her body, curious as to what that emotion was. She continued her story, the air of sadness returning quickly to the room… " Once we arrived, the town was in ruin. Smoke billowing out of destroyed houses and businesses, the school that was recently built there was in shambles.” She swallowed at the memory of the town. She took a couple of breaths, trying to keep herself calm; immediately succeeding… " When we got to the Town Square…” Celestia trailed off, her breaths shuddering and hitching. The Slayer concernedly noticed the shaking of her hands again, and made to get up and comfort her; despite not knowing how to do so. But Celestia stopped him from rising with a stare, her eyes telling him ' let me finish... Please.’ With a small but noticeable reluctance, he did so… The Alicorn relaxed, a shaky smile on her face as she felt her body calming down. But it faded again... " In the Square was… bodies… so many Mares, Stallions, Colts and Fillies strewn about as if they were… discarded toys.” She finished with a cracking voice. The Master Chief felt his hands beginning to clench into fists, the feeling of rage coursing through his body caused his body to tense up. Now he knew EXACTLY how the Alicorn felt... This was a woman who has seen war… Seen too much death… He also knew what it felt like to see casualties of war, more than almost any other Spartan. The men and women and children that got slaughtered all for some stupid religion that wasn’t even REAL. Even though it might be for different reasons... It felt like the Human-Covenant war all over again And Celestia reminded the Master Chief of himself! " John…” said his trusty friend, causing his eyes to snap to the image of Cortana on his HUD. She stared at him in concern, a look in her eyes shining with an emotion that he couldn’t identify. His blue eyes traced her holographic face, softening with every second as he felt her comforting presence… Celestia turned back toward the painting; her eyes shedding tears that were held back a millennia ago, the same feeling of horror and helplessness welling up in her. She could remember all too clearly the children’s bodies, all gazing blankly up at her with no innocence… Only horror and pain... The Slayer got up from his chair quickly and silently, walking over to the Alicorn. She felt the human’s warm presence next to her and couldn’t hold herself back anymore… A thousand years of controlling her mask, her emotions from being brought to the surface… Broke. All because of this silent human that was staying by her side as if he was a knight… HER Knight… With no restraint, she turned and wrapped her arms around the armored human, her head placed against his chest. The Slayer felt surprised for a moment, just like before… Then he wrapped an arm around her in return, and gave her a small squeeze to let the Diarch know he will be there for her. Celestia let the tears fall as she continued, the story not yet over… " At the horrible sight… I felt an emotion that happened before… Rage…” She said, her eyes sliding shut as she remembered the feeling. It felt like it was yesterday… " I saw the contingent of Griffins passing through the rest of the town, and let myself go.” The Slayer felt a ball of iron firm in his gut, knowing where this tale was going. It felt like HIS story. There were similarities between them… yet differences as well… He gently rubbed the Alicorn’s back, being mindful of the twitching and ruffled wings. " I ripped them apart with my bare hands, I tore them to shreds… Until it was done…” Celestia said, her voice whispering and shaky. The Slayer froze at the familiar phrase he’s heard throughout his entire quest to obliterate Hell… Rip & Tear… Until it is DONE! He looked down at the shaking form of Celestia and wrapped his other arm around her, a feeling of sympathy in his heart. No one should know all the horrible things he has done, that he WILL do… But yet… There was another so like him, and he felt what was left of his heart ache. This wasn’t the Princess and warrior he got to know in so little time… This was the true Mare he was witnessing; one that has seen the cruelty of war and death. After a few moments of contemplation; the Slayer pulled out of the comforting hug gently, and walked to a bare wall that was near the tapestry. Celestia blinked in confusion, as well as wiping the tears off her face to see what he was doing… After looking at the large wall, he then nodded, grunting with slight satisfaction. Master Chief; after calming himself down with Cortana’s assistance, noticed him take out a weird key-looking device from his hip. The Slayer looked at the skull embedded in the device, before turning towards the two individuals he would EVER trust with his life. " Slayer?” Celestia asked, a look of confusion mixed with the sadness that lingered to her like a pungent odor. The other human didn’t say anything, wondering what the silent human was doing as well… The DoomSlayer held the Crucible away from himself and pressed a small switch on it. SNAPHISS! A large red blade similar to the Argent Axe of the late Marauder sprung up from the Crucible; the sides covered in glowing runes that looked eerie even in the daytime. Celestia’s eyes widened at the sight of the blade, a feeling of awe and shock welling up in her heart. She stared at the blade, lost in the way the runes blazed; and the flow of energy being contained into a single solid shape. It was mesmerizing… The Master Chief internally balked at the size of the blade, wondering how that hid inside the small hilt. The Slayer turned towards the wall, and held the Crucible to the old cobblestone bricks; the blade sizzling with the heat of Hell itself. Then he raised it above his head and slashed at the wall… Instead of the blade going through the stone, the blade’s energy siphoned off and stuck to the wall. The pure Argent Energy grew on the wall until it looked to be a rectangular shape that covered most of it. Then The Slayer raised his left hand, glowing with the same energy but much brighter; slammed his palm against the center of the darkness. Celestia and the Master Chief stood back, feeling slightly concerned at what the Slayer might’ve summoned… But there was nothing, no flashes of light, no unforeseen wind, and no demons appearing out of nowhere. But there was a voice… ” IN THE FIRST AGE… IN THE FIRST BATTLE…” ------------------- *Meanwhile* Luna felt her arms shake with exhaustion as she pushed against the large boulder that was placed a few yards from the perimeter. It was the same boulder where she died for the first time... She experienced the feeling of helplessness when she died and came back to life, and the feeling of horror at the sight of the Caribou turned undead. Never again… not while she still draws breath… With a scream of anger, she dug her heels into the soft Earth, her armor creaking with every movement she made. The ton of stone moved with ease, slightly resistant to be moved; But moved nonetheless… She stopped at the sound of a familiar voice speaking up behind her. " Ya know that if I had a penny to have a view like that, I’d pay for the rest of my eternity.” Luna whirled up and around, her eyes widening at the sight of Chrysalis. “How-?” She muttered to herself, her heart pounding. " Did I find you? Well, my dear…” The Queen interrupted as she sauntered up to The Alicorn. “ It was a... Gut feeling…” She finished as she got closer. Cyan met Emerald in a battle of wits, Luna’s breathing getting slightly shallower and quicker as Chrysalis walked closer to her… Why? Why do I feel like this around her? Is she tricking me? Using her magic to manipulate me? What?! She screamed in her head. Ever since the day she died for the first time, Luna has felt a…Connection of sorts… With the former Changeling Queen that was standing in front of her now… Chrysalis stared at the young Alicorn with an amused concern, wondering what was going on in her pretty little head. Woah, PRETTY? Why did I think she is pretty? She’s a PONY! NOT A-- Chrysalis began to scold herself internally. Luna watched as the Changeling’s ‘smug’ smile faded into a light frown, her green eyes dimming with self anger. What is going on? She thought to herself, feeling the connection to Chrysalis send turbulence on her side. She discovered the bond the night before, after raising the moon for her sister to lower the sun; ending the day. -----------FLASHBACK----------- Luna raised her moon, her hands glowing with a light blue aura as she used her magic to bring the stars out of the darkness that his them. She lowered her arms as she felt a light satisfaction of a beautiful night being shown, despite these trying times… Perhaps one day, she’d get to relax after the war was over, for once; and not be a self-recluse. She snapped out of her thoughts at a sudden urge to turn around and look at her roommate, causing concern to fill her. Her heart NEVER felt like this before... Luna turned towards the entrance of her bedchambers and saw the lying form of Chrysalis, sleeping on the small couch that was stationed there. The Alicorn remembered the insistence of the Changeling Queen not wanting to take her bed for the night while she did her duties… Even though Luna was reluctant to force her to; something told her that the decision would be worth it in the long run. The Night Princess walked to where Chrysalis was sleeping on her side, curled up in a thick blanket provided to her. She was shivering, her body rattling as the body tried to warm up from the cold. Luna watched her for a few moments, wondering what to do... Before she sat gently on the arm of the couch and placed a hand against the Queen’s cheek, making sure not to wake her up. Luna swept the gleaming green mane aside; her eyes turning gentle and blank as she witnesses a soft smile begin to form on the sleeping Queen’s lips, the shivering subsiding. Why do I feel like this? Why you? She thought to herself, tracing the hard shell and skin of Chrysalis’s face absentmindedly. What makes you and I connected? Luna frowned, trying to wrap her head around this phenomenon. She got up from the couch slowly, making sure not to wake Chrysalis up from her movement; and went to her twin bed placed on the other side of the room. Luna sat down on the mattress, not feeling particularly sleepy; but her mind was whirling with questions about what’s recently going on so far. Why do I feel that whenever you’re around, I become drawn towards you? She thought to herself, her eyes narrowed in contemplation. Was it because she brought them their salvation… Or something else ENTIRELY? Luna shook her head from those thoughts, making a mental note on mulling then over tomorrow… She sighed and laid down on the bed again; shutting her eyes. Maybe it’s a bond? Luna suddenly and randomly thought, causing her eyes to snap open and sit up. Her eyes landed on the sleeping firm of the Changeling Queen once again... But why would there be a bond if we’ve never officially met until her usurpation by Thorax? Luna already did her nightly duties in the waking world; now it was time to do so in her Dream World… Whatever reasons for this bond, I hope it becomes worthwhile. Was the Alicorn’s last thought before letting her magic take her. -----------FLASHBACK END----------- She snapped out of her memory to the sight of Chrysalis waving a hand in front of her face. Luna blinked in confusion for a second, before noticing the Queen staring at her in concern. " Are you alright, Luna?” She said, her brows furrowed as her green eyes roved over her body. The Lunar Princess smiled softly, appreciating the concern… " Yes. I’m fine, Chrysalis.” She replied, causing the other Mare to relax. " What was it you’re asking?” The Changeling still stared at her in concern for a moment, before saying, " Would you like to go on a patrol with me? I’m planning on finding out if my Hive survived the ambush.” She said, wringing her hands as she asked. The Alicorn mulled over that proposal, weighing the pros and cons. I can possibly find answers for this ‘Bond’. She thought to herself. Luna smiled and dipped her head into a nod. " It would be my honor, Chrysalis.” She accepted. The two grabbed a couple of guardsmares on their way out to escort them into the deeper parts of the Forest. Just in case of a small Caribou ambush, now that the enemy knew where their location is. Little did anyone, or anypony know… That the days ahead of them were about to get even crazier… -------Meanwhile In a Different Universe---------- The graveyard of ships that surrounded a titanic planet that had a large chunk taken out of it like a apple. Floating amongst the deathly quiet of space; was an armored being named Isaac Clarke. The Marker Killer, the Psychopath, or any name people these days call him by ignorant and idiotic people. They didn’t know what was truly happening out in the vast reaches of space; the terrible and horrifying threat that was hungry. Hungry to consume Humanity... Isaac contemplated his fate as his oxygen supply began to run below the hundred tally mark; causing him to breath even more shallower then he did before. Is this it? He thought to himself, his body weak from all the fighting he did to try and save Humanity from a fate worse than death. Is this how I go out? He continued to think, After all I’ve done? After everything I could to stop the Marker from destroying Humanity? Isaac sighed lightly, his visor going dark as the suit began to run low on power; leaving the human adrift in space with no clear view of what might happen. He remembered Nicole, his long lost wife that committed suicide by slitting her wrists on the Planet Cracker type vessel: The USG Ishimura... He saw the fear in his wife’s eyes as her blood pooled on the ground beneath her feet. After dealing with his grief and losing his mind to the voices for god knows how long while on that death trap; he was just... Tired... Yes, he was tired of killing monsters that were former human beings; turning into all types of grotesque creatures straight out of hell itself. Isaac closed his eyes; listening to his heartbeat as his oxygen hit 0%; and his body getting colder and colder with each passing second. ---------- Then he felt a warmth in front of him; and suddenly... He can breathe. Isaac’s eyes snapped open and he breathed in deep before coughing harshly. His eyes watered for a tiny bit, before immediately clearing up with each breath he took... As soon as he could see clearly; the man took in his surroundings. He was in a void of white that made his eyes hurt the more he kept staring. That was when the white expanse dimmed down to a whirling grey; as if responding to his preferable thoughts of the place becoming less bright. Isaac began to relax as he blinked his stinging eyes multiple times; until a voice spoke up from nowhere... " Welcome Mr. Clarke.” She said, for the voice was definitely female. Isaac whirled around himself, noticing that the gravity in this... ‘void’ was like Earth’s. " Who are you? Where am I?!” He demanded, desperate to get answers. The voice tutted a couple of times, the tone turning into a motherly voice that made Isaac feel like he was home. " No need for demands, dearie. Instead of just telling you...” a bright flash of light showed up in front of the human. Isaac winced at the intensity of the light, nearly blinding him. " I’ll show you.” Then with a loud whine and boom, a woman appeared before him... Once Isaac got a good look; he tensed at the sight of a 10 foot tall equine-like woman with a horn and pair of wings standing there. What in god’s name? He thought, his Plasma Cutter held tight in his grip in case it-SHE- was a new type of Necromorph. The woman was wearing a white dress with a red outline that hugged her voluptuous body, her hair; well mane; was a dark brown mixed with red at the ends. She also has the most stunning eyes Isaac has ever seen... " I might not be a god, but some seem to think that I am, using my name as a derogatory term.” The woman said, placing her hands in front of her. Isaac forced himself to not look down her body; considering it rude to stare... The mare seemed to smirk, a knowing look in her steel blue eyes. Wait... Isaac froze at the sudden realization... Did you just read my goddamn mind? He thought, deliberately glaring at her. The winged and horned mare tilted her head; a confusing expression on her face as she nodded. Isaac deactivated his helmet; and he responded. " The last time someone spoke into my head, they took everything I held dear.” He said, a bitter tone in his voice. The mare blinked for a couple of seconds, before smiling sadly... " I know...” She said with a solemn tone. Isaac felt his anger fill up in his chest, and he was about to let loose his voice; when she continued. " I know what the Marker did to you, to your wife, to your companions.” He stopped at the genuine remorse that showed in the... Pony’s eyes. He felt guilt well up in him... Isaac was losing his mind every second since the Marker’s destruction; hearing and seeing things in front of him that weren’t really there. And now this... Mare... Came and took him from the cold clutches of space and death’s doorstep; and he got angry at her for it? That’s not who Isaac Clarke is: yelling at people who try and help him... Taking a light breath to calm his fast beating heart, he spoke in a softer tone than before. " I’m sorry.” The words echoed throughout the void for a long while, until silence reigned supreme... The mare’s eyes snapped to his and he could see the surprise in those orbs. " Why?” She asked, her tone still full of remorse; but it was fading with confusion replacing it. Isaac felt confused as well, but continued on. " For trying to get angry for something you had no hand in.” He said, holstering his Plasma Cutter and looking down at his hands; still covered in the blood of the dead Necromorphs. He felt the warmth get even hotter, and he looked up to see the tall mare was closeer to him; only a couple feet away. She kneeled so they were eye to eye, and placed a hand on his right shoulder. Isaac understood what the gesture was for... Comfort. A comrade to confide in with his truthful feelings; a shoulder to cry on. " You did what you had to do. It was not your fault they activated the Marker, the cause of this... Massacre.” The woman said. Isaac felt his heart lurch in his throat for a moment, and his eye vision blurred by unshed tears. But he dare not cry, now is not the time to show weakness, to show his unstable sanity, nor his adeptness to kill any monstrous creature on a whim... " I know, madam, but I can’t help but feel like it is.” He said, his voice cracking. The mare gently smiled and placed her soft furred hand under his stubbled chin, lifting it up so he could look at her in the eyes. " You don’t have to...” She said. " I suppose I should do this since now is the time..” Isaac heard her murmur. The pony then stood up to her full height, her wings unfurled from her back and spread slightly. " Allow me to introduce myself.” She said, her voice carrying authority, " My name is Faust, and I’m here to help you live.” Isaac gaped at her for full minute, causing the mare named Faust to drop her mask and smile with amusement. What in the-. Is she authority or something? He thought to himself, now knowing the mare was listening in. " Or something?” She snorted out, her eyes twinkling, " My Dear Isaac, I am a god, as you clearly pointed out.” She finished with a faux haughty expression, sticking her nose up in the air like a nobleman. Isaac couldn’t help but lowly chuckle at the weird image he’s seeing before him, and his heart lightened. Faust opened her eyes with both of them crossed to look at her muzzle. " Hmph.” She playfully pouted, happy that the human’s mood is lightening up. She looked down at him with a small motherly smile, her eyes shining in the dim void. " You certainly know how to act normal in front of royalty, Dear Isaac.” Faust said. The human in question blinked at the word royalty, and was about to bow... But... There was something in the way she said the sentence. As if it was a plea to NOT bow, like she wanted to be treated like a normal... Person? This train of thought gave Isaac the urge to comfort her; and give the mare her wish. The human casually shrugged, pushing away the fact that the equine-like woman was royalty... " Miss Faust; I’ve seen a lot of shit happen in a matter of hours filled with horrors out of nightmares, this is relatively normal compared to that.” Isaac said, crossing his arms over his chest covered in the EVA Suit. The mare smiled more genuinely; her posture relaxing from the slight tension and preparation of the ‘adoration’ everypony seems to give when whenever she wants to meet someone important. " I... Appreciate that, Mr. Clarke-” She began saying, before being interrupted by the human. " Please, call me Isaac.” He said, smiling for the first time in awhile since the nightmare began. Faust paused at that, a tinge of surprise running through her at the casualness. Then she smiled widely... " Thank you, Isaac.” She said. There was a small comfortable silence surrounding the two; before Isaac asked a question he’s been dreading for an answer. " What happens now?” He said, a small tingling of nervousness he never felt before fill his heart. He didn’t want to leave his newest friend, alone in the blank ‘Void’... Faust’s smile faded, before she sighed, a look of small remorse in her eyes. " Isaac, I’m afraid that even though the current threat is over in your world...” She frowned for a moment, then continued, " But another one is threatening the destruction of my world.” Isaac tensed his body up, wondering with a bit of concern of what his new friend was about to ask... " My creation, Equestria... Is under attack by Caribou, a race that is so focused on make domination; they’d kill to get what they want and use MY ponies as a BREEDING STOCK!” Faust said, her eyes glowing with the last sentence; her red mane beginning to whirl in an unforseen breeze. Isaac felt a slight bit of fear at the snarl on the beautiful mare’s face... But then he relaxed as his mind thought over the unseen question. Will he help her ‘children’...? The human sighed lightly, rubbing his face with his gauntleted hand. He weighed the pros and cons in his head, outweighing the cons with the pros... He might be able to live freely from the Markers, after all. Isaac lifted his head up and looked at the woman in the eyes and said. " Yes. I will help.” The tall mare was about to continue her rant if the Caribou’s unorthodox and practically SAVAGE methods; but stopped at the agreement... " Wha-... What did you just say?” Faust asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes shining down on him. The mare was speechless that this human was selfless to help other beings, no matter the cost to his own. More confident, Isaac repeated his answer... " I said: ' Yes, I will help your children fight their enemy.” Faust kneeled down once again, standing back up during her rant, and got her face close to his. " Why?” She said, her usual even voice cracking a small bit, " Why would you want to help us?” Taking a moment, Isaac gave his answer... " Because I know what it’s like to be standing on the sidelines, not able to help those in need.” Faust choked on her breath for a few seconds, before she shrunk her size to his own and pulled the human into a bone crushing hug. " Thank you...” She said, letting the tears that were welling up slide down her face, happy that she didn’t have to persuade anyone to help a just cause. Isaac froze for a second, his arms sticking out for a few moments... Until he relaxed and wrapped them under the woman’s large wings, and squeezed assuredly. " Hey, it’s okay, Faust.” He said, smiling very slightly, " You didn’t know how to ask the right questions to let me help.” Faust lightly cried, holding back her relieved sobs that were trying to force out of her throat. ----------- It was a full 3 minutes if Isaac comforting Faust with soothing words, making sure to keep his hands in that same spot in the middle of the mare’s back. Faust, whose tears had stopped slowly, said with a bit of humor that was diluted by the tired tone of her voice. " Ya know Isaac, every time I hug somepony, they try and grope me. " She chuckled, and continued, " Yet you... You just... HOLD me close to you and not cop a feel.” Isaac felt a familiar heat rise up in his cheeks and frowned lightly. " Well, I’m not like everyone else, I don’t do that sort of thing with anyone except for the girl I lov- loved.” He responded, stammering with guilt at the memory of Nicole’s suicide. " And THAT right there, Isaac...” Faust said, pulling out of the hug, but keeping her hands on his shoulder, smiling waterly at him, " Is what makes you special.” Isaac blinked for a moment, and was about to open his mouth to retort that with good ole fashion humblism... But he was interrupted by the void cracking around d the two, catching their attention... " What’s happening?” Isaac asked, his hand grabbing the handle of his Plasma Cutter; ready in case if an attack. Faust only stood still, her eyes watching the large cracks appearing with sadness... " It appears I spent too much time with you, getting off topic and getting emotional... Now our time is up.” She replied, with remorse. Isaac turned to the mare, about to ask what the hell That was supposed to mean... Before she spoke before he opened his mouth... " I’m sorry that we didn’t have more time... But... I’ll be seeing you again, Isaac Clarke.” She said, her blue eyes staring into his blue-green. The human reached out for her, trying to grab her hand as a sudden gravity began pulling him into a newly opened tear. Faust grabbed his and Isaac began to float in the nonexistent air with his feet pointed towards the portal. Isaac asked, breathing heavily as the pull got stronger... " Will I ever see you again?!” He asked, not wanting to let go without an answer. Faust took a few seconds to answer, her eyes shining with a happiness that she hadn’t felt in a long, LONG, time... " Yes, My Dear Isaac.” She replied, smiling brightly, You WILL see me again.” Isaac felt his heart lighten at that, and he nodded his head. With a very little reluctance, he let go of the mare’s hand... Next thing the human knew, was his vision being filled with white... ------------------ *Elsewhere* Looking through a staticy screen, a sharply dressed human grinned broadly. " Finally…" He said, his voice slightly echoing throughout the void. He waved his left hand, and the screen vanished; before turning and walking deeper into the darkness. " My plan is almost complete…" The Shadow said, chuckling, the sound echoed throughout the dark expanse. “ Let’s hope this world thrives, this time…” > On Hold > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Folks! NO this is not a chapter, but a intermission. I am delaying this story for now... And before you get all fussy about it, lemme tell you why. I am putting it on hold for a reason, and that is I'm waiting for the Doom Eternal to release and play it enough so I can get more background information on the Slayer. Now that doesn't mean I won't make any progress while I wait, I will think up of ideas and put them in the story.; HELL, I was thinking of putting KRATOS in the story! Maybe some other time... Anyways, I hope you understand; and I want to say: Thank you all to my supporters for my creation so far, and I hope you enjoyed the stories so far; at one point I'll return to Metal Armed Vigilante 2 if I have enough time, so YAY! Thank you and I'll see you beautiful people later, TOODLES for now!!! ~ WhalenJPOnline > Chapter Six: A Nightmare Of A Dream > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Six: A Nightmare Of A Dream... It was close to midnight; the moon that Luna coaxes over the horizon every night, is overhead the world. The Night Princess was in her chambers sitting on her couch; and was staring at the sleeping form of Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen was snuggled up in the bed’s comforter and was lightly snoring through her nose; causing Luna to smile. She is cute when she sleeps like that… She thought to herself, before lightly sighing. This has been happening over the course of the past few days; since the Slayer arrived with Chrysalis by his side. At first it was the glances to get a good look at her/make sure she wasn’t doing anything suspicious; then it became more and more convoluting when her heart started to pound when around the Former Changeling Queen. Luna had been brooding on this for the past few nights; trying to figure out the bond she had with Chrysalis, and why she seemed to interest her... I don’t know who she is to me… Luna thought to herself, hugging her knees that curled up against her chest; her eyes half lidded in a brooding mood. One second she is like a friend… The next… She stopped herself with a light shudder, not out of horror or disgust; but a feeling of expecting anxiety. Anxiety for what, though? Her mind then turned to the new arrival they found in the deep forest, bleeding and dirty on the ground. She tried to gently coax the armored male to wake up; but was pushed back by a force that gave her a slight migraine for the rest of the day. She couldn’t even know the human’s name, for Faust’s Sake! She was about to lay down on the couch, until a sharp sensation entered her mind; knocking on her barriers in a frantic motion that made her shoot straight up and alert. Luna’s eyes widened as she recognised the familiar aura from the male human. But it was… panicking?... Calling for help? The Alicorn was confused before she slowly and reluctantly opened her mind to the foreign presence… Then was knocked onto her back as a pain like no other; even when she was dying, overloaded her senses. Her vision blurred for a few moments, showing nothing but blackness… Luna was beginning to panic before her vision cleared up and she opened her eyes. She shot up to her feet as she looked around the dark metal corridor surrounding her. The lights flickered here and there, giving a bit of light; otherwise it was pure darkness. Luna felt a nonexistent breeze blow over her and she shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. She heard a light growl come from behind her; and Luna whirled around, a foreboding feeling welling up in her chest as her eyes scanned the area. There was nothing… The Alicorn’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, her body tense and ready in case a surprise attack came. After a minute or so of endless quiet; she began to relax… ROAR!!! Luna didn’t see it, but she sure as hell FELT IT! Something narrow and sharp swung at her; impacting her chest and sent Luna flying down the corridor. She landed hard on her back, sliding a few feet with a loud metallic squeal before stopping. The Night Princess clutched her chest in pain as she groaned. Then her head snapped down and looked down the corridor as she heard footsteps stomping towards her… She sluggishly got to her feet; her magic gathering in her hand as she got ready for a counterattack. The Alicorn saw the creature that slugged her; and she had to admit it was TERRIFYING. It looked like a human; but It was nothing but flesh and bone, with a body that looked fresh with blood on it’s torn up skin as well as a blank eyed pair of eyes that stared at her hungrily. The creature snarled at the mare and began sprinting down the corridor towards her. Luna backed up with every step it made; her magic flaring even more once she saw the creature only a couple feet away. That’s when her back hit the end of the corridor, and she gasped as she noticed that there wasn’t a way out of the dead end… The decaying creature was now standing in arm’s reach, and was raising the sharp bone like protrusion of it’s hand; ready to strike it’s prey down. Luna fired a bolt of magic at it’s chest, wanting to stop the horrifying abomination charging at her… But when the bolt impacted; it didn’t stumble and gave off a high pitched shriek of rage. She dodged the swinging sharp bony pole by rolling under the crook of it’s arm, rolled to her feet and began hightailing it in the opposite direction. The monster whirled around and roared again, taking after her at a speed that looked to be 30 mphs… Luna panted as she ran through the metallic labyrinth of hallways for Faust knew how long, and she could feel her legs begin to cramp up. How am I this tired? She thought to herself, We Alicorns have Earth Pony blood, we shouldn’t tire this quickly! She saw a door open at the end of the corridor and she sprinted as fast as she could force her body to go… She was halfway to the open door, when suddenly the creature’s pole of a weapon tripped her foot; sending her to the floor. She grunted in pain as her muzzle impacted the metal grating; surprised that she was able to FEEL that in a dream. Then she began to get to her feet; her vision blurry from the fall, her eyes darting everywhere for the creature. But it was nowhere in sight… The corridor was replaced with a giant metal atrium, foreign technology sparking here and there, with a crackle. Where am I? Luna thought to herself as she began walking forward. A door on the other side of the corridor slid open with a creaking screech, and the Princess tensed; ready for another one of those… Creatures… But what came through was not a creature, but a Human; one wearing familiar armor, the helmet’s visit brightening up the dim corridor. The armored human stopped as his visor landed on her panting form, holding some kind of weapon in his right hand, a light beaming out of it. The two stared at each other in surprise for a few moments; before the male raised his weapon at her, the light aimed at her forehead… Luna flinched at the movement; although she was in her domain, she didn’t want to test the grasp of mortality just yet. Then the human spoke, no, shouted at her, " GET DOWN!” Luna felt her instincts kick into gear and she ducked; hearing the low growls of the creature she escaped from inches behind her. BAM! The human fired his weapon and a small bolt of plasma shot into the forehead of the monster, causing it to stumble. Luna stared up at the creature in horror as it showed that it wasn’t dead from the bullet. She then noticed the armored human hold out a hand and twitched his fingers toward himself. Luna recognised the gesture as ' get over here’. The Alicorn scooted backwards on the grated floor and toward the human, watching the creature growl as it’s dead grey eyes stared down at her hungrily. She scrambled up to her armored feet and watched as the armored human stepped forward, his slim but muscular body partially hiding her from view. He cocked his weapon again, and this time he aimed at the left arm of the creature, pulling the trigger without hesitation. BANG! The spiked limb tore off its owner with a wet squelch, and it fell to the floor; slightly twitching. The creature roared in pain and rage, blood spurting out it’s empty shoulder where it’s left arm used to be. The human continued firing at the roaring creature, the bolts of plasma impacting it’s decaying body; as it tried to charge at them. It shrieked in primal rage and swung it’s remaining scythe, causing Luna and the human to duck. The armored human threw a punch at the creature’s face and it stumbled again, growling. He then shot the right shoulder of the monster several times; cutting through the flesh until the limb got severed. The creature shrieked loudly until it fell to the floor, limp like a wet noodle and blood spurting from it’s recent wounds. The human panted heavily for a few moments, before turning to the shuddering Alicorn that stared at the dead creature before her. " I don’t suppose you could tell me your name?” He asked, his voice slightly distorted through the helmet’s speaker. The Princess still stared at the corpse of the creature that tried to kill her; before her cyan eyes rolled up to land on him. " We… We are Luna.” She said, stuttering for a second as she tried to get her composure back. The human straightened at the name, before the metal helmet turned into individual pieces and slid down to reveal a man’s face. Luna tried not to flinch at the tired look he had; one that she and Celestia wore long ago once… " Since you introduced yourself, I might as well do so as well.” He said, smiling lightly. He holstered his weapon to his hip and held out his hand. " The name’s Isaac Clarke.” The human simply said, a grin on his lips. Luna blinked at the simple introduction, but took his hand and shook it. It was silent for a moment, before Isaac chuckled, filling the silence. " I know, not eloquent like yours, but I think that a name is just as that; a name. No titles or any of that nonsense others worry about.” He said, tilting his head a tiny bit as he looked at the darkened corridor that the Alicorn came from. His eyes kept moving, his ears sharp for any signs of the Necromorphs that were surely watching the two; waiting to strike when the time was right. Luna smiled, her cyan eyes glinting with a knowing look that she understood the meaning of the name as well. Isaac began walking past as he heard a small scuttle come from the far end; gently putting his gloves hand on the Princess’s back; right between the wings. Luna stiffened for a moment, then suppressed a shudder at the contact; her wings half extending. He doesn’t know… He doesn’t know… She repeated to herself in thought; trying to relax. Isaac didn’t seem to notice the reaction of what he was doing, and continued walking with Luna at his side; his head darting all around the corridor to find the source of the scuttling noise. Luna then snapped out of her self reassurance and noticed the noise as well, her ears pointed and flicking to find where the source was. " Noticed it too?” Isaac said lowly: his eyes hardened and his lips forming in a grim line. Luna only nodded, her arms folded against her chest; a feeling of unease and dread filling her being as the sensation of Isaac’s hand numbed to nothing. Something was clearly wrong here… like something was watching her with ravenous hunger; like the creature she briefly encountered. Then she heard something else than the scuttling; a loud creak that echoed throughout the corridor, causing everything to freeze. Isaac tensed at the source of the new noise, unholstering his Plasma Cutter and quickly aimed it at the nearby wall. There was nothing standing there… But there was a big narrow crack spreading on the metal, light amounts of oxygen being sucked through to the other side. " Oh shit.” Isaac cursed, before activating his helmet; covering his face and sealing with a slight hiss. Luna could only watch as the crack then let out a small groan; then proceeded to break open. The last thing the Alicorn saw before being shot out of the dream, was a strange obelisk covered with ridges and twirling into two prongs at the top... ------------- Luna’s eyes shot open as she got into a sitting position; shuddering and breathing heavily as the images of the obelisk flashed to the forefront of her thoughts. She wrapped her arms across her torso, her hands digging into her armpits as she tried not to let fear of the creature that she encountered get to her. Suddenly there was a noise coming from the bed; and a sleepy Chrysalis sat up, her glowing eyes blearily looking around the room before landing on the shuddering Alicorn on the couch. Luna noted that when the Changeling Queen laid her eyes on her shivering form; a look of concern showed on her face. Despite the shivering from the remnants of the dream, The Alicorn felt warmth swirl in her breast, and let a smile lift her lips slightly. Chrysalis pulled off the covers and got up from the bed; and made her way over to the huddled form of Luna. The Former Changeling Queen sat down next to the midnight blue Alicorn; putting a hand on the mare’s shoulder. " Luna, are you ok? I heard you mumbling and--dear Creator, you’re shivering!” Chrysalis said, worry creeping into her voice as her eyes darted up and down her roommate’s body. Luna felt her smile wane a bit at the Changeling Queen’s worry, but she also felt the surge of warmth blossom in her chest grow. " I’m ok, Chrys. Just… a bad dream.” She finally whispered out. Chrysalis looked into Luna’s eyes, looking for any signs of deceit… But she found none… With a low sigh; Chrysalis smiled in relief, her body sagging slightly as she relaxed her tensed muscles at the reassurance. " I… I’m sorry that I worry so much, Luna.” The Changeling Queen said, her tone apologetic, " It’s just… I worry about those close to me, ya know?” Luna nodded her head, her shuddering subsiding at the warmth of Chrysalis sitting next to her; warding away the cold. Luna felt her smile grow wider at those sincere words. " Yes… I do know, Chrys.” She replied, causing Chrysalis to look her in the eyes at that. " … How?” She muttered, curious; yet cautious In case she set her…Friend(?) off. Through the bond, Luna felt her curiosity, and felt her heart flutter for a second. Now I know… Luna, after a moment’s hesitation, opened her mouth. She began telling Chrysalis about worrying for her big sister, why she became Nightmare Moon, EVERYTHING that she kept inside for the last thousand years. She even told her the fear and regret she had while trapped in the moon; banished because of her actions… The Alicorn never even told her sister about it; because she knew Celestia would worry even more. It was why she kept silent; not wanting her sis to be distracted by small nuances... After all was said; Luna felt her cheeks warm at how comfortable Chrysalis looked leaning on her side, snuggling her carapace against her fur. Her green eyes glowed in the bright moonlight and her mane; while torn and slightly disheveled, looked beautiful in the light. Luna felt her stomach clench at the sight, her heart pounding. Now I know… Who you are to me, Chrysalis. She thought to herself; relaxing in the company and comfort that The Changeling Queen brought. -----ELSEWHERE----- On the other side of the sleeping castle; Celestia’s horn glowed brightly in the darkness of her bedchambers, a smile on her lips as she sat on her bed. She’s growing up… good… The Alicorn thought to herself. She then felt as if a pull was tugging her to somewhere deep in the castle; causing her to wake up from her trance and urge her to find the source. Celestia didn’t know if it was an intruder luring her or not… She got off the bed; wearing only a pair of dark sweatpants and a white shirt that was tightened in the chest area because of her bosom, and walked out of her chambers. Time to find out what that pull is. The Alicorn thought to herself as she walked down the empty hallway.