Dead Space: Purpose

Fluttershy flew down to her cottage, careful to examine where she was landing due to the darkness of the night around her. She felt the dirt under her hooves and sighed contently as she allowed her wings to cease their motion as she landed on the ground. In front of her was a familiar wooden door, which she happily opened. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and reached for the light switch. When she flipped it on, a familiar figure was waiting on the couch with a tea set strew out on the table.

"Oh, hello Discord." she said with a smile, approaching the Draconequus.

Before she got too close, however, she noticed that his usually chipper attitude was replaced by an expression that seemed almost alien on him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, now flying to his side, resting a hoof on his curved back.

He reached out for the tea set and grabbed a cup and the pot, and poured tea into it. He handed the cup over to Fluttershy, who in term accepted it as he poured one for himself.

"Fluttershy," he started, "I believe we need to talk."

Fluttershy noticed how serious he was acting at the moment, as if something absolutely terrible had happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a panicking voice.

"Your new friend." he deadpanned, still staring off into empty space.

She moved back in shock at his statement, and began to scowl at him.

"Discord! You shouldn't be mean to others because they're different! Did you do something?" she demanded with an authoritative tone.

"No, not at all. I couldn't even if I tried."

Fluttershy dropped her previous expression and tone and went back to concern.

"What?"

"I felt the Chaos essence that he brought about just going through town, and even when he was all the way in Canterlot. I even tried to introduce myself at the party, but when I approached him..."

His expression went from thoughtful to down-right fearful as he turned to face Fluttershy.

"I felt the darkest of ancient evils hiding inside him. I felt the kind of Chaos that he's seen and fought, and it is a kind that I vowed to never, ever use, no matter how desperate I was. It was the kind of evil that could rival Tartarus itself, Fluttershy. The kind that even Gods like myself wouldn't be able to fight back against. But him... Isaac contained it in a separate part of his mind altogether, and managed to fight back against it. And WIN. But the things that mind carries, the kind of darkness that I sense just by thinking about that... mortal... it scares me, Fluttershy. I'm scared, afraid of not only him, but what's been awakened by his arrival. Afraid of what might come for him. Afraid of what might come for you, and the Elements of Harmony. I've never thought I would be forced to help those artifacts, or your friends, but if they're being threatened by what I think it is... no one deserves that kind of fate."

Fluttershy was now holding her hooves up to her mouth as Discord had actually told her that he, as an immortal with unlimited power, was scared of something so dark, so evil, that he believed that the artifacts of his downfall didn't deserve to witness its terror. That not only would it be coming for her and the others, but it would be coming for Isaac.

"Wait, what does Isaac have to do with this?"

"He is the only one I have seen in existence to ever be able to fight against the darkness that lies out there, and the only one that could not just survive, but WIN. He may very well have awakened the darkness, by bringing back a signal long thought forgotten by time, but it would have found a way to come back eventually. Now, however, we have a chance to make sure it never comes back again. We have a chance to ensure that no one ever suffers from it, ever again. For the first time, we have a chance."

Fluttershy went to reach around his form for a hug, but he stood up and walked to the window before she could close the distance.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I want to tell you. That's more than I should have told you. But right now, we need to be honest to him. Let him know that even though he may bring unintentional harm to us, that he is the only one that can make it right. He is here to save us, no matter how much blood he may spill."

"B-b-blood?"

Discord shook his head as he raised his talons.

"I'm truly sorry, Fluttershy. For what's to come, not only to you and our friends, but for Isaac as well. Stay close to him. Please. I can't protect you from this darkness. I'm too corrupt. But he's already been broken. He picked himself up and built himself better than even I could try to. He's the only one that can save you now, but know also that you six are the only ones that can save him."

"Discord, please," she began to retort, tears streaming down her cheeks, "what do you mean? What darkness? What evil? Why me? Why us? Why Isaac?"

Instead of answering, Discord gave an apologetic look and let a tear fall from his eyes as he snapped away from her cottage, leaving behind a crying mass of fur and hair on the floor.

\\\//////

Isaac felt pain surging through his body as he felt himself rising from the floor on his hands. To his right lay his Plasma Cutter, which looked like it had blocked a Slasher attack one too many times. To his left, lay a bloodied corpse which poked out multiple bones and bent limbs at unnatural angles. When he examined its face, he saw that it was melted off, possibly due to the Cutter's enhancements. He reached for the weapon and grabbed it by the handle, pulling himself up with the barrel aimed out in front of him. The three signature lasers reached out in front of him as he became aware of his surroundings.

The walls were clearly made of metal, and lacked any kind of light source that wasn't his own. They were laid with multiple moving parts and wires that seemed to pulse through every time a thump came from the opposite side of it. It all seemed like the interior to an Engineering Deck, but was too primitive with all of its turning gears and pumps. It was clearly some kind of industrial machine, though.

Isaac stepped forward and moved through the halls with massive effort, as his body seemed to scream at him for just being here. He turned the corner to see a familiar sight: gore and blood all over the walls.

"Great." he muttered, only now aware of the helmet over his head.

CLANG

Isaac swiftly turned around to see an all too familiar figure approach him.

"Isaac... please... listen..."

Isaac raised the Plasma Cutter high and pulled the trigger, melting away the face of Nicole from the head.

As her body collapsed, so did the environment around him. Walls began to break apart, machinery exploding outwards, littering the halls with mechanical pieces. In a second, one of the large pipes broke open, and a luminescent blood-red liquid began to pour from it. It flooded over Isaac, burning through his mask, eventually making its way down his throat.

As he began to choke on the substance burning away at his insides, he thought he saw another color rush by. A sort of green, and inside was a message:

ONE STILL REMAINS

\\\//////

Isaac jolted awake in his bed as he gasped for air, reaching for his Plasma Cutter. As he panted, he observed the settings around him. Instead of the metal death-trap he was in recently, he saw the low desk with Med-Packs and Ammo Clips, and his suit in a heap in the corner by his bed. He sighed in relief as he wiped sweat off his forehead, thankful for another nightmare to be over.

He glanced to the right foot of the bed and saw a note on it. Isaac grabbed the paper and read it aloud.

"'Dear Isaac, tomorrow's going to be hectic with Royal Duties, and Fluttershy said that we need to talk with the Princesses involving some trouble with a certain magical being. Please watch out for Spike and yourself, because the Cutie Mark Crusaders may come looking for you to try and make friends with you. Play nice. Twilight Sparkle.' Looks like tomorrow's going to be quite the day." He said as he crumbled up the paper and threw it into the trash, falling back to sleep as he did so.