Slayer

City officials were asking all kinds of questions, but neither Twilight nor Luna had any satisfying answers. Thankfully, The Slayer's presence put a stop to any further lines of questioning.

A chariot was already waiting for them, pulled by a squad of four guards. They all shrunk at the sight of The Slayer, but did not run.

"I'll send a message to my sister and Discord," Luna said. "They may be able to assist."

Twilight nodded. "And I'll write ahead to Spike and the others, let them know we're coming."

While they wrote on their own parchments, The Slayer took his place in the chariot. It was surprisingly roomy, and allowed all three of them to be inside with little discomfort.

Even though she knew he was allied with them, Twilight still felt uneasy about being so close to The Slayer.

Once both their letters were flying to their destinations, Luna shouted at the guards. "Onwards! Time is of the essence!"

The guards saluted and broke into a gallop. Soon, they lifted off, leaving the ruined city of Manehattan behind them.

Seeing as Manehattan was on the other side of the mountain Canterlot was on, the trip would be even longer this time. The day was catching up to Twilight, and she caught herself nodding off.

Luna smiled at her. "Fear not, Twilight Sparkle. There is no harm in having a brief nap, if you need it. I will watch over your dreams, and make sure no demons try to sway you again."

The Slayer just looked between them, then shrugged and watched the landscape below them.

Twilight yawned and leaned against the side of the chariot. "Thank you, Luna."

She closed her eyes, and then she was asleep.

Once more unto the void.

Twilight looked around. "Luna? Are you there?"

"Very interesting."

Twilight whirled around, but the void was still empty. "Who was that?! Are you a demon, too?"

The voice laughed. "Fear not, young one. I am not one of the hellspawn."

It did sound different from the demonic voice... but not by much. "Who are you, then?"

There was a pause. "It would be best if I did not tell you. Most mortals cannot stand to know the truth. But I will tell you that I am an ally of... him."

A frozen figure of The Slayer materialized in the void, and Twilight cautiously circled around it. "How do you know The Slayer?"

"I watched as he enacted his one-man crusade against the forces of Hell. And so, I bestowed upon him enhanced abilities."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "So... you.... blessed him?"

The voice chuckled. "That would be the perfect word for it."

"Wait, hold on," Twilight turned away from The Slayer to speak to the void. "Why are you talking to me, then?"

"When you helped to free The Slayer from his imprisonment, you merged your consciousness with his for but a moment. It was enough to establish a small connection to me... as well as the demons."

The void turned into a burning hellscape. Twilight jumped back, but relaxed when nothing felt different. "So... you heard what happened, then?"

"Not many mortals would deny a demon's offer so readily. For that, I must commend you, Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh, well... thanks?" She shook her head. "Is that all you came here to tell me?"

"I am also here to reassure you. Since you are assisting The Slayer in his mission, I will tell you that you must close the entrance to Hell within your realm, through any means necessary."

Twilight nodded. "Close the gateway to Tartarus, easy enough."

"It will not be so simple, young one. The only way to close it will be within."

Her ears folded against her head. "Oh..."

"Fret not. It is not your world's time to give penance... So long as you remain untainted by the evils of Hell, you shall succeed."

"Yeah... I guess you're right." After a moment, Twilight whirled around. "Wait, 'my world's time'?"

She got no answer, and everything around her faded away.

Twilight awoke just as the chariot landed on a balcony of her castle. A massive purple shield was around the entire structure, with several demons attacking it at various places. Thankfully, it held strong.

Luna nodded at her. "I hope your nap was nice. I can confirm that no demonic presence appeared while you were asleep."

Twilight sighed in relief. That voice was telling the truth, then. She was about to tell Luna about it, but decided against it. The last thing she needs right now is to worry about some other group of beings, even if they are allied with The Slayer.

Speaking of him, he was already waiting on the balcony. He probably hopped off before the chariot fully landed.

As soon as the princesses stepped off the chariot, the castle doors blew open, and a pink blur grabbed them both into a crushing hug.

"I was so, so, sooooo worried!" said a crying Pinkie Pie. "Thank Celestia you two are okay!!!"

The Slayer reached for his shotgun when they were bowled over, but sheepishly put it back once he saw what was happening.

"P-Pinkie, can't...! Breathe...!"

"Oh, whoops!" Pinkie immediately stopped crying and let them both go. "Sorry about that."

Luna inhaled deeply. "Glad to see you are also okay, Pinkie Pie."

Back at the door, the rest of Twilight's friends stepped forward. They all looked pretty haggard, but still happy to see their friend again.

"So nice to see you again!" Rarity said as she hugged Twilight. The others quickly joined in.

"Thank you girls," Twilight said. "How's everypony else doing?"

Starlight disengaged from the hug. "No one's seriously hurt, thank the stars, but we had a lot of panic. They're only just now starting to calm down, since I told them you and Luna were coming." She shot a sideways glance at The Slayer. "No idea how they'll react to him, though."

"Yeah, what is he, exactly?" Dash asked, flying closer to him. "All you said was he's powerful and on our side."

Twilight gulped. "It's... a very long story. For now, all that matters is that he'll help us get rid of the demons. Right, Mr. Slayer?"

He looked at her, and nodded.

Dash orbited around him, and he followed perfectly. "I dunno, that armor is cool and all, but I don't see how he could do that much."

Applejack walked up. "Dash, this feller is covered head to toe in blood. Since Twi here is vouchin' for him, Ah'm pretty sure that's demon blood."

Dash looked him up and down. "Oh. Ew."

Fluttershy leaned closer to Twilight. "Is it alright if we go back inside, now? The animals get so worried when I'm away for too long, and I don't want Angel Bunny to do anything rash."

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed The Slayer perk up slightly at the word "bunny." "Yeah, we should go inside."

The guards dismounted the chariot and followed behind Luna in formation as they all entered the castle. The halls contained the odd group of ponies lying down on blankets, caught up in various activities. Some were trying to sleep, some were comforting loved ones, and some were trying to eat a small meal.

All of them stopped when the group entered, and they reflexively gave small bows to Twilight and Luna. They then all froze when they spotted The Slayer, but no one said a word.

Starlight led them to the cutie map room. There, Spike and Trixie were seated, both looking uncharacteristically grim. Behind them, a group of animals were laying around, looking nervous.

Both of them brightened when they saw Twilight, however. "Twilight!" they both shouted in unison.

"Hey, Spike, Trixie-" Twilight was cut off as she was surprised with another group hug.

Trixie broke off first. "Trixie is glad you're safe."

"Yeah, it's been a nightmare here," Spike said. "Thankfully we got the town into the castle fast enough. Starlight and Trixie were able to make a great shield spell, too!"

Starlight blushed at the praise, while Trixie smiled.

At the back of the room, Fluttershy giggled as she was assaulted with her own group of hugs. "Now, now, settle down, you guys."

Twilight noticed too late that The Slayer was walking towards the pegasus and her animal friends. "Uh, Fluttershy?"

"Yes, Twili- eep!" Fluttershy froze when she saw how close The Slayer was, and the animals did the same.

All except for a lone white rabbit, who took a defensive stance in front of her.

The Slayer and Angel stared each other down for a moment, before the former knelt down and reached out a hand.

Angel seemed to take it as a threat, and he immediately hopped onto the hand and started trying to bite it.

The Slayer just stayed in position as Angel "attacked" him. After a moment, Fluttershy realized what was happening.

"Angel, no!"

The rabbit paused mid-bite, then looked at her, still sitting on The Slayer's hand.

Before either of them could do anything, he brought his other hand to Angel's head, and gently scratched a finger against it.

Angel stiffened at first at the contact, then slowly leaned into it. He still frowned aggressively at Fluttershy, but she could tell it was just an act.

While Fluttershy giggled at their antics, Luna cleared her throat. "We still have business to attend to."

Twilight nodded. "Did you get a response from Celestia and Discord?"

"Yes, while you were asleep. They should be here in a little while."

"Should we wait for them?" Starlight asked.

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Dash said. "That robot over there might be tough, but having an extra princess here would help, not to mention Discord."

Twilight tilted her head. "Robot?"

"Yeah, look at him!" Dash pointed at The Slayer, who was still petting Angel. The rabbit had given up his facade and basked in the petting. "All that futuristic armor, I bet there's nothing underneath but gears and sparks."

"Now why would a robot play with a rabbit?" Applejack asked. "Fer that matter, why is he doing that, anyway?"

Twilight thought back to the pet store and winced. "He seems to be... fond of rabbits."

The group was silent for a moment, until Dash shouted across the room, "Hey, Slayer dude! Take off your helmet!"

The Slayer froze, and looked at her. Dash's bravado melted instantly. "Y-you know, so we can make sure you're not... uh..."

"A demon!" Pinkie chimed in.

"Yeah, that!" Dash said. She slipped a quick hoof bump to Pinkie afterwards.

Luna stepped forward. "I am a bit curious, myself."

With all eyes on him, The Slayer slumped slightly, and gently deposited Angel back on the ground. He then stood back up and walked toward the ponies.

He looked back and forth at them, and when none of them backed down, he slowly brought a hand up to his helmet.

There was a click, and a hiss of air. Then he grabbed the helmet and slowly pulled it up.

Twilight wasn't sure what she was expecting. Even though The Slayer was a creature unlike any she had seen, he still looked... normal.

He had short black hair on his head, and his blue eyes held a piercing gaze. His face was rugged, as if it had seen a million battles in his lifetime. His expression was the very definition of neutral, though it leaned towards a slight frown.

"...huh," Dash said after a while. "Well, not a robot, then."

The Slayer rolled his eyes and replaced the helmet. There was another hiss, and then he was the same faceless golem as before.

"Anyway," Luna said, "we've wasted enough time. We should go over the plan."

Twilight nodded and used her magic on the cutie map to project an image of the land around Ponyville. She pointed to a spot within the Everfree Forest. "The opening to Tartarus is out here, in the base of a small mountain. I believe that, if we can seal it off, then we can stop the invasion for good. First, we'll-"

Twilight was interrupted by a crash, and she looked up just in time to see the doors swinging shut. Another look around the room revealed that The Slayer was now missing.

"Awful rude of him," Trixie commented. "What is his problem?"

Twilight facehooved. "He's not waiting for plans, and is going to handle it himself. I should've expected this."

Luna put a hoof on her shoulder. "We should try and keep up with him, then."

"...yeah, we should." Twilight turned to the others. "Everypony, stay here and watch after the citizens. When Celestia and Discord get here, tell them where we're going."

Pinkie saluted. "Aye aye, Princess!"

"Wait, you're going back out there?" Fluttershy asked. "We should help you!"

Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, girls, this isn't a problem that friendship can solve. I need you all to do your part here. I released The Slayer in the first place, so... I need to see this through."

They shared some sad looks, before Rarity lunged forward and hugged her. "Just come back in one piece, okay, darling?"

The others joined in for another group hug, sharing similar sentiments.

"Thanks, girls." Twilight smiled. "I promise I'll come back."

Outside, they could hear muffled explosions and demonic screeches.

"Come now, Twilight," Luna said, adjusting her armor. "We shouldn't fall too far behind."

With one last farewell, Twilight left her friends behind, and headed to her mission.