Slayer

Compared to the appearance of the rest of the facility, the break room was rather mundane. A few tables at one end of the room, with a medium-sized counter at the other side, next to a fridge. A coffee pot was currently brewing, its familiar scent filling the air.

Twilight took a few deep breaths as she sipped at her cup. Celestia had to leave, in order to "handle the no doubt numerous complaints about today's early day court closure", leaving her with Aegis and Luna.

"Is it... normal to not remember anything?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, that happens," Aegis replied. "Just, uh, be careful next time you go to sleep. For about the next week or so, you'll probably see the visions again in nightmares."

Twilight stared into her coffee. "Oh, joy."

"Do not worry, Twilight," Luna said. "I'll be sure to help you with the worst of it, same as I have for all the researchers here. Who knows, perhaps you'll be lucky enough to have seen something new."

"I thought you said you already had a general idea of what the visions are?"

"They still vary widely," Aegis explained. "Some ponies got nothing but screaming, some got so much at once that even Luna couldn't sort through it."

Twilight took another sip. "What do you two think?"

Luna paused in the middle of sipping her own coffee. "Hmm?"

"About The Slayer," Twilight continued. "Do you really think he's a demon?"

The two stayed in silence for a bit, before Luna answered. "For a while, I was all but convinced of it. Even if he himself was not a demon, perhaps he was some kind of advanced golem created by them."

Twilight let out a "Huh" and scratched her chin. She had to admit, the concept never occurred to her, but it still made some amount of sense.

"That theory still has a lot of blanks, though," Aegis countered. "Like, if he actually was a golem, wouldn't he deactivate once his primary controller was either dead or out of range? After all, there weren't any demons left around by the time the princesses confronted him."

Twilight looked at her. "So you think he's not a demon?"

She nodded. "Although, admittedly, that thought is almost scarier," she continued. "After all, a creature capable of just as much brutality as an actual demon, if not more?" She shivered. "Kinda makes you hope they never get out."

Suddenly, Twilight had a realization. "Do you think he's related to Discord in some way?"

"We already thought of that," Luna said. "Not too long after we captured The Slayer, I dove into Discord's mind to try and get an answer from him. Even though he was less than cooperative, he still told me that he had nothing to do with him, and I had no reason to doubt him, especially after both his return and his brief episode with Tirek."

Twilight tilted her head, then leaned back. "Oh, I get it, because then he would've let him out, too."

"Besides that, as much corruption as there is around The Slayer, none of it feels remotely close to the chaos magic that Discord uses," Luna added. When she tried to take another sip of coffee, she noticed her cup was empty, and rose to get more. "In any case, he knows more or less the same as us, at this point."

"I guess I could always ask him," Twilight said. "He does live in Ponyville, now."

Suddenly, she shot up from the table. "Shoot, Ponyville! My friends are probably worried about me by now!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this a regular occurrence, though, you coming to Canterlot on short notice?"

The statement calmed Twilight down slightly, but she remained standing. "Well, yeah, but usually I only do that when something serious is happening."

"Still, you may be right," Luna admitted. "It might be best to return before that Trixie of yours burns down the castle."

Twilight winced. "She wouldn't do that..."

"Twilight, I see her dreams every other night. It's a wonder she hasn't set her wagon ablaze during her whole career."

"Oh yeah, Twilight," Aegis spoke up, "next time you come by, be sure to bring the list you were making of potentially threatening legends. I'd be happy to go through it with you and show you the ones we already got handled." She stopped just before she took a drink. "Oh, and, uh, maybe keep quiet about this to your friends, for now? We kinda like to operate in secret so ponies don't panic over every little complication that comes our way, so... yeah."

"I'll... be sure to. Thanks for showing me all this, Miss Aegis."

"Hey, no problem. And no need to be so formal, you're basically my boss, now."

"Oh, uh... right." Twilight cleared her throat. "Then, uh... keep doing what you were... doing?"

Aegis smirked. "Aye aye, ma'am."

"Have a good trip back to Ponyville," Luna called out as Twilight made her way back to the elevator, "and I'll see you tonight!"

While her nerves certainly calmed down by the time Twilight got back to Ponyville, she couldn't quite fight down the general sense of unease she felt.

After stopping by the castle to assure Spike, Starlight, and Trixie that everything was just fine, she decided to head straight to Fluttershy's house. Today was already proving to be a rather long day, but she did basically promise that she'd ask him about The Slayer. Might as well get it out of the way, in any case.

As she came down for a landing in front of the cottage, she noticed that Fluttershy was already outside, holding a leash tied to about four or five... were those snakes?

Making sure to keep a good distance from them, Twilight walked up. "Hey, Fluttershy. You... uh... walking your... snakes?"

If Fluttershy noticed how simultaneously confused and creeped out she was, she didn't show it. "Oh, yes. They get agitated if they stay cooped up in their cage for too long."

Twilight just stared at them, while the snakes just flicked their tongues out now and again, not a care in the world. "...right. Say, is Discord here right now?"

"Oh, yes, he's inside making tea," she said. "Why?"

"Nothing important," Twilight partially lied, "just had a few quick questions to ask him."

Fluttershy shrugged. "Okay, Twilight." Suddenly, the snakes started tugging on their leashes, almost pulling her off balance. "Well, these guys are getting impatient, so I better go now. See you later!"

"Bye, Fluttershy!"

After they waved goodbye to one another, Twilight turned to face the door to the cottage, shaking her head. Maybe Discord was rubbing off on her a bit too much...

She didn't bother to knock, instead just opening the door and walking inside. Just like Fluttershy said, Discord was inside, lounging on the coffee table with his feet propped up on the couch, drinking from... a normal pot of tea.

"Ah, Twilight, to what do I owe the pleasure of an unexpected visit?" he greeted, raising his (completely normal) teacup in greeting.

When she didn't immediately answer, he caught her staring at the tea. "What, can I not enjoy good old fashioned tea once in a while? Not everything has to be chaos one hundred percent of the time. Ironically, that would be rather predictable, wouldn't it?"

"I... guess?" Twilight shook her head. "Anyway, I was here to see if I could ask you some questions."

"Ask away," Discord said, casually hovering off the table into a nearby recliner.

"What do you know about The Slayer?"

As soon as she finished the question, it was as if the room deflated (and not in the usual Discord way). Slowly, he put down his tea and leaned forward in his seat, looking slightly more serious. "I see. Well, what would you like to know?"

Twilight gulped. Discord being serious was something she wasn't used to, and it threw her off slightly. "W- was he a demon?"

Discord laughed, but it felt hollow, like he only laughed out of obligation. "Quite the question to start with. I suppose you already talked with Tia and Luna about this?"

Twilight didn't answer, but her silence seemed to be answer enough. "In fact, Luna probably said something about me having nothing to do with him, right?"

Twilight hesitated, then nodded.

"Well, that's still true, in case you were wondering." He leaned back. "Although, I did a bit of digging by myself, actually. Whenever I escaped the first time, before I started meddling with you ponies, I paid a visit to Tartarus for myself."

Twilight recoiled. "What? Why?"

"See, I personally didn't cause their little invasion after my defeat, but I was curious if it was simply them capitalizing on the situation. And, if that were the case, I was ready to prevent such a thing from happening again. See, Tartarus is rather orderly, all things considered, and that just doesn't sit well with me."

"Right..."

"Anyway, when I looked for myself, the area just past the gates was... oddly empty. There were only a few demons here and there, and they stayed as far as possible from the gate at all times. They even purposely avoided me, funny enough, even though I was prepared for some of them to fight."

Twilight stayed quiet as she processed this. Weren't demons violent creatures by nature?

"In fact, the only thing that tried to fight me was Cerberus," Discord continued. "And only when I was trying to get in. Once I left, he just let me go, no questions asked."

Twilight gasped. "But wait, that would mean..."

Discord finished the thought for her. "He wasn't keeping things in. He was trying to keep things out."

"...why?"

Discord shrugged. "None of the demons would talk to me, and Cerberus can't talk. Although, there is one little tidbit I managed to notice."

He leaned forward again, getting face to face with Twilight. "At one point, I tried to ask one of them about The Slayer, and the moment I said his name, it was as if a bomb went off. They all turned to look at me, and just stared, up until I left. Didn't say anything, didn't attack, just backed away if I got close. And do you know what I saw in their eyes?"

As Discord looked at Twilight with one eye closed, she shook her head slightly. "What did you see?"

"Fear. Demons, known for nothing more than mindless destruction and anger, were showing genuine fear."

Twilight's mind almost went blank at this revelation, while Discord finally backed away slightly.

"So, no, I am pretty certain that The Slayer is not a demon. He's something far worse, something that demons themselves are terrified of."

While Twilight sat in stunned silence, he continued. "That still doesn't entirely answer the question of why the demons are so adamant about staying away from Equestria, or if he was some sort of tyrannical leader to them, but either way, if The Slayer managed to get out..."

He leaned in close again.

"...there's no telling how much blood would spill."