Rarity laughs slightly as she continues her story, “And somehow, she managed to burn juice. I do so love her, but Sweetie can sometimes do things that surprise me. In a bad way.”
Slender nods, “It reminds me of my friends.”
Rarity looks over at him, “Does it? You never talk about your life that much. Always bring it up, then leave because of visiting hours.”
He slowly stands up from his chair, “Sorry, Rarity. Visiting hours are about to end.”
She grins, and shakes her head, “I’ll figure out about you one day, Slender. You won’t get away forever.”
He nods, “Oh, I know. Have a good night.”
She smiles, “You have a good night as well, Slender.”
He turns around, walking out of the room.
Standing outside of it is Celestia, who nods to him, “Slender, I’ve been waiting for you. Please, trot with me, and let’s talk.”
She begins to trot away, and he follows alongside her, “What is it, Celestia?”
She trots down the hospital hallway, “I fear that I have a mission for you, Slender. One that must remain secret.”
He nods, “Then why tell me about it in the middle of a hospital?”
She grins, “I made it so they’ll see and hear us talking about normal things. I’m not an idiot, Slender.”
He shrugs, “Could have fooled me in the past.”
She shakes her head, “The actions of past Celestia are a different beast entirely compared to modern Celestia. We’re past this already.”
He nods, “Yes, I know we are. It was simply a joke.”
They exit the hospital, “This is far from a joking time, Slender. It is possible that all of Equestria might be under threat.”
He looks at her, “Why did you not start the conversation with that?”
She shakes her head, “I was getting to it.”
He pauses, “Okay, what is this threat?”
She frowns, “A Minotaur who has been banished to Tartarus for two thousand years. One who has been frozen by Ponte’s Blizzard for three quarters of that time. But now the Blizzard is dying down, and I fear that said Minotaur might be freed.”
Slender nods, “What makes this Minotaur so dangerous?”
Celestia sighs, as the two of them find themselves in the gardens, “He killed my father.”
He pauses, “You had a father?”
She looks at him, “Really? You thought I didn’t have a father?”
He shakes his head, “No, I just never heard anypony mention it.”
She nods, “Well, yes, I had a father. King Ordirus, Spirit of Order. He ruled over Equestria until his death in the year 998 O.R. The one who killed him was Cain, King of Minotaurs. Cain was thrown into Tartarus by Sombra and frozen by Ponte.”
Slender nods slightly, “Right. That doesn’t explain much.”
She frowns, “Whatever. You don’t need to know, you need to do. He can’t be allowed to come back.”
Slender nods, “So, I just need to go to Tartarus and lock him back up.”
She shakes her head rapidly, “No! Slender, he will kill you. You are weaker than him, and he will easily kill you. Slender, please, I need you to listen to me.”
He sighs, “Alright, Celestia, what do you want done?”
She nods, “I’ve felt demonic magic coming from multiple sources. One in the heart of Manehatten, which I have dispatched guards to. The other is southwest, in the Arimaspi territory. I believe these sources might be rituals in order to free Cain. I need you to go to the Arimaspi territory, find what’s going on there, and bring it to a stop. The more we delay his release, the more prepared we will be.”
Slender nods, “Very well. I’ll set out for there immediately.”
She smiles, “Thank you, Slender. Good luck.” She trots back towards the palace.
Slender teleports to the walls, looking to the south, where Ponyville lays. He takes a second to breathe, as a cool breeze blows, catching itself in his clothes.
The clopping of hooves reaches him, and he spins to look where they come from.
Instead of Rarity, a patrolling guard strolls past him, “Evening, General Slender.”
Slender nods slightly, as the guard trots by him.
He sighs, looking south once more.
Jeff is gone. We got revenge. There’s no need to feel this way.
Slender shakes his head, “It’s my fault she got injured to begin with.”
Jeff was fast, and was an unparalleled thrower.
He sighs, “Maybe. But I’m faster. I should have been able to save her.”
You did save her. If not for you, she would have bled out.
He focuses on Ponyville, “I didn’t save her enough. I should have known something was going to go wrong.”
You are being irrational. You did the most you could. We’re strong, but we aren’t infallible. Why are you acting like this?
His gaze looks west, “I can redeem myself. If I act fast, I can save everypony before they’re ever in danger of death.”
Are you going mad? Celestia said he’s too dangerous. Jeff almost defeated us, we don’t stand a chance against him.
He shakes his head, “How are you so sure? Your defeatist logic is irrational. Even if there’s the chance we may lose, there is a greater chance we will win. If it means saving everypony, then I will do whatever it takes.”
This is not your decision to make alone! This is my body as well, and I don’t think this is a good idea.
He pauses, “No... this isn’t either of our decision. The world is at risk, and we can’t just sit around and do nothing!”
We aren’t doing nothing! Calm down for a second a think about what you are saying. We are delaying his return so we may better prepare for it. Rushing off like some fool on a quest to save the world is going to get us killed!
He shakes his head, “It won’t. We’re strong, strong enough to defeat this Cain. If we don’t use our strength today, then the world shall be gone tomorrow.”
You are turning into me, you hypocrite. You chastise me for protecting the world without much planning, and now you’re doing the exact thing! Your grief has driven you into a self righteous madman!
He sighs, “I have to try, the world needs me to try.”
Your try is going to kill both of us, and will doom the world! This is not like Jeff. We don’t know anything about who we’re about to face down. There is no magical resurrection this time, no magical power that’s going to bring us back to life. There’s no forest either. This foe is an unknown, and we have none of the advantages we had previously. So sit down and think before you get us killed.
Slender looks off into the distance, “I’m sorry... but I can’t waste any time.”
