The night was now overtaking the Everfree forest. The Doom Slayer already began to hear large creatures beginning to stir from their daytime slumber, and he started trudging along the base of a small mountain, one of several spread throughout the forest. He was looking for a path up so he could look around until he came across a large cave entrance. The Slayer steps in and subconsciously commands his armor to do a complete scan through the tunnel. It was obvious how dark the cave's interior was, however, it proved no problem for his armor as he subconsciously activated night-vision.
It didn't take long for the interior to open up to a large cavern. The stone floor was filled with emeralds; sapphires were scattered across oceans of gold, diamonds and gemstones, and pebble-size rubies. The Slayer proceeded to scan the area by turning his head in robotic movement. When he was about to take a step, he caught movement from the corner of his eye.
Behind the enormous pile of gemstones rose a large scaly head. Then came another from behind it, then another, and a hundred more! Their bright yellow snake-like eyes glared at him with cold hatred. Each of these dragons had their own colors.
The dragon in the middle was blue with light cyan scales, pale light-grey under belly, and cyan single-lined spikes on his back and tail. He's probably the owner of this cave. The other two beside their leader were red and green, their heads reaching up to their leaders shoulders judging by how small they are. The Slayer immediately recognized them as dragons.
"Hmm, what's this I see? Heh, heh, looks like we got ourselves another trespasser in our lair, boys." Said the blue dragon as he slammed his foot making the cavern quake by his might. The Slayer didn't make an ounce of a flinch as he returned a cold glare of his own up at him.
The Green dragon chimed. "You came to the wrong place, you strange little creature. You should've never come to our turf."
The large red dragon added while stomping its way towards the Slayer from his left. "Yeah, we have a rule out here on what we do to those who're unwelcomed. And since you had the nerve to step into our territory, we're gonna burn you into a crisp!"
The Doom Slayer stood motionless, his unwavering gaze fixed on the few dragons above him. While others would have been terrified by the sight of these three drakes, freezing in fear and begging for their lives, the Slayer saw them as nothing more than insignificant ants that he could easily defeat.
As the Slayer continued down the path, he suddenly encountered a scaly barrier blocking his way. The red dragon had positioned its tail to obstruct him, emitting a low growl and billowing smoke from its nostrils. The intensity of its hatred was evident in its glare.
The audacity of the Slayer, boldly striding through their horde as if he owned the place, infuriated the dragon to the core. The dragon decided here and now that it'll make an example out of this trespasser. It leaned in getting eye level with the Doom Slayer and snarled.
"Did you really think you could just waltz in here, thinking you own the place, and just leave? Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson."
The dragon sneered before retracting its head. It commenced inhaling all the inferno it had stored within its belly, until it unleashed a scorching torrent of flames from its mouth, engulfing its intended target. With each passing moment, the dragon intensified the potency of its fiery assault, ensuring that not a trace of the wretched oak would remain. It persisted in this endeavor for several minutes, then abruptly jerked its head back, emitting a snort and expelling a plume of smoke into the air.
The red dragon stayed rooted where he was. Fixated on the blazing inferno, contemplating what to do with the remnants once they dissipated. Perhaps it would add the ashes to its collection, a macabre trophy and a warning to all who dared to trespass upon its horde. The dragon chuckled at the thought, making a mental note to add it to its bucket list come morning. As it observed the flames flickering and swirling in various patterns, its pupils contracted to mere pinpricks, and a sinking feeling settled in the depths of its stomach at the sight before its eyes.
The Doom Slayer rose out of the ashes. Unschathed, uninjured, and no sign of any burnt on his armor. But that's not what made the dragon's heart race rapidly or the rising terror gripping him. The Slayer was glaring at him but this was different, it deepened, deepened in such a way that no creature should ever be capable of doing. There was no intent of mercy, bargained, or negotiation in his expression.
It was there the drake knew at that moment: It made a very terrible mistake.
With that powerful glare the Slayer stalked towards the speechless red drake as he clenched both his fist.
The red dragon was dumbstruck. Any thoughts of killing this strange armored creature left him at once. Every single fiber of the dragon's being was shrieking at it to flee. Clear a path for a swift escape and exert every ounce of strength in its wings to soar away as far as possible.
But it seemed stuck. Almost adhered to the spot along with its wings that were affixed to its sides. This sensation was unlike the other creatures it encountered in the forest or in its nightmares. This sensation was gnawing at the dragon, compelling its feet to remain rooted, a feeling that was penetrating deep into its very essence.
It had never felt afraid like this, never!
The crimson dragon felt overwhelmed as the Slayer approached. Its elongated snout parted to utter something, only to freeze as it caught sight of the Hell Walker suspended in mid-air right before its eyes. As their gazes locked at close range, the dragon's terror intensified like never before. This being's stature was diminutive compared to the dragon's colossal head, yet the fire-breathing drake felt as small and defenseless as a newborn.
Before it could think of anything, the Doom Slayer's fist punched through his head creating an explosion of red mist. Its body fell to the ground and all the other dragon's gasped. The Slayer landed on one knee before glancing over his shoulder to see the dragon's head had disappeared.
"Well don't just stand there, you fools!" Doom Slayer heard the lead dragon shout. "Burn the little cretin!"
One pale lime purple dragon retracted its head back. Inhaling all the fire it held up inside its belly. The Slayer cracked his head, reaching down quickly, retrieving a grenade from his waist utility belt, flicking a small pin from the top with his thumb before chucking it into the now wide open maw of the line dragon. The radiating glow in its neck fading rapidly. The drake brought its claws up, grasping around his neck as his throat contracted, causing him to cough and gag.
The Doom Slayer took advantage of its vulnerability and lunged into the air. Reaching over his back, he held his super shotgun in hand then aimed it at the dragon's head, a loud boom, like a small explosion, sounded, this was followed by two flashes coming from the tubes, causing the purple drake's head to explode in a cloud of red, his decapitated cadaver falling to the ground with a thump.
Breaking the two tubes open, the creature slammed a small red cylinder into each tube before slamming the tubes shut again, it then whipped the weapon around behind it, propelling itself forward through the air by firing a couple shots towards the green tinted dragon, its face exploding in a cloud of gore. The creature then threw the weapon to the side, disappearing in a flash. Cocking its right fist back, bawling tightly into a fist, the creature plunged it through the forehead of the lemon yellow drake, creating an explosion of bone, flesh, and brain. His body fell on its back leaving the five other dragons stunned.
The Slayer landed on one knee, turning his head in time to see another dragon charging towards him with its maw fully agape. The Doom Slayer rolled his body to face the winged lizard, bringing both gauntlets up and taking a step back, curling his fingers into a tight fist. Right as the flaming orange dragon was inches from snapping its jaws, the creature sidestepped, and a loud spine-chilling crunching sound broke through the air.
The Slayer effortlessly landed the might of his fist straight into his assailant's neck. The drake's pupils shrunk as its windpipe was crushed, his forward momentum being canceled by the equal stopping force of the punch. His body betrayed itself and swung itself free of the ground, its whole being shifting out from under the overwhelming power of the punch and hitting the ground with a hard thud.
The drake jerked and twitched on the ground. Trying desperately to get air through its broken windpipe, only for it to be filled with blood that now also poured freely from his mouth. He squirmed and jerked, as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. It lasted for a few seconds though until its body finally stopped squirming as life finally expired from its behemoth shell.
One of the dragons among the group, colored in dark pink, stared in horror as the monster stood with blood dripping from both bawled fists. Rather than face the wrath of this bipedal freak of nature, he spread his wings and decided that it was time to flee but he wouldn't get very far with this plan. With speed faster than Rainbow Dash herself, the Slayer jumped up and grabbed the poor drake's tail, hurling him into the ground. The dark pink dragon had time to scream before the unchained predator punched his fist clean through the poor firebreather's head with a practiced ease. Gore oozed and dripped from the gaping hole.
In a blur the Doom Slayer lunged forward grabbing a chubby, black scaled dragon by the throat. The drake's throat contracted. Gasping for air until the Hell Walker subconsciously extended his blade then removed the dragon's head off its shoulders with a quick cut akin to slicing butter. He tossed both the head and body away, and jumped to the next dragon.
The Slayer smashed his fist into the side of a yellow dragon's face. The drake landed with a thud just outside the ring of the circling dragons, laying dead with its head under a pile of gems. Another dragon took the opportunity of the distraction by leaping at his back but the Slayer anticipated this.
He swung his other fist straight into the drake's eye, prompting the latter roar as it felt an indescribable pain explode through its whole face. It fell hard struggling on the ground. But the Slayer didn't give it time to recover as he bowled over the dragon with a bone shattering kick to its left hip, sending it flying in the air and out of the circle.
The Doom Slayer turned to his left, scanning for any more threats, whipping his arm and aimed at one dragon flying towards him and pulled the trigger. Powerful twin buckshots shot the dragon's head exploding into a crimson mist. The Slayer reloads another set of shells before whipping the weapon around to blow away another dragon that tried to jump at him with a second shot. Blood leaks from the gaping, smoking hole in its chest as it falls to the ground.
The Doom Slayer grunted when another dragon suddenly rolled its body around and slapped its tail onto his chest, pinning him against the wall. The behemoth was about to snap its jaws at him, until the Slayer elbowed its tail with full force, breaking the bone instantly. The assailant screamed as pain exploded through its whole being.
It pulled its tail back, giving the Slayer the opportunity to lunge in the air and landed on its snout. His fingers jammed down the trigger, hot shells exploded from the barrels. Launching forward, piercing through its right eye socket of the drake's head. Its body collapses to the floor of gems and the Slayer lands back to the ground with ease.
There was silence.
The Doom Slayer slowly stood upright. He turned his cold gaze towards the last remaining dragon. The blue drake stared in horror as the Slayer started stalking towards him with his super shotgun in hand.
"W-Wait!" The drake cried almost in a stutter with its claws in the air. This however didn't halt the Hell Walker's advancement towards the latter. The Doom Slayer snapped the ejector open reloading it with another set of shells whilst continuing power marching towards the horrified blue drake.
"Do you want the treasure before you? Go ahead and take it! A-As a gift for your glory? P-P-Perhaps in return for my—!"
By the time the dragon could finish its sentence the blue drake's head exploded to a mist by the shells that shot it. Steam billowed out of the twin barrels as the Slayer stood there watching its body slowly collapse to the ground.
The Doom Slayer lowered his arm and surveyed his surroundings. The cave was littered with blood and guts of all those he slaughtered.
He's got some cleaning up to do.
A large hourglass slowly flips over its side. Particles of sand trickling down and into the bottom. Its motion slow and steady as small grains are carried through the air in a perfect circle. Celestia passes by said glass before climbing up the swirling stairs, reaching for the top.
She makes her way towards the balcony overlooking the silhouettes of the mighty mountains. She donned a simple side-slit evening white gown that fitted her curvaceous body with matching gold arm bracelets, high heels, and her usual crown. Her cutie-mark insignia plastered on the side of her dress and her wings were folded behind her.
The sun hovered at the base of the sky. It bathes a deep orange glow onto Canterlot, its rays stretching outwards to reach the city below, illuminating the buildings and ponies that reside there. The shadows cast by the massive stone pillars stretch long across the roads and streets, making a path between each building.
An ocean of ponies walk through their own paths. Few rich ponies walk around carrying suitcases with their magic while those that were earth ponies carried them with their hands. Some Pegasus' flew over Canterlot's buildings before landing on the ground and began walking along the sidewalk.
Celestia takes note of this as a gentle smile graced her lips. The scene has always been like this; lively and vibrant no matter which season it is. This will be something to remember. Celestia stares back at the sun as it was slowly setting just above the mountains.
Celestia channeled her magic as her horn lit up brightly in yellow. She closed her eyes, subconsciously controlling the sun by descending it behind the mountains and allowed room for the moon to illuminate the sky. Stars dotted the sky akin to sparkling glitter sprinkled on a piece of cloth.
The stars were shining brighter than ever before tonight. Celestia found the scenery beautiful. She was happy she had the privilege of seeing such beauty every single day of her life.
A sudden anomaly appeared in a magical poof. Said anomaly landed on Celestia's hand as she caught it just in time. She found it to be a wrapped up scroll, and if Celestia had to guess it's probably another one of Twilight's notes.
Celestia unfolded the scroll and carefully stretched it wide enough for her eyes to land on the written letters. Her smile fell immediately upon reading the message.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I've done some investigating like you ask of me, and what I found is quite troubling. It appears there's a secret terrorist organization going on here and from the looks of it it's a big one. I don't know what they're planning, but what I do know is where this mysterious organization is going next: Fillydelphia. I'll write to you more if I get any more leads and learn more about them.
Your special agent,
Agent Bon Bon.
Celestia folds the scroll back up and places it over her heart. She glances up at the moon with worry plastered on her countenance.
She prays to Faust for Bon Bon's safety.
A/N: And that was chapter 5 my little shimmerings! in case anyone of you is wondering, the secret terrorist that Bon Bon was talking about is not Djunnark and his group. We're not gonna get to them just yet. I am slowly getting better but still can feel the atom seed embers of COVID 19 in my system. But hopefully (if God wills), I will get better but I'm healthy enough where I can still do some normal routines, and of course write chapters for stories such as this one. I'll be going now, I hope you all have a wonderful day or night wherever you are.
See you all in the next chapter my little shimmerings!