Chapter 39: Wasteland
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"This is as far as myself and Gilda go, Human. It was a pleasure meeting you, despite our earlier confusion." The group was stopped at what appeared to be the edge of the Everfree forest. For the last day and a half, the group had been steadily moving north towards Stalliongrad, and were only about half a day's march away. At some point on their journey, the temperature had dropped exponentially, and the group had found itself in rockier terrain. Trees were growing more apart, and their elevation had only continued to rise. Zecora had informed them that the city of Stalliongrad was in between two mountains, and a river split the city down the middle. What she didn't know was the fact that there was a concentration camp several kilometres to the south of the city.

"Good luck, Sergeant. It is truly horrifying what those Elves have begun doing. I knew they were enslaving all the races of this planet, but never before have I heard of mass ex... extermination." Gilda's face went green as she said that terrible word.

Dean turned and smiled at the two. His squad stood behind him, checking over their equipment one last time before they ventured into the frozen north. From here on out, they would have to move with extreme caution. No doubt, the Dark Elves had patrols around the city or near its outskirts. The wagon was being covered in a white camouflage tarp, and everyone was ensuring that their own concealment was properly in place.

"Your hospitality has been most welcome. And we thank you for the help in navigating here." He turned and faced the gryphon with a sad frown. "Mass extermination is something I am all too familiar with, which is why we are going to liberate as many people as possible. Soon, this war will end, and you won't have to hide in the forest any longer."

Zecora stepped forward, her expression neutral.

"How can you be so sure, even if your cause is so pure? Gilda escaped with her life, and I was lucky not to be near any major settlements when the invasion occured. Equestria as we knew it is gone, The resistance is built on nothing but hope, something that won't last long. I ask again, how can you be so sure?" Zecora's gaze became one full of pleading, and Dean shuffled under her look. He took a deep breath and thought for a moment before answering.

"A man on my world created a saying that has stuck with my people for the last half a century. It goes like this: 'If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you must keep moving forward.' This man started one of the single biggest civil rights protests in history. What I'm trying to say is, you can never give up, for if you do, then the enemy has already won." Dean noticed Midnight out of the corner of his eye; it was time to go. He turned back to Zecora and Gilda before bending down onto one knee and sticking out his hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both, even if we got off on the wrong foot at first. I would also like to say thank you for showing us the quickest way here. The circumstances for the ponies in Stalliongrad are critical, and your aide will be remembered." He smiled.

Gilda slowly crept forward before holding out her claw as well. The two appendages met in the middle, and they shook. Even if they had only known each other for the better part of a day, each of them understood the importance of getting along; they were all on the same side after all.

Next was Zecora. Dean still couldn't get a read on the Zebra shaman, but she had proved her allegiance well enough. However, he still couldn't get the nagging feeling out of his stomach. She knew something, this he was aware of. Something she had said yesterday he had been meaning to ask about...

Dean lowered his head and stared hard into Zecora's eyes. She saw his look, and must have realised that he had something to say for she leaned in as well. "Zecora. You said when we first met that you had seen bits and pieces of the future. Can you tell me what you saw? I need every advantage here." Dean stayed kneeling as Gilda watched from the side. He could also sense a few of his squaddies listening in as well.

Zecora shuffled lightly and looked down, her ears pinning to the sides of her head. The wind suddenly began to howl, and a sense of foreboding washed over the group. Dean swore he could hear a howl come from somewhere above in the chilly air.

"Are you sure, Human? Sometimes, knowing what is to take place can be a dangerous game. If one is not careful, then the fates of all could end in flame. I can not recount exactly what I saw, but I will be accurate enough; be sure your skin doesn't crawl." Dean nodded, and Zecora sighed once more.

"What I saw all those weeks ago, forthold a catastrophe the likes of which the fates would not sew. Something Malicious lurks around, its shadow is everywhere, its tendrils dragging this world down. I saw the enslavement of every creature, and I saw the destruction wrought, I shall not describe its features. My dreams were invaded, my thoughts besieged, I delved too far, and the creature nearly succeeded." Zecora paused and searched Dean's eyes. His face remained stoic, so she continued. "I know you have encountered the Guardian, for he has spoken to me. He made my mind free, but he needed me to spread a word. The fate of this world depends on his release, especially with what is about to occur. I have been counting the days, and in exactly two weeks, Equestria as we know it will be razed."

Dean stared at the little Zebra in shock. His dream about that alicorn, Luna... how could she know what was said? He didn't want to believe that he only had two weeks, it wasn't enough time! A sinking feeling was forming in his gut, and he shuffled in place to remove the discomfort. Swallowing once, he waved his hand for her to continue.

"This is the future as it was set to be. I saw no heroes, no resistance, and no Human as far as I could see. Yet here you are. I wish not to be sceptical, but your mission seems imperceptible. You are merely delaying the inevitable."

Dean sighed as Zecora gave him a firm look. It was obvious that she was spooked by her visions. He doubted he could change her mind, but there was one more thing he needed to try.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. This quote is from a famous story where I came from called Julius Caesar. See, we Humans have had our ups and downs, and we have had our fair share of prophecies. Listen when I say this: We control our own destiny; it's all in the mind. Human's never thought they would be able to fly to the heavens, until someone believed and built the first flying contraption. No one believed that a monarchy could be overthrown, but my people proved it could by leading one of the most famous revolutions in history. When one believes, they can achieve the impossible." Dean stood up and swung his rifle so that it rested in his grip. His eyes held steely determination as his hair blew in the wind. "I believe we can stop the Elves, so that is what we are going to do. Goodbye, Zecora and Gilda."

Dean turned and strode up to the watching ponies. Each one looked shaken and slightly pale, but upon his passing, they immediately sobered up.

"Sergeant! Wait!" Dean stopped and half turned towards the voice whom he recognized as Gilda's. With one mighty flap, she landed beside him and looked up into his eyes.

"Sergeant, It may be a small distance, but be wary. Ever since the Elves have taken over, Harmonic magic has deteriorated rapidly in these parts. Monsters lurk in the shadows, and beings beyond understanding stalk the night. I've seen one of these beasts myself and barely escaped. I believe in your mission, but you need to be careful. The Elves aren't the only evil beings in this land."

Dean unclipped his helmet from his waist before slowly sliding it over his head. The seals engaged with a hiss, and Sergeant Dean was gone. Standing before Gilda, was the Demon in Metal.

"We will keep our eyes open. You should go back with Zecora." She nodded and once more flapped her wings. Zecora was already walking away, and Dean watched as the duo slowly left his vision.

The storm seemed to pick up then, its howling and moaning seeming to reverberate across the snowy tundra. Checking over his squad mates, Dean found that each one was bound in something warm under their armour. They were good to go.

With a silent command, the group began its trek through the storm. Snow crunched at their feet, and the wind whipped at their faces. They didn't make it a hundred metres before an ungodly screech rose through the air somewhere far to their left.

"What was that?!" Spitfire growled as she scanned her surroundings. Dean's motion tracker was on its maximum output, but he didn't see anything. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the growing storm, but nothing seemed amiss. With a curse, he breathed one word.

"Trouble."

The group progressed through and into the frozen north. Their nerves slowly increasing the farther they wen't

*****

Seven hours in, and Dean knew something was very wrong. All six of his squad mates must have sensed it too, for they immediately tightened formation and unsheathed their weapons.

Steel and Cobalt didn't have their heavy armour on at the moment, so they instead resorted to lighting their horns and forming a half shield around the group. Their combined magics made it quite resilient, and it allowed Dean to see overtop while being able to take cover. Stormfly got low to the ground while Spitfire and Midnight prepared to take to the sky. Swift Spear narrowed his eyes and scanned the storm in hopes of catching signs of movement.

The wind howled as the group sat in silence. No one dared move around unless they were turning their heads. In Dean's case, he kept an eye on his motion tracker, and an eye on his surroundings. The Helmet actually contained a feature that allowed him to use his peripheral vision, so he used it to its fullest extent.

The searching of his eyes was for nought, however, as the storm was too strong. His augmented eyes could see well in the dark and far distances, but this blizzard was something entirely new. He cursed his inability to see what had spooked the group and turned in place. With the low visibility of his surroundings, he opted to switch from his rifle to his P23 Equaliser.

"RNnnnngggggguuuuhhh..."

A haunting, gurgly moan erupted somewhere to Dean's left, and all eyes snapped in that direction. It had sounded sad, and downright miserable. It also worked in setting everyones skin crawling. It was the moan of someone on the verge of death, who was in immense agony, or was... inhuman. That was the word to best describe it: inhuman, otherworldly, and alien.

"Sergeant, look behind you." Dean heard a tremble in Swift Spears' voice as he spoke. He slowly turned his head, only to find what could only be described as a horse made of the blizzard. Its mane was a silvery white and blew lusciously in the wind. The horse's eyes were a blinding, icy blue, and Dean couldn't help but get a chill from just looking at them. The horse whinnied, causing all the squad mates to turn around and regard the creature in fear.

Dean snapped his rifle up and pondered over the creature as he analysed it. Was this one of the spirits that Gilda was talking about? What did it represent?

"I-It's a W-Windigo!" Midnight shivered as his ears folded back. Dean looked down at them.

"Don't you mean Wendigo?" Flashes of a skinny creature with a horrifying face and razor nails popped into his mind, and he regarded the Windigo with more trepidation.

"N-no, it's a windigo. A malevolent spirit that arrives when disharmony and distrust reign. They a-are part of Equestrian lore." Steel appeared on Dean's left and gave him the information. The Sergeant merely nodded before lowering his gun. A gut instinct was pulling at him, telling him that whatever this thing was, it didn't mean them harm.

'Follow it...'

Dean paused as a voice seemed to whisper in his ears. Looking back, he saw that he was now a few feet away from his squad, and closer to the horse of wind and ice. He had walked right through the protective barrier, and out into the cold. Not once had he heard anyone calling to him.

"Sergeant, what are you doing!?" Spitfire called, clearly panicked. The others were all looking at him in horror. Their weapons were drawn, and their eyes were glued to the horse. It whinnied again, and Dean looked back at it. The horse stared directly at him, and he was about to move forward once more, when its head turned and its ears fell beside its head. Dean turned, and his blood ran cold.

Behind his squad, who were all focused on him, was a creature of one's nightmares. It crawled on four spindly, twisted legs, and its massive claws stretched several inches. The creature was covered in fur on its back and rear legs, but not its front. Then came the head, or mostly just jaws. The creature's face resembled that of a bobbit worm, and large, pointed teeth took up whatever space was left over. Dean watched as this creature crept forward on all fours, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting ponies.

Dean watched as its muscles tensed from about fifteen feet away. The creature was no bigger than a cow, but the muscles under its skin seemed to pulsate with strength. The wind was blowing towards it, making the monster invisible to the nostrils of the ponies.

He was gone in a flash, his legs pumping as he moved to intercept the creature. The pony at the back of the line was Stormfly, who was eyeing him in shock. Her facial expression changed in slow motion as Dean rocketed towards her, and her head turned at an impossibly slow rate. Just as her eyes landed on the monster, it pounced.

Stormly was like a deer stuck in headlights. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She had faced the Dark Elves countless times, and survived in harsh environments that would break your typical pony.

Never before had she stared death in the face.

The monster's front legs were angled forwards, its claws intending to turn her into a kebab. Its mouth opened impossibly wide, and its upper and lower jaw unhinged to show rows of sharp teeth. The beast had no eyes, and no nose. How it had gotten the jump on her, she would never know.

Stormfly cried out and tried to move, but a stone sat buried beneath the snow, and her front leg twisted the wrong direction. She cried out in shock more than anything and looked back up. The creature was literally a foot away, its kill guaranteed. She would become nothing more than a quick snack for this thing before it got the rest of the squad.

She let out a terrified scream and covered her face. Yet the pain didn't come. There was no set of jaws ripping her head off, and no claws skewering her through the stomach. She heard shouts of surprise and confusion as the rest of the squad tried to coordinate.

"Mother fucker!!"

"ROOOAAARRR!"

"CRACK!"

Something landed on Stormfly's legs, which were over her eyes. She shook like a leaf as more chunks of stuff rained down around her. Ever so slowly, she uncovered her eyes and looked around.

The snow was red. Speckles of the stuff were sprayed in a wide display all around her. Looking at her leg, she realised that the chunks that had landed on her were bits of flesh.

"G-Gross!" She half shuddered, half gagged. Stormfly had dealt with plenty of blood and gore, that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was the fact that she had been caught with her horseshoes off, and a beast had gotten the jump on her.

'I'm a royal guard, dammit!'

She cursed under her breath and looked towards the remains of the beast. Its body was intact, though one of its front legs was bent very awkwardly. Further analysing brought her to the beasts head, or lack thereof for that matter. Everything was gone. The jaw, the teeth, all the way down the creature's neck. It was utterly eviscerated. The wind howled, and Stormfly's eyes seemed to go hazy. Dean appeared in front of her as she continued to stare at the creature.

Another low, but loud moan broke through the air, followed by more. More moans echoed off to their sides until the group was surrounded by an ungodly harmony of depressive noises.

Storm heard the Sergeant say something, but it was all gibberish. She continued to stare at the monster. Someone yelled in her ear, and the next thing she knew, she was being carried like a foal. She blinked and looked around. The dead monster was gone, replaced by snow and wind... but that couldn't be right?

'We were just there?' Stormfly blinked again and found herself lying on cold stone. A roof made of rocks sat above her, indicating that she was now in a cave of some sort.

"She's in shock at the moment, Sergeant...."

"She needs rest for a night. Nothing seems to be wrong physically..."

Stormfly's world faded into black.

*****

Never before had Dean been so stressed. Sure, the war with the Orith was stressful in its own right, and he had to make questionable decisions on a basis, but it was different somehow. This time, he had really questioned his sanity. A giant creature from out of a kids nightmare had nearly skewered one of his squaddies, and boy was it ugly. Dean's weight with the exo-suit had allowed him to tackle the monster out of thin air, and in the process, break its right foreleg. Dean recovered faster than the monster, and had quickly whipped out his P23. Usually, if a target was too small, the experimental bullets would merely go through them. With the size of this horror, the ammo would work just fine.

And work it did.

The monster stood no chance when he had fired, and the little piece of metal travelled right through its skull. The prototype bullet lodged itself in the beast, just as it had prepared to jump at the Human. The ensuing explosion of blood, bone, and gore was quite the spectacle.

After killing the creature, Dean had walked back to the group and looked back in his original direction. The windigo was still there, and its ears were still folded back. It stood stoic and unmoving. Its ethereal, whispy white mane blew heavily in the wind.

The voice had whispered to him again, but more urgently this time:

'Follow it! Follow the spirit...'

"Everyone, I think we need to follow this thing. Form up on me!" He signalled with a hand, but sensed no movement. Looking behind him, he saw that each of the ponies was looking at him with uncertainty.

"Dean, I don't know if we should do this... thats a Windigo!" Swift Spear waved his forelegs in the air towards the Windigo, but the Human wasn't amused. He noticed that the rest of the squad shared the same sentiment, and was about to comment, when a gurgly moan/screech pierced the air. This was followed by two more, then another, and another.... Dean lost count around fifteen. He turned back to his squad, who now all wore fearful expressions.

"Listen, more of those things are coming, and I can't kill all of them. Right now, you are going to have to trust me as your leader and friend in order to make it to safety." Dean eyed each of the ponies before him, hoping they would overcome their natural instincts.

Dean had chosen them because they were the best candidates Maritime Bay had to offer, and it would seem he had chosen right. Each of the ponies' expressions became steely and determined. Spitfire nodded her head and smirked.

"Lead the way, Sergeant." She said,

Dean smirked and nodded back.

"Rangers always lead the way."

The group set out at a jog, constantly alert and ready for an ambush. The blizzard was hard to see through, and so was the Wendigo, which hadn't moved.

"Dean, wait!" Dean stopped and turned towards Swift Spears voice. He was about to ask what the problem was when he saw a pony shaped figure behind them. He squinted his eyes, hoping to make out who was following them when his eyes widened. Doing a quick head count, Dean's eyes widened in horror.

The Windigo whinnied, and the creature's howling was getting closer; nearly on top of the group. He gulped, then made a decision.

"Follow the Wendigo, now! I'm going back for Stormfly." The Windigo whinnied again, this time more urgently than before. Dean could make out shadows in the snow storm slowly approaching the stock-still Pegasus.

"No! We will get her with you!" Spitfires' nostrils flared as she flexed her wing blades. She never got the chance when Dean was suddenly in her face.

"GET THE REST OF THIS SQUAD MOVING, OR WE ARE FINISHED!" He screamed at her. The ponies wouldn't last two seconds against these creatures, especially with swords and spears. They were also heavily outnumbered, and Dean didn't plan on staying for a fight.

His words seemed to cause the others to shrink back, but Dean didn't care. They needed to move.

'ROARRRR!'

Without a second thought, Sergeant Dean holstered his SCAR and made a B-line for Stormfly. The wind rushed past him, and the snowflakes seemed to move at warp speed around him.

'How did I not notice she wasn't following?!' He chastised himself silently. Anger boiled in him for his mistake, and he used the anger to propel himself even faster. He was rapidly approaching the frozen Pegasus when the worst happened.

One of those monsters lept from the side and through the storm, once more headed right for Stormfly. She didn't show any signs of fear, or movement, or anything, and Dean feared the worst.

With a yell, he lept through the air, his left arm out to snag the little pony, and his right unclipping his pistol. Time slowed down, and Dean was able to gauge everything. He saw the saliva and teeth within the monster's gaping jaw, and he saw its razor sharp claws aimed right for the oblivious ponies side. His left arm came down and scooped Stormfly up, while his other brought about his P23.

Turning his body midair, Dean flew on his back, just barely missing the dagger like talons the beast was trying to use. He also saw its jaw coming to snap him out of the air, so he moved once again.

Being sure to keep stormfly tucked away, he brought his left boot into the side of the monster's head just as it tried to snap him in half. Using his superhuman strength, he pushed off the creature's head, and a sickening crack echoed around his helmet. The creature howled in pain as Dean completed the backflip and landed on his feet, but he had no time to celebrate.

"One, two, three, seven, twenty..." He counted the amount of dots on his motion tracker and began backing towards the way he came, but it was for nought. A large blip appeared directly behind him, and Dean froze on the spot. Looking around, back and forth, he saw shadows creeping towards him through the storm, and a lot of them. He had lost count on his tracker a while ago, so he used his eyes and ears to their full advantage.

"Not an Elf... Not a Pony.... Fresh meat..."

Dean turned and raised his pistol, trying to seem intimidating and tall. It was very difficult with a ponies rump under his one arm, but he made due.

Slowly turning, Dean paused when he was facing the direction he was supposed to be going. His eyes travelled up and up before finally landing on what appeared to be a head.

This new... abomination was very similar to its smaller kin in overall appearance, but there was one key difference: it was massive, and black tendrils seemed to snake through its body. If Dean had to hazard a guess, from what Twilight had told him, he was likely looking at something born of Dark Magic.

He sighed and rolled his shoulders. He didn't want a fight, but this thing was standing in his way. This thing was obviously a leader of some sort, so if he took it out--

"You are not of this... world.... you are not from this... plane of existence... You have also been blessed.... I can see it..... the Moon has chosen you, but whyyyyy....." The beast rasped and slowly lowered its head to Deans level. He was slightly intimidated, but he had dealt with exceptionally large enemies before. Orithian crab hybrids for example...

"What do you want?" The speakers on Dean's helmet distorted his voice on his command, and he thought he saw the creature's mouth twitch, but he stayed still and ready.

"That does not matter...." The creature's voice rumbled and shook the ground Dean was standing on, but he stayed firm. "There is another.... presence.... on you. One I had thought to be... extinguished.... the Element of Magic." A hiss rose from the assembled monsters, and Dean's head swivelled to ensure none were making a move. At the same time, he repositioned the still comatose Stormfly so that she was easier to carry.

"What even are you, monster!" Dean called from his spot on the ground. His voice was reminiscent of a stormtrooper, but deeper and more guttural. There was a twinge of electric voice alteration going on as well, but that wasn't all too important.

"I? I am the monument to all... your... sinsss... Born in the... darkness.... destined to reclaim the light.... but the elements.... they imprisoned us for eternity..... With the rise of the Dark... Elves, the spirits of Tartarus are... freeee.... The Elements are... gone.... harmony is lost.... and Darkness consumes... the land.... The great reckoning is nearly here.... on the blood moon.... one fortnight...."

A chill went up Dean's spine and his hand shook as he slowly holstered his pistol. His hand now free, he reached towards the round, green object sitting on his belt.

"What is the great reckoning?" Dean unclipped the pin, but kept a death grip on the lever. Should he let go, then his plan would go to waste.

Suddenly, there was an ungodly screech. It was so loud that Dean nearly dropped the grenade at his feet there and then, but he kept hold. Ripples travelled across the snow and blew the white particles away. When the screech was finished, all that remained was constant blizzard, and the ringing in Dean's ears. Looking down, he saw that Stormfly's ears were folded down, and a little bit of blood was oozing from the one on her right. Dean scowled and looked up at the monster, but what he saw made his skin pale.

Something was forcing the jaws of the beast open and squeezing around to make room. Tentacles and tendrils spewed out in a mess and seemed to latch to the skin of the massive monster. A sinking feeling was beginning in his gut, and he was almost certain as to why.

The thing that was haunting his nightmares, the beast that plagued his dreams, had hijacked the mind of the monster, and was now sitting in its mouth. Three sets of eyes opened horizontally across the black abyss, and two sets of teeth smiled down at him. Dean took an involuntary step back, never keeping his eyes off the new enemy.

"My my, it seems the Demon in Metal is afraid of little old Us!" Gone was the broken speech of the monster, replaced by the low, raspy, female voices that haunted him.

"We finally found you, pinpointed where you were when my pet and its... offspring picked up your scent. Now, here we are, on the verge of claiming our prize, all because you came back to rescue the pony." It laughed a guttural laugh, but combined with three different voices. Dean shivered from the noise and took another step back. His brain was running at mach speed trying to figure out a way to escape with this new development. If the creature was anything like in his dream, then he would have a hard time out running it. He could use the grenade currently in his hand, or a flashbang, but it might see those coming.

"That little stunt you pulled by blinding us won't work again, Human. All we seek is the location of the Princess! Should you tell us... then we can get you home..."

Dean's world suddenly became quiet. A dull thumping, probably his heart, echoed through his head as he stared at the creature. His vision zeroed in, and he was tempted to take it up on the offer.

Then he blinked.

"Enough mind games, asshole! I won't tell you jack-shit!" Dean released the lever on his grenade and tossed it towards two monsters that were behind him. The grenade bounced off the one's head, causing it to growl in annoyance. The others began to tighten their formation slightly, but Dean wasn't watching, he was hunkered down with his body overtop of Stormfly's.

"You can't escape, Human. Your suffering is--"

A mighty explosion of fire and metal tore through the blizzard, causing a multitude of screeches from the surrounding monsters. Dean was up in an instant and sprinting to the small window he had created. He passed by the goopy remains of what used to be one of the creatures and sprinted into the cold embrace of the Frozen North. If his assumptions were right...

A whinnie blew across the wind, and Dean scanned the skies for their source. He caught sight of a horse-like figure trailing in front of him through the blizzard, occasionally dipping in and out of view. He smirked as the voice reappeared in his head.

"Follow the Windigo, hurry!"

"Don't need to be told twice." He muttered to himself. His armoured feet pounded across the wastes as he raced after the elusive wind horse. The blizzard made it hard to see as he sprinted nearly eighty kilometres an hour towards what he hoped to be safety. He silently prayed his squad had made it to wherever the Windigo had taken them, and hopefully he could get Stormfly some medical attention. Looking down, he noticed her lips were turning blue, but her eyes were open. He tried calling to her, but she didn't acknowledge his voice at all. Her stare seemed to go beyond the blizzard, so he halted his attempts to wake her.

Had he not looked up from the Pegasus when he did, he likely would have become a Human shish-kebab.

Dean expertly performed a barrel roll midair as a massive set of talons slashed where he used to be. The razor sharp daggers swept under and over him as he bobbed and weaved his way around. He knew what it was attacking him, and he was dead if he slowed down.

His feet hit the ground and he kept running. A new sense of urgency overcame him when It released a bestial roar behind him. The ground began to shake as the massive possessed creature lumbered after him. The creature itself had no eyes to speak of, but the thing in its mouth was obviously controlling it.

It was at that moment that Dean remembered the words of a certain Dark Blue Alicorn:

"The Emperor has created a terrible monster out of mine, my sisters, and King Sombra's bodies. That is what chased you here through the hall..."

Dean grimaced. He wasn't going to be able to avenge her yet. He felt a sudden pang of guilt as he continued to sprint. The outline of something large and black stood out through the blizzard, and Dean nearly gave a whoop of joy when he saw the beginnings of a jagged mountain appear through the storm. Looking up, he saw the Windigo veer slightly to the right, so he followed.

Dean immediately caught sight of a cave entrance big enough to fit his old pickup truck and laughed when he saw five ponies standing at the entrance. His free arm pumped in tandem with his legs as he drew closer and closer. The thumping had stopped a while ago, and Dean believed he was in the clear.

A gut instinct didn't let him let his guard down fully though, and his training kicked in when the monster suddenly lunged through the snow towards the seemingly unsuspecting Human.

Dean, for his part, saw the horrified looks on his squaddies faces as the monster lept towards him. He tensed his legs and made to jump straight up, but just as his legs cleared the monster's outstretched limbs, a black tentacle from within its mouth lept forth and smashed into his back.

His arms flailed wildly as Stormfly was knocked from his grip and thrown towards the cave. She landed some ten feet from the entrance, whereas Dean smashed into the ground some twenty feet away, kicking up snow and dirt as he skidded across the ground.

Quick as a snake, he was on his feet again and facing the threat. His knife found its way into his hand, and he glared at the monster as it stared in his general direction. Then, something strange happened.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" The creature controlling the spirit from Tartarus screeched as it began looking along the cliff face. Its massive steps shook the whole mountain as Dean stood in shock. He watched as it passed right by his position without a second glance.

"You win this time, Guardian." The beast growled before stalking back into the blizzard. Dean didn't move until its footsteps no longer shook the earth, and its moans and roars could no longer be heard.

"You know, you might still get frostbite if you stay out too long." Dean turned towards the very familiar voice and lowered his knife.

"You." He stated before reaching towards his head. He removed his helmet and spat on the ground. "What are you doing here?" His tone was less accusatory, and more agitated. His mission had nearly been foiled because some otherworldly eldritch beasts had decided to try and make his group food. He was now physically being stalked by the creature haunting him in his dreams, and now, he had to face one of the more annoying aspects of this planet. He looked past the prick standing in front of him and noticed the lack of Stormfly on the snow. The others must have brought her inside.

"Oh, thanks Mr. Guardian! Thanks so much for saving my life! I owe you everything, and I'll kiss your toes and lick your nipples for you if you want! ohh! Ohh!" The Guardian, who was now standing beside Dean in the blizzard, spoke in an overly high and girlish voice as he mocked the Human super soldier. Dean merely grumbled in response.

After a moment of silence, Dean felt eyes on the side of his head, but he chose to ignore them. When a certain ball cap wearing head slowly entered his vision, he made a point of turning his head away. It was childish, but he was in a bad mood. After another twenty seconds, Dean glanced to the side. The Guardian was still staring at him, unblinking. It was actually slightly creepy.

Dean huffed and crossed her arms.

"Thank you, Guardian." He stated before turning back towards the blizzard. The Guardian hummed in appreciation before finally blinking and standing upright. He was slightly shorter than Dean side by side, but he knew it was just a sense of perspective. He had read the comics, so he knew quite a bit.

"So can I--" Dean spoke, but the Guardian held up a hand.

"No, you can't say my first name. That's reserved for my friends as well as the prequel." Dean looked at the man beside him in confusion, but shrugged it off as an all powerful being being all powerful.

"So, how did you hide us from that thing?" Dean glanced at the Guardian again before staring back into the storm. Without the unease in his stomach, the surroundings and scenery was actually pretty ominous and pretty. The snow here seemed pure and comically white. Dean could only imagine how beautiful the landscape would be without the storm.

The Guardian smiled and wiggled his fingers.

"Magic." He simply answered. Dean huffed and smiled.

"So, two weeks huh?" Dean's smile turned into a frown when the Guardian asked him that. He had enough to worry about trying to wage a war, but with a deadline like that, one that determined the outcome of everything, it was starting to get to him.

"Yeah, two weeks. I've been told by three different people now. One from Luna," He noticed the Guardians sudden intake of breath, but he kept going, "Zecora the Zebra, and that monster with the tentacles. I take it you knew Luna?"

The Guardian smiled sadly and blinked away what appeared to be a tear. Dean immediately felt bad for bringing up such a question, but the Guardian began talking.

"We were best of friends once, on a different planet. I have been to many Equestrias, Sergeant, and all of them treated me the same. Having the appearance of a Human, and the fact that I was constantly trying to contain the Destroyer did not put me in a good light. It wasn't until I met the Princess of the night. The last world I was on saw the Elements of Harmony being used on me by the main six, and only Luna stood up for me." The Guardian turned and looked into Dean's eyes. "She was a smart young alicorn, and she had a knack for seeing things before they happened. Whatever she told you, make sure you heed her advice." The Guardian turned back and sighed. "Let's go into the cave, the others are likely wondering where we are."

The Guardian turned and stalked towards the cave entrance, his trench coat billowing in the wind around him. Dean waited a second longer before following. This was the first time the Guardian had physically intervened in anything, and he was curious how much he would do so in the future as well.

Dean caught up to the long strides of the Guardian and tested a theory of his. Quickly he reached out and shoved his hand where the head of the Guardian would be. His hand passed right through like he was made of light, and Dean heard a chuckle come from in front of him.

"I thought you'd be smart enough to know I wasn't actually here." He snarked. Dean huffed as the two entered the cave.

"Dean!" The Human suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a bone crushing hug from a certain jet black Pegasus. He chuckled as the furry attacker tried his best to squeeze the life out of him. Had Dean not been wearing his armour, that likely would have been the case.

"Hey, Midnight." Dean chuckled as he scanned the rest of the group as well as their new little hideout. The cave before him was decently spacious, with enough room to hold all of them as well as their wagon comfortably. A makeshift bed had been arranged for Stormfly so that Cobalt could examine her. Believe it or not, but the buff unicorn actually had some extensive medical training. Coupled with his magic and brute strength, it was no question why he was on the team.

"What's the diagnosis, Cobalt?" Dean sat down against a nearby wall and looked pointedly at the stallion. Cobalt merely huffed and smirked.

"She's in shock at the moment, Sergeant. That monster must've truly given her a fright. She also has minor hypothermia, something I can fix in a few hours with my magic. She just needs rest for a night. Nothing else seems to be wrong physically, so she should be good for tomorrow. I am worried about a little trauma from the experience. She has been fighting in the resistance for the last two years, and the things we have all had to do were quite horrific while fighting the Elves. I bet that the war is slowly catching up to her."

Cobalt trotted over to his sleeping bag and began checking over his equipment, the others began doing the same. Dean cleared his throat as he stood up from his place on the wall.

"Alright. Tomorrow at dawn, we will be scouting the camp from the side of the mountain. If my map is reading right, then Stalliongrad is literally on the other side, while the camp is closer to where we are. The general arrives in two days at around lunch time, and we will have seized the camp by the same morning. We've gone over the tactics, and you all know the plan. Get some rest, you'll need it." With that final statement, the ponies let out an 'Oorah' before moving to their sleeping areas. None of them questioned how the monster hadn't tried getting into the cave, and he briefly wondered why. He looked back to the entrance of the cave, where a certain trench coat wearing person was standing. It was likely his doing.

As everyone slowly went to sleep, Dean walked over to the entrance and once more stood beside the Guardian. Looking over, the mons goofy smile and cocky posture was gone, replaced with a solemn look and a fixed stare.

"You know, I have a knack for knowing when something bad is going to happen." The Guardian raised his hand and felt along the rock wall, but the appendage passed right through. The guardian sighed and lowered his arm. "Something bad is going to happen, and you are going to have to make a choice in the near future. Don't ask what it is, because I don't know. You are soon going to be put through your hardest trial yet, and I am scared that you won't succeed. I have faith in you, Sergeant Dean, but you are still merely a Human, and Humans make mistakes. Learn from them? Sure. But should you mess up here, then the multiverse is doomed. I'm not trying to brag here, but if I don't get released, and the Destroyer does, then it's finished. That's what the end goal is here for the Dark Elves. The Destroyer has twisted them into working for her. She will use their armies to steamroll through the cosmos, and I won't be able to do a damn thing. You know, I am only nineteen years old, and I was chosen to be the Guardian of the Multiverse at seventeen. I'm going to be honest Sergeant, but this all comes down to you." The Guardian shuffled on the balls of his feet as he looked anywhere but at Dean. "I trust Discord brought you here for a reason, even if he usually doesn't have one at all. You are the last hope of this world, and countless others, even if they don't know it. I need to know, Sergeant, " He finally looked into Dean's face, "Can you do this? Can you be the saviour everyone needs?"

There was silence. Nothing but silence.

Dean suddenly sucked in some air and his expression turned steely. He faced the Guardian and paused. The expression on the young man's face was genuine, and even held some fear. Seeing fear on the face of an all powerful being was not something he wanted to see, but it made him realise how high these stakes really were. Should he fail, and the Guardian remained entrapped, then he wouldn't just be failing this world and its people, he would be failing the multiverse as a whole. He knew the capabilities of the Destroyer, but he couldn't fathom what she could do to multiple worlds at a time with a massive army. The Elves weren't advanced enough in terms of tactics, but their magic and technology made up for that. give them ten years, and Dean speculated without a doubt they would become nearly unstoppable, even if he was loath to admit it.

He needed to succeed, no matter the cost.

"Guardian, I am just a Human, and only one at that. The stakes here are impossibly high, and I recognize this. I don't know if I was the right choice to save everything, but know this. I will continue to fight until my lungs give out, until my heart stops beating, and when my face runs pale. I can't immediately promise victory, you and I both know this... but I can damn well try. We can't dwell too much on the future, for it will tear us apart. I will plan, I will strategize and prepare. When the time comes to officially stop the Emperor and whatever he is planning in two weeks, then it will be done. If not, then I will be dead." Dean turned and saluted, his hand coming to his forehead as his back straightened. The Guardian smiled and snapped a quick salute as well.

"I'm counting on you, and so are Trillions more. And I'm sorry for seeming so depressed and negative. I entrust you with this task, and believe you will succeed. Thank you, Sergeant Dean Forrester." The Guardian held his hand out for a shake, but Dean looked at it sceptically. The Guardian realised his blunder and blushed.

"Sorry, I'm still getting used to projecting my image. I forgot about the no touchy rule."

Dean chuckled and chose to wave instead.

"I will shake your hand when this is over, Guardian, not sooner or later."

"Sam."

"What?" Dean looked down at the young man, who was smirking.

"Just call me Sam, all my friends do."

And at that, Sam/the Guardian disappeared. Dean stood in mild shock for a moment before smiling a genuine smile. He saluted again and chuckled.

"Will do, Sam, will do." He made to go to his bedrole, but a sudden pressure began building behind his eyes. Dean blinked and stumbled slightly, his hand shooting up to balance himself on the wall.

"DEAN!! Help..... ME.....!" The ghostly words were hard to make out and were very distorted, almost like radio static. A scene had flashed in his head. Purple legs were tied in front of his eyes, and black horse bug things were walking around. The image was gone in an instant, and Dean was left wondering what the fuck had just happened.

With a shrug, he slipped his helmet back on. No matter how safe the Guardian had made this place, he wasn't going to sleep without it in hostile territory.

Just as more pressure was developing behind his eyes, and what sounded suspiciously like the ghostly voice of Twilight whispered around him, he slipped his helmet on. The static whispering was cut off, and the pressure disappeared. Thinking he just needed sleep, Dean lay down on his mat. One hand rested on his pistol, one on his chest.

As the Human fell asleep, he was completely unaware of the connection that was attempting to establish itself past his magic proof armour...

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