FIGHT LIKE HELL, FIGHT LIKE DOOM MARINES!

Ch.9: Unexpected Visitors...

(Kevin/Doom Marine, on the train...)

"You two did WHAT!?" Little Lulu screamed, while Bryan was just laughing his ass off.

He told her where we gone to, the toy store, but we weren't gonna tell her what we discussed with the manager. After that, I got the idea of buying a red coloured spray can, and went to use it. Good thing Luna gave us some money, although, I don't think she'll let us shop on our own. Or do anything on our own, for that matter. But to Hell with that, it was worth the risk. Besides, I always wanted to do something artistic.

"Are you two completely out of your minds!?" Twilight shouted. From what Bryan discussed yesterday, her brother was murdered. That really pissed me off, even if it didn't seem that way, it really did. Things won't be playing out the way they should be now, at least, up to this point. With the whole Changeling thing going on... I learned that the Unicorn mare with us, was actually Chrysalis herself. Surprisingly enough.

"What!? We can't have our own fun!?" Bryan said as he stopped himself from laughing to death. "Oh c'mon! We've been incased in tombs for so long, and you're saying we can't have fun! Fuck you!"

Oh great, arguments. Just what we need. Getting up from my seat, I walked off into another train cart. I wasn't going to bother stopping any of it, seeing it as hopeless effort. As I entered through, I noticed my compass lighting up. It only does that if there's a secret of interest nearby. Walking forward, I getting closer to the source, until I spotted it, or should I say, them.

They, too, had the Invisibility power-up, just like me. There were two of them, waiting for me. But when did they get here? No, it matters not. As long as we know they're still alive, that's good enough for me. Walking over to them, I sat across from where they're seated, facing each other. Re-establishing my Link with them, they de-cloaked, showing themselves to me. Our Knights of Doom; the Night Sentinels.

Soon, the one to my right spoke up. I know him the moment he spoke. "It is good to have you back in the waking world, milord." Azurai said, with the utmost respect and gratefulness. "We have all feared the worst."

My nodded my head, and texted. "Our deepest apologies, things have taken a turn, for the unexpected, to the unsuspected." I told them.

"We figured as much, the King especially." The one to my left, a young woman's voice, said to me. "He knew none of you were dead, but simply missing." She must be a new blood.

"So, the old man is still alive." I commented.

"And enraged." She stated.

"As soon as the King felt the presence of the Berserker..." Azurai started explaining. "Many of those insects that have died by his hands, had the misfortune of being dragged before his highness." I know where this is going. "After the incident in the Crystal Empire, the one who murdered the Prince, as you five would put it; sealed the deal. The King burned his, and every other insect's soul, making them suffer for their crimes, for all eternity. Hence forth, he initiated the Recall Protocol." I thought as much. And in case you didn't catch on, he's talking about Tartarus.

Yes, I know; what on earth am I talking about? I thought you guys were killing the demons that came out from there? Well, yes, we were. Or so we thought. It's a bit complicating, but let's just say that a civil war broke out, and leave it at that. And of course, yes, these two are demons themselves, just not in appearances anymore. When they dawn that armour on, their demonic appearances are replaced with human touches, while still retaining their original prowess.

"So, he called the Legion back for this war? Bit of an overkill on his part, don't you think." I inquired.

"Perhaps." He answered. "But from what we have gathered, from those you have slain, this Cocoon is messing with nature. Something she should not be doing. All of these experiments, are just building up to her imminent demise."

"Such as the Leviathan."

"Exactly..." And so, our conversation ranged from Cocoon, to them. I asked them on how are things going in Tartarus, and they explained that things have returned to normal. Beyond that, the many applicants of those wanting to become Night Sentinels have been skyrocketing, especially when the Recall Protocol went out. The ones we lead and fought with are still there, as they are now the veterans of the army. The new blood, named Tahilla, joined three years ago, her promotion coming up soon. Azurai was now ranked Colonel.

After a while, we decided to check up on how things were going with Bryan and the others. Hopefully he didn't start a brawl, like he mostly does, because he gets bored. He's patient, but not that patient. Walking back in, I saw Bryan having an arm wrestle with Luna's Guard. He was facing the captain herself, although it may seem she's winning, in reality, Bryan was just messing with her. Making her, and everyone else, besides Luna and VEGA, believe she has a chance at winning against him.

Well, it's a better outcome, than the one I thought would usually happen.

"So..." The captain grunted, as she struggled to slam his hand down, with the crowd cheering for her. "Ready to lose?" Before she could finish it off, the shaking between them stopped, as Bryan brought them back to square one. This was a show-stopper, as they all became silence, and stunned. The captain herself, was too shocked to do anything, and before anyone knew it, she lost.

As Bryan let go of her, she just stared down at her hand for the moment, and then her wings flared out wide. Along with the rest of the her Guard. We knew what that meant, but it didn't made it any less funny at times. Bryan tried his hardest not to laugh, which he was starting to lose against. That is, until we saw tears starting to stream down her bright red cheeks.

"... You... You big meanie..." Oh no, she's gonna play that card! And now the rest of them are playing along with her!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's just calm down now! No need to cry, okay, I'm sorry for laughing at your wing boner problem!" Bryan quickly said, but that only worsen it.

Soon enough, she got up and started throwing random objects at him, and the others also pitched in helping her. Bryan took the little things they threw at him, such as; utensils, cups, plates, glass. Then things picked up from there, after they ran out of stuff to throw at him, they grabbed their spears and decided to beat him with them. Not stab, just whack him to death, if they can. As he dodged and weaved his way through them, making them hit each other. While this was going on, the Elements are just stared at this, while VEGA, Luna, and Chrysalis, just shook their heads.

The two Night Sentinels behind me, looked at each other, before Azurai asked. "Is this the norm, in this plane of existence?"

"You get used to it." I told him, which made Tahilla giggle a little.

"Man, if this is how you five interact with the locals, I'd say it looks fun!" Oh dear, yet again, Bryan has become a bad influence to the young.

"HOLD STILL!!!" We heard the Captain shouted, as she tried to stab him. But every time she does, it just breaks from the impact, and whenever that happens, she grabs another and does it again. Bryan was just standing there, taking it as it comes.

"I am holding still!" Bryan shot back, as she breaks another spear against his armour. "See!? What more proof do you want!?"

Gritting her teeth, she shouts out her orders. "Swarm him!"

"Wait, what!?" He questioned, before they tried to pull him down onto the floor. Again, the word try, seeing as they were struggling with the task. "Okay, seriously, just stop it already! You girls aren't gonna win!" He reasoned with them, but that only made them stress out on trying harder. The only thing he can do, at this point, was tired them out.

When Luna looked my way, she gasped as she saw the two Night Sentinels. Although, these two didn't seem to mind her, in the slightest. Soon enough Chrysalis and the Elements saw them as well. "Uh... Kevin, what are they doing here?" Wait, she knows them? How??

"Greetings, Princess Luna. The King sends his regards and sympathy." Azurai greeted her. "As to why we are here? Recall Protocol has been initiated."

Looking between the two, I asked him. "Is there something I missed here?"

"Oh! My apologies, but there was an incident — embarrassing really — involving an inmate escaping Tartarus. Tirek is his name, a Centaur sentence there for his crimes..." He explained about it, saying that Tirek went about sucking out magic from any and all. As to how he escaped, he didn't want to go into details about it, so I didn't push him. He said that once he escaped, he went at it again, trying to regain his powers and such. Before Tirek could even suck Tia, Luna, and Cadences magic, they stored it into Twilight. When he found this, he opened up a portal to Tartarus, and threw them through it. "... Around that time, we managed to catch them, and took them up to the castle."

"That was where their King told us about your association with the Wardens." Luna spoke up. "We never thought you five helped reclaim their home."

"It was on a need-to-know basis, Princess." Azurai answered her. "Should any of you find out back then, your older sister would have used that as an excuse. Making her look within the right the whole time." What he said next really got my attention. "We even knew she was the one who sealed the Berserker away."

VEGA told me that Tia sealed up Bryan, when the rest of us got sealed up in those tombs. I was surprised, if not only a little agitated, by this past event. Seeing as how Bryan didn't kill her off the bat, he still remembers what their mother, the Queen, said to us. Nice to see him showing some form of restraint. Even so, I'll have to question her about where the Hell she got that tomb from? That kind of shit just doesn't pop out into existence, and if it was placed where Tia would have wondered onto, then something is out there to, either get us, or preserve us. But which one?

Although, before I could think about this further, Bryan and the Captain crashed before us, with her on top of him. Suggestive much? Because that's as straight-forward as anything. Looking down at the two, Bryan looked back at me. "What are you looking at?"

I shrugged at him. "I don't know, you tell me. Also, we got visitors." Pointing towards the two, he grabbed the Captain and threw her off himself and stood up immediately.

"Christ man! Why didn't you tell me!?" He said to me, and I had to remind him that I'm a mute, which pissed him off. "Oh, don't you dare use that fucking excuse on me! You could have at least texted me they were here!" I only just smiled at him, playing the smartass card on him. Not that he can see, but he could probably tell.

Before this could go on, VEGA intervened. "Sirs, we are approaching Canterlot. ETA: fifteen minutes."

Sighing, Bryan pulled out his Plasma Rifle, switching the current mod to Stun Bomb. Following his lead, I did the same, as the other two whipped out their Hellshots. Before Bryan could say anything, the Captain punched him in the back, only to realise how much of a bad idea that was to do, because she's just hurting herself.

We just shook our heads at this, and Bryan looked back at her. "Okay, Nightwish, can we save this conversation for a later time? I rather not want to deal with it now." This just reminds me of a feud between a married couple, if you think about it. As for her, she puffed her red cheeks and looks away. Bryan groaned at this. "What do I have to do here!? Fuck your brains out until you can't think, or walk straight, for a month!?" And just she had control over her wings, they *Pomf!* back to full erection.

Yep! That's Bryan, alright...

(Princess Celestia, Canterlot Castle...)

"Not good, not good, not good..." I kept repeating to myself, as I paced back and forth, within my chambers. They will be here soon, and I just know Kevin will scowl me over! I mean, I know he can't say anything, but that doesn't mean he can't do something to make up for that! "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" Oh, this is so stressful!

"Auntie!" I was snapped out of it from Cadence. "Will you calm down for just a moment! This is not helping you!" I forgot she was in the room. After telling Spike what happened to Shining, he didn't take it very well, and went on a rampage for a little while. Good thing it wasn't done in the Doom Marines's base, otherwise they would have done far worse, if that happened.

Sighing, I sat down next to her on my bed. "Cadence, you don't know them as well as Luna and I. Bryan maybe a raging, bloodthirsty monster, but if I had to choose between him and Kevin, it be Bryan." I told her.

"Why though?" She asked. "Why are you afraid of Kevin? You said he's a mute, so how does...?"

"Do not be fooled by his disability to talk." I snapped at her. "He's a formidable person, who can hunt you down, no matter where you go or hide, he will always find you." I paused before continuing on. "He can be very persuasive with you, and he doesn't exactly always need to threaten your life, to get you to do something."

"... What do you see?" She asked me, which surprised me.

"Sorry?"

"I said what do you see? As in, how do you view him?" She explained her question, which actually made sense. How do I view him?

Thinking this over, I told her my answer. "As I stated before; they were monsters killing off other monsters. That's how I always viewed them, because of what they can do to the Demons." I sighed as the memories came flooding in. "But, when it came to Kevin, he would play with us, when he can. I never liked it, mind you, because Luna would ask him to play hide and seek with us. I always hated it when we get found by him, and I thought that he was cheating. There were times where I was pushing it, and that's when I saw him acting like our father, or more accurately, he was like father. That's when I knew I was in trouble, and I couldn't defy him, even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"Why's that?"

"Because if I talked back to him, I am essentially talking back to my own father." I answered her with a heavier sigh. "Kevin will report of my actions to our parents, my father especially. But, he has yet to do so. Even so, I always watched what I said to him, because I didn't want to get into trouble. By him, or by my father." After saying that, everything was quiet. It was funny, to say the least, because here I am, explaining about the things I thought of them, while realising how somewhat foolish I was back then.

"... Was he the only one, you find as the fatherly-figure?" He asked another question.

I let out a little giggle. "No, not really. There was another, he wasn't as strict as Kevin, but still firm. Bryan and the rest tried to connect with me, but I wouldn't let them." I looked down at my hands. "Bryan hardly ever stayed at the castle, choosing to travel to the Everfree Forest, and kill any and all that are Demon related. The only time he ever comes back is when father has some pressing matters to discuss with them all."

"So, Bryan was very distant." Cadence said.

"Only because of me." I stated. "I kept pushing them away, because of my inability to trust them. Bryan even said I was too stubborn, xenophobic, and racist, because I called them names."

"Celestia!" She gasped.

"I know, Cadence. And I wasn't let off that easily either..." Before we could discuss this any further, knocks came from the door. "Enter!" I answered as both my Guard and Chrysalis's Changeling came in.

"Your highnesses, Princess Luna and her company have return." My Guardspony stated.

"But it seems that the Doom Marines have brought in extra companions, as well." The Changeling added, which left both me and Cadence baffled.

"That can't be right. They never do that sort of thing." I told them.

"Well..." He continued. "It would seem that the Doom Marines are quite familiar with these two. Their armours seem so similar to each other, in technology. But the theme is what separates them, since these two seem to come from ancient times, from wherever they come from before." My eyes widened when he explained it. Shooting up to hooves, I walked pass them and went to the front entrance.

Or tried to. As soon as I turned around the first corner, they were all standing there, waiting for me. How and when did they get here so fast!? And more importantly, why are my Doom Marines's Night Sentinels doing here!?

"Greetings Princess Celestia." I winced from hearing Azurai voice. "Kevin would like to have a word with you now, and I'll be accompany him." It's official, I'm bucked. I'm so bucked right now. Not to mention, that other Night Sentinel looks just about ready of wanting to gun me down.

Only for Bryan to point his Pistol at her head. "Don't even think about it." He told her firmly. "As much as I appreciate it, it's not your place to make my decision, upon this matter." As he stated that, she placed her gun away.

Sighing a breath of relief, I heard hoofsteps from behind me, and out came Cadence with the other two. Once they saw who it was, the Changeling gasped in surprise. "No way, the Night Sentinels! So the legend about there being The Knights of Doom are true!" He exclaimed.

It was then that Bryan spoke up. "Alright, this is where we all leave them. Cadence, come on, you're not needed here." With that said, all of them left, save for Kevin and Azurai.

Cadence was a little hesitant about this, but I nodded my head to her, and she went with the others. Although, Kevin held up a hand, stopping her. Coming up to her, he hugged her, which surprised her, but she soon returned it. It was the kind of hug any parent would give to their child, to reassure them that everything will be alright, that it'll work out eventually.

After they separated, Cadence gave her thanks and left to catch up with the others. Sighing, I lead the two back my chambers, where we'll be having our Talk. Yep, definitely would rather have chose Bryan.

([Third Person])

After the whole dilemma, the two Guard — Pony and Changeling — just stood there. Not really sure what to make of this, although, one thing is for sure; it was all very unexpected. Especially when there are new people coming in.

Speaking of new people. "Hey? Did you say those other two, the ones that look like Knights, are Night Sentinels?" The Guardspony asked his Changeling companion.

"Yes." He nodded his head. "Legends say that they were, and apparently still are, the Wardens of Tartarus."

This surprised the pony. "You mean, they're Demons? If so, what brings them here?"

"I cannot say, nor should any of us pry into it. It's a death sentence." The Changeling said, and they awkwardly just stand there like a couple of idiots with no clue on what to do next.

Although, the Changeling picked up on his companion's stress and frustration. At first, it seemed manageable, but now it looked as if he's about ready to flip something over. Sighing, he grabbed his by the hand and started walking.

"W-whoa! Hey, what's the--!?"

"Just shut up and follow me." The Changeling silences him with his magic and went up to one of the many guest rooms. Opening it up, he lead them inside and locked the door behind him, and placing a Soundproof spell on the room.

The other was just plainly confused and wanted answers. Although, not in the form of what he was seeing, as his Changeling companion started to undress in front of him. While his brain turned off, his junior was standing up to attention, which wasn't very comfortable, mind you.

"What are you doing?" He was snapped back to reality, looking at the now naked Changeling, with...quite the foal-bearing hips. However he managed to hide any of that, was beyond his comprehension.

"I...could ask you the same thing." He replied, looking straight in his companion's eyes. "I mean, why?"

"Because of you." The Changeling answered with a deadpanned expression. "Everypony around here has been feeling uneasy, and it's upsetting you all, and don't even try to lie to us, we can feel what you're feeling right now."

"Well, you're right about that. Everything has been going so fast, we can't keep up with it."

"Well, you have us, and we don't judge. Now strip."

"... Okay."

Author's Notes:

Okay, I'll admit, that last bit was a tad bit random. But, then again, things are happening so fast, the Guard can't seem to keep up, and it's getting to them.

Anyway, yes, the Night Sentinels will be in this. Seeing how awesomely cool their armour is, how can I not!? And yes, seeing as how Tartarus was originally a prison for the worst, the damned, and the sinful, where else will those Changelings end up, after being massacred by the Doom Marines?

Thanks for reading.

Also, for those who don't know about what Kevin was referring to, check this out. If you haven't read this, yet, get to it.