The Song of the Warp

Ponies scattered as they saw Kharn and Argel Tal approaching, drenched in blood like the demigods of war that they were. Argel Tal had reverted his form, though this did not make him less intimidating. Kharn, the effects of the butcher’s nails having worn off was once again struck with a skull splitting headache. Fear permeated the air as the citizens of Ponyville saw what was left of the hydra. Many were clearly sickened by the organs and blood that slicked the ground. Others had entered into states of catatonia, having never seen anything more than a cut before in their lives. That it was an apex predator that the two space marines had killed did nothing to lighten the mood.

Argel Tal was divided. For as long as he had remembered, he had slaughtered xenos for the crime of being non-human. This however, was because of the Emperor’s doctrine of human superiority. This same Emperor had lied to his sons and his subjects. Argel Tal owed no loyalty to the Emperor, and thus owed no loyalty to his doctrines. However, at the same time, xenos were not human. What was not human was a threat by its very nature, and would seek to over throw man’s birthright: The Galaxy. Furthermore, these xenos were not part of their crusade against the Emperor. What was not affiliated with them was an enemy. Indoctrinate or kill? Kill or indoctrinate? Such choices were those that made up Argel Tal’s meat and wine.

What would Cyrene have done? Argel Tal had known her for half a century after saving her from the shattered ruins of Monarchia. She had been blinded by the Ultramarines’ weapons, and sought help from the legion that had knelt in shame before the Emperor. Cyrene had been kind, merciful. She was the confessor of the word, absolving the sins of the legion. It had been claimed that she had even absolve Lorgar himself. The Most Blessed Son of Chaos had knelt before her, wept for her, begged for her forgiveness in failing her. What would she have done with the xenos?

“You dwell upon her too much.” Raum’s voice slid through Argel Tal’s mind.

“She was the only mortal I ever cared for, Raum, and I failed her.”

“There is nothing you can do, let her go. It is pointless to dwell on the dead.”

“Is she being tortured? Is she in pain?”

“…No.”

“Liar.”

Argel Tal would spare the xenos, if only to state his separation from the Imperium that had betrayed him. These xenos would be made to sing in their corruption. Argel Tal neared a tree close to the center of the village. It was hollowed out, he saw, and lights glowed from windows. He heard whispered voices through the tree. His Lyman’s Ear made certain that he heard everything clearly.

“Ah don’t trust ‘em Twi. They land here all willy nilly, and start beating up on Pinkie and nearly scare the living daylights out of Fluttershy!”

“Yes, but they just saved Ponyville from a hydra! Surely that makes them good, right?”

“Did you hear what the red one said before killing the hydra, about the fires of betrayal and the blood of vengeance? How could anypony who says stuff like that be good?”

“…Well, that could just be their religion.”

“Religion shmigion! They’re obviously evil.”

“And they have a horrible sense of fashion! I mean, where is the elegance in their armor?”

“…”

“We should just kick their flanks to Canterlot, and get Celestia to banish them to the moon.”

Argel Tal snorted. He sensed a great deal of ego in that final voice. He didn’t need to be a psyker to know that. He strode to the door, and open it roughly, nearly tearing it from its hinges. The door was made for creatures four feet shorter than he was, requiring him to almost kneel to enter. The interior was much larger, and Argel Tal could almost stand up straight. Within, he saw six startled ponies. He recognized three of them as Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. The other three he did not know.

Twilight grinned widely at him, and Argel Tal was briefly reminded of an animal looking hopefully up at him, eyes pleading for him not to kill it. He had been faced with such a scenario when he was a neophyte. He had no qualms of killing the animal. There was rainbow colored blur as a cyan colored pegasus shot up to reach his eye level. It tried to glare him down. He fixed it with a glacial stare as it spoke.

“Were you eavesdropping on us?” it snapped. He recognized the voice as the last one, full of ego.

“So, you wish to banish us to the moon, do you?” Argel Tal hissed, his blue eye lenses giving nothing away. The cyan pegasus gulped and landed, looking almost like Fluttershy…or a whipped dog.

Fear was a natural reaction. It was expected, sometimes even demanded. The Emperor had created his troops to bring fear to his enemies, and awe to his subjects. Awe was simply a form of fear, a mixture of wonderment and dread. This was how the Emperor gained and maintained his power. But when this source of fear turned against its creator, what then? When it fought against itself, what was the result? Death. Death would always be the result, an eternity of war.

“Who is this Princess Celestia you speak of?”

“S-she’s my mentor…the ruler of Equestria. She raises the sun…” Twilight stammered.

“So she is your god?” Argel Tal queried.

Twilight nodded reluctantly.

Argel Tal threw his head back and laughed, the daemonic undertone making it sound far more menacing than it would have sounded were he a normal human being. The ponies flinched at the grating noise, before glancing at each other in puzzlement. What was the source of his mirth.

“You think a mere physical being to be a god?” Argel Tal snorted, “I followed that path of foolishness once, before I saw the hell behind reality. Such foolishness! We all dance to the laughter of the pantheon.”

“What is the pantheon?” Twilight asked, "You talk about them and the hell behind reality."

She felt that she would regret her curiosity.