Finding Malcador

by ThatRarityIsaSpy

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Crossover, Human
Length: 24542

Celestia, Luna and a few other companions go off to discover the true origins of Equestria, and themselves.

Takes place after the events of "Fourth Aurelian Crusade."
As of now, with some evidence that Malcador has been on Equestria, the Grey knights, the Blood Ravens and of course the two princesses go off to discover if this really is true, and what had happened to the man known to humanity as "The hero".

Published 2013-10-30 12:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-01 23:44:38 UTC

Preparations

Preparations

Twilight watched the earth pony, sweat beads forming on her forehead. She was trying, trying REAL hard to do something with her hooves. It reminded Twilight of her entrance exam into Celestia’s school. She watched as the foal attempt and attempt again and again to get something out.

And there it was.... a spark.... a glowing orb in his hand. He had done it!

There was clap in the room. Which probably surprised more than just a few. The pony overseeing the test was not a pony at all. He was a draconequus.

“Bravo! Bravo! Jolly good show!” Discord said. “I knew you could do it! Here have some cake!”

The foal was surprised when in a bright flash, he find himself holding a slice of chocolate cake. He thanked Discord who told him encouraging words.

“Next!” Discord said ringing a bell. Snapping his fingers, he gave himself a glass of chocolate milk.

“Why the hell do you trust that thing?” Solomon asked stepping next to Twilight. “First chance, he gets, he’s going to unleash hell.”

“Oh pish posh. Had you forgotten it was HE who helped us retrieve the elements from Sunset?”

“Even then, I suspected he had done it for personal gain.” Solomon continued. “He may have no affiliations with the dark gods, but he is still chaos. He will bring ruin to us one day. I am sure of it.”
“You’re just being paranoid.” Twilight said. “So... what goes on now?”

“Well, Angelos is planning to cleanse the sub-sector.” Solomon said. “I heard that your brother plans on going with him...”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed. “But is... is he crazy?!”

“It’s going to be quick. I assure you he won’t be gone for long even if he does leave.” Solomon said soothingly. “So Thule, Adrastia and Arven have finished planning.”

“Yes. They did it last night. I know I am not going because I got this school to maintain. But I do know that Celestia and Luna both will go with them.”
“Aye. So will Rainbow Dash.” Solomon said. “Cyrus also wishes to go along.”

“Heh. So... what have you guys been up to lately?”

“Hunting for dragons, training recruits, and defending our cause against some less sensible people.”

Twilight had a feeling she didn’t want to know what those “less sensible” people thought of Equestria. It was well known that ever since on their first arrival, the blood ravens had disliked all of ponykind until recent events. But even now, she wondered if she could truly call just ANY human a friend.

They walked through the long halls of the school, Solomon catching many glances of awe and fear. They made sure to pass one particular looking mirror.

The mirror shimmered for a moment, until three men stumbled out. Two recently inducted scouts and of course, the captain of the tenth company himself, Cyrus.
“You work hard Cyrus.” Solomon said.

“Indeed. The blood ravens still need to repair the damage that was done. With Angelos restored to being in one piece, we can go on crusades against the vile forces of chaos once more. I am due to meet Thule.”

“Right this way then!” Twilight said as she led them through the halls of the school. Most of them still being empty for the moment.

One thing Twilight had always dreamed of, was being at the reigns of Equestria’s largest library. It was a dream now come true. Ponyville’s new library was almost three times larger than Canterlot’s, making a outback rural town into a new center of learning in Equestria and a new cultural center thanks to the common sight of humans in the area. It’s also well known that this library is the only place containing anything that wasn’t written by someone that was from Equestria. A certain book about the warp and Equestria had been written by some librarian a few days back.

“Good afternoon gentlemen.” Adrastia said. “Glad to see you are all here.”
“A pleasure Inquisitor. I see you are just as interested as this as we all.”
“Indeed. Now let’s get started. Reports say that any archaeological evidence pointing towards anything over a thousand years ago should be in the far south. However... it should be noted most Equestrians, the princesses themselves included have no clue about anything down south. For all we know, we could have an entire ork mob down there.”

“Humph.”

“We do however have a source. Apparently it’s jungle.... that’s it. And that whatever information is in some large temple....”

Which you got out of a Emperor forsaken story book. Solomon thought. Stupid just stupid.

“So those who wish to accompany us are off here.” Adrastia said taking out a sheet of paper with names. They were: Adrastia, Cyrus, Martellus, Rainbow Dash, Celestia and Luna, five scouts, a few battle brothers, Arven, two of his brothers, a librarian and....... cutie mark crusaders.”

“Okay, okay. We are not bring children on this.” Thule said firmly. “I don’t give a damn who has anything to say on this, that is not happening.”

Thankfully the three fillies wasn’t here to say anything on that. Most people had no objection, those who did muttered it silently lest they get on the Captain’s bad side.

“So it’s all good?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah. I take it we’re walking?” Thule said.

“Yes. You don’t want to be seen in skies when we cross dragon territory.”

“Why stopping us from drop podding in or taking an alternate route?”

“Because why the hell not? We have all the time in the world to find out about how the hero somehow ended up on Equestria and how it all happened.” Arven said. “Not crossing dragon territory is just an excuse not to get a good fight and I haven’t gotten a good one for a few weeks already.”

“Well, I guess we’re all done here.” Twilight said. “I got a school to run.”

Twilight watched the classroom. She watched the diversity in it all and her chest swelled with pride. She had done it, she had taught pegasi and earth ponies to use the buried potential! That was a feat that will be remembered for long years to come. Now she watched as the entire class made their attempts at performing more magic. Some of it was mundane, a light orb in one’s hooves or the occasional telekinesis... others involved a random plant sprouting in your hooves.....

Twilight had always wondered, how exactly does a human think. It was already clear they are VERY religious and as such, the sensible thing was to respect their religion, that probably ensures they won’t try to murder you in a grisly manner as they would to the “heretics”.

Speaking of which, Twilight wondered if even now it was still safe to go in that forest. It was to be noted that bands of chaos space marines had taken refuge there. Despite being largely cut off from chaos, they were still a threat that had to be dealt with, something the space marines excelled in.

“You’ll probably need this too...” Rarity said as she put more things into Dashie’s saddlebag. “And this, and this, and oh... maybe....”

“Eh sugarcube? I don’t think that’s all really necessary....”

“Not necessary?! Of course it’s necessary! What if..”

“Rarity.... I am going to the jungle.... not the desert... or Canterlot....”

“Oh.... why didn’t you say so?!”

“Yeah.... well I guess I’ll be back in say a week or two.”

“DON’T FORGET TO WRITE.” Pinkie said jumping straight into her face.

“That’s not exactly possible......”

“But...but...but...”

“I’ll be fine. Sheesh.”

“You think you can handle this?” Thule asked Angelos said as he got his stuff together.

“Yes. Someone has to wipe what remains of the black legion off the sub-sector.”

“Listen, I can do it too you know, you don’t have to....”

“It’s fine Thule. You’re starting to remind me of my family when I first left them.” Angelos said chuckling. “I want to test my new limits. With luck, I’ll be as good as you.”

“Or better.” Thule said with a grin.

“I’ll be taking the first and second companies. Best of luck with your journey.”

“Emperor be with you in your battles.” Thule said.

“I am sure he’s watching over all of us.” Angelos said. “Now then, you got your own duties as well.”
“Indeed I do.” Thule said as he turned around and left. He wondered how this will turn out. He had his own things to gather as well.

Author's Note

So essentially:
Davian, Adrastia, Martellus, Cyrus a few other guys, Dashie, the Princesses are all going to go to the far south to find out if the Sigilite somehow ended up in Equestria, and what happened when he did.

Who we owe

Who we owe

“I got some bad news girls.” Sweetie Belle said as she walked over to join her friends. “They said we can’t go along with them!”

“Why not?! It’s not like anything’s bad is going to happen!”

“I dunno. But... it’s not fair! We could miss a chance at earning our cutie marks!”

“Wait... I got an idea.... why don’t we................”

“This too your highness.” The gentlecolt-in-waiting said as he placed more things into Celestia’s saddlebag. “And done... have a lovely evening.”

“You too.” Celestia said as she went into Luna’s room admiring the new decor. The entire room itself resembled the night sky, while the ceiling was a literal map of the galaxy.
“Imagine how surprised they were when it turned out I knew what the galaxy looked like.” Luna chuckled. “They’re not the only ones who’ve been to space.”

“You think we can find out... more after this?”

“Duh.” Luna said as she got her saddlebag on. “That Arven guy however..... well he’s got some crazy ideas in his helmet.”

“Why?”

“He thinks we’re suppossed to be human..... I mean seriously? I think there’d be a lot more dead bodies in Equestria if we were.”

“I bet. You ever wonder about how humanity has managed to survive? Their race seems bent on fighting.”

“I heard otherwise... I think it’s that we’ve only met like... a soldier caste. “Space marines” as they call themselves. They are different from regular humans.... more bloodthirsty one could say.”

“You ever wonder why they think Equestria is so important?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well..... I heard most humans tend to burn planets that belong to other races....”

“That’s horrible!”

“I know.... but still... perhaps Equestria showed them that not all races out there are there to murder or enslave them. If I recall correctly... the ones called the Eldar are manipulative and dishonest, the Dark Eldar are.... depraved beyond measure, Orcs are mindless savages, Chaos is rather self-explanatory, a race called Tyranids seek only to consume and the necrons seek to destroy all life.”

“I am pretty sure there are more than seven races in this galaxy.” Luna said.

“There is.... or was.....” Celestia said. “I am pretty sure we all can guess what happened to them....”

“Let’s not think about that. Apparently however humans once were on Equestria?”

“I think we’ll find that out soon enough once we’re all done with this.”

“The fact that Malcador used to be on this planet is rather... bizarre.” Adrastia said. “What do you think?”

“I think those two may of have something to do with Malcador.... perhaps trained by him?” Arven suggested.

“Sounds logical.” Adrastia replied. “It’s too bad we don’t know the hero’s stance on xenos.”

“Maybe they’re the two lost primarchs?”

“No way. First off, ALL the primarchs were male.... and unless some massive mistake happened.... actually on second thought, the more I think about it.... it sounds plausible... reason they may have been lost to us all?”

“Time will tell.. time will tell...” Arven said. “I have other theories as well.”

“I don’t want to hear about them.” Adrastia said. “How much this time? 5? 6?”

“1.”

Adrastia paused... considering if she wanted to listen to the grey knight ramble on about his "normal" ideas.

Nah.

“You think you’ll be okay?” Applejack asking Dashie. “Ah know them humans are the friendly type but even then.”

“Big deal... the princesses will be with me, and I know Davian Cool is a great guy!”

“Well.... you said so.... hope you’ll be okay.”

“I will Applejack. This is just going to be like Daring Do! Oh my gosh!”

Applejack decided now was the time to leave lest she be bombarded with anything Do related.

“Equestria. The new crown jewel of perhaps the entire sector.” Cyrus said leaning forward into his desk. “Known for it’s great scenery, undisturbed wildlife, and magical talking horses that repel chaos.”

“Shouldn’t this be my job?” Solomon asked as he sat down next to Cyrus in a large chair made just for him and his kind. “And shouldn’t you be on your way?”

“Oh yes. Thank you, I got too carried away here.” Cyrus said as he got his stuff. “Mind finishing that for me?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

“Can I say something funny?”

“Go ahead. I doubt I will find it funny though.”

“Only about 200 years ago did you serve with the deathwatch. Now here you are, the very reason we haven’t burned this planet.”

“I signed up to fight Tyranids and monsters. There’s no honor, no pride, nothing to be gained in killing something that I know children would adore. Or something I myself do like seeing on a daily basis.”

“Growing attached now are we?”

“Shut up.”

“Listen Cyrus, we all on thin ice here. The inquisition is...”

“Do I care? I owe my loyalty to my chapter and the Emperor. I owe friendship to Equestria. I owe neither of those to the inquisition. For the Emperor’s sake, your average pony cares more about me than those fools I served under. They only care about their own agenda. The inquisition was a great idea went wrong! Even Adrastia says the entire Inquisition is composed of fools who care more about their own personal agendas then the Emperor! No matter what the inquisition says, my loyalty is always with the Emperor. And no one, no one will say otherwise!”

“Thank the Emperor we aren’t in a room with any Inquisitors. But as you know.... to fear them, unnecessary. To hate them, heretical.”

“I think I got carried away... again. But do you agree with me?”

“Agree with you on what?”

“That we owe our loyalty to the Emperor and our friendship to Equestria?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Cyrus snorted and went out, leaving Solomon into deep thought. So long as friendship to Equestria didn’t conflict with his faith to the Emperor.... perhaps that’s okay after all.
He almost slapped himself at that statement. That's not okay.... at least not according to a certain organization that Cyrus had long lost faith in.
He wondered for a moment, what the Emperor's stance would be on Equestria, and what Malcador's would be.

We're off!

We're off!

Dashie put on her Safari hat as she pulled out the map drawing a rough sketch of what their route was to be.
"Is she holding things with.... hooves?" Someone voxed as pretty much everyone who walked on two legs stared at a pony use a pen with a hoof.
"How's that even possible?!" Someone else voxed.
"Who knows? How is it possible that we got an entire race that weakens chaos while being made up entirely of psykers? Expect the unexpected is all I can say." Arven said on the vox. "So what's the route he said?" Taking off his helmet.
"That way, just a easy trek through this field."
It was pitch black outside, to mask their movements, Luna had cast dark clouds overhead to give the appearance it would be storming today. Just a cool breeze was the most there ever was. Insects buzzed and owls hooted as the group went on to their destination.
"How long at this rate?" Thule asked.
"As in when we arrive to our destination or that checkpoint you set?" Martellus asked.
"Checkpoint."
"I'd say about eight hours if we keep walking. But everyone needs to sleep.... even space marines, and then let's not forg..."
"Yes, I am well aware of other factors into time." Thule said. "How long does the average pony have to sleep?"
"I don't think it matters." Celestia said. "I recall staying awake for months all end with royal affairs."
"Same here." Luna said.
"What about.... nevermind."
And here comes that moment when someone asks on the vox how sleeping on a cloud is possible much less steering it. The answer? Subtle magic within the wings of the Pegasus or any pony who has wings as a matter of fact.
"So I take it no humans can be on clouds?" Dashie asked waking from her nap.
"Not in the literal sense." Adrastia said. "It's not like our planets all have subtle forms of magic either. We can however build machines that allow us to do what we need."
"Neat." Dashie said. "I always thought Twilight would try something along those lines."

Back in Ponyville............
"Are you done yet?"
"Wait... let me just get this in and.... done!" Scootaloo said. "Alright now, their tracks?"
"Found!" Applebloom said. "C'mon girls, this way!"
Tracking something that weights half a ton really isn't that difficult even though it was rather dark out.....

"Permit me for asking, but what exactly did you do with Sunset Shimmer?" Celestia whispered to Thule.
"I am surprised you want to know. Well then, for all the trouble she's caused, Solomon and Angelos were considering on flaying her alive. But then one of the apothecaries and librarians stepped in and said they'd like to take her alive. Chances are, they probably were interested in the "magic" that all ponies could use."
"I take it she's dead now?"
"Probably. Last time I saw her, she was in an unconscious heap being carried away."
"Something's following us." Cyrus said suddenly interrupting their conversation.
"What is it?" Adrastia asked.
"No idea. But I can track about three life forms currently making their way to us. You three." Cyrus pointed to three of us scouts. "Come with me."
Pulling out bolters and knives, the four made their way to the path they had come out from leaving everyone and every pony else on what was following them.

"I have to say, we may need to move faster." Sweetie Belle said. "Man, they move fast."
"We'll catch up! Man going on an adventure with Mr. Cool and Rainbow Dash! We'll certainly get our cutie marks then!"
"Cutie mark crusader...... um..... what would it be?"
"Adventurers?"
"Cutie mark crusader Adventurers!.... wait what kind of cutie mark would that be?"
"I dunno."
"Who cares? I just want it, and I WANT IT NOW!"
"Okay, okay sheesh. Let's go."

"There." Cyrus whispered to his scouts as he saw the field begin to rustle. Drawing his knife, he crouched and approached the source of the movement.
"Hey Mister Cyrus!"
This nearly made the scout jump.
"Applebloom?" Oh no.... no...
"Hey! Thanks again for helping Twist from that... fiend! Anyways, I hope you don't mi..."
"Save it for later.... come with me." Cyrus said half-heartedly.

"Why..... just why......." Luna said facehoofing. "Why do they feel the need to do this for something as mundane as their cutie marks?"
"So can we just dump them back to where they belong now?" Martellus asked.
"No, no let them stay." Celestia said.
Luna facehoofed, Dashie shook her head, Thule stared at the ground.
"With all due respect Princess, you can't be serious." Rainbow Dash said.
"Aye. Listen sister, where we're going, no pony has ever gone and returned..."
"I am aware of that. But perhaps we can teach these fillies a valuable lesson. Who knows what they could learn along the way?"
"Who knows they'll come back in one piece?"
"It's alright. Among us, what's the worst that can happen?"
Just you wait Celestia. Just you wait.

"So Mr. Cool then goes off and takes on both of them!" Scootaloo said. "He beat them up both pretty badly. Too bad the view wasn't too good."
"What did they even do?" Applebloom asked. "I don't think hurting other people for no reason seems like a very nice thing to do."
"Something about betrayal? That wizard guy mentioned that there was this time when all humans were together until one day, half of them decide to go join chaos which started a huge war and nearly destroyed a kingdom and...."
"Mr. Cool?" Martellus quizzically asked over the vox.
"Don't ask. Some nickname the rainbow haired one came up with. Apparently destroying a Necron lord and surviving a Tyranid warrior earns me a title."
"Savior of Kronus perhaps?"
"Savior of Kronus? Defender of Calderis?"
"I prefer that." Thule said. "You know.... something tells me that our trip down to southern Equestria isn't going to be all rainbows and sunshine."
"What makes you say that?"
"It's just a feeling I get in my bones. Remember how the other day we ran into an entire nest of dragons?"
"We also got enough gold to pay for about a few dozen retirements to the best planets the Imperium has. Too bad we don't retire or have much use for money."
"But we have use for knowledge." Cyrus said. "Equestria will provide a lot of that. I have my suspicions of what happened to Malcador."
"You're not implying they killed him are you?"
"No. But I have a rather odd idea of what happened to him. I'll share this later."

What's he hiding?

What's he hiding?

“Shhhhh!” Cyrus hissed as he crouched behind the rock. Taking his sniper rifle, he aimed it straight at the head of the closest dragon.

“One shot, one kill.” Cyrus said coldly as the dead beast fell to the ground. For reasons that didn’t surprise him, the other dragons hardly blinked at this.

“Our path is for the most part clear, remain vigilant and hidden.” He said to everyone else. Jumping down, he lead the ground.

“Man this is so..”

“Now now kid!” Rainbow Dash said holding a hoof over Scootaloo’s mouth. “I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to provoke this many dragons!”

If Dashie was unsure about something, then Scootaloo was too. Taking a frantic look around, she hoped they weren’t spotted.

They probably wouldn’t of been. Had not someone accidently bumped into the tail of a sleeping dragon.

The roar could of been heard from miles on end chilling the spines of all those who had been in earshot.

“Sweet Emperor, no.” Adrastia said as she saw about a dozen or so dragons land around them.

“Have no fear Inquisitor.” Arven said readying himself. “This is when things get interesting.”

“For the Emperor! Slay these beasts!” Thule roared as he ran straight at the dragons, many of his brothers doing likewise.

“Kill them all!” Cyrus said in agreement. Taking his sniper rifle, he dropped another dragon.

“Whoa....” Sweetie Belle said. Her first time seeing space marines in action. For their size, they moved rather quickly.

“Eh... ah don’t think rushin....”

Applebloom didn’t even get to finish her sentence. All she saw was one of the space marines fly straight into the head of a dragon and smash it’s skull to a pulp.

“Wait! Humans can fly?”

“With a jump pack they can.” Martellus said.

“Humans can use magic too. Despite not having horns.” Luna added pointing at Librarian Saul who shot lightning from his fingertips. “Though does all human magic involve killing?”

“No.” Martellus said. Still the most common misconception Equestria has. Humanity is not barbaric. At least not when you compare them with everyone else in the galaxy. “There was a psyker who could toss a coin and keep on finding it in his pocket.”

“You see, human magic and pony magic are different.” Luna explained. “Human magic is dangerous, even to the user. That is why many choose never to touch it. Those that do usually wear protection. See how Saul has that helmet? It protects him against the despicable forces of chaos.” (Not all humans could use magic. This was just something that was said and ended up sticking for reasons unbeknownst to any pony despite it being inaccurate.)

“Chaos? Like Discord?”

“Worse. Discord is a harmless jokester compared to the chaos I am talking about.” Luna said thinking for a moment.
“Just because of that, best we at least keep an eye on him.” Cyrus said. “I don’t trust him one bit. He may have nothing to do with the dark gods, but something tells me he too can corrupt good men into pure evil.”

“Now that you mention it....” Dashie said.

“What?”

“Nevermind... and wow, that was fast.”

“Indeed.” Thule said wiping a single bead of sweat from his brow. “No injuries and no deaths.”

“Mr. Cool? I have a question.”

“Sure.”

“What’s your cutie mark?”

“I believe we gone over this before.”

“But... don’t you have one? I mean what’s that on your shoulder?”

“That’s just an indication of my chapter.....” Thule said.

“What’s a cutie mark anyways?” Someone asked.

“It’s essentially a symbol of a pony’s special talent.” Celestia explained. “It’s what these three are trying to get out of by going with us.”

“Well in that case, I am not a pony, so I don’t have a cutie mark. But I suppose my special talent is staying alive.”

“That’s it?” Dashie asked. “Not fighting dragons? Or...”

“Yes... staying alive. By rights I probably should have died at least three times by now.”

“And mine is killing daemons!” Arven said. “Bit enough of that, shouldn’t we be on our way?”

“Yes we should.” Thule said. “That was interesting while it lasted. Martellus estimate?”

“Well, I’d say perhaps about another thirty six hours if...”

“Good enough.” Thule said cutting him off. “Let’s go!”

“Should I be worried?” Adrastia asked as she saw up in the sky the sun set and the moon raised.

“Maybe?” Saul said. “That kind of power would be on the same charts the Emperor. Keep in mind they do this on a day to day basis.”

“And no risk from the warp either.” Adrastia added. “Just imagine how many less daemonic incursions we would have if psykers weren’t exactly a massive target for the dark gods.”

“Exactly. Not to mention they repel the dark gods. A single pony to an entire chapter could probably easily root out any potential heretics... though I wonder exactly how most chapter masters would react to having xenos attached to their chapters. The only two men I can think of who won’t blink is Angelos and Picard.”

“Who’s Picard again? I never heard of that name.”

“Oh him. He’s the chapter master of the Reasonable Marines. Legend says he had been lost in an accident for a few hundred years but just returned recently. Now then, I think I am going to join my brothers.”

“So then I jumped on the Bloodthirster and hammered the damn thing to a pulp.” Thule said recounting the battle at Deimos peninsula on Kronus. “And of course, right as when I went to go kill Eliphas, it turned out he was already dead. Though he does end up returning to plague the imperium again and again.”

“Was he that guy you took on alone?”

“That was him. The other man was called Araghast who fancied himself as the pillager of a thousand worlds. More like coward that fled a thousand battles from the way he managed to fight.”

“But just wondering Mr. Cool, why did you have to fight your own people?”

“It was both our faults.” Davian said looking back on it. “Alexander was too stubborn to retreat, and I was too stubborn to finish the job. I am sure if we reasoned it out, Alexander would have left the planet.”

Celestia looked at Thule for a moment. His good eye started to stray around. He was hiding something. Something dark, that he didn’t want to talk about.

Perhaps she’ll find out later.

It doesn't matter who we are

“And this is where we destroyed that foul den of monsters.” Cyrus said pointing at the ruins of what ponies locally called “Changeling city”. “Small they may be, but they could easily have been the third most foul thing I’ve had the displeasure of encountering.”

“What’s the first two?” Dashie asked.

“It’s a tie between Tyranids and Chaos. Though even they may not be the worst thing the galaxy may have to face.....”

“Oh come on, what’s worse than giant alien bugs that eat planets or big scary daemons?”

“Soulless automatons that will destroy everything. Everything. No pity, no remorse, and no means of stopping them. Necrons. Emperor knows what they are capable of.”

“Sheesh, it must really be a harsh life...”

“What told you that? The fact that Thule lost his eye or nearly got killed.... once? Twice? Thrice?”

“Hey, it’s not like Equestria has to deal with this all.”

“And that’s why you’re lucky. Your kind repel chaos, no need to worry of having your souls devoured by the vile gods of chaos. I am just glad the Emperor will protect my soul once I die.”

“He must truly be a noble man to protect all his subjects.” Luna commented. “How powerful exactly is he?”

“More powerful than whatever foul entity that dotes on our souls. He will protect us. The day he rises from his throne, he will lead us to greatness and destroy the vile forces of chaos.”
“Speaking of vile forces, watch yourselves my friends.” Martellus said. “There’s something still here.”

“Dead bodies maybe?” Luna said flatly. “Did you do this?”

“Just myself, Tarkus, Diomedes and Cyrus.” Martellus said. “I think after this, we all made the galaxy a more pleasant place.”
“I dunno....” Applebloom said. “Ah don’t like changelings, but.... do they really deserve this? There’s not like a single one of the left!”

“You...... humans.....!” A voice boomed making Applebloom jumped... it was... a changeling.
“Oh look, another one of these things.” Cyrus said uninterested. “There you go Davian, that’s a changeling for you. Now what comes to mind when you see something that looks like that?”

Thule glared at the changeling.

“Away beast, lest I descend into a less reasonable temper.”

“You’re not going to kill it?” Adrastia said surprised. Thule wasn’t particularly known for his reasonableness or willingness not to kill anything that he disliked. Adrastia on the other hand, was more...... reasonable... as far as most humans went.

“I might. I might. Now you going to move yourself or do I have to throw you off a ledge?”

“Monster! Demon! Fiend! You will face judgement when you die! It’s true, you are consumed by hate! You are no better than the d...”

“You dare put me on the same level as daemons? Thule roared at the top of his lungs. “Insolent creature!” Taking his bolter, he fired at the changeling, tearing it’s head clean off.

“Ew....” Applebloom said looking at the body. “That’s just.... horrible!”

“Man, it’s not like he was going to hurt you!”

“Hurting a space marine’s honor is the same as hurting him physically.” Adrastia said. “Honor is very important to the space marine.”

“A mighty race of warriors no doubt!” Dashie said trying to act calm. “Now I wish I was a space marine!”

“I am flattered.” Thule said grinning. “Now let’s get going.... I don’t want to be behind schedule...”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind.” Thule said just remembering Eliphas’ last words.

Abaddon has found the means to escape Cadia.

“Well, I think I’ll get some rest!” Dashie said getting on her cloud. “Even humans need sleep too right?”

“You need sleep after 20 hours if you’re a normal person, Ten times that amount if you’re a space marine.” Adrastia said. “Now then, I’ll get some rest too.” Leaning against a rock, Adrastia used her hat as a blind.

“Davian? May I speak to you for a moment?” Celestia asked with Luna.

“Sure what is it?”

“In private?”

“Okay, I don’t see why not.”

The three walked to a more secluded location, away from the others.

“Tell me, there is something I sense in you.... it’s...”

“I don’t have all day now...” Thule said after the long pause.

“Well.... I believe it’s that you know something everyone else doesn’t.....”

Thule was instantly on his guard.

“How do you know that?” He asked. The dark cloak of fear was now wrapping around him, the last thing anyone needed would be if that story got out.

“Davian, we just wanted to reassure you. We sensed despair in your heart because of this.” Luna said. “Listen... it doesn’t matter who you are or what you are. All that matters is what you do. Even if your roots come from the enemy, you are a hero to your people. Never stop thinking that, even if there is something shady about your origins.”

Thule was rather dumbfounded. Being sworn enemies of chaos, Thule would of expected the two to denounce him for his potential roots with the Thousand sons, but wait....

“Is that why you let Discord live and be free?” He asked.
“Yes. I am sure he is willing to become one who helps others. Look at him, he may be a spirit of chaos, but it was he who had saved Equestria just mere weeks ago. I am sure he’ll wish to help you in your battle against your enemies... you two may found out you have more in common than you think.”

“Please, never say that phrase again.” Thule said. She was reminding him of Eliphas. “I see you do hold an open mind. But be on your guard Celestia of Equestria, for an open mind is like a fortress with all it’s gates unlocked and wide open.”

“Even the most fortified citadels need to open their gates sometimes.” Celestia chuckled. “I hope what I say here does ease you up a bit.”
“It does.” Thule said. “It does. Though... let this be our secret, okay?”

“You have my word.”
Thule slept easier that night with Celestia’s reassuring. Perhaps where he comes from may not matter after all.

It calls itself nightmare

It calls itself nightmare

“Are you okay Saul?” Thule asked watching the librarian. Something was off.

“Yeah fine. I just felt something was watching me the entire night.”

“Time to get sleep brother. That’s normally not a good sign.” Martellus said.

“No he’s right. There is something watching us.” Cyrus said emerging from a rock. “I can tell you right now, there is something watching us.”

“Is something wrong Mr. Cyrus?” Applebloom asked popping out of nowhere. “Ah wonder if there’s any...”

“No, it’s all fine, just we better get back on our way.”

“Ah okay. Princess Celestia says it’s only a few miles before we go to the place where no pony has ever been!”

“Great....” Cyrus said. “And next time, talk about this on the vox!” The last part being over the vox channel. “Like I was saying, there is something watching us. I don’t know what it is or what it wants but everyone should be on our guard. I’ll tell Luna and Celestia....”

“It really doe...”

“I can vouch for him.” Arven said stepping into the discussion. “There’s something out there. Emperor knows what foul beast it could be.”

“Fine. Tell Celestia, Luna and possibly Rainbow Dash... but that one does have a tendency to be rash about things.....”

“Like?”
“Trying to pounce on a chaos space marine? Or even better yet, try and challenge it to a fight?”

“Then why is...”

“Cause she won.”

The good majority of the space marines who heard this had a hard time of keeping a straight face for the rest of the day.

“And this it. The edge. Few ponies have been this far down south in Equestria. Almost none return.” Celestia said. “We shall be the first.”

“I sense powerful psychic.... lifeforms.” Saul said. “Whatever is down there, it’s dangerous. On your guard brothers.”

Bolters, chainswords and likewise were broken out. Everyone readied themselves for trouble.

It should be noted that shadow forces inhabited here............

“Sixty-six buckets of oats on the wall sixty-six buckets of oats!”

“Take one down, pass it around, sixty-five....”

“Do they ever quit?” Thule asked to Dashie.

“No.” She said stuffing clouds into her ears. “Awfully dark out here....”

“Luna has anything to do with it?”

“Nope. It’s naturally dark down here for some reason....” Celestia cut in.

“How do you know that?”

Everyone stopped walking to hear her answer. Celestia then realized something..... she didn’t.

“I don’t know..... how I knew....” She said. “Maybe we should keep on walking.”
“Are you hiding something?” Luna asked.

“What? No! I would never hide anything from anyone! Let alone you.” Celestia said indignantly.

Well, at least I am not the only one who has dirty secrets. Thule thought.

“You hear something?” Cyrus asked Martellus as they entered a fog. Celestia quickly casted a spell to allow them to see.

“No. My audio sensors detect nothing except for us two.”

“Sweet Emperor....” Saul said stopping. “I hear something.... it.... it’s whispering to me....”

“Chaos? Here? That’s impossible!” Arven said. “But...”
“It’s not chaos.” Saul said. “But something potentially just as vile.... it call’s itself.....
Nightmare.”

Every pony stopped dead in their tracks.

“He needs help.”

“Yes, the last thing we need is for some like HIM to be corrupted.”

The very word corrupted commonly made a space marine feel uneasy. A quick explanation of what was potential corrupting Saul did little to ease the tension.

“Nightmare... Nightmare... what do they want?” Arven asked.

“They want to shroud Equestria in darkness for reasons unbeknownst to any pony. However, if he get’s corrupted he will be possessed by some dark and vile spirit to which he will become their tool. With human magic-users wielding destructive magic, I fear what he could do....” Celestia said.

“He will not fall.” Cyrus said soothingly as they continued walking. “Saul is strong, he will never turn his back from his duty and from what he is. He is a space marine, one of the Emperor’s finest warriors! He will not fall to some petty spirit!”

“But for good measure, we should get out of here lest something...... happens.” Arven said. Thank the Emperor for Aegis or he’d probably become the same nervous wreck that Saul had turned into.

“Will he be all right?” Applebloom asked tugging at Celestia’s wing.

“He will be. I am sure of it.” Celestia said half to Applebloom half to the blood ravens.

“But... he’s scared isn’t he?” That notion did give the cutie mark crusaders a chill. If something could make turn a human into a nervous wreck, how bad was it? “Ah mean, when he’s so strong and HE’S afraid then that....”

“Don’t you worry child.” Celestia said. “We will see to it he comes out fine.”
“What’s that...”

“Shhhh! Their praying!” Luna said. “Best not to offend them.”

The muttering and chanting grew distinctly louder as Saul continued to writhe in agony as the nightmare forces mocked and gibed at him within his mind.

"So is he okay?" Adrastia asked.

"Does being well-enough to descend into a fit of rage constitute as okay?" Martellus said back. "If so, yes."

"When I find whoever is doing this, I am going to flay them alive!" Saul said in a tone that would of impressed the angry marines.

"You might just get the chance." Luna said. "You see, the nightmare forces do manifest occasionally. Tia, how much farther?"

"Only a few more hours of this hell on earth." Celestia said. "I still worry for Saul."

"He'll be fine once he get's his hands on whatever nightmare forces you speak of." Thule said. "Now then, when do you think this fog will clear up?"

"Probably never." Luna said not knowing how she knew that.

You.

You.

“And I thought the screams would never end.” Thule said as they exited the fog. “Okay now, Saul?”

“Fine. Fine. I am glad I am alone in my head.”

“Good thing they left before they could take you over.... the power of a nightmare force will increase exponentially once they’ve acquired a host. If he had gotten possessed....”

“He probably could of killed all of us without as much as lifting a finger.....” Dashie said. “Yes killed.”
“Um.... wow... I thought nightmare forces didn’t...”

“They would under these circumstances.” Celestia said. “Think for a moment, all the power that Saul wields. I took a look at how human magic works.... thank the heavens he wasn’t possessed... some humans have the power to turn others inside out with nothing more than just a glance.”

“Yikes....”

“One of the many reasons why the galaxy is an unpleasant place to live it.” Thule said. “We lost many brothers that way. Never mention his name around Gabriel, but a man named Isador was corrupted in a similar fashion.”

“He lost his mind to some ghosts?” Sweetie Belle asked. “That’s harsh.”

“No. He turned to chaos after being tempted by a sorcerer named Sindri. Sindri beckoned him with power and Isador took it. Angelos had to kill him afterwards. Now, Gabriel is the last man from Cyrene....”

“It must be pretty hard on him, being like the last of his kind then?” Scootaloo noted. “But he has all the.....”

“He lost his family, his friends, everyone..... after he became a space marine.” Thule said. “Even we will see at least what village or city we were fished out of and perhaps find some familiar faces. I may have seen my father twice before he passed away. Now I see the remnants of my family every time I return to Calderis. What does Angelos have? Nothing.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Davian.” Celestia said. “He has a family. You. How can you not even notice that? You even call yourselves brothers. Even then, there’s an old saying in Equestria that you can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends. He hasn’t despaired like a certain someone else because of that. He realizes what the power of friendship can mean sometimes.”

Thule didn’t bother asking on how Celestia knew that. Half the time, it’s like she could read his mind. That was a likelihood after all, how else would she have figured out the dark and perhaps damning secret uncovered on Kronus?

“Princess.... I think we’re close by.” Dashie said. Pointing ahead, was a large desert.

And in that large desert, was a massive pyramid surrounded by strange treehouses.

“That doesn’t look friendly.” Cyrus said pointing at the group of zebras headed their way.

“Hail Princess of the sun and moon. We did not expect you to return so soon.” The leader said who wore a distinctive cloak.
“Hail Shaka.” Celestia said. “Is there anything of interest?”

“Not much yet. But the sun still has yet to set.”

“Okay, okay, the rhyming is starting to creep me out....”

“Children!” Luna said. “Mind your manners!”

“I can talk without rhyming.” Shaka said. “Now then, can you tell me about your strange companions?”

“We are humans.” Adrastia said. “These men however are space marines, finest warriors of the Emperor. The Grey Knights and the Blood Ravens.”

Shaka closed his eyes for a moment, as if in deep thought, then opened them once more.

“Are you here because of war? I can tell you that blood needs not to be spilled no more.”

“And he starts again.” Cyrus said over the vox. “Anyways, we are not here to fight, but mainly to find someone who’s most likely dead.”

“Then it is not as I dread. Why do you carry arms and armor from toe to head?”

“Where a space marine goes, his arms and armor go with him.” Thule said. “We have no hostile intentions.”
“I see. Come with me.”

“Let’s go then.” Dashie said running after Shaka and his entourage.

“You want to search that tomb?” Shaka asked surprised. “You must all be very brave.”

“Finally he doesn’t rhyme.” Cyrus voxed.

“Watch him start again a few seconds later.” Martellus said.

“We know no fear.” Thule said ignoring the chatter. “We will find what we must. No matter what the consequences may be.”

Shaka wondered for a moment if it was worth it trying to dissuade them.

Meh. No.

“Very well. If your choice was good, only time will tell.”

“Why.... just why....”

“OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” Dashie said as she went down the corridor. “THIS IS SO COOL!”

“I am surprised this entrance fits us.” Arven said. “Almost like whoever built it was human.”

“Maybe he was human!” Someone suggested.

Possible. Possible.
After a few (dozen) moments of walking, Thule who was ahead stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“This place is bigger than any of us could imagine.... but I feel like there’s something watching us....”

There was something watching him. It crept within the walls despite it’s size.

“If there’s anything.... we’ll take it out.” Cyrus said. “Come on now, whether or not we find him or his corpse, we best hurry.”

Thule nodded. Going to the next room, he was surprised to find it’s sheer size.

He was also surprised to hear a war cry and see a hulking figure run at him.

The moment that everyone saw Thule hit a wall and slide down comically and painfully, panic started. Seeing massive figures dart around in the dark, anyone carrying weapons armed themselves and ran straight inside to help Thule.

“Stay behind!” Celestia said as she too joined them in the fray attempting to use a light spell. She was promptly also thrown against the wall by something big.....

Bolter rounds flew, exchanges of threats and curses were thrown and chainswords swung at thin air as the invisible assailant toyed with the entire group..... something about this place was strange, making it impossible even for the enhanced vision of the astartes to see. Suddenly...
“What the hell are you doing? Stop!”

This gave Celestia enough time to light up the room, what stood before her made every space marine drop his jaw.

Two figures. One clad in grey armor, the other in a yellowish armor. Both easily towered over the other space marines..... a good look at them was enough to unnerve the cutie mark crusaders who hid behind Thule.

“Holy Terra.....” Saul muttered underneath his breath......

The man in the yellow armor glared at the one in the greyish one.

“When I said guard the door, I don’t mean kill anything that as much as pokes it’s head in!”

“Sorry.” The one in the grey armor said in arguably the most unapologetic manner that anyone has ever seen.

Turning his head to the crowd, the man in the yellow armor took a quick glance at everyone, but mainly spent a good few moments staring at Celestia and Luna. It took all their strength for them not to tremble at his gaze.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The man in the yellow armor said. “My name is Rogal Dorn.”

Holy shit.

Rogal Dorn, Leman Russ, Lion EL’Jonson, Jaghatai Khan, Roboute Gulliman, Vulkan, Corvus Corax.... all of them. They were all here. This entire time. For perhaps over a hundred years.

Why were they here and how did they get here?

“Well....” Dorn began. “I recall battling on a Chaos battleship and right when things were just about as hopeless as possible, I heard the voice of my father telling me I had new quest. My death was promptly feigned and I found myself here.”

“I was told that I would find means to restore our father back to health here.” Russ explained. “So I made way here as fast as possible. My entourage however, did not survive the journey here.”

“I woke up here after getting an odd dream with someone telling me I should be joining my brothers.” Jonson said.
“Fought a long and hard battle out of the webway to end up here.” Khan breathed.

“Woke up here.” Gulliman explained. “I was healed one last time to save humanity in the coming battles.”

“I was told to come here.” Vulkan said.

“I was told my redemption would be here.” Corax explained. “My past burdens still weight upon me. But I have found my redemption and we have found what we are looking for.”

“What is it?” Celestia asked.
“You.”

Found Malcador.

Found Malcador.

“Excuse me?”
“Yes. What we are looking for is you. You as well.....” Corax said pointing at Luna.
“Um what now?”
“Now then, where’s the other two?” Gulliman asked. “We are somewhat in a hurry.”

“What is he talking about? What other two?!”

The primarchs all glanced at each other.

“They don’t know.....”

“Well, this just got a lot more difficult then.” Dorn said shaking his head. “Time to explain but first, is there a better place than a few thousand year old temple in the middle of nowhere?”
“I can teleport us to any place of your choice in the subsector.” Vulkan suggested.

“Back to Twilight and the others.” Rainbow Dash said. “She’ll want to see this.”

“Very well.” Vulkan said. “Come to me.”

Imagine the sheer surprise that was caused when a bunch of guys randomly teleported into the room Twilight was in. Now imagine the surprise when they were with people that easily towered over space marines. That was rather terrifying and the first few moments were absolute chaos. Now then.... after a rather long time of attempting to calm things down, everyone settled in.
“You’re pretty big even for a space marine.....” Twilight said. “How big can humans grow?”

“He’s not just any ordinary person.” Adrastia said. “He’s a primarch. One of which I am honored to be in the presence of. They are all primarchs.”

“Wow......” Twilight said. “Oh my god! So are you gods?”
“We wish....”

“How old are you?!” Twilight asked. “Older than Princess Celestia?”

“About 10,000 years old.” Someone said. “Now then, we do have an agenda that I’d like to see finished.”

“Anyways...” Jonson said. “We are all here to find three things. One of which we have found....”

“What? Or who?” Twilight asked.

“Malcador and two of our brothers...”

“I knew Malcador was here!” Arven said over the vox.

“Shh... listen!”

“The former, we have found. Those two over there.”

“WHAT?!”

Dorn nodded to his brothers. Story time.

Countless years ago, at the end of one of the greatest conflicts the entire galaxy has seen, the Imperium was in ruins. To rebuild, it was decided by the Emperor himself that he would have to resort to desperate measures.

Forming a somewhat rash plan, he quickly made plans to save Malcador. When Malcador died, the Emperor ensured where he went, he would have a new body for his soul to go into. Then, he sent two particular primarchs to retrieve him.

The Emperor had planned to place Malcador on a very particular planet. This planet held strange things that had the abilities to repel chaos. This would be invaluable in the battles to come. However, some time during the landing on Equestria, something had gone horribly wrong leaving the two primarchs and Malcador stranded on Equestria. With their mission already gone wrong, one of the primarchs despaired and ran off.

The remaining primarch could only sigh as his brother abandoned them. But it was noted to took interest in the closest thing to him. It was a strange creature, a small horse to be exact with a pastel colored coat.

For the next few months, that primarch commonly spoke to these horse-like creatures. He really didn’t expect them to do anything, he was merely just bored. With Malcador still trying to make head or tail with what he was here for, this primarch could only kill time and hope for rescue.

Then one day, something extraordinary happened. The primarch was about to speak.... when this horse-like creature spoke back to him..... to this the primarch found amusing and he soon befriended every pony that lived in Equestria, teaching them all both to speak and write in High Gothic which later would become Equestria’s version of low gothic.

This primarch’s name.... was Harmony. He was a Psyker. Perhaps one of the many reasons he was able to teach them all and connect with every pony so quickly.

Harmony was regarded by all ponies to be a strange creature. Big too. But it was noted he made a point of helping others. Kind, generous, wise, honest, optimistic, loyal. Every pony welcomed him wherever he went and they learned much from him. Harmony was known to be have a love for knowledge.

His brother’s name... was Discord. Also a psyker.

Where Harmony was Kind, Discord was cruel. Where Harmony was generous, Discord was greedy, where Harmony was wise, Discord was thin-skinned, where Harmony was honest, Discord was a liar. Where Harmony was optimistic, Discord was a large pessimist. Where Harmony was loyal, Discord was treacherous.

Discord made many dark-deeds in the time he was in Equestria, both Malcador and Harmony cast a blind eye to it for some time until one day, Discord used his psyker powers to torment a pony. This threw Harmony into a state of rage and he lashed out at his brother who was sent straight into a cave.... full of crystals with magical properties.

Deciding that he no longer needed to in the shadow of his “better” brother. Discord imbued himself with this power, it changed his appearance, and he became a chimera.

In the resulting battle that followed, Harmony was wounded to the point where not even the most skilled of techniques could restore. Amazingly Discord refused to kill him and went about causing chaos and tormenting ponykind.

Malcador looked upon this with disgust, for Discord now referred to himself as a spirit of chaos. But being no fighter (Well, at least not when compared to a primarch), he couldn’t do much against Discord, but he had an idea. It involved six powerful magical elements, Harmony and a pregnant alicorn.

Realizing that Discord was now consumed by chaos, Malcador explained to Harmony what needed to be done. Being already crippled to the point of no return, Harmony agreed to Malcador plan and split his soul into six sections.

In short. He created the elements of harmony from his own soul.

But why is Malcador in two pieces?

Simple. He couldn't wield the elements. Only a pony could. The solution? Merge his with the unborn child of a certain pregnant alicorn.

He didn’t happen to know, she was carrying twins.

nor because of this, they would have no memory of their past life.

And lastly, he never expected her to die in childbirth, after Discord’s defeat, which erased his memories as well, few ponies would know what had truly happened. Thankfully, they had chosen to carve it all in a massive temple in the middle of nowhere which the living primarchs had themselves sent to.

“The imperium needs you, Malcador....” Gulliman said after they finished speaking.

“Please, call me Celestia.”

“And I am Luna.”

“Say that again?”
“Luna..... and why are you looking at me like that?”

“Memories.” Was the answer. “Bad memories....”

“What are you looking at?” Twilight asked Celestia who was peering through many ancient scrolls. All containing arcane and lost knowledge.
“I am searching for a healing spell..... but not just any healing spell.”

“Why?”

“Because the human known as the Emperor is a god made flesh. Ordinary spells will do little to restore him. It will take perhaps the most powerful of all magic known to Equestria to as much as give him a hint of life.”

“Why are you going to go and heal him? We don’t even know what he’s like! He could be perhaps a fair and just ruler, or just a maniacal warlord!”
“And what if we don’t?” Celestia asked. “If we don’t, then chaos wins! What’s worse? Losing your soul to chaos or perhaps dying by the hand of just another barbarian. Listen to Twilight, when ponies die, we don’t have much to fear from chaos, but if chaos managed to consume the galaxy, that may become a different story.”

“But...”

“No buts. Luna and I have made our decision. When we have finished, we will go to the place known as Terra, and restore the man known as the Emperor back to life. This I believe will be the best for all beings. But while I am gone, I will need someone to look after Equestria for me..... You.”

“Me? You are... entrusting Equestria to... me?”

“Yes Twilight. Do it. I believe in you. And think, you’re not alone. You have your friends, and you have scholars hundreds of years old to aid you, as well as 10,000 year old warriors and politicians in a worst case scenario.”

“But how can they be....”

“Twilight. I trust those two men. Gabriel and Davian are men of reason, and will listen to it. They are not savages that Equestria somehow believes them to be. They will help you. They see a friend in you. And those men called Primarchs, they’re not like most humans. They actually are reasonable and wise men who won’t whip out a blade at the first thing they don’t like. They are the greatest warriors in this galaxy. And as we all know.... it is the greatest warriors who hate war.”

“I suppose your mind is made?”
“Yes...” Celestia repeated.
“Fine. I take this responsibility and accept it as my own.”

Celestia smiled. “You’ll do just fine.”
Twilight didn’t share her teacher’s confidence.

Rogal Dorn

Rogal Dorn

“Awesome!” Spike said still taking a look at one of the primarchs. “They’re even bigger than the other guys! Are they friendly? Are they just as cool?”

“Just as cool?” Rainbow Dash asked. “They’re even more awesome! They told us that they’re each over ten thousand years old! Plus.... they also say that know Princess Celestia!”

“Huh?”

“Apparently Princess Celestia used to be human! Princess Luna too!” Rarity exclaimed. “Can you imagine it? Our two beloved princesses used to be like those brutes!”

“Well, ah reckon she isn’t too much like them or maybe..... a few of us would ‘ave died by now.” Applejack replied.

“I SHOULD THROW A PARTY!” Pinkie Pie said jumping up from an explosion of confetti.

“Now now Pinkie... I am not sure that’s a very good idea....” Fluttershy said. “Anyways... I have to return home. Angel is waiting for me.”

“Yeah, I got a school to run...” Twilight said.
“Ah got ma chores.”

“I still have dresses to make!”

“Weather patrol duty here I come! And Pinkie, don’t you have a job to do at Sugarcube corner? I heard it go fixed!”

“So let me get this straight, you rebuilt an entire town in four days?” Dorn asked. “That’s impressive.”

“Thanks.” Mr. Cake said still a bit nervous. “A quick question Mr. Dorn, do humans all have like.... a special affinity for anything?”

“Hmm.... yes and no. We aren’t born with a special affinity, we merely learned it. My men and I are all excellent construction and destruction workers.”

“Destruction workers?”

“Siege warfare. I could probably bore you with all the tactics and strategies we use..... but that’s not important.” Dorn looked around. “Interesting decor..... it’s made out of candy?”

“It’s just for show.” Mr. Cake said. “Chew on that and you might break your teeth. Thanks for helping, would you like to stay for lunch?” The last part was asked rather nervously as he was unsure about what humans actually ate and how they ate.
“I don’t see why not.” Dorn said. In truth, he had been eating dirt for the last one thousand years. It wasn’t a very pleasant thing to eat and he was more than glad to eat ACTUAL food.

“Alright class, so today I decided something new. Now we just finished the history of Equestria.”

Groans*

“Anyways..... so I thought of something. Ponyville itself is only about 5 generations old. So I thought.... why not interview some of the older folks around town to ask what it was like? Actually, stop right there. There are even people who migrated to ponyville among them! So, go around, ask your grandparents, or anyone of age what it was like back in the day, or what it was like before coming to ponyville. My only rule, you may not interview anyone you talked to last time. Try something new for once everpony..... I will be passing out the rubric now.”

Great. Applebloom thought. No more Granny Smith.
No more Rarity. Sweetie Belle thought.
“No Rainbow Dash?! Why?!” Scootaloo said under her breath.

And then the bell rang.

“Well.... this is going to be hard.” Applebloom said. “Ah was gonna ask Granny Smith, I think she’s the only pony round town that even has an idea of before Ponyville!”

“My parents are away, and my older sister is the only one who has been in Ponyville for a good chunk of time....”

“No Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo said sadly. “Now that’s just so uncool.”

“Well, ah think it’s time I go brainstorming. Ah need to do good on this one....”

“Same... looks like interviewing some stranger is going to have to do. Hope they don’t look at me funny.”

“Wait a second.... what did you just say?” Scootaloo asked.
“I am gonna have to interview some stranger?”

“SWEETIE BELLE YOU ARE A GENIUS!” Scootaloo exclaimed looking ahead.
“I am?”
“Yes! Because look who’s over there!”

The two other fillies turned their heads. There he was, in an armored suit of yellow, was one of those primarch guys.
“How old are they again?”
“Older than Celestia....” Scootaloo said with a grin. “Come on.”

“Good heavens he eats a lot.” Mrs. Cake exclaimed. “He’s ate how much now?”

“Nearly 8 loafs of bread, three dozen cupcakes, eight sandwiches, five bowls of stew and at least twenty eight apples by now.”

And there he was.... standing outside, on his 29th apple.
“You act like you’ve never eaten before...” Mr. Cake asked walking outside.
“That’s partially accurate. I’ve only eaten dirt for the last one thousand years or so.”
“Um.... what now?”

“Nevermind. I think you have company.” Dorn said gesturing at the three approaching fillies.

“Good afternoon Mr. Cake!” Applebloom said taking out some bits. “The usual!”

Mr. Cake chuckled and handed them some milkshakes. They sat outside, as close to Dorn as possible.

“Yes?” Dorn asked. He was using his inside voice..... which was intimidating to just about anyone.

The cutie mark crusaders were taken back by this. The three looked at him oddly, not even knowing how he knew what they wanted already....
“Oh.... eh hai....”

“Greetings.” Dorn said swallowing the rest of his apple in one bite.

“You eat the seeds to... ow! What was that for?” Scootaloo asked as Sweetie Belle smacked her on the head.
“Manners!” She hissed.
“I am quite certain you have better things to ask then my diet?” Dorn asked. He always liked children. They were always in awe of him rather than the fear he was given by their parents.

“Oh eh yes. May I ask for your name?”
“Rogal Dorn.”

“He has a cool name....” Scootaloo whispered. Dorn laughed inwardly, glad that a small horse approved of his name.

“Eh.... I hope you don’t me asking, but how old are you?” Applebloom asked taking notes.

“I think I turned 10,000 a few years ago.” Dorn replied.

“Are you a god?!”

“No. That title does not belong to me as much as it belongs to any of you.”

“Okay.... so anyways.....”

“Let’s see, comes from a place called Terra, his name is Rogal Dorn, he’s called a Primarch, his special talent is building things and.... destroying things.... he’s 10,000 years old, his favorite food is apples and he likes.... just doing his duty?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s the last part suppossed to mean?”

“Who knows? But we still have two more to go...”

“This is certainly going to be interesting.”

Jonson and Russ

Jonson and Russ

“Let’s see, comes from a place called Terra, his name is Rogal Dorn, he’s called a Primarch, his special talent is building things and.... destroying things.... he’s 10,000 years old, his favorite food is apples and he likes.... just doing his duty?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s the last part suppossed to mean?”

“Who knows? But we still have two more to go...”

“This is certainly going to be interesting.”

“I recommend my two brothers, Russ and Jonson.” Dorn said. “They are the best of friends, though their way of showing it is rather..... strange.”

“What do ya mean?” Applebloom asked.

“You’ll know it when you see it. They’re by the place called the Everfree forest. One of the Blood Ravens told them if they wanted a fight, they’d get one there.”

“Where’s Vulkan?” Twilight asked speaking with Guilliman. “He was just in here with Celestia and Luna just a few moments ago!”

“He teleported them to Terra.” The primarch replied. “Vulkan was the only other choice aside from Dorn. He’ll also be spreading the word of our return.”

“You must really be important if people want to hear about your return so badly.” Twilight said.
“There’s another reason. A very dark one.”
“Why?”

“The final battle is approaching. It was foretold ages ago that when we returned from our quests or when our wounds had healed that it would be the dawn of a terrible and final battle.”

“But how can you lose? All I know is that the enemy is being lead by some cra....”

“You have little to fear from chaos Twilight.” Guilliman replied. “But we..... our souls can at times be consumed by the dark gods. We have much to fear from them. Your very souls poison the dark gods and their servants, ours only can feed them. That is why the Emperor..... asks for your support when the final battle is upon us.”

“What?” Twilight asked. “But..”

“He spoke to Vulkan the first time he teleported back to Terra. I was recently told that the Emperor asks for not just the support of his long-lost friend, but for all of Equestria. If chaos wins... the entire galaxy will be consumed by the dark gods. That is why Equestria must aid the Imperium.... no. That is why EVERYONE must stop fighting and battle the true enemy. Chaos.”

“Then I suppose Equestria will aid humanity in their last battle. Just how?”

Guilliman didn’t have an answer. The cold cloak of dread fell upon Twilight from his silence.

“Just like home.” Jonson said dryly looking into the cave. “You sure this is a good idea?”

“Yeah! We go on the count of three!” Russ said taking final swig at his mead. “Ready? Three...... Two.......”

“Hi!”

“What the...”

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle said cheerily at the two Primarchs who were readying themselves to storm an Ursa Major’s cave. “Whew... we’ve been looking all over for you!”

“I am flattered.” Jonson said in his normal gloomy tone. “Alright, so... you don’t exactly look like a trio of fighters to me, so what are you here for?”

“We just want to ask a few questions. That’s all!”

“Wa...”
“No! You’re going to answer them.” Russ said to Jonson before he could fully voice his objections.

“Oh fine....” Jonson said in his usual surly tone. “Alright... fire away I guess.”

“What’s your name?”

“Lion El’Jonson.” The lion replied watching the cutie mark crusaders write it all down.
“How old are you?”

“Older then you.”

“Hilarious. In years?”
“Maybe like 10,000 something years.”

“Okay, so where are you from?”

“Caliban..”

“Favorite food?”

“Really don’t have much time on that......” Jonson said still peering into the cave.

“And what’s your favorite thing to do?”
“Well.... I guess I can say sleeping since I’ve been doing that for several millennia, it’s probably going to have to be sleeping. Now go bother Leman.”

“But I am drunk! You don’t have an excuse!” (Lies)

“Seriously? I answered the questions... will it seriously kill you just to answer five things?”

“Okay, okay fine.”

“So what’s you name?”

“Leman Russ.”

“So.... Mister Russ.... how old are you?” Scootaloo asked.

“Just as old as him.” Russ said wanting to get this done.

“Alright... where are you from?”

“Fenris. Home sweet home.”

“Favorite food?”

“Small horses....”

“Um what?”

“Nothing. Mead. That’s my favorite.”

“What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Drink Mead. Lot’s of it...... now then.... ready? Three..... Two........ ONE!”

The two launched themselves into the cave with a roar, in a few seconds the sounds of fighting erupted within. The cutie mark crusaders decided this would be a good time to leave.......

“Media blackout? You’re telling me the newspapers have been closed for almost a year?”

“Travel service too.” The secretary said. “All foreign trading pacts were also put on hold.”

“That’s strange..... can I revoke this?”

“Will since there’s no one to say otherwise.... sure. Here lemme get the papers.”

“When do you think they’ll be back?” Rainbow Dash asked Corax.

“Probably a week.” The primarch replied. “I only told them to poke at the forces of chaos, not go on a joyride through the galaxy. I expect at least one less chaos warband to plague the galaxy when they’re done.”

“Davian Cool really knows his stuff! So how long will you be here?”
“Until told otherwise, I am with all my brothers perhaps to remain here indefinitely. Most likely however, I have an odd feeling I may have to leave soon....”

“Why?”

“Something tells me the final battle draws near.......”

Solomon's discovery

Solomon's discovery

“What is this? Spam?” Twilight asked the messenger as she dumped about a metric ton with of letters.
“Nope. All letters from across the entire world.”
“Why?”
“They heard about the humans.....” The messenger said.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You don’t know? Didn’t the two princesses say that they issued a media blackout so that the rest of the world wouldn’t know?”
“Well.... they did a good job on that... but....”
“And of course, every one now demands an audience with the two princesses. Because they aren’t here, you have to fill them in.”
“WAIT WHAT?!”

“Who did you do for your project?” Pipsqueak asked Featherweight in regards to their project.
“I did my Grandfather!” Featherweight said.
“I asked my grandad. Great guy he is.”
“Oh yeah? Well I did my dad! He totally had the best things to say!”
“We’ll see about that.” Scootaloo said.
“Who did you do? Huh? Rainbow Dash again? Come on, that get’s old.”
“Nope.” Scootaloo said. “Someone just as cool!”
“Yep, still a scuk up!” Silver Spoon said.
“I am not a suck up!”
“You totally are a suck up! And I bet who you did was totally unawesome!”
“Whoa whoa! That’s taking it way too far.” Sweetie Belle said. “And how do you know he’s not awesome?”
“Cause you interviewed him! Probably the dumbest....”
“He’s not dumb at all! In fact, he actually knows more than Princess Celestia!”
“Just tell us who it is already!”
“It’s Mr. Dorn!” Scootaloo said.
“Who is that?!”
“He’s over there actually!” Scootaloo said with a wide grin.
And there it was, a tall human dressed in yellow armor who was.......
What was he doing anyways?

“Morning Mr. Dorn!” Sweetie Belle said. “So... whatcha doing?”
“Nothing much. I am still waiting on orders.” He said. “School?”
“Yeah..... just wondering....” Scootaloo said walking in on them. “How do I become awesome like you?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do I become like you?!”
“For starters, I don’t think you would wan....”
“I totally would!”
“Sheesh.” Dorn said under his breath. “Well.... first... you go off on a crusade to reunite your race. Judging from the current circumstances.... that’s not really an option.”
“Okay... what next?”
“Engage in the largest conflict in perhaps history of the entire galaxy. That may or may not happen real soon...”
“Alright...”
“And of course..... can you be brave?”
“All the time!”
“Really now?” Dorn asked finding slight amusement in this. “How brave?”
“Well eh.... I AM NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING!”
“A pack of wolves?”
“I could take them on!”
“Not just any old pack....” Dorn said. He was thinking of a particular wolf.
The roar that followed made Scootaloo scramble behind Dorn.
“What was that?!”
“Me.” Russ said stepping from his hiding place. He broke into hearty laughter.
“So.... what happens now?” Russ asked.
“Nothing yet. I got nothing back from....”
“They really are cool....” Silver Spoon whispered to Diamond Tiara.
“Why didn’t.......” Sigh*

“Hmmmm..... think we can use this?” Solomon asked Martellus. The librarian held several crystal chips in his hands.
“Use what? A bunch of stones?” Martellus asked. “Pointless... unless it’s the same kind back in the Crystal empire.”
“No. I dug it up just recently.” The librarian replied. “It’s made from the same stuff in the elements of harmony.”
“Interesting. If it has the same properties of poisoning chaos, then I will make a few prototype weapons that we can use. I hope Angelos approves when he returns.”
“He probably will.” Solomon replied. “Get to it... and what are they doing?”
The librarian pointed at the group of foals who were crowded around a few warp tainted weaponry. Of course being supervised by older ponies.
“Well, it’s not exactly a hazard to poke around with warp tainted things if you happen to be from here. So they decided to play around with them and try and understand it.” Martellus said. “I recommend staying away from anything related in that department.”
“Yeah... good idea.” Solomon replied. “Where’s Twilight?”
“Here!” Twilight said teleporting in. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. I was wondering, can you find me more of this?” Solomon asked holding the diamond chips up. “They may be useful later.”
“Eh sure?” The lavender alicorn replied. “I’ll get Rarity.”
Solomon nodded he headed down to his natural habitat.
The library.

“In all my born days, I’ve never seen anything like it.” The professor at Canterlot university said. “You really outdone all of us.”
“Thanks.” Twilight said. “But thank a few humans. They really know magic well! Well, their kind of magic at least.”
The ponyville library was easily the most impressive thing about..... well, Ponyville. It was very large and held extensive texts on all subjects ranging from magic to biology. And of course, a special section which contained knowledge from the stars themselves. There was a particular few words carved into the shelf.
Knowledge is power, guard it well.

And that’s when Twilight remembered she needed Guilliman’s help.
Again.

Author's Note

This chapter was shorter than I would have pefered.... working on that.
Everyone wants to see the space marines. ^^

At the heart of Terra

At the heart of Terra

“First off..... this is never going to work.” Jonson said. “For starters, Russ cannot sit still for ten seconds. Or as a matter of fact, he can’t be civil for ten seconds either.”

The primarch of the Dark Angels ducked as a chair was flung at him. Point proven.

“Moreover, I have a feeling this may cause some.... less than positive reactions...” An advisor said. “There are still those who have yet to find out what happened the first time in the Everfree forest, as well as that humans.... well.....”

“Say it.” Khan said.

“Well, I mean some cultures had myths and legends regarding humans. Depending on what you are, you’ll most likely react to humans differently.”

“Elaborate.”

“Well, Griffins I heard paint humans in a positive light the way they occasionally talk about them..... though the humans they talk about are smaller. Much smaller. About this big.” The messenger said making a rough estimation with his hooves. “But..... say for example..... minotaurs......”

Eerily similar to a certain myth, minotaurs see humans as reasonless murderers and killers.......

“Really? Reasonless killers?” Guilliman said.

“No, there’s a hint of truth in that.” Jonson gesturing towards Khan and Russ. “Some of our brothers do have quite a temper.”

To drive that point home, the lion received another punch in the jaw from his wolf brother. He sat there dumbly nursing his wound, not wanting to repeat another eight days of senseless fighting.

“As long as you got mead, I am happy.” Russ said opening his canteen and chugging it’s contents. “Oh and.... I know this is an odd question, but do you have any meat?”
“Um... what.... oh yeah right. Humans eat meat.” Twilight said. She probably should do a better job of writing this down...... like maybe do it again.......

“So.... what kind of meat?”

“Any kind.” Russ said. “On second thought...... can I eat you?”

Twilight scrambled behind Dorn who shook his head in an unamused fashion.

“Really? Is this honestly the time? I know it’s hard to take this seriously because it’s “not your problem” but we were told to remain here until...... well, until doomsday for all we know. The least you can do is be helpful.” Dorn said glaring at Russ.

“Okay, okay fine.”

“Excellent. Now then..... can you give me a background on all the cultures of Equestria?”

Pulling up a blackboard, Twilight began her huge lecture of Equestria and all it’s inhabitants.

“Thanks.” Solomon said putting some more of the crystals down on the table for Martellus. “This will work?”

“Dunno.” The techmarine replied. “Alright, so anyways.... I am going to get started. In short...

Get out.”

“Typical.” Solomon breathed as he stepped outside almost bumping into Rarity.

“Sorry bout that. Didn’t see you and.... what?”

“Alright, now to the left..... just a tiny....no wait.... that’s.....”

“The hell are you doing?” Solomon asked.

“Looking “professional”.” One of the marines said. “Seriously? Does every inc...”

“YES IT MATTERS. IT MATTERS VERY MUCH!” Rarity said blasting into the space marine’s face. Point made.

“Why..... just why....”

“So when do they come here?”

“Tomorrow.”

Oh man.......

Despite being more pleasant than every other major civilization to have ever existed within the galaxy, Equestria too had it’s occasionally share of....... ignorance.

When space marines were commonly mistaken for the only type of male humans around, it’s easy to see how that drastically changes on how the average pony views humanity.

While the average human, loyal to his faith, was a mild-mannered sort of chap. (On average at least.....)

And of course, the average space marine was a total zealot on his devotion to the being referred to as the Emperor and commonly seemed to enjoy in partaking in things that fall within the line of murder and fighting. Things within Equestria that many see as barbaric and rather...... dark.

And of course, when most of Equestria found out that a thing called a Primarch, a human of..... nobility, many expected the Primarchs to be vicious warlords and savages that would sack entire countries on a daily basis......

So it was rather surprising to.... well EVERY PONY, that outside of battle, most of the primarchs were mild-mannered and calm. Unlike the good majority of the space marines, they were reasonable men who wouldn’t break someone’s face for just being different. They would however, not hesitate to do the above if someone intends on doing them harm.

And of course, much to the delight of Rarity and a few other Equestrian nobles, it was good to see that the Primarchs, who would be the main event on what happen tomorrow, were level-headed..... except for Russ for rather obvious reasons. He was drunk. Like..... always.

“My, my Mr. Russ! Can’t you be civil for one moment like your brothers?”

“I am drunk! They don’t have an excuse! Now then, more mead!”

Several ponies scrambled off to oblige him. Despite knowledge on the fact that he was a primarch who was for the most part a reasonable person, drunkards were normally an exception to their everything.
“Can you not be drunk for one moment?” Rarity chided. "A big fellow like you ought to be better behaved in public!"

"You sound like me mother lassie!" Leman said putting on a certain Fenrisian accent. "Okay, anyways, why would I not want to be drunk?”

“That can’t be good for your livers!”

“The thing about being like me, I can drink to the point where it feels good, but never have to settle for any of the bad things!” The space wolves primarch proved his point by gulping down another canteen of mead.

“Now then, I am hungry!”

"Oh.... I'll see if the cooks can spruce up anything for that appetite of yours......"

"I am craving horses today." The primarch said giving Rarity a wink. "Okay, enough silliness. Tell everyone else you have my word that I will be sober tomorrow. Though...... if I am a bit extra stabby, that's me from withdrawals."

Okay, okay. The crankiest being in Equestria would probably be nothing more than an angry butterfly when compared to a stabby human. All of a sudden, Rarity wondered if it would be better if Russ was drunk for the day instead. Deciding perhaps it was time maybe she'd spend some time with some more civil ponies.... or humans.

"Back so soon?" Dorn asked Vulkan as he teleported in.

"Yep. Something told me I had to be here."

"You get to meet the rest of the inhabitants on this planet. Some child's paradise this place turns out to be. So how's Malcador?"

"Well......"

If Celestia and Luna were scared when they entered the throne room of the Emperor, that'd be the understatement of all of eternity. The sheer amount of power he radiated, just by being there was enough to make the average pony faint and probably fall into a coma afterwards.
And there he was, just... a broken man, at death's door in pain. Death was something he easily would of welcomed had his duty not stood in the way. His job was easily the most important of the entire Imperium.
"Malcador..... are you sure about this?" Vulkan asked. "Are you sure you want to do this? The amount of ti...."

"Yes. We're sure." Luna said. "If the galaxy is truly the horrid place you describe it to be, and if restoring him back to health is truly the way..... then we'll do whatever it takes."

"Very well." Vulkan said. "I am sorry to say I may not accompany you."

"Doesn't matter." Celestia smirked. "We'll get it done. Just hope those guards stop looking at us in that way."

"I'll see to that part." Vulkan said. "Good luck."

"Thank you."

"You've come back." A voice boomed within the room making both alicorns jump. Though the voice was one that held joy, it still scared the living daylights out of the two.

"Huh? Oh yes...." Luna said. "We've come back to help...... .you...." She began to stutter when she saw the status of the Emperor's body. It took all her willpower to hurl right in his throne room.

"Malcador..... this process will be very taxing. You don't have to do this." The Emperor boomed echoing Vulkan's very words. "Do you understand what may even happen to you? And what if this fails? I expect you to replace me on the throne if anything goes wrong and...."

"Everything will be fine." Celestia said. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Very well. Do as you must. But do not endanger your own life for my sake. It will get nothing done."

"We are prepared to do whatever it takes. Chaos can't be allowed to win." Luna said.

"You may be in two, but you haven't changed. Welcome home." The Emperor said. He probably would of been smiling if his body would permit it.

And then, the spell was cast, washing over him, the pain in his body, began to lessen. It felt good.
But despite all their power, it will be a long time before the two could fully nurse the Emperor back to health.

_______________'s cloak.

_______________'s cloak.

"And you look dashing!" Rarity said as she "fixed" Russ' hair. The primarch only grunted in reply. Apparently, he was "a mess" and needed a haircut. But if he was going to give the pony credit, he did like his new hair style.
"Looks great." Russ said getting up. "No...."
"You aren't thinking of attending a dinner with that HORRIBLE armor of yours?" Rarity said.
"My armor is n..."
"Well.... it doesn't look good!" Rarity said. "It's almost a crime against fashion!"
Sigh* "Fine. What do you have then?" He asked as he began the process to take off his armor. (Unlike newer models, the type of armor he wore, while still being a hassle to take off, was removable by the wearer.
"Well...... I have this cloak you may like!" Rarity said pulling up a red velvet.
"Pass."
"How bout this?" She asked pulling up a particular shade of red.
"No way."
"How about...."
"Do you have anything brown or grey?"
"Those colors? They're absolutely dreadful!"
"Great. Get me one. I am pretty sure you can find one that looks good."
"Oh, I'll try. I'll try." Rarity said mumbling about how humans had no sense of fashion whatsoever.

"Ah, gold. My favorite color." Dorn said adorning a gold cloak.
"Made it just for you!" Rarity said. "How do you like it?"
"It's lovely." Dorn said. "Goes well with my armor."
"You surely aren't going to wear that now!" Rarity exclaimed. "Come on! You're dressed to speak with people, not for a fight!"
"Well..... if you say so...." Dorn said.
"I got more gold for something to wear underneath! I am sure you will like it."
"Ah.... good. That'll be nice."
"I knew you had a better sense of fashion! Though I must say myself, your armor isn't THAT bad."
"Humph. Great, until I find someone to scrub off a few thousand years worth of blood, sweat and dirt, I don't think it'll be the most fashionable of all things. At least it's comfortable though."
"That's comfortable? My word!"
"Most clothes the Imperium makes are meant for comfort, not fashion. The last thing we'd need is to have a raging itch while in the middle of the battle field. That kind of distraction will be fatal....."
"What's up with humans fighting anyways?"
"It's my job. I can build things if that makes you feel any better."
"Maybe just build things and destroy them! Say.... can you show me any human architecture? Do they make castles and palaces like Canterlot?"
"I think I can outdo them." Dorn said. He wasn't one for bragging, but hey.... if he was going to be 100% honest, he'd probably easily outdo any engineer from Equestria with his eyes closed.
"Now then..... let me make you something that'll suit you just fine!"
A gold tunic of course!

"You don't talk much do you?" Rarity asked as she saw the lion pick out a color that suited him in silence.
Grunt*
"Black? But...."
Grunt*
"Oh.... all right."

"Purple?"
"Not in ten thousand years." Guilliman said. Reminded him of a certain someone.............
"Um...... red?"
"Better, better. You have any blue?"
"Well.... what kind of blue do you like?"
"Hmm..... formal. That's all I need it to look."
"Alright then! I must say, your armor is fabulous!"
"Thanks." The Ultramarines' primarch replied. "I always was very partial to blue."
"I like it too..... though you ever consider making adjustments?"
"Rather pointless from my view. I like my armor just fine. Everything looks just the way I want it to."
"But.... no extra decor?"
"What's the point? I am a soldier, and at times a politician, not fashion model. I need to have a good appearance suitable for my line of work. Dressing myself up isn't the way to go. Not to mention it leaves a bad taste in the mouth....."
"Well..... why would looking good ever leave a bad taste in the mouth?"
"It has something more to do with someone than something...."
"Oh........... Well, I'll get started on a cloak. Or a dress shirt?"
"Definitely the first one. Tip of advice, a dress shirt won't exactly suit my brothers or I too well."

"Green. Just green." Vulkan said.
"Oh... alright!"
Rarity didn't bother arguing. Truth be told, she was somewhat afraid of Vulkan. The coal black skin and the red eyes frightened her. Though.... much to her surprise, he was easily one of the more friendly and less-surly of his brothers. Where that DREADFUL Russ would reek of alcohol and where that Lion would be in stony silence, Vulkan would at times carry the conversation. Despite her fear of him, Rarity had to admit, she liked him perhaps the second most. Always easy going, though..... he had an odd attraction to fire.....
"You have family?" Vulkan asked. Unlike his brothers, his voice didn't sound like a gunshot but the same volume of your average pony. (Though, there was still the gruffness.)
"Yeah! My sister, and my parents!"
"Family is important." Vulkan said looking outside a window as Rarity took his size (Huge). "It's even more important then friendship."
"That sure says a lot about it's importance!" Rarity said. "I always think my friends as my own family."
"There's an old saying. You can't pick your family, but you can always choose your friends. I am a firm believer in that." Vulkan said. "I always dreamed of raising children of my own." (In a sense, his legion WAS sorta like his children.)
"I do too!" Rarity said. "And done!"

"White. I demand white." Khan said.
"Alright, alright. Settle down there tiger!" Rarity said. He was always in a hurry. Man, if life wasn't short enough. (Ironic how he was immortal.)
"Is white you favorite color?" Rarity asked.
"Indeed. I see that is the color of your coat. A beautiful color I think."
"Oh thank you...." Rarity giggled. "Velvet? Silk..."
"Silk." Khan said. "I like silk."
"I do too!" Rarity replied making the preparations.
"By chance, do you have any rabbit fur?"
"No! How do you presume I would get any?"
"Catching one and skinning it!"
"How horrible! Why would you want to hurt a poor creature like that!"
"Humph. Okay, so just silk then. Maybe a cloth shirt to go with that."
"Consider it done!"

"Anything. Just anything."
"Really?"
"Provided I don't look like a Slanneshi cultist or someone who went colorblind, I'll wear whatever you give me."
"Okay then..... so.... how was your day?"
"Nevermore."
"Um what now?"
"My apologies. It was fine." The raven said. "My past still burdens me today."
"Take it more easily! I am sure it'll be fine."
"But still.... my burdens weigh heavily."
"Just bury the hatchet and move on! I am sure there's more to life than just sulking like that Lion person. Was he the most unpleasant sort of creature I've ever met."
Good advice, but a few thousand years worth of guilt isn't exactly going to get erased by the advice of a white unicorn. But, still that's a start.

NEWSFLASH

NEWSFLASH

"This going to be such a disaster!" Twilight said. "What am I going to do, what am I going to do?!"
"Well it's not that bad!" Rarity said. "I mean...."
"No! It doesn't have anything to do with the primarchs! It's just that... there will be maybe hundreds of beings all over Equestria here tonight! I am supposed to fill in for the princesses and.... AUGH" Twilight grabbed at her mane. "This is going to be so bad....."
"Why not just do it by the book?" Rarity suggested.
That instantly caused Twilight to stop panicking.
"Rarity! You're a genius.... but I guess we might need to be a little loose on that department in case something like last time happens......."
"Yeah. Yeah...."
"Cupcakes?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Sure why not." Twilight said. "Oh yes.... humans, griffins and minotaurs all eat meat...... I hope the cooks don't lose their lunch over this......."
"Oh.... oh.... can I make cupcakes?!" Pinkie asked.
"Sure......" Twilight said. "Alright, we need to set this place up..... someone should help moving the tab....."
As if by magic, the tables all of a sudden got up and moved themselves in the exact arrangement that Celestia commonly used for political meetings with delegates from other areas.
"Thought I'd be of help." Discord said using his magic to move the chairs again. "Good place to get away from those humans! Unpleasant folk they sure are."
"Says the one who sold his soul to...... I don't even know what." Corax said. "Are you in need of assistance?"
"Eh no. I think Discord has it." Twilight said. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him though. Last thing she needed was a gravy cup to go around and spilling gravy in everyone's lap again.
"How are your brothers doing?" Rarity asked. "I hope they like the...."
"I am sure everyone is very pleased with their new.... change of outfits." The raven said taking a look at his tan cloak. "I couldn't ask for a better tailor."
"Thanks! That means a lot." (When humans have no sense of fashion, that was probably the kind of compliment/comment she could expect.)
"Now then, I'll help with tidying this place up."

"So... you done yet?" Solomon asked.
"Done. Do you think this will actually work?" Martellus asked making a gesture at the chainsword, it's teeth tipped with shards of the elements of harmony. "I can say that the machine spirit was pleased with this new addition."
"Dark-gods repellant, now a product on every world..." Solomon jested rolling his eyes. "You think it's going to work?"
"I asked you that......" Martellus said.
"You built it!"
"I don't know. We're going to have to test this later. Angelos should be back sooner or later."
"Did you hear? Apparently we were somehow kept a secret from the rest of this planet's populace."
"Well.... Malcador knows his art then." Martellus replied. "I'll get someone to test this later. Where did you get the shards anyways?"
"I can guarantee you it won't break." Solomon said.
"Crystal empire?"
"Yep."
"Then I am confident in it's abilities to defeat the forces of chaos. Let the traitors tremble as we cut into their hearts."
"Nice. I'll try making myself a new staff with some."
"How did you get it anyways?"
"Someone sold it to me."
"Where does one of our brothers exactly get money? I am pretty sure you never...."
"They were interested in Sindri's staff. Of course, I myself don't want to go near that thing if possible, so I gave it to them. Where that same tool would of damned even the most loyal space marine, it is harmless to your average pony."
"Alright, can you get me more?"
"I'll see what I can do."

"Why are they all here again?" Rainbow Dash asked looking down into ghastly gorge.
"Cause Gabriel just got back." Fluttershy said. "Did you hear? Every pony that went with him all came back!"
"That's good news. Cadence wouldn't stop worrying over her husband." Dashie replied. "Just look at them......"
From her view on the cloud, it gave her an unobstructed view of everything down into the gorge. It was a marvelous sight. The entirety of the Blood Ravens chapter was there. Well, almost all of them.
Cyrus had done his job well. In just months, the Blood Ravens were nearing full strength once again. Now, almost 1,000 battle brothers were with the chapter again. (Though, it should be noted a good portion of the chapter were scouts for somewhat obvious reasons.)
"Wow look at them!"
"HOLY... how did you get up here?!" Rainbow Dash asked surprised at how Scootaloo just teleported up into the cloud.
"I jumped!"
"I am not even going to ask......"
"Just look at them!" Scootaloo said. The royal guard though greater in number, didn't as much as hold a candle to the 1,000 or so space marines down in the gorge.
"There's Gabriel!" Scootaloo said pointing at the man standing on top of a rock, he was giving a speech of some kind.
"Look! They got those moving houses!" Sweetie Belle said.
That awkward moment when Rainbow Dash finally realized that the cloud was hardly a few feet off the ground.....
"Ah don't think they're moving houses..." Applebloom said. "They call them dreadnoughts... they say that a injured human lives in that...."
"Oh... my...."
"Yes.... Davian used to be one. Until Twilight got him out that was."
"So why not just break them open?"
"Because the injured human inside will die if that happens. Davian was healed." Fluttershy said. "Poor things...."
"What do you think they're talking about?"

"Understand, that a few of our fellow chapters scorn our relationship with Equestria. We will in the coming days, prove them wrong and let them see the error their views."
Thunderous cheering.
"Many of our fellow chapters however, see this as a sign of hope. That there is still hope in this galaxy." Gabriel continued. Equestria, untouched by chaos.
"The signs are clear, Malcador has returned. The primarchs have returned. The final battle is going to be upon us. The Emperor himself has spoken to us and has made plans for the final battle."
Cries of "Praise the Emperor" shook the entire gorge.
"But he has also spoken, he does not wish to be addressed as a god."
"WHAT?!"
Gabriel clenched his teeth. It wasn't easy trying to abandon his own faith either. This is going to be one hard time.........

"How much longer?" The Emperor asked. Though the pain wasn't as great. It still stung. Stung like hell.
"I don't know." Celestia said. The man in front of her, finally looked.... well... human again. His flesh, slowly growing back, though even like this, he was in pain, and still looked so pitiful.
"Just.... do your best.... keep on doing your best..." The Emperor said allowing the waves of magic to sprinkle over him. It felt good, the best he's felt in 10,000 years.
He was glad his old friend returned to him. And with some of the health he regained, he had a few loose ends to fix up.

Chapter 16

"You're jesting, right?" Someone asked as Gabriel made his announcement.
"I certainly am not. He does not wish to be referred to or treated as a god."
"And who told you that?!" Someone else asked.
"Perhaps the most indisputable source we have. The primarchs........."
"This.... what?"
"Then......."
To realize the full-scope of the entire situation, most of the men down there listening to Gabriel's speech were hundreds of years old, and now after those same hundreds of years of utmost faith and devotion to their god, they were told that there was god simply just wasn't. If there was one time in the entire history of the Blood Ravens, when the Blood Ravens felt the sinister hand of despair and fear reaching out to them, it was now. But wait.......
"What if.... he's a god.... but merely doesn't want to be referred to as one....?" Someone suggested.
Now why didn't anyone think of that?
"Stop for a moment though. Say in the absolute worst case scenario that the Emperor is not a god, then shouldn't that mean that the dark gods themselves are also mortal?" Someone said. "And if the Emperor.... has been successful at keeping them out......"
"That means chaos itself can be destroyed!"

"Fools....... hopeful fools....." Gabriel said under his breath. How could they win? Could they even win? He thought about for a moment the battle they were fighting against chaos. For 10,000 years, chaos had been assaulting humanity. For 10,000 years, the Imperium has endured. But how much longer?
How many chaos space marines and heretics resided in the eye of terror just waiting to pounce? How large are their numbers truly? How many daemons are invading the material universe as he pondered this?
The thoughts shook his soul. They were fighting a losing battle. Every small action, whether it's blood spilled to empower Khorne or another life bargained on the table of Tzeentch empowers the dark gods. For 10,000 years, the entire galaxy had been in a state of perpetual chaos, strengthening the dark gods even more.
If the forces of chaos aren't defeated soon, chances are, that the chaos gods will grow to become even more powerful.
But even in the face of hopelessness Gabriel thought. I will fight on. The Emperor may be no god after all, but I will never despair. The vile entities of the warp will be defeated, whether it be by my hand, or someone else's.
The primarchs have returned, Malcador has returned, the final battle is beginning to dawn. Chaos will either consume the galaxy or be stopped here and now.

"What do you think they were talking about?" Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash.
"Meh, probably things humans like talking about."
"Like chainsaws?"
"Yeah, sure. I think they were talking about how they are winning now that their Emperor is going to be back again. And those primarchs too. And did you know, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used to be human?"
"Wait what?"
"Yep! The two princesses used to be human!"
"Ah dunno, the two princesses seem to be very calm an..."
"Oh, but not all humans are that way." Fluttershy said. "There's a difference you see..."
"So, we've only met with a certain type of human?"
"I think so.... you're going to have to ask Twilight if you want details."
"Why is it that we've met only soldiers anyways? You don't think that they're planning anything are they?"
"Of course not! If Celestia and Luna truly are human, they wouldn't even as much as dare to try anything funny! Not to mention, I heard Twilight is friends with that big guy in blue...... Roboute Guilliman I think was his name?"
"Rowboat Girlyman?"
"No, Roboute Guilliman..."
"Robot Gorrilaman?"
"No! ROBOUTE GUILLIMAN."
"Rawbutt jellyman?"
"I have no idea anymore." Dashie said.

"And more mead! I demand more mead!" Russ said watching as any pony who worked in the brewery scrambled to oblige him. "More liquor too! And wine!"
"For crying out loud, he's bathing in that stuff!" Some pony commented as Russ proceeded to chug down another mug full of the substance. He then crushed the steel mug with nothing but his bare hands.
"More!"
"Good heavens!"
"Are you already drunk?" Jonson asked poking his head in. "Alright, shows over, come on, sober up." The lion went to go and slowly pull the wolf out of the room, despite his circumstances, he did his best to try and look good, a task rather difficult.
"Come on, hup hup. Let's get out of here....."

"How much more time?" Rarity asked.
"8 hours!"
"Oh dear, I hope....... someone tell that Russ guy to take a shower! Or at least....."
Grabbing a spray can full of perfume Rarity went over to where Russ was standing.
Let's just say..... he was less than amused with the spray..... though the same can't be said for his brothers......

"So.... what else have we been doing wrong?" Thule asked Angelos after the entire gathering was done.
"Everything. Compared to the Emperor's vision, the Imperium is hell made manifest. The Primarchs told me everything when I got back. How the Emperor's dream had no........... blind......faith....." The last few words spoken slowly and with regret, almost with hatred as well.
"Blind faith?" Thule echoed. "Blind faith?"
"Yes. The Emperor wishes not to be refered to as a god. Almost ironically, it was one of the traitor primarchs, Lorgar that made the same teachings that we now use....... Devotion has now become a heresy."
"We must not despair." Thule said. "Despair will only lead us to damnination, but does the Emperor stil...."
"Yes. The Emperor protects. He may not want to be refered to as a god, but he sure as hell deserves that title." Angelos said.
Thule gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Good. We have bussiness with Twilight and the rest of Equestria tonight. She wishes us to represent the rest of the Imperium along with the primarchs. Would be an honor to dine at the same table of them."
"Then it'd be an honor I'll take." Angelos said.
"One last thing. Try and look friendly, do your best not to scare anyone lest we make a bad impression.."
To a space marine, that paticular request would be on par with asking them to try and ask a hive fleet not to devour your world.....
Not gonna work..... now..... About the primarchs....

Awkardness ensured

"They're going to be here any second now!" Twilight said prancing about wildly.
"Chill out." Rainbow Dash said. "It'll all be fine!"
"It'll all be fine, it'll all be fine!" Pinkie Pie echoed jumping around.
"Keep calm and just carry on." Rarity said. "I am sure it won't be too bad!"
"Yeah! I mean it's only like.... nevermind."
"Oh.... man....."
Twilight didn't know what to do. Panic or celebrate. She got to represent the princesses! How cool was that?! Then again........ you got to represent the princess, how stressful was that?!
Good time to pray for the best and prepare for the worst..... speaking of which. The first group of people were here.

"My Emperor says hello!" The translator said walking down from the chariot. Here came the officials of the Holy Griffin Empire. (Why it was holy, no was really sure why... they weren't even religious....) Probably cause someone thought it sounded cooler that way......
"And Equestria welcomes you too!" Twilight said. "I hope you'll enjoy tonight!"
"It'll be our pleasure!" The translator said after finishing speaking to his Emperor.
"Ou sont les princesses?"
"My Emperor would like to ask where are the two princesses?"
"Oh... yeah that. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been called away due to royal, diplomatic and personal affairs...." Twilight said. The last part had slightly more truth in it then she knew.....
The Emperor shrugged. Oh well.
"We would wonder however if the humans are still here."
"Indeed they are!" Twilight said pointing at a passer-by.
Griffin conversation*
"I'd expected them to be smaller......"
"Sorry to disappoint!" Someone yelled.
"Holy shit!" Some griffin said with a heavy accent.
"Their hearing.... it's impressive...." Twilight said. "Their like super-heroes amongst their own people. Hey, there are these guys called Primarchs...."
"Who are so awesome!"
"And they're like gods! I know they are all immortal and such, but the primarchs make the other humans look like...."
"Slow down Mademoiselle." The translator said. "I think more people have arrived.
The next batch of people arrived. Most were ponies from Equestria, but one particular group was what caught Twilight and her friend's attention.
Saddle Arabians!
"Salutations, Twilight of Equestria! We have heard of Princess Celestia's absence." The leader spoke. "My name is Dashid, Sultan of all of Saddle Arabia."
"It's a pleasure!" Twilight said hoof shaking the Sultan.
"The pleasure if all mine." Dashid replied. "I hear that a creature called a human is here in Equestria?"
"There are some right there!" Pinkie said pointing at a group of space marines at the gate. Human paranoia. Of course.
"They are magnificent. A race of mighty warriors, fierce and proud. Let their glories speak to all, aloud." Dashid said. "Perhaps when I finish personally meeting them, I may write a poem about their deeds."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyone ever tell you your name is AWESOME?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Thank you. Thank you. When will we begin?"
"In about half an hour. Let everyone get here you know!" Twilight said chuckling do a surprisingly good job at hiding her anxiety.
"Very well. I will take a look around for the time being. I must meet one of the humans!"

"Eh Twilight?" Applejack asked. "You should see who had the colossal nerve to come here."
"Who?"
"Take a wild guess." Cyrus said appearing out of nowhere. "Someone who should be dead."
"Um.... not one of those chaos guys right?"
"No. Just slightly less foul."
"Chrysalis?"
"Yep. Should I...."
"No. She may have something important to say or add on to all of this."
"Very well. But if there is any sign of trouble from her and I will flay that monster alive." Cyrus said disappearing once again.
"How does he do that anyways?" Rarity asked. "He's a big guy, and..."
"No time to talk, look, we got even more people!" Applejack said pointing at another mob of creatures.
"Hey it's Cadence!"
"Twilight!" Cadence said.
"Cadence!"
The formalities were broken for one moment for a certain hoof shake.......
"How've you been?"
"Good! And you?" Twilight asked.
"Better! Now that my husband's back!"
"Twily! Great to be back!"
"I bet! How was going off with humans to fight chaos?"
"Rough, tough but it was worth it." Shining Armor said. "Surprised no pony died or as much as gotten hurt. No small part from Gabriel of course. So... what's up? Oh and let me warn you, the minotaur king isn't too happy to be seeing humans in Equestria........"

We'd probably lose all the space on the internet if details were given, so let's cut to chase. Half an hour passes by and we get about a few (thousand) people are crammed inside the ballroom of Canterlot castle. Among them are Ponies, (Crystal empire and Saddle Arabia as well), Griffins, Minotaurs, Zebras, Buffalo, Changelings (unfortunately) and of course, humans.

The seating arrangement into the ballroom had been arranged into a similar fashion as a cabaret. Tables of various shapes and sizes were arranged about with waiters and waitresses ready to take orders. There was of course, the band which would be playing. So things couldn't possibly go wrong could it?

"Nice décor...." One of the griffins said gesturing at a grey knight who was standing in the door way.
"Eh.... mister? He's a human."
"Oh........"
"Twilight!" Rarity said running to the lavender unicorn. "I got bad news!"
"What is it?"
"Russ is drinking again!"
Good heavens no......

And there the primarch was. Surrounded by a bunch of creatures of various species.
"Now then, listen up, if you're not as drunk as me, you're not having any fun!" Russ said chugging an entire mug and then crushing it with his bare hands. "Now then, who wants to party!"
"PARTY!" Pinkie Pie laughed as she jumped up from nowhere. "Want cupcakes?!"
"Hell yes!" Russ said. "And give me more.... what ever this is..."
"Vodka?"
"MORE VODKA! Come on everyone, empty your cups!"
Every being surrounding him promptly reached for their cups, beakers or bowls and drank. Some collapsed on the floor in a drunken stupor, while others went off in their drunken state, very few managed to stay somewhat sober.

"Well, he's enjoying himself." Dorn said as dined on some roasted waterfowl. Despite never cooking meat before, ponies were oddly good at making and preparing it. Odd.
"I bet." Thunderhooves said sitting next to him. "So, what's your tale?"
"Mine? I am a politician, a warrior and an engineer." Dorn replied.
"What can you build exactly?" Some pony asked. The subject had gotten interesting.
"Here, try something with this." Another pony said handing Dorn a few stacks of cards. About ten seconds later..... Dorn built a card fort.
"Here you go. And by the way...." Dorn took a discard cup and flung it at the newly built card construct. It didn't as much as budge.
"Whoa....."

"Humans. They'll kill us all when they see the chance." A minotaur said glaring at the space marines.
"Well, sorry to rain on your parade but they already could have as they had many opportunities already." A crystal pony said. "The other day, this one with a really nice looking helmet came over and sold us a equally nice magical staff for just some crystals! What a guy!"
"What use does a...."
"We found out it really helps with cutting the crystals!" The crystal pony said. "The magic it uses is pretty arcane in design."
"I really like the humans." A griffin said sitting down. "Though... I expected them to be smaller."
"And I expected you to be larger." A passing space marine joked.
"See? They're not all that bad! Just get to know them and everything is fine!" The griffin said.
"Nice, just explain to me how the beings most consumed by hate are "just fine" and "not all that bad." A changeling said sitting down. "Those things are god-damn killing machines. I peered into one of their memories and...."
"Really? A changeling telling us that someone us does bad stuff? No offense mon copain, but this comes from a guy who impersonates other people."
"Oh shut up." The changeling said. "I got to eat you know. Speaking of which..."
Quite a night this will turn out to be. Quite a night this will turn out to be.

Author's Note

Dashid is named after Harun Al-Rashid, one of the caliphs in case anyone is wondering.

Never forgotten.

Never forgotten.

I guess we could all say overall, it was a fun night for most people. Here's a nutshell of how it went. Starting with a certain someone who became progressively more drunk as the night passed.
Russ after a good while, had decided to recount the battle of Prospero... this probably would have been much less- interesting had Russ not accidently said "Jar of peanut butter" when he was talking about Magnus or "Bottle of chicken" when he was talking about Ahriman. Among his long list of drunken words included "Scrumpy" "Cooking pot" "vegetables" "stew" and some words that not even a techmarine would be able to deduce what Russ was trying to say.
"And then.... and then.... I said.... to jar of peanut butter and bottle of chicken that I'd take BOTH of them on with a ink pen and their asses, asses were going to be on the grass...on the grass..... were going to be grass and..... then I OPENED JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER..... but it was empty!!!"
Most people surrounding him weren't sober so the reaction he got was mixed, those who were sober either looked at him funny or were rolling on the ground in tears from laughter.
The story of Propsero in one day turned from a hard-won battle (sorta) with the thousand sons into Russ' frustration in the kitchen and his attempts at making chicken stew that for some reason, required peanut butter.

"A wise ruler your Emperor must be." Dashid said to Guilliman.
"Well, he's human like the rest of us." The primarch replied. "We all made mistakes..... he did too."
"Is life.... unhappy?"
Understatement of the millennia.
"Being away for almost 10,000 years, I am not sure. But the Imperium would easily be in better shape had we listened to a certain goddamn Eldar."
"Can you tell me more?"
"Well........ If anyone really wants to hear more about the galaxy as of now, I am the person to speak with."

"So... do you kill people?" A minotaur asked Dorn who was now drawing on a napkin.
"That'd be to put it bluntly. But yes. I also build things, and destroy things."
"How many people have you killed?"
"More than hot dinners any of you had." Dorn said. "But my intention here is not murdering of innocents or those who've never done me wrong. My enemies are chaos....." He shot Discord a dirty look, said draconequus took a step back away.
"Just chaos?"
"Just chaos."
"You sure you don't throw people into mazes and eat them just wondering?"
"No... what the hell?" Dorn asked. "That's got to be the strangest thing anyone has said to me in the past few thousand years."
"Well......."
"Told you." A griffin said. "So.... do you ride dragons around and go slaying demons?"
"Something along those lines." Dorn replied. "Chaos is the enemy of every being in the galaxy. Every sane one that is."
"I hope you don't exactly go around killing innocents." A minotaur said.
"Of course not! Where did you ever get that notion?"
"Umm..... never mind." The minotaur said. "Just some old wives tale.... probably not even true....."
(The horrible thing that lurked in the maze....... yeah, sounded a bit off anyways.)

"How much better is he?" Asked one of the Custodes.
"It may be months before he can as much as move his lips to speak." Luna said. "His power..... is immense..... and because of this, it works against him, and us."
"Merely one of his fingers." Celestia said gesturing at the part of the body that looked somewhat healthy. The Emperor's left hand was starting to look somewhat more human now.
"You're doing fine....." The Emperor said psychically. "Keep this up. Custodes, get the word to my loyal sons that I ask for their return."
"At once!"

"Malcador, stop and rest."
"Wait but...."
"Stop. Sleep. You're new bodies aren't used to this. If you die, all your work will be for naught. Rest and eat something. I'll have any of your needs to be accommodated, but just.... don't let yourself die.... the first time had been my folly, I had managed to drag your soul back..... I doubt I can do it a second time....."
"If you insist...."
The Emperor braced himself for the pain that followed. But he decided to move one of his fingers. Something he hadn't done in almost 10,000 years now was actually move any part of his body. He watched as Celestia and Luna were led out to some quarters arranged for them.
Oh yeah that's right, he had a functioning eye now.
Now if only they would hurry up and fix his diaphragm. He needs to talk too..... and speaking psychically was somewhat draining, though it would hardly matter in an average circumstance, while in this much pain, speaking was rather hard to do.
The Emperor groaned in his mind as the pain engulfed him once again..... he went to close his good ey....
Damn it, I don't have eyelids!

"You think we will ever finish this?" Luna asked as she rested on her bed and glanced around the room. Glamorous.....
"We have to. You know exactly what happens if we don't. Everyone loses."
"I have to say, human food is rather....... strange....."
"Then again, so are we." Celestia jested. Some high lords of Terra were rather surprised that the hero was now two female horse things.
"Well, I am getting some sleep." Luna said lying down. "We got more work to do."
"Yes...." Celestia said.

Celestia opened her eyes. She was in Equestria.
Um what?
Every pony didn't seem to notice their princess snack dab in the streets, they just passed by doing ordinary things.
Something stood out. Oh look, it's a hu.... eh... wait.... that's not human?
It was thin and slender, Celestia eyed the creature oddly and saw her subjects were doing the same. It held up it's hand and waved. Disappearing as soon as the first human showed his helmet.
The vision of ordinary life disappeared. It melted away to a massive canyon, a canyon filled with thousands of humans. Dead. All of them.
Then Celestia realized, they weren't just humans. Ponies, daemons, etc. All lying dead in that hole. All of them wearing various colors.
Blood Ravens..... Grey Knights.... Ultramarines...... for some reason, she knew every chapter name to which every dead human belonged to.
Then.... from the mist.... the people came.
The pair were regal figures. One was divinely handsome with a pair of wings, the other had strange metallic hands. They went over the bodies and tapped them.
The corpses got up, as if once again alive, without whatever grievous injuries they had. Only ponies and loyalist marines......
"The Emperor protects, let none find us wanting." She heard someone say. A blood raven. She recognized him, he was one of the men with Gabriel.
"The warrior who acts out of honor can never fail." An Ultramarine said.
"Only in death does duty end." Another space marine said.
"The graves of warriors who have given their lives for the Emperor now outnumber the stars themselves."
"No...... the graves of those who have given their lives for harmony, the greater good of others, now far outnumber the stars. May their memory burn brightly in the night sky.... forever. Only when one is forgotten, does one truly die."
As opposed to the gruff voices of humans, this one was more melodic. A pony's no doubt.
"Remember us.......... Remember those who have died here...... Remember those who have died fighting...." The two regal figures said. Their names...... Ferrus Manus and Sanguinius. Somehow.... Celestia knew that.
Everyone who stood then disappeared in a flash of light, and went up in the sky.
Looking up, a billion stars twinkled.
Celestia gave a small cry in her sleep.
She knew now.

In to the woods

In to the woods

"Luna? Are you okay?" Celestia asked the next morning.
"Fine. Fine." Luna said doing the worst job in the galaxy at covering up her obvious distress. "I am fine, I am fine."
"Okay.... you seem awfully pale....."
"Nothing. Just tired. That's all." Luna said.
Celestia still shuddered from her nightmare. Luna must have slept badly that night. Despite her nightmare, the princess of the sun still managed to get a good night's sleep and felt pretty refreshed the next morning.
"I think we should go back to work after breakfast."
"We should...." Celestia said preparing herself for the awkward staring that will ensure.

"What a night....." Thule said watching the night sky.... "Twilight, I think that we....."
"Oh yes......." Twilight said. She roused her entourage who were kept in charge of helping her raise the sun. A task that required dozens of the most gifted unicorns and of course, a paranoid and/or curious librarian.
"And then..... I said to them that I'd out race BOTH of them and........ whew..... and... hey Pinkies...." hic* hic*
And Dashie fell over Russ, just as drunk as him.
"Morning. I hope I am not late for anything....." Jonson said looking at Russ. "Was he there for the entire night?"
"Yeah..... it would take a crane to move him...... and even then.... I am afraid if he wakes up......" Twilight said.
"Hup, hup up we go...." Jonson said trying to pick Russ up. He slapped him on the cheek in a vain attempt to rouse his drunkard brother. Giving up, Jonson instead decided to move him into the courtyard where he would be in no one's way..... save for the animals who all crawled into their holes at the sight of him.

"Well I have to say, it was a success!" Twilight said as she helped scrub some tables.
"Do the tables normally clean them..... nevermind." Dorn said watching as Discord lounged on a pink cloud.
To think he used to be one of us. Dorn thought.
"Just helping!" Discord said snapping his fingers. Next thing Dorn knew, he found himself holding a glass of chocolate milk. He placed it down calmly despite the fact.... that it well, just appeared out of thin air.
"Humans are no fun...." Discord said. "Take it easy.... ma....."
"Fun? How can I enjoy myself when for almost 9,000 years, I have been away waiting for..... well.... this when the rest of my kind are fighting for their very lives? The only solace I gain is that the final battle draws near. Either I will die with my brethren or we win and never have to put up our arms again until something else rears it's head. That is my life." His voice gave a clear indication of it. He was verging despair. "I could of put an end to Abaddon and all his damned schemes...... but... I was whisked away for who the hell knows what?"
"To find the elements of harmony of course!" Guilliman said. "What if even YOU couldn't kill Abaddon? Or Jonson? Or Corax? And what if WE can't defeat our treacherous brethren? Our father is as clever as he is wise, we need to be ahead of the traitors if we are to win. We're not going to this by simply rushing at them with bolters and chainswords. With the elements of harmony, we got an advantage. You of all people should of realized this first out of all of us."
"On second thought.... maybe you're right....."
"I hope he is." Vulkan said. "I was recently contacted. We are going back to Terra. The Imperium is in shambles and it will need proper leaders to rebuild."
"Then that will be our first priority once we return." Dorn said. "Get everyone else. We'll be leaving soon. Oh, and Twilight, when the time comes, will you be ready? Everyone is counting on you and your friends."
Dorn hardly knew Twilight on a personal level, but the way he spoke, he acted as if they had been lifelong friends. He was obviously asking for a large favor. Could Twilight refuse him in anyway?
Of course not. Everything will count on everyone when this moment arrived. Equestria would be involved, whether they wanted to or not. So would everyone else.
But for now, the primarchs had to return to Imperium. It was riddled with hate, corruption and verging on collapse. Only the actions of a god could truly reform such a grim and dark place.
And the primarchs were the best anyone could get as of now.

Two days later.
"Aramus?"
"Yeah what is it?"
"Um.... well.... you... see.... I think there's a monster in the Everfree forest."
"A monster?"
"Yes..... you see, it's very dangerous..... and fast too! Angel got scared by it and told me that it also was....."
"Can I have a better description than "it's dangerous?"
"It's very thin..... and looked kinda like your people...."
"Well, I'll tell Gabriel about this." Aramus said.
Very fast, dangerous, looks like a thin human......
There goes his good mood.

"Gabriel?" Aramus asked finding the chapter master sketching on a calendar. "We got a slight problem....."
"What is it?"
"Eldar......"
"Here? What do they want?" Thule asked.
"Who knows? Perhaps Equestria is important to them too. My two cents? Their after the elements..."
"Then we'll make sure they don't ask much as get their hands anywhere near those. We lose the elements and we're going to be in trouble. Big trouble."
"Should I clear them out? Or at least find out what they are here for? Perhaps we may have a misunderstanding....."
"He's right. Last thing we need is another Typhon." Diomedes said.
"I guess we shouldn't be too hasty in that case. What craftworld?"
"I don't know....."
"Alright, I guess I will go personally then." Angelos said grabbing godsplitter. "Get Davian and Cyrus. You too Aramus."

"What do you think they're doing?" Scootaloo asked watching the ten or so space marines walk through town armed to the teeth.
"Ah dunno... not like they'd tell us." Applebloom said.
"Wanna follow them? I bet they found something nice they wanted to check out. Maybe we can even help them and become.... CUTIE MARK CRUSADER..... helping-humans-find-something....... I dunno......"
Oh they're looking for something alright. But something obviously not very pleasant if they were armed to this extent.
Not that the CMC realized this.....

One year from now

One year from now

"Nothing."
"Clear!"
"I got nothing!"
Cyrus looked around.
"Their hiding somewhere! Another search. Now!" He barked as yet another group of scouts went to comb the forest..... for the fourth time already.
"I am surprised no one got shot yet." Tarkus said, dressed to kill in a suit of terminator armor, a pair of lightning claws and a bolter.
"Keep looking!" Angelos said jumping down a ledge. Ignoring the fact that the a certain three fillies decided to follow him. He was promptly joined by a few battle brothers. Thule and Tarkus included.

It would surprise many. The space marines weren't the ones to spot the movement ahead. It was the cutie mark crusaders who saw the barrel poking out of the bush aimed straight at Thule.
Time stood at a stand still at this moment, but even then, the words escaped Scootaloo's mouth far before the trigger was pulled.
"Davian! Duck!"
Thule was fast, but not quite as fast enough to stop the rifle's bolt from singing the tip of his hair.
"Holy shi.... OPEN FIRE!"
A hailstorm of bolter fire was thrown at the general area of where the bolter had come from, a few curses and screams of agony followed with the Eldar and Space marine warcries.
Carnage followed as soon the rest of the space marines and the rest of the Eldar joined the fray. Before long, it was complete carnage as the once-silent forest was now a loud battlefield.
"Eldar witches!" Tarkus roared. "Kill them all!"
"Which one of you fools shot first?!" Someone asked.
"The hell?" Cyrus said to himself as he heard those very words. He stopped for a moment to asses the situation further. He stopped the moment a farseer showed her face.
A familiar face.

"Stop fighting now!" Said farseer shrieked. "What do you fools presume you're doing?"
The brawl stopped instantly, with many people in hilariously awkward situations.
"Ronahn! What in the name of the craftworlds did you think you were doing?!"
"Avenging my sister." Ronahn said bitterly, glaring at Thule. "Her blood is on that human's hands! Taldeer, dead! Because of that human right there!"
"I did not kill Taldeer alien!" Thule spat back out. "You are a fool and a coward!"
"You are the reason she's dead Mon'keigh! Macha, do you stop me from avenging her?!"
"Macha?" Angelos asked frowning. "Alright, what do you want?"
"I am not here to take Gabriel." Macha said. "I am here to give."
First time for everything Cyrus thought.
"What is it? A payload of explosives? A warhost? A warband of orks?" Tarkus asked. "You are not welcome here."
"Just a message. A vision from the future. You are familiar, with the name Abaddon, are you not?"
"Alright, get with the program."
"One year from now, he will escape Cadia. He will lead his 14th black crusade against your glorious Imperium."
Tarkus bit his lip until blood began to trickle down. It was not the insult that stung him, but the very presence of the Eldar.
"And?"
"He will assault Terra. No doubt about that. But Abaddon is no fool. If you Emperor dies, what is the last thing that will save this galaxy from the great enemy?"
Equestria.
"And so..." Macha continued. "He will come here. Personally. I am sure you are aware of the things that.... give this planet it's gifts....."
"The Emperor will not die." Cyrus said.
"He probably won't." Macha said. "But... Abaddon will come here. To Equestria. Now then, what will you do? Abandon it to defend your holy planet? I am sure the conscience of Gabriel will be conflicted."
Before anyone could comment, Macha once again continued.
"Simple. Your Emperor will order you to remain on Equestria. To him, the elements of harmony are far more important than himself. The life and soul of a single..... horse.... is more important to both him and the entire galaxy than one hundred mon'keighs."
"Say that word again and I will cut your throat out." Cyrus hissed.
"I am merely here to tell you what is to come. Abaddon will come here to Equestria. He intends to destroy everything. The horses, their artifacts. My advice? Defend it. To your last man. It is one of the last gleaming beacons of hope on a weary galaxy....."
To everyone's surprise, Macha bowed her head.
"Do this Gabriel of the hidden heart. Only you are sensible enough to see the value of my words. Your men are too stubborn, too proud, or too consumed in their hate. Defend Equestria, for it may be the galaxy's last hope."
"Very well." Gabriel said. His frown now a scowl of mistrust and suspicion. "But, lie to me.... and I will see your craftworld burn..... and what Slannesh will do to you will be nothing compared to what I am thinking about. Begone now."
The Eldar left. Just like that.

"One year from now, the forces of chaos will come for both, Terra and Equestria." The Emperor said psychially to the primarchs. "The tree of harmony, the elements of harmony and every last ounce of Equestria will be vital to the defeat of chaos. The tree itself can even provide protection to other planets......"
The primarchs nodded. They knew where this plan was going.
"The shield is not perfect. It will have it's gaps and exploits. But it will be enough to stem the flow of chaos, and daemonic incursions to give us an edge."
"You will defend Terra. Avenge your fallen brothers and defeat those who have fallen. Lead your legions to greatness. But, Equestria, blessed as they may be, will not survive any large scale attacks from chaos on it's own. Thankfully, a certain being can prevent Abaddon from burning Equestria from orbit. The only way Abaddon can destroy Equestria completely is if he goes down and destroys the elements, the tree and every last pony. Unfortunately..... we can not move the ponies off world."
Murmuring went between the primarchs.
"That is why I want a large mobilization of space marines but ONLY space marines on that planet. Every last chapter must contribute. If Equestria falls, we will be caught napping. If even Terra falls and Equestria does not, we still may have a chance. Your average unicorn is a potent navigator without the astronomicon and the souls of everypony will be enough to ward chaos off until we get back on our feet."
Nods of understanding follow.
"Now then, because me just speaking to you is tiring, take this one year, rebuild the Imperium into a better place. Spread the word of my potential return and give them hope. And tell EVERYONE, my true will and my new orders. Tell the blood ravens that they can expect reinforcements on the day of reckoning. About a few hundred thousand to be exact."
Celestia and Luna had been listening to this, they looked at each other and prayed for the best.
For Equestria in the coming days, will be the third largest battleground in the last 10,000 years.

Chapter 21

"This is bad." Arven said as he met with Gabriel. "I am afraid everything that damn witch has told us is all too true. Abaddon WILL flee cadia in one year with his forces and make war upon holy Terra itself."
"Then we must do our duty." Angelos replied. "One year from now, Abaddon will not only invade Terra, but Equestria itself. Macha had told me the Emperor himself values the life of every last pony."
"It seems his compassion is not limited to just mankind." Arven said. "But I was told that we would have to remain here and defend this planet. For it even Terra falls, all is still not lost."
"Aye, everyone must contribute. If only the Emperor would tell me his plan so I may carry it out."
"In time he will." Arven replied. "Though..... I am still unsure if whether or not we should kill Discord."
"If Twilight believes he has been reformed, then so be it." Angelos said. "He may be a jokester at heart, but I never appreciated anyone of his "jokes"."
"But to give him credit, he did retrieve the elements." Arven replied.
"Perhaps. But one year from now, he will be defined, and we will see what kind of man really is under that flesh."

"Hm...... the tree of harmony?" Solomon asked. "Now let's see here......."
"There's more by the way. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave us essentially a field manual on this." Spike said coughing up more letters.
"Got it." Solomon said. "Spike, may I have a question?"
"Sure!"
"Do you have any idea how that..... that thing you do works?"
"As in....."
"I'll just call it.... "a method of delivery"." Solomon said. "I seen you breath puffs of fire at letters and that sends them to the receiver?"
"Yeah! I can do it with anyone actually! Of course, there are limits. It's a spell Princess Celestia put on me so that I can send notes to her at any time I want!"
"I see....... I am interested in this.... do you think you have an idea on how it works?"
"Oh heaven no. But Twilight would!"
"Very well then, I have to get back on finishing my reading on these notes. Thanks for helping sort it out by the way."
"No problem!"

"So.... one year from now, a few hundred thousand scary guys are going to come out of nowhere and invade Equestria?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yep." Thaddeus replied shaking his head. "At first, I wanted to punch that witch in the mouth for making those "lies" until we received a message from one of the primarchs that everything she had said was true."
"Yikes..... So tell me more about Abaddon...."
"If you see him, it's probably too late to run." Thaddeus said. "His power is unimaginable. Only the Emperor may best him in combat."
"So what exactly are we going to do? A few hundred thousand chaos guys are coming to Equestria and..."
"I don't know." Thaddeus said. His own words filling him with dread.

"Cyrus. Our chapter will need more men." Thule said to captain of the tenth company.
"Understood. I will work my fastest to get able-bodied battle brothers out."
"Yes. Understand we only have one year to prepare. Luckily, Equestria isn't without it's challenges here and there so we don't need to waste time on finding a good place."
"Yes. I will have my sergeants take the initiates to places like Changeling hive or deep in the Everfree. We will find much hunting that can be done."
"Good. We got one year to do this. Every new initiate must be battle ready by then. The chapter, the imperium and perhaps the galaxy will be counting on us."
"To death then?"
"To death." Thule said grinning. "We'll make it out. I am sure of it."
"I agree. The Emperor protects...."
"Let none find us wanting."

"So where are going to test this?" Diomedes asked looking at the chainsword tipped with the shards of harmony.
"No clue." Martellus said. "We're just going to have to hope it works...... the worst case scenario is I wasted a few tons worth of the stuff."
"Hey, not like we lost much." Diomedes said. "When your average pony is both unaffected and interested in the things used by the vile forces of chaos, then it's easy to get materials at no loss."
"Sure. I am going back to work."

The Emperor moved his eyes around in his skull of a head and had in a long time, an actual look of his body. Broken, shattered.
He had one good hand, that was sorta-alive looking which he could move to a degree, another bony one that had no flesh. He had no feet, hardly any functioning organs say for his brain and the ones repaired by Luna and Celestia. He hoped they'd finish his throat so he may speak again without the usage of his mind.
The two sisters toiled on. Celestia working in the day, Luna at night. He watched as of now as Celestia stood blasting through her horn a wave of light that sent waves of ease through his body, and kept the pain at bay. They had recently took shifts upon finding out that when they weren't repairing his body, he was in pain. Severe pain that was unspeakable and incomprehensible to even gods.
The Emperor sat back and listened.
Listened to as Guilliman argued with the high lords of Terra with his new plans.
Listened to as Russ celebrated with his chapter.
Listened to Dorn making plans to reunite his legion.
Listened as Jonson spoke with a certain man who wished to make amends. That certain man had teleported his way in, days ago, repairing the lion's blade and surrendering it to it's rightful owner.
He listened as all the others planned the defense of Terra, the defense of Equestria and the final purging of chaos. He listened to the joyful crowds who listened to the news of his potential return. And he listened to the whispers of how Malcador was either a hero or a traitor.
He listened to Titan, the Grey Knights were celebrating the return of their chapter master AND the return of Malcador,
Interesting really. Malcador was either a hero who even after dying TWICE and having to remake himself into two peices the second time, returned to the Imperium to faithfully rebuild it or he was either a treasonous coward who sacrificed his humanity to save his own soul. (Extra-zealous inquisitors and the sisterhood went here.)
The Emperor didn't mind at all that Malcador was in two. He loved him (or in this case, "they") unconditionally. For after all that had happened, he still came back ready to do what needed to be done.
He wondered how good Celestia and Luna could help manage the Imperium once this was all done. He was still in need of a regent...........................

Author's Note

And... Done.
Probably going to write a new one...... Soon... (relativly)

The true origins of the Blood Ravens.

The true origins of the Blood Ravens.

“And let’s see now. After that, half of us were on the right side, and the other half decided chaos was the way to go. I am not going to describe the final battle to you in detail as I don’t exactly want to open that can of worms again, but let’s just say in the aftermath of the war, Sanguinius and Manus may they rest in peace both died in their duty.” Gulliman said. “And of course, the other half decided that chaos is the way to go.”

“We will have our revenge. We will taste their grief and their blood and it will be sweet.” Russ said bitterly.

“So what exactly happened to.... us?” Celestia asked.

Dorn shook his head. The other primarchs looked around each other in silence.

“It was the most courageous....... a true sign of loyalty..... and I felt it. You.... made the ultimate sacrifice. You took his place on the golden throne. In only mere hours... you died. Despite all your agony, all your pain... in one final gesture of loyalty, you ensured he would survive.” Dorn said. “I suppose as thanks, he did his best to save your soul..... but you merely ended up here.”

“You treat it as a failure...” Luna said. “Why?”
“Had you been reborn on Terra, at this very instant, the forces of chaos and all their vile servants would be weeping bitter tears this very instant.” Dorn said. “That is why we had failed. Yet....... hope reigned on still....”

“Using perhaps the last of his power. Our father spoke to us.” Corax said. “He told those who go to set a course for Equestria.”

“He told those who couldn’t, he’d use his power to send us there.” Dorn said. “We were told to wait until someone found us. And we did. For thousands of years, we occupied ourselves with nothing more than studying all the knowledge stowed away into that temple.”

“Can you get it for us?” Luna asked.
“I will see to that.” Vulkan said. “We however, were given orders once again to remain on Equestria.... until the “time is right”.”

“What’s that suppossed to mean?”

“Probably during the final battle.” Jonson said. “Most likely the next “black crusade.”

“Permit me for asking, but how exactly do you know all of this?” Gabriel asked. “It’s not like...”

“We have our ways.... which I am obviously not going to tell you.” Jonson replied. “Now that we’re done here.... I think we should see Harmony now.........”

“Eh... yes. Bring... them in.”

“Well. Is it me or.....”

“Nope.... me too.”

“Myself included....”

“Can someone....”

Celestia and Luna looked at the primarchs, someone were rolling their eyes, others had their faces buried in their hands, some were scratching their heads in confusion.
“So.... they’re connected to.... THEM?” Corax asked. “Should they be connected to YOU?”

“It’s a long story...” Celestia said.

“So Harmony now decided to attach himself to six whelps in place of the man he was sent to rescue. Brilliant. Brilliant.” Jonson said.

“Hey!”

“Makes no sense....” Khan muttered.
“Like I said, it’s a long story....” Celestia said. “Over the course of a millennia, we did become.... severed from its connection. Though... I still could tap into the power......”

“If that’s enough for me to finish my quest. So be it.” Russ said.

“So when do we leave for Terra?”

“Tomorrow.” Vulkan said. “I posses the means to take you there. When my job is finished, I will have to return to Equestria. I have my own orders here.”

“Can you promise to keep Equestria safe?” Celestia muttered. “I only need one element, but separating that one element will weaken the rest of the elements significantly.”

The primarchs looked at one another grimly. They all nodded.
“Yes. We will.... Gabriel, Thule and Solomon. We request you speak with us.”

“At once my lords.” Angelos said.

“Do you know why Abaddon targets your chapter so much?” Corax asked sitting down.

“No....”

“Nope.”

“No clue.... wait how did you...”

“We have our ways. Now then, Thule there were documents on Kronus that indicated the Blood Ravens true origins. Who is your first guess....? It’s okay, spill your guts....”

“Magnus....” Thule muttered staring at the ground. “Our chapter’s roots come in the form of a loathsome traitor.”

“Wrong.” Russ said. “Not Magnus...... if that was the case, why would Abaddon despise your chapter so much?”
“But....”

“Simple. There are only two other primarchs to be psykers.”

“Harmony and Discord!” Solomon said.

“And who is the obvious choice?”

“Harmony....”

“He’s your primarch. That is why Abaddon hates your chapter so much. He feared that you would recover where your true roots laid. And once you did, he feared that you would find Equestria... and use it against him. The very stones on this planet poison chaos.... we shall use this against him.”

“Your words reassure us.” Gabriel said. “It brings joy to me that our chapter has more noble origins than what we previously thought.”

“Indeed. Now then.... while Abaddon still remains on Cadia, we can continue to poke and weaken his forces here. You know what to do. But first... recruit fifty....... ponies and take them with you...”

“Um...... what now?”

“You heard me. Do it. Report back to me when you feel chaos’ grip on the galaxy has been weakened. May fortune be with you on your mission.”

“Very well....” Angelos said a bit taken back by his new orders. A question came to him.

If the primarchs tolerated xenos...... then what was the Emperor’s opinion on them? Probably tolerated them as well. This brought Gabriel to question.
Exactly how wrong has the Imperium been doing things? If the Primarchs tolerate aliens... then what else is there that has perhaps been done against what the Emperor believes?
The question shook his faith in the Imperium.
"A circus without it's ringmaster." As Cyrus would put it.