Astonishing...there was no other word, save sorcery, to describe what Aries has witnessed today.

In the span of eight hours, ponies bearing Cutie Marks in engineering, craftsmanship, weapons, and fireworks, have heard the description of firearms as Aries understood them and, under Luna's and the War Hound's guidance, dreamt up blueprints for single-shot, bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, and gas powered semi-automatic weapons.

While the only fully automatic weapon they could come up with was a recreation of the original gatling gun, this short coming was overshadowed by two most unexpected advantages, the development of an anti-vehicle weapon and a potentially anti-Astartes munition.

The anti-vehicle weapon was born of a fireworks designer having the idea to replace the rocket's decorative payload with bottled lightning. While the weapon was thought up around the idea of killing traitors, the projectile was simply too slow, but not slow enough that it couldn't deliver a bolt of lightning into enemy vehicles.

But where the RPL(Rocket Propelled Lightning) wasn't ideal for fighting Astartes...enchanted bullets were.

Dazzling Light, a Unicorn prominent with delayed reaction magic, had approached Aries with the idea of inscriping enchantment runes onto bullet heads. The runes would have various effects, but the one that caught the War Hounds attention was the Jogging Ghost rune.

Jogging Ghost was a spell that allowed the caster to phase through solid objects. On a bullet, the rune could used to phase through advanced armor.

This would be helpful in a number of ways, though it did have drawbacks, not the least of which being the fact that the runes can only be applied to flat bulletheads...which led to the next issue.

"Tell me Luna, have you managed to acquire the necessary munitions for our weapons?" Aries asked the younger princess.

"Unfortunately, I have found no documents confirming the existence of the needed propellant, this 'black powder' does not seem to have been invented in our world." Luna replied.

Aries cursed his misfortune for never caring to learn the alchemical makeup of gunpowder and it's ancestor. He only knew what he did about the mechanics of firearms from knowing how to disassemble and clean his bolter.

"Fortunately, I believe I've found a solution." Luna declared, reclaiming Aries' attention.

"You can thank Dazzling Light for the inspiration, her mention of runes reminded me of a one the eldest runes, the first in fact, an energy rune." Luna explained.

"So it's only effect is a burst of concentrated energy." Aries summarized, impressed with the idea.

"Yes, so if we remove the casing and the firing pin, place the energy rune on the back of every bullet, and an activation rune on the back of a flat hammer, and we will have the necessary explosion to propel our projectiles into the enemy's heart. HUZZAH!!!" Luna exclaimed.

"Excellent." Aries stated with more professionalism before addressing the assembled ponies still trading ideas with one another. "Your Princess and I have decided on our course. Plans will be sent to your minds as you awaken that you may send them to others in your field. Your contributions to protect your nation will be remembered for generations to come. DISMISSED!"

At the War Hound's word, Princess Luna dispelled the shared dream and ensured that each ponies waking thoughts were the designs of the chosen weapons.

Luna stayed to give further words of thanks and encouragement while Aries took his leave.

...He didn't get far.

A green flash erupted in front of the War Hound before fading and leaving behind a scroll that fell to the floor.

Aries looked down at the parchment and saw the emblem of Equestrian royalty.

What business would Celestia have with me? Aries thought to himself as he read the scroll. When he finished, he made all haste to Celestia's Throne Room.

The Throne Room

When Aries arrived, Twilight and her friends were tending to Fluttershy and her pet Ork, and Luna was conversing with her sister.

"You spoke of an attempt on Fluttershy's life, do you know who was behind it?" Aries inquired, fearing he knew the answer.

"Yes, the assailants were three villains we've defeated in the past. How much do you know about Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow?" Luna asked of him.

Aries allowed himself some ease. It was not the Great Enemy but a local menace. Though that did not make them harmless, he had long since educated himself on the selfish tyrants the ponies of Equestria were too soft to execute in the event they would rise again. "I know enough. I will hunt them down if you wish, but I will show no mercy."

Twilight turned from Fluttershy at the War Hound's words. "Uh, I don-don't think that'll be necessary. I mean, we have dealt with them before."

"If you do not need me, then handle it yourself. But if I am forced to assist you, it will mean their deaths." Aries declared.

"Piss off humie, dez moine! Especially dat 'orsefly." Stated the Ork. Aries glared silently in response.

"What Greenskin meant to say is 'thank you for your concern, but we will handle this ourselves'." Fluttershy said after putting herself between the Ork and the Astartes.

"As much as I wish to destroy that beast, it is not worth making you my enemies...it would be a strategic failure without Imperial reinforcements." Aries reassured the Pegasus, wondering why her friends thought the strategic failure he spoke of was a joke.

"I tire of this. If you have nothing else, I'll have the PDF ready to deploy if my intervention proves necessary." Aries announced as he turned to the door...which opened on it's own.

From the doors fell the form of Discord, covered in filth and robbed of his breath. Aries immediately deduced that Tirek had once again stolen the creature's magic.

"DISCORD!!!" Shouted Fluttershy in concern for the creature. She and her friends swiftly coming to his aid while Aries and the princesses gathered to hear an explanation for his state.

"I-I'm fine...I jus...need to breathe..." The Draconequus struggled for every word due to his exhaustion. Through this however, Aries could see fear plain in his eyes.

"Gather your breath and explain yourself. What has become of you?" Aries demanded. The ponies seemed to want to say something about the War Hound's lack of concern for Discord's health, but held their tongues for the time being.

Discord gathered the strength to rise to his feet, and a moment later he spoke. "Do all of you remember that whole King Sombra incident some time ago?"

"What does that filth have to do with your current state?" Aries asked.

"Well you see, I might have been the one who brought him back as a means of giving you and the ponies of Equestria a bit of combat practice." Discord confessed with awkward chuckle.

A collective WHAT!!? rang out from the assembled Equestrians. "...If that's what you were scheming, you could've told me." Another, louder WHAT!!? followed Aries' statement.

"Yes, well, I felt that you needed to be kept on your toes as well. No hard feelings?" Discord asked the Astartes in a clear attempt to direct the shock towards him.

"None, am I then to assume that the three villains encountered by Fluttershy are your doing as well?" Aries connected.

This time, the WHAT!!? came from Discord before he slithered into Fluttershy's personal space to make sure she was all right.

The other ponies had turned their undivided attention on the War Hound while Discord got the details of Fluttershy's encounter. "Are you Okay? Did they hurt you!? What did they do to you!? I swear if they left a scar on you, I'LL-"

Fluttershy put a hoof on him to calm down "It's alright Discord. I'm fine. Tirek drained my energy, but it was Greenskin who got the worst of it."

The Ork started laughing at Fluttershy's words. "If dat'z da wurst dey'ze got. Den I'll zog'em good next toime."

"Yes...about that..." Discord turned to the wider group. "Ahem, may I please have everypony's attention again. Yes, I am responsible for Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow's return, but I'm afraid they're not our biggest issue."

"You mean you've done something worse?" Rainbow Dash accused.

"NO! I understand your disapproval about the situation, but I had everything under control...until my associates decided I wasn't pushing you hard enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Twilight.

"Well, the Princesses are already aware that I came for another world. Aries is aware that I know more about the wider galaxy than he does. But what none of you know about me is that I'm a member of an interstellar alliance of various species, including Aeldari and members of the Alpha Legion Astartes who are dedicated to sabotaging the grip of Chaos upon this galaxy. We call ourselves...The Cabal."

Every Equestrian in the room was blown away by the reveal. "...And they decided that the villains of Equestria's past weren't good enough to push us." Reasoned Aries, though he still had to question the involvement of the Alpha Legion in his mind while dealing with the present situation.

"Well, they were okay with it...until they figured out that I wasn't going to allow anypony to be harmed, and was ready to shut them down if things got too dangerous. Now they're going to make certain that Equestria gets well acquainted with the realities of war." Discord explained.

"You mean...this alliance is going to attack us!?" Rarity asked.

"No no no, they never do their own dirty work...but they did lead a small warband of...Pirates, to the other side of the planet. These pirates make their fortunes off selling slaves, and if they don't have enough storage for everycreature on the planet, then they'll just take what they can...and kill the rest." Discord explained.

A grim silence gripped the Equestrians, Aries alone maintained his composure. "Are they traitors? Orks? Or Eld-"

"THAT ONE!!!" Discord shouted before pointing frantically to the Ork in the room.

At first, the Ponies were as confused as Greenskin...then their pelts paled to a depressing grey. "...y-you don't....you don't mean..." Twilight stuttered.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. And as much as I want to join your freakout, we don't have time. These aren't going to be strong enough to wipe us all out, but we need to minimize the damage as much as possible, and that means getting the word out to your allies. We need everycreature we can get to leave their own lands behind and congregate in Equestria. These freaks are cowards by nature and avoid larger and heavily defended targets in favor of weaker prey." Discord explained.

"Agreed. I will dismiss the PDF to their homelands to assist with the evacuations." Aries declared and stormed off.

"Right...I'll...I'll start writing letters." Twilight mumbled and half walked half dragged her lifeless body away from the vicinity.

Fluttershy hesitantly approached Greenskin. "...G-Greenskin...we need to go home now. Some bad creatures are coming to Equestria, and I don't want you to get hurt again."

"...it'z dem Drukhari Gitz again, itnit." The Ork stated plainly.

Fluttershy's eyes shrank to pin pricks. "...I...Ah..."

"...heh...hehe...hehehaha....ah-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!...PAAAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAA!!!! DEM GITZ DID IT AGAIN!!! DEY ACTUALLY 'AD ME FINKIN' I WAZ SAAAFE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!" Greenskin was barely standing as he continued to guffaw at destiny's cruel prank.

Fluttershy didn't know to think of it. On one hoof she was greatful that he hadn't regressed, but on the other, this couldn't be the best coping mechanism.

Fluttershy's concerns turned to dread when her ears picked a small pitiful whimper. "...please...stop."

Fluttershy and the other assembled Equestrians turned to Pinkie Pie. Her mane and tail spilled onto the floor of Canterlot Castle as twin grey rivers as the distraught Party Pony to plug her ears with hooves. "...stop...no more...please."

The reason for this reaction: Pinkie Pie was so attuned with laughter and it's many meanings that she and another like-minded individual could hold an intelligent conversation using only laughter.

And what she deciphered from Greenskin's laughter would haunt her soul beyond the dying day of her final incarnation until the very last shred of her essence faded into oblivion at the end of time.

Author's Note

I declared that this was happening in the comment when I deleted the Cancelled announcement...I didn't know that deleting a chapter deleted the comments on that chapter...oops.

But, to repeat myself: numerous individuals expressed their disappointment at my cancellation. Which caused to reevaluate why I thought to cancel it in the first place.

I still feel like I bit off more than I can chew with how many characters are involved in this story. And the more I learn about 40k, the more I really how silly this story is...I actually thought I was being lore accurate when I began.

But if no one minds me not giving focus to the actions of every character in a room(did anyone even notice that Spike was in this chapter) or that Aries is inevitably going to ignore more and more heretical actions as the Ponies try to show mercy to those who don't deserve it, then I will continue to work on this story that I genuinely thought no one cared for...how wrong I was.

Thank you all for kind words and your support of a botched up idea, I will never again be found wanting.