Aries, Starlight, and Queen Chrysalis appeared in the midst of Ponyville's military presence. More than a few Ponies had less than friendly reactions towards the Changeling Queen, but Aries waved them away as he searched for somepony in charge.

As luck would have it, Twilight came sprinting toward him. She didn't even register Chrysalis as she skidded to a halt in front of Aries. "YELLOW JACKET ATTACKED CELESTIA!!!"

Aries sprinted in the direction Twilight came from with the Princess of Friendship hot on his heels. Chrysalis and Starlight shared an awkward glance before going after them.

Aries had already deciphered what happened before he arrived on the scene. The tears in Yellow Jacket's eyes only confirmed it.

"GET OFF OF ME!!! LET GOOO!!!" The enraged Unicorn shouted, throwing lightning from her shattered horn as she tried to free herself from Luna's telekinesis.

"ENOUGH!!!" Aries shouted with the full strength of his three lungs and his helmet's vox emitter, rivaling the Canterlot Voice. "YOU WILL CONTROL YOURSELF THIS INSTANT OR I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!!!"

Yellow Jacket ceased her struggle for the ringing in her ears, and didn't resume when she recovered for the threat. "What. Happened." Aries said in a normal voice, already knowing the answer.

"...Bumblebee's dead." Yellow Jacket replied with the whisper of a ghost.

"And you sought to avenge her through betrayal?" Aries prodded.

"The Princess wouldn't let me go back. She said it was over. Tha-" Aries cut her off with a hand gesture.

"The battle for the Changeling Hive is over...but the war has just begun. They will come for us, and meeting their charge and abandoning our defenses will only ensure their victory." Aries couldn't count the times he had thought as much when he and his brothers were ordered to do exactly that, and paid for it violently...he was always grateful that he hadn't been indoctrinated until after Angron's battle against Leman Russ.

Yellow Jacket saw reason at last, and guiltily looked to the unconscious form of Princess Celestia. "...W-wuh..what have I done?"

"You lost your sister." Aries stated. "I butchered countless Daemons for ten thousand years when I lost my brothers...and I still yearn for vengeance. They will pay. I promise you."

Luna released the grieving Unicorn and turned her attention to Aries. "Thank you for your assistance. Now...could you explain her?"

Aries and Twilight followed Luna's hoof, and Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin when she finally realized Chrysalis was among them. "...How do I keep losing to you?"

"Huh!?What!?Why!?Wuh-WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE!!?" Twilight shouted.

"The enemy of my enemy dies second. We will deal with her once the xenos have been purged." Aries explained.

"I think you mean I'll deal with you after those freaks have been eliminated. But I suppose we'll have to wait to find out." Chrysalis smirked.

"If you beg, I will make it slow." Aries promised.

Chrysalis laughed. She disguised it as mockery, but it was genuine. It had been too long since she was in the company of someone who gets it. But of course...all good things must come to an end.

WAAAGH!!! Chrysalis' good mood vanished when she heard that filthy ape's warcry. She whirled around to meet his charge, but found the Ponies around in between them.

Greenskin lowered his ax as he slowed down, obviously confused. "Wut'z goin' on ere? Why can't I kill da 'orsefly?"

"Greenskin, I know you're still mad at Chrysalis for attacking Fluttershy. But she's on our side now. Okay?" Twilight tried to explain to the Ork.

Shockingly, the Ork was more disappointed than angry. "Aw, but I wanna krump it."

Twilight was about to reply, but Chrysalis shoved her aside and stared into Greenskin's eyes. "Listen here ape, as soon as I've settled the score with the Dark Eldar...you're next."

Greenskin rolled his eyes. "Weze ain't gonna finish dem stoopid. Deze gonna finish us...cept fer me. Dey'll just take me back...I'd ask you ta zogg me, but dem Drukhari Gitz in da trees'll stop ya...dere always in da trees."

"Your past is not our future Ork. The Dark Eldar that are attacking us do so because they are manipulated by others of their foul kind, they have no relation to your tormentors...and they are not in the trees." Aries stated.

Greenskin rolled his eyes and sauntered off back to Fluttershy.

"...That creature was one of their slaves?" Chrysalis asked.

"It is unimportant. Come, we must discuss our next course of action." The War Hound declared.

Fluttershy and Nurse Red Heart were helping Thorax tend to the Changelings. The Pegasus was beyond horrified to learn that only 31 Changelings survived the slaughter. And if it weren't for Pharynx, that number would've been cut in half.

The wounded were few, as Drukhari poison leaves no survivors, but the emotional scars were the most horrific injuries inflicted. Hence Fluttershy's involvement.

"It's okay. The monsters are gone now, you're safe here." Fluttershy promised the Changeling foal. He wasn't crying anymore, but he had just watched his parents die, and would've joined them if it weren't for Starlight's group.

"...uddashoy...FLUDDASHOY!!?" Fluttershy turned to the unmistakable accent of Greenskin.

"I'm in here Greenskin. Please keep your voice down." Fluttershy called out.

The Ork lumbered into the medical tent, his imposing figure and large battleax that he held in one hand causing the Changeling foal to dive under Fluttershy's legs. "Oh no, it's okay Grub. This is Greenskin, he's a friend. Greenskin, this is Grub, the Dark Eldar hurt him just like you."

Greenskin snorted. "Not yet dey 'aven't...but dey will soon enough. If he'z lucky, dey'll just kill'im."

Fluttershy's jaw fell slack and Grub screamed before fleeing past the two of them and out the tent.

Greenskin shook his head at the Changeling's ignorance for thinking he could flee. Upon seeing this indifference, Fluttershy's shock gave way to anger. "...Greenskin..."

The Ork turned to the yellow Pegasus, and his deadpan face tightened up with nervousness. Something about the look in Fluttershy's eyes told him that listening to her every word was the only thing that would keep him alive.

"Go find Grub. Tell him you're sorry. And bring. Him. Back!" Fluttershy ordered. "Okay Boss!"

Aries held a meeting with the Royal Sisters, Twilight, Starlight, and Queen Chrysalis. He would've preferred to have all the leaders present, but they were tending to their own people, the Changelings especially.

"...I see." Celestia said in response to the explanation regarding Chrysalis.

"Believe me, no one is more disgusted by my presence here than me. But it'll be difficult to take over Equestria if Equestria has been destroyed by lunatics." Chrysalis explained.

Celestia was ready to retort, but Aries stopped her."Enough. Your squabbling is pointless. We have a more pressing issue to address."

Twilight and Starlight lowered their heads. They knew exactly what was on his mind. "Right, out of the 20 or so Ponies that volunteered to help the Changelings, more than ten ran away when they realized what we were fighting. They've already spread panic across the defenses, and now the only Ponies left were already part of Aries' PDF and a handful of the Royal Guard."

Starlight picked up where her teacher left off. "Because of this, we no longer have enough Unicorn volunteers to effectively shield our defenses."

"What of the Crystal Empire? How have they not arrived yet?" Aries asked. He had numerous concerns about fighting this war without magical shields to make up for their lack in weapons.

"We do not know. We've sent word to them, but have heard no response." Luna explained.

"The Crystal Guard and Shining Armor are leagues above your pathetic excuse for an army. We can ill afford their absence. Send a messenger via teleport to report our situation immediately." Aries demanded.

The Royal Sisters seemed as insulted as Chrysalis was amused by Aries' description of their guards, but chose to ignore it for now. "Very well. Starlight, would you be kind to journey to the Crystal Empire. You should have enough magic."

Starlight bowed respectfully. "Of course Princess. I won't let you down." And then she was gone with a flash of cyan light."

Greenskin wondered around the refugee camp looking for any sign of Grub. The Changelings had a scent similar to Tyranids, but with so many present, it was hard to pick which one to follow.

Fortunately, the Ork happened across a familiar face. "Oy Stripy! Fink you could 'elp me out!"

The creature in question, Zecora, turned to the alien brute with a perplexed look on her face. "...I do not mind helping a friend, but please do not call me that ever again."

"I'm lookin fer one ov dem buggy fings. It'z about yey big wiff a red shell an' green eyes an' wings. He'z tryin ta run away from dem Drukhari Gitz." The Ork explained.

The Zebra put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Hmm, a young Changeling full of fright would likely seek a hiding place absent light...look to the forest, with shadows as black as night."

Greenskin followed Zecora's gaze to the Everfree Forest. Roight into dere waitin jaws...Zogg me.

Grub couldn't stop trembling under the bush that hid him. All he could see was the smile on the female alien that killed his parents while wearing another Changeling's face over her chest.

Greenskin's words weren't full of malice, the Ork wasn't trying to scare him, he had stated a fact. And Grub knew he was right. The monsters were coming to get him.

Grub's trembling had been shaking the bush that concealed him, the rustling had been so loud that the young Changeling didn't realize another creature was approaching until light pierced the shadows around him.

Grub yelped in fright as he looked into the light, excepting the smiling Wych, but finding a young Pony instead. "Hey, what are you doing all the way out here?"

Grub slowly relaxed as he took in the filly. She seemed harmless enough. "I-I'm hiding from the monsters."

The filly's eyes lit up with understanding. "You mean the Dark Eldar? We're hiding from them too. I know a super safe place where they can't get us. Come on."

The filly held the foliage open and gestured for Grub to come out. He was still terrified, but knew that if a small Pegasus could find him here, the monsters definitely could.

"W-what's your name?" Grub asked the Pony as he followed her through the forest.

The filly looked shocked as though she had forgotten something important. "Oh golly, where are my manners? I'm Cozy Glow. You?"

Grub smiled at the Pony's adorable reaction. "I'm Grub."

Cozy Glow snickered. "Heck yeah you are. HE'S ALL YOURS TIREK!"

Grub didn't have time to be confused before he was lifted into the air and drained of his energy and flung like a rag doll into a hastily built cage with several other creatures that Cozy Glow had led into the same trap.

Author's Note

That's all for now. First off, my most sincere apologies for forgetting about the Crystal Empire. The main purpose of this Volume is to shorten the list of characters so I can manage the story better without realizing I forgot to include X.

And now we see what our other local villains have been up to behind the scenes, and Greenskin is on a collision course with them. Coming up next. See you there.