The Warriors of Chaos (Rebooted)

Chapters

Chapter One: Gordon
Chapter Two: First Blood
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five

Chapter One: Gordon

“Alright, Ahriman is going to cast ‘Doombolt’ onto your Khorne Berzerker Squad . On a nine normally, but because Ahriman is Ahriman, he adds one to his psychic tests. So on a eight.” Two dice fell from Vaughn’s hand and clattered to the table, one dice landing on a four while the other landed on a five. “Alright, it goes off with a nine!” He looked up at his opponent, smirking. “This’ll cause D3 Mortal Wounds to them, and their movement range will be cut in half, and they can’t advance. If only your army could deny psychic powers…” he readjusted his glasses, blue eyes glimmering with confidence.

“Oh, but we can!” Gordon declared proudly. “I use the ‘Scorn of Sorcery’ strategem for one command point, letting me negate your psychic bullcrap on a roll of four or higher!” Another dice roll. “And that’s a four! Denied!”

The two were stood across from each other, on opposite sides of the large table, which was covered by small buildings, and dozens of red and blue models. Gordon was the taller of the two, his blonde hair falling slightly past his ears and just barely touched his eyebrows, leaving his blue eyes with clear sight. He wore a dark grey shirt that had the words ‘I get enough exercise pushing my luck’ on it, and black khakis.

“Very well. Then I’m gonna use smite, and then I’ll Warptime away from you. On a four.” Vaughn rolled his dice again, rolling a six and a five. “Alright, D6 mortal wounds.” Another dice roll. “Aaaand it’s a one… so only one dies. For his final psychic test, Ahriman will cast warp time on himself. On a five.” Vaughn rolled his dice, and began to move one of his models away from a group of ten red and gold models. Unlike Gordon, who had some meat on his bones, Vaughn was slim, with arms like toothpicks and a blue vest shirt that hung loosely on his body. He readjusted his glasses as his green eyes scanned the table. The brown-haired man turned as he heard the sound of a door opening. “Ah, Kendall! Glad you could make it! Unfortunately, we started without you.”

“That’s what happens when you’re an hour late!” Gordon grinned as the newcomer removed his hat, revealing his black hair, cut short along with his beard. His hazel eyes went straight to the table, and he raised an eyebrow, putting a large case next to a nearby table.

“How did you lot manage to get this all set up, and get started, in an hour?” He asked, removing his coat and placing it over a chair. Underneath, he wore a plain grey shirt and blue jeans.

“Ah, the Shopkeeper had a few tables ready for Warhammer today. And as for our setup… I guess we were just quick.” Vaughn shrugged, rolling two more dice. “Alright, that should be my last smite. We’ll be moving to the shooting phase.”

“Well Kendall, you’ll have to sit this one out until I finish Vaughn off!” Gordon grinned, motioning towards a nearby table, which had a few empty cases, several books, and some food from a nearby fast food joint. “Or if someone else actually shows up. I’m kinda surprised we’re the only ones here…”

“Maybe we’re just early. Or this place isn’t as popular as we expected.” Kendall replied as he walked over to the table, carefully placing his carry case down. “How much research did you put into this place again, Vaughn?”

“Not much, to be honest.” He replied, pointing towards some of Gordon’s models, then to a small group of his own. “These Rubrics are gonna open fire on those berzerkers.”

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately, word about my shop has not reached very far. In time, I’m sure, there will be plenty of new people to play against.” A smooth and quiet voice reached the trio’s ears, and they turned to see a short man in black cargo pants, and a black T-shirt with the word ‘DOOM’ stretching across the front in dark red. His face was clean-shaved, with dark brown hair cut short and tidy. “I am pleased that you three found this place, however! Perhaps you would like to peruse my wares later?”

“Um… yeah, we’ll take a look one I finish up my turn, man.” Vaughn nodded, giving Gordon a glance. The shopkeeper smiled, and then went through the exit that lead into the main shop part of the store. Once he was gone, Vaughn turned to his friend. “Who talks like that? He sounds like he’s trying to make himself sound all… I dunno, was he going for suave?” He whispered, just in case the shopkeeper was eavesdropping or anything.

“Well, he failed pretty badly… what a nerd. Anyway, you were attacking something of mine?” Gordon shrugged, gesturing back towards the table.

“I noticed that your models were, for the most part, unpainted.” The shopkeeper spoke up from his counter while the trio looked through his rather small selection of Warhammer products. It was mostly space marine models, with very little of the other factions. “I have a… friend, who lives near here, who takes commissions for models. If you’d like, I can have him paint some of your models… if you’d like.”

Gordon felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden, but it quickly passed. “You know, maybe having the main man of my army all super painted wouldn’t be that bad… what do you guys think?” He looked back to his friends, noticing that both of them were frowning.

“Yeah… that sounds kinda good… I’ll go grab my model. It’ll be a good test for this guy.” Vaughn said somewhat slowly, before heading back into the game room.

“I’ll grab yours for you, Gordon.” Kendall nodded, rushing after Vaughn. After a moment, the two returned, Vaughn carrying a robed model with a horned staff, while Kendall carried two red models, one with an axe and the other in bulky armor, with spikes adorning it.

“Ah, I see… these will look nicely once they’re painted…” the Shopkeeper took the models from them, examining them carefully. “Excellent priming as well. Luckily for you three, I just happen to have my own painted models of these three… and I’d even be willing to lend them to you.”

Gordon paused. Something didn’t feel right here… why would he lend a bunch of strangers his models? ‘But he’s been nice to use so far, so maybe he’s trustworthy enough.’ His worries seemed to all just slip away, and he nodded. “Sure! Let’s see how they look!”

The shopkeeper grinned, before ducking down under the counter. He reappeared soon after, holding three identical models as the ones he had given them, only they were all beautifully painted. Gordon grabbed the Khârn model and began to examine it, a smile spreading across his face as the others took theirs.

“Daaang, these really are well done!” Gordon said, giving an appreciative nod. The gold lining was expertly done, and the exposed arm of the model was perfectly done.

“I’m glad you like them… and good luck, on your journey…” the Shopkeeper grinned. Gordon paused, but that dizziness came back, much stronger than before. He staggered backwards, almost dropping the model as he noticed his friends were in similar states.

“What… what’s happ...en...eughh…” Gordon collapsed, and darkness swallowed his vision.

Gordon jolted awake as his body slammed into the ground, and he could hear water rushing into… wherever he was. As he looked around, all he could see was sand, the light from the night sky dulled somehow by the water. In a fraction of a second, he realized he was at the bottom of a body of water. He went into full panic, realizing that whatever was still giving him air was quickly filling with water, and within five minutes, it would completely flood. Gordon went into motion almost immediately as adrenaline flooded his system, fingers curling around the weapons in his hands as he began to run forwards, his powerful legs throwing him forward towards a sudden slope going upwards towards the surface about thirty meters away.

Despite being underwater, Gordon found himself rushing up the incline barely a minute later. In the back of his mind, he briefly wondered why he didn’t just swim up to the surface, but a sudden throbbing pain in his head banished that thought. Within another minute, Gordon breached the surface of the water, legs stomping forward as water poured out around his left arm, and he finally came to a stop. Oddly enough, he noticed as he calmed down, he found he wasn’t breathing very hard, despite running faster and harder than he had ever really done in his life… oh, and all the red lights dancing in his vision.

“Glurg… gggthe hell is this…?” Gordon gurgled, and stopped as he realized just how strange his voice sounded. In fact, it didn’t sound like his voice at all. Red text scrolled across his vision in a language he shouldn’t have been able to understand, yet he was able to read it as easily as if it were the English language. Still couldn’t understand it, though. It looked kinda like Latin. “Why do I… feel so different?”

He raised his left arm, and noticed several things. The most notable being that he was holding a massive axe, the whole thing being longer than he was tall. The axe head was an almost bloody red, with what looked like small decorative red skulls inlaid into the thing, surrounded by a bronze trim. Dozens of jagged and likely razor sharp teeth jutted from where the blade should have been, and it looked almost as if there was some kind of engine on the other end.

The second thing he noticed was the mass of silver chains wrapped around his unusually muscly arm, which clinked and clanked together as he moved his arm. Speaking of his arm, he noticed that it had way more muscles than it usually did. In fact, he was pretty sure no one naturally was this buff, and… was that a pipe sticking out of his arm?!

He dropped his arm only a second after he had lifted it, stumbling backwards in surprise. He glanced at his right arm, noticing immediately the dark red and bronze armor surrounding it, as well as the large gun in his grip. It reminded him immediately of a plasma pistol from Warhammer, although there was the skull of some four eyed creature built into the back and stretched over the plasma coils, which were glowing a pale blue.

As he took in this information, something in the back of his mind clicked, and he realized where he had seen these exact weapons before. He turned back towards the water, and looked down at his reflection.

Staring back at him was a red and bronze behemoth. The green lens of his helmet stared coldly at him from his reflection as two massive horn-like protrusions jutted up from the sides of his head. Like his chainaxe, they looked like they had small red skulls lodged into them, surrounded by a bronze prison. On both sides of his head they bore the image of a pair of jaws clamping down on a chaos star. Most of his armor was red with bronze, with the only notable parts being the crotch guard, which displayed a screaming Daemon skull, his knee guards, which also bore skulls of unknown origin, and the vents of his armor’s backpack, which, again bore skulls, though these were clearly human.

Staring back at Gordon was, very clearly, Khârn the Betrayer, greatest mortal champion of Khorne.

And the greatest mortal champion of Khorne promptly began to scream.

After a good five minutes of screaming, Gordon finally started to calm down, though internally his mind was racing. ‘How did this happen?! WHY AM I A SPACE MARINE?! WHERE AM I?!’ It was while his thoughts were racing that he noticed a very small horse staring up at him. This wouldn’t have caught his attention normally, except this tiny horse had large green eyes that were clearly terrified, it’s coat was grey, and it had a dark blue mane… also it had leathery bat wings.

“A-are you… o-okay mister…?” She asked meekly, her voice squeaking with clear signs of early puberty.

“I AM-“ Gordon stopped himself, realizing that, for one, he was still screaming, and two, the tiny horse just talked to him. “No… no I am not okay. How are you even able to talk?”

“Uh… school?” The horse tilted her head in confusion while her wings began to absently flap.

“... But you’re… okay, why do you have wings?” Gordon asked, deciding not to dwell on that answer too much, instead focusing on the other confusing part.

“Because I was born with them.” The child replied once again, giving as little information as possible.

“Ah… okay…” Gordon nodded, deciding to look into it later. “So… where are we then?” He decided to change the subject.

“Ponyview Forest… were you born from the Midnight lake, Mister?”

“Uh… well, no, but… I don’t really know how I got there?” Gordon replied, trying to rationalize how he woke up underwater. “You didn’t see me fall in there or anything?”

“Nnnnope. And I’ve been out here for about thiiis long!” She stretched out her hooves as if to quantify the amount of time she’d spent watching the lake by the gap between her hooves.

“I...see. You know what, believe whatever you want. Where’s the town you came from, kid?” Gordon asked, deciding he wasn’t going to get very far talking to what was obviously a child.

The child’s wings sprang up to her sides in a display of excitement, “Oh! It’s not far from here! Follow me, you’ll love Shroudville!” She spun around and began galloping away on her tiny legs. Gordon began following after her, his newly enhanced legs allowing him to easily catch up with her, and he noticed a distinct mechanical whirring that followed every step he made. It did take him a moment to keep himself from outpacing her though.

“So what’s your name, kid?” Gordon asked as he lightly jogged next to her.

“Apple Snatcher! And yours?”

“Gordon.” He replied, choosing not to comment on her odd name. He’d likely get an answer similar to the ones regarding her wings. “So why’s this town called Shroudville?”

“Because it’s shrouded in the Princess’ night, safe from harm!” Apple Snatcher excitedly replied. “And they thought it sounded neato!”

“Okay… who’s the Princess?” Gordon asked, unable to really see the child horse past his massive shoulder pad. “Let’s just say I’m not familiar with this place.” He briefly considered that he was perhaps processing this information a little too easily, but it was better than him freaking out again and screaming about every little thing this tiny horse told him.

“That’s okay, most outsiders forget that our Princess is the Princess.” The girl began to slow down and change her voice. “Many moons ago, Princess Luna, Watcher of Dreams, Vanquisher of Nightmares and Mother of the Night! She raises the moon, like her sister raises the sun!”

This made Gordon pause. “I’m sorry, what? You have people… or, horses, here that have control of the sun and the moon? That’s crazy!” He exclaimed, quickly falling back in line with Apple Snatcher while he tried to process this information.

“Why?” The child tilted her head, looking to Gordon with curiosity. “It’s been like that for foreva!” She stumbled over the last word, her face contorting when she heard it herself.

“Uh… because the Moon is a giant rock, and the Sun is a giant ball of flaming gas many times bigger than the entire planet?” Gordon answered, feeling weird about having to explain something like this, even if it’s to a child. “Not to mention that the planet rotates around the sun…”

“Really!? It’s that big?” Apple Snatcher stopped in her tracks to stare up at Gordon, awe sparkling in her saucer plate eyes. “That’s like… bigger than my Dad!”

“Yeah, it’s really big. So I find it really hard to believe that someone can move the thing…” Gordon chuckled. He noticed that the trees were beginning to thin, and that in the distance, he could make out houses. Small, one story houses crowded together with thatch roofs crudely stitched together by inexperienced craftsmen.

The closer they got, the more detail Gordon noticed, such as the fact that each structure only had two oval holes making up the windows with nothing but wooden doors to cover them with. Doors with so many gaps he wondered why they even bothered. And the worst part was the foundations- if there was an even house on the block, he couldn’t for the life of himself tell, as they were all slanted or warped.

On top of that, there were very few locals about. Gordon only counted three foals younger than Apple, and an elderly pony sleeping on a bench. At least, he hoped she was sleeping very, very stiffly.

Gordon reflected briefly on how he could see all of that so clearly, and within so little time, but decided to put it to the side as he and Apple Snatcher approached.

“This is where you live?” Gordon asked the filly, unsure if his disbelief was coming across. “It looks like it’s about ready to collapse!”

“That’s okay, Princess Luna will make everything better! That’s what my sister says!”

“Your sister, huh?” Gordon replied, moving forward, blinking away a bunch of what he assumed to be targeting runes in his eyesight. “What’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s the bestest night watcher ever! She once beat up a nasty Hydra with a toothpick!”

“A toothpick?” Gordon asked incredulously. “Are we talking about the same creature here? Big, lots of heads, nasty snake thing?” Gordon didn’t believe her claim for a second, but if Hydras really existed in this world, he would rather know how to avoid them in advance.

“Yup! My sister tells it better than I could!” Apple replied, already sounding winded.

“Well why don’t you introduce us?” Gordon asked, before remembering that he was currently a massive armored Space Marine with skulls hanging from and decorating his armor. “Or… maybe warn her that I’m a bit scary looking first?”

“You’re not scary looking, Mister!” Apple Snatcher assured him. She led Gordon further and further into the town until she steered them towards a single story hut with wooden walls and a thatch roof. It was shabbier than the rest of the town, clearly portraying that of a less than fortunate residence. Apple headbutted the door, and called out, “Muuum! I met someone who’s-! Hey, are you lost, Mister?” She abruptly turned to Gordon halfway through what she was saying.

“Um… I guess so, yeah.” Gordon nodded, steam hissing from the skulls adorning his backpack every so often.

“He’s lost!” She finished, shouting once more into the rickety house. “Can he stay here!?”

“Maybe for one night, dear, but we won’t be able to-“ Another horse walked out of the building, her coat a similar gray to Apple’s, but with a bright green mane and tail. Like Apple, she too had leathery bat wings stretching from her back, using them to open the door. As her orange eyes spotted Gordon, however, she stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening. For a moment, no one spoke, the mare quivering in place while Gordon dug his axe into the ground, before waving innocently.

“Um… hi?” Gordon began. “I’m Gordon.”

The mare let out a small ‘Eep!’ before grabbing Apple Snatcher and rushing into the house. Gordon frowned, but could hear her hushed yey frantic whispering inside the house.

“Apple! Why did you bring a minotaur like… like that into the village?! He’s certainly not the peaceful type!”

“He’s just lost, mum! He’s also really nice!” Clearly the child had never heard the term ‘stranger danger’. Or maybe she was just absentminded.

“A...are you sure? I-I mean… he… he’s wearing skulls on his armor… are you absolutely sure he’s not gonna hurt the village?” Gordon frowned underneath his helmet. Is this mother weak-willed or something? She’s giving in to her kid pretty quickly.

“He’s not bad, mum! He’s very, very nice!”

“W-well, I guess he hasn’t killed anypony here yet… b-but will he even fit in our house? He’s really tall…” the mother said, peeking out of the doorway at Gordon. “And we don’t have enough food for him…”

The kid returned to the front of the house, hopping excitedly in place. “Mum says it’s okay to come in if you can!”

Gordon nodded. “Thanks, Apple.” As he began moving towards the doorway, picking up his weapons as he did. He heard Apple Snatcher cry something out, but before he could ask, he felt something sharp pierce the unprotected skin of his left arm, and pain flickered up into his brain. Oddly enough, he was more focused on the beginning of a very painful headache rather than the injury, as he turned to find an angry looking bat horse at the other end of the spear, covered in rust covered silver armor. On each side of her stood two other horses in similar armor, moving to surround him. One was bulkier than the other two, and was covered in a dark red coat, with a purple mane, while the other bore a velvet coat and a blonde mane.

“Get away from my family…”

The sun and the moon battled over the skies of Equestria, tendrils of shadow and flame grappling and tearing through each other in an effort to reach their source. The war lasted for many rotations, the flames of the sun drawing ever closer to the pale surface of the moon as the shadows wilted away. And yet, despite its looming defeat, the Moon struggled against its fate, shadowy projections flying across the sky in desperation against the inevitable.

But as the flames dominated the sky, a Cerberus leapt to the heavens, it’s blood red skin almost immune to the flames that licked at the beast as it tore through the fire, pushing it further away from the moon as if the beast were its loyal pet. As the Cerberus protected the moon from the sun’s attacks, a whirling tornado leapt into action, carving a path through the flames with wild abandon, carving a red path towards the sun, which the moon’s shadows happily followed.

And while the Moon’s loyal creatures tore at the Sun, a golden snake circled around the pale white sphere, it’s mouth whispering secrets that would break the mind if they were understood. And as the snake completed its circle, surrounding the moon, it’s fangs sunk into the surface of its prey. Poison began to flow across the celestial object, dark and inky blue veins spreading across its face. And as the Moon was consumed by this poison, the booming laughter of insidious gods echoed across the sky-

Celestia gasped as she jolted out of sleep. Her magenta eyes shot open as her breathing became noticeably labored. The only thing she noticed for the longest time was the cold sweat that matted her white fur and clung her blanket to it, while her pink mane was ragged and unkept like she hadn’t showered in months, nearly exposing her skalp.

She sat in her bed chamber for the longest of times, panting and unable to coherently think, so she just sat there. This had been the first time in months that she had what her sister once called ‘prophetic visions’. To Celestia though? They were the bane of her existence, the only curse in her seemingly perfect life.

“G-guards, summon General Ironcrest!” Celestia croaked through her dried throat, loud enough that it made her own ears vibrate at her pitchy voice. She heard shuffling outside the door of her dark room as a pony ran off.

“Understood, your Highness! Cliffhook just went to fetch him!” One of the guards replied from beyond the door. After at least ten minutes which the Princess used to compose herself, the door opened, and a gray-coated mare with a dark blue mane stepped into Celestia’s room, her glowing yellow eyes scanning the room for hostiles. She fluttered her leathery wings over her golden armor as she saluted, her hoof smacking into her helmet.

“General Ironcrest reporting, your Highness!” She declared, slitted eyes staring directly at the Princess of the Sun.

“General,” Celestia greeted with a curt nod. “We may have a problem. I don’t want to bother you with the war effort, but I have reason to believe that a threat is rising. Something on the scale of Discord or King Sombra, and it has me deeply concerned.”

Ironcrest flinched at those names. “At a time like this? The war may be in our favor, but if we have to deal with something like those two as well, it’s very likely the Rebels will take the opportunity to turn this whole war around.”

“Which is exactly why I called you here. I need you to send scouts across Equestria to look for anything… out of the ordinary. You don’t need to use our military scouts if we can’t afford those, but maybe from the militia. We can’t have the public in a panic either, which makes their job harder, but…” The Princess gave a tired sigh. “And we may need to negotiate with my sister for a truce if it’s as bad as I think. I’ll discuss that with the Arch Mage and my advisor in the morning.”

“A truce would be a bad move for us, but I will defer to your wisdom, your Highness.” Ironcrest nodded. “I shall send whatever scouts we have available to all corners of Equestria, and will reveal this threat for what it truly is.”

“Thank you, General Ironcrest. I will take your words under consideration when speaking with Flashfreeze.” Celestia said with an earnest smile. “That’s all, General.”

“Understood, your highness. I shall take my leave then.” Ironcrest saluted again, before trotting out of the room and closing the door behind her.

“I truly hope that it was just a bad dream…” But with her track record, it wasn’t very likely.

Author's Note

Welcome, Ladies, gentlemen, and xenos alike, to the reboot of Warriors of Chaos! Things are gonna be so much better, you’ll think my original version of the story was completely horrible!
This story is also gonna be very different, but similar, as now I’ve got a co-writer! BP’s link is in the description, go check him out!

Anyway, see you in the next chapter!

Chapter Two: First Blood

The Librarian, a unicorn named Daisy Pages, slowly crept towards the giant currently residing in her library, fear causing her every step to tremble as she carried a dozen books in her dark blue magic, a similar haze coating her yellow horn that sprouted from beneath the orange bangs of her mane. She took in the sight of him once again, disbelief and fear emanating from her like waves amidst an ocean. She had been alive for almost thirty years, and yet had never seen anything like him. He was utterly massive, his lower half covered in luxurious velvet robes, while his upper half was completely hidden in bright blue and gold armor. His left pauldron bore what looked like a large jewel shaped like an eye, while his right pauldron bore a goat skull. Daisy hoped that it wasn’t a real one.

The giant bore some kind of backpack behind him, with four gold extensions sprouting from it and ending in silver orbs that hissed every so often. His helmet was completely gold, four horns creating its regal surface while another two extended downwards, as if they were tusks. The center of the helmet bore a glowing blue gem, and the helmet twitched up as she approached, green lenses locked with terrified blue eyes.

“Is this all you have on your nation’s history?” The giant asked, his staff tapping the floor of the library. The neck of the staff was entirely black, though to Daisy it almost looked like it was burned black. The bottom of the staff ended in a razor sharp spearhead that dug itself into the wooden floor, while the top of the staff was gold, with two massive horns jutting from it. A small skull dangled from it, as did a black sack that was clearly filled with something.

“Ah… y-y-yes, Mister… th-this is everything….” She glanced outside, hoping for someone to save her from this situation. She felt a sudden chill up her spine as the books were forcefully, yet pathetically easily taken out of the grip of her magic, and floated around the armored giant, who briefly glanced at each one, using magic to turn all their pages at a speed that should have been impossible to read from. Once he was done with the books, they were set gently, and almost reverently, onto the empty shelf behind him, and he turned his terrifying gaze upon her again.

“And what about the most recent developments?” He asked. “Do you have any books detailing recent history?”

Daisy briefly shook her head, and that sudden chill down her spine returned, before she realized that the temperature of the entire room had suddenly dropped. “N-n-no… th-those w-were the most recent ones…” She pointed her hoof at the books he had just finished, and he sighed, the sound grating her ears as he began walking towards her, the floorboards bending under his weight.

“Then I suppose I shall have to make do.” He growled, and Daisy began to scream as a sudden agony overtook her. It felt like something had entered her mind through her horn, and was greedily and carelessly ripping through memories like a robber in an empty home. Her cries of agony went unheard by all save the giant as blood began to weep from her eyes and ears, and time felt like it had slowed to a crawl, each second taking a century of pure agony as her mind was ripped apart.

Half a minute later the unicorn fell to the ground, dead, as Ahzek Ahriman walked past her corpse, having already learned all he needed to know from it. “So this country is currently facing a civil war… I need more information.” He quickly left the library, skipping the stairs entirely as he walked. “If only I had left one of those military xenos alive… a shame they tried to kill me.” The Sorcerer stepped past a trio of charred corpses, green flames licking up the residential home behind the former family. Similar corpses littered the ground, some in blackened armor, and others looking like they had tried to run. Green Warpflame tore through the village, turning wood to ash and ash to nothing by Ahriman’s will alone.

“However, it would be a good idea to keep information about my existence to these xenos to a minimum until I am ready to act…” Ahriman said as he left the burning village, intent on finding more information.

Several days later, a squadron of soldiers would come across the destroyed village, finding the only untouched building to be the library. There had been no survivors.

"I said back… off!" The equine snapped, baring her fangs in a predatory fashion.

"Wait, Wanderlust, he's okay!" Little Apple Snatcher pleaded from behind Gordon as his crested helmet turned to look down at the spear piercing his arm, thick red blood leaking from the wound. A splitting headache erupted in the marine’s mind, and he heard an odd ticking noise from somewhere in his helmet. The pain of the headache angered him, the fact that he had been stabbed pissed him off, and his vision started to turn red as he got the urge to kill, kill, KILL! KILL-

A throaty yet unnatural roar ripped through the night and snapped him out of his trance, though the headache only seemed to grow more intensely. It sounded to Gordon as if someone had started a chainsaw, except it was louder and almost sounded… hungry. He glanced down and realized he had started up his chainaxe, the sharp teeth of the weapon tearing through air, ready to carve into flesh and spill blood. The horses all around him flinched at the noise, and Gordon sighed as he deactivated the axe, and holstered his pistol.

“Look, I’m not here to pick a fight…” Gordon grunted as he grabbed the small spear in his arm and pulled it out, forcing it out from under the horse’s foreleg. He held it out for a moment, before crushing the wood in his grip, shattering it into splinters as it fell to the ground. “It will take a lot more than a spear to scratch my armor, let alone kill me…” His voice sounded strained as he spoke through gritted teeth, the headache intensifying, as if it wanted him to kill, to rip this insolent horse apart for even attempting to fight him. He could see it so clearly. One swing of his axe, and her head would go flying as he pounced upon her fellow horses. They’d be dead before her head hit the ground.

But he resisted the urge with all his willpower, his hands curling into fists as he stared down the winged horse.

The bat-horse flinched, somehow sensing his bloodlust. “G-go on, knave! Get!”

“No. You will stand down, small horse.” Gordon said, his voice coming out as a growl and only made worse as it went through his armor’s vox grill.

“That’s bat-pony, beast!” Wanderlust’s nostrils flared.

“And that’s…” Gordon paused. He wasn’t exactly human anymore. “I am no beast. I am Astartes.” He turned his body towards the bat-pony, towering over her. “You have no chance of killing me. I will… forgive you for your attack, but I will not be so kind for long if you keep this up.” The headache intensified again at his threat of violence, and he barely kept himself from grabbing his head in pain. The bat pony looked to her compatiates, seeking their opinions.

The other two glanced at each other, before nodding to Wanderlust, lowering their weapons, but still ready to spring into action. Wanderlust let their response sink in, before raising her bloodied spear into the air.

“I’ll listen to you after you get out of my house- and neither of you complain!” Wanderlust glared at her two family members, the youngest of which looked down at her hooves as she kicked at the floor. “I have enough on my plate without you two inviting an outsider into our home.”

“Y-you’re right, dear.” The mother nodded, glancing down at Apple.

“Very well.” Gordon nodded. “I will leave, miss Wanderlust.” He checked his arm, surprised to find that the wound had already been healed, leaving only a scar. He backed out of the doorway, before turning and walking a few feet away and turning back to the house, the other two bat-ponies keeping their distance. “There, I am out of your house.” He briefly considered the incredulity of this scenario. A giant superhuman soldier, being ordered around by tiny ponies. It would almost have made him laugh if his headache wasn’t still pressing at the back of his mind.

The ponies stood there, silently watching the Astartes, unsure what to even say to someone that shrugged off a spear to his arm.

“The name is Gordon.” He grumbled, deciding to break the silence. “Is it customary of this place to greet newcomers by stabbing them with a spear?” He tried to make it sound a bit jovial, but in the end it sounded accusatory and hostile.

“It is when they’re an outsider during wartime!” Wanderlust replied suspiciously.

“Oh, so you guys are at war?” Gordon asked. “I am… not exactly from around here.” He let out a sigh, though it sounded almost like a growl. “Actually I have no idea where I am.”

“You’re in the Lunar Territories of Equestria, safeguarded by the Matron of the Night, Princess Luna!” One of the others cut in.

“Never heard of it, or of this ‘Luna’ chick.” Gordon shrugged, finding a particularly large stone nearby and using it as a chair. “So who’s your enemy then?” He decided against asking them if they had heard of America. He was already talking to bat-ponies, as incredulous as the concept was, so he figured he was either dreaming, or not on Earth. Especially since he was now in the body of Khârn the Betrayer. It would be a better use of his time to learn what he can about this place. And who he can kill- no, not that. How to survive.

“The tyrannical Celestia! She rules most of Equestria with an iron hoof-” Gordon chuckled to himself. “What’s so funny…?”

“Sorry, sorry, it’s nothing.” Gordon let go of his axe and waved his hand dismissively, the chains rattling against each other. “Please, continue.”

Wanderlust took it from there, “The Equestrian Civil War has been going on for a few years. Our Princess seeks to liberate us from the rest of Equestria’s tyranny. I hope you can understand the… ‘state’ we’re in.” She gestured with her off hoof to the surrounding buildings, but made note to linger on the section with the more hut like structures. “Other than that, what’s left of the Crystal Empire and them no good yaks are to the north, while the border to the day lovin’ Equestrians is a couple hundred kilometers south.”

“Well, sounds like you all have some serious stuff to work through.” Gordon nodded, flinching as his headache intensified. That damn clicking was getting annoying. “I can see now why you would rather attack on sight…”

“Wander~! I just got through telling him how amazing you are! You’re proving me wrong!” Apple Snatcher shouted from on top of her mother’s back.

Wanderlust blushed, hiding her face behind her wings. “W-what did you tell him, Apple!? I swear to the Nyx, if you said anything embarrassing I’ll feed you nightmares myself!”

“She didn’t say anything too insane.” Gordon chuckled. “Just something about you killing a Hydra with a toothpick.”

The obviously young pony shrank at that, and her fellow guardsmen gave her a look. One Gordon knew all too well. There was something to the story that they must’ve found amusing, since they had the biggest shit eating grins the Astarte had ever seen. “Apple Snatcher, you’re so dead…” Through gritted teeth, Wanderlust huffed. She then gave Gordon her full attention. “We’ll need you to come with us. N-nothing serious, but all new arrivals need to be processed by the township.”

“I suppose that’s alright.” Gordon nodded, before blinking. “Hm. One moment, I’d like to try something.” He stood up, raising his hands to his helmet and taking hold of it, before twisting. A soft hiss echoed from the suit, and he lifted the helmet free from his head, and attached it to his hip. He looked down at the ponies with a completely expressionless face, looking almost regal. A mess of metal tubes and wires dug into the back of his bald head, making it almost look like he had silver hair. “Ahh, much better. Now, let’s go. I’ll follow your lead.” He said as he picked up his axe. He had a very heavy accent that they couldn’t identify.

Wanderlust nodded to that, and began leading Gordon deeper into the town, with one of the others at either side of him. On their trek, Gordon noticed that a few elderly or cripplied bat ponies had begun exiting their houses, which were getting better and better in quality the further they went. They weren’t amazing, but they were less crumbly. After half a minute of walking, they all arrived at a pristine looking manor that Gordon could see becoming a haunted house if it wasn’t maintained, as it was one of the most gothic buildings he’d ever actually been to. Wanderlust fluttered her wings, lifting herself off the ground and hovered towards the door and rapped her hoof against it a few times.

“Compared to where you live, this is a rather… impressive mansion. I can see where all the money flows to…” Gordon grumbled, hands clenching around his axe.

“The Bloodwing Estate’s been here for ages, as has the Mayor… ugh, she’s probably out. Figures a unicorn like her would be bucking galavanting around somewhere else when we need-” Wanderlust stiffened when the front door creaked open, just enough for a singular red eye to stare at the bat pony.

“I don’t like it when ponies gossip about me, Wonderbust. Especially on my front porch.” The mare on the other side spoke softly. Gordon thought he heard a bit of British in her voice, too. The door widened, and on the other side of it stood a feminine pony, but unlike the others Gordon had met, this one had a horn atop her head. Her coat was a faded pink, and her mane a muted black. Her eyes were far more sunken in than the others, and her teeth were like that of a human with snake like canines, far longer than the bat ponies he’d met. She also wore a black dress that covered everything except her hind legs where a spider web was neatly displayed. “Oh my, you’ve brought me a guest. I hope these fine ponies didn’t bother you too much. They get antsy with new faces.”

“Not too much.” Gordon replied, his face twitching with a smile for a split second. “The most they did was poke me a little. Barely hurt at all.” He glanced down at Wanderlust, who was fuming already.

“Please, come in. I’d love to have you for dinner, if you wouldn’t mind. I’ve never seen a creature quite like you, and I’m more than a little bit curious. Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Wisteria Wilt.” The unicorn stepped to the side, allowing entrance to her house. “Please, come in. I don’t bite~”

Gordon glanced at her, then at Wanderlust, before grunting as he stepped inside the mansion, ducking through the doorway. “My name is Gordon. It is a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine~! We’ll have everything figured out soon.” Wisteria said, leaving the guards outside, unsure as to what happened.

“I can’t wait to go home… this is so boring…” Swift Striker groaned as he leaned against the wall of the guard post. The pegasus adjusted his golden armor so his white wings wouldn’t chafe against it. “Hey, Blood Rusher! You don’t suppose the guys in the next shift will get here early, do ya?”

“Fat chance of that, Swifty. They are all way too lazy to do that.” A female red unicorn in similar armor stepped out of the guard post. At all times there were at least ten soldiers in the building, and two outside. “You’d be better off trying to find gold in the dirt.”

Swift groaned as Rusher went to stand on the other side of the road. Thirty minutes swept by in silence, the two holding their spears at their sides.

“You know, maybe after our shift, you’d want to go out for a bite? I’d be willing to pay.” Swift broke the silence, glancing over at Rusher. She seemed to ponder the offer for a bit, her green eyes giving him a mischievous look.

“Oh, really~? Seems someone doesn’t remember just how much I could eat in the academy.” Blood smirked. “I’d love to go for a nice meal!”

Swift’s eyes widened at that, and he turned away. “A-Actually, I think I had some plans for tonight, s-so maybe next… time?” He suggested, recalling those days at the academy.

“Oh, is someone scared I’ll devour all his bits~?” She giggled, before blinking. “Hey, what’s that?” She gestured with her spear further down the road, where a bipedal creature was just coming into view.

“Looks like… a minotaur?” Swift suggested, noticing that it had horns poking out from its head. “It’s got some gigantic horns though… and some weird walking cane. Maybe it’s an old one?”

“Could be… go get the others, just in case.” Blood Rusher said. “I’m getting some bad vibes off of him.” Swift nodded and went towards the guard station, opening the door and peering in.

Inside were roughly ten other soldiers, who had all removed their armor and were currently either gambling at the table or resting in the beds. Some of the stallions and mares at the table glanced up, but for the most part the others weren’t paying attention.

“Hey, everypony get your gear on. We got a creepy Minotaur or something, and he’s giving Bloody some bad vibes.” This got a few of the other unicorns to glance warily at him. Blood Rusher was well known amongst the regional guard for her ‘bad vibes’. They quickly began to gear up while Swift stepped back out and took up his position with Blood.

“Wow… that’s some intricate armor.” Swift noted. The minotaur had gotten much closer, and the pegasus could now see that he was completely covered in bright blue and gold armor, and guessed that it was the same case under the velvet robes. As the towering minotaur approached, Swift tensed up. “Hey! What business do you have out here?!”

The minotaur stopped a few feet away, and he was massive. Swift had seen one or two Minotaurs in his life, and none were as tall as this one. His gold helmet turned to regard the pegasus.

“I come seeking your commanding officer, soldier.” The giant grumbled, his voice seeming to wrap around Swift like a snake. For some odd reason, it was rather comforting, and Swift began to relax.

“Oh… well, that’d be the lord of the land, Duchess-“ He was cut off as Blood Rusher jumped between him and the giant.

“Whatever Magic you’re using on him, stop right now! You are attempting to manipulate a soldier of Celestia’s Royal Military!” She growled, pointing her spear at the blue armored minotaur. By now the rest of the guards had gotten out of the guard post, and were taking up positions around him. ‘Manipulating…? But he seems like a nice guy.’ Swift thought to himself.

“Fine… there are other ways to gain the knowledge that I seek.” He growled, energy crackling around him. Blood Rusher leapt back as lightning flew from his hand, striking Swift Striker in the chest and melting through his armor, killing him instantly.

The other guards reacted instantly to Ahriman’s attack, the four winged ponies trying to attack him from above while the three earth ponies tried to rush him. The unicorn that he had tried to kill backed up, and Ahriman could feel the power of the Immaterium growing around her horn. He focused on the spears around him first. He tapped into the Great Ocean once again, the power coming much more easily than what he was used to. The energies coalesced into a ball of fire above his outstretched hand, and he threw it out around him, the flames reaching out to the ponies, who tried in vain to stop their forward momentum.

Ahriman switched targets as the flames began eating away at the earth ponies, devouring their armor and flesh in equal measures. Not even their souls would survive the flames. He raised his hand again, and this time black lightning shot out of his fingertips, slamming into the hearts of each of the pegasi before they fell to the ground. As Ahriman turned to the unicorn, he was blasted backwards, a magical spear managing to cut into his armor and only barely missed digging into the skin underneath. He landed on the ground with a grunt, surprised at the power behind the spell as the spear dissipated.

Blood Rusher was in the middle of preparing another spell as Ahriman seemingly appeared in front of her, his hand grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

“Impressive… such power despite being so young…” Ahriman grumbled. “But it will do you no good now.” He began the process of taking her memories, his psychic powers reaching into her mind like tendrils and dragging what he needed out of her. He ignored her screaming and wild thrashing against his armored gauntlet as he processed what he was taking. “The Duchess of this territory… I see. Her name is… Opulent Magnifico?” Ahriman shook his head. “These xenos have such strange names.” He tossed Blood Rusher to the side once he got a location from her. He wiped her memories of this encounter, while also leaving a small spell within her mind. It would alert the Sorcerer to her presence if he ever came across her again.

“You may turn out to be useful to me, little Rusher, should our paths cross again.” Ahriman said as he turned from the massacre he had caused, and began walking towards the Duchess’ estate. “Such power should not be wasted.”

Gordon was led into a large dining room with a comically long table that didn’t even reach his knees, but worked for Wisteria as she sat down at one of the heads. An elderly stallion quickly trotted in, giving the Astarte no mind as he set a teacup and poured what Gordon assumed was tea. Gordon decided to remain standing, at least so he didn’t break her chairs and end up looking like a fool.

“So you’re not from Equestria I presume?” The unicorn inquired. She gave the stallion a quick gesture, and he took it as him having poured enough, and went about his business.

“No, I’m not.” Gordon nodded. “I was very surprised to find myself here… in fact, I have never heard of Equestria until just now.”

“We’ve been a nation for nearly two hundred years, so that’s not too surprising.” Wisteria remarked with a thin smile. “So how did you get here then?”

“Uh…” Gordon decided not to lie, as ridiculous as it sounded. The headache kept him from coming up with anything plausible, so it was a win-win for him. “I woke up at the bottom of the lake nearby? And then I just sorta got led to the town by a kid.”

“Hmm… Well, thank you for not causing too much trouble in our little hovel. Do you intend on staying here?”

“I’m not sure to be honest.” Gordon replied. “I mean, I have no idea how I got here, nor how to go home, so I might. But I heard there was some kind of war going on?”

“True. I don’t make it a point to involve myself with violence, but I do make it a point to keep up to date with both sides.” Wisteria’s teacup began levitating in a red aura, moving its way up to her lips where she took a slurp of its contents. “The Sisters’ feud is the most heated it’s ever been. Though, maybe this is a bit above your head.”

“Yep. I have no idea who the ‘sisters’ are.” Gordon nodded. ‘This place has magic? Weird. And why does that really make me angry?’ “I’m sure I’ll learn in due time, though.”

“They’re immortal Princesses with control over the sun and moon respectively. Nopony knows where they came from, but they helped establish Equestria with the Pillars- heroes of the past. They’re both heroes themselves, so when the younger sibling- Luna- split from Equestria and formed a ‘rebellion’. At first, things were peaceful, until a Duke of Celestia’s court was killed, and blah, blah, blah outright war.” Wisteria progressively got more and more bored the longer she explained, until she became incoherent and mumbly.

“I see… and how long has this war been on for?” Gordon asked, slightly surprised by her tone regarding such a topic.

“It’s been going on for about three years or so. I think… time stopped having meaning when half the town up and left.”

“Why did they leave?” Gordon asked, slightly concerned.

“They wanted to serve the ‘Rightful Queen’. They left the children to defend their families, but most of them left as well.” Wisteria rolled her eyes, “The three you met are half of the guards. The other half are the dayshift.”

“Quite the small number, though I’m guessing there is no one else left?” Gordon frowned.

“Most of the remaining townsponies either have health issues, aren’t capable of fighting or senile. We even lost two citizens yesterday on account of a bear of all things.” Wisteria took another sip.

“I see… my condolences.” Gordon said. “And what about you? What do you do for the village?”

“I run the day to day. I’m a Mayor, but I fulfil whatever government is required of me. I run the bank, I’m a judge, I collect taxes, I make announcements, I run the mail department. And everypony seems happy enough despite my circumstances.”

“Your circumstances?” Gordon asked, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of circumstances?”

“Well, I don’t exactly fit in with the others. Unicorns are mostly in support of Celestia rather then their Princess.” Wisteria closed her eyes, “Not to mention my disease. I have something of an appetite for blood unlike other equines. Some call it vampirism, others call it Grogar’s Kiss… I was once called a heretic, too, which was somewhat amusing.”

‘More amusing than you think.’ This caused Gordon to smile. “A heretic, eh? That reminds me of some stuff back home.” He gave a soft chuckle. “And honestly, I’ve seen enough weird stuff here that I’m not even phased by you being a vampire. So don’t expect me to freak out about it.”

“I wasn’t exactly expecting tact from you, though I do appreciate it.” Wisteria’s smile faded. “Something’s… wrong.”

“Hm? What is it?” Gordon asked, gripping his chainaxe tighter. “If it’s something about me, then feel free to ask.” He then heard the sound of something flying through the air just outside the window, and leapt forward, grabbing his helmet and pulling it over his head as a small cylindrical object flew through the window, carrying a lit string. An explosive. Gordon processed this in half a second, and dove towards Wisteria, tackling her to the ground and protecting her with his body as the explosive detonated.

“Take that, bat brains!” A unicorn stallion wearing gold armor cackled as he chucked dynamite into the windows of the nearby houses. Perched atop a further building and laying on her stomach was a female pegasi wearing similar gold armor, having a burgundy coat, blue eyes and a white mane that spilled into her helmet’s crest giving it its own personality.

“Hey Willhelmet! Be careful or you’ll get discharged on accounts of friendly fire!” She shouted from her safe spot. Another pony sat with her, spear in hoof to guard her.

“He really does love explosives, doesn't he…” the stallion groaned. He was a earth pony, with a dark blue coat and blonde mane tucked underneath his helmet. “How did we get stuck with him again, Roost?”

“I mean, if you paid attention to the briefing, his unit were ambushed by a bunch of leather wings. This whole mission was ‘retribution’ or whatever, as Captain so eloquently put it. Willhelmet’s just venting over his comrades’ deaths.” Roost replied with a tone of understandment. “But I swear, if he thinks he can pull a war crime while I’m on watch, he’ll have another thing com-” She was cut off as a angered roar erupted from the mansion, accompanied by a screeching noise that Roost had never heard before, but still managed to send shivers down her spine.

A flaming giant burst from the mansion, glowing green eyes turning this way and that as the beast bellowed out another roar. It was gigantic, clad in dark red and bronze armor of a like the two ponies had never seen before, completely covering the thing from head to toe aside from its left arm, which was covered in chains and gripped a large axe, which was the source of the unnatural screeching. It’s helmet was created by two large horn-like appendages, pointing straight up as its eyes locked on to Willhelmet.

The pony began to scream as the giant was upon him in an instant, the axe roaring louder as it descended upon him and eviscerated the poor fool, it’s whirling teeth cutting through armor and bone as if it wasn’t even there. He cut the pony in two, straight down the middle as the red armored creature gave out another roar, almost deafening Willhelmet’s screams as he began to die.

“Kill! Kill! KILL!” It bellowed, turning away from the mansion and moving towards where the sounds of combat were coming from.

“What the buck!?” Roost squeaked, eyes as wide as saucer plates. “What did that thing do to Willhelmet!?”

“What in Celestia’s name is that?!” Silver shell whispered, hoping it couldn’t hear them as it rushed off into the town, moving far faster than a thing of that size should be able to move.

“I don’t know! We need to warn the Captain!”

“Right. Let’s get going then!” The two got up from the roof of the building and dropped down, before heading in the direction where their Captain was. As they flew past the rampaging monster, they saw him tear into a unit of their comrades.

They eventually arrived at the outskirts of the village, where they landed next to a unicorn with a blue coat and fiery red mane. His golden armor was different from the others, with etching depicting their ruler, Celestia, surrounded by the halo of the sun, and he had a bright blue plume sticking out from the top of his helmet.

“Report, Rooster. I know you wouldn’t be wasting my time unless you had something to tell me.” The Captain grumbled, looking over to them.

“Sir, there’s some monster killing our assaulting forces! It killed Willhelmet and a few others!” She’d probably name them if she’d seen their faces while flying to the backlines. “It looked like a Minotaur, fully decked out in armor, and had a really freaky weapon I’ve never seen! I think we should pull back, sir!”

“Oh? Are those feathers I see behind your ears, Rooster? Perhaps we should put you with your real family… in the chicken coop! Silvershell, did you happen to see any eggs trailing behind her as you came here?” The Captain laughed at his own joke.

Roost balked at that, flinching at the complete dismissal of her statement.

“N-no, sir. All we saw was the bloodied corpses that used to be our fellow ponies.” Silvershell said.

The Captain continued regardless, though he frowned at Silvershell, “We are Celestia’s Chosen! We do not run from monsters! Monsters run from us! And I, Glamorous Ego, will not cower away from one of Nightmare Moon’s puppets!”

“Fine, but I feel that somepony should inform General Quake.” Roost didn’t want to stick around when that thing got closer, even if the Captain was right.

“Oh fine, you can go.” Captain Ego rolled his eyes. “Run along with your tail between your legs like your ancestors. I’ll be sure to collect the eggs and use them for our victory breakfast!”

Roost’s face turned pink with embarrassment and fury as her wings popped away from her sides. She gave him one final glare, before taking off in the opposite direction from the village.

“And what will we do, sir?” Silvershell asked as he watched her leave.

“Why, we’ll deal with this so-called ‘monster’ ourselves!” The Captain grinned as he drew his sword using magic. “Destroying Nightmare Moon’s monster will surely make us heroes!” Ego began to trot into the burning village, beckoning his guards and Silvershell to follow him.

After about five minutes of walking through the destroyed village, they could hear it. Silvershell shuddered as he heard the familiar sound of the beasts’ weapon, a raging screech of metal cutting through metal.

“What is that unholy sound?” Ego grumbled, his ears flattening against his head.

“That’s the… sound of the monster’s weapon, my lord.” Silvershell whimpered, deciding to slow down until he was behind the rest of the guards.

“Then we are close. Follow-“ Ego was cut off as they turned a corner, and the captain got his first look at the monster. It’s back was to them, and it was currently busy using its axe to cleave through a corpse’s neck, decapitating it and dropping the bloodied head into a sack. “By Celestia, how vile! You utter barbarian!”

The monster’s head perked up and it turned around, dropping its sack at its feet. “Hrrrngh...more skulls for Khorne…” It growled, it’s axe purring in its hand.

“You will claim no more heads today, monster!” Ego retorted, before firing off a fireball spell at the armored giant. “I am Captain Glamorous Ego, and I am your… death…” He trailed off as the fireball hit the creature right in the helmet, but did absolutely nothing. It almost seemed to dissipate around him.

“Hrrrnnngh! Sorcerous scum!” It roared, and its axe screamed with it. “Your skull will join those of your soldiers!” It began to charge forward, and Ego showed the first signs of panic.

“S-Stallions! Charge!” He decreed, and his guards rushed to obey, their spears and floating swords lashing out towards the beast. To their horror, the spears broke against its chest, and their swords cut apart by the screaming axe as the armored warrior barreled through them, crushing heads and bodies underfoot. They were the lucky ones. Those who had the common sense to get out of the way soon found their heads flying through the air, or finding a large gash through their chests as blood spilled from their ruined hearts.

Silvershell did the sensible thing as he saw such easy slaughter: He turned and ran, dropping his weapon and running past a horrified Captain Ego. When he glanced back, he saw the monster towering over the unicorn, who had fallen backwards in terror as the thing spoke its final words to the captain.

“Hrnnngh… Now you will… pay… for killing these innocents!” It raised its axe and began viciously cutting the captain apart slowly, cutting only deep enough to draw blood, and never a killing blow as Ego’s screams pierced the night. Though Silvershell wasn’t there to see it, it took ten minutes for him to die, and the blood-crazed monster roared over his desecrated corpse.

“Blood for the Blood God!”

Opulent Magnifico was a simple mare with an easy life. Well, probably one of the easiest lives one could have during war time, but it was leagues better than what a lot of others had. So she was quite visibly shook when the Captain in charge of her security force barged into her study.

“D-Duchess Magnifico!” The Captain panted, his brown coat matted with sweat. “W-we need to evacuate you, r-right now!” His normally clean and kept purple mane was shuffled all around his face, and he looked terrified. He never looked terrified.

“What’s the meaning of this, Captain Leadbelly?” Opulent was a busy as was mare, and had the misfortune of having an important legislation that needed to be voted on by the end of the week that was over fifty pages long. She was a unicorn, her gentle grey coat was as pristine as any noble’s, and her mane a brilliant cyan mixed with grey done up in a series of drills. Her eyes were an uncommon gold that gave her a ‘soul of gold’ as many nobles put it. Of course, she knew they were just kissing her flank for political reasons, usually. “I’m in the middle of some importance. Just deal with the rabble for once…”

“I-it’s not the rabble, Duchess!” He gasped for breath, collapsing to the ground. “A… a magic using m-minotaur, my lady… he’s marching through the town, and… c-coming straight here! W-we tried to stop him, but h-his magic… it’s unnatural!”

Now she’d heard everything. “Right… did you make a bet with one of your subordinates or something? Because I really don’t find this funny. Minotaur aren’t even in Equestria.” She was sure a vein was showing. She really needed to learn how to do those subtle breathing techniques the other Nobles did. They had to do something if their help was anywhere near as incompetent as hers.

“N-no, Duchess!” Leadbelly said, starting to collect himself. “We believe it to be a Minotaur, but it’s covered in strange armor! It’s tearing our soldiers apart and burning them to ash! You must evacuate!”

“So this is where that rat scurried off to.” A deep and menacingly calm voice echoed through the room, yet sounded as if it was only a few feet away. Leadbelly began to whimper, before making choking noises, and to Opulent’s surprise even began floating off the ground. “Is this coward your servant?” The voice asked, and she blinked.

And then she saw him.

She felt as if he had always been there, a towering giant of gold and blue standing just behind the floating stallion. He wore dark red robes around his waist, and his pure gold helmet was crested with six large horns. His left pauldron bore the likeness of a goat’s skull, while his right a golden eye. In his hand was a large staff topped with two horns, and bore several odd artifacts.

“Greetings, Duchess. I apologize for the loss of your soldiers, but they should know better than attacking a traveler on sight.” His helmet had glowing green lenses, and a green jewel embedded in its forehead.

“A-and you are…?” She struggled to compose herself in front of the stranger, ignoring the struggling Captain behind her. “To what… do I owe the pleasure?”

‘Buck, did I do something he didn’t like?' She immediately thought, before dashing that treacherous thought. She really considered it though, she knew that there were many a folk who had their gripes with the way the nobles ran things, and she apparently was an easy target.

“I come seeking knowledge about the current events of the civil war.” He said, lessening his psychic grip on the captain so he didn’t kill him.

“That’s… it?” Opulent asked, a little surprised. “What specifically are you looking to learn?” She didn’t want to admit it, but Opulent was really into storytelling and history.

“Everything regarding the current state of the war, and the war in general.” The Magic user explained, then paused. “Normally I’d simply tear the information from your mind, but… you may have a use…”

Opulent had a bad feeling about that, but was focused on not getting anything torn from her mind. “Equestria had been ruled by two Princesses for as long as our country’s been around. They’re what we call ‘alicorns’, and are the strongest ponies alive. The youngest of the two splintered the state and tried to reform Equestria under only one Princess.” She paused, slightly afraid that she’d begun rambling in fear. “I heard a few rumors that she was jealous of the love her sister got for bringing the day, while everypony ‘shunned’ her night. She gathered up most of the nocturnal races and fled to the north before the rest of Equestria could give chase.”

The giant paused as he took this all in. “I see… and how is the war currently faring?” He asked, finally dropping Leadbelly to the ground, and let him gasp for air. “For your cooperation thus far, I shall spare your cowardly servant.”

“Lead, g-go tell the others that the intruder was slain.” Opulent ordered. “I’d rather not hire an entirely new guard, or Celestia forbid Canterlot appoint me a division...”

“I… I understand, Duchess.” Leadbelly nodded quickly, eyeing the giant warily before turning to leave.

“Wait, worm.” The giant growled, and Lead practically jumped. “Know this. If you attempt to betray your Duchess, or send for more forces to this place… I will end you the moment you try to speak the words. It won’t matter how far away you are.” With that, he used levitation to throw the captain out the door, and shut it. “There. Now we will have no more useless interruptions.”

“Good.” Very good. Now she felt a lot more confident that she wouldn’t die right away. It was a plus. “As for the war… Princess Celestia is faring far better than her little sister Luna. Progress is slow, due to the griffons support, but we’ve already reduced them to a third of their territory.”

“I see…” The giant nodded. “I heard that your nation previously suffered from an invasion of forces under the command of Chaos?”

“One of many dangers Equestria’s faced that barely lasted longer than a year. Like Discord, Sombra and the Sirens before.” Opulent shrugged. “I don’t know a lot about that event, since only Archmage Flashfreeze is allowed the majority of that restricted history.”

“I see… very well then.” The giant looked down on her. “I now give you a choice. Since you were very cooperative, you have two options. In the first path, I shall leave this place, while wiping the memories regarding my existence to all those who saw me… or…” he rapped his staff against the ground. “You may choose to serve me. There are many uses that I would have for a mare in your position, and you would be well rewarded for your loyalty. Serve me well enough, and perhaps even… immortality could be within your reach…”

Opulent Magnifico, Duchess of the Sleeping Valley, Mistress of Dream Castle, and one of the twelve Equestrian Dukes and Duchesses, began to think. To really consider her options.

“I wouldn’t be turned into a mindless monster, would I? I’ve heard stories where wishes like that would be cruelly ironic.” She cynically asked.

“Unlikely. Most of those kinds of creatures don’t last long enough to be considered immortal.” He said with a shrug. “I will be capable of turning you into one, however, should you betray me…”

“No need to continue, I can imagine. I think you’ve left me no choice, mister…”

“The name is Ahriman.” The giant said, leaning against his staff. “Do forgive my manners, Duchess. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner.”

“Well, Ahriman. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.” Opulent grinned, “I look forward to our future endeavors~”

“As do I, Duchess…” Ahriman nodded, already planning his next step. “I shall take my leave for now, but I will contact you soon enough. For now, I must make some… acquaintances.” He turned to leave, searching through the web of fates to find the best course of action for his plans to reach fruition.

Author's Note

Aaaaand chapter two is done! Me and BP are attempting to get these out on a weekly basis, but we might be late a few times due to working on other projects. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Chapter Three

The winds of the Northern mountains howled across the slopes, carrying with them a harsh blizzard that reduced a pony’s sight to only a few meters ahead, and chilling most creatures that dared to traverse the natural boundary between Equestria and Yakyakistan to the bone.

And yet, despite the freezing wind blowing against his face, an armored giant trudged through the snow, each step sinking several feet beneath the surface of the snow. His armor was enormous, huge crimson shoulder pads dwarfing his bald and scarred head as he struggled through the snow. His armor was decorated with several skulls wrapped with chains, along with bony spikes jutting out from random angles. Above his head was the mark of Khorne, made out of bronze and radiating unnatural energies that caused lesser creatures to flee. His left arm was covered in an oversized metal fist, a double barreled gun strapped to its side. His other hand carried a wicked chainaxe, a dull grey metal stained with red from many previous battles.

“Damn this snow!” The giant roared, swinging his weapon as if to cut through the offending white particles. “The skull of this damned beast had better be worth all this trouble!” He growled, his bulky terminator plate hindering his movement in the snow. “If that equine xeno sent me here to try to get me killed, he will be sorely mistaken! I am Zhufor the Impaler, Butcher of Vraks! I will not be defeated by something as pathetic as the cold weather of a backwater rural planet!”

The armored warrior paused, his heightened senses picking up a familiar scent. “Blood…” He growled, stomping towards where the scent was coming from. His grip tightened as he came across the source of the scent, and cautiously approached.

Following the aroma led him to a grizzly sight. A wooly mammoth lay motionless in the field of snow, its brown fur tossing in the violent wind. If not for the snow storm, the warrior would have seen it far sooner. He could also hear the rabid tearing of flesh, a predator feasting on its kill.

It stopped, and the warrior smiled. A four legged creature climbed up the mammoth from the other side, glaring at him with red and black eyes. Its fur, which covered seventy percent of its body was as white as the snow with a tuft of red between its eyes, its skin peaking through its face, behind and front paws. The warrior noted that it appeared to be a hybrid of a panther and monkey.

“So you are the beast that was giving those xenos trouble!” Zhufor growled, letting his Chainaxe roar to life as he approached. He vaguely recalled that the villager had mentioned it looking something like this. The memory of that annoying villager angered the Warrior further, and he yelled at the beast. “I will claim your skull for the Blood God! Prepare to die, vermin!”

The predator’s roar boomed through the blizzard as it rushed Zhufor, claws unsheathing from it’s exposed paws. The power armored superhuman turned a shoulder and charged, knowing he wouldn’t be able to dodge as his armor pumped stimulants into his bloodstream. The beast hit him head on, its claws scraping against his armor while its jaw went for his head. He swung his power fist, raising it up to meet the beast’s head with powered ceramite. The beast let go upon sensing the crackling energies surrounding the oversized gauntlet, leaping back and out of his reach, landing in the snow for but a second before charging him again. It’s claws flew up to tear into his side, but suddenly found itself slammed into the ground. Zhufor lowered his arm, having smashed it with his elbow as it came at him, before swinging his chainaxe down at it, intending to cut into its neck, but to no avail as the white beast rushed forwards, ducking behind him before turning and pouncing on his back.

It scratched and clawed at his armor, trying to find purchase while Zhufor attempted to tear the beast off of him. Unable to do so with his arms, he spotted some of the trees that dotted the mountainside a few feet away, and began to move towards it, and slammed his back, as well as the beast, into the bark. The tree broke upon impact, sending it crashing down while the beast yelped in pain. He whirled around, chainaxe roaring as he brought it down upon the wounded animal. Whirling metal teeth bit into flesh, and Zhufor grinned as it cried out in pain. He was less enthused when he realized he had only gotten one of its arms, and noticed it jumping away and whimpering.

“Dammit all!” Zhufor growled as it tried to flee, reluctantly bringing his power fist up. There was a soft, almost unheard click, before a boom cracked through the air, and the area just above its legs disappeared in a red and white mist, bone shards flying into the snowy ground around it.

Smoke hissed from one of the barrels of Zhufor’s Combi Bolter as he re-engaged the safety, and stormed towards the wounded animal as it desperately tried to use its only remaining limb to crawl away. “You made me waste a round on you, scum. You should be ashamed.” He grumbled as he stomped on what was left of its body, raising his axe high and letting the sound of its engine roar echo across the snowy mountaintops, and grinned when he sensed its fear. “Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne!”

And his axe descended.

Gorechild swung, the teeth tearing through the Pegasi’s neck surprisingly cleanly, and Gordon let out a blood curdling scream that was only amplified by his vox-grille. And then…

And then the red mist receded from his mind, the burning headache going away with it. “W..what…?” Gordon gasped, stumbling backwards as a click was heard from inside his helmet. He glanced to the upper left side of his vision, and saw a number tick upwards.

0018

Gordon looked away from the curious number and saw the corpse of the pegasus he had decapitated. He stumbled backwards in shock, almost dropping Gorechild. “What the hell?!” He looked around, noticing for the first time that the village was burning around him. “What the hell?!”

After taking several seconds to calm himself, he looked around at the slaughter around him. at least a dozen of decapitated or mutilated ponies filled the road, their blood pooling around their bodies and reflecting the light of the flames. All of them bore ruined golden armor, and he turned from the carnage. ‘What happened? I remember some kinda bomb flying through the window… then…’

Behind the lenses of his bloodied helmet, Gordon’s eyes widened as the distorted memories started to come back to him. Ponies cut into pieces, a high ranking soldier screaming as he cut into him bit by bit, and all the blood, the rage, and-

‘I did all of that…?’ He stumbled backwards. He had never killed before. He had heard that most people would feel sick to their stomachs, but right now he felt… nothing. “What the hell is wrong with me…?” He muttered to himself, lifting his blood soaked chainaxe. ‘Gorechild… that was your name, wasn’t it…?’ It was a brutal weapon. Gordon hadn’t read much of the backstory for Khârn, but if he recalled correctly the teeth of the blade had been pulled from some kind of… dragon? “What made me go berserk like that? I need to keep it from doing that again.” He looked around at the destruction he had apparently caused, before he realized something. ‘Where are the villagers?!’

While he was distracted, Wanderlust glided down from one of the rooftops and landed a few paces behind Gordon, eyes wide and irises shrunken. “G-good work… th-thing…” She immediately regretted the way she phrased that, flinching at how crudely she had dubbed the being she hadn’t really acquainted herself with. “Uh- er- uhm… you really… ripped and tore…”

Gordon turned to look at her, the green lenses of his helmet glowing as he started moving towards her. “Where are the rest of the villagers?” His voice came out like a growl through the helmet’s vox grille as he stopped just in front of her, looking down at the pony.

Wanderlust took a step back, a chill going down her spine. “Th-the mayor i-is gathering everypony to th-the town square. F-for an announcement.”

“Alright…” Gordon nodded. “Good… they survived…” He let out a deep, hoarse sigh. “How many villagers died?” He asked her.

“I… I don’t know. A few of them s-split from th-the…” She stopped midway, squeezing her eyes close. “A few split from the m-m-main group and w-were k-killing… ponies. The mayor killed most, a-and we… b-barely reached the barracks in time to save the dayshift…” Her voice died in her throat as she finished.

“... I see.” Gordon nodded. “The bastards will pay dearly for this…” His grip tightened on the haft of Gorechild. “Did any of those gold armor mongrels survive?”

“Y-yes… one. Th-the town doctor is watching him.” Wanderlust remarked weakly, and Gordon swore he heard her trying to repeatedly take gulps in between words.

“What’s wrong?” Gordon decided to finally ask, since her behavior was starting to upset her. “You’re acting like you're utterly terrified, or scared, or something.” He decides to look into the enemy survivor later.

“I-I almost lost m-my family, and there are t-tons of bodies everywhere!” Wanderlust backed away, realizing that she’d raised her voice at the strange being that had slaughtered more than a few trained soldiers single handedly.

“Oh… apologies.” Gordon said, looking down at her. “I had no idea.” He began to walk away. “We should go to that meeting… I’ll be checking in on that damnable soldier later.”

Wanderlust opened her mouth to protest, but the pile of bodies silenced her. Instead, she turned and took flight, leaving Gordon alone.

“Well… guess I better go find the town square.” Gordon grumbled. He began to walk towards the center of the town, hoping that it was where the Town Square was. After about five minutes he eventually found his way to the gathering, removing his helmet and locking it to his belt as he approached.

Wisteria stood alone on top of a balcony, looking down over the sea of townsfolk, a graceful yet emotionless smile dancing across her muzzle. “You all have my sincerest apologies for the events that have occurred not moments ago. Due to our lacking defenses, we weren’t able to know ahead of time of their attack. We lost half of our guards, and I have no doubt that more will be lost if we linger here for much longer. Therefore, I propose that we make way for Ophelius, the capital of the Lunar Rebellion.” Her voice boomed without her even shouting.

The crowd began to stir, and a few began voicing their protest.

“You expect us to just leave our homes because of some bullies!?” One stallion, whose right eye was covered with a bandage leaking fresh blood cried out.

“Bullies?” Gordon spoke up, raising his voice enough to be heard by everyone… er, Pony. “Bullies take lunch money from children, or push them around. These bastards went and burned down your houses, killed your families, and wounded many of you! They aren’t bullies, they’re monsters! And what makes you think their buddies won’t come looking for them?” The crowd seemed to shrivel up at his exclamation.

Wisteria smiled mildly. “Well said. I won’t force anypony to follow along, but I believe that it’s in your best interest to leave as soon as we can. If not as a group, then as strays for them to pick off.” With that, the unicorn stepped down. “Gather your belongings. We leave next nightfall.”

Gordon walked towards her as the crowd dispersed, waiting for them to have all left before finally speaking to her. “Not entirely sure I should have spoken up, but hopefully they’ll listen.” He said, kneeling down a bit so she didn’t have to look up as much.

“It’s their choice regardless. They won’t have my guards, though.” Wisteria remarked casually. “I hope I can count on you to keep me and my little ponies safe.”

“Well…” Gordon paused as he considered his options. If he stayed, he’d likely be of help to those who remained, and would be able to live a quiet life after a while. But if he left… “You said you were heading to your Princess’ capital, correct?” He asked.

“Correct.” Wisteria gave a firm nod.

“I’ll go with you. I have all this… strength, and would rather not let it go to waste.” Gordon said, his mind made up. “I’ll go to join your war, and make sure such an atrocity as this never happens again.” He stood up, rolling his shoulders. “I guess you need to get packing, so I’ll leave you to it… I’ve got some things to think about.”

The door to the small cottage burst open, somehow hanging onto its hinges despite the force put into knocking it open. The winter wind blew into the warm house, and Zhufor shifted, struggling to make his way in without destroying the house. Once he was inside, he went straight towards the source of his burning hatred… and odd interest.

“Filthy Xeno horse!” He bellowed, towering over the orange coated pony with a green curly mane.

“Good day to you too, mister. Would you care for some hot chocolate to warm your belly?” The stallion asked, outstretching a hoof that held a wooden mug.

“I am an Astartes blessed by the Blood God! I do not need warm beverages, for my hatred for all life burns bright!” Zhufor growled. “Besides, the cup is too small for my hands!” The champion of Khorne raised his power fist, holding the decapitated head of the beast he had slain. “The beast that attacked your accursed village is no more, it’s skull given to Lord Khorne’s throne!”

“Ah! Thank you a hundred times over! I’m sure the children can play again once summer comes about, thanks to you!” The stallion gleamed cheerfully, setting the mug down on a tiny, rickety coffee table. “And in such a timely manner, too! I hope you didn’t get frostbite out there! Amore knows it’s been colder since the Empire vanished. If you’re cold though, I could take you to the hot springs!” He pointed to a hatch door leading to his basement.

“There is no need! I have already repaid the debt I owe you, Xeno! I do not wish to be indebted once more to something like you!” Zhufor grumbled.

“It’s okay, the hot springs free if you ever feel like you need to feel toasty!” The stallion, or Tuque as Zhufor had learned earlier, replied offhandedly… offhoofedly?

“I will likely not be staying long, xeno.” Zhufor growled. “Unless there are more skulls to claim in these realms, then I will depart to seek more skulls for my lord Khorne!”

“Okay. Do you need a guide to get out of the tundra?”

“Hmph. As if I’d need the assistance of a Xeno… again…” Zhufor grumbled, before pausing to think about something aside from murder. ‘I doubt all these xenos are like this annoying one… I doubt I’d be able to get the locations of powerful beasts to kill in Khorne’s name… perhaps his presence will be able to aid in quelling their pitiful fear…’ “Very well. I require one of you xenos to keep the other xenos from running in fear or other pitiful actions at the sight of me…” He reasoned he could just kill everything on the planet… and save these somewhat useful xenos for last.

“Okay, I’ll help! Oh, and sorry if I’m a bother.” Tuque said, grabbing a thick scarf and wrapping it around his neck.

“You had better be able to move fast, Xeno. I dislike delays.” Zhufor growled as he wedged himself out the doorway. “What direction shall we go?”

Tuque hummed, tapping a hoof to his chin. “Well, where would you like to go?”

“I do not know this planet, Xeno. I know not the geography, nor any towns.” Zhufor growled, raising his axe above his head. “All I know is that I must kill in Khorne’s name!” His face twitched and turned into a frown. “And that I was… r… rescued. From a pit. By a filthy Xeno.” He struggled to get the words out, despising each syllable as they came out of his ruined mouth.

“Sorry about that, but at least you’re okay.” Tuque perked up, “Well, what about Equestria? There’s a war going on, so maybe you’ll fit in- well, uh, apologies. No offense.”

“A war? That sounds like the perfect place to collect skulls for Khorne!” Zhufor said, the left side of his mouth splitting into a grin almost as wide as the torn cheek on his other. “We shall go to this ‘Equestria’ then! Are the warriors of your species capable fighters?!”

“I wouldn’t know. Crystal Ponies haven’t exactly been a contender after the capital vanished.” Tuque shrugged. “I wouldn’t know about our sister nation.”

“Then I will have to test their mettle myself, and judge their worthiness to join Lord Khorne’s throne!” Zhufor growled. “Now, show me the way!”

Author's Note

Apologies for the short chapter this time around, me and my co-writer felt that it should end with that final line. Hopefully next chapter will be longer.

And apologies for the delay! We were dealing with some real life stuff and were having difficulties finding time to write.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and will see you in the next chapter!

And feedback is always appreciated!

Chapter Four

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Chapter Five

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