"They are nothing to us. Pay them no mind." The words echoed in Aries' mind as he waited. The words were spoken by a Chaplain when he was but a Neophyte, he had been observing menials for the first time since his ascension. Even then, he hadn't believed the Chaplain's words...far less so now.

As a witness to a murder and potential terrorist attack, Aries had been taken to the local police station for questioning. He waited in an interrogation room, mortal and helpless to defy this delay to his mission. He had no authority on this world.

A few more moments of silence passed before a detective, this world's counterpart to Neighsay, made his way into the room. "Officer Berrytwist tells me that you had weapons in your backpack. Do you care to explain how a minor got possession of a firearm?"

"...I am older than I appear." Aries stated. Informing this world of the impending threat looming over it would be the wisest decision, but doing so in a manner that they would believe seemed impossible to the War Hound. But he would lie as little as possible and try to lead this human to discover the truth on his own...if he couldn't find a better solution.

"Old enough to be involved with terrorists, it seems. Who are you, who is responsible for this, and why are you so interested in Ms. Shimmer?" Neighsay inquired.

"The answer...is difficult to explain. I would first need to know how much you are aware of...Ms. Shimmer." Aries stated.

Neighsay narrowed his gaze. "If you are referring to the numerous unexplainable incidents that occurred prior to the young girl's graduation, we know enough. What do you know?"

Aries was afraid of this. Neighsay didn't trust him. Wise, but inconvenient. If the detective was aware of Sunset's true nature, Aries could explain the situation and earn his assistance. But if Neighsay wasn't aware, and Aries told him about magical talking Ponies from another dimension, and that he was a super soldier from another other dimension, then that would be the end of it.

"...I know that she and her friends have saved a lot of lives and thwarted a lot of evils. I know that one such evil has come here to destroy her and this city, and I know that this evil is responsible for Rainbow Dash's death." Aries explained.

"And you think you can stop it alone...with a short sword and a Desert Eagle...without a proper identification...even your fingerprints don't match anyone in our database. You do not appear to exist...in this world." Neighsay said.

Aries breathed out a sigh of relief. It was easily the oddest and most uncomfortable thing he had done since coming to this world. "So you know."

"It's difficult not to. But our fresh recruits still think we're just messing with them. Of course, we have no idea how to handle a magic problem. But the madman behind this didn't use magic, he used an RPG. Not the easiest piece of hardware to find in a peaceful town that has stricter gun control laws than the entire state of California. Which means that us normal heroes can find it. Unfortunately, we will have to cooperate with the FBI. Which means that your vague approach will be a wise choice. But I need the whole story." Neighsay explained.

And so Aries told him. He explained Equestria, he explained Sunset Shimmer, and then he explained himself, the wider galaxy, and Sindri.

"So...an interdimensional human sorcerer who transformed into a demon that also comes from another universe's Earth that fights aliens...I never thought I'd miss the days when I didn't believe in such nonsense, but here we are." Neighsay sighed.

"As I said, I will have to cooperate with the FBI, so getting your direct assistance is out of the question. I will be assigning a pair of Uniforms to watch over you. Formally, they are protecting you and Sunset's friends. Informally, I will pass information to you through them and hope that you will do the same." The detective stated.

"Thank you...sir." Aries stated.

Sunset was shell shocked. The memory of the explosion kept playing back in her head. She and Rainbow Dash were talking about how much they pitied Aries for what he went through, Rainbow Dash heard screeching tires just outside their window and investigated, and then Sunset was outside her room and being showered with shrapnel.

The paramedics had bandaged her scratches and scrapes, there was nothing serious, and then she had been taken from the hospital to the police station.

Rainbow Dash was dead. That undeniable fact refused to give Sunset peace. She hadn't spoken a word during her interrogation, and only nodded in acknowledgement when an officer informed her that they were taking her home.

She sat in the back of a patrol car beside Aries. The only contact between the two was when Aries accidentally brushed Sunset's arm with his, and then pulled away sharply as if he had been bitten by a cobra.

One of the two cops in the front seats said...something, possibly inquiring about Aries' sudden reaction. He replied in a broken voice, entralled in the fading effects of Sunset's grief. He kept as far away from her as possible after that. Sunset barely even noticed.

Eventually, the car stopped and the officer in the passenger seat came around to open Sunset's door and offer his hand. He was a short pudgy young man with snow white hair sitting atop dark ash colored skin, his hair formed into a wild mohawk that leaned down between his dark teal colored eyes. He seemed a little dim witted, but not on the same level as Derpy or Sonata Dusk.

He looked at her with confusion when she didn't take his hand, prompting her to finally do more than observe the world around her and react with it.

She took his hand and stepped out of the vehicle. He and his partner, a woman just older than Sunset with reddish dark purple skin, slightly brighter hair in a wild and unkempt style, and brighter sapphire eyes than her partner that shined with a professionalism that marked her as the senior between them, both spoke to her while beckoning towards her apartment...she didn't understand a word of it as she walked towards her home.

She heard Aries' voice, perhaps apologizing for her absentmindedness, or explaining some danger or other regarding the threat they faced, Sunset didn't understand it...she didn't understand anything...except that Rainbow Dash was dead.

She opened the door to her apartment building. Climbed the steps to her room and went inside. And then...nothing. She stood in the middle of her living room and did nothing, staring at nothing in particular as the same truth, the one thing she understood, held her in place and crushed her mercilessly.

Rainbow Dash was dead, the words drilled themselves into her mind and refused to let her process their meaning. Sunset's eyes slowly observed her surroundings, familiar as home and as alien as a Craftworld at the same time, but she couldn't understand why. Nothing had changed, nothing was out of place.

Her dirty clothes hamper was still half full, her dishes were still filled with days old water after she realized she was going to be late for her graduation ceremony, her favorite book was still left on it's side in front of the neat row of books on the middle row of her book shelf, and her pictures...

Her eyes locked onto a picture of her and Rainbow Dash, one of six with her and each of her friends surrounding a picture with all seven of them together.

Sunset numbly walked over to the picture and held it in her hands. She and Rainbow Dash were doing the Fortnite Dance. She had never wanted to do anything that ridiculous and fought valiantly to convince Rainbow to do something different, but in the end her confident friend had convinced her that "We can make anything look awesome."

And so there they were, cemented in irrefutable evidence that all the confidence in the world couldn't make that dance any less ridiculous. And yet, as horrified as Sunset was when she saw the photo, Rainbow Dash had been convinced that it was the coolest photo of her in existence.

Sunset smiled as she stared into her friend's confident eyes...and then the crushing truth came back...and Sunset realized exactly what had changed. Rainbow Dash was dead...and Sunset Shimmer would never see her again.

Tears fell onto the picture as Sunset lost the strength to stand and brought the picture close to her heart as she fell onto her side and was devoured by her grief.

She was not stirred from her grief until she felt a hand upon her. The sudden contact shocked her into awareness and she feared she was being attacked, but her fear turned to relief and then back to sorrow when she looked into the tear-blinded eyes of both Twilight Sparkles.

She lunged at them. Clinging fiercely to the comfort her living friends provided as her silent weeping now returned as wails of the truest agony.

The two Twilights wept with her, the sound drowned out by Sunset's own cries. Yet, she knew of the pain as their bodies pulsed and twitched upon hers. The warmth they provided granting but the briefest balm to her heart.

Aries stared at the door to Sunset's apartment building, he knew he should be in there to watch over her. In fact, he should've been inside before the Twilights showed up. Yet, the grief he felt from Sunset Shimmer had poisoned him in a manner he never thought possible: her grief gave birth to his own, the loss of her close friend reminding him of all that lost.

Jerrik, Eron Karr, Captain Ehrlen, and many others. He had sworn to avenge them, and he focused on that goal for he knew it's what they would've wanted. Wasting time shedding tears is not how the World Eaters honor their dead.

Yet, he was not a World Eater any longer, and neither was he transhuman at the moment, he was human...and his human heart felt as if it were being crushed by a power fist.

"...Are you too weak to be human Mon'Keigh?" Krae'Nakh mused as he stepped from the shadows.

Aries turned to the voice of the thrice damned Eldar with a snarl. "What would you know of being human Alien?"

"Less than the Ponies. But perhaps, more than yourself." The Death Jester grinned the closed lipped smile of a serpent.

Aries' hand went to his backpack. "Present a purpose to your presence, or vanish."

"Very well, I am here to tell you to stop being afraid to mourn. It hinders you more than the mourning itself." Krae'Nakh explained with a wave of his hand.

Aries didn't react for a moment, then he removed his hand from the pack. "Also, you may want to find an actual holster for your gun." The alien added while pulling his coat back to reveal a rifle with a folded stock hidden within easy reach.

"...you're saying that I should join them? Fall to my knees and weep amongst teenagers for the loss of my brothers, brothers who would disown me for such a humiliating display?" Aries inquired.

"We all mourn in our own ways. Some weep, some rage, some join causes they don't believe in to accomplish a goal they know is impossible because they can't bear to live without the one they lost. But it is not only what you feel for your brothers that impedes you. Your father's Empathy is a powerful tool...one you should learn how to wield it." The Death Jester stated.

Aries eyed the Eldar warily, he had a feeling that last description described the creature's own reason for bearing the Element of Laughter, but that wasn't important at the moment. "...I have no patience for your riddles. You want me to mourn my brothers? You want me to use Angron's power? To what end Eldar!?"

"You humans always boast that you are stronger together, prove it. Go to that girl and take her suffering unto herself. And when you have mustered up the courage to face your own grief, return the amulet that officer gave you so she can take your grief unto herself. Mourn together and heal together, teach her how an Astartes honors the dead and stop foolishly shouldering your own burdens. Yes, your brothers mocked you for your humanity and forced you to carry your burdens alone. Do you really think they would do the same?" The Death Jester inquired.

Aries did not reply, not verbally. He took the orange amulet from his pocket, inspected it as though it would have answers, and then headed into the apartment building.

His head and chest felt as though his organs were trying to flee from him. He could hear Eron's mocking voice. Hell, even Jerrik didn't shy away from telling him that he didn't fit in...though he was far more grateful.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that despite inheriting Rainbow Dash's Element, he played a role more similar to Fluttershy among his own kind. He couldn't prevent a smile and a chuckle at the thought.

He had climbed to the third floor lost in thought before he realized that he didn't actually know which room belonged to Sunset Shimmer. He looked around in confusion for a moment, fearing that he would actually have to ask the damned Eldar for directions.

No! If nothing else, I can ask one of the people living here. Aries thought to himself as he considered choosing a door at random.

Such did not prove necessary. Aries heard a faint wailing from one of the rooms nearby. He went to the door and opened it without knocking. Sure enough, the two Twilights and Sunset Shimmer were kneeling on the floor weeping into each others arms. Their throats were rasp and their cries barely a sniffle, and yet Aries did not need to touch them to know they were not close to fully healed.

One of the Twilights, the Princess, noticed the War Hound as he approached and rose from the pile to address him. "A-Aries, we-I know that we're wasting t-time, I jus-she can't- she's not ready, she's in pain...we all are."

"I know, I am here to help." Aries replied and showed the amulet in his hand. "Let me see her."

Twilight seemed confused, but moved aside for him nonetheless.

Aries went to Sunset, the other Twilight noticed him and moved aside as he knelt beside the grief stricken girl. Sunset reacted more to the loss of warmth than anything...until Aries laid his hand upon her.

A sharp inhale finally drew Sunset's attention to Aries. Tears flowed down the War Hound's face as he opened himself to Sunset's grief...and his own. "...I...I understand this pain...I endured it when my brothers died on Istvaan III...and I shouldered that burden alone."

Aries lifted a trembling hand, revealing Sunset's geode. "But you are not alone...I will help you shoulder this burden...if you will help me...shoulder mine."

Sunset's mind was beginning to clear, she realized that that's because Angron's Empathy ability was stronger than her own. Aries wasn't just feeling her pain, he was literally taking it as his own.

Sunset reached out and touched her geode. The minute she did, Aries became an open book to her.

She met Jerrik, and fought numerous honor duels in his name. She met Eron Karr, and was just as annoyed by his insistence that she belonged with the Salamanders as he was every time she saved his worthless hide from an ambush so obvious, a child wouldn't fall for it.

Then she met Captain Erlhen, she knew very little about him from Galaxy In Flames, but from Aries' eyes, she learned that despite his ferocity, he understood the importance of caution in battle and saw Aries and those like him as an impeccable advantage afforded to his Company.

She met them all, learned to cherish them...and then lost them.

There is a grave difference between reading Galaxy In Flames and standing in the midst of the bloody melee between the traitorous and loyalist elements of the World Eaters Legion. Blood and bodies were everywhere, and Aries found it harder and harder to lay down covering fire...and then it happened.

Jerrik went down. Aries watched his closest friend die. He immediately mowed down his killers in fit of rage that costed him the last of his ammunition.

He casted his bolter aside and drew his chainsword, charging into the fray. A call to retreat came over the vox from Shabran Darr, but Aries ignored it. He demanded blood.

Sunset felt something odd as Aries crashed into the enemy lines. A primal pleasure. She knew from her time as a villain that being cruel to others could be fun, but this was...better. It felt almost ecstatic. It took Sunset Shimmer a while to understand that she was under the influence of the Butcher's Nails secondary effect: releasing endorphins directly into the brain when a World Eater is in the heat of battle...Aries was using these endorphins as a distraction from his grief. Like drowning your sorrows in alcohol.

Sunset didn't even notice when Aries had started fighting Daemons, it was just too intoxicating to think. And yet, Aries kept one thought firm in his mind: Loyalty.

While he had charged into his death to drown out his grief, he somehow managed to retain enough sense of self that when the Daemons materialized a Guardsman in front of him, Aries stayed his blade despite his rage.

It hurt, Sunset felt every bit of his pain. Both, the usual unpleasant sensation that comes from restraining an outburst, and added agony of the Butcher's Nails demanding that Aries resume the slaughter.

That Guardsman turned out to be an illusion, but some that followed were true captives.

Aries would try to rally any Imperial that was thrown in his path. Some would fight beside him for a time, most were cut down instantly. And so Aries fought alone for ten thousand years.

Then the Blood God Khorne cast Aries into Equestria to slaughter in His name. Again, Aries refused. And again, Aries believed it was only a matter of time before these temporary allies were torn asunder and Aries fought alone once more...yet it was not to be.

Sunset watched with horror and pride as her homeland pushed back against the darkness, as Equestria earned Aries' trust and friendship, and as Aries met with both the Spirit of Harmony and the Emperor of Mankind...the latter of whom seemed aware of Sunset, though He did not acknowledge her.

The memories came full circle as Sunset found herself staring at her own body. Certain that killing her was the right thing to do...until Aries discovered a means to save her.

She saw the brief intervention of Rainbow Dash, the fight to free herself from the machinations of Chaos, and then...Rainbow Dash's death.

Aries took it very differently than Sunset. He was filled with resolve to ensure that Rainbow Dash was the only victim of Sindri's forces...until he touched Sunset and felt her grief...and realized that he had felt it before.

Now, there was no immediate enemy to fight, no Butcher's Nails to drown out his sorrow, and not even his transhuman biology to push his grief to the back of his mind. He had needed to process it like a normal person, and realize that he missed them...and the only one he may see again is Eron Karr...if he were a traitor.

But with Aries' grief, Sunset also felt his resolve. He would honor their memory, and he would fight in the Emperor's name until his last dying breath...as they would've wanted.

Aries and Sunset removed their hands from one another. Both Twilights stood to the side with concerned and curious expressions as Aries spoke. "Rainbow Dash meant a lot to you. She is a lot like Eron...in a way."

"I'm sorry that you have to doubt his loyalty. I wish I could find evidence to prove he wasn't a traitor but...I've never heard of him." Sunset stated.

"It matters not. Until I see him before me with the thrice damned mark of Khorne carved into his armor and flesh, I will remember him as he was, and honor that memory until my last dying breath." Aries proclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what all of us should do. Geez, I can't imagine how mad Rainbow Dash would be if she knew we were wasting time instead of tracking down Sindri's goons." Sunset laughed sheepishly to herself.

The human Twilight shared her grim amusement. "Heh, she'd probably just chalk it up to how awesome she was."

"Yeah, she would...whoever did this is gonna pay." Sunset said with a stoic expression.

"Agreed. Blood for blood, pain for pain, we will have our vengeance."Aries vowed.

"Hm...you know there were a few Sons of Horus loyalists who survived Istvaan III." Sunset said, confusing Aries for a moment. "I...fail to see the relevance."

"Because Pre-Heresy Sons of Horus had a mantra that I feel is appropriate for the situation." Sunset explained.

Aries understood her meaning now, for he was familiar with these words. "Live for the dead. Kill for the living."

Author's Note

Oy vey, three weeks solid, and this is all I could come up with.

The interference of the police just make sense, but I almost just said 'they never appeared in the actual show' and skipped it. But I wanted to go that extra mile.

I wish I could say I spent all this time on my original novel, but no. I was just doing fuckall.

I haven't written anything in my original story since posting Chapter 4 of this one, and I've finally found out the reason...I'm an attention whore: I've grown addicted to the responses of my readers.

But, I found a way out. I short while ago, I was reading a fanfic that struck me as...odd. The characters were all OOC to the point that only their names marked them as mlp characters.

I questioned the author, and it turns out that he was doing this deliberately so that he could write an original novel on this site and receive feedback...so I've decided to do the same.

I'm going to upload what I've written thus far onto this site while changing the names of all but my two main characters (the other names were place holders anyway) into those of mlp characters.

I want everyone who decides to check this new story to be as merciless as possible when criticizing it. I want to dominate every typo and every pothole before this thing ever gets printed.

With all of that out of the way, I'll see you all next time.