Warhammer Equestria

As he came to, Joe found himself staring at the ceiling of a straw hut and could hear the sound of a bubbling cauldron followed by the voices of people talking as he slowly got up to see his arm had been bandaged and his men had already been tended to.

"Now isn't this a pleasant surprise, the first of my patients has already begun to rise." A voice said when he looked to see a zebra mare in a loincloth handing him a bowl of soup and bread loaf to eat.

Joe took the offered food and nodded gratefully. "Thanks, doc."

"Zecora is my given name, please rest yourself by the flame." She said in a gentle voice while tending to the others.

"Rest assured you have been given my best care, much to the relief of a certain mare." She smiled when Dash came rushing through the door.

"Joe!"

"Dashie!" Joe smiled as he placed his meal aside to hug her.

"Agh! dammit my arm."

"Oh, sorry," She smiled nervously before adjusting the hug. "I'm glad you're safe. I'm not sure what I would do if you got killed."

"Easy there, Dashie. Keep acting like that and you'll start to sound girly." Joe's remark caused Dash to give him the stink eye. He brought her closer before kissing her cheek. "Don't worry, you're still my badass mare."

Dash smiled before seeing how bad they were injured.

"What happened?"

"I don't know..." Joe said before Darren came marching in.

"Darren!"

"At ease soldier, you've been through enough." Darren said with his hand raised.

"What the hell happened Darren?!? Where the hell was the artillery strike?!?"

"We were sabotaged." Darren replied, shocking both him and Dash.

"It seems our men were ambushed by a few of our protestor friends who didn't take too kindly to us setting up canons outside their town. We found the men tied up next to the barricade and the gunpowder was thrown all over the place and doused with water."

Hearing that a bunch of protestors sabotaged their mission and helped cause the death of most of his men, he clenched his fist and banged it on the side table, spilling his soup and bread. "Those bastards! I want them in front of a fucking firing squad!" Joe roared before seething in pain.

Dash helped him lay back down. "It's alright, Joe. They'll be handled. I'll make sure of it."

Darren had a look that both Joe and Marshall knew all too well.
The cold eyes, the clenched fists, gritted teeth, and thick atmosphere that surrounded him.

“Stay put and tend to the wounded,” Darren said as he turned to leave. “I’m going to have a word with Celestia.”

“Darren, wait-!” Marshall tried to say.

“THAT’S A DIRECT ORDER FROM YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER, SOLDIER!” Darren roared in Marshall’s face.

"Damn. I've only seen him make that face twice, and I was the cause of one of those. Those hippies will wish they had never been born," Joe said while resting back on the bed, holding his mare.

To say he was infuriated would only be the tip of the iceberg as Darren took the next train to Canterlot and demanded to see the princess at once.

"Sir please calm down!" A guard said as Darren tried to push past the doors to the throne room.

The Emperor, Celestia, and Luna were in the middle of court and were surprised to see Darren burst in.

“Sir Darren? What is the meaning of this?” The emperor said.

“Forgive me, my emperor,” Darren said with a bow. “But there is something I must address to the princess.” Darren’s gaze landed on Celestia and his eyes were colder than ever, something that sent an unpleasant chill down her spine.

“Your precious ponies sabotaged our artillery.” Darren’s voice was low and venomous.

“We were ambushed by orcs, some of my men and the new pony recruits lost their lives, and one of my most trusted brothers-in-arms nearly met Sigmar himself.” Darrren so desperately tried to keep his voice from raising as he glared at the princess. “I demand that the bastards who caused this mess to be brought forth at once…!”

"Mind your tone Sir Darren." The emperor advised his knight.

"Now how many men were lost?"

"We sent a patrol of twenty men your grace, only four of them made it back."

"And you are certain it was the protestors from the other day who are responsible?" Luna asked.

"Yes. One of the artillery crew who was attacked heard them say these exact words: Make love, not war."

"It definitely sounds like a member of Tree Huggers group..." Celestia said with disappointment.

"The ones who survived, who are they?"

“Joe and three of his men barely survived while the rest of the patrol were slaughtered in the forest,” Darren said bitterly. “You know something? My emperor had told me of this nation before our arrival.”

“Darren…” his emperor warned, but Darren boldly ignored him.

“He spoke of how peaceful the folk are, how they rarely encounter any life-threatening dangers. Where we come from, we are always fighting to survive and push back those monsters that have butchered thousands of us.”

“Darren! That’s enough!” The emperor said more sternly.

“Granted, it is partly our fault that the orcs and goblins are here, but we were prepared to take responsibility by offering to fight them alongside you. We offered you ponies protection…only for you to spit in our faces,” Darren said, making Celestia’s heart ache that the man who once made her heart flutter was giving her such a cold lecture.

"Sir Darren wait!" Blueblood interjected.

"Do not blame my aunt for the actions of her subjects. Allow us to correct this mistake, let us apprehend the culprits responsible for this tragedy and I promise your soldiers will have justice."

"Very well." The emperor agreed before seating himself.

"Sir Darren, return to your quarters until further notice and that is an order."

"....Yes sire." Darren said before taking his leave without even bowing.

"Sister, perhaps you should talk with him." Luna suggested.

"I will oversee the details with our nephew."

"Thank you sister." Celestia gave a short smile before following after Darren.

Celestia soon arrived at the door to his chambers and raised her hand to knock. She hesitated for a moment, but knew she had to make things right with him.

Knock knock

“It’s open,” Darren said from inside.

Celestia opened the door to see Darren sitting on one of the chairs. He was staring at his reflection on his helmet again with a blank expression.

"Hello Darren..." She said in a friendly voice but he would say nothing and ignored her.

"I want you to know I'm sorry for the loss of your men...I know what it's like to lose those closest to you."

"Is that so?" Darren asked with sarcasm and a hint of anger.

"Do you know what it's like to bury the soldiers you've trained so far from home? To tell their families that they will never see them again?! To have to watch them break down in tears over and over?!?"

"More than you know..." Celestia answered as she went towards the balcony of his room.

"I have lived for a thousand years and I have buried many friends and lovers...I watched those closest to me age and die while I lingered on and then I was forced to banish my own sister." She said while clenching her fists in anger.

"That was more painful than any loss In my whole life...so yes Darren, I know what it's like to lose someone."

Darren was silent again, and glanced at her.

“The life of an immortal can be pretty harsh, I imagine?” Darren said.

"Very much so..." She sighed.

"Rest assured we will find the culprits responsible for the sabotage, you have my word as a princess...and as a friend." She said as she held his hand.

"Trust me."

Darren moved his hand so that they interlocked with her fingers, which surprised Celestia a little but she didn’t pull her hand away.

“Does it get lonely? Living for this long?” Darren asked. “I cannot seem to comprehend how you’ve stayed sane for as long as you’ve lived.”

"This life can get lonely but it has its moments..." She smiled.

"One of them being the chance to meet you."

“Is that right?” Darren turned his head and noticed she was inches away. “And how is meeting me any different?”

"Well you don't treat me more like a lady than a princess." Celestia smiled warmly, unaware she was giving him bedroom eyes as they drew closer to each other.

“Perhaps it’s because you are a lady to me,” Darren said.

Before any more words could be said, both Darren and Celestia closed their eyes and gently kissed each other. Their lips made contact, but it wasn’t anything too passionate. Celestia’s heart exploded with excitement and wanted to keep kissing the night forever, but eventually pulled back.

“Sigmar…that was…” Darren breathed out.

"It's been centuries since I kissed a real man~." Celestia said in a seductive voice, seeming almost out of character before seeing Darrens expression and realized what she had done.

"Oh heavens! Sir Darren forgive me, I didn't mean to-MM!" She yelped as he kissed her more firmly this time.

"Mmm!? Mmm.~"

Every bit of Celestia's mind told her that this was wrong, that she shouldn't do this but all those thoughts faded when Darrens arms wrapped around her and she embraced him while they held their kiss a little longer but unaware to the two of them, Blueblood had seen everything and his jaw practically hit the floor before he quietly closed the door and took a breath to calm himself.

"Well that's um...one way to smooth things over." He said before clearing his throat and went to the guard station where a squad was awaiting for his arrival.

"Gentlemen, to Ponyville. We have criminals to apprehend."

Ponyville

After the survivors returned to town, the families of the soldiers who volunteered were told of the massacre that had happened and many were devastated by the news, especially the families of the recruits who didn't make it.

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am." Marshall said to a weeping mare and her husband.

"This is all my fault..." Said the husband.

"If I had just said that I was proud of him he would never have-"

"You are not to blame." Marshall told the mourning as he gave them his condolences and left.

Once the last of the families were given the news, the captain returned to where the equipment was sabotaged and found it surrounded by strange yellow tape while a group of ponies wearing odd uniforms were looking around the area.

"What is all this?" He asked one of the locals in the crowd that had gathered.

"They're looking for clues to find out who did this. Hairs, footprints. You know, detective stuff." The pony said before getting a shot of a small wooden beam with a bloodstain on it.

"Ah there you are Sir Marshall!"

"Blueblood?" Marshall turned to see the prince was leading the investigation.

"I take it you've never seen anything like this?"

"Not really, no. We have inquisitors back home but they keep their investigations secret."

"I see. Well since this crime involved your men, you should be privileged to the details. Please follow me." Blueblood instructed as he lead Marshall around the crime scene to what looked like a mobile apothecary's shop.

"The latest in crime solving technology, here we can analyze all the clues we find without having to ship them to the nearest lab. Oh and Princess Twilight is helping."

"A princess? Doing this kind of work?" Marshall asked in surprise when he saw Twilight using a magnifying glass on the rope used to tie up his soldiers.

"Oh yes. Twilight was Celestia's top student and is quite learned in all matters of subjects, including forensics," Blueblood said while they headed over to Twilight. "Any updates?"

"Looks like whoever tied up the soldiers did it without gloves, got some skin samples here." Twilight said before using her magic to float what looked like little flecks of dirt into a petri dish.

"I'll see if I can find who these belong to."

As Twilight walked to the opposite side of the cart, Rarity came in to see how the investigation was going and was dressed in a trench coat and sunhat.

"I've asked around town darlings but it seems nopony knows where those hooligans ran off to." She sighed in disappointment when the prince came to greet her.

"Ah miss Rarity, you look radiant as ever."

"Hmph!" Rarity scoffed as she walked past him and slapped him with her mane.

"I take it there's a history between you two?" Marshall whispered.

"Not a pleasant one, I must admit." Blueblood sighed before returning to the investigation.

"I suppose you heard about Darrens little spat with my aunts today?"

"He's a patient man so believe me when I say it takes a lot to get under his skin." Marshall said as they focused on the crime scene.

"Right. So the crew were all standing here with their backs turned when they saw the signal flare and rushed to ready the canons." He said as they recreated the scene in their minds.

"Then just as they got the range, the assailants appear out of nowhere, knock them out and destroy the equipment." Blueblood added while looking at the footprints.

"It's most definitely our little flower lovers. They weren't wearing shoes. I'm sure we can match these footprints to whoever made them."

"I thought they believed in non violence." Marshall watched as the detectives put the bloodied piece of wood into a bag.

"These are extremists my friend. Individuals that will use violence to get their point across." Said Blueblood.

"That's no excuse for getting an entire platoon massacred..." Marshall said with a bit of anger when Twilight shouted.

"AH HA!!"

"Find something?" Blueblood asked as Twilight held up a photo of a random pony and placed next to a mold of one of the footprints.

"Who's this?"

"His name is Night Star and he just so happens to be a member of the protestors that have been harassing us for the past couple of days."

"This enough for an arrest?" Marshall asked.

"Once we get a warrant from the mayor." Twilight replied when Mayor Mare herself came walking up to her with the warrant.

"I managed to work out all the details. You'll find Night Star at the protest outside my office."

"Well then, let's get our man. Guards! Mount up!" Blueblood shouted to the royal guard as they made haste to town hall.

"I'm coming to." From the tent flap, Joe came walking in, heavily bandaged and leaning on Dash for support. "I want that bastard to know exactly what his actions have caused. And I'm gonna give him a proper ass-whooping!"

"No, Joe. You set the example, and I'll kick his ass," Dash said before kissing his cheek.

"Let us try to be civil." Blueblood advised before leading the way.

Once they arrived at town hall, they could see protestors in front of the main entrance with picket signs and the royal guard putting one of them in shackles with little resistance.

"Night Star, by order of Mayor Mare you are placed under arrest for sabotage and assault."

"I got no regrets." The convict scoffed as he was taken away while the rest of the guards ordered the crowd to disperse.

“Regrets are the least of your worries,” Darren growled.

"No regrets!" Joe said before limping toward the crowd. "I'll give you something to regret, asshole!"

“Stand down!” Darren ordered.

"Take him away!" Blueblood ordered when the rest of the group tried to stop them.

POW!!

A gunshot ceased all the fighting as all turned to Marshall holding a smoking flintlock.

"ANY FURTHER INTERFERENCE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE CONVICTION!" Marshall yelled to the protestors as their shouting died down.

"You are all under suspicion of treason by order of The Emperor and Celestia herself."

"That's bogus man!" One of them shouted from the back.

"Princess Twilight, are you really helping these war mongers?" Another asked Twilight who shook her head in disappointment.

"Oh, that's it. Somebody give me a cane! I need to whoop some hippie ass!" Joe yelled but was held back by Dash.

“I’ll put this in terms you can understand,” Darren said a he got in the stallion’s face. “Your actions caused the deaths of several of my men, including your own kind.” The stallion’s face immediately went pale. “That’s right, boy, you basically killed those ponies yourself because of what you did. Their blood is on your hands for the rest of your life.”

"I am very disappointed in all of you." Twilight said to the protestors.

"It's true these humans brought trouble to our lands but instead of running away and leaving their problems to us they chose to stay and help us defend ourselves and you repaid their kindness with hatred and indifference..."

"But princess-"

"There is no excuse for what you have all done..." Twilight stopped to look at them all once more.

"I am ashamed of all of you." She said before flying off to rejoin Blueblood along with Darren and the others.

Imperial Encampment

Night Star was taken to a large tent at the center of the camp where he was read the charges of his crime but as usual he felt no remorse for his actions.

"Do you realize the gravity of this situation?" Asked a royal guard interrogating him.

"Your interference resulted in the loss of multiple lives!"

"HUMAN lives man." Night Star corrected the guard.

"Who cares if a bunch of hairless apes get put in the dirt? I did this for the ponies of Equestria."

"The same ponies on this list?" The guard shot back before tossing him a list of the men who died in the patrol.

"I'm sure you recognize some of those men there."

Night Star decided to humor the guard and read through the names, at first he seemed unfazed but his expression quickly changed when one name in particular made him feel sick to his stomach.

"No no...this can't be right..." He said as he began to sweat.

"M-my cousin is on this list!"

"Is he now?" The guard said before grabbing the list. "Bet that's going to be a fun topic around the house.

"I...I swear I didn't know-"

"Didn't know what?" Darren said aloud as he walked into the tent with Marshall.

"This saboteur didn't know that his cousin was with the team that went with Captain Joe and was killed," The guard told Darren and Marshall.

"So, not only did you and your group cause the deaths of our squad, but it seems you're also guilty of familicide. I'd hate to be you right now, that's for sure," Darren said to Night Star.

"It was you bastards that made him join!"

"HE CHOSE OF HIS OWN FREE WILL!!" Marshall roared back while slamming the table.

"Just as you chose to end his life and that of our men. Were you back in the empire we'd have you hanged for treason!" The captain paused for a moment to compose himself.

"But that isn't the case. You will be handed over to Princess Celestia, she will decide your fate and those of your conspirators."

Marshall would not say another word and stormed out of the tent with Darren.

"Marshall." Darren called out to his friend.

"Do not blame yourself. None of this is your fault."

"Tell that to Joseph..." Marshall replied before returning to his tent.

When news of the massacre was announced to the town, the names of the men who died were read aloud and as expected many families began to mourn the loss of their loved ones but tensions would only get even worse when Night Star was marched into the square wearing shackles and was pelted with rotten produce and eggs.

"Murderers!" One mare yelled at Night and his group, holding a colt close to her who was crying, holding one of the deceased stallions helmet. "Because of you, my son will grow up without his daddy!"

"My son is dead because of you!!"

"Traitors!"

"Enough!!" A thundering voice silenced the crowd when Celestia appeared with her personal guards and marched to the center to see Night Star in his sorry state.

"Not since the war with King Sombra has a pony raised their hands against their own kind."

"Your highness-"

"Be silent!" The princess commanded as an intimidating aura was felt around her.

"I am very disappointed in you Night Star. Your actions have cost these families their loved ones and nearly shattered our alliance with the humans. You say you did this for Equestria but in truth you were only guided by your hate and indifference....Many here would want nothing more than to see you hanged but that is not our way." The princess then took a deep breath as she turned her back to Night Stars group.

"You are banished to the outlands and are to never set foot in Equestria again."

A squad of three guards came to escort Night Star to the nearest border. On the way, Joe glared at him as he was taken away. "The bastard should've been shot."

"Hey, banishment is just as bad, if not worse," Dash told him before leading him over to the barracks. "Come on. You need bed rest."

"Only if you get in with me," He said before kissing her cheek.

"Next time." Dash smiled while helping him as the crowd began to disperse and talk amongst themselves.

"Darren." Marshall called his friend over before pointing to a huge column of black smoke rising from the Everfree Forest.

"See that?"

"Aye. A bonfire, the orks are having a feast...that could only mean one thing."

"They're almost ready. We need to finish the wall fast."

With the ork army now on the move, the humans and equestrians tripled their efforts to finish building the wall and mustering the troops. In the following month, the wall was finally completed and Ponyville now had its own personal militia under the command of Joseph while Marshall lead the infantry and artillery while Darren was in charge of both the Royal Guards and the Reiksguard.

Twilight had been outfitted with her own personal suit of armor crafted by the royal smiths at Canterlot, while she was used to fighting villains with her friends she had never fought a full scale war before.

"Your highness?"

Twilight turned to see Flash Sentry standing at the entrance to her room.

"It's time."

"Right." Twilight took a deep breath and stepped out of her room when Flash noticed a strap on her armor was coming loose.

"Hold on." he said before tightening the strap after moving her mane out of the way.

"There, that should keep your breastplate from falling off."

"Oh um...thank you." Twilight said with a slight blush in her cheeks before hearing the sound of drums and trumpets as soldiers marched down the towns main road with the townsfolk showering them with petals and wishing them luck.

End.