“Hmmm, 'oo are dese little ones?” I asked, jerking a thumb to the approaching group.

“Watch out boss, that's the psycho killer I mentioned!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

I scratched my head in confusion, as this was the first time I was hearing about some kind of psycho killer. Rainbow Dash was on guard though, and I could tell that the rest of the elements were forming up around me, or in Fluttershy’s case, behind me. Not only that, but the ponies approaching us certainly looked like they meant business, what with their leather armor and professionally made weapons. They also carried themselves with a certain amount of confidence, though all of them save their leader flinched the moment they laid eyes on me.

Speaking of the leader, she was a real piece of work.

Standing a head taller than most ponies, she was the only one who was uninjured and didn't look like she was on the verge of exhaustion. Not only did she seem a bit more well-trained, but her weapon was impressive, bigger than any pony-made blade by a country mile. It wasn't nice to look at either too, with my eyes itching after only a brief visual inspection.

It was also at about this point when I realized my initial somewhat rushed inspection had been slightly wrong. They weren't all unicorns, and there were eight of them total including the leader. Three earth ponies, two pegasi, and finally three unicorns wrapped up their motley little group.

“I am not a psycho- augh,” The leader murmured, a hoof going to a recently healed burn injury present over one eye. “I am here to put down a threat to Equestria and the world.”

“No need for all that nasty talk,” Applejack exclaimed, stepping ahead of our small group. “We’ve done some investigatin’ of our own and we can say for certain that this fella’s one of the good ones.”

“He saved our lives and nearly sacrificed his own in the process,” Rarity confidently added. “Though the poor dear has a fashion sense that can be described as villianesque I can indeed confirm that he is quite the night in shining armor.”

“Danks, I fink,” I murmured, scratching my head.

“I’m afraid your input in the matter is irrelevant,” the leader declared. “The princesses have named you an enemy of the world and I will bring them your head.”

“‘Dat sounds like dey know about da orks,” I muttered to myself. “I wonda if dey have any personal 'perience wit' us green skins.”

“You really shouldn't attack us mister-” Fluttershy began.

“Miss,” corrected the leader, her eyes flashing a dangerous red. “It's Miss Furious Flare, huntmaster of a now nameless house and soon-to-be hero of Equestria.”

“Hey, that’s not very nice! You shouldn't interrupt ponies!” Pinkie Pie shouted, shaking a hoof at the other mare.

“Yeah, hurting ponies feelings isn't good,” Spike added.

“Shut up!” Furious Flare shouted, stomping a hoof. “I don't know why you are siding with the monster who will doom our whole world but it won't matter.”

“Are you sure about this, huntmaster? They are the elements of harmony,” whispered a nervous-looking hunter.

“Yer should listen ta ya Boyz. I ain't done noth'n ta prompt dis kind uv aggression from yer poniez,” I declared, jerking a thumb over my shoulder to the pyrmid behind me. “'N fact ya should probably head back ta yer princess an tell im about 'da necron konstruct present ere. Dose guys are zoggin’ bad news.”

“Ghuzrod, what is a necron?” Twilight asked innocently.

“'Da tin Boyz used ta have a huge empire bout sixty five million years ago but den 'da WAAAGH! ‘n heaven happened and-" I began, only to be interrupted.

“Enough of your talk and enough of your excuses,” Furious Flare proclaimed. “In the name of Celestia, the sun, and Luna the moon I condemn you to death. Hunters! Secure the elements, and dispatch the ork!”

“Please if you will all just relax I’m sure we can talk this out- woah!” Twilight exclaimed, ducking to avoid a spell launched at her head.

“I don't think they wanna talk anymore Twilight,” Rainbow Dash warned.

“Oh ya shouldn't have done ‘dat," I murmured in a low tone, hefting my mace.

“Don't kill them, please,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Don't worry. I'll be gentle wit' dese gits,” I exclaimed with a chuckle. “Kant promise dey'll have da same numba uv bones as dey do now dough.”

With that, the battle, such as it was, was joined.

The hunter underlings fanned out in an attempt to surround me, only for the elements to match them. I didn't really need the help mind you and their presence also made me worry about stepping on them so I planted my feet securely, making a note not to move too much. My firm, unmoving stance may limit me, but I really didn't want to crush poor Spike or any of the others.

Thankfully that wasn't much of a concern, as with a cry, Furious Flare charged me, her horn alight and her sword floating menacingly at me. The huntmaster as she called herself, delivered a furious overhand chop, which I batted aside with a swipe of my own weapon. Somehow the force of my block was almost completely absorbed, with the floating blade recoiling only a few feet before coming back at me.

“I fink deres someth'n wrong wit' yer sword, lady,” I exclaimed. “Its giv'n off some really bad vibes.”

“Shut up and die!” Furious Flare shouted before blasting me with some kind of spell.

The moment the thing struck me in the chest, my breastplate heated up significantly, though not to the point of injury.

“Danks. I was gett'n a little chilly,” I muttered, rubbing a hand over the small scorch mark.

“You should have been cooked alive in your armor, brute,” Furious Flare muttered. “No matter. I will just have to remove that ugly head from your shoulders.”

“You really shouldn't call people names you know,” chided Fluttershy, the mare hugging the inside of one of my legs and hiding behind me. “That's not very nice.”

“I don't think these fellas are really concerned about being nice!” Applejack exclaimed, the mare ducking under a swing of a sword, and bucking her attacker in the face.

“I must agree with you, darling. These ponies are absolute ruffians,” Rarity added.

“Hey, we are not!” Retorted the fashionista's attacker.

“Then stop trying to kill us!” Rarity yelled back.

“Hey I’m not trying to kill you, I’m using the dull side, see?” Declared the hunter attacking Rarity, pointing down to her weapon.

“Ahh yes, thank you,” Rarity replied, using her magic to pluck the sword from the grip of the hunter and then bashing the flat of the blade against the other mare’s head. “That makes me feel much better about this.”

A few hits was all it took to knock the poor pony unconscious, her limp form falling into the muddy swamp water that pooled about my feet. I wanted to lift her out of the muck and make sure the poor hunter didn't drown, but Furious Flare was pressing in on me.

“Don't you dare underestimate me,” she growled, her horn flashing bright as her blade came spinning from the side.

“Oh, I ain't underestimat'n ya. Yer jus a pony,” I exclaimed. “A tough wun but a pony all 'da same.”

This time I batted aside the blade with enough force to nearly knock it from Furious’ magical grasp before taking a spell square in the face. The firebolt may have been enough to injure a pony, or most other creatures but it didn't even leave a mark on me. The attack was annoying, but that was about it, blinding me for barely more than a second before I was back to one hundred percent.

A shake of my head dismissed the effects, and I brought my mace up to block the next attack. Sure enough, she made another wide swing with her weapon, aiming the blade at my head as she had the last time. And just like the previous attempt, she tried to use another spell, but I interrupted her by heaving the foot not serving as Fluttershy’s cover at her and throwing enough water on the mare that she fell over, sputtering and angry.

“Now, how are ‘da rest uv ya's do'n,” I muttered to myself, glancing about the area.

Though I had been swiftly surrounded, my tiny allies had tied up the hunters. Mostly in a metaphorical sense, but not so in Applejack’s case as she had managed to lasso a poor earth pony.

“Now you just sit right there and think about what you’ve done,” Applejack declared, tying the last knot and placing her captive on a spot of dry land.

“Augh whatever,” he murmured, only to glance down at the rope. “Hmmm, this better not awaken anything in me.”

Twilight was faring perhaps just as well as Applejack.

“Your waveform is sloppy,” Twilight exclaimed, counter spelling the enemy unicorn’s magic before she could even finish casting. “You need to tighten your outermost mana ring or else I’m just going to keep picking them apart.”

“Would you stop trying to teach me magic lessons? I’m trying to fight you!” Mutterd the angry hunter.

“Oh right, I should probably do that,” Twilight murmured, powering up her horn. “Sorry in advance by the way.”

“What do you-oof,” The enemy unicorn was blasted back and slammed into a tree, where he slumped into a heap, snoring loudly.

The rest were faring similarly well, with Rainbow Dash fighting both of the pegasi with relative ease. Though she still wasn't quite used to the heft of her new weapon, it was clear that her opponents also weren't prepared for it. The heavy blade sent her opponents reeling whenever they blocked, and where Rainbow Dash was fast enough to compensate for this, they were not.

“Ha, you guys are way too slow to fight me!” Rainbow Dash taunted. “Maybe ditch that ugly armor and you might have a chance of hitting me.”

“Just sit still so we can bash your head in,” growled one of the hunters.

“Woah, not cool man. We were just supposed to subdue them,” retorted his companion.

“Whatever just keep fighting,” spat the first.

Rarity was busy stealing one of the subdued hunter’s boots, trading them out for her thoroughly destroyed galoshes. Spike was helping by watching Rarity’s back as the mare complained about the rigidity of her new hoofwear. Fluttershy was about as useful, the shy pony remaining firmly plastered behind my left leg, her hooves wrapped about as far around my ankle as she could reach.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, sticking out her hoof and turning it up. “Aha, I win!”

“Best seven out of ten?” Asked her hunter adversary, who had evidently lost, having pointed his hoof downward.

That was an interesting way of getting around the fact that they don't have fingers. Each direction their hoof pointed probably meant either rock, paper, or scissors, though I didn't care to figure out the details at the moment. As although laughable, the attempt on my life was still ongoing.

“Nope, you said best out of three,” Pinkie Pie retorted.

“Damn. Fine. You win,” murmured the hunter.

Then the pony just walked over to a small rise at the base of a tree a dozen feet away and plunked down on her butt, sitting out the fight.

I was about to compliment Pinkie Pie on her excellent non-violent solution when Furious Flare began attacking me. Flying sputtering from the dark puddle, she blasted me with a stream of magical fire. A gauntleted hand kept the attack at bay, though it did heat the metal to the point that it was unpleasantly warm.

“Would yer kut ‘dat out?” I muttered bitterly.

“Die, die, die!” Furious Flare shouted, her voice tinged with a strange tremor.

While she continued to pour on more fire, the mare swung down and to the side, attempting yet another decapitation move. When I raised my weapon to block, she moved around it, or at least tried to anyway. Though no doubt an expert fighter as far as ponies went, I was a bloody warboss at this point. My senses and my reaction time were on par or even exceeded that of the average space marine. Thus I had more than enough time to re-adjust, and bat aside the blade that was so rudely attempting to remove my head.

“Give it a rest would ya? I'z try'n ta go easy on ya n' yer not mak'n it easy on me.," I murmured.

“Silence, beast!” Furious Flare declared, spittle flying from her mouth.

It would have been intimidating, had I not been about five or six times as tall as her, and about a dozen weight classes greater than her.

I batted aside the blade, once, twice, and then before it had a chance to adjust and attack again, I grabbed the weapon out of the air.

“Let's see how much trouble ya kan do without dis ere... wot?” I murmured.

Though I held fast to the blade, I could feel it resisting me, and not just due to Furious Flare’s magic. The metal itself writhed beneath my touch, spasming as if my mere grasp was enough to cause the weapon physical pain. Not only that but I could also feel some manner of influence reach out and attempt to take hold of my mind. I was an ork though, so whatever entity lived in the blade found a smooth mass of brain matter devoid of things to hold on to.

“Abhorance,” hissed an angry, sourceless female voice. “Release us.”

“I fink deres a deamon 'n dis fing,” I muttered, waving around the angrily twitching weapon. “Sounds weak dough. Probably doesn't like all da friendship an' harmony around ere.”

“Give me back my ancestral blade you vile cur,” snarled Furious Flare.

“Ha, not so intimidating without your huge sword, are ya?” Rainbow Dash mocked, only to get kicked in the gut by a hunter and sent reeling.

“Neva take yer eyes off yer enemy.,” I remarked.

“Yes boss,” Rainbow wheezed.

A blast of magic knocked the final pegasus from the sky, with Twilight carefully depositing his snoozing form amidst a small pile of defeated foes at the base of an increasingly crowded tree.

“Looks like yer all by yer lonesome. Shame, friends really do make ‘da difference," I remarked.

“You know nothing of friendship, monster!” Furious Flare spat.

“I think Ghuzrod here knows a bit more about friendship than you do Miss Flare,” Twilight added, stepping forward. “Seeing as how he has done a better job exemplifying the aspects of friendship than you have.”

“Yeah, you big meanie!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed, blowing a raspberry at the still-sputtering huntmaster.

“How can you say that? This thing is anathema to harmony itself! You cannot let it live,” Furious Flare declared while gesturing angrily at me.

“Hey Iz not ana... ana... da emporera,” I murmured, holding fast as the sword flung this way and that, attempting to flee my grip and failing every time.

“Maybe you’re wrong,” Twilight exclaimed. “Maybe the doom you foresaw did not come from Ghuzrod. What if you’re attempting to slay an innocent when they weren't the cause of this disaster you mentioned when I reviewed your literature.”

“He must be. What else could cause the death and destruction that my seers foresaw?” Furious Flare retorted.

“Well for wun da tin Boyz 'dat are probably stirr'n unda our feet right now," I replied, thumping my free foot against the watery ground in emphasis. “Probably a whole army uv genocidal flesh hatin’ nut jobs wak'n up as we speak.”

“Wait, what was that about genocidal flesh-hating nut jobs?” whispered Twilight.

“Preposterous, there is no such thing as people made out of tin. You are clearly the cause of everything that will come to pass and I will defeat you!” Furious Flare shouted.

“Oi, don't stra'n yourself. Yer gonna hurt yer horn or something,” I muttered.

My grip held firm for a few seconds before all of a sudden a bolt of lightning struck the lone remaining monolith that stood only a dozen or so meters behind me. This somehow seemed to cause the blade to become far stronger than it had a moment ago as it ripped itself free of my hold in a burst of strength. Furious Flare caught the weapon in her hoof, the mare growing an inch or two taller the moment she did so.

“You better pray to your foul gods while you can because this is where you die, abhorrence!” shouted Furious Flare, her voice rising to very inequine levels.

“Something’s wrong. I can feel it. Watch out Ghuzrod!” Fluttershy whispered as loudly as she could.

As usual, Fluttershy’s assessment was pretty darn spot on. Furious Flare was radiating an intense blood lust, and her sword was trailing a reddish mist that clung to her body like a cloak. The runes along her blade pulsed angrily, their words distorting and stretching as if something were attempting to break free of them from within.

“Die, abbhorance!” Furious Flare shouted in a strangely twinned voice, the other half of which carried with it an almost demonic edge.

I was about to raise my mace to block, only for Furious Flare to suddenly throw her blade with all the force she could muster. The weapon, now tumbling end over end directly at me, was a blur, requiring a split-second decision from me. Though I trusted my armor, I didn't want to get hit by a daemon blade, and I doubted I could block, so I sidestepped at the last second, avoiding the attack entirely.

I was about to start patting myself on the back, and perhaps commenting on how she shouldn't throw her weapon like that. Only to notice that a manic, almost insane grin had split Furious Flare’s face, making me realize that my action had been a part of her plan.

The tip of the strange weapon plunged into the exposed section of the monolith, cutting deep into the structure. Disappearing all the way to the hilt, it managed to pierce through the necron construct and poke out the other side. That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the entire thing tumbled to the side, shooting green sparks into the air before falling inert.

"Maybe noth'n will happen," I murmured.

Another lightning bolt, this one manifesting not from a cloud but from what seemed like the clear night sky above struck the top of the pyramid. Power radiated outward from the tip of the structure, causing various lights to flicker and die deactivating the thing completely. I didn't need to wonder what the purpose of the Necron pyramid was for long as the moment it turned off the sky began to peel back.

Like some invisible filament burning away, the cartoonish stars I had seen above before were gone, replaced by something else entirely. Motes of light far more numerous than before lit up the sky, creating a vast tapestry split by strange stellar phenomena. Most notable of these unknowable lights was the distant void that I knew instinctively to be the beating heart of the cicatrix maledictum.

Splitting the sky in twain, the great cancerous growth didn't look like much to most, but I had meta-knowledge of the setting and the instinctive knowledge of the orks. Glancing up at the bleeding tear in reality I felt something in my blood revolt, warning me against going there. While at the same time, another part of me wondered if there’d be a good fight there, though I ignored that particular voice.

“Well now. ‘Dat sucks," I murmured.

“What happened to the sky?” Whispered one of the still conscience and now awestruck hunters.

“Why are there so many stars?” Asked Spike in confusion.

“Something’s wrong,” Twilight whispered, clutching her head. “My magic, it's like it's fighting me for some reason.”

“Ow ow ow ow,” Rarity whined. “It's like a thousand tiny needles poking me in the scalp.”

“I fink we're on 'da eastern fringe. Near 'da why em some’tin monothingy," I murmured. “Zogging hell dat’s weird dat I know dat.”

Author's Note

This was a request from... me! I wanted to see more and since its my birthday month, I'm giving myself a present and finishing arc 1 of this fic. Expect 3 more chapters soon!

Also, there are only ONE more chapter left in this arc. (I know I said that before but these godamn chapters keep getting bigger for some reason.)