The sun blazed down on the dusty streets of Appleloosa as the bustling town went about its daily business. Ponies moved to and fro, engaging in their routines. Among them, one figure stood out. A unicorn with a golden-brown coat and a light green mane walked through the streets with a confident stride, exuding an air of pride that seemed almost tangible.

“Is that...?” a rugged stallion murmured to his younger companion, eyes wide with recognition.

“You bet it is!” the younger stallion replied, awe evident in his voice. “That’s Quickdraw, the new fastest shot in town. They say he beat Sharp Shot in a duel a few days ago. Mares love him, stallions hate him, and the sheriff? Celestia knows the sheriff wants to kill him. He’s been causing a ruckus all week. It’s like the power’s gone to his head.”

Quickdraw’s ears twitched at the conversation. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards the younger stallion, the crowd parting like the Red Sea, anticipation and fear evident in their eyes. He approached the younger stallion, his horn sparking menacingly.

“You say the power’s gotten to my head, colt?” Quickdraw growled, sizing up the young stallion.

“I uhh... I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, mister, h-honest!” the younger stallion stammered, backing down quickly.

“You better know yer place,” Quickdraw sneered. “Why’d a scrub like you even think he has the right ta talk about ME? Look at ya, cowerin’ behind yer buddy like a weakling. Why I outta—”

“Quickdraw!” A loud, authoritative voice interrupted, cutting through the tension like a knife. The sheriff had arrived, a look of pure determination on his face.

“I’ve had just about enough of you terrorizing my ponies,” the sheriff declared, stepping forward. “You’ve waltzed in here like you own the place, acting like you deserve everything just because you beat Sharp Shot. Lemme let you in on some new information, you lousy waste of air: Sharp Shot never took over this town ’cause he could never beat ME. You think you’re the fastest shot here? Come prove it. Right here, right now.”

“I thought you’d never ask, you old buck,” Quickdraw retorted, a cocky smile plastered on his face.

The crowd wordlessly reformed, clearing the street for the duel. Ponies took their places on porches and rooftops to get a better view. The sheriff and Quickdraw stood at either end of the street, eyes locked onto each other, scanning for any opening. They focused magic into their horns, preparing their shots.

Quickdraw closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. Th-Thump, the first beat of his heart echoed. “You got this,” he thought. Th-Thump. Another echo. “Win this and the town is mine!” Th-ThuMP. “What? Why is my heart beating that hard?” Th-ThUMP. “What?? I’m not nervous, am I? No way!” TH-THUMP. He paused, feeling the ground vibrate beneath his hooves. “Wait... That’s not my heart...”

Opening his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings. Nothing unusual. “What the hay was tha—” TH-THUMP! He turned his head to the source of the tremor and saw the sheriff slowly backing away from an alleyway. Emerging from the shadows was a towering figure clad in blue and gold metal.

“What in Tartarus?? Is that... A Minotaur?” Quickdraw questioned, noticing the alleged Minotaur turning its head to peer at the crowd around it. It held something that looked like a miniature cannon, but surely that was pushing it. That’s gotta be fake.

“Now listen here, stranger, this here’s a duel! I don’t know who you are and frankly, I don’t care! You better clear outta here if you know what’s good for you!” the sheriff’s raspy voice echoed loudly.

“Look at this stuck-up moron!” Quickdraw thought. “Always acting like he’s the law. What he is, is a stallion with a giant stick up his keister—”

BANG!

The sound of a loud explosion pierced the air, causing Quickdraw to flinch and cover his ears. His head pounded, and his ears rang from the deafening noise. His eyes flew open at a wet feeling on his hoof. Blood. His ears were bleeding. Looking up at the armored creature, his heart sank. Where the sheriff had stood moments ago was now a mangled corpse, scattered across the ground. The sheriff’s legs had been blown off, scattered several feet away from what appeared to be his barrel, his lifeless head resting at the creature’s feet. Slowly Quickdraw’s eyes made its way up its towering body, only to notice that the creature was now staring daggers into his soul. That however, was the least bone chilling thing he noticed. The creature’s cannon was smoking, and it was now pointed straight at him.

His breath hitched and he immediately turned to run. “Oh Buck... Oh BUCK!!” he screamed out as his legs scampered in an attempt to flee. “PLEASE!! I DON’T WANNA DIE—”

BANG! BANG!

The crowd stood, silent as a mouse for but a moment, dazed as if what just transpired before them was but a mere illusion. Oh but it was no illusion. “RUN!!!!” a young mare screamed out at the top of her lungs causing the crowed to scatter in every direction, attempting to flee for their lives.

Valerian’s patience had reached its limit. Enough testing. Let the purge begin! He squeezed the trigger, raining bolter fire through the crowd, cutting down scores of ponies in mere seconds. The bolts cared not for the buildings it hit, detonating the explosive payload of the APHE round, causing one after the other to collapse killing everypony inside.

“Look at these feeble creatures, not even making an attempt to defend themselves,” Valerian muttered, his scowl deepening. “This sickens me. Even if this is a completely new place, the Xenos of the warp defended themselves with everything they had.” He continued his ruthless onslaught, the crowd scattering like ants. He thought back to the battle before his summoning. He was fighting valiantly with his battle brothers. Victory was surely at hand! The Emperor’s blessing was surely with them in that battle!

“And yet...” He hissed. “And yet these THINGS who dared to take me from my brothers, REFUSE to even give me the honor of battle. PITIFUL! YOU HAVE SUMMONED ME HERE!!! WHO HERE HAS THE BALLS TO BATTLE ME!!” he bellowed into the crowd in a rage, only noticing the clicking of his bolter rifle after he was done shouting.

“Hmm...” he calmed himself, checking his remaining ammunition. Five magazines left. If he was to proceed with the purge, he needed to be smart about his usage. Valerian’s brow furrowed, and he grit his teeth in anger. They were not even worth the bullets. Surely, some of these creatures were warriors.

Just then, a bolt of magic hit the back of his helmet, causing him to shift forward slightly. Turning around, he saw four ponies clad in golden armor, wielding spears. Some had horns, some had wings. Truthfully he had not bothered to really look at the pitiful beings til now, but the fact that they could use magic, solidified him in his need to purge this world.

“Surely this is the foul work of the warp. If it is so, the Codex Astartes is clear: You cannot touch the warp and emerge unscathed,” he spoke to himself, holstering his bolter, and readying himself for battle.

The four guards spread out, trying to encircle Valerian. One of the unicorn guards, a mare with a fierce determination in her eyes, stepped forward. “Stand down, creature! We will not let you harm any more of our citizens!” she shouted, her horn glowing with magical energy.

Valerian snorted, a derisive smirk hidden beneath his helmet. “You think you can stop me? You are but insects beneath my boot.”

The pegasus guard to her left flared his wings and charged, spear aimed at Valerian’s chest. With a swift motion, Valerian sidestepped and swung his power axe in a wide arc. The blade cleaved through the pegasus’s body, splitting him in half. Blood and viscera splattering onto his helmet as the lifeless halves of the pegasus fell, twitching, to the ground.

The other guards hesitated, clearly shaken by the brutal demise of their comrade. “Is that all you’ve got?” Valerian taunted, his voice dripping with contempt.

The unicorn mare gritted her teeth and fired a powerful bolt of magic at Valerian. He raised his arm, deflecting the bolt with his armored gauntlet. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, but Valerian remained unmoved.

“You are outmatched,” he stated coldly, advancing towards the remaining guards.

The earth pony guard to his right charged, attempting to tackle Valerian. With a swift motion, he brought his massive leg back then rocketed it forward in the earth pony’s direction making contact with his core, sending him flying across the ground. The earth pony’s bones crunched and cracked while bouncing and twisting as he flew, eventually coming to a skating stop. His body contorted beyond belief.

The unicorn mare and the remaining pegasus exchanged mortified glances. “We can’t let him win,” the mare said, determination hardening her voice.

The pegasus nodded, his wings flaring as he prepared to launch another attack. Together, they charged at Valerian, their magic and physical prowess combining in a desperate attempt to subdue the Astartes.

Valerian’s movements were a blur as he countered their attacks with precise, brutal strikes. He ducked under the pegasus’s lunge, delivering a powerful uppercut with his axe cutting the guard’s lower body clean off, sending them plummeting to the ground. Guttural screams of agony rang out; music to Valerian’s ears, until their final desperate chirp.

The unicorn mare’s magical blasts were deflected effortlessly, and with a swift motion, Valerian grabbed her by the horn, lifting her off the ground.

“You are brave, but bravery without strength is meaningless,” Valerian said, his voice a cold whisper. Moving his hand from her horn to her neck, he squeezed. “Another of you weak creatures said that five days north of here is a place called Can-Ter-Lot. Is this true?” He bluntly asked, as if the pony he had in his grasp wasn’t deprived of air.

He released his grip slightly. “Speak, Xenos!”

She didn’t say a word. Instead, her horn flared to life as if to make one final futile attempt to take him down.

Valerian chuckled “Foolish, warp touched filth. We have already established that your attacks are ineffective. Stop wasting my time.”

She took a deep breath and finally she spoke. “You cruel, disgusting bastard! By the sun and the moon, you will pay for the atrocities you’ve committed! Forget stone imprisonment!! Equestria will have your head!!!!” She grit her teeth, her magic flaring into a bright, blinding light causing Valerian to look away for but a moment, however a moment was all she needed.

Valerian felt his grip grow loose, as if holding onto air. He turned back to his target only to see that she was not there. “Well….How unexpected. But a creature of the warp is anything but predictable.” He hissed at his defeat.

Valerian stood tall, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over the town. He surveyed the scene, the mangled bodies of countless ponies laying before him. Searching in vain for any signs of life, he reached up and took off his helmet, breathing in the stench of blood and death. “I suppose I can let one go for now. After all….” He snickered turning to face the north, with a wicked smile. “I know where she’s going.”

Author's Note

Hello there! I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of this impulsive story of mine.

Truth be told, I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. I couldn't quite figure out how to introduce Valerian into the world and I in the end I decided to just go with the flow. Again i'm quite new to writing, this being my second story ever. I'm not 100% satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but I hope you enjoyed it none the less.

Title Translation: Tranquillitas Ante Tempestate, means, The Calm Before The Storm

In the next chapter we take a look at how Canterlot takes the news of the Ultramarine's Arrival