Epilogue: A New Era
Hours after the assault on Ponyville, Aries attended a war meeting with the Royal Sisters, Twilight... and Discord. "Now that the crisis has been dealt with, I expect some answers from you regarding this 'Cabal' and its intent." Aries stated.
"I find their intent of little importance. These brigands encouraged the most vile creatures in the galaxy to besiege us in order to test our mettle. The deceased are still being rounded up and identified! THEY MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!!" Luna shouted. Only to wince in pain, as she was still feeling the migraine brought upon her by using the moon as a Power Maul.
"As much as I agree with you Luna, repaying the Cabal would be a little tricky...considering there is a literal God protecting them." Discord stated.
This got the room's attention. "A God?..like...a Chaos God!?" Twilight asked. Rightfully concerned.
"Oh no no no no, its Chegoragh, the Laughing God of the Eldar. He and I go way back." Discord explained.
"You know this being!?" Celestia inquired.
"Yes yes, I believe it would be easier and less time consuming if I simply explained where I came from. This would answer all your questions." The Draconequus stated.
The Ponies were definitely interested, though Aries was sceptical. "Try to keep it short." Aries demanded.
"Yes of course, I'll even drop this playful mask and speak seriously for the first time in millennia." Before anyone could question this statement, Discord transformed. Gone was the goofy comedic Draconequus. In its place hovered a levitating amphibious creature that had a look of sage like wisdom upon its face.
Confusion was the dominant emotion among the Equestrians. Aries however was too unfamiliar with Discord to separate this from the norm.
"Wu-what is this?" Celestia asked.
"This is my true form. The creature you are familiar with was merely a mask." The creature spoke without moving its mouth, its voice echoing from within the skulls of the listeners.
"If that is true then...you've been a part the Cabal before even coming to Equestria." Celestia deciphered.
"I was not merely a part of it. I founded it. Ten thousand years ago...but my story begins much further in the past than that...to the day I earned my name." Discord began.
"Millions of years ago, my species inherited the galaxy. We evolved beyond physical form, becoming no more than spirits capable of bending reality to our will. Back then, what is now known as the Warp was referred to as the Well of Souls. And we kept in perfect balance."
"All of this changed when we discovered a species called the Necrontyr. A technologically advanced race that evolved on a planet orbiting a dying sun. This left the race short lived, and no matter what advancements they made, they could not live longer than 40 years." Discord paused to let the Equestrians catch up. They were still reeling from the revelation that Discord was over 60 million years old.
"When our races discovered each other. The Necrontyr begged us to bend reality in order to legthen their lives, but my people refused, stating that our laws forbade such practices of power." As this, Twilight erupted.
"WHAT!? HOW COULD YOU BE SO COLD!?" The youngest Alicorn shouted.
"...My thoughts exactly. I did not understand why my people would not help them, they were no threat to us. And so I attempted to use my powers to aid them. My people intervened, imprisoned me, and named me Discord Bringer for threatening their order." This stunned all but Aries, for all who knew of Discord would never have suspectedthatwas how he earned his name.
"In their outrage, the Necrontyr declared war on my people. Though we were victorious initially, the Necrontyr found false salvation in the form of beings more ancient than ourselves. Beings who promised them immortality, but deceived them into becoming little more than mindless automatons. These beings, the C'Tan, then used their slave army to try and conquer the galaxy." Discord explained.
"I assume that they failed, but what does any of this have to do with the Cabal?" Aries inquired while everyone else was reeling from the shock.
"Patience young Astartes, this has more to do with all your questions than you could possibly imagine. For you see, my people, in their shameless hypocrisy, broke the very laws that claimed I could not save the Necrontyr and created warrior races to fight against the C'Tan and their servants in a war of such magnitude, it devoured the entire galaxy...and birthed the Ruinous Powers." Discord explained.
Now, Aries joined in the shock. He was silent until Discord spoke again. "The war left my people and the C'Tan devastated. If any others of my race suvived, then they have fled this galaxy. In the C'Tan's weakened state, a select few Necrontyr managed to overcome their submission and gain control of their mindless kin, leading a revolt that ended with the C'Tan subjugated by their own slaves."
"...Well...good for them. I hope they found peace." Twilight stated.
"They slumbered for millions of years. With they and my race gone. The warriors my people created were left with neither their masters nor their foes and had only their instincts. These were the ancestors of the Orks and the Eldar." Discord explained.
"WHAT!?" Aries was grateful the more emotional Equestrians covered his own outburst. To know that the xenos shared the orgin story of the Legiones Astartes was disturbing to say the least.
"The Eldar inherited the galaxy we left behind, and learned how to manipulate the Warp in order to create their own Gods to keep the Ruinous Powers at bay. They eventually discovered me in my prison, but chose to leave me to my fate lest I contest their dominance." Discord continued.
"From what we read about the Dark Eldar, they were the norm of the old Aeldari Empire, so that isn't surprising." Twilight stated with disgust. Aries took note of how she 'read' of this, but decided it would wait...for now.
"Then you should also know that the fall of their empire birthed Slaanesh, who slaughtered all of their Gods...but for 3. Isha, Khaine, and Chegoragh. It is the latter's worshipers who set me free." Discord continued.
"And from there, you formed this Cabal. But you've yet to explain their intent." Aries stated.
"The Cabal was forged in the hopes that I could restore the galaxy. Chegoragh had a plan to restore the Well of Souls and dissipate the Chaos Gods, and the Cabal was a part of that plan. It consisted of many races, including Eldar and humans, we even recruited the Primarchs of the Alpha Legion into our ranks." Discord continued.
"You WHAT!? IS THE EMPEROR AWARE OF THIS!!?" Aries shouted. He was aware of rogue Astartes being a part of this, but Primarchs!?...and why did he make it sound like the Alpha Legion had more than one?
"He is. In fact, the Emperor himself was offered membership. But he refused to abandon humanity...and I refused to let him forget the irony when I learned of how he treated your father." Discord stated.
Aries attempted to comment, but found he had nothing to say. Discord continued. "After the events of the Horus Heresy, Chegoragh came to me. He revealed unto me a planet held within the Eye of the Warp, untouched by the taint of Chaos: Equestria."
"So, what Aries told us is true. We're...Daemons?" Twilight asked.
"No, but Alicorns can be considered Daemon Princes of Harmony." Discord clarified.
"Okay, so it's not everypony, just...us." Twilight and the other Alicorns had a slight existential crisis while Discord continued.
"Chegoragh told me that he foresaw a race born of this world being a crucial part in his plans to dispel Chaos and restore Harmony. With this in mind, I was tasked with ensuring that the races of this world would pool the long forgotten ideals opposite the Ruinous Powers into a new Warp Entity: The Spirit of Harmony."
"From what I've been told of the Spirit, it was born from a seed planted by the Pillars of Equestria. Are you the one who gave them this seed?" Aries asked.
"I put it in their path and let them make of it what they wished. What they believed to be a seed was given to me by Chegoragh. It was a tear of Isha, an Eldar Goddess who cried out for her wayward subjects to remember what they had forgotten, lessons learned by the Ponies of Equestria and given form in the Spirit of Harmony...I suppose one could call her Isha's daughter." Discord stated.
"So the Spirit of Harmony is of Eldar origins...my heresy deepens." Aries lamented.
"You are already aware that the Imperium and the Eldar are at a truce. Such drama is for other times." Discord quipped. Aries stared daggers at him through his helm while the Alicorns recovered.
"So...they are trying to...help us?" Celestia questioned. Luna remained disgusted by the thought and Twilight was still trying to wrap her head around it.
"It is you who will help them...they and all the galaxy, and while I am as displeased as you at what has happened here...I do understand that perhaps, I should've been willing to push you harder than I was. If I had, Ponies would've died...but far fewer than this." The ancient being lamented.
At last, Twilight returned to her senses. "If you had done that, I don't think we could've stayed friends afterwards...maybe this was for the best."
Even Aries couldn't hide his shock at what Twilight had just said, but Luna was most vocal. "WHAT!? YOU CALL THE SLAUGHTER OF OUR SUBJECTS FOR THE BEST!?"
"NO! OF COURSE NOT!..but...we got lucky with the Awakening. We were supposed to be attacked by an army of Space Marines. Instead, we only fought three. If we had fought that army...even with the defenses we had today...they would've killed us all." Twilight lowered her ears in grim acceptance of reality.
"B-but we learned from the Awakening! We were preparing ourselves for the next attack! It didn't have to come this early!" Luna argued.
Aries and Twilight both fixed her with a look. "Villains don't wait until we're ready Luna. We thought we had time, but we're out of time. That's what the Cabal were trying to tell us. We're not getting ready for war...we're at war."
"She is right. I have accepted your conditions of only recruiting volunteers because I cannot train the force we need alone. But now that the PDF houses the veterans of numerous engagements, promotions will be given out to exemplary members, and they will be tasked with training more warriors. And unless the numbers of volunteers jumps dramatically, we will need...a draft." Aries added.
Both Royal Sisters were stunned by the thought of forcing Ponies to fight, but at last the rude awakening the Cabal had given them had sank in. If they continued as they were, they would all die.
As the meeting went on, so too did rebuilding. The bodies had been given precedence, but with over 700 slain, there had barely been enough time to identify them all, let alone bury them.
Few creatures dared to approach the pile of bandage-wrapped bodies, those few that did were seeking to learn what names to write on the gravestones. But without family members who were willing to examine the corpses, and with the doctors who were forced to double as morticians having to take regular breaks to lose their lunch and gather their wits, they had barely identified 80.
Little headway had been made in repairing the damage done to Ponyville, and the wreckage of the Dark Eldar vehicles still scarred the plains just beyond the town.
The Dragons had piled up the dead Drukhari and burned them, jeering and cursing their slain foes. This would normally be seen as barbaric by most Ponies, but many Ponies, Hyppogriffs, Changelings and others gathered beside the Dragons to scream their outrage at the burning corpses. Most demanded that they return their loved ones to life.
In the midst of all of this, Fluttershy was returning to her Sanctuary. Unlike the Awakening, the Dark Eldar had not left her home unscathed. Many of the larger animals had been killed by the maddened predators and Wraks, though most of the smaller animals had survived.
The familiar boing boing of Angel came to her. The thought of Angel impatiently demanding his food came unbidden to her mind, and she Stared at the rabbit without thinking about it.
"ANGEL IF YO-" She stopped when she realized that Angel wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were drifting from place to place, and his ears dragged on the ground.
The rabbit bumbed into her and their eyes met. Angel had been crying, he only ever cried when he was hurt, and there wasn't a mark on him. ...Hairy...Frankie...Dave...Xavier...they...they're...
Fluttershy lost it. She took the bunny in her hooves and cried into him. Any other day, Angel would've violently protested, but today he cried with her.
Neither of them knew how long they stayed in that spot, lamenting the loss of their friends, but eventually, Angel's stomach growled, and Fluttershy realized that he didn't care that he was hungry.
Letting Angel starve himself wasn't going to bring anycreature back, and he was far from the only animal that needed tending to, so Fluttershy put the bunny on her back, dried her eyes, and kept moving forward.
When she had nearly made it to the Food Pantry, she realized Greenskin was back by his tree. Her heart sank. Discord had told her that Greenskin was alright, but she had hoped that since they had beaten the Dark Eldar, he wouldn't have regressed.
She started to go to him but paused. What could she say that he would believe? She had finally convinced him that he was safe, and then she was proven wrong. She was thinking of a way to apologize to the Ork...when she finally noticed something.
Yes, Greenskin was sitting under the shade of the same tree she had first found him under, but he wasn't lying against it, he was facing it. And seemed to be talking to something in a quiet tone.
Fluttershy used her wings to hover over to him as quietly as possible, and was completely blown away by what she saw.
Cozy Glow, the image of the villainous filly's flayed front half dangling from Tirek had been burned into her mind, and yet the only proof of this horrible fate was the look of pure shock on the healthy filly's face while Greenskin tried to get her to eat a cookie.
The Ork noticed her and stood up with a relieved smile. "Ah, dere ya are boss. Can ya show me how ta do dis roight? I kan't get'er ta eet."
Fluttershy was absolutely flabbergasted. Her eyes went from Greenskin to Cozy Glow and back. "But-she-I saw-she was..."
Her reaction confused Greenskin before he realized what had her so freaked out. "Oh, you'ze wunderin' how she got'er skin back. Dat waz me. I fixed'er."
As he said this, the Ork showed Fluttershy a jewel...or so she thought. But not only did the color seem familiar, it shined with all the colors of the rainbow and radiated an all too familiar magic. "You...you have the Element of Kindness."
"Koindness? Wut dat?" The Ork asked.
Fluttershy took a moment to process this. "Um...well uh...K-kindness is when...you do nice things because...they're nice things?" She knew the more complex answer by heart, but this was the best simple explanation she could come up with for the Ork.
"Ah, so troyin ta 'elp fingz dat 'ave been 'urt wiffout sayin' dey owe'ya sumfin. Not exactly Orky but...I fink it'z good." Greenskin stated.
"...so do I." Fluttershy smiled.
"So, fink ya kan figah dis out? You'ze a bettah Runtherd dan me." Greenskin complimented.
Runtherd Fluttershy remembered that title from the Codex. The story of Zodgrodd Wortsnagga and his Soopa Runtz had given Fluttershy some slight hope that Greenskin might not turn out so bad, but the fact that most Runtherdz had a slave master's mentality, and were mostly older Orks had kept Fluttershy and her friends from introducing the idea of becoming one to Greenskin.
While allowing herself a moment of gratitude that Greenskin had become the best possible Ork, she also pondered what to do with Cozy Glow. "Well, Orks are far more resilient than Ponies Greenskin. In fact, only the cruelest and most patient of Dark Eldar can...hurt you like that. But it wouldn't take nearly as long to do such a thing to Ponies, and...she may never come back. It's only been a month since I started taking care of you...you really are strong for coming back so quickly. But Cozy Glow...she may be gone for good."
"So you don't know ow tah get'er tah eet eithah...oh well, plan B." Before Fluttershy could question him, Greenskin opened the shocked filly's mouth, crushed the cookie in his hand, and dumped the crumbs in her mouth while massaging her throat to make her swallow.
While Cozy Glow remained unresponsive to the display, Fluttershy could only stare with her mouth hanging open. She never would've considered force feeding somecreature...but the more she thought about it, the more she realized Greenskin might be exactly what Cozy Glow would need to get through this. As for what would become of the filly when she regained her sanity, Fluttershy would have to discuss this with Twilight.
Two Weeks Later
The bodies had been buried, the buildings had been rebuilt, but so much remained to be done.
The Yaks had been left leaderless, and the Changelings had been reduced to a tenth of their former numbers and had lost their home. While these were the most pressing issues, they were far from the only ones that Celestia planned to address.
Canterlot held countless creatures within its court, all waiting to hear the Eldest Alicorn's advice. Celestia had never felt so uncertain before a speech, but knew better than to show it. "I wish I could tell you that these trying times were over, but in truth, they have only just begun. We had learned from the Awakening that we would need to adapt in order to survive, but we did not do so fast enough, and many innocent creatures paid the price for our hesitation. To this end, I'm afraid even more power and authority will be granted to Aries. Including...the right to force creatures to serve in the Planetary Defense Force."
Many gasps of shock and frightful murmurs rippled through the Ponies, Hyppogriffs, and Griffins, but the Changelings, Yaks and Dragons were unmoved...if not pleased.
"Regarding his intentions, the War Hound himself will now address you." Celestia stepped from the center of her balcony overlooking Canterlot and allowed Aries to take her place.
The crowd below stared with looks ranging from gratitude to ourage, Aries had expected as much, and knew exactly how to respond. "The current of our defenses is unacceptable. Half of the forces that accompanied me to the Changeling Hive fled in cowardice and sowed fear amongst the populace upon their return. And when we were outflanked by our foes, what few of you had the courage to fight back were incapable of causing adequate damage."
"While our engineers are hard at work providing more adequate weapons, we need warriors to wield them. 200 from each race...as a start." Aries concluded.
The mutterings of the masses returned, but were stunned silent when suddenly, a bright flash of light erupted from the crowd.
Aries leapt from the balcony onto the court of Canterlot, believing this to be another attack. But this suspicion was quickly put to rest when saw the Ponies of Equestria treating the scene with familiarity...and also with shock.
Ponies parted from where the flash had emitted, hooves upon their muzzles, as whatever had been at the center of the flash made its way to Aries.
Aries strode towards it as well, meeting it in the midst of the crowd, and found himself staring down at an Earth Pony colt.
The foal was the least intimidating creature he had ever seen. Smaller than the Cutie Mark Crusaders and baring a white and brown coat that appeared natural to equines. But the look in this creature's eyes were eerily familiar. Aries himself had stared into the skull-shaped helm of a World Eater Chaplain with those very same eyes when was 11 years old.
"I'm joining the Planetary Defense Force." The colt said as if he were Aries' commanding officer.
"Who are you?" Aries asked the colt. "Pipsqueak sir." Came the answer.
"Hmph, you have more courage than most of your kind, but what makes you think a child like you is capable?" Aries asked. He knew that Celestia would never permit a foal to enter his ranks, and indeed, she was flying down to them as Aries spoke. But before the ruler of Equestria could address the matter in any way, Pipsqueak turned to the side.
Celestia's face mirrored that of her subjects as Aries finally realized what magical flash had emitted from this boy. He had received his Cutie Mark, and it was the mark of the War Hounds.
Elsewhere
Behind the planet's sun floated an alien construct, a Webway Gate of such massive size that it allowed entire Craftworlds to pass through. It is through this gate that the few surviving Drukhari made their way home.
The last 8 Wyches of the Cult of the Crimson Claws dreaded what would become of them. Not only had they lost their leader and the majority of their sisters, but their allies of convenience were in equally dire straits, and they were the only ones with anything resembling a prize.
That creature that killed Belatrixx was strong. It spite of the preemptive punishment the Wyches inflicted on her, she still had the strength to scowl and make death threats to her captors. If the Wyches survived their journey back to the Dark City, then there was no doubt that this 'Chrysalis' would buy their way into a new Cult...in the Arenas.
Author's Note:
And so it ends, we have one more Volume taking place in Equestria before the story moves into the galaxy proper...but that's going on the back burner for a minute. I'll explain why after I explain this chapter.
All in all, this Volume took a lot of twists and turns. I had a lot of ideas I didn't get to put into motion. One of the biggest was getting an Equestrian Strike Team on the Drukhari ship and getting a much darker picture of what losing this war would've entailed.
I had a really dark scene planned where Twilight and Aries encounter a room of Equestrians strung up like Ocellus and Twilight almost killed herself to save one (which would've been Cozy Glow before I scrapped the idea) before trying to save another only for Aries to kill them all and scolding Twilight for almost killing herself for nothing as rescuing the most innocent would only leave them stranded in a Drukhari vessel without Twilight to protect them.
I also wanted to put Belatrixx against Rarity, but dropped the idea in favor of using her as a plot point to put Chrysalis in her current predicament. If the original plan had gone through, it would've ended with Belatrixx being taken alive and turned to stone after Rarity in a potato sack and ruined her hair out of spite(Aries would've noted that destroying one's in such a manner would even grievance an Astartes more than death or pain)
All in all, the final product is very different from what I envisioned, but the important stuff is still there.
I'm going to reword the reveal that Discord's an Old One in the previous chapter so it's not as in your face. I should've dropped the bomb here, but I got impatient, so here's hoping future readers have a better experience.
Cozy Glow is definitely have a longer journey than Greenskin...but I guarantee that none of you know where it's going to end.
Pipsqueak, I'm kinda pissed that for all the new characters that only appeared in one episode, the CMCs never helped Pipsqueak findhisCutie Mark, but whatever. I fixed it.
And last but not least, Chrysalis...in Commoragh. That is going to be the title for Vol.5 which will consist entirely of what she has gone through during the events of Volumes 3 and 4...but it's going to be awhile before I get there...which brings me back to putting this on the back burner.
I have been employed for all of two weeks. It's easy work, it's good money...and it's boring as hell.
Beggars can't be choosers, and I'm definitely glad I got some income and I'm not living at a Trade School or with my mother anymore, but I want to be a chooser. And in order to do that: I'm taking off my floaties and diving into the deep end...I am writing an original Dark Fantasy novel.
Not only that, but I made a friend in Job Corps whose an aspiring artist who expressed willingness to turn my novel into a Manga after I write it.
So yeah, sorry guys, but it took all my patience to finish this Volume before committing myself to this next step. And while I do intend to come back, it's gonna be awhile.
Parting is such sweet sorrow. I have gone through alotwhile writing this thing, and I wouldn't take back a minute of it. I look forward to the day I return to this story with Vol.3. I'll see you all then.