Prologue: A Normal Day
It was the end of a normal day in Equestria. Or at least, a new normal day.
Thousands of soldiers were making their way home from the Centerlot Training grounds, each baring horrendous scars both old and new.
None of these injuries were due to fighting. In fact, most of the soldiers in question had never seen a real battle in their lives. They had received every scar, and lost every tooth, during their training.
Two years ago, such harsh training would've been unthinkable in Equestria. But two years ago, everything changed. The Dark Eldar taught the friendly races of Equestria that Friendship would only get them so far.
And so Aries, the exiled Space Marine that swore to protect Equestria out of spite for the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, was given authority to draft one hundred members of each species and train them how he wished.
Since that day, the ranks of the War Hound's Planetary Defense Force had swelled to over 2,000 creatures, armed and armored by the latest advancements in weapons and armor Equestria could offer.
Nopony felt safe anymore, but the trainees felt ready. However, there were some who went above and beyond the basic training of common soldiers and vied for rank.
These elite creatures continued to spar for three hours longer, determined to become the most elite fighters in all of Equestria.
Commander Pharynx, Aries' second in command, oversaw the training of these ambitious warriors. Dragons, Yaks, Griffins, and numerous defectors of the Wonderbolts following Spitfire's example. Even Rainbow Dash had committed herself to such training: sparring against larger foes, dodging training bullets from the new Equestrian Defenders, and having Unicorns trap her and the other trainees in battlefields taken from Aries' memories.
In the center of the training grounds, the War Hound himself sparred with his star pupil: Freedom Fighter.
Aries had been surprised, and secretly grateful, when he learned that Equestrians could change their names if they believed their current name didn't fit them any longer. Though he was far more surprised, and openly impressed, with how far the Pony once known as Pipsqueak had come.
The Earth Pony Colt had grown vastly larger in the two years since he earned his Cutie Mark, and would one day rival, or even dwarf, the likes of Big Mac and Rockhoof. And his size did little to hinder his speed.
Freedom Fighter fought like a mad beast to the untrained eye, taking full advantage of the enchanted armor he wore that repelled Aries' Power Sword with ease. Aries was forced to move just as fast and frantically, desperately trying to stay at his side or front.
He had made the mistake of attacking the Earth Pony's back only once. Requiring magical medical attention was worth learning that the young Colt could buck strong enough to rupture a Space Marine's organs and dent their armor...and he was still growing.
Aries tried again and again to put his sword to the Colt's neck and end the duel, but his pauldrons were modeled after Aries' own and Freedom was just too fast on his turns as he sought to plant his hooves into the War Hound's chest.
Finally, after determining that Freedom wouldn't have to worry about direct confrontations, Aries decided to be more tactical in his approach and backed off.
Freedom looked at him, he knew what the War Hound was planning. If the Colt charged at Aries, Aries would charge as well and take Freedom's head before he could slow down enough to turn his armored body.
The Colt snorted like a bull and walked forward at a calm pace, eyes focused on his opponent like a Manticore on its prey.
Aries walked forward as well, Warp Eater held out with its tip cutting a path into the ground. The two warriors kept their pace until they were two meters away. Then, Aries struck.
Freedom Fighter turned to meet his mentor's blade with his hooves, but stopped short when he heard the telltale sound of a large armored being rolling forward.
Sure enough, Aries' charge had lasted just long enough to see which direction Freedom would turn his body so that he could leap to the other side and shoulder-roll in front of him. He landed on his knees and swung his sword behind him in one motion.
Had Freedom Fighter not stopped his buck, he would've been helpless. But with all four hooves on the ground, he was able to rear up in an attempt to keep the blade away from his neck.
It didn't work. Warp Eater's Power Field deactivated as the blade found its mark, the naked steel cutting the Colt's neck just enough to draw blood and end the duel.
"Next time, raise your front legs higher to guard your neck." Aries said as he rose his feet and mag locked his sword to his hip.
Freedom Fighter snorted and shook his head in frustration. Aries however was thoroughly impressed.
The first time he saw the Colt's Cutie Mark, he didn't know what to think, but he had felt confident in the fact that a pony of Equestria would never compare to one of his brothers.
Yet, in the two years since, Freedom Fighter had proven beyond doubt that had he been born a human, had he been chosen as an aspirant, he would surely become an Astartes.
The strength of an Earth Pony eclipsed Aries' own by far and wide, but it wasn't the Alien's monstrous power, or the child's untapped potential that convinced Aries. No, it was the warrior's determination to get stronger at the cost of great pain.
Astartes trials were far deadlier than that of common soldiers, those of the World Eaters far more so, yet Aries was convinced that this boy, even as an ordinary human, had what it took to pass them...a shame that he would never be given the chance.
But all else considered, Aries had found himself thinking of the Colt as a battle-brother...albeit an adopted one.
The War Hound turned from Freedom Fighter to note that the other trainees were finishing up their training as well. "That will be all for today. Though I am sure you all wish to push yourselves further, it would be unhealthy." Aries declared.
With varying forms of acknowledgement, the warriors left the training grounds, concluding a normal day.
Elsewhere
The sun was setting outside, the usual time for Ponies to start turning on the lights. But a single room within Fluttershy's cottage already had every light on, with additional lights placed to prevent the existence of a single shadow save one under the bed. This room had been lit up in such a manner for the last two years, for the benefit of its lone occupant.
Three knocks resounded on the door. "It's time for lunch, may I come in?" Silence greeted the voice, as expected. The door opened five seconds later to reveal Fluttershy carrying a tray that held a cup of mashed fruits and vegetables, a glass of water, and a funnel of all things.
The kind Pegasus looked around the illuminated room, her eyes shielded from the excessive light by a pair of sunglasses that looked absolutely ridiculous on her, before finding the tail of the room's occupant sticking out from under the bed.
Fluttershy put the tray of food on a small table in the room's center and laid down beside the bed. "Cozy Glow? Can you hear me?"
The filly in question didn't react. Again, Fluttershy expected this. Cozy Glow had suffered the most of any living creature from the attack of the Dark Eldar. And had barely made any progress in recovering from the ordeal since.
Greenskin, an Ork that had been tortured to the point of submission by the foul Drukhari, had saved the filly's life and sought to nurse her back to health. But while Fluttershy was able to nurse Greenskin back to health in a matter of weeks, Cozy Glow had barely recovered to a point that reminded Fluttershy of herself when she first met Twilight.
"It's time to eat." Fluttershy stated while using her hooves to gently drag the motionless filly out from her hiding spot. She moaned, but didn't resist.
She pulled Cozy Glow to her hooves and walked the filly to the table where her lunch was waiting.
Cozy Glow's eyes drifted down to the tray before the filly tilted her head up and opened her mouth. Fluttershy grabbed the funnel and placed it in the filly's mouth and poured in the mashed food followed by the water. It wasn't a proper way for anycreature to eat, but it was better than Greenskin's method of working her jaw with his hands.
Fluttershy took the funnel out of the filly's mouth and Cozy Glow went back under the bed. Finding Cozy Glow hiding there the first time 6 months ago had been the first sign of progress since she was flayed alive and sutured onto the tortured body of Tirek.
Fluttershy had since moved the filly's covers and pillow into her hideaway and removed the light that used to be under there, as Cozy Glow would turn it off to hide herself.
Fluttershy took the tray and walked out of the room. She thought she might've heard a quiet 'thank you' but she had more likely just imagined it. Apparently Greenskin, had got her to have a conversation with him once. She did seem to like the Ork better, but Greenskin was needed elsewhere on account of...them.
"Zogg it all 'Ooknose! Spit it out! 'Ow many toimes do I 'ave tah tell ya dat da only animalz yer allowed ta eat is Eating Squigs!!" The bellowing voice of Greenskin rang out, alerting Fluttershy to a dire emergency.
The kind Pegasus quickly took off down the stairs to Cozy Glow's room and out the door of her cottage. She landed harshly in front of the cause of the commotion, the first Orkoid to spawn from Greenskin's spores: Hooknose the Snotling...who was trying to eat a terrified chipmunk.
Fluttershy didn't bother with words and went straight to the Stare. The Snotling dropped the chipmunk without a word...like he did every time.
Hooknose got his name immediately after he was born. The first thing he had tried to do was eat Angel, who had been resting under a tree at the time.
The Snotling had pounced at the rabbit with a hungry shriek, and Angel jumped out of the way: resulting in a head on, or rather, nose on collision with the tree. Hooknose had been trying to eat anything smaller than him ever since...he was just too stupid not to.
Greenskin grabbed the Snotling and shook him like a rag doll. "Dat's a bad Snotling! BAD!! NOW SAY YER SORRY!" Greenskin shoved Hooknose at the overhead branch the chipmunk was now sitting...prompting the Snotling to try and catch it again.
Greenskin threw Hooknose to the ground before he could claim his prize. "'OOOOOKKNOOOOSSSEEE!!!!"
Fluttershy sighed, Hooknose was two months old, and one of three Snotlings to be born. Yet, the other two seemed at least smart enough to realize that trying to eat small animals got them in trouble...and they were younger.
"Aw Zogg. I'll nevah get dis Snotlin' tah listen tah me." Greenskin groaned. "'Ow do ya do it Boss?"
Fluttershy thought about how to respond. "Um..w-well, I-" Fluttershy stopped when she realized that Hooknose had recovered from his tossing and snuck behind Greenskin to climb the tree with the chipmunk again.
Hooknose stopped climbing when a shadow over him and turned to see Fluttershy Staring at him.
Hooknose let go of the tree and promptly fell down. Fluttershy instinctively caught the Snotling and lowered him down, but she held her Stare on him until he decided to go somewhere else.
Watching for a moment to make sure he was heading where the other Snotlings and Eating Squigs resided, Fluttershy turned back to Greenskin. "I have just as much trouble with him as you Greenskin, he really is a problem."
"Y-yeah, I know dat. It'z jus'...dat fing ya do, 'ow ya do it?" Greenskin followed up his question by squinting really hard.
"...Ar-are you trying to do the Stare?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, dat fing. 'Ow ya do it?" The Ork asked.
"Oh, that's mostly just body language. Basically, you uh...tell somecreature not to do something...with your eyes?" Fluttershy was absolutely certain that there was a better to say, but was there one an Ork would understand?
"Oh, okay. I'll go practice." Greenskin turned to go inside the cottage so he could find a mirror...only to turn his head in the sound of an angry moose and a frantic Snotling.
Greenskin and Fluttershy groaned, their normal day was far from over.
Elsewhere
"That'll be two bits please." Pinkie Pie said to the scarred Pegasus warrior as she handed him his favorite pastry. He smiled back as he took the bagged item in his teeth and walked off, briefly revealing how few teeth were left in his mouth.
PDF trainees going home for the day were most, if not all, of the customers Sugar Cube Corner received these days. They were the only ones who weren't living in dread of the next attack by villains from beyond the stars.
The scarred Pegasus had been the last PDF trainee for the day, so when he left, a normal shop owner would've closed up for the day. But Pinkie would stay behind the counter for a little longer...she didn't have much else to do.
The pink party pony had turned from the door to check on some pastries she had in the oven when the bell above the door rang, signaling the arrival of a new customer.
Pinkie Pie turned back around in a blur. "HI! WELCOME TO SUGAR CUBE CORNER! WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TO-daaaaayy..." Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm died as soon as she realized just who, and what, was standing before her.
"Hehehehe, the sound of hope dying is truly my favorite sound. You really do know how to make everycreature enjoy your presence." Spoke the newcomer. An Eldar wearing the multicolored unitard of the Harlequins beneath the iconic black coat of a Death Jester, his skeletal mask smiled at the Earth Pony while his Shrieker Cannon was slung over his shoulder.
Pinkie's heart sank as she took an exhausted sigh. "So...it's time to write the third volume, huh?"
The Death Jester snorted in amusement. "Typical Mon'Keigh, believing your third role to play in a story eons in the making would be the third volume."
"It's the third volume featuring this cast of characters, some of whom are going to die, so GET OFF MY BACK!!!" Pinkie shouted.
The Death Jester threw his head back and laughed. "A Haha Haha Haha Hahaa, I think we're going to get along just fine. My name is Krae'Nakh."
And so ended the last new normal day, a new new normal would soon emerge from the Chaos to come.
Elsewhere
Beyond the realm of Equestria, in another dimension entirely, a very not normal day was reaching its climax.
Oh, it was normal to most denizens of this world. But to the graduating students of Canterlot High, it was a day of celebration that they would remember for the rest of their lives.
"And now, representing our graduates this year, a student who has brought more magic to this school than anyone ever thought possible, in more ways than one, SUNSET SHIMMER!!" The crowd watching the podium erupted in cheers as Principal Celestia stepped down to let her most unique student take the stage.
The Unicorn turned human, and villain turned hero, looked out at the crowd of people that once feared her as a tyrant now celebrating her graduation, and then to her friends: the human counterparts of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her group of friends back in Equestria.
Sunset had prepared a speech for this day, one that would probably...inevitably, end in a song. But as she opened her mouth to speak...she screamed.
The graduating students and their could only watched in confusion as Sunset Shimmer fell to the ground screaming. Confusion that swiftly turned to horror when she started trying to claw her eyes out.
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna quickly rushed to restrain the girl. When they did, they realized that Sunset had lost control of her bowls and bladder and was weeping in terror at something only she had seen.
Something that had pondered her for only a moment, something that she had only noticed as it investigated her because of her Empathetic powers, something that was so vile, so evil, that Sunset had barely recognized it...but for its core belief: a motto Sunset had heard numerous times before without ever realizing just how evil the man who said it was.
All power demands sacrifice...
Author's Note:
I'm BAAAAAACK!!!
Yes, I know I said that I was going to write an original story before I started the third Volume. But due to recent events (FUUUUUCK GAAAAMES WOOOOORRKSHOOOOOPP!!!!!) I felt the need to get as much done as I can before those idiots try to go after fanfics too.
I am still working on my Fantasy Novel though. I've got the prologue and three chapters done and...wow, writing an entire world into existence is freaking hard. How did Tolkien do it?
Now, about this chapter: two years have passed since the events of Volume 2, as a reference to the two years that have passed since I started writing the Grimdark 6. And I skimped on a lot of the exposition that I had planned for this chapter because wow did this get long.
But yes, we have Pipsqueak keeping up with Aries and growing abnormally large(I plan to model his adult form after a Charger) and we have Snotlings and Eating Squigs popping up and testing Greenskin's mettle as a Runtherd. Some listen, one doesn't. And now he's trying to learn how to do the Stare...that's going to come in handy later.
And yes, the Element of Laughter has chosen a Death Jester. I initially meant for it to be Tallik the Solitaire, but the thought of pairing Pinkie Pie with a complete Sadist who finds death funny was too good to pass up.
And finally, SSSSSIIIIIIIINNDRIIIIIII!!!!!! The best villain of any Dawn of War game. If you don't who he is or what's going on, it'll be explained in a later chapter. Speaking of which: yes, this is going to take our main characters into the mirror and oh, Aries is gonna lose his mind...for a number of reasons(the main one you won't see coming)
However I will say that chapters are going to have more space between them as I try to write my Fantasy Novel beside the third Volume, so please be patient. If GW does CD fanfics, I'll leave a summary of everything I planned to happen in Warhammer 40k group.
That's all I got, fuck Games Workshop and I'll see you all next time.