PonyHammer 40,000: Magic of War

by Dragon Heart

It is only the Beginning

It was a battle of unexplainable proportions. It took the lives of many noble warriors and spilled the blood of countless souls, but it was done. Cyndree, the ascendent, was destroyed by Michael Pegalos of the Blood Phoenixes Third Company. All that remained of the Daemon Prince was the Maledictum, the artifact the Pony Marines sought to destroy, but the Eldeer did not support the idea.

"Pony!" Farseer Antla called, "Do not destroy the stone! You will doom us all!"

"Ignore her, Captain!" Luna ordered. "Destroy the stone before it leads others to ruin!"

"You know not what you do!" Antla yelled, her tone growing angry. "We cannot allow this! Take this pony down!" The Eldeer forces opened fire, and the Pony Marines retaliated.

"NO!" Pegalos shouted as he struck the Maledictum to dust.

Antla stared in horror and anger at what she just saw. "FOOL! You have damned us all." She turned and retreated with the rest of her warriors.

Luna looked at Pegalos and smiled. "Well done, Captain."

"Let us bid haste, Siblings." Sergeant Steel said to the marines, "The fleet is about to depart and leave us stranded." The Pony Marines headed off to escape, and Luna followed after, but Pegalos stood still.

Something did not seem right.

"I AM FREE." A deep, daemonic voice, nearly impossible to mimic, echoed around the Captain. "YOU HAVE MY THANKS."

Pegalos looked for the source of the voice, then held his hammer combat-ready. "Show yourself, daemon!"

The head of the daemon rose from the dust of the stone before Pegalos, glowing with absolute evil power that could break a weak soul apart. "I WILL. SOON. UNTIL THEN, GO FORTH AND SPREAD WORD OF MY RETURN."

"I am not your herald, warp-spawn!" Pegalos spat.

"ARE YOU NOT? YOU RELEASED ME."

"No! I destroyed the stone!"

"YES, AND HAD YOU DONE SO SOONER, YOU MIGHT WELL HAVE VANQUISHED ME. INSTEAD, YOU CONTRIBUTED TO MY RELEASE WITH YOUR EVERY SACRIFICE."

Pegalos raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Sacrifice? What sacrifice?"

"THIS PLANET WAS AN ALTAR, PONY," the daemon explained, "TO THE BLOOD GOD KHORNE. CYNDREE ARRANGED THE HOG INVASION KNOWING PONY MARINES WOULD COME TO END THEIR THREAT. EVERY DEATH WAS A SACRIFICE TOWARDS MY RELEASE, AND I MUST SAY, YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WERE MANY AND MAGNIFICENT. UNIDOR, FALE, AND FINALLY CYNDREE HIMSELF. WITHOUT SO MANY OFFERINGS, I WOULD HAVE REMAINED TRAPPED. I THANK YOU. I WILL SPARE YOUR LIFE, FOR NOW."

Pegalos lowered his weapon as he soaked in what he just heard. He released the daemon from its prison, and he also made it stronger with everything that died in the war against the Hogs, Eldeer, and forces of Discord. Knowing there is nothing he can do now, Pegalos turned and retreated to the escape fleet.

"YES... FLEE AND KNOW I WILL SOON COME TO CLAIM YOU ALL!"

Pegalos turned to face the daemon. "Then come and find your judgment waiting. You have escaped captivity, only to face annihilation. I know you now." He turned back and hurried to the fleet again.

The battle has finished, but the war against Discord is far from over.

Author's Note:

As the chapter title said, it's only the beginning. More "Magic of War" stories will be coming soon, and they'll be just as fun as the first. I will go all the way to "Retribution" if I have to. Thank you, BubblepipeWrangler, for your undying help to make this story more grammatically correct. "Let none find you wanting! By Chapter and Empress, let none find us wanting!"

Comments

[Dragon Heart]

2280284 You've got keen eyes and a sharp mind. I knew all that, but your contributions are still great.

[DungeonMiner]

At least it's better than C.S. Goto.