The battle was a bloody one to behold. Many lives were lost, some were honorable Battle-Siblings, and some were citizens and Guardponies who had fallen to Discord. But with the tactics of Pegalos and the use of their tanks, they emerged victorious from the gore of despair.
Pegalos and Unidor stood in the ruined temple, surrounded by the bodies of Guardponies and cultists. "Inquisitor Luna has arrived at your request." said the Unicorn.
"And what do our scouts say?" Pegalos asked.
"The Guard's distraction was a success, the Discord Lord and his host escaped. We are, however, tracking their movements, and 'questioning' some of the traitor Guard we captured."
"How could I not have seen this?" Pegalos asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "How is it I am blind when it matters the most?"
"Are you referring to these traitorous Guardponies," Unidor asked, "or the destruction of your homeworld, Cyrene?"
Pegalos looked down in painful hindsight. "I should have seen the rot before it spread. Instead, I was blind for far too long." said Pegalos, fully blaming himself for Cyrene's demise. "I put my own world to the torch. I killed with the Inquisition's eager sanctum and watched too many innocents die in a holy firestorm. And yet... here I am again, at yet another doorstep, with the executioner's blade in my very hoof."
"Blessed is the mind too small for doubt, Michael." Unidor said in empathy. "Perhaps there is truth in there... for the both of us."
"I still believe, old friend." Pegalos said softly, "I believe in the sovereign might of the Golden Throne and in the purity of the Equestrium..."
Unidor closed his eyes. "But, you have lost faith in yourself."
"Only in what I see, Unidor. Only in what I see."
Luna trotted up to the two. "And what is it that you see, Captain?"
Pegalos cocked an eye to the Inquisitor. "I see conspirators and liars more concerned with their own agenda than the will of the Empress."
"I am not so easily cowed by such displays, Captain." said Luna.
"You lied to me and cost me stallions!" Pegalos yelled angrily.
"Better they die, their blood pure!" Luna argued, "If you feel warranted in handing out recriminations, then their deaths are on your head! I warned you to leave this world, to leave Tartaurus for the warp storm."
"Your words still ring untrue, Inquisitor." Pegalos hissed. "I know you were here before we arrived."
"I am not in the habit of explaining my actions, Captain." Luna sighed, "But, yes, I was here before you arrived, stalking after horrors to strip my nights of their dreams."
"The same horrors that the legions of Discord seek." said Pegalos.
"On Tartaurus, there are no coincidences, Captain." Luna stated. "There is only the storm that winnows the faithful from the heretic."
"Are we faithful ponies, Luna?" Pegalos asked, "Good servants of the Empress? It is time for us to put aside our differences. What do they seek, Luna? What do you seek, here?"
Luna took a deep breath and spoke. "This world is cursed, Captain. Thousands of years ago an artifact of ancient, evil power was lost here. The forces of Discord seek this artifact. They've sought it for centuries, but have never held all the pieces of the puzzle."
Pegalos closed his eyes and shook his head. "And now they do."
"An Equestrial excavation team uncovered the first marker," Luna continued, "and word somehow got to the enemy. With the knowledge of the exact planet, and the first marker, it was a simple matter to uncover the remainder. Now they have the last piece necessary, a key to unearth the artifact itself."
"What is this artifact?" Pegalos asked.
"A stone." said Luna, "Called the Maledictum. It contains a creature of great evil, a creature of Discord itself. The stone imprisons a daemon, one of untold power."
"How is it possible that the citizens of Tartaurus did not know this?" Pegalos asked with a raised eyebrow, "These artifacts lay buried beneath their own cities."
"From what I surmise," said Luna, "the daemon within the Maledictum may be imprisoned, but it is not powerless. It can still influence ponies with visions and madness. The ancient text in the Registratum Malfeas speaks of a warp storm that visited this system at an age when many Pony Marine Chapters were still young. The storm drove the inhabitants of this planet insane. Under the daemon's influence, they hid the markers and buried the Maledictum, to protect it against hunters like myself. When colonists returned to this world they remained ignorant of the perils. They built over the dark places, never knowing what lay beneath."
"And the Eldeer?" Pegalos asked, "Did they seek this power for themselves?"
Luna shook her head. "No. It was they who imprisoned the daemon in the first place. The Eldeer fiercely safeguard knowledge of the stone against all others, going so far as to interfere in our efforts to find it. As Discord's most ancient enemy, they see themselves as the only capable defense against its influence. And we have paid for their arrogance."
"I assume there is still time to avert disaster." said Pegalos.
"This is already a disaster." Luna stated, "The power of the Maledictum is enough to turn the faithful and drive ponies mad. Many of the Equestrial Guard and local population have already turned, as you've seen. It's affecting you and your stallions as well, I can feel it. It is calling the Warp Storm to eclipse the system. It wants to trap us here, with it, so it can force even the best of us to serve its twisted will. This is why I encouraged you to leave. Why I still encourage it."
"You know I cannot do that." said Pegalos, bolstering his determination. "I will not shrink away in the face of evil!"
"I would do no less." said Luna, and she put up a hoof, "Enough. Let us end this bickering and face our enemy united. Together we have a better chance of finding, and destroying the Maledictum." With that said, Luna and Pegalos trotted away to ready themselves for the next battle that awaited them.
But Unidor stood still as a statue, as the image of Cyndree appeared behind him again. "They are weak," Cyndree whispered, "terrified of the power that you alone are strong enough to control."
He flashed closer behind. "It is yours!"
He flashed right next to him. "Yours for the taking!"
He flashed to the other side. "But they mean to destroy it, those small-minded fools!"
He flashed in front of him. "Think of the good you could do in the name of the Empress!"
He flashed to the left-front of him. "Think of the power you could wield!"
Unidor was surrounded by the Unicorn's voice of influence. "It is all yours, for the taking."
The words struck Unidor's mind, and he could no longer hold back. "The Maledictum... is... mine."