It was a normal day for the cutie mark crusaders. The snow had stopped (unfortunately) but this meant that spring would soon be here. Cheerilee like she had every other snow day, been explaining thing about the winter and given them work on it. And so, they listened as Cheerilee began to explain about how that the snow used to be rough but a thousand years ago, a miracle had caused it to now be gentle and calm in comparison. As she was explaining however, Applebloom couldn’t help but notice the human that was approaching the schoolhouse. From the look on his face, he didn’t look too happy.
“Applebloom.”
No answer*
Applebloom!”
Still no answer*
APPLEBLOOM!” Cheerilee said at the top of her lungs. “Will you pay attention? For Celestia’s sake what are you looking at?!”
“It’s that human! He’s coming here.”
Boy, that sparked a riot. Every foal in the room then had the need to go and investigate. The human kept walking towards the schoolhouse. Judging from his appearance, he was the one they called Cyrus.
“Whutz he doing here?”
“I dunno. Maybe he wants to see...”
“Aww cool! A human! Up close!”
“Maybe he should mind his own beeswax!”
“Maybe he has something to say?” Someone suggested.
Cyrus opened the door to the schoolhouse, wondering why aliens with hooves use doorknobs. Not really caring to find an explanation. He simply walked in. Something unclean was amongst children. He needed to purge it.
“Hi Cyrus!” Scootaloo said. “This is Cyrus! He fought a giant....”
“Save it.” Cyrus said harshly. Scootaloo got the message and shut up to the sniggers of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. For a moment, he stopped and examined every foal carefully, giving them a good long stare. He stopped at Cheerilee and made another glance around.
“Can I help you?”
“Seems not.” The one-eyed marine replied. “I was finding someone. Seems they’re not here.”
“Well.... I hope you do find them!” Cheerilee laughed nervously.
Cyrus nodded and turned around to leave.
“What’s he doing?” Scootaloo whispered. “Is something wrong?”
Without warning, Cyrus whirled around and threw his knife. The sharp object buried itself in the head of a certain redheaded filly with purple glasses. The filly stood awkwardly for a moment before falling down, and then fell down. Dead.
Every pony in the room was horrified. This... one eyed creature just heartlessly murdered a young filly! What for?!
Calmly moving for the body. Cyrus picked up his victim. But instead of a the filly he had killed, he instead picked up a black, insectoid looking thing. A changeling. Well, that certainly was a...... TWIST!
“Then where’s Twist?!” Applebloom asked panicking. “Where’s the real twist at least?!”
“My guess? She’s dead.” Cyrus said turning to leave. “I am done here.”
“Wait!” Applebloom shrieked at Cyrus moments before Cyrus exited.
My second headache of the day is here. Cyrus thought as the filly almost jumped on him
“Can you please find Twist?!”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Just please.... do what you can.... puh-leeze?”
Cyrus looked down for a moment. The yellow filly’s eyes had grew to the size of dinner plates. A voice urged him to get the hell out of there. But later, when he thought about what he said, he wondered whether or not if he was thinking straight, or got hypnotized by some sorcery out of the small alien’s eyes.
“Fine.....” He breathed. “I’ll do my best.”
“Yes! Thank you mister!”
“Please do.” Cheerilee said concerned. “Something horrible is going on.”
“I’ll do my best.” Cyrus repeated and went on his way.”
“Where’s Cyrus?” Martellus asked as he threw some more dead bodies into a ditch. “I could've sworn he voxed and said he finished purging his area.
“Probably went off to meditate.” Diomedes said smashing a rock with his hands. “Or maybe killing his share wasn’t good enough and decided to hunt them all down.”
“Cyrus, you stubborn fool.” Tarkus muttered.
“Can I ask a question?” Rainbow Dash asked lounging on a cloud that rapidly dropped altitude “What the....?” Martellus said a bit surprised. After a pause he got his act together again and nodded.
“Why is it that you fight over who to kill? Is that like...... fun?”
“Vanquishing my enemy has always been satisfying. However, I will never be able to aspire to any greater honor when the time comes for me to aid my brethren in defeating the vile forces of chaos.” Martellus replied.
“So yes?”
“Depends on who my enemy is.” The techmarine replied. “There is no honor to be had if I am killing guardsmen over the fact we have contradicting objectives but beating back chaos never loses it’s feel. One question I have though is....... are you sitting on that cloud?”
“Yeah!” The cyan pegasus replied. “All pegasi can do this!”
“I figured.” Martellus replied. “I saw it done before but only assumed they were IN the cloud, not ON the cloud. And if I recall correctly, you can also control the weather?”
“Yep! That’s my job here in ponyville!” The pegasus said proudly. “I am also the fastest pony in all of Equestria!”
This one’s ego is larger than Diomedes’. Martellus thought. “Interesting, I will have to take a look at that later. Tarkus, I believe Angelos said he may check on us instead of waiting an entire year. Did he specify a time?”
“He didn’t.” Tarkus said. “We’re essentially on our own for the time being. I can get him here if you want.”
“That’ll be ideal later. Seen Cyrus yet?”
“Nope. Must went off or something.”
“Wonder where’s he is and what’s he doing.” Tarkus muttered as he went back to work.
“You have not seen this filly?” Cyrus asked his face very close to the pony. He held a photograph of Twist in his hand which Applebloom had given him.
“n-n-no.....” The pony replied. “I would tell you if I kn-know.....”
“Very well.” Cyrus said as he got up to investigate the other ponies. Most didn’t have a clue, those that did said they had only seen her some time back. A large problem for him. Always, in the back of his mind did a little voice tell him to stop doing this as it was not his business. But he was hellbent on finding the little brat whether or not it was alive. Taking another stroll around he stopped and started to think. He wondered if could get what he wanted if he tried anything..... questionable.
Cyrus almost slapped himself for as much as going down there. He would not stoop down to the level of his enemies. Finding a rock to sit on, he began to meditate and focus on the objective at hand. No matter how many times in those five minutes alone did Tarkus vox him asking for him to reply.
“Shut up.” Cyrus finally said after a good meditation. “Make yourself useful and try and find if anymore of those things are still running around.”
“Then tell me where the hell you are or at least what you’re doing.” Tarkus angrily shot back.
“I am simply just finding a few missing natives.” Cyrus answered coolly. “I don’t know where I am at or where I am going. But I think I have a clue.” The scout looked and saw some odd goo right at a hole in the ground. Oh no. Enclosed spaces. Just his favorite. Grabbing a shotgun he gingerly jumped down the hole.
“Tell me where the book is... and I let you out.” Chrysalis said her voice silky but deadly. Her victim was a pegasus who was stuck to the wall.
“I dunno! I swear!”
“You were one of the ponies at the area when it happened. Where is it?”
“I have no clue!”
Turning to her other hostages, the changeling queen inspected them, considering which ones most likely knew, and which ones most likely would break first. She set her eyes on a brown stallion.
“Where’s the book?!”
“What book?” Caramel replied having no clue on why he was here or what even Chrysalis wanted.
Doing a facehoof, the changeling queen turned to a guard. He would know. He’s from canterlot.
“Where’s the book?!”
“Go buck yourself.”
“You dare speak to the queen of the changelings in this manner? Fool! I’ll have you cast in a sea of torment!”
“Scary.” The guard nonchalantly replied. “Go buck yourself.”
The changeling queen lost her temper in that moment, and struck her victim across the face. He didn’t as much as flinch. Only continuing his defiant glare.
“Well then.....” Chrysalis said. “You got guts kid.”
“Thanks, now continue on with my advice and go buck yourself.”
Chrysalis took a deep breath and tried not to let her anger get the better of her. Something her captive wanted. She turned around and cast a fiendish idea.
“So... you won’t tell me?”
“No.” The guard said defiantly. “You don’t scare me.”
“I may not scare you.” Chrysalis said grinning wolfishly. “but maybe....... do I scare... HER?!”
The changeling seized a young filly. One with a red mane and purple glasses. Twist struggled to escape the grip of Chrysalis to no avail.
“You wouldn’t.” The guard said.
“Oh I wouldn’t. But I can’t say the same for my subjects. Now then, they know how to ruin a filly’s day. Tell me.... NOW.”
The guard hesitated for a moment. He saw the look on Twist’s face. Biting his lip he came to his decision.
“I am sorry.” The stallion said shaking his head. “Forgive me.” Then turning back to Chrysalis he spat in her face. “My lips remain sealed.”
“Very well.” The queen sneered. She gave a nod to one of the changelings who began to use magic to torment the filly. Twist could only screech and wail as the lightning bolts of pain rained down upon her.
For what seemed like eternity, Twist was in a state of pain, until she heard the guard speak again.
“Stop! I’ll tell you. It’s not much but if only you stop hurting the poor kid.”
“Very well. Spill your guts before I spill hers.”
“It won’t matter now as you won’t get it anyways. The humans have the book.”
“Doesn’t matter. There’s only four of them. With my endless subjects we can easily overwhelm them, and then Equestria!”
“Four of us is legion, and one of us is plenty.” A voice, even more sinister than Chrysalis had been was heard.
Chrysalis and all her changelings turned to see Cyrus entering the cavern. Kicking aside the body of a changeling he glared at the changeling queen.
“Stop him!” Chrysalis cried out. All her guards rushed forth, yet only half of them reached Cyrus as the rest were shot down by his shotgun. Drawing his knife, he easily overpowered the rest.
Chrysalis was astonished. This one creature had just killed five changelings with a knife, used one hand to wring the neck of another while then strangling yet another. Finally, he was able to break one her subjects’ back over his knee. Perhaps she had underestimated the power of these humans.
“Pathetic.” Aiming his shotgun at Chrysalis, Cyrus moved forward.
“Stand back fool!” Chrysalis screamed as her horn lit up. It sent a magical blast at Cyrus hitting him right in the chest. The space marine didn’t even flinch.
“I am going to enjoy killing you.” Cyrus said moving forward at blinding speeds. He grabbed Chrysalis by the neck and sent the barrel of his shotgun in her mouth.
“Any last words?”
“These aren’t my last fool.”
To the surprise of everyone, the changeling queen merely vanished. Oh well, judging from the incompetence of her warriors, hunting her down and murdering her will be of no hard task.
“Mithter! Your chetht.....”
“It burns, it hurts like hell actually but that’s not important. What’s important is how I am going to get them off.....” Cyrus thought watching with some amusement at the various ponies who were stuck to the wall. “Your name is Twist I presume”
“Yeth!”
“You’re friend Applebloom was worried about you. Thank her, I’d never of came here if it weren’t for her convincing.”
Taking another thought, he decided why the hell not. The oldest methods were sometimes the most effective. With sheer strength, he ripped the ponies right out of the sticky substance. While probably no pony still retained all their fur on their backs, they were glad to be saved even by a red-eyed bipedal thing who looked like he wanted to break more backs. Cyrus promptly led the hostages out.
“Job well done?” Cyrus muttered. “First deathwatch, then helping xenos.”
He felt like making a joke about Tzeentch, but that was a bit overdone. He was however, in the mood to go hunt for changelings when he met with his brothers. And of course, make sure his chest was alright. The armor was hardly scratched, but the heat was surprisingly high.
Today, I met with a cheap and less dangerous version of a Tyranid. Cyrus thought. The changelings did remind him of the aliens, though not even approaching the same level of danger, he was still amazed at how this world had something that reminded of one of the most unpleasant memories in his long life.