Sweetie Belle sat on the western edge of the crater battleground, trying her best not to pace. Scootaloo didn’t like it when she paced, something about the way she walked. Oddly, not pacing forced Sweetie to subconsciously mind-read, thus realizing that Scoots didn’t like the pacing.
“You shure she’s coming?” Scootaloo grunted.
Not a clue.
“She’ll be here,” Sweetie said, thinking very hard about not pacing, and also accidentally learning that Scootaloo didn’t really believe her.
The pegasus sighed, before her red eye whined. “Look, Sweetie Belle. Ah knows a bit ‘bout da Emperor’s Boyz. Dey don’t fink like da rest of us. Dey’re all about their Emperor. That’s it. They don’t follow anybody else.”
Sweetie found it odd that Scootaloo kept falling in and out of her ork accent.
“Now I don’t see her coming, and I don’t fink it’s moi Bioniks actin’ up.”
A part of her hoped that she was wrong. Another part could not help but think that Scootaloo was correct, and Apple Bloom would not join them on their way home.
The last part was far more concerned that half of the words Scootaloo just said weren’t actually words.
“We have to hope, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo snorted. “If you still have hope, then your life must’ve been a dream so far.”
Sweetie Belle said nothing, but she was certainly not amused.
The sun was beginning to rise, and peek over the horizon, lighting the trees on the far side of the crater aflame with light.
It was daybreak.
It was time.
And Apple Bloom was nowhere to be seen.
Sweetie Belle sighed. “I had hoped…”
The sound of branches cracking to their left got both of their attention, before an armored figure emerged from the underbrush. “Well that was your first mistake,” Lazarus Briehl said, “for hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.”
Scootaloo’s wings flared as she glared at the psyker, before an entire squad of Space Marines began to fill their small clearing, and chief among them was none other than Apple Bloom.
“Xeno,” her voice said through her helmet, nodding at Scootaloo, before turning towards Sweetie Belle. “Witch.”
Sweetie Belle sighed again. They’d have to work on that. “Good to see you again, Apple Bloom.”
The marine didn’t even acknowledge that. “My squad and I shall escort you to this gate you mentioned.”
Sweetie Belle inhaled, composed herself, and remembered to be diplomatic. “It would be an honor.”
Scootaloo wasn’t about that at all. “If any of yous looks at me funny, Ah’ll thrash the lot of ya!”
The Bolters came up.
“Brothers,” Lazarus warned, holding up a hand. “We have here a golden opportunity to remove our enemies’ most unique resources without firing a shot. There is no need for this yet.”
The bolters slowly lowered.
Lazarus then turned to Scootaloo. “We will not harm you, xeno, as long as you do us no harm. Is this acceptable?”
Scootaloo looked up at him, glaring, before her eyes darted between both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom offered nothing. She didn’t even look to either Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but the unicorn did nod enthusiastically.
When Sweetie Belle approached her with this promise of returning, she wasn’t completely sure about it. It would not be beyond these Eldar, what she had seen of them, to use Sweetie Belle to lure herself out in the open.
Now that the Space Marines were here, she was far less sure, for completely different reasons.
“So who are these marines, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked, as she glanced around.
“They are my brothers and my squad,” she replied, staring into the forest.
“Brothers, huh?” she asked. “Looks like the Apple Family reunion just keeps getting bigger every year.”
Apple Bloom glanced at her, regarding the pegasus with a long, hard look.
“I suppose I ain’t gots a choice,” Scootaloo said eventually, lowering her wings and standing. “I won’t attack.”
Ramiel smirked beneath his helmet. “Smart for an ork.”
Scootaloo turned to him, before giving him a wide, toothy grin. “Da smartest, most cunning ork of all.”
Sweetie Bell quickly stepped up. “Perhaps it would be best if we began moving?”
“I think it would be best,” Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie nodded. “Follow me, gentlemen,” she said, taking the lead. “I will take you straight to the Gate.”
---=][=---
Sweetie found the Space Marines to be clumsy at best. Their armor constantly clanked and whirred, and while it was quiet, it was not as quiet as she would have liked. She hadn’t said anything, though, mostly because she realized that she was starting to sound like Oraban.
What she had done was calm down a bit. She had stopped her wanton mind-reading, reigning her psychic powers in as they moved around the Eldar camp and towards the temple of the Infinity Gate.
The only other thing she had to complain about by that point was their attitude. They did their best to keep their thoughts to themselves, but Sweetie had heard a few grumbles from beyond the walls of their pain fortresses. For the most part, they all sounded like Apple Bloom, talking of Xenos and Witches. The only problem she had, was that this was getting rather annoying.
Sure, she could forgive them. Sweetie had seen enough of Apple Bloom’s mind to know that they had all gone through some…”mild mental reconditioning.” It was more how annoying it was. Even the psyker called her a witch in his mind, and they shared the same power.
Still. It was fine, she would not have to worry about it for long.
There were going home.
“Dis sure is taking a while,” Scootaloo noted.
“We’re almost there,” Sweetie told her as they approached the temple. “Just be sure to stay close, last I saw there were a few warlocks protecting the Gate, and they should have kept a field of confusion around it. I should be able to navigate us through the forest without a problem.”
“Will the warlocks present a problem?” Apple Bloom asked.
“No,” Sweetie Belle, while secretly hoping she was right.
Truth be told, she was more worried about the ranger.
She had no idea how Oraban would react, first to her arrival with the Space Marines, and then to the news she was leaving. He might celebrate with her. Or he could lead the warlocks in attack.
“Maybe,” Sweetie corrected. It was probably best not to let the Space Marines think she lied to them.
“You don’t sound dat sure,” Scootaloo noted.
“The Eldar are like that,” Sweetie admitted. “They may not care, or they may care a lot, who knows?”
Apple Bloom gave a snort at that. “At least we can agree on that.”
“Sneaky gits,” Scootaloo added.
Sweetie smiled.
And then she frowned. “Something’s wrong,” she said.
The marines snapped into action, bringing up their bolters. “What is it?” Apple Bloom asked as Scootaloo readied her claw.
“The field’s not up. The warlocks haven’t kept it up.”
“Is it possible the eldar dropped it purposefully?” Karlon asked.
Sweetie shook her head. “The warlocks did not return to camp, and the Gate is too powerful to leave unprotected.”
“We move forward,” Lazarus said. “Be prepared for anything.”
“But what if it’s a trap?” Sweetie asked.
Apple Bloom turned to her. “It most assuredly is,” she said, before moving forward towards the temple.
---=][=---
The temple was clear of anything for many hallways, leaving the Space Marines constantly on guard as they moved forward. It wasn’t until Sweetie Belle said they were halfway in that they found the first body.
The warlock’s body was a mess of gore of blood. His arms were cut cleanly off by an unseen blade, and a single, deep, gash that ran along his chest.
“Well, it ain’t our work,” Scootaloo noted.
Apple Bloom looked over at the pegasus. “How do you know?”
“Too clean,” she said. “If these cut were made by a choppa, they’d be rough and jagged. We would have crushed his head and ripped his arms. Besides, da only ones dat could have caught them like dis would be mah kommandoz, and we haven’t been over here yet.”
“So who would do this then, then?” Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle looked down at the body, before she found his cracked spirit stone. “It must to be Chaos. It must be.”
“We get to kill heretics?” Ramiel asked. “This is turning out to be quite an enjoyable mission.”
“Move with caution,” Lazarus ordered, holding up his powerstaff. “Israfiel, watch behind us, Sweetie Belle, lead the way.”
The unicorn nodded, before they began she led them forward, and as they got deeper, the more they found.
The six warlocks were spread through the halls of the temple, all ended with simple, clean strikes. Bolt wounds appeared among two of them, cementing the theory that Chaos was to blame, and then, finally, they met a living soul.
“Oraban!” Sweetie cried as she ran to ranger’s side.
He did not look well. His skin was pale, a white that almost matched the unpainted wraithbone of his armor, and the only color on him was the proud Alaitoc blue and yellow, and the large red gash that ran across his belly.
“Sweetie Belle,” an unfiltered, unfocused mental voice called. “Sweetie Belle…”
“Oraban! What happened to you?” the unicorn asked, frantically, as her horn began to glow, and magic and psychic energy both engulfed his stomach.
The Blood Ravens stood behind, hearing the Ranger as his psychic voice weakly echoed in their minds.
“Sweetie Belle...you have...to warn them…” Oraban mentally muttered.
“Stay still, Oraban. Just...I can heal you.”
“No…” he said, “It’s been too long...I’ve lost too much…”
He had. Sweetie could tell that there was not much to work with, and while she still could knit his flesh back together, his heart was already beating weakly, and she could not replace his blood.
“I can still try!” Sweetie replied.
With all his strength, Oraban lifted his arm, and brought his hand up to grab her hoof. “They’re going...to raise...a Daemon Prince.”
Everyone in the hallway froze.
A Daemon Prince?
A Keeper of Secrets could destroy an entire company of guardsman. A Daemon Prince? They could destroy an entire planet.
“You have...to...warn...them…” he told her.
“O-Oraban…”
“Warn...them…” he said, before his last breath and his last ounce of strength to hand her his rifle. “Save...them…”
And Oraban died.
His spirit stone, the only one still whole, began to glow as it accepted his soul, and Sweetie Belle could only stare.
“Long-range vox is down,” Coberos said. “I cannot contact the Chapter Master.”
“We need to speak with him immediately,” Lazarus said. “We cannot waste time.”
Sweetie Belle slowly reached forward, and grabbed the simple spirit stone necklace.
“Forgive us, Apple Bloom,” Lazarus said, turning to her, “but we must leave immediately.”
“I understand,” she said. “The Emperor protects.”
“The Emperor protects,” Lazarus answered, before the squad began to file out.
And Sweetie Belle stared at the body of her friend.
“How much further in, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Really?” Scootaloo asked. “Her Eldar pet/friend/thing just died.”
“I have a mission to complete.”
“Yes, the great mission of running away.”
“Do not speak to me like that,” Apple Bloom warned.
“Doesn’t change da fact dat your boyz are off going to foight a Daemon Prince, and you gonna have us all leave.”
“It is my mission to escort you,” the Blood Raven said. “Besides, didn’t you want to go home?”
“Yeah, Ah do,” the pegasus answered. “But at least the Deffskulls taught me ta be loyal.”
“I will slay you in the Emperor’s name if you do not cease this blasphemy!” Apple Bloom roared, leveling her bolter.
“The both of you stop it!” Sweetie Belle roared, before spinning around. “Please! Stop it, the both of you!”
Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stared at her, their weapons aimed at each other, before Sweetie stood, Oraban’s long rifle in her magical grasp.
“We have to warn them,” she said. “We can’t let them die without telling them.”
“Chapter Master Gabriel will be notified,” Apple Bloom told her.
“Yes, the Space Marines will know, but what of the Eldar, or the orks?”
“What of them?” Apple Bloom asked, getting a growl from Scootaloo.
“If neither the ork nor the Eldar know, then they will attack the Astartes indiscriminately. If they knew, then they might unite.”
“If you think the orks would unite wif you squishy gits over a Daemon Prince, you need ta zog off,” Scootaloo grumbled, still annoyed.
“But the Eldar would,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “They are the oldest foe of Chaos, they would turn against them before attacking the Astartes.”
“You see?” Sweetie asked. “We need to let them know. If we could turn them against Chaos, then we could save both your brothers, and...my…” she said, before turning towards the corpse, “and save the people that saved me.”
“And what about me?” Scoots asked. “What about the ork? They can just die against all of you? They saved my life, too. They’re up for a good fight, but to be attacked on a united front, and then a Daemon Prince?”
Apple Bloom sighed. “Is there nothing that could convince them? Nothing at all?”
Scootaloo went silent, before speaking. “I might be able to do something…”
Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. We have a chance to go home, and now that it is mission to escort you there, I cannot risk the chance. We need to leave, that’s final.”
“The Gate will be open for the next three days,” Sweetie said. “We have time.”
Apple Bloom sighed. “Then we don’t have much time, do we?”
Scootaloo smiled. “Now that’s somefin’ I can get behind.”
“So how do we convince both Eldar and ork to join the Blood Ravens?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I might be able to convince the Farseer,” Sweetie Belle said, “but I would need to get there in time, which is something I do not think we have.”
Scootaloo was already walking. “Leave that to me.”
---=][=---
Lazarus and his squad ran through the forest, rushing for the Blood Raven’s camp. Their power armor thundered as they crashed through the trees, snapping branches as their powered armor smashed into them.
“We must hurry,” Lazarus said. “We do not have much time.”
“We know, Lazarus,” Ramiel cried, charging through forest, keeping his bolter up and ready.
“Hydra Dominatus!” a voice suddenly cried from the left, before their entire left flank exploded in Bolter fire.
“Get down!” Israfiel roared, diving against Lazarus and dragging him to the ground as the Alpha Legionnaires began laying down fire against the Blood Ravens.
“Return fire, Brothers!” Karlon yelled. “Purge the heretic scum!”
Bolters began roaring as bolts went flying, and the Space marines ripped down trees to make cover. Lazarus regained his footing, and began to fill the air with warpfire. “Die, heretics!” he roared, as he brought his powerstaff around.
“Movement ahead!” Coberos yelled, and two of Space Marines turned to face their second front.
“To the right!” Ramiel cried, before the air on that side became filled with bolterfire. “We’re surrounded!”
“Then we shall stand! Prepare yourselves, men!” Lazarus yelled. “Today, we either win, or we die! We shall not be found wanting!”
---=][=---
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo went southward, towards the ork camp.
“We’ll need to wait for the Orks to start headin’ out, but we’ll catch up, trust me,” Scoots said.
“What is your plan, filthy xeno?” Apple Bloom asked.
“What does dat even mean? What the zog is a xeno?” she asked.
“An alien that is not human,” Apple Bloom explained.
“So, aren’t you a xeno?” Scootaloo asked.
“Silence, xeno!” Bloom yelled, while Sweetie Belle sighed behind her.
Button sat on the unicorn’s head while she carried Oraban’s rifle, chirping as she marched behind the armored Apple Bloom. “No, they weren’t always like this, Button,” she told him, unheard by either of her friends. “They used to be good friends,” she told him.
He chirped again.
“No, I don’t think this stop anytime soon.”
Another chirp.
She smirked. “Yes, I want this, I’m sure,” she said, before turning to her friends. “The both of you need to stop if you want to sneak up on the orks.”
“Nah,” Scoots said. “We’ll be fine. I’s and yous is purple, and Bloom’s red. We’re sneaky and fast!”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “What?”
“Old ork superstition,” Apple Bloom explained.
“And how do you know that?” Sweetie asked.
“I’m a most honorable Blood Raven,” she answered, as if that explained everything.
“I…” she began. “I’m not even going to ask. Not now, anyway.”
“Alright boyz,” Scootaloo said. “Yous about to enter an ork camp. Now all wes gotta do is to keep quiet and wait.”
“For how long?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Not long at all, Bloom. Not long at all.”
---=][=---
On the opposite end of the crater, in the defiled eldar fortress, the forces of Chaos were at work.
Legionnaires sacrificed themselves, bleeding into a massive sigil the filled with their blood as the Chaos Marines fell.
A low, droning chant echoed through the air, bouncing off the walls of the defiled stone and wraithbone. Rising with power as the chaos grew.
Vulek watched, confused. Their Sorcerer was nowhere to be found, and yet they performed their ritual with perfect timing, it was as though it was a ritual so rehearsed and practiced that the Legionnaires simply knew what needed to be done. They knew, and willingly died for this.
Kraagan stood next to the Debaucher, smiling as his own men slaughtered themselves.
Vulek, meanwhile only shook his head. “Why?” he asked.
“Why, what?” Kraagan asked.
“Why do you sacrifice your men?” he asked. “Why not the cultists you brought with you? Why the marines?”
Kragaan turned, about to answer, when they both felt a presence.
Vulek turned, and stared into a half-formed being. A cloud of darkness and hate that glared in his soul with burning eyes. The Debaucher could only gape as the daemon who hungered for a body glared into his eyes.
“Because,” the thing said in a voice like wine, “power demands sacrifice.”
---=][=---
“Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.”—Imperial Thought of the Day.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time is here, the forces of Chaos will raise with an old face at their lead, and only Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have the knowledge to stop him.
It...is on.
"That was so cheesy, you could call it fondue."
Thank you, Pinkie.
"Next time!"
I have but one word...
SSSSSSIIIIINNNNNDDDRRRRRIIII!
"See you then!"
Bye!