Faith and Fire: Divided (Sub-story)

The bridge of the Conquest had fallen deathly quiet for far longer than would have been comfortable, the lack of response from Chapter master Tauron was making the air in the colossal cathedral grow cold and bitter. The Astarte sat almost lifelessly still upon his command throne within his Cataphractii armour, as if the news that Captain Phebus had brought with him had made his hearts stop beating. The Captain, growing quite anxious, slid his sights over to look at his brother Chaplain in the hope he'd have something to say. The chaplain simply returned his second-long gaze with a quick expression of helplessness, or at least as far as Phebus could make out behind the chaplains rebreather mask.

"No casualties?" The Chapter Master spoke up all of a sudden.

"No, my lord." Replied the Captain.

"Well then. From this unfortunate event we shall take what little comfort we can. The situation was contained, and did not escalate. Our brothers are returned safe, and have not suffered injury. Though our initial negotiations have failed, we must look to the future with the knowledge we hold now. Let us not fret over this small hindrance." The Chapter master said as he rose from his throne and descended it's pyramid of golden steps to the bridge floor, his gigantic boots sounding thunder through the complex.

"We are undeserving of your lenience, my lord." The captain humbling said whilst delivering a deep bow.

"Nonsense, brother. I have known you since you were a youngling Phebus, and after a hundred and forty years I have come to respect you as a reliable, ferocious and level-headed Astarte," The Chapter master said down to his brother through a sincere, yet warm expression, "However, in light of your mission proving unsuccessful I had to resort to a different approach that had to be executed during your return."

"You have sent another squad down?" Phebus asked with a hint of inquiry as to who had been selected.

"Two squads, actually."

Phebus knew all to well who would have taken excessive firepower to the surface of a planet that had not even discovered electricity.

"Surely you could not have sanctioned this?"

"I did not initially forbid it. Such news came to me after his departure."

"Wouldn't surprise me if the brute has taken his Terminators with him."

The Chapter master remained silent, yet his expression screamed a thousand words.

"Centurions?! Such tools we received not a fortnight ago we deploy in an environment that'd prove to them as much a threat as lambs to a lion?! Surely the Mechanicus caught wind of such a thing through their usual eavesdropping?" Phebus fumed.

"They were the one to request such tools from the Captain himself, personally."

Phebus huffed, bemused by the ridiculousness of the situation that had fallen before him.

"Wondrous! An Astarte Captain with the temper and recklessness of a Space Wolf armed with weapons designed to pulverize armadas is escorting a column of techo-zealots to a world in the iron age. Only Apollo could be so bold...and stupid. Were are they headed?"

The Thunderhawk screamed through the atmosphere of the new-found world with the sound of ten thousand suns dying one after the other. The pilot was obviously not in any mood for subtlety as the craft bolted through the lower atmosphere, most likely visible and undoubtedly audible to any creatures present on the ground below. The Astartes within the mechanical beat held themselves with a degree of tension, the force of the gunships high speed pressing the insides uncomfortably. Yet all had filled there minds with eagerness and excitement, such was the nature of the Star Lords fourth company, the 'Comets on high', the first to set foot upon the field of calling. Yet the young Captain Apollo Optimus held in his heart the slightest frustration, a slight gnawing sensation that had been the bane of his mind for the past day. The fact that his fellow brother Captain, Phebus Diomedes, had set foot upon this world before him, and that he had made first contact with the native creatures had been sour news to Apollo. His company was the comet, and the comet strikes first.

Though his mind was at rest in at least part knowing that this was no field of war, and no battle awaited him below, yet the miracle that this worlds people held was one Apollo yearned to have been the first to witness. With him he had brought a squad from the first company, squad 'Nightbane'. Also, just for fair compensation, and at the request of the 'Yetichetech' Mechanicus sept he had brought squad 'Hammerblaze' encased within their brand new sets of giant-like Centurion armour. The armour had been gifted to them as a departing gift from their progenitor chapter, the Sons of Horus, after their last campaign together; as if sending a contingent force wasn't enough the founding chapter could do for their younger brothers. Each suit outsized an Astarte by three times, coming close to the size of a dreadnought. The suits had a heavy weapon mounted on each wrist plus a supporting weapon mounted upon each side of the torso. The armour was thicker than that of tactical dreadnought armour, making a mockery of small arms fire.

"Comfy Horatius?!" Called out Anthonim over the cry of the Thunderhawks' engines.

"I'll let you know when I'm not." Replied the sergeant flatly.

The honoured veteran sergeant shook his head in disappointed amusement at his brother monotone response.

"Ten seconds, Captain." Sounded the pilot.

"Understood. Are our 'friends' far behind?" Apollo replied.

"They are already at the landing zone, sire."

Apollo cursed to himself, thwarted in his efforts again. Escalations in effort must be made for his company in the future. The ship began to slow, and when it became possible the squads disengaged from their harnesses. Hammerblaze had simply taken a knee to better cope with the crafts speed as flight harnesses had no hope of securing such gigantic armour. The gunship slowed further before coming to a stop mid-air and gracefully dropping down to the ground with a soft thump. A microsecond later and the assault ramp dropped down to let the Astartes run free from the confines of their vessel. the marines' boots went from thundering on rigid steel to grinding dead and dusty earth beneath them.

All about them was desert, rusty in color and near lifeless. The odd sickly tree or bush was scattered about a vast landscape of dark sand, piles of Rhino size boulders and titanic mountains. Dust assaulted Apollos' visor as the Thunderhawk took off into the skies once more, no doubt staining his recently cleaned crest. Swiping the trivial concern away, Apollo turned to face away from the craft and towards his allies. The silhouettes of the Mechanicus forces could just about be made out by the Captain, though their color scheme and frame did not help in the least. the marines marched forward and came face to face with the creatures that would like so very much to be able to call themselves human.

The leader, a Magos Dominus by the name of Terynic, walked towards the captain on four mechanical, insect-like limbs that came from a beetle-like abdomen that made up his lower body. His upper body was mostly humanoid, though his back was arched noticeably and the armour plates fused to his metal endoskeleton did not help him hide his hunched posture. His entire body was lacking the biomechanical flesh he had been grown with, in fact it seemed none of his original bio-mechanics remained at all, instead just a matte finished, metallic skeletal frame colored a bone white, locking in a collection of tubes, wires, pistons and cogs that made up body. His head was also metallic, but worse, had a single large, bright blue orb sat unblinking where his eyes should have been. His arms were long, his hands ending in skeletal fingers that grasped a Mechanicus staff that glowed with a bright blue energy like his singular eye and the many crevasse that led into his inner body. Two more, smaller limbs sat folded around his rib cage, one manipulative, the other ending in some form of scanning device. Behind him marched a twelve Scittarii, all appearing much like their master, only having humanoid legs, two glowing eyes sat in their metal skulls and holding atom cascaders. All wore wraps of age-stained cloth that served as a form of robe with loose ends snapping and twisting violently in the strong dessert winds. Behind all of them glided three insecticar automatas, scouting machines that were equipped with a complex stealth technology, the workings of which known only to the Mechanicus. The machines appeared a mix of insect and snake, made into the forms of terrifying machines each well over eighteen feet in length.

"Your forces are prepared, Captain?" Terynic asked in a voice that was more of a complex compilation of clicks and rattles.

"We are ready to make our advance." With that the Magos turned in an instant to head to their designated location before Apollo grabbed the android by the shoulder and swung him round to face him once more.

"I hope you understand the delicate nature of this operation. I am not known for my subtlety, but even I know when it is time to take one step back for every two taken forth.

The Magos simply cocked his cyclopian head to the side at the statement at first, staring into the Captains orange lenses with his own azure one. Upon his centaurian lower half the Magos matched the height of the Astarte, something Apollo had to admit to himself that was unfamiliar to him.

"Do not concern yourself with the workings of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Captain. We shall operate within our boundaries, you shall operate within your own."

With that the android took off, leaving the marines as he and his retinue marched to the city that lay a few kilometers ahead. Apollo prayed to the stars that this creature would cause him no trouble than he could not tolerate, for the sake of not his men, but the poor creatures that he now marched towards.

Applejack was growing tired indeed of the creation that stood before her. This monolith of mockery, this pillar of disappointment. The alien pod had sealed itself shit tight as soon as the final flying machine had entered its confines, and although this offered a much more flexible shape to move the object around on, it proved now impossible to examine the vessels interiors. Her sister and the other mechanics had labored day and night with every manner of tool that every workshop in Appleoosa had to offer. Yet the machine proved to be as stubborn as Applejack herself, and infinitely more solid. The metal the machine was built from was impervious to the hottest flames and heaviest equipment, the most they could accomplish was making a mess of the paintwork. At this point Applejack was seriously considering putting the damned thing in front of a Fortbuster and seeing how tough it felt then.

With a sigh the orange mare returned to lean against the workbench across the room from the forty ton problem that hand literally dropped into her life, as if she didn't have enough to deal with. Sparkle enslaved and tortured her people in the name of false gods, Fluttershy led a hoard of wildling savages ever further into Equestria by the day, Rarity scraped in every pony that could be bought into military service and wallowed in her own wealth, Dash had formed together an armada of warrior-pegasi to bully every other house into submission, and then there was the cult. The cult was the last thing she wanted to think about, but here she was, thinking about it.

A waterfall of memories, as fresh and foul as the day they occurred, fell upon her mind in a relentless fashion. Images of nightmares made reality flashed before her very sight alongside the distant sound of screaming ponies slowly being drowned  out by the cackles and giggling of those things. Those things that she had once known as neighbors, friends or at least ponies she had walked by as she casually walked the streets. All had turned into something else, something worse than anything she could imagine, a terror even her very nightmares failed at recreating with quite the same effect. Death did not sway them, it didn't even stop most of them, and the creatures that had been wrenched from a cursed realm into reality had been more than enough for Applejack to sleep with a hand cannon under her bed.

The commander snapped out of her mental prison with a shake of her head, the memories echoes haunting her still several seconds after she had banished the thought. She brought a slightly shaking hand to her forehead to steady her thoughts, taking several deep breaths before marching towards the alien device with a grim expression.

"C'mon sis. Gimme someth'n here." AJ called to her sister who was hung upside down by a wire harness, a crowbar in her hands desperately scratching were the top of the one of the pods doors met its' core.

"The hay d'yah want me tah say AJ?! The thang may's'well be made 'a' solid diamond!" Applebloom replied in a huff of frustration before spinning back the right way up and winding herself back to the ground.

"What?! So you're just giving up, that it?!" AJ spat.

"Look sis, ah know we all had our hearts set on this thang, but even ah gotta say we should think about packin' up shop on this one. Yah know nopony else knows machines like ah do, and ah can say fer sure that who or whatever built this designed it so that when it shuts, it stays shut. Ah mean, this is technolagy like ah've never seen; the design, alloys, everythang!"

AJ would never give up on a task, not stopping for anyone until she saw it done. Aside from this time. The commander had to admit it, her sister was right. If this thing was designed to stay shut, the likelihood was that nothing but its' creators could get it to open up again. Furthermore, the fact she had brought this thing back to her own capital was a double-edged sword. On one hand the technologies this thing offered were potentially bottomless, and needed to be exploited by the house (or at the very least, kept safe from greedy eyes elsewhere). However, the possibility that the makers of this thing were headed to claim their stolen vessel made AJs' heart pound in panic. These things could be capable of practically anything, possibly even destroying all of Equestria. Perhaps they looked at ponies as little more than insects in need of extermination, or perhaps slaves! AJ sighed and began to pace lightly.

"Right. No getting this thang t' crack. Technology bordering on sorcery locked inside. Any ideas?"

"Ah think maybe we should act the good little kiddies we may appear to whatever made this and put it right back where we found it. Y'know, before they come knockin' to get it back. Hay, they may not even believe in knocking."

"Urgh, fine! Ah guess there'll be a lot 'a' disappointed looks ah'll be gettin' today."

Suddenly, as if rehearsed, a pony-at-arms burst through the workshop doors. The heavy-built stallion seemed to stumble more than he ran, as if his legs had been grasped by powers beyond his own mind. Panting heavily, he began to spit breathless words.

"......Gate!...Soldiers!....Not ponies!"

AJ and Applebloom shared a look for way longer than they should have before bolting out of the workshop and headed strait for the city gates.

"-Like scales, green ones! Maybe blue!"

"Enough, Applebloom. This ain't no time t' be foolin' around with yer daydreamin'." AJ shot as she hurriedly escalated the wooden staircase.

At the top of the staircase sat the watchtower platform with two more Earthborn soldiers awaiting the commanders arrival. Both took what normally would be an unacceptable length of time to salute the commander, yet their lack of diligence was excusable due to what their attention had been gripped by. After the commander had received her salutes she turned to face beyond Appleoosas' timber gate, foolishly expecting something less terrifying than what she received.

Monsters. Giants. Machine beasts from another world stood like statues void of life itself before her city's very doorstep. Not fifty feet the creatures held their ground before the city limits, all standing still as stone and, from a painfully intense feeling AJ felt, staring strait at her. She couldn't be completely sure of this as the creatures eyes seemed to lack any traits to determine their direction nor did they even blink. For a while all AJ could do was simply stare back.

"How long ago did they arrive?" The commander asked in a hushed tone, fearing these creatures could somehow hear her.

"It began with two creatures dropping from the skies, Commander." One of the guards replied.

"Like before?"

"No, commander. They flew like a pegasi, yet they roared like a pissed off hydra. They touched the ground in the distance for a moment before taking flight once again, one after the other. They then flew off into the skies, higher than anything I had ever seen before, then disappeared."

AJ continued to scan her sights over the aliens, now noticing a new breed of creature, more terrifying than the last, taking a perfect six by six rank formation behind the giants. They appeared as alien skeletons filled with machinery that gave a ghostly blue glow that pained the eyes to stare at even in daylight. They all wore robes and bandages, seemingly unchanged for decades if not longer with their light brown hue and torn edges. All the skeletons held what appeared to be a form of firearm that glowed the same electric blue as their metal guts, while AJ assumed the machinery the giants had holstered and strapped around their waists were also some form of firearm.

"Anypony tried talkin' to these thangs?" She said, turning to the guards who looked at each other, nervous of how their response would sit with the orange mare.

"Uh, n-no, Commander. You want us to send som-...or maybe, go out ourselves?" The guard replied, practically shaking with fear at the possibility to be the first to get zapped by some bizarre alien death-ray.

"No, ah will go." She replied simply before heading to descend the tower.

"ARE YAH CRAZY SIS?! We dunno what them thangs'll do tah yah!" Applebloom nearly screamed as she chased after her sister.

"No arguments! Ah'd rather go mahself an' be sure this goes smoothly than risk anypony else gettin' us in trouble we really could do without," AJ said sternly before stopping to turn to Applebloom, "...Though...sure wouldn't be a bad idea to go grab me a few..." She turned again to see the ranks of the aliens, "Juggernauts....yeh, say eight....ten 'a' Big Macs' finest an' send 'em mah way....An' have the 12th regiment wait behind the gate, give 'em a buster too." AJ said to the young mare, realising how much trouble this could turn out to be as she listed off more and more units she felt would provide adequate compensation if things turned sour.

"...Perhaps we should knock, sire?" Anthonim suggested in a low mumble.

"They've seen us. Not to worry, they haven't shot at us yet, which means they should be preparing a retinue party to meet us." Apollo calmly replied.

"Perhaps the prospect of negotiations does not present itself to such simple creatures." Terynic chimed in, the mechanical tone carrying a degree of further coldness it had not before held.

"They were smart enough to build a city, military and machines, they're smart enough not to start unwanted fights."

"I thought you of all our brothers would be the one to start hammering on a natives front door? Respectively, m'lord." Added the sergeant.

"I have my moments." The Captain replied with a humored snort.

Another half hour passed, and Apollo could hear everything that was being readied behind the wall. These creatures may not have been exceedingly smart, but they were far from stupid. The march of soldiers, many soldiers, could be heard with the rumble and grind of a war engines machinery. Obviously he had stirred up quite the response from these people, and this made the Captain feel very pleased. These people feared them, of that there was no doubt, and though such a technique was frowned upon by his chapter it was paramount to earning the respect that came tied in with such a fear. These people needed to know their place, one they had now been edged into, one that required them to prepare an army in response to a mere twenty two imperial guns.

Soon enough, however, the wooden gates groaned before swinging open at the efforts of a dozen natives who hurried back to the safety of their city walls as the fear of being simply exposed to such imposing warriors gripped them. Apollo could hear the order to proceed shouted out by what seemed like a female voice before the march of armored feet could be heard. Out came quite the display, one that would have most certainly been a fright before any other infantry. Yet the marines were utterly unmoved by the ranks that marched towards them, even slightly amused. Twenty one souls marched forward, all clad in a rust-red painted armour that reminded him so very much of the common pattern Mechanicus armour. Their armour was forged thick and layered on thick with chainmail seen everywhere that required a field of movement. One however seemed to wear a slightly less heavy-set armour, the one Apollo assumed to be the female commander he had heard moments ago. The native looked most respectable, even by a space marines' standards, wearing a fine set of armour decorated with shining emeralds. A cloak of midnight black whipped about her heels, linked to a fine wrap of animal fur that carried down her shoulders. A small banner hung above her head depicting what first took Apollos' breathe away, the Ultramarine sigil, yet on closer inspection appeared to be a crowned horseshoe bearing a fruit and cradled in leaves. At the banners edges were hung some form of brightly colored ornaments, a breed of ocean shell or something of the sorts. Her blonde mane was tied up into a topknot fashion, while one of her bright green eyes was hidden beneath an eye-patch, a sign of a respectable general not afraid to get into the thick of battle.

Her escorts wore the thicker sets of armour that seemed clunky and brutal in design and function, certainly not ideal for an adaptable warrior breed. Their faces were concealed behind daunting helmets bearing fierce metal tusks and horns that appeared to be of a fully functional design; obviously these boys didn't mind getting their heads stuck into the action, literally. Their boots were heavy and cumbersome, while their fists were locked inside giant gauntlets fashioned into a maul/hammer like weapon. Everything about these soldiers screamed 'brute force', yet at the same time 'clumsy'. The fur-coated creatures grew close to the marines and Scitarii at their commander lead before coming to a halt about ten feet away.

"Mah name is Applejack, supreme commander of house Earthborn. And what might you fine, uh.....gentlemen be doing around these parts?" The female, this 'Applejack', spoke with a rustic charm that Apollo found very infectious, immediately finding himself fond of the small creature.

"I am Captain Apollo Optimus, commander of the fourth company Star Lords space marine chapter. As for your question, well, upon observing your humble planet we thought it be a most acceptable environment to come oon down and give our legs a stretch on good old-fashioned, natural gravity. Space travel, you see, can sometimes cause ones' joints to become stiff and ill-used." The Captain mused, his tone deliberately giving away his playful tone.

"Well excuse mahself fer sayin', but there a whole lotta world out there yah can stretch out them legs 'a' yers. Mind tellin' us why yah chose to take a stroll down towards mah lands?" Applejack replied with a chuckle, yet something in her tone hinted to the Astarte that she was not in the mood for games.

"Of course, commander. Please, forgive our intrusions, but it would seem you came into contact with one of our surveillance drones. So much so you've made the applaudable effort to bring it all the way from its' landing zone to here." The Captain explained with a light tone.

"Hey, uh, you want yer metal flower bud back ya'll can take it." Applejack said trying her best to keep her face collected.

"Oh such a trinket is of little concern when compared to the real reason we're here." The Captain said as he removed his helmet, "You."

Applejack was obviously taken aback by the sudden gesture, her face loosing its tension and discipline and falling in awe. The Astarte must have looked a monster to the creature as she took a step back, most of her guards tensing up at the action of his revealing himself. His square facial frame, darkened eye sockets, pitch black hair, rough stubble and tanned flesh must have appeared quite the bizarre to creatures that he saw to be off bright, vibrant colors of all kinds, with soft features and large, bright eyes. Apollo couldn't help but grin at the sight of child-like panic before him.

"O-ok then. So, uh...us? What about us?" Applejack stuttered.

"The likelihood that two races, separated by hundred of thousands of light-years sharing the same dialect is in most respects impossible. Yet such a miracle has occurred, and it is occurring this very moment."

"Right. So ya'll find it pretty fancy that we can understand each other, ah get that. But why ya'll feel the need tah come see it fer yerself?"

"Do not think us so arrogant as to remain perched upon our heavenly throne only to calculate the events below as souless cosmic marauders. We grant such an occurrence the respect it deserves, a personal audience. This and such an event is most likely no coincidence, and many among our ranks believe the work of the gods is afoot upon this world, and such a thing is a calling to us. Why else would such a significant element as basic communication be a trait that both our people share? Why else but to put it to practice and have us learn from one another?" The Captain lectured, his tone thick with a sense of ethereal motive.

"Ah can figure. So, what d'ya'll want tah 'communicate' about?" Applejack asked, relaxing but a tiny bit.

"Please, see us not as a threat. We are driven by a divine purpose, one all my kin share. The purpose to show the fair common-folk our shield, and the wretched darkness of this universe our blade. Know that whatever land harbours good souls will see security through our blood, and any that harbors the forces of foul working shall be vanquished from the galaxy and memory itself." He preached, proposing an improvised recital of his chapters pledge.

"So ya'll are here...to help us?" Applejack asked confused.

"As long as it is needed and deserved."

Applejack looked at the Captain for a moment quizzically, scanning her one eye over his features intensely before seemingly tensing up. She looked at him as if expecting to burn a hole through his skull with her very sight, the intensity of the stare stirring the sense of unease within the Astarte. His eyes narrowed and head tilted in curiosity as to the strange effort the female was making. But a couple of seconds before she had begun whatever it was she had initiated she stopped, her expression and gaze relaxing before turning into a wide, gleaming smile.

"Well ah reckon such a profession deserves to be bought a drink. Ya'll come on in an we'll see yer settle in comfy. Oh, and...err....what about them fellas?" She asked peering behind the marine to look upon the unblinking ranks of the Mechanicus.

"Ah, yes. They represent the house that sees our technologies and sciences are given life. I will not sweeten the truth, such creatures are intrusive as they are soulless, yet I can assure you they will cause no trouble. They just wish to observe your society and its' workings, just to record who we're involving ourselves with."

"Sure thang pardner. Heck, ah'll have a mechanic team give 'em a tour when we get inside." Applejack said warmly before giving a quick shout of surprise and fright as the Magos scuttled up to her with the speed of a lightning fueled insect.

"That will not be necessary. Continue your workings as you would normally. See that none interfere with our research." The android spoke through his buzzing and clicks before scuttling off into the city along with his Automatas, the Scitarii marching slowly in tow.

"Like I said, intrusive." Apollo said as he waved his squads forward.

The aliens marched forward, shaking the very earth she held so dear with each massive footfall. The commander had just made the gamble of a lifetime, and had either assured her houses absolute victory or its' imminent destruction. Her mind spun with the possible outcomes, yet settled with the knowledge that had always been her greatest ally, the truth. The alien had spoken truth, a truth so absolute and one it was so devout to that it paled Applejacks' in comparison. This creature was willing to go through pain and beyond to achieve the goals of its' people, a goal that stretched the very stars. Her 'sight' had shown her all this, the clarity of even word the giant had spoken was as beautiful as a technicolor diamond bathed in a godly light that shone from within it like liquid gold. His loyalty to his purpose surpassed the mere dreams and promises of ponies, even those as definite as AJs'. This warlord of the stars would die a thousand times over and a thousand times again if it meant one good pony was to live safe. It feared nothing, not pain, death, terror or threat, it was the ultimate superior warrior mind and as immovable as a mountain.

This thing could turn Earthborn into a planet-wide empire, or a ruin of ash and fire. This thing was marching into Appleoosa, and Applejack felt a strange sensation of simultaneous hope and dread.