Reclamtion's First Aspirant
Chapter 1
From the Heavens they Fall
Equestria was a peaceful land, without war, without famine, disease or contempt. All ponies were healthy and strong. It had been that way since the princesses had come to power millenia ago to overthrow Discord, an embodiment of chaos. They had defeated him using the Elements of Harmony turning the demon to stone. It was a world of paradise as told in an ancient religious text of Terra. It had been this way for a thousand years since the banishment of Nightmare Moon, a corrupted Luna, sister of Celestia who had forged a system of day and night by raising and lowering the sun and moon.
The pony race was young and not so ambitious as one would think. Their technology was limited to that of the Middle Ages of Ancient Terra with a few exceptions such as telephones and trains. Of course, that was until THEY came.
It was a starry night in Equestria, that night Luna had spattered the black night sky with the her greatest work yet. She set down through the hallway parallel to the palace balcony. Looking one last time at the garden balcony, she saw several groups of animals retreat into dens and flowers curling into spherical forms only to blossom again in the morning, the gardener had done well in the passing years, he would do well for many more.
She headed down the hall two guards closing the doors behind her, their mahogany frames gave out thunderous clap as the two wooden slabs met. To her left and right guards saluted as she passed.
“At ease,” she said as she passed each one.
With about an hour to spare before taking the throne for the night she set out to her chambers. As she neared them her hooves gave out to a stomp as she pushed open the doors, they were ancient for they creaked when she opened them, a note to herself: oil the hinges later.
The star spangled carpet brushed at her hooves as she removed her striped socks. There was the sound of the doors shutting. Then Silence. Standing there for a moment she gave out a breath. At the corner of her eye was a telescope that she used to peer into the cosmos, beyond her own works. An ancient stargazer, Star Swirl himself had pointed that the conception of reality in the space around Equestria was so thin that one unicorn powerful enough could control celestial bodies around. Of course that was when the immaterial universe began to leak into Equestria, that was what caused the Lunar Rebellion, Luna herself was corrupted by this Miasma of sentience which drove her to insanity, ending in only in her binding into the moon of Equestria by her sister, it took a thousand years for the Miasma to die out, simply by starving it out. Part of it still remained in her. But it was controllable. It was but her mere pet.
Luna took the telescope off the wall, this was an ancient one, it was worn years of usage, cracks and dust had gathered on the lenses. Luna liked such old and articulate objects. For one reason of course, she had been gone for a millenium, social orders had changed for the better, technology had advanced, she was behind everyone else, although she did get a new television and PC about a month after she returned. She stepped up to another balcony in her room, except this one was adorned with Lunar sigils, her personal heraldry instead of the Canterlot sigil.
The night air was cool on her face, it brought back memories of yore, when there were such things as regrets only love between each and every pony. Times had changed though. She wondered if she still belonged here after so many years had passed, her purpose had diminished. If she; princess of the night, mistress of the horrors of sleep could succmub to such corruptions such as the Miasma, then what good was she. Her purpose had diminished, Equestria had descended into war years ago. The elements were broken.
It all started one day ahh, yes the return of Discord, Celestia had attempted to restore the Elements of Harmony through her former student Twilight Sparkle’s letters. Discord foresaw this and had burned the letters. How humiliating a single stroke could be to an entire empire. What was it three years ago, yes three years, three years of anarchy. Equestria had been divided into six regions ruled over by the former element bearers, all sadomasochistic killers that had terrorized their respecting territories and hoarding resources from others. Wars were waged, millions died. Gruesome attrocities had been committed such as the slaughter of foals. Oh yes that happened, Luna and Celestia remembered that, that day. Six foals, the newborns of the Cakes had been impaled and hung on trees. After a week their corpses had nearly decomposed. One could smell the rot from a thousand meters away. Who had ordered this killing of the infants and parents, she did not know. All she knew was that after that week, one of the former element bearers had stepped to the corpses leading up two stallions, one of which was Big Macintosh, the other was Thunderlane, they ate for they hadn’t eaten in a week, she could see their ribcages. They ate for they feared the lash of that former element bearer. A cat of nine tails iron tipped. Luna had seen blood running from their backs, many cut marks. But when their master struck they had no reaction. They wore chained collars, eyes were soulless, without retinas. They had developed a penchant for being flogged. Each time their heads rose from the corpses there was a smile on their lips. She broken them so quickly, only imagine what would happen if Luna and Celestia were to face them in combat. The stale blood running down their mouths the infant flesh tearing each bite, their teeth had been sharpened to that of wolves for they they were now slaves, automata, less than dust.
After seeing such an attrocity, the sisters had vowed to scour the stars looking for a solution away from the watchful eye of Discord, they had surrounded Canterlot with a magical field that nopony could enter or leave unless they had permitted them. Day after day they had scoured solar systems while at the same time retaining the last hint of order. That was in all this shit, a beacon of hope, a place where refugees cast out from the terror of the six territories could live without harassment. That was of course if they passed checkpoints, in the past spies were sent in disguised as refugees. They were killed once found. There was no neutral ground, only Royalists and Discordians. Speaking of Royalists, what happened to Ponyville.
In the midst of war, Ponyville had been agreed upon, by the former element bearers to become a death camp/ slave trade ground. It was the only pact the former had made in these three years. In that town steel cages and torture cages contained hundreds of ponies, there for different crimes, some for no crime at all, those were the lucky ones. Those became the pleasure slaves of higher ecchelons of power in the six territories. A lifetime of work and lashing all stationed there, they would become deformed husks without mind, under constant watch and harassment from traitor guards. And no pony would go without being raped, for it mattered not what gender one belonged to. The young fillies and colts had it the worst, they would be raped and tortured daily with flogs and hot pokers, whatever blood came from them was used as a drink distributed back to the young ones. The old ones were given mercy, they were sent off to underground gas chambers. The dead were sometimes buried in mass graves, in severe cases of food shortage, they would the dead.
Diseases ran through the legions of slaves like a forest fire, lack of sanitation, gas chambers. In fact the unicorns and pegasi had it some of the worst for pegasi wings were clipped, and unicorns had their horns cut from them. Infections were so common that 60% of ponies did not make it through childhood.
Those who did not die of disease died of rape or torture. The usual methods of execution in these territories were crucifixion, burning, or if you were lucky, a whole crowd would be gathered and one would fight against a one of the guards, most died in these fights, but those who made it out were given a final butt raping and given their freedom, freedom from Thoughtcrime, freedom from their former masters, freedom from forced labor. But not freedom from bounty hunters, those who were set free sometimes were sold back into bondage. Those who made who were freedponies went right to Canterlot. Told by those who were knowledgeable enough of the land, to follow the setting sun. It was all Celestia could do to assist the free. But not even the ancient city was safe, sometimes spies came in kidnapped unsuspecting ponies in the dead of night. No loyal guardspony patrol could respond in time.
Even with the armies of Canterlot pushing and expanding, the minions of Discord often sabotaged such operations with simple offers of glory to the lowliest of troopers. After three years Canterlot was running out of food and water, they had resorted to rationing ten months ago. Discord and minions had not even required a siege, just terror.
Leaving her thoughts, Luna returned to looking through the lenses of her telescope, the heavens were the only thing that calmed her mood. Whether it’d be a fit of rage or depression which everypony dealt with. Even her sister wasn’t immune to its effects, in fact she had it worse than Luna, there a noose on the table in Celestia’s chambers. At any moment there was the threat of Celestia hanging herself. Three doses of Locoweed a day was the only solution for this depression.
Oh how desperate they were for solutions that they began doing black magic. Warding inscriptions into the floors using ancient runes they thought they would use, the art itself was the brainchild of Discord, used to conduct the most attrocious rituals and sacrifices. Most of them demanded blood and pain. In one such book it said that a pony had to be tied down and be eaten by crows. And the remains were to be strung up on ropes and burned on an altar made of bones.
Another of these rituals involved killing a foal and replacing its organs with the ashes of its parents and tossing the body into the body of water whether it be a lake or tub. What results did these rituals have? None, or at least none that were known. All that was known that it granted the favor of Discord.
With these strange cult rituals out in the world law had to be enforced harshly, even in Canterlot. The notion of Thoughtcrime existed, it did not entail death, it was death itself bound into into a decree that possessed the minds of all who gazed upon those words. A foal would often turn in their own parents overhearing the talk of dark rituals. Posters of Celestia and Luna labeled “OBEY” were littered throughout Canterlot. The city itself had become fortress of contempt and oppression. Repentance was a word long forgotten.
And also the freedponies, not all of them could get into Canterlot with its food shortages. They tried but were herded into a refugee camp outside the city. That was the only major settlement outside Canterlot and the Discordian territories. Scattered throughout the wastes were small dugouts where small families would hide before being captured and separated. That was in neutral territory, nopony owned it. Ponies would just wage war in that place hoping to gain ground but the slave armies had become so well entrenched that there was only a mile of advancement at most for any of the territories, and just a few days later they would fall back from a counter attack, turned into a war of attrition, that was the best method of population control other than forced sterilization.
Stepping away from her telescope, Luna went to the library, there she passed by medical full of sick ponies, entire castle portions had been converted into hab centers. After shooing the guards away, she sat cross legged at the center of the library, her equine legs were not meant to bend like that so it meant extreme pain and exhaustion in mere minutes. She closed her eyes. Her magic was building up behind the lids and they began to glow like an artificial sun brought down to Equestria. Her body collapsed in the center of a circle of ash lit by candles. A ghostly form appeared in another realm.
In the Warp, or as Luna knew it, the Realm of Magic, she soared. It was a dangerous and daunting task requiring the greatest concentration one pony could muster. One wrong thought and the Realm would claim her soul, it was the most dangerous task a Unicorn could undertake. It took lifetimes of practice to master the craft. Not even Luna had attempted before, she started practicing merely three years ago after the Discord event. First attempts resulted in sickness, soon she began to see the lights. The lights hurt, driving her to the verge of sanity, but she remained strong.
Regaining her sentience, she flew through the Realm, she flew further tonight than any other. It was like a desperate last stand. With these food shortages, Canterlot and all of Equestria wouldn’t last much longer. Now, how understood distance and direction in the Realm was all based off of two lights she saw in the Realm At any given moment her mind could pop out in deep space lightyears away from Equestria. And distance would be taken from how bright the two lights were glowing. The further she was from home, the lights would become brighter. Now, one of the lights was red, according to that red light she was in the galactic east. The normal light was positioned at a forty-five degree angle to the south of the red light.
Now, you remember she could drop out of the Warp at any time. Well, she had done so before. What she had seen stabbed a icicle of hope into her mind. What she saw? She saw hope. But it took place in pax per bellum, peace through war. Massive broadsided metal hulks sailing through space. Trillions of “humans” fighting on battlefields throughout the galaxy. All because of the ambitions of one man. That man was one of the lights in the Realm of Magic, the southern light. Her presence had permeated, the essence of his soul. One of cosmic power beyond comprehension. And that man was the Emperor of Mankind. And from him were begotten twenty sons bearing each quality that would be required to subjugate the stars and reunite humanity as he called it and them, the Great Crusade and the Primarchs. From the Primarchs were begotten twenty vast legions genetically engineered super-soldiers, the Legiones Astartes, all inheriting the traits of their gene-sires. Of course these terms she had learned from probing the minds of human military officials without them acknowledging her presence in the Realm. Some of which’s names she learned like Ollanius Pius, Horus Lupercal, and Sanguinius.
As Luna’s rode through the void of deep space, she spotted six inherent qualities that defined these human warriors, Kindness, Magic, Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, and Generosity. Now, she stumbled upon a world, a world a fleet of ships orbited the planet. Majority of them were yellow with a black fist. She sensed something on the planet below, war. The fists were fighting planetside. She spirited through the atmosphere. Her mind in the Realm, she saw one bright light, the Element of Loyalty, a replacement for the Rainbow Dash. Thomas Alexander was the name of that warrior. Fighting on the front line alongside his brothers. They were assaulting a fortress guarded by the aliens. She followed him from the Realm, seeing he entered the fortress with the rest of his brothers. There they fought with blades and bombs, shattering buildings and defensive fortifications. Then a counter offensive came along. With metal boxes, Thomas Alexander’s brothers were killed ninne at a time. He became the only survivor, the metal box aimed its gun right at him as he dove into cover. He wouldn’t live through this kind of attack. Luna had to intervene. As she saw a glare from the the box’s gun, she made herself real to him.
Thomas Alexander, a battle brother of the Imperial Fists 1st Company saw a Badoon. squad with one of their tanks come rolling through the street, going over rubble and rebar as they were mud. The Imperial fists had been deployed alongside the Luna Wolves, Iron Warriors, and Emperor’s Children to pacify Schravaan, exterminating its xenos inhabitants. The Iron Warriors formed the backbone of the assault on the capital city’s walls, they had blown a hole right, but in the process they sustained enormous casualties, but they still fought. The Imperial Fists now accompanied them into the heart of the city followed by heavy armor. The Emperor’s Children and Luna Wolves sought to choke out the Badoon from within. But why think such things when a autocannon was aimed right at you. Its barrel flashed as a shell struck his squad, effectively wiping out nine members. Linnaeus, Jericho, and all his other brothers now presumably dead. The barrel of the tank turned at him, this was where he died. A xenos tank would end him. As another shell exited the barrel of the tank gun, a bright light flashed blinding his retinas, his helmet filtered out the light and there was a dark figure it was a quadraped, hooves. It was horse, by Dorn, what was it? According to the books he had red horses did not appear out of oblivion and nor did they have midnight blue coats. Nor did they possess horns or a wing. He turned to pick up his boltgun at his side, when he turned the tank was gone as if nothing was there. This horse had saved his life, although xenos, he was in its debt, regardless of his loyalty to Dorn and the Emperor.
To the right. There was another squad of Badoon warriors advancing towards him, their archaic lasguns aimed to fire as they went into crouching and standing formations. He fired off two shots effectively blowing apart the squad leader’s body, its gore splattered onto its squadmates. And charged at them, firing two shots as he went over the twenty meters of rubble. Now, three of the six Badoon had died. Three left. They fired and scattered, leaving scorch marks and cracks in his Mk.II Power Armor. It all happened in a matter of seconds. There was one Badoon still standing there foolish enough to fight an Astartes hand to hand, this is where the Sons of Dorn and all other Astartes excelled. Pulling his knife and holstering his boltgun, its blade plunged through the xenos’ eye socket before it could have any reaction as its cleaver had barely missed his abdomen. Dead.
Then he turned around to face the horse.
“Thomas Alexander,” said Luna, “I am Luna and I’ve been watching you.”
It spoke Gothic
“”Xenos, I am in you debt, but I am not your servant. Why were you watching me.”
“Thomas, I come from a place that needs soldiers like you, my people are warring and I have scoured the stars looking for aspirants like you, and you meet the specifications.”
“Why should I help YOU, xenos, what would I benefit from it?”
“Peace of Mind, Thomas, will you join me and my quest to reunite my homeland with six of your five other of your kin?”
“Unification, I remember on Terra, my homeworld my people were divided amongst a hundred states. One man gathered many armies and reunited Terra, then set out for the galaxy to reunite the entire race. I see the importance in that, I will come with you.”
“Then let us go.”
A blue cloud engulfed the two, a equine and an Astartes as they set off to Luna’s next destination, the Element of Laughter.