Warhammer: Equestrian Dark Fantasy

This is a dark age, a bloody age, an age of daemons and of sorcery. It is an age of battle and death, and of the world's ending. But it is also a time of mighty heroes, of bold deeds and great courage.

Besides the perpetually warring Old World there is another neighboring Realm, the magical land of Equestria, where sentient creatures of legend reign supreme. Many of these stand on their hind legs. For almost a thousand years its populace of colorful, magical equine people known as Ponies has enjoyed unrivalled peace and prosperity. For almost as long as it has existed, the benevolent alicorn Princess Celestia has ruled Equestria, the principles of friendship, harmony and magic governing her righteous hand. She brings light to the world each and every day.

However, these happy, carefree times may soon be coming to an end. The nobility class of ponies, descended from Equestria's first settlers, continues to amass power and influence that may rival the Princess herself. To the east the Eastern Griffon Kingdoms have crushed the last of their internal rivals and its power-hungry hierarchs have turned their eyes upon the prosperous Equestrian lands. The dragons, aloof and uncaring about the world around them, have begun settling within the borders and less habitant parts of the lands away from civilization, yet continue to stir fear and discontent. Bands of nomadic canine folk are gathering within the badlands and have begun tunneling into the very earth while others are forging weapons. Reports and sightings of insect-like creatures are on the rise. And last there are the conflicting myths of daemons and dark gods that wait within an alternate realm of darkness that rivals Tartarus itself to resume a long ended and long forgotten unholy crusade upon the material world.

As the time of battle draws ever nearer, Equestria needs heroes like never before…

(WH)

(WH)

What can be said about Man? Other than that they do not belong here, and savagery runs in their blood?

- Starswirl the Bearded, Pre-Classical Era

The battle should have ended before it even began. She would have used the sun itself to vaporise the daemon and it’s griffon allies from the face of Equestria itself. But she had underestimated her alien foe, not counting on their masters’ power to suppress her and her sister’s own power over the sun and the moon. And now they paid the price with the lives of their entire army. All of whom willingly surrendered their lives for the two of them against the Hordes.

Kneeling amongst the corpses of thousands of ponies, griffons and the ashes of vanquished daemons, the alicorn known only as Celestia forced herself off her bloodied knees back onto her feet. Clasping her broken greatsword in her left hand, she realized that she was the only thing left, which stood between her beloved Equestria and certain destruction. Still feeling the burning sensation move into her scalp, her pink mane having been singed by a blast of daemonic fire, her vision begun to blur. She coughed blood and felt the golden plate armour she wore slowly starting to become heavier as her strength began to fade.

She painfully turned her head to see her sister, Luna, lying in a slowly growing pool of her blood, her black-plated armour and the numerous shades of the colour blue that defined her splotched in the vital red liquid. She gritted her teeth and turned her head back towards the horror that heralded the merging of her world and that of the Realm of Chaos, her horn charging with golden energy as she focused her magic.

Silhouetted against the eerie backdrop of a glowing, spiraling portal, which led into the hellverse that was the Realm of Chaos  stood a Daemon Prince, the Daemon Prince of Equestria, Byrokal of the Bloodied Horse – Champion of the Chaos Gods; whose mere visage save for his sunken, red-coloured eyes and head full of brown, blood matted hair that stretched all the way to the small of his back, defied accurate description.  However it could be summed up as a combination of daemonic and human flesh held together by spiked daemonic plate armour bearing the Eight-Pointed Star blessed by the Dark Gods themselves.

Byrokal’s slowly walked forward upright on his goat-like legs towards Celestia, his warhammer shimmering with dark eldritch power, smirking as he thought of the all pleasant, horrible things he could do to both regal sisters once he conquered Equestria in the name of the Chaos Gods. Afterwards, he would shift his attention to everywhere else within this realm, and then the realm after that, followed by the realm after that one.

“Erik,” Celestia croaked his real name painfully. “Please…don’t…make me…”

Byrokal chuckled darkly, “Do it? Do what, exactly?”

He stood before Celestia, staring down at the thoroughly beaten equine form that was the ruler of Equestria.

“Tell me, Celestia,” he then demanded. “How is it that you plan to stop me, anyway?! Everything you have done, it has only made Chaos’ grip on this world even stronger. To even lay a hoof against me now, you will be paying tribute to Khorne, the God of Blood and War! He and the other Dread Gods, they all stand behind me as I merge both realms together.”

He then paused, as if to reflect on his experiences here in Equestria, before and after the truth was revealed to him.

“Friendship? Harmony? Those things, this world and everything in it cannot hope to survive such a cursed reality. Discord, servant of Chaos, opened my eyes!”

Celestia remembered how Discord had driven the human insane, the start of his path to darkness and Daemonhood. Said Daemon raised his warhammer into the air, ready to deliver the killing blow.

“Please…” she pleaded, almost to the point of sobbing. “He’s a liar. He’s harmless now…don’t do this…”

“You may have stopped Discord, but nothing can rid this realm of the taint NOW!” he declared out loud triumphantly. “NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL FOR YOU ARE NOTHING!!!!!!”

Openly glaring up at the abomination Celestia once called friend and comrade she forced herself back onto her feet, the six coloured gems on her breast-plate plate arranged in a frame beginning to glow as she focused her magic into them; as she did so, she regained her strength and the collective prayers, hopes and dreams of all ponykind.

Byrokal screamed and brought his hammer down, only to be hit by a bright light emanating from the Princess.

“Nothing…except for the ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!” Celestia shouted, forcing Byrokal to step back. “THEY STOPPED DISCORD, THEY WILL STOP YOU!”

“W-WHAT?!” Byrokal was stunned at the sight of her and what she just said. “THE ‘ELEMENTS’?! BUT THEY WERE WASTED ON DISCORD…!”

Byrokal cried out as he was blinded by the light that shone forth from Celestia, her eyes glowing white as she used her magic to telepathically tear the warhammer out of the Daemon Prince’s hands. She then gritted her teeth and grabbed the warhammer with her own two hands, focusing her magic into the daemon-forged weapon itself, purifying and ridding it of the daemonic energies surrounding it…

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

…and with her magic amplifying her physical strength she swung it up and into Byrokal’s chest, blood and flesh spewing out of his mouth from the impact sending him flying into the portal behind him.

“DAMN YOU TIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Gripping the warhammer mid swing could only watch as he disappeared into the tear and it closed up behind him, bringing forth blue, cloudless sky and signalling the end of Chaos’ attempt to merge the realms together. She then dropped the warhammer onto the grass…

“Erik…”

She then fell onto her hands and knees, bowed her head and wept. She had been too late save him, the first Human in Equestria, Discord’s last victim and the unknowing Herald of Chaos. She glimpsed at the warhammer…

“T-Tia? Erik?”

…before hearing her younger sister croak. Still weeping, she shakily stood up and turned to face the Princess of the Night…

That was when Celestia woke up.

(WH)

…It's known only to us unicorns that Discord's brand of Chaos was not the worst kind to exist. There are beings that exist, which are far more evil, given birth to by the darkness in our ancestors' hearts. To a filly or colt untrained in the gifts we possess, they are the gateway to a world of horror, of suffering, of no laws that exist, where daemons and dark gods reign – a true Realm of Chaos.

That is why you are here, my little ponies. Untrained, you are dangers to not only yourselves, but to those around you, especially those that love you. We will teach you to harness your gifts of manipulating the Winds of Magic that breeze past us. With our help, the daemon will not take you.

With our help, and yours, harmony shall continue to forevermore reign over Equestria.

- Part of the Welcoming Speech to all first year Students of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, until knowledge of the Realm of Chaos and Dhar (Dark Magic) was suppressed by order of Princess Celestia following the banishment of Nightmare Moon.

(WH)

2,500 Years Later…

‘Wha…what is this place?’

The human colt found himself walking through a misty fog. The last thing he remembered was being tucked into bed by his mother, then receiving an affectionate kiss on the forehead followed by her blowing out the candles. She bid him goodnight, then closed the door into his room behind her. The colt looked and turned in all directions, seeing seemingly endless fog in the middle of nowhere.

The colt of about six years was fair skinned with short, auburn hair that was neatly styled just past his ear lobes and green-coloured eyes. He was dressed in his bedclothes, consisting of a black tunic and pantaloons, images of a half-moon imprinted on the front, back and knees.

Rubbing his left arm worriedly, he began to feel dread…and loneliness. For as long as he remembered he could never stand being lonely. There was always Mother, his best friend Flash Sentry, followed by his tutor, the servants and the guards.

“Hello!” he called out, his young voice a mixture of regality and innocence. “I-Is anypony here? I’m…I’m lost…”

Silence was his answer. He stopped walking and stood, slowly starting to shiver from fear. He opened his mouth to call out again when suddenly…

“Roland.”

…he heard a warm, inviting voice call out to him seemingly some distance ahead of him. His eyes brightened up and he smiled when he thought his mother was calling out to him. However it faded almost immediately.

“Roland?” he thought. “Who is ‘Roland’?”

“Come,” he then heard the voice, invitingly, ever warmly. “Come to me, Roland.”

The colt, whose name the voice referred to as 'Roland' felt compelled to resume walking through the mist until he found the source of the voice calling out to him. He rubbed his eyes when he saw that the mist was starting to part ways before him until he found himself standing before a lake; a lake that 'Roland' could see suddenly stretched both ways away from him into the mist that now surrounded him, yet did not cover the running water before him. His eyebrows crossed wryly in confusion, before his attention span – atypical to one his age – drew his attention back to the water.

His eyes widened in fascination, briefly focusing on each of the water lilies that floated on the water. When he knelt to get a closer view the water rippled…

“Huh?”

…and ‘Roland’ thought he saw two eyes staring up at him from beneath the surface of the water. The water lilies parted and ‘Roland’ appeared petrified, falling over backward from his kneeling position and onto his behind, scrambling to get back up on his feet just in time to welcome the seemingly fair maiden that emerged from beneath the lake.

She appeared human just like him, fair-skinned, full lips, blue of eyes and brown of hair that flowed freely behind her. In terms of clothing she wore a simple yet elegant dress and a garland of flowers and ivy around her head. What drew ‘Roland’s attention the most, though, was the grail she held in both hands. The Lady of the Lake smiled warmly at Roland and his attention upon the grail. ‘Roland’ then looked up at her eyes.

“Roland,” she sounded sad, which reflected upon her features. “Why hast  thou not joined with thyself?”

Filled with confusion and innocence, ‘Roland’ stammered, “W-what?”

“The power within thee could spill out unto the world of man.”

“P-power?” ‘Roland’ asked. “What power?”

The Lady smiled, as if understanding something the colt had no say in. "It is not too late for thee. Return home and thou shall receive thy answer.”

She paused.

“Roland.”

“Roland?” ‘Roland’ scratched his head in confusion.

He then picked up that she was referring to him by what he thought was the pronoun.

“M-my name is Morgen von Sonne, not Roland,” the colt corrected the Lady of the Lake.

However she appeared…displeased.

“Art thou sure?” she asked plainly, all traces of warmth formerly in her voice now faded away.

“A-and my home is in Canterlot.”

Suddenly he felt something grab him by his left arm. Before he could cry out he felt a feminine hand cover his mouth and he was spun around to see two blackened eyes staring into his, They belonged to a…

(WH)

And right there, the dream ended.

Morgen von Sonne was staring up at the ceiling, his breathing panicked and a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his head. When he realised that it had all been a nightmare he slowly began to calm down, his breathing becoming lighter. However his heart continued to pound in his chest and the image of the Lady in the Lake and those two blackened eyes belonging to the creature that accosted him were close to having been burnt into his mind.

He sat up on his bed and looked around, the light from the moon shining through his window illuminating his rather spacious bedroom. He could make out his toy box positioned against the far wall, the small desk right next to it and his drawings blue-tacked to the wall next to it. He turned his head to see his wardrobe and body sized mirror right next to it. Also the moonlight impressively illuminated the various pastel styles of blue that made up the décor on the walls and ceiling, further convincing young Morgen that he was awake and safe in his bed in the royal palace of Canterlot.

And his mother was just down the hall from his room within their private wing of the castle.

(WH)

Knowing that the Royal Guards would not patrol this part of the wing at this time of night for fear of disturbing both him and his mother, Morgen was not in fear of accidentally walking into them as he ventured down the darkened, candle-lit hallway until he stopped before the doors leading her room. He gently put his hands on the door and pushed it open…

“Is that you, Morgen?”

He froze when he heard the sweet, gentle tone of voice that could only belong to his mother. He pushed it open and stood in the doorway, staring into the moon-lit room, the bedding where his mother laid obscured by shadows. The only thing he could make out of her was her magenta coloured eyes.

“Mommy?”

“I sensed that you woke up, dear. Is everything alright?”

Morgen rubbed his left arm, and looked at his feet, “I…I had a bad dream…”

Somehow he could feel his mother smile gently at him, followed by the rustling of blankets being pulled off, then by hooves walking on the carpeted floor towards him. Morgen looked up, almost eagerly, as moonlight shining in from the window revealed her to him.

Wearing a pink nightgown, the tall, white coated alicorn stood out in the light. Her mane was a combination of cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue and heliotrope. His instinct had proven correct, for she was smiling, when she reached down, lifted him up and nuzzled him, followed by him throwing his arms around her neck in an embrace and burying his face into the side of her neck

Celestia closed her eyes and whispered, “I had a bad dream as well.”

“Huh?” Morgen looked up at her, surprised. “What kind of bad dream?”

She stared back at him sadly, “A very sad one. But I’m feeling much better now. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

She rubbed noses with him, careful not to poke him with her horn and smiled, “Because it’s over now; and you’re here with me. What about you?”

Morgen giggled at the contact and returned her smile.

“I feel better too.”

Soon enough Morgen was once again asleep, beneath Celestia’s warm gaze as he slept beside her, this time free of nightmares. Soon enough Celestia was fast asleep as well, dreaming of the day five years ago when she first found him…