The Dark Crusades

Kneeling in front of the statue of the Goddess of Eternal Darkness, a lone Dark Knight is seen. It's been many centuries since Luna or Celestria had been seen on any planet but terra. But in her heart she knew, they were still watching over the Dark Crusades. The holy war they had been waging against the Xeno scum, to purge and gain land for the Empire of the Sun.

Muttering the prayer of redemption, she rose, her mane tightly plated and oiled sat tight against the skin of her neck. Bundles of cables protruded from ports at the base of her skull and around her jaw, each connected her to her sacred power armour forged in the Holy furnaces of mars by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Her armour Identical to every other suit if looked upon by the eyes of mortals, but to her and her sisters they were each different. Each had it's own sense of being, shared with that of the wearer it was a glorious feeling to share the power of such a mighty force.

Her suit may be a few decades old, but it was still as new as the day it was made thanks to the great armour smiths of the chapter. Her armour had been battered, bruised and broken many times in the face of conflict but they were always there to restore it to it's rightful glory.

The lone Knight turned and walked towards the wall of the temple of darkness. In front of her the armour servitor sat inbuilt into the wall, the organic/mechanical hybrid holding her helmet in it's grip. These servitors worked as the fingers of the 22nd assault squad of the Dark Knights. Another genius creation of the Adeptus Mechanicus: the brain child of their founder Twilight sparkle: the Greatest Mage and inventor ever known. Her family, a prime example of the cream of the imperium. Her brother even had gained fame as the primarch of Celestrias royal guards his gene seed preserved, and used to grow the royal guards of tomorrow.

But what about her: the lone Dark Knight? The stray wipes of straw coloured yellow hair being gently coaxed inside the neck seal of the helmet as it was lowered: what part did she play?

Meanwhile, on the upper decks of the C.R.B.S Harpy, a Deathcall class strike cruiser, the captain strode back and forth impatiently. There was a clicking sound as his hooves struck the metal deck.

"Captain," a navigator called from his station. "We're about to exit the warp." The captain took a seat as the klaxons wailed, a warning that they were exiting warp, a time when the ship was most vulnerable to the forces of chaos and lord Discord. He waited as the air inside the ship seemed to shimmer and flex, then stood still, returning to normal. "We have exited warp." the navigator said, informing the captain who immediately stood up and resumed his pacing.

The bridge was silent, the captain had stopped pacing and was facing the navigator. "How far from planet side?" he barked, the authority he held was clear in his voice. "Two weeks sir." the navigator hesitantly replied. The captain smiled and turned to one of the message servitors at the back of the bridge (it was a Parasprite model: finally, they'd found a use for the little buggers)."Take note" he said taking a deep breath, and the servitor beeped in response. "Message for warmaster Golden berry" he paused allowing the servitor to recognise the name and acquire her location within the ship. "Being awaking of the Dark knights' plant fall in two weeks" he finished and nodded his head and the servitor took flight, heading towards the chosen pony.

Meanwhile, back in the bowls of the ship, the lone Dark Knight wandered from the temple. Her helmet secured tightly to the neck seal, the blaring of the klaxons which signalled leaving the warp still ringing in her ears, the sound enhanced by the auto senses of her helmet. Why was she wandering through the ship when she should have been asleep in stasis with her sister? She had asked herself the same question. Then she heard it, the chirp of her vox system telling her she had an incoming message. It was her summons to the council, what she'd been waiting for, she was to be told if her punishment had been served for her crime. What was her crime? The last conflict they had been in, she was held responsible for the death of her sister. It had not surprised the lone Dark Knight, she was a medic after all. She saved life's and she took them but this case was special: she had been charged with killing her by removing her gene seed to soon. They claimed she could have saved her but the lone Dark Knight knew she couldn't have. The pony in question had received a laser blast to her chest it had melted though her holy armour and punctured her primary and secondary heart. "I could save her..." the mockery clear in the lone Dark Knight's voice. "Sure I could." In her opinion, the best option was to remove her gene seed and end it quick: stop her comrade's suffering. What was wrong about that? And her sentence? Her sentence was she was refused from entering stasis for the three year trip. She'd spent the trip in meditation and in practice, honing her skill for when she was allowed to re-nter battle and she hoped she would be granted permission at her hearing.

Slightly up the hall, the warmaster sat surrounded by the captains of the battalion of her chapter. They listened intently to the message of the servitor. "Two weeks till plant side." One of the captains said with a whistle. "Better begin preparation for the drop." Each captain who sat alongside the warmaster knew what was meant by the drop: each squad of ponies would be strapped into a drop pod and fired at the planet below. Within a matter of seconds they would have made hoof fall on the plant and begin the extermination of the Xeno species. But this held it's own risk, as in the past they had lost whole squads to malfunctions of the drop pod boosters.

Their thoughts were interrupted as they heard hoof falls on the sold oak doors which were the entrance to the chamber. "Here comes the accused" the warmaster said and her horn begin to glow, the doors of the chamber swinging open and in walked the lone Dark Knight. "What have you learned from your three years of solitude?" the warmaster said, her voice soft and welcoming.

The Lone Dark Knight stood stunned, she wasn't expecting the warmaster's voice to sound like that: she had heard it many times before, but it had always been through the vox grill of her hemlet, robotic and harsh. It inspired her to fight in the name of Celestria on countless occasions, on countless worlds, against countless numbers of enemies. "I have learned from my mistakes: I have repented my wrongs and honed my skills." the lone Dark Knight said to answer the question. "I hope you have..." replied the warmaster "As you know, we have left warp and we are two weeks from planet side: you'll be going in with the 79th scout squadron of the blazing angles. Our primarch was close friends with this chapter primarch: make us proud." With that, the warmaster stood up and retired to her chambers to begin the rituals for battle. That, for the lone Dark Knight, was the que to leave.