Chapters Chapter 1
The ship rocked as the shells slammed into its side. Fire Storm, captain of the Elysium , was practically thrown off the command pulpit, despite the restraints that were meant to hold anypony standing there.
“Status report, now!” he yelled at the officer manning the ship's systems monitor, a completely gray pony with a ship's blueprint as his cutie mark.
“We've lost the shields, sir, the armor absorbed the blast! We take another shot like that one and we're down and out! We've also lost the primary Party Cannon, but secondary and tertiary Dragonfire cannons are still operational!” he yelled back. Great, thought Storm, now I know we're screwed.
The Party Cannon had been their only chance against the destroyer now facing them. Dragonfire guns couldn't get through the thick shields and armor that protected the awesome Annihilator class spaceships that had become standard issue for high-ranking Imperial officials to have in their possession.
“Bring the ship around and broadcast a surrender signal. It's over.” he sighed despondently, “It's time to give up.”
“Sir, they're lowering shields and preparing to board us.” said the officer in charge of comms.
“Alright, bring us to ramming speed and send all available power to forward shields! We're taking this thing down, but it will cost nothing less than our lives!” he yelled, sounding more confident than he was, “Everyone to the escape shuttles! I'll take control of the ship and do this myself! Give me manual control!”
As everyone left to get to the shuttles, one ensign saluted to him before transferring control of all the ships systems to his pulpit. The escape shuttles launched one after another, and Fire Storm was left alone in his ship. He looked ahead and saw the gigantic ship against which he was supposed to win. He brought the ship to ramming speed and slammed into the enemy ship hull-first, firing everything available. The shock threw him through the glass, into space, and he got one final look at his ship before its reactors exploded, taking him and half of the other ship down with it. He smiled. He was definitely going down in history for this. The first pony to take out an Annihilator with nothing but a tiny Cruiser.
Thunder woke up with a start, his senses immediately alert for signs of an intruder. Something had definitely woken him, and it was probably somepony. Or something. He created a ball of light using his horn, and then grabbed the heaviest book on his desk, a ponderous tome on the theory of Warp travel. It was outdated, Warp travel had been mastered millenia ago, but it was still interesting. He walked out into the hallway and looked around until he spotted somepony moving. He sneaked up behind them and swung the book at their head, yelling. The intruder turned around, used their magic to whisk the book out of his hooves, and for the first time he got a look at the purple pony.
“My Lady Sparkle! I’m so sorry; I didn’t know it was you.” the red and silver stallion said, dropping to the ground in a bow, as before him stood one of the most legendary ponies ever, Lady Twilight Sparkle, Envoy of Celestia, and Headmaster of the School of Aspiring Captains.
“It doesn’t matter; I shouldn’t be sneaking around after midnight anyway. I heard you passed your captain’s exam at the top of your class. Have you received your assignment yet?” she asked, in her usual calm and strangely kind voice.
“No ma’am, but they did tell me that I’ll be commanding a brand new ship, fresh from the docks. A new mark, never before seen, they said.” he answered, excited to be talking about his favorite thing in the world: his achievements. He had just talked his friends’ ears off about it, before they had retired to their rooms.
“I’m happy for you, Thunder. Hopefully you’ll be as great a captain as Fire Storm himself.”
“Me too, though I hope I won’t have to crash my ship to win the battle.” he said, and they shared a laugh over the old joke. Captain Fire Storm had been caught in a battle against a rebel lordling’s battleship, and had somehow destroyed it even though it had been many times the size of his own ship.
“All right Thunder, listen up, I have something important to tell you.” Twilight’s voice dropped to a whisper, and Thunder leaned in to hear every word his teacher spoke. “I have a basic idea of what your assignment will be. I can’t reveal specifics, but many large responsibilities are going to be thrust upon you, and you are going to meet many ponies you respect. They will be different from what you expected. Some may be more, some less, but either way, do not take them at face value. They are much more than you could possibly imagine, and not taking them seriously could be extremely dangerous.”
“Thank you, Lady, but why are you telling me this?” asked Thunder, confused.
“To prepare you for what will come.” Twilight’s voice returned to normal. “Run along now, and get some rest. We wouldn’t want you to be tired during the big reveal tomorrow.” With that Twilight Sparkle left, and Thunder returned to his room, more confused than he had ever been in his entire life. He threw the book back onto his desk and went to sleep wondering what his teacher could possibly have meant.
The next morning, Thunder was taken by an imperial officer along a road towards a secret facility where the greatest ships were made. He had barely got any time to say goodbye to his friends, but the goodbyes hadn't been very tear filled, since the School was a very competitive environment, and true friends were rarely developed. The size of the two newest ships was such that Thunder spotted them while he was still several miles away. His jaw dropped to the ground and the officer escorting him, a blue mare with a white mane that was formed into points, laughed when she saw his face, almost crashing the hovercraft they were in as her laugh distracted her from the road.
“Impressed, eh? Wait until you get closer. Each one of them is the size of the moon on Equestria!” she said after she regained control of the vehicle.
She wasn’t lying, Thunder realized as they got closer. The true size was staggering, and on any other planet they would easily have been noticeable from orbit. But this was Canterlot, the second-largest planet in the known galaxy, after Equestria itself.
They arrived, and Thunder was escorted into a building near the base of the first ship, a black and dark blue piece of hardware that offset the other ship’s white and gold coloring. He was greeted by two legendary figures. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, a well-known order of shining warriors only dispatched to deal with the greatest threats to the Empire of the Queen Celestia, and Scythe, Captain of the Night Guard. If the Royal Guard was the subject of the happiest fairy tales and children’s book, then the Night Guard is the stuff of nightmares. They are dispatched by Luna herself to deal with inside threats. Where the Royal Guard look like golden armored angels, the Night Guard look like black and blue armored demons from the deepest pits of hell.
“Greetings, Thunder.” said Scythe as Thunder entered. “We are glad you have arrived.”
“Yes,” said Shining Armor, laughing at how official his companion was, “We couldn’t possibly do this meeting without the captain himself!”
“Hello, Captains. I’m glad to be here. Could you please explain why?” answered Thunder, incapable of keeping the awe off his face. He was in the presence of heroes of the Empire, and he was amazed.
“Of course, captain. We are here because of your ship assignment. You are to be given one of the ships out there. More specifically, the gold one. It is called the Celestia , and is the sister ship of the Luna , the far superior one next to it.” said Scythe.
“Really?” asked Thunder, “I’m being given such an important command?”
“Actually, Celestia herself was supposed to take this job, but being the Queen means she doesn’t have time for things like that.” answered the Captain of the Royal Guard, “So we wanted to give it to my sister, Twilight Sparkle. She refused as well, but suggested you as a viable candidate, saying you would be more than ready for a job like this once you graduated. So we gave you this command.”
“Thank you, my lords. I am honored to be given this job, and I will do my best to let down neither you nor Lady Sparkle.”
“No prob, there’s no way you could let down my sister. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there was something going on between you two.” The Captain let out a laugh and left, saying “Scythe, get someone to show him around the ship and introduce him to the more . . . reputable . . . members of the crew.”
“Of course, Captain. Harmonica, show the new captain around his ship and introduce him to his crew please.” Scythe said, following Shining Armor out.
“Of course sir,” answered the mare that had brought Thunder, “Right this way, Captain.”
Harmonica led Thunder to an elevator, which brought them up to the boarding ramp to the ship, where crew members were carrying food, water, and personal belongings into the ship. She led him into his new ship, revealing that the inside of the ship was the same as any other ship, with the traditional somewhat rounded walls, and the metal beams that went up the wall at regular intervals, supporting the ship like some sort of skeletal structure. The coloring was also different, keeping to the traditional steel-grey that was standard throughout the Empire. Cabins lined the wall, and Thunder peeked inside one of them. It was a Spartan room, containing only a bed, a shelf for personal belongings, and a bathroom. It was about 9 feet wide and 5 feet tall, only large enough to accommodate one soldier, and every room was the same, Thunder knew, to keep soldiers from thinking someone was being favored. Except for officers’ rooms, he figured, since officers’ rooms were always more luxurious than those of the men under their command. As she led him to the elevator that would take them to the bridge, where he would meet his officers, Harmonica explained how the ship was outfitted.
“We have the latest tech. Four brand new Mark VI Party Cannons, more Dragonfire cannons than we can easily crew, and an Apple Buck class ram at the front of the ship. We are outfitted with the newest Mark V Sparkle Shield Generators, designed by your teacher herself. And that isn’t all…”
But before the mare could take the overwhelmed stallion any further into the tech that made the ship as efficient as it was, the elevator arrived at the command bridge. Thunder stepped out of the elevator and was immediately greeted by a salute from the dozen or so officers there. There were ponies of every color under the sun, pink and yellow, rainbow colored, red and yellow, and many other combinations, but each was sporting the standard gray uniform of the Imperial Navy and Army, which clashed with and unified the colors at the same time.
Thunder recognized some of them, more specifically the ones that had become legendary. Rainbow Dash was the blue pegasus with the rainbow-colored mane and tail, and the cloud shooting a rainbow-colored lightning bolt as her cutie mark. She was the leader of the 5th regiment of the Royal Guard, which made it weird that she was here, but no less awesome. Fluttershy was the one in the back with the pink mane and tail, as well as the light yellow body. She was known to be quiet, so she would probably in charge of the medicae staff. To her right was Apple Bloom, a grayish olive pony with an amaranth mane and the younger sister of the legendary Army Commander Applejack herself. What she was in charge of was a mystery. At her side was a white filly with a purple and light pink mane; Sweetie Bell, sister of the outfitter Rarity, who designed the clothes of over 4 fifths of the nobility in the Empire. Scootaloo was the orange pegasus with the fuchsia mane in the front. What those three would be doing on the ship was as much a mystery as what Rainbow Dash would be doing, as they were only school age, and had yet to receive their cutie marks, but it was not Thunder’s job to question the men who had assigned them here. There were also several unknown ponies on the deck, and Harmonica hurriedly introduced them.
“The blue-maned stallion with the black body is Star Chaser, your navigator. The all pink mare to his right is your comms officer Mist. The proud red stallion with the black mane is the lieutenant of the Imperial Army regiment that will be accompanying this ship. He hasn’t given a name; he just calls himself The Lieutenant or The Lt. He’s also in charge of the weapons.” said the mare, pointing at each of the officers as she named them. They puffed up their chests and tried to look important when she focused on them, making them seem like roosters showing off for a particularly attractive chicken.
“Okay, but what are the grade-school age sisters of some of the most important people in the Empire, and their friend Scootaloo, doing here?” asked Thunder, bewildered by the situation, and only paying enough to what she had said to register what each pony did on board his ship.
“Well, Scootaloo is in charge of our fighters, Sweetie Bell is the ship’s chaplain, she’ll be leading the battle hymns, the prayers to Celestia, and be performing the consecration required for a soldiers body before it is whisked into the cold, dark , infinite abyss that is space. Apple Bloom is in charge of maintenance and the engineers that make sure everything works properly.”
“We’re trying to get our cutie marks in spaceship operation!” yelled Sweetie Bell, jumping up and down as she realized that they were now the center of attention, “Don’t worry, we won’t get in the way, and we know what we’re doing!”
“Yeah!” intoned the two others right after she spoke, “We know what we’re doing!”
“Sure you do.” said Thunder calmly, lying through his teeth, “I never doubted you for a second. When do we cast off?” He asked, turning to Harmonica, “And, what exactly is your job on my ship?”
“Who me? Oh, I’m the first mate.”said Harmonica, smiling as she saw the sudden look of surprise on his face, “We cast off tomorrow morning at 0800 hours, so don’t be late.” and with that she turned her back on him and walked into the elevator, smiling all the way until the doors closed and the elevator went down.
Thunder sputtered, and his words finally became coherent enough to hear him say “Bu…but…don’t I get to pick my own first mate?”
“Nope”, said Rainbow Dash, “Not on this ship. Don’t worry though, from what I heard, she’ll make a fine first mate. You should probably get your things to your cabin; we wouldn’t want you to leave without a picture of Twilight to kiss at night.” A wicked smile bloomed on her face, and she pushed Thunder into the elevator and hit the button for the floor with the exit ramp, before stepping out. This was going to be an interesting ship to captain.
Chapter 2
Thunder woke the next morning, in his lavishly furnished room on the ship, to the sound of the engines turning on. He sat up groggily and checked the clock on his wall. 8:00. Thunder’s mind immediately went into full alert, and he jumped out of his bed, almost slamming into the low roof. He threw on his captain’s overcoat and rushed to the elevator, where he sat for a minute or two pushing the button for the elevator repeatedly, as if that would speed it up. When the elevator finally arrived he dashed in, hit the button for the bridge, and paced along the six cubic feet of the elevator for the three minutes it took to get there. When he finally got there, he ran to the command pulpit, and was rewarded with a strange look from everybody. Harmonica was standing right next to the pulpit, so Thunder leaned over to talk to her.
“Sorry I’m late, but can you really leave without my order?” he asked, barely speaking louder than a whisper.
“Huh? What are you talking about? It’s only 7:30; we’re just testing the primary plasma engines to make sure that they won’t explode on us. Apple Bloom requested it; she really takes her work seriously.” was the answer.
So Thunder was left standing there, looking like an idiot. Not a great appearance for a captain. He made a mental note to reset his clock, then hung his head and tried not to draw attention as they ran the tests, shut down the engines, and started running diagnostics on all the other ship’s systems. He took the time to examine the bridge, as he hadn’t been able to during all the excitement the day before.
The bridge was shaped like a regular trapezoid, with the command pulpit standing right in front of the elevator at the center of the long end. The pulpit looked like a regular announcement podium, except for the touch screen on the top and the restraints that would keep the captain from going flying through the bridge at the slightest shock. It looked to be wooden, but was most likely steel on the interior, to keep it from smashing. To the right of the pulpit sat the first mate’s chair, with several holographic computer screens sitting in front of it. It looked like the most comfortable chair in the bridge, but that came with large responsibilities. The first mate would have to take over if the captain could no longer command. She would also have to ensure everything ran according to the captain’s specifications, as well as being able to communicate with the other decks via holocomm. The command pulpit and first mate’s chair were slightly raised over everything else by way of the raised platform on which they were positioned. In front of and slightly to the right of the first mate’s chair, at a slight 45 degree angle so that the officer in it could talk to the officers in charge, was the comms seat. It too had holographic screens, although they seemed to be more geared to watching chatter between other ships and throughout the ship. Mist sat there, pretending to be absorbed into her work, although Thunder could tell she was just playing an old fashioned game of Space Raiders. She seemed to be a pretty good player as she had yet to lose a single life. Mirroring the comms officer’s position was the navigator’s chair. It looked identical, although the officer sitting at it was actually working. Star Chaser appeared to be playing with the computer’s settings and correcting some of the math that would help with FTL travel (Faster Than Light travel, extremely complicated, requires extremely advanced math). Towards the sides of the ship were plenty of other positions, where the ponies were hooking themselves directly to the computer. Probably the guns positions, since the Lt. appeared to be patrolling them.
Thunder heard a small beep from Mist’s position and she yelled, annoyingly loud “Incoming transmission from command, sir! Should I put it through?”
“Yes, yes, put it through.” Thunder answered, shifting from the flustered pony that had entered to the smooth officer in command. The face of the Captain of the Royal Guard appeared, and Thunder immediately saluted.
“At ease soldier, you don’t have to salute me anymore. You’re a captain too now, remember?” Shining Armor’s voice came through, with its usual less-than-official tone. “I’m here for two reasons. First I’m supposed to congratulate you on your command, again, and second, I’m supposed to give you your first mission. So, congratulations! How are you doing?” he sounded legitimately concerned when he asked.
“Pretty well, sir, considering who the officers are. I do have one question though. Sir, why are Rainbow Dash, and the 5th Royal Guard regiment, here?” asked Thunder, glad for the concern.
“It has to do with your mission. Where did I put it?” The Captain’s face disappeared as he searched the files on his desk. “Aha, here it is! You’re going to the Segmentum Solaris, where you will quell a small rebellion. Shouldn’t be that complicated, but we figured you should get something simple for your first mission. The 5th regiment will be accompanying you for two reasons. First, the Segmentum Solaris is one of Celestia’s favorite areas of space, so we need to send some of her elite to take care of rebellion, to show we are paying attention. Secondly, as you are now flying a flagship of the empire, you’re going to get one permanently posted regiment. Lady Dash requested her company be considered for the position, and she’s going with you to find out if she really wants it. Any more questions?”
“No, sir. We’ll be casting off immediately.” Thunder saluted as the communication was ended and he immediately shouted, “All right ponies; let’s find out if this thing is all it’s made out to be! Startup engines and get us to the Segmentum Solaris at once!”
“Yes sir!” shouted all the officers, and a wave of chatter started up as Mist requested permission to leave, Star Chaser programmed the computer for the Warp jump and took the controls, turning on the engines, and Harmonica told Apple Bloom what was going on.
“Get me the ship intercom!” he yelled to Mist, over all the chatter. She dutifully turned it on, and Thunder cleared his throat and spoke. “All right, stallions and mares. We are now officially beginning the maiden voyage of the Celestia. If you have a bottle of champagne you were saving for a special occasion, open it now.” He paused, and continued. “The trip will take about a week, so get prepared for a fight when we arrive. We will be dealing with rebels. Standard anti-rebel protocols will be in place. Rebel spies are to be executed upon confirmation, defectors are placed in holding cells until it is confirmed they are not spies, and prisoners are to be treated well, but also well-guarded. Captain Thunder out.” With that, he turned off the intercom and strapped himself in for the long flight to the Segmentum Solaris.
Chapter 3
During the 37th millennium, Celestia’s top engineers perfected space travel, and she took a fleet out for a great crusade through space. After leaving the planet Equestria and immediately headed towards a sector that would later come to be known the Segmentum Solaris. Upon her arrival, Celestia was immediately hailed as a goddess by the planets’ primitive civilizations, and Celestia stayed there for millennia, helping advance technology, and starting an entire religion based around her. This era has two names. One is The Age of Darkness, its name on Equestria, because while Celestia was gone, Luna’s rule threw Equestria into a huge planet-spanning battle. In the Segmentum, however, it is known as the Age of Enlightenment, because of the technological leaps that occurred during it.
However, all good things must come to an end, and this was no exception. Celestia eventually left, to bring the rest of the galaxy under her wing. She swore to protect them, and a huge feast was thrown upon her departing. She travelled through the galaxy, unifying it under her rule, and her worship, until the days of the Luna Heresy.
Thunder knew something was wrong the instant the Celestia came out of Warp space. The main reason was the report he had just received from the spy the Inquisition had posted among the rebels. Supposedly, the rebels had somehow amassed a fleet containing two dozen Annihilator class ships and several hundred smaller escort cruisers. This was highly disturbing, as it meant that the rebels now had enough firepower to match even the Imperial Navy. To make things worse, that had been the spy’s last transmission, and he was presumed dead or worse. Because of this report, Thunder had ordered that all soldiers be at their battle stations, and the captains of the five escort cruisers accompanying the Celestia, the Octavia , the Gilded , the Equestrian’s Blade , the Canterlot’s Hope , and the Warp Cruiser , had done the same. So, they was prepared when, the instant they came out of Warp space, four Annihilator classes immediately opened fire with their twin Party Cannons and dozens of cupcake guns.
The Celestia easily absorbed the two shells from the Party Cannons, and the cupcake guns could barely make a scratch on the ship, but it wouldn’t take long before the ships launched their fighters and got close enough to do some real damage.
“Fire all Party Cannons at the enemy ships and prepare to scramble fighter jets. Use explosive shells. Keep Dragonfire guns ready for the enemy fighters, but try not to kill any of our own.” Thunder said, perfectly calmly. He was finally in a situation he had prepared for. He could even hear his tactics teacher’s voice in his head. You are outnumbered, but you have more firepower than your enemy. What do you do? Well, that’s easy. I blow them to hell! Thunder smiled at the thought, and his smile only grew larger when one of the enemy ships blew up, causing shrapnel to ping off the big windows around the bridge. Then an idea occurred to him. “Cease fire, boost shields to 150% and open up communications! I want to see if I can get them to come over to our side. We have a limited supply of ammo after all!” he yelled. All the officers looked at him bizarrely, but obeyed his orders anyway. Enemy fire ceased, and the enemy captain’s faces popped upon the pulpit screen, both with a look of rage on their faces.
“This is Captain Angel Fluff of the Gladius .” said one, introducing himself and almost causing Thunder to burst out laughing at the ridiculous name. He was obviously a grizzled veteran, with a face covered in scars, an orange mane dotted with grey and a dark orange body, also dotted with grey. The other one introduced himself as Captain Storm Hawk, of the Salamander . He was a much younger soldier, obviously green. Literally and figuratively. His entire body was green, and his mane was simply a darker shade of green. This was probably his first battle, contrasting with the fact the other guy looked like he had only two days left until retirement. They both composed themselves, and demanded to know what this was about.
After they had calmed down, Thunder said, “Captains, I am Captain Thunder Forge of the Celestia . My ship is fresh from the docks, but is obviously more powerful than both of yours combined. You have no hope of beating me. I graduated from Twilight Sparkle’s School for Aspiring Captains at the top of my class, and my ship is outfitted with the latest tech. However, Queen Celestia, in her infinite goodness, has not ordered me to destroy you on sight, meaning I should attempt to bring you back into the forgiving arms of the Empire. Listen closely, because I will only make this offer once. Surrender, and join me on my crusade through the Segmentum Solaris, and you will be absolved of all crimes. If you refuse, I will destroy you. What do you say to this generous offer?”
Of course, the rebels refused, and they began to open fire once more. Hundreds of tiny little ships began to stream out of the sides of the Annihilators, and the Celestia reciprocated with her own fighters. Before the enemy fighters could get within range to put a single scratch on Thunder’s ship, however, Dragonfire guns began laying into them, using their trademark cupcake shaped explosive ammunition, designed for maximum destructive power along with maximum compactness. Each shot from the quad guns placed on the Celestia fired four of the extremely destructive little pastry shaped suckers, and each one could take out multiple fighters, so the no-ponies land between the Celestia , Gladius , and Salamander quickly turned into a brightly lit area filled with exploding ships, all of them the enemy’s. Scootaloo’s fighters did an excellent job, not losing a single fighter to enemy or friendly fire. While the little ships were having their battle, the bigger ships were having a bigger battle. Celestia ’s escorts made short work of the three enemy escorts, and ship itself opened fire with all its Party Cannons, easily destroying the Salamander with a shot to the bridge, killing the captain and every essential officer aboard. The Gladius , however, proved a much more difficult enemy.
“Captain, they’re firing! They’ve switched to EMP shells! The shields can take it for now, but a couple more shots and they’ll be down and we’ll be sitting ducks!” yelled the internal systems officer, a dark red mare with a golden mane.
“Boost them then! Focus all Party Cannons on the Gladius , and tell the Gilded and Octavia to do the same! Tell the rest to circle around and try to take them out from behind!” ordered Thunder, his mind racing. This enemy would prove trying, and Thunder did not want to lose too many allies, or take a direct hit from an EMP equipped Party Cannon. That could disable life support, killing good soldiers. He watched as the escorts did as he ordered, and the Gladius ’ engines were disabled. Angel Fluff would not give up however, and the shields kept taking hits.
“Shields down on both us and them sir!” yelled the mare from before. Thunder watched in anticipation as the next shot would decide the victor. Luckily, the Celestia fired first, and Thunder was treated to the beautiful sight of the enemy ship taking a shot that punched through the armor and detonated amidships, throwing the Gladius ’ next shot off target, causing it to miss by a huge margin. He watched as every light on the enemy ship winked out, and the ship simply stood there, defeated. A huge cheer started up on the bridge, ponies jumping up and hugging each other, glad to have survived their first battle on the ship.
However, Thunder could only think of one thing during this however. Something Lady Sparkle had said when she had been teaching one of his classes. Every time you are in a battle, you must remember you are killing hundreds of thousands of ponies with your orders. You speak and they die. Remember that, because with that terrible power comes an even more terrible responsibility. To ensure that nopony, not even your enemies, dies in vain. With the destruction of the enemy ships, Thunder finally understood what she had meant. His enemies had died so that he could protect their friends and families by bringing them back under the protective wing of Queen Celestia’s Holy Empire. He would ensure he achieved his mission, and they had not died in vain. He ordered Star Chaser to head towards the planet that the enemies had been protecting and prepare a landing party to go down and conquer it. As the ship advanced towards the planet known as Chroma Tertius, Thunder got one final look at the silent, dead form of the Gladius. He bowed his head, and was silent in remembrance of all the ponies that had died. He would ensure he would not fail, no matter what, so that they would be remembered by one pony at least.
Chapter 4
In the dawn of the 38th millennium, Princess Luna, sister of Queen Celestia, revealed herself as a traitor, and an agent of the Chaos god Discord, during what would later become known as the Luna Heresy. She revealed that she had created a group of super-ponies, known as the Night Guard, through corruption by Chaos. During the extremely destructive war between the two sisters, Celestia discovered the Night Guard, and created a force of her own to counter it. She named them the Royal Guard, and the method of their creation was kept a secret from everypony, although reports of missing children began to run rampant throughout the Empire.
The Royal Guard was finally revealed during the siege of the planet of Construal, where they quickly proved just how dangerous they were. While greatly outnumbered by the forces of Chaos, they still managed to defeat their enemies and quickly routed the chaotic fleet. During the war that lasted a thousand years, the forces of Order and Chaos clashed many times, the Royal Guard forced to fight against their counterpart, the Night Guard. The Royals won some battles and lost some, but neither side ever gained an edge. Or at least not until the battle of Tenebris Prime.
The forces of Celestia had tracked the forces of Discord for years before they discovered his base of operations. The base they finally discovered was on a planet on the edge of the galaxy. Celestia’s forces followed a ship to the planet, and launched an attack. Celestia boarded an enemy ship and fought Luna herself. The battle ripped the very fabric of the universe around where they fought, creating an enormous hole right into the Warp now known as the Eye of Terror. During the battle Luna struck a mortal blow to Celestia, but Celestia remained just powerful enough to banish Luna and her soldiers into the Warp using the powerful items known as the Elements of Harmony. During the resulting explosion, which the Queen miraculously survived, Discord was turned into stone and trapped upon Tenebris Prime.
Luna eventually returned, along with the Night Guard. The Elements, wielded by the six heroes: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, cleansed them of the taint of Chaos, returning them to their semi-natural forms. The Night Guard retained a form of nightmares, and was not gracefully accepted, but was accepted nonetheless. Eventually, Celestia grew to respect them as a powerful fighting force, and they were assimilated into the army.
Sierra, Sergeant of Royal Guard Flight Squad Sierra, looked around the cramped transport bay of the Thunderhawk landing craft her squad and two others had taken to land on Chroma Tertius, and launch an attack on the rebel’s base there. It had a vaguely pentagonal shape, with the ceiling being the triangular part. The walls were lined with grav-couches for the ponies to sit on and, right now, every square inch was occupied by a pony. Most of them were wearing the golden armor of the Royal Guard, but the greyish-green of the Imperial Army was present as well. Otherwise, the transport bay was empty, except for the doors to the cockpit and the giant bay door that would lead to the outside. Sierra knew that on the other side of the bay door were two Manticore tanks, lightly armed and armored tanks mostly designed for transport that looked like giant metal boxes, just hanging there via clamps. She could hear whispered prayers from some squads, while others were merely silent, in anticipation of the coming battle. They were of no use to Sierra’s squad, as they would be unable to fly in the cramped quarters. Lieutenant Dash unclipped herself from the restraints and walked over to Sierra.
“Is your squad ready? We’re about to drop in!” she yelled, over the sound of the engines and of the wind rushing by the dropship.
“Yes, ma’am, we’re ready!” Sierra shouted back. She then unclipped and proceeded to inform her squad of ten that they were about to drop in. They unclipped and met her by the door in the right side of the Thunderhawk. Sierra saw Lt. Dash doing the same thing with her squad at the other door.
Any other sergeant would have given some big pre-battle speech, but Sierra and her squad had been working together for too long for that to be necessary. Every member of her squad was an extremely experienced flyer, and had a number of kills to their name. With a look, she informed them she was about to open the door, and they all prepared their swords and Slingshot pistols. They lowered the visors on their helmets, and nodded to her. She opened the door, and they all jumped out spreading their wings, and catching the wind. Sierra smiled. Nothing felt quite like jumping out of a speeding ship that had just entered orbit. Her entire squad rallied around her and she opened up the comm channel.
“All right, we’re taking the left flank of the enemy. We’ll get reinforcements soon, but for the first five minute, we’re on our own. Angle down and prepare for a slaughter!” with that she dived down towards the left flank of rebels, reaching near sonic speeds. On the other side, she spotted a rainbow-hued mushroom cloud, signaling Lt. Dash’s arrival into the midst of the enemy. Her own squad arrived in the middle of an unprepared enemy squad, and she screamed out prayers to Celestia as she slashed left and right, bringing bloody death to her enemies. They screamed as they fell, and after a bit of fighting, other soldiers finally noticed the arrival of Celestia’s elite in their midst. They charged yelling, and died just like the others. She flapped her wings once, jumping above the enemy, and dropped down sword-first, cleaving an enemy in half with one blow. She slashed at enemies in front of her and bucked at enemies behind, crushing their ribs and sending them into their allies. After five minutes of battle, she couldn’t see her squad through the hill of bodies around her. Then she heard the sound of gunships landing.
She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Thunderhawks touch down and golden and green armored soldiers stream out and start killing ponies. But the true terror that was the Royal Guard did not fully hit the rebels until a fully equipped Land Raider unhooked itself from a Thunderhawk and begin firing its weapons into the groups of rebels. They started to run. She rejoined her squad and they attacked the fleeing foe, slaughtering them and covering their golden armor with red blood. When they fought their way to the walls of the rebel HQ, they flew to the top and began to kill the earth pones that had been sitting there with their weapons and shooting down. She slashed at one pony and cut off one of his front legs but, before she could finish him, a blade flew at her from the right and bounced off her armor. She turned and saw a unicorn in a fancy uniform, evidently an officer of some sort, standing there, holding her blade in midair using her magic. There was something . . . wrong . . . with the unicorn. She just felt wrong, and the air around her shuddered and twisted, as if her very presence was a slight to the universe.
Sierra charged at her and blocked her first clumsy strike with her sword. The unicorn drew her sword back and threw it at her point first, probably planning on spitting her like a pig. Sierra jumped over the sword and backflipped right over the enemy unicorn’s head, slashing down at her. The unicorn blocked, and they fought, the unicorn backing up and Sierra walking forward, slashing wildly. Then, the unicorn made a fatal mistake. She tripped over the dead body of some rebel, and fell backwards. Sierra took the opportunity, flying up into the air and diving down, impaling the unicorn on her blade. She withdrew her blade as the unicorn died and turned towards the main building, intent on slaughtering everyone there until the only people left alive were her allies. She ran in with her squad close behind, their vision blurring over with red and crazy grins on their faces, her golden mane flying behind her.
After the battle, Sierra’s squad regrouped and set up their tents near the center of the camp. They had lost control during the battle, and succumbed to a condition that plagued Flight Squads; the Red Rage. No pony knew its origin, but it was unclean and, after the battle, had required hours of ritual cleansing and prayer. Because of this, all the good spots on the outskirts of the camp were taken by the time they set up their tents. They had to set up near the center, where they would be the last to any battle that might occur. She was called in to the strategy meeting at the main command tent in the exact center. When she entered, she noticed that everyone else was already there and Lt. Dash was speaking.
“We’ve taken the main HQ and the organization should collapse from here on, but we will be leaving behind a small group of Imperial soldiers to make sure that the rebels to not rise again. This was the main base for the entire system, so the Celestia will be leaving, along with the entire 5th company. We’re too useful as a precision strike force to simply stay in one spot. Lieutenant, I leave it to you to decide who’s staying behind. Choose wisely.” The Lieutenant nodded and left, followed by everyone else. Sierra was about to leave, but Lt. Dash stopped her with a raised hoof and motioned her closer. “I heard your entire squad succumbed to the Red Rage. My condolences. The chaplains can be pretty annoying about things like that.” she was obviously trying and failing to stay official.
“Drop it Rainbow, we’ve known each other for years. You don’t have to act like that around me and you know it.” she smiled. The two of them had a long history together, from before Rainbow Dash was named Lieutenant of 5th company. They had served in their first flight squad together, succumbed to their first Red Rage together, gotten their first kills together, and . . . had other firsts together.
“I know, I know. It’s just so hard to slip out of the big leader persona. Wasn’t that battle awesome? Did you see my Tactical Rainboom? Wasn’t I awesome?” Rainbow Dash was instantly different. This was how she had always been, egotistical, proud, and loyal to the end.
“Yes, I saw your Rainboom. I swear it gets stronger every time you use it. By the way, during the battle I saw something weird. A unicorn that seemed… wrong somehow. Is that weird?”
“No, I saw some of those too. I think they’re corrupted by Chaos. If they are, then this is much bigger than we could ever have imagined. It means that Discord is breaking free, and his power is leaking out through the universe. I already filed a report about what I saw, and sent it to the captain of the Celestia Thunder something-or-other. He’ll forward it to the Inquisition and they’ll tell us if it’s Chaos.” she looked genuinely worried, an expression not often seen on her. Her face became serious once again. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning at first light. You should get some sleep.” she looked troubled, as if something was wrong, other than the Chaos that had been present.
“Are you okay? You know, if you need some company tonight, I’m available.” Sierra said, trying to find out what was troubling her friend.
“No, thank you. I lost a soldier during the battle. Battle-sister Leiara.” she looked to be on the verge of tears, and Sierra stepped forward and gave her friend a hug. Rainbow Dash hugged her back, and then stepped away, shaking her head. “Thank you for the comfort, but I would like to mourn in peace. Go to your bed and sleep. We leave tomorrow at dawn."
Sierra left and went to her tent. There, she found her entire squad already asleep. Her squad’s most religious member, battle-brother Lightning Bolt, was the only member still awake, and he was praying. Sierra tiptoed to her bed and went to sleep, troubled by the day’s events. During her sleep she dreamed of many things, but mainly of a twisted unicorn, a mourning pegasus, and a shadowy enemy that seemed to be stitched together of many things.
Chapter 5
After the Luna Heresy, it was believed that Chaos was an extremely dangerous force that could corrupt anyone. To the end of ensuring that Chaos did not rise again as strong as during the Heresy, the Ordo Chaotic of the Inquisition was created.
They were an organization made primarily of ponies with a particular skill for interrogation and a resistance to the corrupting power of Chaos. Many unicorns were taken into the Inquisition and educated there, because of the danger that comes from their power to draw magic directly from the Warp. This would leave their minds wide open to the invading forces, causing madness and possession by the monsters that Discord created. These monsters were known as demons, and possessed immense power within the Warp. They were creatures of pure destruction, incapable of thinking of anything other than slaughter. They were twisted ponies, with spikes coming out of the stumps of their wings, eyes on their flanks instead of cutie marks, and extra limbs. Each one was twisted uniquely from the others, for that was the essence of Chaos.
When it was deemed that their power was far beyond the power of any real ponies, the Ordo Chaotic requested that Celestia grant them permission to create their own soldiers to deal with it. Through this was born the Magic Blades, an order of unicorns that had proved resistant to Chaos. They were given armor specially designed to ward against the powers of Chaos and warded by chaplains so that their minds would also be protected. These soldiers crusaded through the galaxy, destroying any and all demons they found, sometimes destroying entire planets to be sure of their success. Their greatest hope always has been and always will be to destroy the very source of Chaos: Discord himself.
Thunder sat, watching the Royal Guard at their practice. He had to keep the Celestia in one place while he was waiting for the Inquisition ships to arrive. After it was revealed that a possibility of Chaos corruption existed, the Inquisition immediately decided to send some of their own, including a full company of Blades. It would be a very delicate situation, dealing with the four extra ships added to his fleet. On his ship, and for his escorts, he was the ultimate law, apart from Celestia herself. But the Inquisition was above the law, so Thunder would be unable to order them around as he did his other subordinates. This would mean some careful maneuvering to get them to do what he wanted. But that was a problem for the future.
Meanwhile, there were very few activities on board the ship. As a military ship, it was equipped with very few entertainment facilities. He had spent that morning playing games on his pulpit screen, but had quickly grown bored with that. Sleeping was out of the question, so he had decided to practice fighting hand to hand with the soldiers. After realizing he sucked at it and getting more than a few strange looks, he settled with watching the Royal Guard fight. The Royal Guard ponies were easily twice the size of an ordinary pony, horizontally and vertically. Their bodies were covered in tight bunches of muscle, and their wingspan was proportional to their bodies. Each one was wearing full armor. Their armor covered their entire bodies, and was colored gold with silver lining. The armor looked high-tech, and had enormous shoulder pads in the front, for some reason. There were clearly multiple types of squads down there, and every pony was either an Earth pony or a Pegasus. Unicorns were rare in the Royal Guard, and were only deployed on extremely difficult missions. There were the Pegasus flight squads, lightly armored pegasi with swords and pistols. They were the spearhead of any assault, diving out as soon as the dropships entered the atmosphere and dropping down into the midst of their enemies. There were only two of those, one led by Dash herself. There was the standard Earth pony Tactical Squad, prepared for any situation. They used Draconis flamethrowers, Shrieker rifles, and Dragonfire launchers. They were more common, with a dozen squads in the company. Then there were the extremely rare Terminator Squads. These squads were made of Earth ponies that were bigger than the rest. They wore enormous suits of armor, and used rifles that were basically two rifles fused together and hooked to one trigger. Needless to say, the Terminators were a terror on the battlefield, being the almost invincible heralds of death that they were.
Most of the Royal Guard ponies were on lower decks, practicing breaching techniques and combat in the closed-quarters of a ship, but some were up here, in their main hangar bay. In the upper right corner, some of them practiced their shooting using their handheld Shrieker rifles, scaled down versions of the enormous quad cannons on the sides of the ship, using duds so they didn’t blow out the side of the ship. Others were practicing hand-to-hand combat, weapon-to-weapon combat, and weapon-to-hand combat. Thunder watched as two veterans circled around each other, both using swords. One finally decided to attack, and swung in an arc over his opponents head. His opponent lazily blocked it and attacked himself. Then the fight as really on, and Thunder could no longer follow it as they blurred into movement at superpony speeds. Thunder turned instead to a fight a little easier to follow. A pair of scouts, young ponies aspiring to join the ranks of the Royal Guard but who were still adjusting to the bio-upgrades made to them when they were first inducted, were fighting under the watchful eye of their sergeant. They seemed clumsy, and were prone to falling over after their first swing. After their first clumsy attacks, the sergeant began bellowing at them, grabbing and pulling them into proper combat positions.
As Thunder began to get bored with the scouts, a pegasus in full Royal Guard with a golden mane walked up to him. Her sword was slung at her side, and the marks on the handle suggested a long history of battle. A heavily modified Slingshot pistol hung at her side, its handle marred with hundreds of kill markers. Her armor was cleanly polished and had the marks of a sergeant on the left shoulder pad: a white laurel with a skull at the center.
“Pitiful, aren’t they?” she asked, a look of nostalgia on her face, “Hard to believe I used to be one of them.”
“Yes, but the really pitiful thing is that they’re still better sword fighters than me.” said Thunder with a laugh. “Sergeant Frozen Sierra, I presume?”
“How did you guess?” she asked with a surprised look on her face.
“Well, there are only two Flight Squads in the 5th company; one is led by Rainbow Dash, the other by Frozen Sierra. Since you’re obviously not a half-crazy rainbow-colored lieutenant, you must be the other one.” he grinned as he said it, glorying in his deductive skills.
“Silly me, it’s so obvious.”
“So, why did you come to talk to me?”
“I felt it necessary to meet the captain of the ship I am currently living on. That, and…” but before she could finish her sentence, Thunders personal comm unit crackled. Harmonicas voice came through.
“Captain, we need you on the bridge right now. The Inquisition ships have arrived, and Lord Inquisitor Blueblood would like to speak with you. Immediately.” her voice disappeared, and the comm unit shut down.
"So soon?" asked Sierra, "It's only been a day."
"Actually, time is different in the Warp, so to them it was probably closer to a week or so."
“Ooooh. Well then, see you around.” said Sierra, walking away.
“Yeah, see you around, I guess.” said Thunder, watching her. He shook his head and walked to the elevator, pressing the button for the bridge.
Upon his arrival, he saw, standing in his place at the pulpit, a richly dressed unicorn with a white body and blond mane. The stallion turned around and stared at Thunder as if waiting for something. He tapped his hoof on the ground and then a pillow floated over from who knows where and he sat down on it.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked, in an annoyingly haughty voice that spoke of years of pampering and spoiling.
“What do you mean?” asked Thunder, thoroughly puzzled by the pony’s statement.
“Well, aren’t you going to bow to me?” There it was again, that really annoying voice, like he was some sort of nobility. Which he was, of course, but that didn’t mean anything!
Lord Inquisitor Inportunus Blueblood, who used to be known as Prince Blueblood the Fourth, was from the noble Blueblood family, a long line that somehow claimed relation to the goddess-queen Celestia herself. He had earned a reputation as an annoying, spoiled, brat, which he kept even after he had reached the age of twenty-one. Because of this Prince Nobilis Blueblood, his father, gave him a choice. Join the Inquisition, with a huge advantage and an almost guaranteed high position, as well as tons of money, or be disowned and be forced to live on the squalor of the streets like some sort of vermin. Blueblood, of course, chose the former, believing he had chosen the lesser of two evils. Little did he know just how hard it really was. It was said that he had acquired a more dignified demeanor since joining. Thunder could now confirm for himself and all his friends that this was a lie. Blueblood was as much of an asshole as he had been before he joined up.
“No, of course not.” said Thunder with a snort. “You are no longer important enough for me to bow to you, Inportunus. You haven’t changed from your days at the SAC, you know that?” Thunder took a step forward and pushed him away from the pulpit, taking his rightful spot once more.
“Do I know you?” asked Blueblood with a look of absolute distaste and horror at being insulted by a mere commoner. Thunder could practically read the word Ewwww all over his face. Blueblood quickly cleaned the part of his leg Thunder had touched with a pure white handkerchief.
“Don’t you remember me? I was one of your cronies. You know, before you were put into the Inquisition?” It was a lie. Thunder had been one of the victims of his bullying, but if Blueblood thought him a fellow noble, he would be more likely to have at least a grudging respect for him. Thunder was relying completely on his inability to remember much that wasn’t important to his standing in society.
It payed off. Blueblood remembered nothing of his SAC days, and a look of recognition appeared upon his face, as well as several beads of sweat. “Yes, yes. Forge was it? I remember you. How is your sister these days?”
“She’s doing well. Almost of marrying age. My father was actually planning on presenting her to you to see if you would consent to marry her. It would be a great honor to my family.” Thunder knew how to play this game, the game of the nobility. It was almost too easy. “But enough about my family. You are here about the possible corruption, yes? Troubling isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes I am. Quite troubling, of course.” he cleared his throat. “I have brought four Inquisition frigates and a full company of Magic Blades to aid in the cleansing of the Segmentum Solaris. We will be adding our strength to the Celestia’s, and I will be assuming control of the fleet in the name of the Queen’s Inquisition.”
Thunder was incredibly angered by his statement. He had just gotten command of his ship, had graduated top of his class from the School for Aspiring Captains, and now he was expected to obey this…this…idiot?! Inportunus hadn't even graduated, he'd just dropped out in the middle of his fifth year!
But he swallowed his rage and simply said. “Of course. I live to serve the Queen. You shall have my fleet.” He'd have time to get revenge for this disgrace later.
Blueblood stood up, nodded once, then exited through the elevator with his guards, returning to his boarding shuttle. Thunder waited until he saw the shuttle leave the hangar bay before finally letting his emotions free. He cursed and yelled, having a mini temper tantrum. He ranted about Blueblood, the Inquisition, and anyone that had ever slighted him. He only stopped when he saw the terrified faces of his officers. He regained control of himself. He could have his outburst later, in the privacy of his room. He prepared to say something, but Harmonica spoke first.
“Sir? I was never informed that you were nobility.”
“Well, that’s good, because I’m not. If you had been, I would have been worried.” he changed his position and addressed everyone on the bridge. “You all know I’m not nobility. However, I would like you to act as if I am. It will make dealing with Prince Jackass much simpler. Thank you.”
Harmonica spoke again. “Sir, are we expected to obey his orders?”
“Yes and no. I am still the law on board this ship. If we give conflicting orders, you obey me. If he gives an order that seems illogical or suicidal, and you have a better idea, you go with the better idea.”
“Of course, sir.” Harmonica saluted smartly, finally understanding how this was going to work.
“Also, from now on, you will have someone check the ship for bugs every time the Lord Inquisitor visits. After he leaves, naturally. I will now be retiring to my rooms. If Blueblood calls, I’m not available. If anyone else calls, wake me up.” With that, Thunder departed through the elevator, and headed to his room. Once there he closed the door, double checked the locks… and had his temper tantrum. Once he was done, thoroughly exhausted, he fell in his bed and fell asleep thinking of more ways to undermine his new foe’s authority.
Chapter 6
“Are you stupid? That’s easily the most foalish idea I’ve heard since I became an Inquisitor!” yelled Blueblood. He clearly didn’t like Thunder’s latest idea. It seemed he didn’t like any of Thunder’s ideas lately. He was prone to suddenly insulting the poor captain, telling him just what he thought of his ideas. Any respect anypony on the Celestia had had for the Inquisition had disappeared the instant they met this particular Inquisitor.
“Sir, we don’t have a choice. The Gladius and Equestrian’s Hope were heavily damaged during the last battle. It’s a miracle they can still move!” Thunder was clearly tired. And cranky. Blueblood had been keeping him up all the time, telling him how stupid his plans were. Sierra figured it was partly due to the fact his bugs and spritecams kept being discovered and deactivated, preventing him from knowing anything about what happened on board the flagship.
After the Inquisition arrived, things had gotten easier, for a little while. Rebels surrendered much faster when they knew if they didn’t, they would be accused of heresy and corruption, and then destroyed. Then, Chaos had revealed its actual presence in the Segmentum Solaris. Demons and Chaos warships travelled through the Segmentum, attacking any ships they thought weren’t rebels, and even some they did. Such was the nature of Chaos, and strangely they never seemed to lose any support from the rebels. The fleet had been able to hold its own so far, but the latest battle with a squad of fully armed Chaos Annihilators had left several ships damaged and supposedly in serious need of repairs. Thunder had proposed they stop at a nearby planet, which they had scanned, for repairs, ammo refills, and refueling. Blueblood disagreed. Normally Thunder would have done it anyway, but he couldn’t afford any more insubordination. The fleet obeyed Thunder, not Blueblood. Sierra could see that, and she could also see that His Royal Highness Pain-in-the-Ass saw it too.
As they argued, Sierra’s eyes drifted to their surroundings. The implants that made the Royal Guard so special permitted her to pay attention to many things at once, so she let her mind wander. They were all standing in the bridge, which looked somewhat like the Celestia’s bridge, except it was smaller and, instead of officers; there were servitors (brain dead ponies, usually criminals, that Shining Armor had specifically requested were not on board the Celestia) strapped into the control panels. Servitors would do anything, no matter the cost, as long as they were ordered to. They could not, however, do anything of their own accord, leaving only one person in command of the entire ship. It seemed a stupid system to Sierra; she relied on her ponies to keep her from making stupid decisions. Thunder had had to make a lot of trips to this ship lately, and required a guard. The Royal Guard had volunteered to provide it, and the squads switched off every visit. This time, it was Squad Sierra’s turn.
“All right, fine. We will do it your way. But, if we get attacked by the forces of Chaos, it’s your head that will roll.”
Sierra suddenly looked up, stunned by the fact that Blueblood had actually agreed to do something that Thunder had proposed. Then she saw the hastily applied makeup under his eyes, and her eye implants spotted the dark bags it concealed. Of course! Blueblood is still just a pony! His keeping Thunder up will be keeping him from his sleep too. For a moment, Sierra felt sorry for the Lord Inquisitor. Then, she remembered that if Thunder hadn’t been in the fleet, they would most likely have all been killed by Blueblood’s suicidal battle plans, which mostly consisted of sitting in one place and shooting at the enemy ships until they exploded.
Thunder let out a sigh of relief, “Thank you, sir. I will retire back to my ship along with my guard. We should arrive at Arties Prime in ten hours. You have my word we will not be troubled. Squad Sierra, follow me.”
Thunder went back to the boarding shuttle, escorted by Sierra and her Guardsponies. As they walked through the hallway, Sierra noticed the lack of actual ponies. Servitors walked through the hallways (well, actually, they were on wheels), but there were no ponies. The hallways lacked the rounded sides of the Celestia’s, and were instead perfectly rectangular, with sharp edges and brutal angles everywhere. There were no crew quarters, since servitors required no sleep. All this gave the inside and outside of the Inquisition ships a strange boxy appearance. There were certain things sticking out of the ships, but the basic shape was reminiscent of a book with no binding. Both sides went in after the first couple of meters, but came back out for the last couple. Same went for the front and back. There were no windows, and the whole thing was painted black, with white spots painted to look like stars. This made perfect camouflage in space. Nobody would see an Inquisition ship until it wanted them too. Too bad these marvels of engineering and stealth were commanded by such an incompetent loser. If the Royal Guard had ships like this well… it would make everything so much easier. Buffalorks and Eldeer would be completely oblivious to the approach of the Guard, making their destruction so much easier. Sierra drifted into a daydream about commanding ships like these.
“…a group of Army soldiers, if you want.” said Thunder, snapping Sierra out of her reverie.
“No sir, we’ll be fine. It’s good for us to stay on our toes, and we have nothing else to do while we’re in space.” answered Lightning Bolt, saving Sierra the embarrassment of having to ask him to repeat himself. He threw her a disapproving look, and then turned back to Thunder. “Besides, if you die, we’ll be left with that incompetent jackass to command us, and that’s not something I’d relish. If we get blown up in space, our augments won’t help us.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Thunder seemed deep in thought for a moment. “Anyway, when we get back, rest up. We’ll need you on that planet.”
“Captain, didn’t you say it was safe?” asked Brother Blade Hoof, a newbie to Sierra’s squad.
“Well, I never said that. I just said we scanned the planet, not what we found.” Thunder seemed incredibly proud of himself. “I may also have exaggerated the damage to the ships.”
“Sir, what did you find down there?” asked Sierra, suddenly suspicious of the captain’s word games.
“My scanner crew believes, BELIEVES, mind you, that there is a major Chaos base down there.”
“Why didn’t you just tell the Inquisitor?”
“Because if I had, there wouldn’t be a planet anymore. That and my ships are actually in need of resupplying and refueling. While we’re down there, I’ll need a couple Guard squads to find the base and destroy it. You won’t have any backup, so be careful. Don’t destroy anything you don’t have too. Chaos keeps track of its soldiers as well as we do, and we’ll need that info for any serious crusade.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Sierra saluted, and they spent the rest of the trip in silence.
When they arrived, something occurred to Sierra. Chaos didn’t just land on a world, they changed it. They altered and corrupted a planet’s very essence, as well as the essence of its people. This meant that ponies usually didn’t need a scanner to find Chaos. So, why did Thunder think he could trick Blueblood into thinking that nothing weird was going on? She’d have to tell the next squad that guarded him to watch him. He could make a powerful enemy, and Chaos touched anyone not trained to protect their minds.
Chapter 7
“Captain, Lord Inquisitor Blueblood wants to talk to you.”
“Very well, put him on.” Sigh .
“Yes, sir. Putting him through now.”
Blueblood’s face came into view, and Thunder could immediately tell his name was lying. His face was most definitely red, and that was impossible without red blood. Why was he angry again? Oh, yeah, something to do with the planet. Thunder couldn’t honestly tell what the problem was. All he’d done was trick Blueblood into going to an obviously Chaos-ridden planet, then sending down a strike team, almost getting them killed, then admitting to Blueblood he couldn’t honestly see what the problem with the planet’s appearance was. He couldn’t! It was so beautiful, with its corruption apparent to anyone who looked; the beauty of Chaos everywhere turning the water into blood, covering the sky with fumes and fire, and turning the populace into beasts with tentacles for legs, hundreds of bloodthirsty and blood-red eyes, and other disgusting limbs.
Suddenly, Sierra barged in through the access hatch. She was covered in wounds, most extremely deep, probably from the crew that had been corrupted. There was also much more blood that wasn’t hers covering her and her sword. The pegasus stared at Thunder, in his newest, ascended form, granted to him by Discord himself. His hooves had enormous claws, his face had more eyes than bare patches of hair, his mane had transformed into a beautiful mass of writhing tentacles, and his entire body now represented Chaos Incarnate. He was beautiful. The pegasus stared at him, then whispered something. He heard it, but couldn’t recognize it at the moment. He’d check the cameras later. Then she lifted her sword and charged, her pistol firing the whole time. Thunder laughed maniacally as a crew member jumped up from behind her and dragged her back down into the darkness below. He heard the screams of crew members dying, then the sound of hooves running away, probably to the shuttle bay in order to get away. She wouldn’t. Thunder kept right on laughing, as Blueblood began to speak.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he yelled. “You’ve been corrupted, and you can’t even tell!”
“Of course I can tell, Oh Your Exalted Idiotness, but I simply don’t care. Don’t you see? Can’t you see how beautiful Chaos really is? That Queen has blinded you to the truth with her lies and trickery, Blueblood! Now you only see darkness where ther is light and light where there is darkness! Chaos could deliver you!” Thunder then began talking in the melodic language of Chaos, and Blueblood clapped his hooves over his ears, before cutting off the connection. Thunder was left talking to a blank screen.
“Call the Champion. Tell her we have a ship full of enemies, and she has a new ship full of friends. Tell her that we’ll keep some of them alive for her to take care of in her…particular style. Then, disable the enemy ships. I’m sure the demons would like to experience the thrill of ripping their opponents limb from limb.” Thunder started laughing, as the Celestia , soon to be renamed the Discord , turned about and brought all of its weapons to bear against the unnamed Inquisition ships.
5 hours earlier
The Thunderhawk shuddered as it entered the atmosphere. Sierra barely noticed at all, she was so focused on the planet they were about to land on. The planet, as she had predicted, was obviously corrupt. Just by looking at it she could tell. Its atmosphere was filled with fire, it's mountains were all volcanoes. It's seas were blood-red, and most likely actual blood, knowing Discord. On the surface, she could see enormous beasts of Chaos lumbering around, ripping apart anything they came across, even fellow servants of Chaos. Thunder had just explained to the Guard how he was planning on doing this thing. He would probably be buying time for them by distracting Blueblood and keeping him from taking over the ship with some sort of legal B.S. His plan was genius, but she couldn't help but doubt its possible success. It didn't matter right now, however. She would just have to wait and see. The best possible thing she could do right now was complete her side of the mission. Since Rainbow Dash had another mission of her own, Sierra was left in charge. She had under her command three tactical squads, her own flight squad, a scout squad, and a Dreadnought, a massive 12 meter tall bipedal machine, which contained the body of an almost dead Royal Guard. Instead of one of its arms, it had a massive Drake flamethrower, and its other arm was simply a massive fist, designed to punch through anything.
Sierra continued to look out the window until the dropship touched down, and the bay door slowly lowered, revealing the reason they were here: an enormous concrete base, with strange, obviously demonic, vines growing up the walls. it had an army of demons protecting it, and they rushed the Thunderhawk as soon as it touched down. The Dreadnought was the first out, its flamethrower spraying its holy fire through the enemies, and its fist crushing and throwing dozens of corrupted ponies. It began to advance, clearing a path of dad cultists. Sierra steeled her heart and mind against the corruption of Chaos and led her squad and the others in a charge, following the Dreadnought and protecting its vulnerable back. Her sword slashed left and right, beheading some enemies, and disemboweling others. But they just kept on coming. By the time the real threat arrived, they would be exhausted from fighting the cannon fodder. She was just beginning to see the problems with the plan when the dropship gunned its engines, jumping up into the air. It seemed to hang there for a moment, before it turned its deadly arsenal of Dragonfire cannons against the enemy. it destroyed most of the force, before the strange vines on the building lashed out at it, forcing its pilot to take it back into the upper atmosphere. Then, as if by miracle, they arrived at the front gate of the base, mountains of dead bodies behind them, and more cultists crawling over the bodies of their fallen.
The Dreadnought lifted the enormous gate, let them through, then dropped it behind them. On the other side, Sierra could hear the dreadnought turn, shout a curse at the cultists, and start up it flamethrower. She heard the screams of dying cultists, and muttered a prayer for the soul of their near dead companion, knowing that it would not survive the encounter. Then, she turned and surveyed her strike force. half of the ten scouts were dead, and the three tactical squads had lost one member each. She was struck with pride that none of the members of her squad were dead. Then, she lead her force into the HQ, fully prepared for a slaughter.
Contrasting with the outside, the inside of the base was lightly defended. The demon in charge had probably thought that the enormous army outside would stop an attacking force. They would have been right, had it been any organization other than the Royal Guard.
Sierra's strike force made easy progress, only having to deal with the odd cultist as they made their way to the target. They reached the stairs and hoofed it down to the bottom floor. When they reached it, they found hundreds of demons hooked into the walls of a room with one wall bare of anything except for a gigantic screen. The strike force followed Sierra cautiously to the screen, then formed a semicircle behind her. One of the scouts stepped forward and began pressing buttons on the console at the base of the screen. After a couple minutes of adjustment, the screen popped on, static all over it. After twisting some knobs and playing with the buttons, the scout finally got the static to clear out, and something appeared. Not what they were looking for, but still good. The screen showed the bridge of a Chaos warship, sickeningly biologic looking, with walls that were covered with demons, which were fused to the metal. Screens filled the room, showing twisted creatures, and other creatures writhing in pain as their bodies shifted to accommodate their twisted souls. On the screen was the Commander of the Chaos forces, the Chosen of Discord, and the Ultimate Champion of Chaos. It was the most twisted pony ever to be born, a pony that tortured not just her enemies, but also her friends.
On the screen was a pink pony with a pink poofy mane and a perpetual smile. Deep in her eyes, however, Sierra could see pure insanity.
On the screen was Pinkamena Diane Pie, former Element of Laughter laughing as she watched the horrible scene of Captain Thunder turning to Chaos.
Chapter 8
“Hello there!” said the pink pony on screen when she finally turned from the, to her entertaining, scene of an important individual turning to Chaos. On a screen behind her Thunder was undergoing the excruciating process of turning into an individual devoted to Chaos. He was clearly in enormous pain, and Sierra couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. The pony had only signed up to quell a rebellion after all, not to fight Chaos.
“Hello, traitor.” Sierra answered simply. Best not to talk too much, especially not with this one. Once she started, she’d never shut up, and every word out of her mouth was blasphemy. Sierra glared at the scout until he started fiddling with the knobs again, trying to find what they had come for.
“Don’t be like that. You know you’d have turned to Chaos a long time ago too if you knew just how fun the Eternal Party is! So much fun! Now, instead of streamers I prefer intestines, of course, but the idea’s the same!” The Commander of Chaos was well known for her annoying habit of slowly killing you, disemboweling you, skinning you, and doing anything else she could come up with to cause pain to you before you died. Some ponies had lived for years as she slowly tortured them, laughing the whole time. She was certifiably insane. The sad thing was, she hadn’t always been that way.
She used to be an ordinary pony, albeit one of the Elements of Harmony. Then, the other Elements were called upon to perform jobs for the Empire. Twilight Sparkle went off to found her school, Rainbow Dash was given a position in the Royal Guard, and Fluttershy was put in charge of a new medical station on an unknown planet. Applejack went off to command the Imperial Army, and Rarity became the number one fashion designer ever. Pinkie Pie was left behind, to party alone, since Ponyville had been deserted. She slowly went insane, until the Luna Heresy. Nightmare Moon came to Ponyville, hoping to find some hidden stash of weapons. Instead, she found Pinkie Pie. She barely had to do any work at all. A simple push, a whisper in the half-insane pony’s ear, and Pinkie finally went over the edge. She abandoned all pretense of normality and began to kill indiscriminately. Her first kill, it is said, was actually related to one of the other Elements of Harmony. Pinkie became a goddess, symbolizing Chaos and wanton destruction. She eventually acquired her own cult, made of ponies that were willing to mutilate themselves in order to serve her. Some simply dismembered themselves or caused some other physical trauma, but her favorites were the ones who wore their own flayed skin. She is seconded in the pseudo-organization of Chaos only by Nightmare Moon, who is long gone or Discord himself, who simply doesn't care about much of anything beyond his own twisted planet.
All ponies are taught to fear her, for her simple presence can corrupt and twist your spirit. So it is understandable that Sierra tuned out Pinkie’s mad babbling, until the scout found what they were looking for, and she was able to simply turn the screen off.
“All right, send the plans to HQ on Equestria. Celestia is going to want it as soon as possible.” The scout nodded and sent the Chaos battle plans via mini-screen comm. He then turned it off and turned to her. Everyone did. “All right, what do we do now?” asked one of the members from the scout squad.
“Now, we go back to the Celestia .”
“What!” “Are you crazy?” and other things thundered around her, and finally stopped when she raised a hoof. “Are you, though? We all saw the Captain; I’d be surprised if everyone on the ship is the same.” Lightning Bolt asked, after everyone else quieted down.
“I know. But there is a plan for this situation. We have to go back, because I have to deliver a message. An explosive message.” She turned to the others and raised her voice a little. “Anyone who doesn’t want to come is free not to. We’ll be taking a Thunderhawk back, and then it will head to the Equestrian’s Blade, if it hasn’t left yet. You can just go with it.” Of course, none of them wanted to. These were Royal Guards. They never retreated, never felt fear and, most of all, never, ever ran away from impossible odds. They looked at each other, then turned back to her, determined looks on their faces. One of the members of a Tactical Squad grinned and simply said “You wish, ‘cause then you’d get all the glory. We’ll come, and we’ll fight!” Sierra smiled. She led them up, to the top of the building, where their Thunderhawk was waiting. It picked them up and, as they left, Sierra saw the Dreadnought still fighting before the gate. Its flamethrower arm had gotten ripped off, but it kept right on punching, never despairing. She watched as it was overwhelmed by the cultists, who finally killed it. When they left, it laid there, a monument to power, among the hundreds of fallen enemies. Pugnare Aeternum, the Royal Guard said. Fight Forevermore. Fight to the death and beyond.
The Thunderhawk arrived in the landing bay without any trouble. They had been left wide open after the last departures, thank Celestia, and the landing had been easy. Nopony was in sight. They were probably too busy mutilating themselves elsewhere to be bothered with watching the landing bay. In the distance, an enormous Chaos cruiser could be seen. Pinkie Pie's flagship. Another excellent reason to get out as fast as possible. Sierra cautiously led her squad down the dropship's exit ramp, making sure it was clear. Everypony had been equipped with several hundred punds of explosives, which the enormous Royal Guards carried without a problem. They walked into the hallway outside the landing bay, then split up. some went to the reactors, others to the artillery deck, where the ammunition was stored. Sierra led her squad towards the bridge. She had one last message to deliver before she died and she would make it count. She charged, planting explosives every hundred meters, and her squad did the same.
After a little while, they encountered their first cultists. A small group of five ponies stood in their way, in varying states of mutilation. Sierra easily dispatched them, before proceeding further. Another hundred meters, and they came along the big group. Hundreds of cultists stood in the hallways, in the process of tattooing themselves with knives. Sierra's squad jumped into the group, swinging their blades and firing their pistols. But they didn't have a Dreadnought this time. A Guard fell after the first fifty cultists, but they kept going. The cultists lashed out, stabbing through her armor with their impsrovised weapons. Some were even using their own severed hooves, sharpened to a wicked point. They got through her armor, dragging deep furrows through her body. Her soldiers may be stronger than most ponies, but they would still fall if confronted by enough foes. Three more fell or were dragged away, still fighting, by the time they reached the hatch to the bridge. Only Lightning Bolt and Sierra remained. He looked at her, then turned and began plugging up the hallway with bodies, his blade moving at superpony speeds. She nodded to him gratefully, then looked at the hatch. There was a ladder leading up to hit, but she didn't have the time. She simply flew up. Right before she went through the hatch, she heard a scream behind her. Lightning had fallen. She closed her eyes and barged through the hatch. She saw Thunder in his new form, standing before an image of Blueblood on the screen. She stared at his new body for a moment, before regaining her senses. She whispered a single word, loud enough for the cameras to hear, but not for Thunder. Not yet. Then she charged. She felt somepony grab her from behind and drag her down. she kicked at his face, slashed him in half, then turned and ran. She had to keep moving, so she wouldn't get surrounded. But she was exhausted, and weakened. The cultists jumped on her, dying on the point of her sword. But there were too many. They eventually overwhelmed her, and when the smoke cleared, there lay, among dozens of cultists, a Royal Guard.
Thunder walked into the surveillance room. The Commander wouldn't be far behind, but he needed to check the cameras. He needed to know what she had said. He didn't know why, but it burned at the back of his head. he flicked on the screens, and found the timestamp of her arrival to the bridge. He cycled through until he found the right camera, before settling down to listen. She spoke a single word, but it contained enormous meaning. Only one word, but it could end it all.
Remember.
"That's insane! How could you ever think that would work?"
"It's the only way. The war won't end until Pinkie is dead, and that won't happen unless someone on the inside does it."
"Thunder, you can't honestly think you'll be able to stay yourself after corruption!"
"You're right, Lieutenant Dash, but I can lock away my personality until it is necessary that it is released."
"How will you know when to release it? And how will you keep Chaos you from knowing about this plan?"
"A single word, spoken by Sergeant Sierra. And I can lock away my memories too. You will take the three fillies, Fluttershy, and yourself to the Gilded , then you will leave. You will tell Celestia and Lady Sparkle what happened. Got it?"
"Fine, but this is crazy."
"Hello there, Thunderiny." chirped Pinkie happily as she walked in. Thunder whipped around, one of his mane tentacles searching around the bottom of the table in the room.
"Hello there, traitor." he said, as he found the detonator. He hoisted it above his head, and she saw it. She screamed and slammed into him, sending him flying through the screens and pinning him to the wall on the other side. She disemboweled him with an ethereal claw, and continued to abuse his body as he pushed the button on the detonator. He began to laugh. He laughed at his own private joke, a joke none other could comprehend. He laughed and laughed as Pinkie ripped him to shreds and, for the first time in her long, long, life, Pinkie didn't get it. He laughed at the fact that he had tricked Chaos, the trickster, into destroying itself. He laughed right down to the moment the explosion hit him and destroyed them both, sending Pinkie into her own explosion as the Chaos within her escaped.
Blueblood watched the Celestia explode from his command bridge. He smiled. Just as well, the demons scrabbling outside the bridge wouldn't be kept out by the bulkhead much longer. He watched as the explosion triggered an even more powerful one from within the ship. Then, a thought occurred to him. Thunder had been corrupted, and therefore made a terrible hero for this story. He, Prince Blueblood, would go down in history as the destroyer of Pinkie Pie. The last sight the demons got when they finally got through, before their destruction in the explosion, was the sight of Lord Inquisitor Inportunus Blueblood laughing maniacally as all his goals were finally achieved.
Celestia and Twilight Sparkle watched the destruction of the entire Segmentum Solaris on a viewscreen in the throne room. Rainbow Dash had arrived an hour earlier, and told them the news. Thunder had sacrificed everything, his sanity, his body, and his soul, in order to bring victory. Twilight allowed a single tear to run down her cheek, then got control of herself. She turned to Celestia.
"Queen, I would like to request permission to take a fleet of ships to strike at the now-weakened forces of Chaos, in the Eye of Terror, and put an end to this war once and for all."
"Permission Granted."
"I'm not done yet. Furthermore, I would like t take, as my flagship, a new ship, built to the specifications of the Celestia , but with a different name. I would like to name it the Thunder of Celestia ."
Celestia looked down at her former student. She saw her determined stance and the look on her face. She thought back to the time she had sent her to Ponyville to learn about friendship. It looked like she had learned about something new recently. Love. Then, she thought of the dashing Captain Thunder Forge, who gave up everything to give them one chance to strike at Chaos. She thought of all this, and made a decision.
"Permission Granted."
