My Little Xeno

As Antonius awoke a few hours later, he noticed that he had slept better than ever before.
Was it the righteous feeling of having killed a daemon?
Was it the fact that he had been able to save his friend and improve his relationship with Celestia?
Was it the soft and warm creature that was lying directly in front of him?
…HUH???

Yes, he was definitely not alone in bed. He was lying on his right side and felt it touching him from his chest down to his thighs. He opened his eyes, only to see night sky.
What the…?
He was sure he wasn’t outside and on top of a mountain, so there couldn’t be night sky at this angle!
Unless…

Albeit still a little drowsy, he started getting a hunch who this creature might be. He lifted his head, and the night sky fell from his eyes, revealing a familiar blue head.
Luna!

Antonius grinned. So she had not been able to stay awake. And she had used the next available bed - his bed. He didn’t mind that. In fact, perhaps he could tease her a little about that. She had said ‘enough cuddling’ earlier, after all.

Something was wrong, though. His right arm was extended, and Luna had placed her head on it. So far, so good.
But what about his left arm? He felt something that was too fluffy for being a bedsheet…
Luna’s belly! He had downright buried his left hand in the fur that covered her belly!

He tried to remove it, but Luna started stirring, so he immediately put it back. He didn’t want to wake her, after all.

Since he couldn’t use his arms at the moment, he tried moving his left leg, but he felt resistance and Luna stirred again. He stopped his attempts and lifted the bedsheet with his left elbow to take a look at his legs.
Seriously, how had Luna managed to wrap her tail around his thigh like that?

Okay, so he could not move without waking her. Well, their ‘spatial orientation’ might have been a little embarrassing, but it could be worse; they were alone, after all.

That changed just a few seconds later. There was only one pony with such a timing: Celestia.

“Slept well?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, thanks for asking,” Antonius replied just as quietly over Luna’s head.

“Anything to tell me?”

“What makes you think so?”

“Well, for starters,” Celestia said, unsure if she should grin or be worried,
“you are spooning my little sister.”

“What? I am not spooning… oh hell, I am spooning her!” Antonius realized, flabbergasted.

“Luna’s sleeping soundly. And she smiles. She obviously enjoys this particular way of sleeping. You seem to be quite proficient in spooning.”

Now Celestia grinned. So she had decided not to worry.

“When I was told that Space Marine excel at warfare because they excel at everything, I did not think about something like that,” Antonius deadpanned.

“If only I had a camera…” Celestia thought aloud.

“Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, don’t worry, it would be too much of a coincidence if I actually had a camera with me.”

Having said that, she fetched her PDA and took a photo of Antonius and Luna.

“You told us - more than once - to have our PDAs with us wherever we go,” she smiled,
“now, I’ll leave and let you two sleep. But please don’t do anything… you know…”

“Hey!” Antonius interrupted her,
“I certainly won’t do with Luna what I wouldn’t do with no other creature neither! Wait, what did I just say???”

Celestia almost cracked up and had to leave the room to burst out laughing.

Antonius sighed and, having nothing else to do, stuffed his head back into Luna’s mane.

Some time later, Luna started stirring and yawned. Antonius thought about wishing her good morning now, but decided to wait until she realized that they were actually spooning. He wanted to see her face!

Luna raised her head and started mumbling:

“Hmm, so I really have fallen asleep… what is that? An arm… Antonius’ arm…”
She looked down her body and continued:
“his other hand… on my belly… and how did my tail get wrapped around his leg?”

Antonius had to restrain himself from laughing.

“And who tucked me in?” Luna kept going.

Well, that was a good question. Antonius had assumed it had been Luna, but if it hadn’t been her, was he somehow responsible for that? Did he - in his sleep - notice Luna and tuck her in?
A strange idea.

“Ah, shucks!” Luna suddenly said and put her head back on Antonius’ arm.

That was not exactly the reaction he had expected. Time to let her know that he was awake.

“Good morning,” he said calmly.

Luna tensed up for a second, then she turned her head and replied:

“Good morning… umm… how did you sleep?”

“Fine. In fact, I think I’ve never slept better in my life. And you?”

“Actually, I think it is the same with me.”

“Intriguing. And I thought you said something about ‘enough cuddling’.”

“Hey, I am not the one who is spooning me!”

“Huh? I thought you cuddled up to me…”

“I… do not know, to be honest. Is it possible that I cuddled up to you, and you tucked me in?”

“I have no idea… it would fit the current situation, though. Be that as it may, should we stop and get up?”

“Well, it is quite comfortable. Do you have anything urgent to do?”

“No. And you are right, it is quite comfortable.”

“Then, let us stay just a few more minutes.”

“No objections.”

So they stayed in bed for a while. Antonius thought about the whole situation. He had found a way to increase the efficiency of sleep! But how exactly? It hadn’t been the first time he had shared his sleeping place with Luna, so what was different this time?
The cuddling. She had sort of cuddled up to him before, but it was the first time he had… cuddled back!
Cuddling with a pony increased comfort and hence also the quality sleep!
He highly doubted, though, that this insight would be useful to his chapter. He just couldn’t imagine Ultramarines cuddling with ponies, even if it had such advantages.

So, that obviously was another point where he was different from his brothers. What bugged him more was his disregard of the Codex Astartes. No real Ultramarine would ever do that, especially not as deliberately as he had done it. So, what was he now? A traitor? A renegade?
He wasn’t sure, he only knew that in the eyes of the chapter he had certainly screwed up. Big time.

“Is something wrong?” Luna suddenly asked.

“As I rescued you, I broke the Codex Astartes. It decreed to wait for reinforcements. I still attacked,” Antonius told her bluntly.

“You should perhaps use a codex that does not misjudge your prowess. But I know that this codex is important to you. So, what is going to happen now?”

“Well, I’ll have to report it when my chapter arrives. They’ll punish me.”

“Oh dear. What will this punishment be?”

“A Death Oath, probably.”

“A WHAT?”

“My armor will be stripped of any insignia and I will be sent out on a very dangerous mission to clear my name.”

“A suicidal mission?”

“Near-suicidal.”

“Are they mad? I thought your Chapter Master is a reasonable man!”

“That’s why there’s a near-suicidal mission instead of an execution. That way, the Marine can still bring harm to the enemies of mankind.”

“Sorry, but that is just stupid. If your chapter master - or whoever comes here - has even a modicum of common sense, they will either exculpate you, or mete out a sensible punishment… what about this: they could banish you from your chapter, but order you to stay here and keep protecting us. That punishment would at least make some sense! I still vote for exculpation, though.”

Staying here for the rest of his life? Not participating in the wars to defend mankind?
While this was a harsh punishment for a Space Marine, and it bothered Antonius, he also noticed that the thought didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would - or should.

“Thanks, Luna. While being banished would be a considerable blow, having to stay here would certainly not be the worst fate… especially considering how important this planet is… and since I have good friends here. Well, we’ll have to wait for my chapter to arrive to see what will happen.”

“Yeah. And you bet if they insist on this ‘Death Oath’ stuff, I am going to give them a piece of my mind!”

“Just try not to take on the whole chapter,” Antonius grinned.

“Tony,” Luna asked after a while,
“do you regret saving me?”

“No. Not a single second.”

A few minutes later, they finally got up. Antonius changed into his civil clothes and they visited Celestia in the throne room.

“Ah, there you are!” Celestia greeted with a grin,
“slept well?”

“Extraordinarily well, sister,” Luna replied nonchalantly.

Celestia kept grinning, and Antonius turned to Luna:

“For your information: She knows.”

To prove that, Celestia fetched her PDA and showed her sister the photo she had taken earlier.

“Seriously, sister,” Luna said sternly,
“if you show this picture to another pony, I will club you - with the moon!”

“Don’t worry,” Celestia laughed,
“I will only use it to annoy the two of you directly.”

Well, this was good news… sort of…

“By the way, Twilight and her friends have been waiting for you,” Celestia told them,
“I will send for them immediately.”

The ponies entered the throne room soon, but they were suspiciously quiet.

“Anything wrong?” Antonius asked.

“Well,” Twilight started,
“we had a look at your vid-log.”

“I told you it’s messy.”

“Yes, and I seriously thought I couldn’t trust my eyes. Especially as you jumped at the Nightmare Lord and stabbed him! I mean, he was twice your size and incredibly dangerous!”

“He isn’t anymore.”

“You can say that again! This whole vid-log… even though I knew the outcome, I think I have never been this scared in my life!”

“Thankfully, Princess Celestia watched it with us,” Fluttershy added,
“otherwise I couldn’t have stood it!”

“Best horror and hero movie ever!” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed.

A series of reproachful looks silenced her.

“Now, what are you going to do with the rest of the day?” Celestia inquired.

“We’ll head back to Ponyville,” Twilight told her.

“I’ll join you,” Antonius said,
“while my armor is in need of repairs, I first want to visit Blackwing in the hospital.”

“Yeah, I will visit Blackwing, too,” Luna added.

It was still afternoon when they arrived at Ponyville, near the hospital. The Element Bearers went home, Antonius and Luna entered the building. In Blackwing’s room, they also met Moonlight and Stormy.

“Hello everypony!” they greeted, then Luna asked Backwing:

“How do you feel?”

“Bruises, broken bones,” the batpony replied tiredly,
“nothing too serious.”

Well, the fact that he was in a full body cast did not really support this claim.

Suddenly, Blackwing dozed off.

“He’s been hurt pretty badly,” Moonlight quietly told them,
“and the doctor has put him on painkillers. They make him sleepy. He will be okay again, though - mostly. It just will take some time.”

Damnit, this little family was not exactly blessed with luck: Stormy lost her biological parents, Moonlight was eviscerated, now Blackwing was crushed.

“Stormy,” Moonlight said softly,
“you have been exceptionally patient all day. Don’t you want to go for a walk with Princess Luna and Antonius? Blackwing will sleep at least for an hour.”
She turned to the visitors:
“if you are okay with it, of course.”

“We would be glad to help,” Luna replied, and Stormy just said:

“Okay.”

So Antonius, Luna and Stormy wandered through the adjacent fields. Stormy was very quiet all the time, until she suddenly asked:

“Princess Luna, Antonius, is it possible that I’m a… jinx?”

“What?” Luna asked in surprise,
“no, that is nonsense!”

“But bad things always happen to the ponies around me.”

“That’s not your fault,” Antonius stated,
“it’s the doing of the forces of Chaos. They - and only they - can be blamed for everything that happened to you or your families.”

“Really?” Stormy asked hopefully.

“Absolutely!” Luna confirmed.

Stormy was visibly relieved and started chatting again.

A short time later, they came past a field with cows.

“Hmm… now that I see those cows, a glass of milk would be nice,” Stormy mumbled.

“Shouldn’t be much of a problem,” Antonius opined and turned to Luna:
“Can you create a hard-light cup for Stormy’s milk?”

“You want to…” Luna stammered, staring at him, then she started grinning and continued:
“of course I can!”

Seconds later, Antonius had the magic cup in hand and was walking up to a cow.
The animal turned its head and looked at him.

“Greetings,” he smiled,
“mind if I tap a little milk for my little friend over there?”

The cow took a look at Stormy, as if it had understood him, and Antonius interpreted the fact that the creature didn’t run away as consent. So he tapped the milk - the cow did not seem to mind that… it was rather the opposite - and when he was done, he patted the animal and said

“Thank you!”

He almost had an heart attack when the cow actually replied:

“No, thank you!”

Then she - being obviously sapient disqualified her as real animal - fetched a purse from Emperor-knew-where, gave Antonius three bits and walked away casually.

The Space Marine stared at the money, then at the cow, then at the money again, trying to understand what the hell had just happened.
Luna could hardly restrain herself from bursting out laughing as Antonius walked back to her and gave Stormy her milk.

“You know, you could have warned me that the cows here are sapient,” he said flatly.

At that, Luna broke down laughing, while Stormy took a sip of her milk, not knowing what was so funny.

“I think this is the first time that I actually earned money… but in such a way…” Antonius continued, sending Luna rolling on the floor laughing.

Stormy still didn’t get it.

When Luna finally was on her hooves again, she said:

“Oh dear, that was hilarious! You should have seen your face!”

“If milking is seen as ‘you-know-what’ by cows, how do you ponies get milk at all? You bake a lot, you need milk!” Antonius asked.

“Want to hear the full truth?” Luna grinned.

“Yes!”

“Cows are usually milked in their own stables, by ponies they know well. Milking them on a field is quite uncommon, but I think this particular cow was just pulling your leg.”

“The cow… was kidding me?”

“Definitely.”

Antonius facepalmed. That was sort of embarrassing.

“Oh, Stormy,” Luna now said, turning to the filly,
“you do not understand what is going on, do you?”

“No, to be honest” Stormy answered.

“Lucky child,” Antonius grumbled.

“You will understand once you are older,” Luna continued with a grin,
“in the meantime, please keep this little incident a secret.”

“Okay,” Stormy just answered.

They returned to the hospital, where Blackwing was still asleep.

“Please wait here,” Antonius said,
“I want to see Rapid Cure.”

Having found the doctor, they entered an examination room so that they could talk without being disturbed.

“You surely want to know what’s up with Blackwing,” Rapid Cure guessed,
“well, the good news is that he is not in a life-threatening condition. The bad news is that his crash will leave marks. He won’t be able to fly anymore, and he will probably keep limping a little. He will have to stay here for at least a month.”

“Thank you for the information, doctor,” Antonius replied,
“there is something else I want to talk to you about.”

“How can I help the Hero of Ponykind?”

“The what?” Antonius asked in confusion.

“Oh, everypony is talking about your rescue of Princess Luna. Just go for a stroll through Ponyville and you’ll see. Now, how can I help you?”

“I had a strange sensation recently, best described as ‘uneasiness’ and ‘restlessness’. My body can cope with mundane diseases, so I wanted to know if there’s some sort of magical malady that causes such feelings.”

“Hmm… when did you experience those feelings for the first time?”

“When the Nightmare Forces had abducted Luna.”

“Are you still having those feelings?”

“No, they ended when I had rescued her. I wonder if it was some sort of nightmare curse?”

Rapid Cure raised an eyebrow.

“No other symptoms?” he asked.

“No,” Antonius replied.

“A feeling of loss, then of relief when everything was over?”

“Yeah, about that.”

The doctor started grinning:

“I think I might have an idea what’s going on with you. Just let me quickly examine you to exclude the other possibilities.”
When Rapid Cure was done, he said with a even broader grin:
“Well, you’re physical in an excellent condition, so I think I know what kind of ‘magical malady’ you have. Oh, it is truly magical!”

“Tell me what it is and how I can get rid of it.”

“Lord Varus, believe me, you don’t want to get rid of it.”

“Huh?”

“It is not a malady. It’s just an… well, let’s call it ‘condition’. A positive condition!”

“Uh-huh,” Antonius mumbled skeptically,
“and does this weird ‘positive condition’, that is ‘truly magical’ at least have a name?”

“Oh, yes! Yes, it does! But I won’t tell you.”

“HUH???”

“I think this is something you should figure out by yourself. Trust me. It will be more significant that way.”

“Umm… thanks… I guess?”

“You’re welcome! Bye!”

So a thoroughly confused Antonius left the examination room and went back to his friends. Since Blackwing was still sleeping he and Luna said goodbye and left.

“Doctor Cure suggested that we should walk through Ponyville,” Antonius told Luna,
“the rescue mission seems to be a topic of conversation.”

“Then, let us have a look,” Luna agreed.

The ponies they met in the town really behaved different than usual; some bowed, some clapped their hooves. A pony that behaved as always was Lyra, though.

“Hey, Princess Luna! Lord Varus!” she greeted,
“it’s nice to see you!”

“Lyra, can you tell us what exactly is going on?” Antonius asked.

“You are famous! The newspapers published special editions about your heroic rescue of Princess Luna!”

“Huh? This is by far not the first time I’ve helped somepony.”

“Maybe, but the first time you took on an entire army of daemons - on your own - to rescue a princess! They call you ‘Hero of Ponykind’ now!”

“Hmm… I’ve heard about that…”

“And another newspaper has given you another title. Admittedly, they have messed up the ‘Angel of Death’-thing, but they came up with something even better!”

“How did they mess it up?”

“They mixed it up with your rescue of Princess Luna and call you: ‘Luna’s Angel!”

“They call me what?” Antonius asked in disbelieve.

“Well, they are not entirely wrong,” Luna smiled,
“smiting daemons and rescuing ponies from them surely is sort of ‘angelic’.”

“Well… that’s true, I guess,” Antonius admitted.

Now that they had heard the news, they returned to the chariot. On the flight back to Canterlot, Antonius turned to Luna:

“Luna, I need your opinion.”

“Anytime,” she answered,
“what is bothering you? Is it the title ‘Luna’s Angel’?”

“No, it’s something different. When you were abducted, I felt a weird uneasiness and restlessness that only stopped when you were safe again. I told Doctor Cure, but he told me it wasn’t a malady, as I suspected, but a ‘truly magical positive condition’, and that I should figure this out by myself. This goes over my head, though. Can you help me?”

Luna stared at him for a few seconds with a sad smile on her face, then she hugged him.

“Umm… so you know what it is?” Antonius asked carefully.

“Do not worry,” Luna answered quietly,
“it will not reduce your prowess, make you weak or anything like that.”

“I know. I killed a greater daemon while affected by it, after all.”

“Yes. You did that.”

Okay, so telling Luna got him a hug. While being hugged could be seen as a ‘positive condition’, and the moon-moving, dream-walking pony who hugged him certainly was ‘truly magical’, he seriously doubted that that was the key to understanding this conundrum. So, since he had no clue how to continue, he decided to ignore it temporarily. According to Luna, it wasn’t dangerous, after all. Perhaps he would figure it out at some future time.

As she got the news that Luna and Antonius had returned, Celestia went to her sister’s quarters. Just as she wanted to knock, she heard Luna shout:

“Ugh, no!”

Following a sisterly-protective reflex, she burst into the room, only to see how her sister removed a big bow from her tail and threw it away - she had not even noticed her yet.

“Hmm… perhaps I could braid it… or a part of it…” Luna mumbled, looking into a large mirror.

“Umm… Luna?” Celestia asked in confusion.

Luna spun around and blushed.

“Oh, hello, sister. How can I help you?” she exclaimed.

“I just wanted to see you and make sure that you are okay… you know, big sister stuff if the little sister recently got abducted by daemons… you are okay, aren’t you?”

“Why, yes, of course I am! I am just… er… trying to… uh… oh for goodness’ sake! I am trying to look a little special, that is everything!”

“Oh!” Celestia grinned,
“are you trying to look special for somepony special?”

At the very same time as Celestia had said that, she realized that she probably already knew the answer.
Luna just nodded, but she seemed a little sad.

“Antonius?” Celestia asked carefully and completely serious.

Luna nodded again.

“I think I… like him,” she said.

“Luna, we all like… wait… ’Like’? Like LIKE like?”

Wow, that was probably the dumbest thing she had ever said.

Luna nodded again.

“Oh…” Celestia started, coming a little closer to her sister,
“I had no idea it was that serious. Listen, Luna, I am sorry for teasing you about the spooning. It was just… sorta funny. Well, I am… happy for you… seriously… but… umm… are you sure that you are not just a little excited because of the admittedly heroic rescue?”

“What is it when you are happy as soon as you see somepony, no matter in what predicament you are? What is it when you are both in mortal danger, but you can only think about their well-being? I am sure, sister.”

“Oh. Well… this might get a tad, a tiny little bit…”

“Impossible,” Luna finished.

“Huh? No, I was going to say ‘difficult’. Why did you say ‘impossible’? Does Antonius know? Does he feel the same?”

“He does not know. I am quite sure he feels the same, but he does not know that, either.”

“Huh? He doesn’t know… now THAT is impossible. He’s not a moron, after all!”

“But he is a Space Marine. It is a path he cannot go.”

Celestia stared at her little sister and thought about that. After a while, she asked:

“Luna, if he doesn’t know his own feelings, how do you?”

“He told me.”

“He told you about something he doesn’t know…”

“Yes. He described the feeling quite well, but he cannot figure out what it is.”

“Hmm… what about just telling him?”

“NO!” Luna blurted out, then she continued with a calmer voice:
“it is already difficult enough for him to come to terms with the fact that we are friends. Further development of our friendship would overwhelm him. He already broke this ‘Codex Astartes’ and jeopardized his life to rescue me and feels almost like a traitor because of that. While he said he does not regret his decision, a romantic relationship with a creature like me would surely destroy him. No, there will be no romance between the two of us.”

Celestia still stared at her little sister. This whole situation was so incredibly… BUCKED UP!

“Luna… that is so sad…” she finally said.

“Perhaps the universe is punishing me for the atrocities I committed as Nightmare Moon…”

“What? No! You have never done anything to deserve such a fate!”

“I tried to kill you and bring eternal night to Equestria.”

“Oh, that was nothing… okay, it was not ‘nothing’, but you were under daemonic influence, Luna. That wasn’t really you. But now please tell me: What are you going to do? Can I help you?”

“No… wait, yes, you can. I will have dinner with Antonius tonight. Can you help me look a little special? I know it will and even MUST lead to nothing, but I would still…”

“It’s okay, little sister, I understand,” Celestia smiled and hugged Luna.

After bringing his armor to the armorium and repairing it, Antonius met with Luna for dinner. To his surprise, she had primped herself up quite a bit: She was wearing a long, black dress and had deactivated the magic flow of her mane. Furthermore, she had braided a part of her hair and decorated it with flowers.

“Wow, Luna. You look great,” he smiled,
“I thought this would just be a normal dinner like the ones we already had.”

“Just see it as a sign of gratitude for saving me,” Luna smiled back.

“That wouldn’t have been necessary, but I still appreciate it.”

“So, you like this style? Anything in particular?”

“Yes. And I have to admit I am somehow fond of you deactivating the magic flow of your mane. That way, it looks like… a waterfall of stars flowing down your neck.”

While Antonius wondered how he had come up with those words, Luna replied:

“Thank you. Maybe I am going to let my mane down more often from now on.”

During dinner, Antonius could not shake the feeling that something was a little different from usual. The way Luna smiled was somehow different, but he was not able to put his finger on it.
Perhaps it was the different outfit…

After dinner, they spent some more time together talking about customs of the Ultramarines and various other things, then Antonius said goodnight and retired.

While her little sister and the clueless one were having dinner, Celestia took a stroll through the castle to think about the situation.

There were so many ponies in Equestria, why had Luna taken a liking to Antonius?
Okay, he was nice. Yes, he was an honorable warrior. And he had saved a lot of ponies’ lives. He really was a good friend and an amicable creature once one had learnt to deal with his… peculiarities, but seriously, wouldn’t a local pony have sufficed?

Suddenly, she realized that she had walked deep into the castle and was now standing in front of one of Starswirl’s laboratories. She knew this laboratory… only too well…
Why had she come here? Was it just a coincidence?
Following an inward urge, she opened the door and took a look inside. There it was… the mirror.

At that moment, Celestia realized that she had been a hypocrite:
There were a lot of ponies in Equestria, yet Luna had fallen for Antonius.
There had been a lot of ponies in Equestria, yet Celestia had fallen for…

Celestia slammed the door shut and braced her body against it, as if that could prevent her memories from surfacing. She took a deep breath and shook her head to clear her thoughts.
Yes, she and Luna were sisters. They even had a similar bad luck when it came to relationships.
Celestia turned around and walked back to her quarters, a little faster than usual.

Antonius was standing on a hill near Ponyville. How he had gotten there, he didn’t know. But at the moment, he had more urgent business: Ponyville was burning. Smoke was rising from the town, and flames licked towards the sky.

“Chaos!” Antonius shouted and started running.

Of course, it had to be Chaos, who else would burn down this harmless little town?
Good thing he wore his armor and had his weapons.

Antonius reached Ponyville and froze. It wasn’t Chaos that had come, it was the Adeptus Astartes! Space Marines were setting houses and inhabitants on fire!
There were brothers from different chapters; an Ultramarine, a Salamander, a Blood Angel and many more.

Such a composition was highly unusual, but he had no time to wonder about that. He ran up to the nearest Space Marine; a Black Templar who was just firing a flamer at a house.

“Brother Black Templar!” Antonius shouted,
“what are you doing?”

“The Emperor’s work,” he answered.

“No, those ponies are not our enemies!”

“They are xenos. They deserve death.”

“They aren’t really xenos, and even if they were, they are not hostile! They are our allies!”

“The twisted opinion of a renegade,” the Black Templar sighed contemptuously.

Oh shit… this was like a nightmare… the ponies were killed by his brothers, and he couldn’t do a damned thing about it!

Now, a filly dashed out of the burning house, crying.
Stormy Skies!

The Black Templar picked her up and reached back to throw her into the fire.
Antonius raised his bolter. He could not let that happen!
He aimed at the boot the Black Templar had put his weight on, hoping that that would stop him.

Thunder echoed through the town, and the Black Templar slumped to the ground, dead.
WHAT???
Even a normal human should have survived that! What the hell was going on?
To make things even weirder, every other Space Marine also collapsed, making Antonius the only living human in Ponyville.

He stared at the corpses, trying to understand what was going on.

“Thanks a lot!” Stormy said friendlily, but Antonius was not in the condition to answer.

Suddenly, he was not in Ponyville anymore. This new town was a rural human town, like a human version of Ponyville. His armor and weapons were gone, and the humans that were walking through town also were unarmed. It was downright peaceful - for a second.

Then, Antonius could hear the sounds of lasguns, shotguns and bolters. The town was under attack!

“They are coming!” one of the humans shouted and started running.

Others followed his example, and soon everyone was trying to flee - with one exception: Antonius was not fleeing. He was a Space Marine, even without armor. He would try to stop the attackers, or to slow them down at least.

He dashed towards the noise. When he finally got sight of the attackers, he froze.
Ponies!
Ponies were attacking the town!
Antonius dropped to his knees. It was his fault. He had shot at a human to save a pony. He had chosen ponykind over mankind. It was his fault that those humans would die…

“ENOUGH OF THIS!!!” a loud voice roared, shaking the earth.

Luna?
Yes, it was Luna! She was hovering above the town and fired her horn at the attacking ponies. Within seconds, they were all disintegrated and Luna landed in front of Antonius.

He fell forward, supported himself on his arms and started laughing like a madman:

“I betrayed mankind, now you betray ponykind. Great. That’s really great. I have to compliment you - from traitor to traitor!”

Luna lit her horn and used her magic to force Antonius to look her in the eyes. She was clearly worried, but Antonius was not in a condition to notice that.

“Tony,” she said firmly,
“this is a nightmare.”

“You don’t say?” Antonius laughed, not getting it at all.

Without warning, Luna punched him straight in the face. Antonius shook his head in confusion and slowly stared to become himself again.

“This. Is. A nightmare,” Luna repeated,
“and nothing but a nightmare.”

Antonius blinked.

“Well, that would explain a thing or two…” he mumbled.

“Wake up,” Luna commanded, and Antonius opened his eyes to find himself in bed in his quarters.

He sat up and looked around. As far as he could tell, everything was normal.
Just a nightmare… he had wondered how a nightmare would look like for someone who knew no fear. Now he knew. It still was a seriously disturbing experience.

With a flash of light, Luna appeared next to him. Now, he noticed her worry.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I… think so,” Antonius answered,
“that was… unpleasant.”

“But only a nightmare, Tony.”

“With a true core. What if mankind does not share my view of ponykind? What if they attack? I can’t ignore an order, but I also can’t hurt my friends just because of an erroneous order… what would I do? I…”

“Shhhh,” Luna tried to calm him,
“do not think about that now. It will not be of any use. I know that you will convince your brothers that we are not your enemies. And do not forget that I already talked to them. Believe me, everything will be fine.”

Antonius looked at her for a while, then he nodded.

“Right,” he said,
“I think I forgot that. My question may still be valid, but only in theory. It’s really no use thinking about it. Thank you, Luna.”

“Anytime,” Luna smiled,
“that is my duty, after all.”

“I’m still surprised that I had a nightmare at all. I thought something like that wasn’t possible. Could it be an aftereffect of this strange wave the Nightmare Lord hit me with?”

“I am not sure about that. Would you allow me to explore your mind? I could see if there is any damage.”

“My mind? I don’t think you will like what you will see.”

“Tony, I have seen countless dreams. Wishes, fears. Desires, both subtle and gross. Nothing will disgust me. And I swear, whatever I will see will not be able to change my opinion about you, and I will always be your friend.”

The procedure Luna had suggested was usually only conducted by librarians. But there was none available, and he had to make sure that there was nothing wrong in his head. Furthermore, if he couldn’t trust Luna, whom could he trust?

“Okay,” he agreed and laid down.

“Please relax,” Luna said and lit her horn.

Antonius had to admit that that was easier said than done. The memory of his nightmare and the consequent questions still kept his mind agitated and calming down completely was easier said than done.

“Do not worry,” Luna said softly,
“we just need to increase your comfort, then you will be able to properly relax. What can I do?”

Hmm…
Well, the cuddling this morning had been quite comfortable, to be honest, but he couldn’t ask that of her, could he?

“Cuddling?” Luna smiled, having guessed his thoughts.

“Umm… that was quite comfortable… but seriously, I’m not a child. I am too old to need a cuddle after a nightmare!”

“Tony, you are never too old for a cuddle - especially after a nightmare,” Luna snickered, crawled into the bed and cuddled up to him,
“and I know what I am talking about - I am much older than you, after all.”

Antonius in turn put his arm around her, and he had to admit that it was indeed comfortable.
After a short while, he felt relaxed and sleepy, and Luna lit her horn.

As he woke up again, Luna was still at his side and greeted him with a friendly

“Good morning, Tony! How did you sleep?”

“Very well, thank you. Did you find any damage or sign of corruption?”

“No. No sign of excessive violence, decay or treason…”

Luna hesitated, so Antonius inquired:

“Why don’t you continue? Have you found something?”

“No, do not worry,” Luna replied,
“I just thought about adding a little joke to cheer you up, but that would probably have been inappropriate.”

“Kinda. This is about the integrity of my soul and my sanity, after all.”

“I thought so. Now, let me tell you what I think: you are just a little stressed, that is all.”

“Please define ‘a little stressed’.”

“You think by disobeying your codex you have put your own wisdom over that of your Primarch. This goes not just against your conditioning, but also against your humility, since you think that you are not worthy of doing so. This also caused your exaggerated nightmare.”

“Hmm… sounds reasonable. Any suggestions how to continue?”

“Be aware that your codex was written for grim times, when cruel decisions are necessary to survive and sacrifices have to be made. Here in Equestria, we can allow ourselves the luxury of looking for solutions without sacrifices. So, while you should keep using your codex as a guideline, you should also be aware that there may be a course of action that is better suited for our relatively peaceful world.”

Wow. Luna was really good at counseling. Her suggestion also made sort of sense.
Antonius looked at her for a few seconds, then he said:

“If you should ever run for chaplain, you’ve got my vote.”

“Thanks,” Luna laughed, then they got up, got ready for the day and met with Celestia for breakfast.

After breakfast, when Antonius had already left to look after his weapons, Celestia turned to Luna. She had stayed at the table instead of following her friend or retiring, and that usually meant that there was something she wanted to talk about.

“What’s wrong, Luna?”

Luna looked up, a little startled by the question.

“It is nothing, actually… I just found out that my assumption was correct.”

“What assumption?”

“Antonius. A romance would destroy the person he is.”

“How so? And how did you find out?”

“He had a nightmare, sister… and what a nightmare! He tried to protect us ponies, and in return, ponies attacked mankind.”

“We would never do something like that!”

“Of course not, but it shows his inner conflict. He allowed me to examine his mind afterward, to make sure that the Nightmare Lord had not damaged his psyche.”

“You examined his mind?”

“Yes, and I have never seen anything like it before. It is somewhat hard to explain, but I am sure he is not the same human he was born as. His subconscious was… modified, reforged. For example, can you imagine what would happen if you tried to frighten him?”

“If you say it like that, he probably wouldn’t get frightened, would he?”

“No. He would get angry. The fear would somehow be diverted and turned into anger. It would need an incredible amount of fear to actually trigger a fear response.”

“He knows no fear…” Celestia mumbled.

“Yes. And that is not the only modification. He told us that his reproductive system was deactivated to reduce his susceptibility to Chaos. For the same reason, he is… ‘reduced’ to friendships with his duty always taking priority.”
Luna sighed and continued:
“His duty… his whole mind is designed to make him do his duty, from the analytical, mathematical part of his subconscious with its lack of emotion to the rules deeply ingrained into his consciousness. They did not just turn his body into a weapon, but his mind, too.”

“That explains why Space Marines have such a reputation,” Celestia said thoughtfully,
“but considering that, Antonius is still somewhat… kind and amicable.”

“Indeed. That is his original character: at his core, he is a kind creature. Now, he still is kind when possible, merciless only if necessary. Still, there are limits to his amicability. His training usually takes priority. When he decided to rescue me, this was shortly turned upside down, causing feelings of guilt, which were intensified since he basically ignored the wisdom of his primarch. I am sure that a romance would mess up his whole psyche to the point that he would probably lose himself.”

“You mean, he would basically suffer from the question ‘love or duty’?”

“Sounds like a cheap romance novel, does it not?”

“In that case,” Celestia mused,
“I’d be your nasty older sister and clandestinely drive you and Tony apart. He would leave, only to somehow realize some time later what really happened. Then, he would come back, you two would reunite, and kick my rump.”

“You have actually read some of those novels?” Luna asked her sister quizzically.

“Well… sometimes…” Celestia admitted, and they both shared a moment of levity.

It was only short-lived, though, as the difficulty of Luna’s situation quickly made them become serious again.

“Love or duty,” Luna mumbled,
“Tony was created for duty, this conditioning is a part of him. Even the possible temptation of choosing ‘love’ could be his undoing.”

“Incredible… he faces monsters and daemons without any kind of problem, but THAT could bring him down… well, I think you are right, you are more proficient than me when it comes to mental problems, after all. So, what are you going to do now?”

“There is only one way to go for him and me: We will stay friends. Best friends, maybe, but just friends.”

Antonius spent most of the day cleaning his equipment and helping the ponies who worked in the armorium. The tank slowly took shape, and Trixie had found two apprentices whom she taught how to create ammunition. Unfortunately, there was still no palladium to be found, but everything else went pretty well.

When it was time for another training session with Luna, he picked up his chainsword and left the armorium. In the training room, Luna was already waiting for him. She still had deactivated her magic flow; instead, she had her mane done in a ponytail.
He put his chainsword in a weapons rack and fetched the training sword Luna had given him.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Of course,” Luna replied,
“but might I ask a favor of you?”

“Anytime. What can I do for you?”

“Could you teach me how to handle your chainsword?”

Well, that was a surprise. Luna really was proficient with normal swords, though, so a chainsword was the next logical step.
Yes, he knew that according to imperial doctrine, he would teach a xeno witch how to handle a signature weapon of the Astartes, but he did not really mind that. He knew that things were different here and he trusted her completely.
So he got the chainsword and gave it to her.

“So, I attack with the toothy edge and defend with the other?” Luna smiled.

“Ah, somepony kept a wary eye on my fighting style,” Antonius grinned,
“you’re right, using a chainsword is more complicated than using a normal sword, but the increased damage makes up for that. Apropos ‘increased damage’ - don’t activate it!”

Now they started fighting, slowly at first so that Luna could get used to the weapon. They soon sped up, and Antonius admitted freely that she was a quick learner. The weight of the weapon also didn’t bother her much. Yes, she was really good with a chainsword.

When the training was over, Luna asked:

“Do you think you will need any ‘fluffy support’ tonight?”

“Probably not,” Antonius laughed,
“while I have to admit that it was quite comfortable, I also have the feeling that it would somehow be a tad inappropriate to do this regularly. You’re a princess and I’m officially your subordinate, after all.”

“Okay, but call me if you have a nightmare again.”

“Promise.”

They bid goodnight and Antonius retired.

The next day, Antonius noticed a new stained glass window in the throne room. It depicted him, fighting the Nightmare Daemons with his bolter. While it was not too graphic, it still conveyed impression of the events.

“Hmm… nice work. You ponies are pretty quick when it comes to those windows,” he remarked.

“It is our way to honor the greatest heroes of ponykind,” Celestia told him with a smile,
“and you are certainly one of them. I may have had some problems with your methods every now and then, but there is no doubt that your are a true friend, Tony.”

“Thank you, Tia,” he smiled back.

A few days later, as Antonius entered the armorium, he found Trixie watching her two apprentices creating ammunition. They worked flawlessly, and the unicorn mare looked quite content.

“You are making progress, I see,” he said, walking up to them.

“Of course,” Trixie exclaimed,
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is also a Great and Powerful teacher!”

Antonius knew what that meant: She had done as he had asked her to and was free to leave any time she wanted. She was so relieved that she even had started boasting again!
She really had been a great help, but she also deserved the freedom of choice how to spend her days. The encounter with the nightmare daemons had unsettled her to a great extend, she would certainly be happier returning to her life as a traveling magician.

“So, you’re leaving?” he asked.

“If you don’t mind,” she answered,
“I want to get back on the road. Since I had to shoot that daemon, I’m not too comfortable working here anymore.”

Antonius turned to the ponies who would take over the ammunition production:

“You are positive you can do this on your own?”

Both answered in the affirmative, so he turned back to Trixie:

“Then, you are free to go. Just see to it that you can be found if there is an emergency.”

“Lord Varus, I’m a stage magician. You shouldn’t have any problems finding me.”

Now Trixie said goodbye to her students and the other ponies who worked in the armorium, then she left the imperial base, accompanied by Antonius. After a quick stop at her quarters, they went straight to the wagon dealer where she got her new caravan.

“Oh, that’s a nice one. It’s even personalized!” Trixie rejoiced.

“Glad you like it. If you want to leave now, I’ll escort you to the city gates.”

At the edge of the city, they said goodbye and Trixie left with her brand new wagon. Before she was out of sight, she waved a last time, then she was gone. Antonius returned to the palace.