Chapter 1: Awakening and Travelling
I woke up with a splitting headache, slowly opening my eyes. This… wasn’t my bedroom… this wasn’t the hospital, like I was expecting… did I die from…. Whatever hit me? Why couldn’t I remember who I was before? Why was all that was left was all the knowledge of pop culture I had?
I look at the room for a bit more, before seeing a computer screen… maybe that would tell me where I- YEAR FORTY THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED, AND SIXTY-THREE?! That can’t be right….
I stare at the date some more, before looking at the screen… GOD-EMPEROR OF MANKIND!? WHAT? I ran to a mirror and looked… my God. I was the Emperor… What was going on?
I looked back at what the computer said, “Welcome, Emperor of Mankind…. This ship is the ISS Bismark, holding… the last of humanity?”I read aloud, gulping. “Oh, boy.” ‘This ship holds Abhumans, normal Imperial Guard and Navy, Adeptus Mechanicus, Sisters of Battle, Sisters of Silence, Space Marines, Officio Assassinorum, and more in one massive city-ship. They are slowly depleting, but are hundreds of thousands total in number. All see you as a living god, or close to it, and your miraculous regeneration proves it to them…”
Okay… so what of the religious zealotry? What of humanity’s bigotry? What of my own memories… which, now that I looked at it, was as the Emperor of Mankind. Huh. This helped. This helped a lot.
I stepped out, looking left and right, and saw two Custodes guarding my chambers, who saluted in unison. “LORD EMPEROR!”
“At ease, gentlemen. Walk with me, tell me about what is going on.”
Surprising me greatly, since all of the men and women here served me, there was zealotry, but no true things like hate or strife… at least among humans. The Sisters were convinced that the mutants of humanity had a right to exist just as a normal human did, and in turn, the Space Marines convinced that they were not above normal humans. Good. I will have to write that into law, but this makes it easier.
I looked at the ship’s map, and the term Dreadnought was appropriate. This was a truly massive battleship, and held all of these humans… we were going to a star system that held no space faring species, but still had a connection to the Warp.
This was going to be both great fun, and a massive pain. I could feel it in my bones....
As we passed by multiple men and women, I looked at their reactions. Some got down and prayed. Some, mostly Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus, simply saluted. Whether they respected me as a god or as a simple ruler was up to their choice, but I knew that I would not interfere with that choice. Free will is a right, after all.
The Custodes brought me to what I would call a Grand Council, made up of the prominent leaders of all the factions on the ship, who either bowed in reverence, or saluted in presence. “Lord Emperor!”
“At ease, everyone…. Let us see just what we are getting into, ladies and gentlemen, then we can get into philosophy and religion later.” I said, looking at Gulliman. “My son, where are we headed?”
The Ultra Primarch nodded, easing himself. “We are headed to the system of Efet, which… this is going to sound very odd, but… there is a very miniature star there, circling a planet. It’s very strange, and very unusual.”
I blinked, before pinching my nose, searching my mind for pop culture knowledge. “... does it seem to be controlled by a great force of some kind, besides gravity?”
Guilliman nodded. “Yes, Father.”
I groaned, I only knew of one place in fiction that had that unique property. Great…. “What is the planet’s name?”
“We don’t know, sire. It’s only recently come up on our maps. Nobody has had a chance to name it.”
Okay, so they didn’t know of Equus' name… that was okay. “Show me the planet, please.”
The captain of the ship nodded, showing the system.
Yep, that’s Equestria on the map. Goddammit. This is going to be a pain in the ass…
“What is our ETA?”
“3 Terra-cycles, sire.” A Navigator said, looking at the space map. “We had to use most of our warp capabilities getting here, and we don’t want to risk encountering daemons right now.”
I nod, looking at the council before me. “Well, then…. Let us discuss the rules I wish to put in place…”
Author's Note
Well, The Emperor has awoken, and the course has been charted. Next chapter, they will land, they will meet the Equestrians, and they will have their first battle against Sombra's Chaos Empire. For now, however, this is Zamorakas Devilhorn, Official Scribe of the Twin Nations, signing off.
Chapter 2: Landing, Allies, and Pacts
“Sire! We have sight on some xenos! As you have commanded, we have not fired.” A scout said, coming up to me as I nodded in approval at the guardsman. Of course, I had used my own Psyker powers to determine that we had landed in Equestria, during the war with Sombra, when the Crystal Empire had come back… and he worshiped Chaos. He had allied himself with the Caribou Kingdoms, who acted like the Norsca Tribes from the Fantasy side of Warhammer, and he specifically preferred Slaanesh and Khorne, torturing what few prisoners he took, and slaying the rest of those that opposed him.
This was to be my first mission. Sombra would fall. I swore on my power that the tyrant would not survive the year.
I turned to Trajann, the Captain-General of my Custodes, and nodded. “Gather the troops, Trajann. Though they follow my will and command to not attack any xenos we find on this new planet, if we are to find them, we must determine whether they will be friend… or foe.”
Trajann nodded, before speaking. “Yes, Emperor…. If I may, why did you order that? All of the xenos we had faced before were extremely hostile, so this was a surprise.”
I looked at him with a graven, dark expression. “Because if I did not, their zealotry and bigotry would mark us as a great evil, Trajann. I could not allow that.”
Trajann sighed, and nodded his consent. One thing that all of the Humans had learned was that I had decided myself to be a being of justice, and insisted that all who were charged with heresy and Warp corruption were given a fair trial. If a conclusion could not be reached, I was to judge… and my Psyker powers somehow could tell the innocent from the guilty. A gift I was quite thankful for.
As the troops gathered, Trajann brought the leaders of the various factions to me, including Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman, Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Grand Commissar Sebastian Yarrick of the Astra Militarum, Saint Celestine of the Sisters of Battle, Grandmaster Kaldor Draigo of the Grey Knights, Grandmaster Assassin Vardik Asmodeus, Tu’shan of the Salamanders, Lord Primarch Sanguinius of the Blood Angels, Lord Primarch Gregor Dessian of the Imperial Fists, High Marshal Helbrecht of the Black Templars, Lord Primarch Leman Russ and other prominent leaders of the various races and clans of Humanity, even those thought extinct or lost to Chaos, such as the Beastmen or the Squats. The ship had even found a chapter of Space Marines that I, as the Emperor, thought long lost… though the memories from my previous life saw these Rage Feasters as a more serious version of the infamous Angry Marines, lead by the equally infamous Furor Maximus.
I looked at them all, and sighed. “Council, I have gathered you all here today to tell you this… this planet is our new home, but it is also the home of at least one race of natives. I know that you hate and despise Xenos, with good reason, but I also must say this. Many will be hostile to our people, and, hopefully, some will be friendly. I will not align us with those that follow Chaos, have no doubt of that, but I must also ask of you this. Set aside your experiences with Xenos beforehand. Your hatred and your fear, while far beyond well justified, will doom us here if we gain the ire of all of this world’s inhabitants. We are only but a few hundred thousand at this point, and if we die here, humanity as a whole dies with us. So set that anger, that hatred, that fear to the side for a moment, until these new Xenos show us which side they are on… ours, or that of Chaos.”
The Council looked around, unsure, until Guilliman spoke up. “Father, I know you would not ask this of us unless the straits were dire, but are you truly sure?”
I nod. “I feel that, somewhere, something that hates Chaos as much as we do lives here, Roboute. They would make fantastic allies.”
I turn to Yarrick. “Grand Commissar Yarrick! Prepare your troops! We have a base to build, and homes to raise.” He nods, going to the Astra Militarum and barking orders.
I turn next to the leader of the Adeptus Mechanicus, of whom I ordered to teach his people how to build and create, declaring it the will of my fellow god, The Omnissiah. Recognizing the Omnissiah as a fellow god helped, and the Magos Mechanicus, introduced to me as Talos Lithium, agreed, starting with fabricating replacement parts. “Lord Talos, I need you to build up a base on this mountainside,” I pointed to the mountain we had landed next to, “As a forward operating base for us.” Talos nodded, “As you wish, Lord Emperor. By the will of the Omnissiah shall it be done!”
I turn next to Saint Celestine. “Sister, set up a church for the Sisters of Battle, a large one. I have a feeling that such power will be needed.” She nods, leading the Sisters to the side.
“Vardik, make your people’s temples as needed. They will come in great use to us, as the hostile xenos make themselves known.” He nodded, as his people sinked into the shadows.
I look next to the leader of the Loyalist Beastmen, Minos the Bull. Called such because his visage evokes the image of the Minotaur. I nod to him. I had done something that probably wouldn’t go down in the official lore, and accepted his kind into the fold willingly, and heralded him as an equal to my space marines. That earned his loyalty. “Minos, take your people and set up a base where you will. I will meet with you later.” He nods, and smiles. “By your will, it shall be done, Emperor!”
I look to the leader of what few hundred Squats were left in the ship, Thorin Ironhammer. I gave his people hope, and access to the same technology I, as the Emperor, used to create the Space Marines to restore their people. We were committing the greatest heist of all time, stealing Souls back from the Warp. “Thorin, take your people and build a base for them, as you wish. I will call upon them later.” Thorin nodded, and stepped to the mountainside, determined to get into it quickly and efficiently.
I then looked at the various chapters of Marines, and nodded. “My children and grandchildren, build yourselves homes and barracks, and remember this. Protect the people, protect our homes. You are the Blade of my will, and the Militarum are the Hammer. Work with them, and the rest of humanity, and know that they are your brothers and sisters. This is my word.” They nodded back, before setting foot onto the planet and helping the other factions set up their bases.
I looked out to the wastes of the Frozen North, and nodded. I would make our home here, and our legacy would be one of war and power, truth and justice… The Imperium would rise again, this time better than before.
I froze as a vision came to me, one of Equestria being wiped out by Chaos… a timeline shift. If we did not land on this planet, this would have been the outcome. But now… “Just you wait, Chaos. We are ready to be predators for once.”
Sombra stood over at the front of his massive army, looking down at the pitiful force that Celestia and Luna had managed to scrounge up, and laughed. “Pathetic. This was all that you could muster, Sisters of Equestria? It is barely enough for my forces to give blood to Khorne properly.” He looked towards the forces of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh that his own army was divided into. A force of fifty thousand to the Equestrian’s pitiful 7,500. He smiled. “The Chaos Gods have granted me a boon today… I shall dedicate the Sisters Diarch to Slaanesh, and let the rest be slaughtered by Khorne’s forces. Nurgle’s plagues will spread, and Tzeentch’s spies will take their own prisoners in Canterlot before it falls to my hand.” He rubbed his hands together gleefully, stomping his hooves, then drawing his sword and thrusting it forward in a signal of war. “DESTROY THEM!”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other, nodding. If they died here today, they died together. They prepared themselves, hoping to wipe out as many of these foul Chaos worshippers as possible, in the name of Harmony. They swung swords, jabbed spears, chopped down halberds, but for every hundred that they cut down, 2 hundred took their place. It was an uphill battle, and they knew it.
As the battle raged on, their forces were decimated, killed until the last few hundred were left, circling inward with the Sisters Diarch, fighting desperately, fighting well and with great power yet taking grevious wounds.
Celestia turned to her sister. “I’m not sure we’re going to make it out of this one, Lulu.”
Luna nodded. “Then let us make it a good day to die, Celly.”
As they fought on, the forces of Chaos were slaughtered, but still threatened to overwhelm them.
Then, a miracle happened. A miracle that could prove either their salvation, or their doom.
Fire and Brimstone rained on the enemy forces.
The crust of the planet cracked beneath the hooves, feet and tendrils of the Chaos Warriors as the steel meteors rained down in driving storms, launching earth and snow into the sky, only to fall back down upon them. Yet the forces of Chaos kept marching forward, a perverted, vile excitement in their eyes to tear into their enemy’s flesh and bone, rot them from the outside inward, take slaves to abuse, and who knows what else shining in their eyes.
They didn’t make it far, as great flying machines came and fired down onto the foot soldiers, before the great war beasts broke through, gorging themselves on whatever they could get their hands on, feasting upon the Equestrian forces...
But a shout came from behind, a voice, deep, intimidating, and rumbling with great power, roared. “DESTROY THOSE FOUL CHAOS SCUM!”
As the Sisters Diarch and the last forces looked back, they would see a sea of warriors charging forward, towards them, grim determination in their eyes, as the earth rumbled beneath their feet. Machines of great power and size came from behind the mountains and hills, with cannons and turrets firing the steel meteors that were tearing into the Forces of Chaos, hailing down in great droves. As the strange ape-like creatures in stranger armor ran past them, they would see and hear a great mass of projectiles firing from their weapons, slamming into the enemy with great force. Thundering mortars, hammering cannons, pounding rounds, all were heard across the battlefield. Many stood by the Equestrians, healing and helping the injured retreat, and replacing those lost, defending the Sisters Diarch with the same vigor and viciousness they would their own allies.
The forces of Chaos were no match for the Imperium’s superior technology, as a hail of Bolter rounds, plasma beams, and flamer streams tore off limbs, lit the enemy aflame, and blasted great holes into the worshippers of the Lords of Ruin. For every ten worshippers that got through the hailfire, one hundred were cut down, and those ten were destroyed by chainswords, power axes, storm hammers, militarum sabers, and more as the line of humans did not waver, did not break, For their God Emperor was watching. If they fell now, the shame would be dire and painful. So they fought against their well felt fear, and tore into the enemy, letting not a single filthy Chaos Warrior get through.
“DESTROY THEM ALL! THE GOD EMPEROR IS WATCHING!” Commissar Yarrick said, his mechanical arm clenching as he tore out a caribou’s throat with it, then slashed down a pony dressed in the armor of Khorne.
Sister Celestine flew down, destroying a daemon with her holy power, and blasting down a monstrous troll. “FOR THE GOD EMPEROR!”
A White Scar drove past the Equestrians on his speeder bike, his power axe slamming into a demon with speedy fury. “FOR THE EMPIRE!”
Furor Maximus expressed his undying rage, burning like a blue star, with his
Power Wrench. He smashed a daemon’s head in as the blood got into his glorious mustache. “TEAR THESE CHAOS CUNTS A NEW ASSHOLE OR THREE, MEN! FOR THE EMPIRE OF MAN!”
Gulliman cut down a corrupted beast of great power with his chainsword, slashing down the monster before shooting down its caribou rider with his bolter pistol. “FOR THE EMPEROR!”
Tu'shan, son of Vulkan, burned down a daemon, roaring, “BURN IN THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND SUNS!”
The Grandmaster of the Grey Knights blasted a group of caribou down with his gun-lance, before thrusting the sharp weapon forward and skewering a hellhound. “FOR THE EMPEROR!”
The High Marshal ran forward, using his power halberd as both a rallying banner and a weapon of great destruction, tearing a Chaos Daemon in half. “FOR THE GOD EMPEROR!” He roared, taking his Storm Bolter and firing a great hail of rounds down into the enemy.
A Mechanicum Grand Priest drew his weapon, a Plasma Gear Ax, and sliced it to and fro, cleaving great daemons in his wake. “FOR THE GREAT EMPIRE, AND THE SOUL OF THE MACHINES THAT FIGHT WITH US!”
Thorin Ironhammer smashed down onto a pony wizard’s skull with his fire-hammer, screaming. “FOR THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND!”
Minos the Bull gored an Umbran troop on his blade, roaring, “FOR THE IMPERIUM!”
Leman Russ, the Wolf King, roared as his wolf-hounds tore the enemy asunder. “FOR THE EMPIRE!”
Sombra couldn’t believe it. “What? What? WHAT!?!” He roared in rage and fury, as he descended down onto the human army. How DARE these APES ruin his chance at glorious conquest! He would destroy them all, in the name of the Dark Gods! “RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!”
As Sombra charged the front with his legions, The Emperor stepped forward, running past the rulers of Equestria and slamming down his shield. His long, flowing black locks swept up with the wind, his eyes shining with star-like power as a great blast of holy energy tore into Sombra’s forces, as the Psykers started blasting their magicks. Sombra himself rushed to The Emperor, trying to slash at him with his black sword of Chaos, trying to damage the living god.
He couldn’t, as The Emperor’s armor itself was like a fortress, and he was raging against cold metal walls. The Emperor met the stallion head on, blade meeting blade, magic meeting psychics, and eyes meeting eyes, as the Emperor simply blocked each of Sombra’s attacks
“Are you quite finished?” The Emperor asked the dark Umbran, looking at his raging eyes. “You worship dark gods that give you power and armies… and yet when before my people, your army falls to pieces. Do you want to know why?” He slowly gets to his level, picks him up by his horn, and brings his head to the god-king’s eye level. “Because they believe that I am their god. Am I immortal? Not exactly. But do I have that kind of power? Yes. And you have chosen the wrong side, Sombra…” He let his psyker powers tear the Umbra’s mind apart, destroying his mind piece by piece, enjoying his screams of terror and rage, before crushing his skull with the strength of thousands…. Only to have his image glare at the ruler from the safety of his throne room.
“... A clone, and a fake. I see. You did not wish to put yourself in harm’s way, but you also wanted to see them die. A coward’s choice.” The Emperor said to the image, as his Psyker powers felt the Umbran’s rage.
“Foolish APE! Do you think you can win this? By the Lords of Ruin,I WILL END YOU!” He roared at the giant of a man, his dark magicks flaring around him.
The Emperor simply glared at him, and cut the connection, turning to his legions. “The Forces of Chaos have been dealt a great blow today, but steel yourselves! This war is not over yet! Their kingdom is to the far north, and threatens all who live here with Chaos! SHALL WE LET THEM?”
“NO!” The grand cry called back, stunning what was left of the Equestrian forces. They hated Chaos as well?
“WHO ARE WE!?”
“THE IMPERIUM OF MAN!”
“AND WHAT DO WE DO TO THE FORCES OF CHAOS!?”
“DESTROY THEM ALL!”
“AND SO IT IS, AND EVER WILL BE! ALL HAIL THE IMPERIUM!”
“ALL HAIL THE IMPERIUM! ALL HAIL THE GOD-EMPEROR/LORD EMPEROR! LONG MAY HE REIGN!”
Celestia and Luna looked on, looking at each other. What were these strange creatures, that they worshiped the most powerful of them as their god and ruler? What were their technology and powers, that they could slaughter the Forces of Chaos so easily? And, most worrying of all… were they next?
The Emperor looked to Gulliman, who nodded. “My fellow warriors! Rank up! Council, with Your Emperor! We have natives to greet! Remember, we are here to make peace and destroy Chaos! Do not attack unless attacked!” The son of the Emperor roared, as the men and women of the Imperium started marching back to their base in formation.
Celestia looked at her sister, and nodded. “Seems that they aren’t hostile to us, at least…”
Luna sighed. “Sister, I wouldn’t have your hopes up….” She muttered, as the two of them set their weapons down.
The ruler of the Imperium nodded to Gulliman, “Let the men head back to base, we’ll be talking with their leaders for a while,” before stepping forward. “Greetings. I am Agustus Primus Rex, The Dominus Solis Imperator of the Imperium of Man.”
Celestia smiled. “Well met, Imperator. I am Princess Celestia Helias Faustus, one of the Diarchs of Equestria. This is my sister.”
Luna nodded. “Princess Luna Nocturnus Faustus, sire. I admit, you fight like nothing I have ever seen before. And I do not believe that we have heard of the Imperium before. Are you a new nation?”
Augustus nodded, smiling. “We are, in a sense. Humanity’s history is nearly immortal, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to flee our empire and re-establish somewhere new. We fled through the stars, through the ends of the galaxy itself to get here, where we hope to regrow the empire, and improve it.”
The sisters looked at each other. An empire spanning the stars? That sounded…. Impossible. Yet they could find no lies or exaggerations coming from the man before them. “You… traveled here through the stars? Forgive me, but though I cannot detect any lies, it sounds so…” Celestia hesitated, searching for the right words.
“Farfetched? Impossible? I would agree if I was in your shoes… or hooves, rather.” Augustus said, sighing. “Our empire was fighting a war on all fronts, and slowly losing. Orks, Daemons of Chaos, Tyranids, the Tao, the Eldar… we were almost wiped out. We only were able to escape through a combination of luck and strategy. If we had failed… if I had failed, my people would have been wiped off the map.”
Luna hissed. “All that, because you had made so many enemies… but I do not think that was it, was it?”
He sighed. “No, it was not. My own empire had been infiltrated by Chaos, and some of my sons, children I loved and raised and enhanced on my own orders, betrayed the empire, taking much of Humanity with them.” He held back the tears, as he continued. “I was never the best father. I wouldn’t even call myself a good one, as I kept forcing myself to see the empire as a whole first, and even then I had made decisions I would never truly be okay with now, but to have some of the men I came to see as my sons betray me, try to kill me, and nearly succeed… It broke me. I was essentially in a long coma, literally but a skeleton of my former self, and only through the sacrifice of my men was I even kept alive and sane. When I recovered, which was only so recently, I swore to myself I would not make the same mistakes, and that meant treating my remaining sons, however few they are, and the men that they have given their geneseed to right.” He said, gasping for air as the terror tried to grip him, and he fought it off. “Can you even imagine, having 10,000 souls sacrificed every day to keep you alive, because you were the last beacon of hope for your people’s hope in a cruel and dark universe? That you were the star that would guide them home, and without your light, they would be lost in the cold and dark?”
Celestia couldn’t believe it. Such a man, forced to do such evil things to help his people, and to have it fail. He must have been strong to survive such a horror, and yet… the things he had done, the things he did to protect his people and make sure that humanity survived, they haunted him. “Heavy is the yolk of kind royalty, and weep for the good king, for there are those that will never be happy.” She muttered, saddened.
The Emperor nodded, sighing. “But now, in this new world, I see a kingdom tortured by Chaos, fighting for their very lives, as we have. So… I wish to ask you this,” He said, looking at both of the rulers. “We have no home as of yet. No place to stay, no place to thrive. Only a base of operations. We do, however, have a hatred of Chaos that rivals yours.” He looked at them both, hope shining in his eyes, as he knelt before them, humbling himself as he pleaded with them. “If you would house my people, until we create a nation of our own, I swear to you, we shall fight by your side and destroy this foul monster that is plaguing your kingdom.”
The twin sisters looked at each other, their thoughts going between them as they eventually came to a conclusion. “We will accept your offer of aid, and in turn aid you,” Celestia said, looking at Augustus. “But I must ask this. Do you believe that all creatures, regardless of differences, can live in Harmony?”
The Emperor chuckled. “If you had asked me that question even 1000 years ago, I would have said no, for the only ones like us, yet different, would rather see us wiped off the map than fight with us. But if it will save my people, I am willing to try.”
She nodded, before looking at Gulliman. “And you. Do you agree with your Emperor?”
Gulliman looked at Agustus, before he nodded. “Speak freely my son,” And he sighed. “I would have to agree with my Father. Had you asked me that before we fled, I would have said no, for we truly would not follow those that would either destroy us or make us slaves, that would declare my father a monster to be killed. Humanity, in all its forms, loves safety and freedom most of all. But for the people, for myself, for my father, I am willing to try to live in what you would call Harmony.” He stated, his power armor shifting as he looked into the princess’ eyes.
Celestia looked into Gulliman’s eyes, finding nothing but conviction and honor in them. She nodded. “Then yes, Lord Agustus, we would gladly have your aid.”
The Emperor smiled, before speaking in High Gothic. “Then so mote it be, that the Kingdom of Equestria and the Imperium of Man have created an alliance of arms. To Protect, to Aid, to Heal, thus we swear to help you against the Darkness and Chaos of the Universe.”
The Emperor’s words seemed to carry more power than he realized, as the Sisters Diarch’s eyes widened. Without even recognizing what he had done, Augustus had invoked a Holy Oath. Something that one did not break lightly. That meant that the Emperor was, if not a living deity, then a Paragon, someone so powerful that they could ascend at any time. Celestia cleared her throat, before speaking back in a language only she and her sister knew, called Ancient Equessian. “And so we swear for the Kingdom of Equestria to live together in Harmony with the Imperium of Man. to Defend together, to Aid each other, to Heal together against the Cruelty and Evil of the Universe.”
Thus, the two nations swore what would become known as the Pact of Togetherness, a Holy Oath of Aid and Help against the enemies that would see either nation wiped off the map.
For now, however, the Emperor was led to the Equestrian’s own base of operations by the two sisters, as the day came to a close…
Author's Note
Well, they finally met the Equestrians. Next chapter, we will focus on the perspective of some of the side characters, such as Roboute and Twilight. For now, however, this is Zamorakas, the Official Scribe of the Twin Nations, signing off.
