My Little Xeno 2 - Equinox Knights

“Approaching planet.”

“Good,” Calgar replied to the helmsman,
“take us into standard orbit.”
He turned to other members of the bridge crew and continued:
“Conduct a full scan of the planet. Watch out for energy signatures, and find out where those equines live.”
Then he turned to Tigurius:
“Still nothing?”

“No,” the Chief-Librarian answered,
“this whole planet doesn’t seem to have a presence in the warp. It’s as if it wasn’t even there.”

The crewmen were passing on the information they got from the augur arrays now. Everything was perfectly normal, until Tigurius suddenly shook his head, and Lady Angren gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Calgar immediately inquired.

“I think we’ve just passed a psychic barrier,” Tigurius told him,
“I’m cut off from the warp. Lady Angren, how about you?”

“I can confirm your assessment,” the navigator said,
“whatever they use to shield their planet, it is very powerful… but apart from the shock of being separated from the immaterium that abruptly, I don’t think that it is harmful in any way.”

“I agree,” Tigurius concurred,
“I don’t feel any hostile actions - or any actions for that matter. It’s like we just entered a Gellar-field of a very high capacity.”

At that moment, they got a vox call:

“Lord Calgar, our astropaths just collapsed. They’re being looked after by our medics at the moment. There seems to be no threat to their lives, but they are unconscious.”

“An effect of the separation from the warp,” Tigurius explained,
“the medics should keep an eye on them. Perhaps they will recover from the shock.”

Calgar nodded and commanded:

“Continue approach.”

A week had passed since Antonius had started learning magic. He made good progress, and his mentor Celestia was more than content with his mastery of the arcane powers. Actually, she probably would have preferred him to slow down a little, but he did not want to be found wanting.

This morning, Antonius and Luna were practicing some spells in his quarters as his PDA beeped.
An incoming call was of course not unusual; the ponies really liked this fast method of communication. Unusual was the fact that Al immediately cut in:

“Antonius! Answer the call!”

“Huh?” Antonius wondered,
“some kind of emergency? Who’s calling?”

“I don’t know, but the signal’s origin is not on the planet. It’s imperial, though.”

Antonius at once made a bolt for his PDA and answered the call:

“This is Antonius… Varus, Ultramarines second company. Greetings.”

A moment later, a well familiar face appeared on the PDA.

“Greetings, Brother,” Chapter Master Calgar replied,
“it is good to see you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, my Lord.”

“What is your status?”

“The situation is clear, no hostiles in the area. I’m completely healthy, but my armor was destroyed along with my bolter about a year ago… actually, it might take some time explaining all of this.”

“That is hardly a surprise, Brother. Can you give us coordinates for our landing?”

“Of course, Lord Calgar. Just a second…”
He quickly selected the coordinates and turned back to his conversational partner:
“Lord Calgar? I’ve sent you the coordinates of the imperial base beneath the city I’m currently living in. You can land in its hangar.”

“Confirmed. We’ll be there in half an hour.”

They cut the connection and Antonius turned to Luna again:

“Now, we have to make haste.”

“Did you notice any differences?” Calgar asked.

“Indeed, my Lord,” Seneca answered,
“Antonius’ hair has never been white - or that long, for that matter - and the scar above his eye is gone.”

“We should be wary. Now, let us board the Thunderhawk. I’m curious to hear Brother Varus’ report.”

Just a few minutes later, the dropship left the Sword of Iax and made its way towards the planet. After entering the atmosphere, it approached the coordinates Antonius had given them.

Calgar, Tigurius, Cassius and Seneca were gazing at a hololithic display that echoed the data the dropship’s sensor systems were gathering.

“Quite rural,” Cassius noted,
“barely a sign of industrialization.”

“Yes,” Seneca agreed,
“seems they’re living the happy farm life.”

“So brother Varus has at least not given them access to human technology.”

“Unless they’ve stuffed everything into those little huts,” Tigurius grinned.

“We can check that,” Calgar said and pushed a few runes,
“let us see if there are energy signatures.”

The hololith changed and showed a few faint lines, together with a brighter dot.

“Hmm, that power grid is quite rudimentary,” Cassius opined.

“Indeed… but what are they using as a generator? Is that…?”

“An hydroelectric dam,” Tigurius stated.

“Damn!” Seneca joked,
“but seriously, that’s not the worst way to generate power, and I don’t think it’s human technology.”

“Probably not,” Tigurius agreed,
“hydropower is a pretty common technology, and compared the our hydroelectric dams this plant here is quite small.”

“So, small creatures, using small plants, and living in small huts.”

Now something new appeared on the hololith and Tigurius said:

“Well, that is definitely bigger than a hut.”

It was a city, clinging to the side of a mountain. With its white towers and spires, it looked much more sophisticated than everything else they had seen up to that point - even though every tech-priest would have probably been more fond of the dam.

“That’s our destination,” Calgar said,
“there should be a hangar door somewhere beneath… there it is!”

The Thunderhawk slowed down as it approached the hangar. The door was already wide open, and the dropship slid into the imperial base. A soft jolt went through the ship, and the pilot reported:

“Touchdown… my Lords, you really should see this.”

“What?” Calgar asked curtly.

“A Primaris and a lot of small, colorful quadrupeds.”

“What the hell?” Seneca wondered, and the Ultramarines looked at each other.

“A Primaris?” Cassius asked.

“Antonius?” Tigurius ventured.

“We’ll see,” Calgar stated and opened the front ramp.

Antonius watched the Thunderhawk’s front ramp open, a mixture of joy and worry in his heart. He was glad that the Ultramarines had finally arrived, but he was a little uneasy as to their reaction to the ponies.

Yes, the Ultramarines were a reasonable chapter, even one of the most reasonable the Imperium had to offer, and furthermore, the expedition force was commanded by Marneus Augustus Calgar himself, paragon of courage and honor. He would never just start shooting like a madman or make hasty decisions.

The ramp touched the floor with a clang and Calgar left the dropship. Antonius immediately noticed that he was bigger than he had been - a Primaris. Behind him were… Chief-Librarian Tigurius… and Chaplain Cassius?
Three such high-ranking members of the chapter? Well, that was unexpected.
Behind them, Antonius could catch a glimpse of Seneca. Of course, the Ultramarine who knew him best.

Well, he also had gathered a lot of important ponies, as well as some of his friends: The Princesses, the Element Bearers, Lyra, Bon Bon, Zecora, Moonlight, Blackwing, Stormy… even the Cutie Mark Crusaders were present. It was never a bad idea to have some friendly (and cute) members of a species at hand if you wanted to prove that said species was benevolent, after all. It also hadn’t been a bad idea to tell Pinkie what unpleasant things would happen if she dared to use one of her party cannons.

The four Ultramarines walked up to Antonius and the ponies. Behind them, a squad of Tactical Marines fanned out. They had their bolters a the ready, but did not take aim.

“Greetings, Lord Calgar,” Antonius said and knelt down,
“greetings, Chief-Librarian Tigurius and Chaplain Cassius, as well as all of the other Ultramarines. Blessed be this day that sees your arrival. You truly are more than welcome.”

At his sides, Celestia and Luna bowed deep, and the bowing went like a wave through the whole row of ponies.

“Please, Lord Calgar,” Antonius continued,
“tell us how Primarch Guilliman is doing.”

“He’s alive and well,” Calgar replied,
“and he has taken command of the chapter a week after waking up. Now rise, Brother Varus, and thank you, inhabitants of this world, for your salute.”

Now Celestia spoke up:

“We greet you, Lord Calgar, as well as your entourage. Welcome to Equestria, the land of us ponies. I am Celestia, Princess of the Sun and ruler of Equestria. This is my sister Luna, Princess of the Night.”

Luna bowed and Calgar nodded to her:

“We’ve already met - even it it was in a dream.”

“I am glad you were able to find us,” Luna replied.

“Thanks to the directions you gave us.”

“This is Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia continued the introductions,
“she is the Princess of Friendship and Bearer of the Element of Magic.”

Twilight bowed and greeted the Ultramarines. It went on like that until all ponies were properly introduced.
Then, Calgar presented Tigurius, Cassius and Seneca.

When the round of introductions was over, Calgar turned to Antonius:

“Brother Varus, we all certainly are eager to hear your report, but there is something that takes priority.”

“Just call me Antonius, Lord Calgar, and I think I know what this ‘something’ might be: You need to make sure that I’m who I claim to be, and that I’m neither possessed nor insane.”

“Indeed, especially since your physical appearance has chanced quite a bit since the last time we saw you.”
With a smile, he added:
“And you don’t have the excuse of having access to imperial bioengineering and the Primaris template, do you?”

“No, Lord Calgar, or rather: not in the conventional way.”

“I hope your ‘unconventional way’ does not involve heathen magic,” Cassius stated.

The chaplains skepticism was not too much of a surprise. Honestly, finding xenos who were so friendly really seemed to be next to impossible, especially if they were able to wield magic.

“I can assure you,” Antonius replied,
“that the ponies were not involved in my transformation. They are just…”
A little hand gesture, and Lyra quickly walked up to him. He picked her up and continued:
“… friendly little creatures who are eager to help us. You will probably agree that she doesn’t look too threatening.”

“Appearances are often deceiving,” Cassius answered.

“True, but Lyra here really is a kind creature… with a predilection for mankind.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course!” Lyra exclaimed,
“I mean, you are humans! With hands! And you even created us! How could I not be a fan of you?”

Cassius looked a little astonished while other three Ultramarines grinned.

“So, you are a unicorn?” Tigurius asked.

“Sure I am!”

“Are you capable of using magic?”

“Yes, but it’s mostly telekinesis… and I have a neat light spell.”

Okay, so this was the encounter with pony magic. While the magic itself was probably unsettling, Antonius had planned to compensate for this with innocent cuteness. So, he held Lyra out to Tigurius and asked:

“Want to hold her?”

Tigurius looked quite surprised, but then he picked her from Antonius’ hands. He placed her on one of his armored gauntlets and looked at her intently. Lyra just smiled friendlily.

“Can you show me some of your magic?” Tigurius inquired.

Now Lyra lit her horn, using the light spell she had mentioned. Absolutely harmless.

Tigurius turned to Calgar:

“Without access to the warp, I cannot properly examine the powers she’s using, but there is no obvious threat to us. What I can say is that there definitely is some kind of energy around us.”

“Around us?” Calgar asked,
“you mean in the materium?”

“Indeed. Peculiar.”

“Our magic is quite different from your warp energies,” Celestia told them,
“which actually saved us all when Chaos tried to invade us. Still, they caused death and destruction.”

“That’s what they always do,” Cassius said,
“corrupted by the warp, that’s what they exist to do. That’s why we’re generally cautious when we encounter creatures with psionic abilities… how many of you have such abilities?”

“Every unicorn, though their levels of power vary quite a lot. Pegasi and Earth ponies use magic more subconsciously.”

“And how many unicorns are there?”

“About a third of our society.”

“So… your whole species is connected to your magic, and a third can consciously use it?”

“I know,” Antonius interjected, remembering his own feelings from a seemingly long time ago,
“that this would usually be a reason to be worried, but in this specific case…”
Another hand gesture, and his secret weapon appeared next to him to be picked up,
“it actually is harmless. A veil is shielding the ponies from the daemon-infested warp, so instead of mad, possessed creatures, you get this.”

He presented Sweetie Belle on his outstretched hand. Even as a unicorn, the filly was way more ‘cute’ than she was ‘threatening’. She did not truly feel comfortable, but she smiled and waved nonetheless.

Cassius stared at her, then he turned to Antonius:

“You are trying to lull us into a sense of security by showing us an almost incredibly adorable magic user?”

Antonius never had thought he would hear Cassius say the word ‘adorable’. Perhaps this was a good sign. He replied:

“I just want to make sure that the experiences of ten thousand years do not cause an unfortunate decision to be made. I’m sure those ponies and their Elements of Harmony make great allies, and as their friend, I want to protect them.”

“Your worries are unfounded,” Calgar said and patted Sweetie Belle’s head with his armored index finger,
“we are Ultramarines. We think before we shoot. You could have had a little more trust in us, Antonius.”

“Excuse me, my Lord, but if even a misunderstanding can cause unthinkable damage - not only to the ponies, but also to mankind - I generally err on the side of caution.”

“I do not blame you. But now, it is time to examine you. Please follow us on board our Thunderhawk. We will return to the Sword of Iax and leave the protective shield that surrounds the planet, so that chief librarian Tigurius can scan your mind… Tigurius, please put the pony down.”

“Of course,” Tigurius answered and did as he was told, but not without patting Lyra’s head before she returned to Bon Bon.

Now Calgar turned to the ponies and Antonius:

“Thank you all for this warm welcome. We will soon return. Antonius?”

“Yes, Lord Calgar,” Antonius replied, put Sweetie Belle down and started walking towards the waiting Thunderhawk.

Luna also started moving.

“Luna?” Antonius wondered,
“you don’t need to come with me.”

“I know,” she just stated and continued walking.

Antonius took a look at Celestia. She was less than excited, but she knew - as well as Antonius - that any attempt at convincing Luna to stay on the planet would be nothing but a waste of time.

“Princess Luna,” Calgar started, but Luna interrupted him:

“Just see me as some kind of pledge.”

Calgar seemed to consider his options for a few seconds. While this first meeting had gone rather well, he probably wasn’t too thrilled about having a pony aboard his voidship. Still, he said:

“While this is not necessary, you can come with us if you really want to.”

“I do want to.”

So the Ultramarines, Antonius and Luna boarded the Thunderhawk. While the ramp closed, they all took their seats. Despite minor difficulties, Antonius managed to buckle Luna up next to him, then the Thunderhawk started and left the hangar.

Cassius kept Princess Luna in view as the Thunderhawk accelerated and gained height. He would never have thought that the Ultramarines would accommodate a creature you could justifiably call a xeno witch, but there she was, looking slightly uncomfortable. Not as much as xenos usually looked when encountering his chapter, but well…

Brother Varus noticed her discomfort and patted her hoof in a manner that was probably more suitable for a human couple than a Space Marine trying to take care of a probable ally.
The princess, however, seemed to be fond of that: She started smiling and seemed much calmer almost immediately.

Cassius wrinkled his nose. It almost looked as if there was some kind of emotional bond between the xeno and the battle brother…
No, that was impossible.
Under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, the current circumstances were anything but normal.

So, the chaplain watched Varus and Luna, really not fond of the looks on their faces when their eyes met from time to time.

This was incredible.

Nopony had ever travelled this way, at least as far as she knew. Luna was excited, but also a little worried. Thankfully, Antonius was there, right next to her. He was calm, so whatever this ‘Thunderhawk’ did was probably normal.
Even the strange jolt she had just experienced.

“What was that?” she asked.

“We have just broken the sound barrier,” Antonius told her calmly,
“at this speed, Rainbow’s rainboom happens.”

“What happens?” Calgar inquired.

“A peculiar effect. When a pegasus pony breaks the sound barrier, they create some kind of rainbow-colored shockwave and an equally colored trail.”

“Those winged furballs can fly that fast?” Seneca inquired.

Well, while ‘furball’ was not too nice, the way he had said it hinted at no intended insult.

“Most of them can’t,” Antonius told him,
“in fact, Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, is the only pegasus capable of reaching such speeds.”

Calgar put a hand to his ear and said:

“Pilot, check if our Thunderhawk has some sort of colorful trail right now.”
A few seconds later, he continued:
“No trail.”

“I think this is because your Thunderhawk lacks our magic,” Luna ventured.

“Good,” Calgar just answered.

When the sound of the engines suddenly changed some time later, Luna again inquired what had happened.

“We have switched from turbofan to plasma to leave the atmosphere,” Antonius said.

“Well,” Luna mumbled,
“since we are still alive, I am inclined to the view that this is no reason to unduly worry.”

“No,” Antonius laughed, while Seneca snickered quietly.

More time went by, and Luna had not the slightest idea where they were - apart from ‘pretty high’, that is. She took a look around. Her friend next to her still did not show any sign of nervousness. She wondered how many times he had flown in one of those machines she was in now, and if he wasn’t a little bit worried about the examination that was about to take place.

Instead of asking, she decided to better be quiet and continued to look around.
The Ultramarines were eerily silent, just sitting in their seats and doing basically nothing except staring dead ahead, with one exception:
Chaplain Cassius seemed to watch her, and she returned the gaze.

After a while, she asked:

“Can I help you somehow?”

“No,” Cassius answered curtly.

Feeling a little awkward, Luna shrugged turned to Antonius. His reassuring smile made her feel better instantly.
A few minutes of silence later, she said:

“Excuse me, but while I am not too proficient in small talk, this silence seems unproductive.”

Tigurius and Seneca grinned at that.

“There is not much to say at the moment,” Calgar told her,
“but there should be something to see by now… activate the hololith.”

Right in front of the Ultramarines’ leader, a hovering image came into existence, slightly distorted, but still clear enough to see…

“What is that?” Luna inquired.

“The ‘Sword of Iax’,” Calgar explained,
“we’ll land in a few minutes.”

Luna took a closer look at the image. If the little lights on the thing’s hull were windows…

“Your ship must be pretty big,” she guessed.

“It’s about four kilometers long.”

Luna stared at the hololith for a few seconds. The time and effort that had to have gone into building this ship were barely imaginable.

“Amazing,” she said.

“That may be the first time a non-human actually likes one of our ships,” Seneca grinned.

The hololithic image of the ship grew, and Luna could make out more details. All told, it looked like a giant, gothic palace with a massive stern, a slimmer neck and a broad prow.

As they approached the vessel further, hangar doors opened, creating a new, larger spot of light on the ship’s hull. They headed there, and Luna could feel the deceleration.
Finally, they entered the Sword of Iax and touched down.

The sound of the Thunderhawk’s engines faded as Antonius unbuckled her.

“Nervous?” he asked with a smile.

“Excited,” Luna corrected.

“Me too, to be honest,” he whispered and winked.

Calgar and Tigurius had already left the dropship, and now Luna and Antonius stepped onto the ramp that led down to the hangar. The air here on board the imperial ship smelled a little funny, somewhat sterile compared the the rich bouquet of grass and flowers she was used to. She took a look around.
More Thunderhawks were lined up there. Around some of them, humans were busy doing… whatever it was they did. Space Marines were there, too, waiting next to the vessels.
Probably ready to embark any second…
Well, of course. The last information the Ultramarines had had was that Equestria had expected to be attacked by the forces of Chaos. So, they were ready to intervene if that should have happened.

Luna looked for Calgar. He had walked up to a human in a red robe with something like metallic tendrils sprouting from his back. Luna wondered what weird sort of body ornaments those things were, then she heard a metallic voice shout:

“HEY, LOOK! A LITTLE HORSE!”

Luna turned to take a look at the source of those words and froze.
It was a house.
A blue house.
On stumpy legs.
With stumpy arms.
And it was walking towards her.
WHAT WAS THAT THING?

“Brother Parvus!” Antonius exclaimed.

“Wait, ‘brother’?” Luna quietly asked in confusion.

“Ah, my reputation precedes me,” Parvus said and stopped,
“I have no idea who you are, though.”

“I am Antonius… Varus,” Antonius told him,
“we’ve met before, but I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly memorable, just one of many battle brothers.”

“Well, now you’re wearing an ornamented, but quite out of date armor with a huge sword and are accompanied by a blue, winged unicorn. That makes you pretty memorable this time.”

“That remains to be seen,” Antonius mumbled with a grin, then he continued:
“this is Princess Luna of Equestria, a good friend of mine.”

“Pleasure,” Luna said, still a little intimidated by the hulking mass of metal.

Parvus turned his front directly towards her. A few second later, he said:

“Your horse can talk.”

Antonius suppressed a laugh and Luna just wanted to explain what a pony was when Parvus continued:

“That’s great! Usually, you must rely on a horse’s body language to tell what they might need! It is really convenient when they are capable of just telling you!
Do you want a carrot, Princess Lula? Or a sugar cube?”

Luna heard Antonius chuckle as she answered:

“It’s ‘Luna’… umm… no, thank you… but I have to tell you that I am not an animal, I am a pony from Equestria. My whole species is intelligent, sentient and sapient… but we are not xenos! We were created by mankind!”

Phew… dodged that blast… probably quite literally.

“Hmm… now that you say it, I think I’ve heard something like that.”

“Indeed,” Calgar confirmed as he walked up to them, accompanied by the red robed human,
“princess Luna here is one of the leaders of the ponies we are here to visit. May I introduce magos Gearhart?”

“Magos,” Antonius greeted with a nod.

“Pleasure,” Luna said, looking at Gearhart’s face - or the spot where his face should have been. Instead, there was a mask with green glowing eyes.

“Princess, Brother Varus,” he greeted with a metallic voice.

“First, we will visit the apothecarium,” Calgar told Antonius,
“to get you physically checked. Then, we will proceed to the interrogation chamber to see in what condition your mind is.”
Then, he put his hand to his ear and said:
“Helmsman, take the ship out of the psionic shield.”

So, they marched off towards this ‘apothecarium’, escorted by a few Space Marines, while Luna examined the hallways they came through. The similarities to the imperial base beneath Canterlot were undeniable, gothic architecture in all of its glory.

When they finally reached their interim destination, they were already expected by a Space Marine in white armor.

“Brother Ambrosius,” Calgar commanded,
“examine brother Varus. Meanwhile, magos Gearhart will have a look at the armor and sword.”

Antonius uncomplainingly handed his sword over to Gearhart - its crystal lost its gentle, bluish glow instantly - and took off his armor. Then, he lay down on an examination table.

“Ready,” he reported curtly.

Ambrosius started examining him, using a lot of equipment Luna could only guess the purpose of. Quite clear was the purpose of the syringes he used to take samples of Antonius’ blood and tissue.

Seeing the apothecarius prick her friend made Luna a little uncomfortable, but she knew that Antonius had gone through way worse procedures. She still used the time to take a look at the magos. He was quietly examining the sword at the moment, completely immersed in his work.

When the examination was over, Antonius got up again and put on a robe that had been put out ready for him.

“A cursory evaluation of the data I’ve gathered shows no obvious signs of undue mutation,” Ambrosius said,
“the in-depth analysis will take a few hours, though.”

“Glad to hear that,” Antonius commented.

Calgar nodded at the apothecarius and turned to the magos.

“Brother Varus’ equipment shows no obvious signs of heretech or xenotech,” Gearhart reported,
“in fact, the armor seems to be just passive. The sword, however, is probably a force sword. Chief Librarian Tigurius might want to examine it.”

“Indeed,” Tigurius confirmed and took it,
“but that will have to wait until we’re clear of the shield that surrounds the planet.”

“That should be any moment now,” Calgar said,
“in the meantime, we’ll head to the interrogation chamber.”

“I will take care of borther Varus’ armor,” Gearhart volunteered.

Now Calgar, Tigurius, Cassius, Seneca, Antonius, Luna and their escort left the apothecarium and once again walked through the hallways of the giant ship.

Until now, things had gone quite well. Well, the real crux was the decisions Antonius had made while he had been in Equestria; some of them had been somewhat unusual, after all… to put it mildly.
Antonius already had a plan to handle his report and the following questions, though: He would be honest and explain everything as comprehensively as he could. No lying, no sugarcoating, just the unadulterated truth.

They were approaching the interrogation chamber when he suddenly felt a psionic jolt. According to the gasp that came from Luna, she had felt that, too. Antonius stopped and turned towards her. Her mane and tail had lost their magical properties and were light blue now.

Just as he had, his company also stopped walking and regarded Luna now.

“Are you okay?” Antonius asked his friend,
“I guess we have just left the veil.”

“I am… not very comfortable,” Luna admitted,
“but I will…”
She suddenly fell silent and her eyes widened:
“Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Antonius asked worriedly.

“Nightmare Moon… the daemon is trying to tap the warp.”

“Oh shit.”

“What daemon?” Calgar demanded to know.

“More than a millennium ago, a daemon spawn of Tzeentch managed to possess Luna,” Antonius explained,
“it was exorcised by the Elements of Harmony a few years ago, but a little remnant was left behind.”

“And you dare bring this creature onboard?” Cassius roared.

“This ‘creature’ is my friend,” Antonius contradicted with some anger,
“and she has this remnant under control!”
He turned to Luna and continued much calmer:
“You have it under control, right?”

“For the time being,” Luna answered,
“but it has realized that it will never get a better opportunity for causing trouble again… it is quite persistent in its attempts to break free.”

“We must get that thing off the ship,” Cassius demanded.

With ‘thing’ he had probably meant Luna as well as the daemon, which was not prone to improve Antonius’ mood.

“I suggest we better do what we’ve been created for,” he stated,
“help the innocent and fight the daemon. Just give me a second.”

Having said that, he tapped the warp, carefully, as not to draw any attention to the procedure. While doing so, he could feel Tigurius next to him do the same.

“Let’s show this daemonic remnant that keeping still would be a very prudent thing to do,” Antonius said and put his hand on Luna’s head. His eyes started glowing, and he entered her mind.

It worked without any problem, Luna had allowed him to help her.
Now he was standing in what looked like a medieval cell, in front of him, there was Nightmare moon, busy tunneling her way trough the wall.

“Stop it,” Antonius commanded.

Nightmare Moon spun around.

“You?” she hissed,
“what are you doing here? Has the pathetic Luna brought you here?”

“No. First, there is no pathetic Luna. Second, I’m a psyker now, so if you continue to cause trouble you will regret it in ways you can’t even imagine.”

“A thousand years have made me a part of Luna. You can’t kill me.”

“I wouldn’t be that nice, daemon.”

“Are you sure you can hurt me without hurting your precious friend?” Nightmare Moon grinned.

“Even if he can’t, I can,” Tigurius said, stepping up next to Antonius.

The daemon’s grin was gone now, and she glared from one Space Marine to the other. Tigurius glared back with an intensity that even Antonius next to him could feel, and Nightmare Moon staggered.

“I… damnit! I surrender,” she gasped.

“A sign of prudence,” Tigurius said and rebuilt the wall with a wave of his hand.

“I hate you. Both of you.”

“If a daemon started liking us, we’d do something terribly wrong,” Antonius commented and both Space Marines left Luna’s mind.

“Is everything okay?” he asked Luna as soon as his mind was back in reality.

“Nightmare Moon is quiet now,” she told him.

“You did not kill this remnant?” Cassius inquired.

“No,” Antonius replied,
“that would’ve probably done damage to the healthy parts of her soul. But the danger still is averted.”

“Even if that’s true, what does it say about your friend that a daemon was able to possess her? Get her back to her planet.”

“What does it say about her that she did not only survive a thousand years while possessed, but even managed to keep her soul intact and herself sane?”

The Ultramarines were quiet for a moment, then Calgar asked:

“You have been under such dark influence for a thousand years?”

“I have,” Luna answered.

“Hmm,” Tigurius mused,
“that’s no small feat. Actually, you are remarkably… normal for someone who has gone through such a torture.”

“I would lie if I pretended that it has not taken a toll on me, but I am glad to be able to confirm that I am not a drooling maniac, and I can assure you that I will never again fall victim to a daemon of Chaos.”

With this almost-crisis averted before it became an actual, full-fledged crisis, they continued their way until they arrived at the interrogation chamber.

“Antonius, Tigurius, Cassius, Seneca, into the room,” Calgar commanded,
“Princess Luna, I will assign you quarter onboard, as the interrogation will take some time. Guards, escort her.”

“If you do not mind, Lord Calgar,” Luna replied,
“I would like to stay here and wait.”

“As you wish. Guards, keep her company.”

Now they entered the chamber. Before he passed the door, Antonius gave Luna an encouraging smile, then the door closed and they were separated.

Well, it could have gone better, but it definitely could have gone a lot worse. Luna had not thought of the possibility that Nightmare Moon could stir. In retrospect, she had to admit that it seemed pretty obvious, though.

Now she was standing in the hallway, accompanied by a bunch of Ultramarines, and there was only one polite thing she could do now to pass the time; something she was really not fond of: small talk.

“So… you are here to watch over me?” she asked.

“Yes,” one of the Marines answered curtly.

It was incredible how much snideness he had been able to put into one word, and how cold his voice had sounded. Seriously, even with the vox distortion, Antonius’ voice had always sounded more friendly.

“Do not worry, I will not try something undue, I just want to wait here for Brother Antonius.”

“Good for you.”

No, this wouldn’t be a cordial waiting time. Luna sat down and did her best to ignore the Ultramarines and the red glowing eyes they kept on her.

Hours passed without anything happening. Had she had her magic, she could have practiced a little to pass the time… probably much to the dismay of her guards… so being bored was presumably better, after all.
Finally, just as Luna was about to doze off, the monotony was broken by magos Gearhart, but he entered the interrogation chamber with only a short greeting. She tried to peek into the room, but she couldn’t see anything noteworthy.

Perhaps Luna should have accepted the quarters Calgar had offered her… but that would have meant not only leaving Tony, but also being alone on this huge ship…
No, here, as close to Tony as possible, was the best place to be, even if she should fall asleep on the bare floor.

“Ah, Magos Gearhart,” Calgar greeted the tech-priest as he entered the room,
“thank you for coming. Any news concerning brother Antonius’ armor?”

“Nothing decisive, it really is just a passive armor, but despite its primitiveness, it is masterly crafted,” Gearhart told him.

“Good. We are just about to talk about the AI brother Antonius has found on the planet. Since this is your area of expertise, we thought you should hear his report.”

“Very well, there is something I should bring to your attention first, though.”

“Yes?”

“Princess Luna is not in a very good condition. The most probable reason for this is sleep deprivation. Perhaps you should tell her to rest.”

Great. They were in the middle of the interrogation - which had turned out to be even weirder than Calgar had already imagined - and now they had to interrupt it to put their visitor to bed. Well, she was not a Space Marine, she couldn’t stay awake for a few days straight.

“Brother Antonius,” he sighed,
“perhaps you should take care of that. Take her to her quarters and return, so that we can continue.”

“Begging your pardon, Lord Calgar,” Antonius answered,
“but I think it would be impolite to just dump Luna and leave her alone. It is her first time away from her planet, so I should probably keep her company to make sure that she’s comfortable. She is one of the leaders of an ally, after all.”

“Hmm… maybe you’re right… we will meet again in six hours. The guards will escort you and the princess to your quarters.”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

They left the interrogation chamber to find a very sleepy Luna. She barely was able to keep her eyes open, but she smiled as she saw Antonius again.

“Wow,” Antonius said with a chuckle,
“you really need a bed. Come on!”

Now, much to everyone’s surprise, he picked her up. To everyone’s even bigger surprise, she flung her front legs and wings around him, placed her head on his shoulder and dozed off immediately.

“Brother Antonius,” Calgar said,
“you should alter your grip on her.”

“My Lord?”

“As you said, she’s a dignitary, after all. Your hand on her posterior is somewhat inappropriate.”

Luna really was sitting on Antonius’ hand and lower arm, and he had his hand closed around her… rear. His other hand was on her shoulder, holding her downright gently.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t mind,” Antonius told him,
“we’ve gone through too much together to consider something like that an indecency. I’ll still ask her as soon as she wakes up.”

Calgar thought about this unexpected answer for a second, then he said:

“Very well. Dismissed.”

Antonius bowed a little - as not to wake up Luna - and turned to leave, escorted and guided by the Ultramarine guards. When they were gone, Calgar, Tigurius, Cassius, Seneca and Gearhart returned into the interrogation chamber to discuss Antonius’ report.

“His decisions were questionable sometimes,” Cassius stated.

“Knowing him, they were not too surprising, though,” Seneca added for consideration,
“he has never been a fanatic, he has always preferred brains over mindless zeal.”

“You will have a hard time trying to explain his exploits with ‘brains’.”

“Well, he adapted to the ponies’ friendly culture to a certain extend… being separated from us, this was an understandable decision, especially since they have those artifacts.”

“We definitely are on good terms with the ponies,” Calgar said,
“and they even want to help mankind. That truly is Antonius’ merit.”

“True,” Cassius admitted,
“I still wish he had ‘adapted’ a little less… and we haven’t heard all of his report. Who know’s what else he will tell us.”

“My favorite part was when the princesses had put him into that tub,” Tigurius grinned, making the others - sans Gearhart and Cassius - chuckle for a second.

“Yes,” Calgar agreed,
“that part was kinda funny… but fun aside, we have to get a sample of this ‘Poison Joke’ and the antidote to analyze them.”

“We can be happy that they had such an antidote,” Seneca said,
“otherwise, things would have gone very differently…”

“True.”

“… and Antonius wouldn’t have had the chance to wake up inside a princess-sandwich.”

The Ultramarines burst out laughing for a moment, then Calgar turned to Seneca:

“A little more sobriety, Sergeant. Interrogating Antonius is serious business, after all, as are the decisions that will have to be made.”

“Excuse me, my Lord.”

“No worries, we don’t get to hear something like that very often, so a certain degree of levity is acceptable. But now, we should continue: Any more opinions on Antonius?”

“Indeed,” Cassius said,
“on our flight, I noticed Antonius and the princess exchanging… glances. Then, as I suggested to get her off the ship, he contradicted me with a little too much intensity. You have witnessed that, as well as the way he carried her to her quarters.”

“What do you want to say?” Calgar asked,
“do you suggest there is some kind of… emotional bond?”

“Love,” Tigurius told them flatly.

“Come again?”

“The emotional bond is called ‘love’. Luna loves him, as well as he loves her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The Ultramarines looked at each other in confusion, trying to grasp all of the ramifications such a relationship.

“Once again,” Gearhart suddenly said,
“I really wish I could laugh.”

“Laugh?” Cassius roared,
“this is a heresy beyond imagination! A Ultramarine and a xeno…”

“If the princess, who is the secondary leader of the ponies, after all, is emotionally dependent on brother Varus, it further reduces the probability of treason, as she will not consciously betray him, nor allow anyone to do so.”

The Ultramarines stared at the magos for some time, then Calgar said:

“That’s quite some insight into the emotional world of a non-human… especially considering you’re a member of the Mechanicum.”

“We just refuse emotions. That does not mean that do not know anything about them, or that we cannot calculate probabilities where emotions are concerned. An emotional bond as strong as love generally significantly reduces the propensity to hurt the companion. In the case at hand, that means that Luna will have an extremely low propensity to betraying Antonius, or mankind, as that would definitely hurt him.”

“What about Antonius’ propensity to betray us?” Cassius inquired.

“That would be contrary to his character,” Seneca stated.

“If he’s still sane.”

“I wasn’t able to pick up any signs of insanity, but I’m planning to deep-check that as a final test anyway,” Tigurius told them.

“Then… I guess,” Calgar sighed,
“we should just keep an eye on this relationship for the time being. Damnit, I’ve expected a lot of weirdness, but that is beyond anything I envisioned. I wonder if it can get worse.”

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Calgar commanded, and Ambrosius entered the room.

“My Lords, you ordered me to tell you the the results of the examination as soon as they are available.”

“Yes. What did you find out?”

Ambrosius handed Calgar a data-slate and started talking:

“Brother Varus severely deviates from the classic Ultramarine as well as the Primaris pattern. I was able to identify gene sequences from all of the original legions. The Ultramarines gene-seed is dominant, but the Canis Helix used by the Space Wolves also carries quite a lot of weight. Furthermore, brother Varus is a psyker now.”

“Throne on Terra,” Calgar mumbled, reading the data-slate,
“he was almost completely reforged… well, at least that explains his changed body… wait, what is that?”

He pointed his index finger at a line displayed on the slate.

“That,” Ambrosius explained,
“is equine DNA. Those sequences influence primarily his brain; the part that is responsible for psionic powers, to be exact.”

“Equine? You mean: those ponies?” Cassius asked,
“what the hell have they done to him? Is that a result of their wicked magic?”

“I have no idea what their magic is capable of, but if it was their magic, it is highly sophisticated when it comes to genetic manipulation. All those different gene sequences are interwoven flawlessly.”

“His genome is stable?” Tigurius inquired.

“Yes. Absolutely unusual, but stable. No sign of ongoing mutation.”

“I’m really curious to hear the rest of Antonius’ report,” Calgar admitted,
“and for that, we’ll also talk to Princess Luna along with Antonius. Let’s see if we can’t get some information from her as well.”

The Ultramarines led Antonius and Luna to some standard Space Marine quarters. A bed, a table, a chair, a small shrine, a cogitator and a small rack, garnished with the ubiquitous smell of recycled air and lubricants.

Antonius was a little sorry for Luna; this was not exactly a comfortable accommodation for the princess, but she did not seem to mind that too much. As the door had closed, she looked around and turned to Antonius:

“Hmm… this truly is not a luxury suite, but it will do, I guess. The important thing is what the Ultramarines think of us, and I think it went pretty well as of yet. Do you agree?”

“It could definitely have gone worse,” Antonius agreed,
“but the most critical aspects of my report are yet to come.”

“Your disregard for the Codex Astartes?”

“That, too, but I was talking about my resurrection and transformation. If they don’t believe me, we’re done for.”

“I am sure they will believe you, Tony.”

“Really? Seriously, I don’t know if I would believe me if I hadn’t experienced it myself. But now, let’s get you to bed.”

He gently put her down onto the bed and helped her take off her regalia. Then he lay down, too, and put an arm around her.

“Now sleep, Luna. We just have about five hours, then I have to get ready for the second part of the interrogation,” Antonius said.

“I will come with you again,” Luna stated, then they fell asleep.

Celestia was walking through the throne room. Usually, she was not prone to being antsy, but this situation was different.
High above her head, the fate of the whole planet was decided, and she could do nothing about it. Her little sister and especially Antonius were the key to survival now, the key to convincing the Ultramarines to look beyond the xenophobia that was so common in the Imperium and accept the ponies as the allies they truly were.
Well, Antonius had always said how reasonable his chapter was… but Celestia had enough experience with diplomacy to know how easily things could go south. A misunderstanding was all it would take, and the world would end.

Really, not being able to do anything was unsettling. To distract her subjects from the tension, she had tasked them with preparing a big welcome party for the new arrivals. She just hoped that this party really would take place…