A Different Kind Of Chaos

Chapter 2 history lesson

The colts awaken, with a smile of joy forming on Pip and Tungsten's faces to see Trottingham in the distance, their home. They galloped towards it as fast as their legs could carry them but soon slowed down. Both colts blinked in confusion before a sharp smell invaded their nostrils. Their hooves felt like dry grass, cracking and crumbling underneath them.

It took Pip and Tungsten only seconds to realize that the lights in the distance weren't shining lights of the city of Trottingham. It was lights of fires, Trottingham was burning, and screams echoed in the distance.
Hearts racing with fear, Pip and Tungsten ran as fast as they could towards their home, hoping their mothers and friends were still alive. But to the sight of horror that sank into their hearts.

Many buildings burnt to a blaze, collapsing and falling to burning ruins, and corpses littered the streets; both hoped their families and friends weren't among the dead "All is Dust!" A male, somewhat mechanic voice exclaimed, "Maim, kill, burn! Maim, kill, burn!" Instinctually, fear-filled, both colts looked around for a place to hide, going into an intact building and slamming the door shut.

Pip and Tungsten quickly held each other; they couldn't understand the sight before them as they peeked through the window. Several giant men in a strangely decorated blue and yellow armor moved past, looking very similar, if not identical, to the tall statues they had seen, the heads covered by helmets with red glowing eyes. Their armor looked heavy enough for both colts to feel the ground shakes as they walked through the fires; the two large pieces on the sides of their armor were decorated with flames. And had a picture of a dragon eating its own tail portrayed on them.

They held what looked like a large metallic box, the sounds of loud explosions as they looked to breathe fire at what the colts feared to be ponies out of their view as screams could be heard growing louder. A terrifying roar made them flinch. Behind the men were creatures beyond anything, the colts had ever seen. At first, they looked like a minotaur, standing on two legs, but it bared no fur, and its pink flesh was a hulking mass of flesh, with several arms on its sides. Their gigantic mouths let out high-pitched squeals of laughter.

Another group of those creatures followed. Those were blue in color, a perpetual scowl on their faces as they sneered and grumbled, adding a deeper whining tone to the group. The colts held their breath as they waited for all those creatures to walk past them; the colts quietly sneaked by, crawling on the ground and continuing their search for their parents and friends. In shock and horror, Pip's eyes shrank and pinpointed at one of the dead bodies.

"No…" Tungsten stopped as well upon spotting the body lying against the wall, bloodied with only the upper half of its body seen with their internals scattered across as if they were ripped in half and tossed to their place, seeing splatters of blood were splattered on the walls and ground place. An earth pony colt "T-Thunder... K-Kicker...?"

"N-no... I-t can't b-be..." Pip stuttered as he saw the body of Kicker's mother next to him, dead with several of her limbs missing or looked to be torn off. Yet as his eyes began to form, tears in them, seeing blood droplets on his cheek and the ground, and slowly looking up, he only stood there frozen in pure horrific fear at the sight he witnessed.

Right before Pip was several serrated metal rusted poles posted with the ground, bodies impaled on them as one's head decapitated and placed at the tip with the rusted, broken tip protruded out from their mouths, and their bodies strung up lower down the pole; the other in pieces with each limb stuck on the other. Pip's heart almost skipped a beat soon as he saw the faces, and he recognized two of them.
"M-mom...Dinky..."

"M-mama!" Tungsten exclaimed to see his mother amongst the impaled bodies, with Tybalt and Shadowplay alongside her corpse. Both wanted to look away but were stunned, unable to move as their eyes locked on the gruesome sight of their families and friends.

"You…" a female voice echoed, almost demonic and distorted; Pip let out a yelp as his ears figured out which voice it was.

"D-dinky?" His eyes were locked on her body, slightly twitching.

"This… iss your faault…Pip." Her head moved towards him, her eyes glowing a bright shade of red, looking directly into Pip's eyes as if they could see his very being.

"You are only to blame... Tungsten..." Blue's voice rang in Tungsten's ears, seeing his mother's eyes glowing the same red as Dinky's; soon, all the corpses of Tybalt and Shadowplay's eyes turned the same color of red as all soon stared at both colts.

With the sounds of crackling bones with contorted snaps and rippings that only a body could make, both colts watched the bodies slowly move, grabbing their limbs and removing themselves off the poles, and move towards the colts, backstepping in fear at the sight of their friends and families blooded and forced back from pieces close onto them.

"Yoou... caused this…." Another voice added, and the foals turned around, trembling to see Kicker and his mother face to face as the glow from their eyes shined down, joining along with others. The colts were surrounded; they repeated the same words over and over, again and again. Growing from simple whispers to words that could be heard.

"It's... your fault..."

Tungsten tried to stand protectively in front of Pip, despite being terrified, shaking in place, and both frantically looking around; Pip's eyes were only locked in a stare with Dinky's and Nancy's. "No… we d-didn't do this..."

"It's... your fault..."

"Please… b- believe us... believe m-me."

"It's your fault!"

"NO!"

With their eyes snapping, both young ponies jolted their breaths, panted, and huffed heavily as they looked around, drenched in a cold sweat; a sigh escaped them to realize it had just been a nightmare.

"Be not afraid young ones." A voice echoed in their heads, and both looked confused around the area, trying to locate it.

"Tis but a dream. Fear not no longer." The voice sounded comforting, calming. What was that spoke to them? They were too tired to think further about this, falling back on the bed to stare at the ceiling before exhaustion forced them to sleep again.

Both colts groggily awaken slowly, but soon their nostrils catching a delicious smell caused both to stir, opening their eyes slowly; Before a door-knocking was heard, "Good morning!" Lara exclaimed, gently opening the door with a smile as she and Lola brought two breakfast boards, each with a glass of water and a bowl of steaming oatmeal.

"Oatmeal, thanks." Pip appreciated it as he and Tungsten ate their meals, enjoying warm filling; even the water tasted fresh yet cleaner than anything they'd had, enjoying every mouth full filling their bellies. "That was good!" Tungsten with his mouth full and a smile on his face.

"Glad to hear it. Now, let's enjoy the start of a new day, shall we?"

"Right." Both colts exclaimed in unison

With that, Tungsten helped each other make the bed, wishing Oscar and Zoe a good morning and helping out in the house with some of the chores they were capable of repaying for the human's hospitality. Time passed quickly, and Zoe was making lunch in the kitchen, with her husband reading a book in the living room as curiosity improved. Pip looked up at Oscar, looking at his decorated chest, seeing the few awards; his eyes fell on the crossbar with a skull at each end. Next to it was a golden skull connected to a rectangle on a red background. After that came three silver skulls, joined on a row in a square.

"Oscar, can we ask you something?" Pip spoke up, and the human laid the book aside with a smile.

"Of course; what's on your mind?" Seeing the pinto colt slowly walk closer before sitting on the floor, looking to the sides as if trying to come up with questions, only to see Pip take a deep breath.

"You are a soldier... aren't you?"

The man sighed, placing his hand on the back of his neck and gently rubbing it, looking towards the ground; then at Zoe, she slowly nodded and left the kitchen leaving the man and colts alone in the living room.

"I am... yes. To be exact, I am a veteran. You see, near the beginning of humanity's expansion of the stars, the Age of Strife came; the done by the forces of Chaos came corrupting the Imperium, and its people to fall following their will it started what is now a never-ending war for survival in an unrelentingly hostile universe." He said, looking up to the two young colts with a blank stare remembering the battles he had fought in, and those Oscar fought with some he could even call sister or brother.

"I am in service of a great army called; The Astra Militarum, or the Imperial Guard in Gothic, its the Imperium of Man's first line of defense from all to any threats, the primary combat force and shield of the great Imperium. It comprises countless billions of men and women on trillions of world -- hundreds of thousands of different regiments, supported by a vast array of light and heavily armored vehicles, weapons, and tactics that provide the Guard's primary offensive and great defense." He said as the two colts looked up at him in shock and awe as he dropped his hand from the back of his neck and leaned back on his couch.

"Many do not survive their first engagements of any of the battles, or for long in general, I believe the oldest a guardsmen last was from thirty minutes to thirty years tops; I was one of the few lucky ones to have survived multiple battles." He told them, slightly shaking as a memory flashed in his mind, remembering his first battle of so many bodies only to fall before they could even let out a battle cry.

"To which, I was blessed with leave to my homeworld; I am grateful for it. All I can say is thanks to a friend of mine in the Guard though he was the 'bashful' one." He chuckled at the thought of his friend.

"Sorry…" Both colts lowered their heads in guilt, only to receive a weak smile from the veteran.

"No harm done. I can only guess you had a question from these awards, huh?" He pointed to the golden skull as both colts looked at what he pointed at, tilting their heads. "This is known as the Medallion Crimson, a common battle honor amongst veterans like me of the Astra Militarum. It is given to those who did their duty despite being mortally wounded. As such many are awarded posthumously, and This,"

His finger went to the skulls with the bar cross. "This is the Crimson Skull, given to soldiers who managed to successfully give medical aid in a combat situation or in the field of battle and the Triple Skulls."

His hand pointed at three skulls connected on a row in a square. "This honor is bestowed upon those who were in a unit that suffered at least sixty-six percent or more casualties and survived."

Both colts were silent for a moment, trying to process everything. "Sounds like you have been through a lot." Tungsten was the first to break the silence.

"Yeah... I have, but thankfully I had others to trust with not just my life but for giving me what have now."

"Then, best we stop this; I don't want to wake bad memories," Pip added, yet the man kept his smile.

"It's fine, I think it's only fair you should know more about the Imperium. Every world has a Planetary Defence Force, PDF for short, being essentially the local military of an Imperial world and the primary source of recruits for the Imperial Guard, of if they are in dire need then come Whiteshields recruits that had their training rushed for more soldiers."

"You said Heidrum is a civilized world; what do you mean by that?" Tungsten wondered as Oscar looked over at him.

"Well, every imperial planet has a specific purpose of fulfilling a certain quota. A civilized world lacks that purpose, being generally self-sufficient in terms of food supply and has varying manufacturing, technological and industrial capabilities. There are Agri-Worlds, entirely dedicated to producing agricultural products, or the most populous type of Imperial planet, are Hive city Worlds or hive worlds for short, just to call a few."

"Hive-World?" Both colts couldn't imagine this, only thinking of a beehive world, eyeing Oscar in confusion.

"Trust me, it's not pretty; I have been to some before. The populations of these planets are so great that the people live in huge urban arcologies called hive cities, truly immense, self-contained, many-layered structures that reach high into the sky or deep underground to the very planet's core almost like this world, each housing billions of individuals. Most Hive Worlds started out as relatively hospitable places to live but soon have become severely polluted, the areas outside the hives reduced to ash wastes or radioactive desert by the never-ceasing industry of the great cities. Equally dangerous can be the hive cities themselves." Oscar told them with slight unease, remembering the hive city population being controlled for their notorious gang warfare within the deep under hives to over hives.

Alone the description was far beyond Pip's and Tungsten's imagination. It sounded like Cloudsdale but like an industrial going wrong or after an apocalypse, doesn't sound like a very good place to live or even visit.

"Every world has to pay the Imperial Tithe, It determines the amount of raw materials, resources or soldiers an Imperial world must supply as taxes to keep the Imperium of Man's interstellar government functioning. In Heidrum's place, it's manpower."

Once again, the colts tried to process everything, with the Pip slightly shuddering. "I hope…we won't get attacked."

In response, he felt Oscar's hand rest on his mane and gently pat his head and a light chuckle. "Don't worry, Heidrum hasn't seen any invasion in years as far as I'm aware, being located rather in the back of the sector; you have my word on it."

"If you say so..."

"If the three of you are finished lunch's ready." The wife of Oscar exclaimed, walking back to the kitchen, catching Oscar and the colt's attention as all three got up from their places and went over to the kitchen. It pleased both colts to see that Zoe had made baked potatoes.

Only now do they notice a portrait. It showed a man in golden armor, just as tall as the statues; the armor was decorated with the same 2-headed eagle they had seen on the poster. His brown hair was added through a majestic-looking golden laurel wreath. They realized a figure of high importance instantly, just like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Who's that?"

"Yes, Pip, this is God-Emperor of Mankind, at least what he is expected to look like; he will protect you as he does us." Zoe replied, "But now, let's eat."

They nodded, enjoying the warm taste of the potatoes with every bite.
After finishing their meal, Tungsten asked, "Can we help with the cleaning?"

"That's very kind but leave it to us." Zoe replied.

Acknowledging with a nod, the ponies walked back towards the living room, followed by Lara, who smiled weakly. "If you wish, I could show you outside the city. The vast forests and rivers surround it, a truly relaxing sign."

"If you say so." Pip smiled in return before seeing the girl excused herself to the bathroom. Yet before the 2 could decide what to do, their ears twitched at a voice. "You seem to like and trust others rather quickly than most do?" Loa said, leaning against the wall with a distrustful expression.

Slightly irritated, Tungsten dared to speak up, "Did... we do something wrong, Loa?" However, the older girl's reaction was unexpected. She sighed. "Apologies, it's nothing personal; I am protective of my little sister. As you have heard from my father, it's dangerous out there. Loa, I saw once how normal Imperial citizens with little or no military training or even children, barely older than me and probably you, Tungsten." She said, seeing both Pip Tungsten look to the ground, listening.

"Those people got drafted into the Guard, mostly from military emergencies, which were rare around here; even orphans were brought away to be enlisted. I can only try to protect my sister and keep her happy as good and as long as I can for in this dark coming future." Both colts let it sink in what Loa just had said. It was horrible thinking that anyone could be forced to enlist into the military at any moment, and those not were deemed forced to work for the war causes.

"This sounds…wrong…" Pip mumbled worried and sorrowly,

"Is there no legal possibility to refuse this?"

"Maybe where you’re from... but sadly, no, not in such dire times or places." Tungsten opened his mouth to speak but got interrupted by Lara, coming back into view. "Do you want to play some games?"

"Sure... why not?" Pip managed to form a smile as Tungsten nodded as the girl led them towards her room and showed them several games to choose from. Chess, Scrabble, Janga, checkers, Farkle, and other games of the Imperium. Both colts enjoyed the moments; it helped to take their minds off, each one having a round of victory and loss during their play.

Evening approached, and the kids had another round at Chess and sighed. Tungsten had unwillingly formed the thought of his home; Pip had then looked at the knight piece with only one word entering his mind, mom.

The homesick struck in the colts, and soon they both struggling not to cry. In an instant, the older sister hugged the ginger colt, the younger one the pinto colt. Soon after, dinner was made, and baked potatoes with some other clumps of brown food, but the potatoes tasted warm and delicious for the ponies. After that, they prepared themselves to sleep, asleep rather fast.

"Beware young ones…" There was that voice again, "An Unwanted visitor will come…"

Startling, Pip and Tungsten woke up immediately, still sleepy; the night hanged young, looking around. Faintly, they thought they saw a silhouette in the doorway, unable to tell if it was just their imagination or real.

"So…" It spoke in a low, emotionless automatic voice. "The information gathered by the witnesses was correct… but this will wait till the better till the morrow, for now, we ready ourselves."