Chapter 1: A Rift in the Warp
Author's Note
Hi guys, I'm Lord Leviathan and this is my first story on Fimfiction. Feel free to comment down below. However, no flames, okay? Constructive criticism is welcomed.
Chapter 1: A Rift in the Warp
The war had ended, but Vulkan could not find peace.
The once-proud forge world of Nocturne lay in ruin. Lava flowed in torrents through the desolate plains, and the acrid smoke from the volcanic eruptions clouded the sky. Yet, there was a strange serenity to the scene as the distant mountains smoked and smouldered beneath the setting sun. Vulkan's power armour — the black and green of his Salamanders Chapter — was streaked with the dust and ash of battle, its once-pristine surface now marred by dents and scratches that spoke of countless conflicts. He stood on the edge of the destroyed city, his fiery gaze scanning the horizon, lost in thought.
For thousands of years, Vulkan had fought for the Emperor of Mankind, leading his sons into countless wars and battles across the galaxy. The flame of justice, of retribution, had always burned in his heart, a fire that would never be extinguished. It was a fire born from his very soul, from the essence of his creation, the flame of Nocturne, his homeworld. But no matter how many enemies he had vanquished, no matter how many tyrants he had slain, Vulkan felt that his duty was never truly fulfilled. It was a feeling that gnawed at him, a dissonance he could not shake.
It had been months since he had last seen his brothers — the other Primarchs, scattered across the galaxy like seeds in the wind, each of them carrying the burdens of their worlds and their destinies. Vulkan had not heard from them, and he had not sought them out. His path, forged in the flames of war, was something he needed to walk alone.
A great shadow loomed over the horizon. Vulkan’s keen senses felt the disturbance before he saw it — a ripple in the fabric of reality, faint at first, but growing rapidly in intensity. He clenched his fists, the Fist of Vulkan crackling with latent energy as he prepared himself. The Warp was a violent and unpredictable force, and Vulkan had learned long ago to trust his instincts when it stirred.
The disturbance in the sky intensified until the very air around him seemed to crack and warp. Reality bent like molten metal as a rift in space-time began to form before his eyes. The rift pulsed with sickly green energy, a jagged tear in the world that seemed to scream with the voices of a thousand tortured souls. It was a storm of unnatural force, one that Vulkan had never felt before. There was something wrong about it, something fundamentally alien.
His thoughts raced. The rift was far too large to be a normal Warp anomaly, and its nature was unlike anything he had encountered in his many battles. It was not the work of Chaos, nor of any force he recognized. It was something else. Something far more dangerous.
Before Vulkan could react, the rift tore wider, sending a shockwave of energy crashing into the ground. The force of the explosion sent him stumbling backwards, his power armour's servos whirring as they compensated for the impact. The air around him shimmered with unseen energy, and his enhanced senses picked up the distortions in reality as if they were claws scratching at his very soul.
Without warning, he was yanked forward. The rift’s grip was not something to be resisted. It pulled at him with an unnatural force, and Vulkan’s powerful limbs strained to hold his ground. But it was no use. The warp storm surrounding the rift intensified, and he was drawn into it, the world around him shifting and distorting in an impossible array of colours and lights. His vision blurred, and for a brief moment, Vulkan wondered if this was his end.
Then, there was nothing but darkness.
When Vulkan’s eyes finally opened, he was no longer standing on the rocky plains of Nocturne. His feet found solid ground once more, but the sensation was foreign, the atmosphere different. The air was warm, but not stifling hot like the volcanic winds of his homeworld. He could smell fresh earth, grass, and the faint sweetness of blooming flowers. His power armor hummed quietly as it adjusted to the new environment, and Vulkan’s senses gradually took in the alien surroundings.
He stood on a rolling hillside, the gentle slopes of green grass stretching before him. The sky above was a vibrant blue, the sun high in the sky, casting its warm golden light across the landscape. The world around him was... peaceful, too peaceful. No towering infernos, no distant explosions, no churning war machines.
At first, Vulkan thought he had died. But the heat from his power armour told him otherwise. No, he was alive — and this place was not the galaxy he knew. It was something new, something completely alien.
Vulkan’s grip tightened on the Fist of Vulkan, the heavy weapon at his side still crackling with residual power. His instincts screamed at him to be cautious. He had been thrown through the Warp before, but never into a world so calm, so completely at odds with the endless conflict of the Imperium. His hand reached instinctively to the vox array built into his armour, but there was no signal. He tried again, but it was futile.
He was cut off from the galaxy, from everything he had known.
And yet, despite the unease gnawing at him, Vulkan felt a strange pull in his chest — a force far different from the weight of war. It was almost like... hope. A warmth that transcended the flames of destruction. It confused him.
"Who... are you?"
The voice startled him. Vulkan’s head snapped to the side, his heightened senses picking up the sound of hoofbeats on grass. Before him stood a creature unlike any he had encountered in all his years of war. It was a horse, but unlike any equine beast, Vulkan had seen. This one stood on two legs, tall and regal, its coat a soft shade of lavender. Large wings sprouted from its back, and its mane shimmered like the stars themselves, flowing gently in the breeze. It was an alicorn, a creature from the stories he had heard only in the tales of distant worlds, nothing more than a myth.
Her eyes were filled with curiosity, and a faint trace of apprehension lingered in her gaze. Despite her awe-inspiring appearance, there was no immediate aggression in her stance.
“I... I am Vulkan,” he said, his voice low and gravelly, tinged with the weight of his centuries of battle. “Primarch of the Salamanders. I come from a world that is consumed by war.”
The alicorn blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Primarch? War?” She looked as though she were processing the words, trying to place them in a context she could understand. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. I rule Equestria. But... you are not from here, are you?”
Vulkan’s keen eyes studied her closely. There was no sign of malice in her tone. She seemed genuinely curious, but there was also something in her eyes — a flicker of understanding, perhaps even recognition, but not of a threat. This world, Equestria, seemed to be a place of peace.
“No,” Vulkan replied. “I am not. I... do not know how I have come here. I was pulled through a rift, a tear in the fabric of reality.”
Twilight’s expression softened. “A rift? That’s... that’s strange. We don’t usually have rifts here, not like that.” She took a cautious step forward, eyes scanning him from head to toe. “But you look like you’ve been through something intense. And I sense... a fire inside you.”
Vulkan’s eyes darkened at the mention of fire. He knew the fire she spoke of. It was not just a symbol for his Chapter, nor merely a destructive force. It was his essence, his core. It had shaped him since his creation — and it had burned through countless battles. It was the fire that fueled him, the fire that kept him fighting when everything else seemed lost.
“It is the fire of my people,” he said softly, his voice tinged with sorrow. “The fire of Nocturne, my homeworld. It has shaped me, and I carry it wherever I go. It is the fire of destruction... but also creation. And it will never be extinguished.”
Twilight nodded slowly, her expression becoming more thoughtful. “I don’t know how you ended up here, Vulkan. But I have to admit, you don’t seem like the kind of being that would simply wander into our world. There’s something about you, something that feels... different. And I don’t think it’s just your appearance.”
Vulkan, despite the strangeness of the situation, found himself drawn to the alicorn’s calm and reassuring presence. Perhaps this world, despite its serenity, was not without its dangers. And perhaps he was meant to be here, just as he had been called to countless battlefields before.
“What is this place?” he asked, his voice soft but still filled with the weight of a lifetime of war.
“This is Equestria,” Twilight explained. “It’s a land built on friendship, harmony, and peace. We have our share of problems, but we try to resolve them through understanding, not through violence. The magic of friendship is what binds us together.”
Vulkan’s expression grew serious as he processed her words. “And yet, I feel a disturbance here. A presence, something dark, stirring beneath this peace. It calls to me.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in concern. “You’re not wrong. There are forces at work here, forces that threaten our peace. But I don’t think they’re what you’re used to. They’re different, more subtle.”
Vulkan looked out over the rolling hills of Equestria, feeling the tension in the air. The tranquillity of the world was still palpable, but there was something beneath it — something dark and growing.
“I will help you,” he said, his voice firm. “If something threatens this land, then I must stand against it.”
Twilight smiled a mixture of hope and uncertainty in her expression. “I’m glad you’re here, Vulkan. But we’ll have to be careful. We don’t know what’s out there yet.”
Vulkan met her gaze, his fiery eyes burning with the same determination that had fueled him for centuries.
“Then we will face it together.”
