Suffer Not the Unclean to Live
560.M40, the xenos world of Equestria is discovered by a small Explorator vessel. The Administratum hurriedly schedules the world for a thorough purging of the native xenos life forms. The Blood Angels chapter of Adeptus Astartes promptly receive a request to purge the world fifty years later. Lord Commander Dante, returning to the Chapter Fortress on Baal from a campaign against the Orks, diverts his forces to deal with the xenos before returning home…
Princess Celestia looked out over the veranda. Her capital city of Canterlot sprawled out before her, and the countryside of Equestria beyond that. Every-pony went about their normal business in the city. In the distance Celestia could make out the small village of Ponyville, where her beloved Twilight Sparkle resided and studied with her friends. All was right in he kingdom. However, Celestia could not shake the feeling that something was about to happen to change that…
Scootaloo sped along at a phenomenal speed. A humongous grin spread across her face as she pushed herself to newer, greater speeds. As she entered the town square of Ponyville the mare found herself jinking and weaving in-between buildings and other ponies, narrowly avoiding collision by a mane’s hair, much to the chagrin of the pedestrian ponies. As she exited the other side of the town she afforded herself a small chuckle. She’s made it through without crashing again. Suddenly somepony turned the corner, and Scootaloo swerved a hard right to avoid crashing, sending her flying across the dirt street and her scooter crashing into a cart of carrots. Several ponies, including the owner of the now wrecked cart and despoiled carrots, gathered around her, their frowns making clear their feelings. Scootaloo looked up to meet their disappointed gazes. Somepony had the angriest eyes, almost fiery. No. They weren't someponie’s eyes… There were too many. Something smoldered to earth. A cry went up from the town.
“Look! Up in the sky!”
Few had time to look up before the first drop pod hit the ground. Smashing into a cottage, the strange object demolished the quaint building. Several more of the pods slammed down all around the ponies, flattening houses, leaving scores of ponies to be crushed by falling debris.
Utter panic. Shell shocked ponies huddled in fear, hoping to survive the rain of wood and metal. Ponies ran helter skelter, seeking shelter that did not exist, for their flimsy wooden houses could not halt the descent of these pods, nor shield them from the impact. Scootaloo hauled herself to her hooves, just before one of the pods smashed into the ground right beside her. The concussive force from the impact sent her, as well as the ponies around her flying in all directions. A jagged piece of timber from the carrot cart sailed through the air and impaled it’s former owner through the skull, his lifeless corpse ragdolling next to Scootaloo’s inert form. She looked at her hooves, bits of brain and fragmented skull splattered all over them, then at the corpse, positioned in a mangled parody of death. She wanted to vomit. She did. Scootaloo looked up. Like the pedals of some terrible flower, the pod opened. Out stepped several bulky armoured figures, in gore red armour.
“Squad Bloodspear on the ground.” One boomed, it’s great echoing voice nearly deafening the traumatized pony. “Brother, cleanse and REJOICE!” They took up their weapons and began a steady advance into the village, the booming reports of their rifles like hammers in her ear drums. Her ears began to bleed. Suddenly one of the figures took several, slow, striding steps towards her. No, not towards her. It walked to a gravely wounded pony near her as she desperately tried to drag herself away, clearly in the throes of shock, muttering under her breath. With cool contempt this thing, this MONSTER, leveled a pistol at the wounded pony, and fired a shot. The pony popped, in a shower of blood, ending it’s suffering in an extreme display of violence. Scootaloo gave a small squeal of terror, one she quickly stifled. It was enough to catch the attention of the monster. She lay as still as she could, hoping it would ignore her. Amazingly the monster shook it’s head and walked off to join it’s brethren.
Her heart beat like a hammer in her chest. Her breathing steadied as it walked off. Her ears still ringing she could hear the dead and dying ponies, and the distant boom of the monster’s weapons. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she could not count herself among those being slaughtered around her, though she debated whether she was the fortunate one. Then suddenly she saw a flash of red in her periphery. With a sharp turn of the head she looked to the right. Another monster stood over her. It stared at her for several seconds, watching this writhing bloodied, scared, tiny mare. It shook its head, and raised it’s massive foot.
“Disgusting…”
The boot made impact with her skull. Blackness.
Suffer Not the Unclean to Live
“Pinkie Piiiiiiiiiiie!”
Hell on earth. The village of Ponyville was consumed in roiling clouds of flame. Long tongues of pitch black smoke licked into the sky, signalling the doom of this quaint settlement. Pinkie Pie turned her head towards the call of her name. It was coming from Sugarcube corner, the only structure not currently levelled or burning, there stood Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They stood in the door beckoning her urgently. Pinkie Pie shot like a bullet from a rifle, running into the store, just before Mr. Pie shut the door and started to secure it with anything he could find, Pinkie Pie caught a glimpse of the things responsible for this unprovoked attack. Their bulky armoured forms were deep blood red, and their eyes had a ghastly green glow to them. They walked not on four hooves, no, they balanced on their hind legs. Their front hooves sported long appendages in which they grasped strange death spitting weapons. The ear-splitting booms of which invariably led to another pony popping into a shower of gore. Some held weapons which belched fire, and set about meticulously setting the buildings alight, after clearing the inside of any pony they could find.
“Quickly dearie!” Mrs. Cake whispered in hushed tone, as she lifted a carefully hidden trap door in the floor of the store. She lifted her two mares carefully down. “In here!” Pinkie did not need to be told twice, she hurriedly jumped in. “Sweetums! Hurry!” Mrs. Cake hissed to her husband.
“N-no.” Mr. Cake said, stomping his hoof. “I’ll stay here, and try and lead them off.” He said, his voice cracking. He could not bare to look his wife in the eye, a tear rolled down his face.
“Carrot…”
“Shush! Hide! Go! I’ll be fine.” Pinkie Pie had to pull Mrs. Cake down into the hiding place. Tears streamed down her face, as she put her hooves over her mouth to muffle her sobs.
“Whatever you do sweet cake…” Mr. Cake said as he turned towards the door. A huge pounding could be heard on the other side. “Keep our children safe. I love you.”
The door splintered into a million pieces.
Brother Amitiel followed his brothers through the village. He took aim at an
obnoxiously pink xenos sitting dumfounded in the center of the street. As he squeezed the trigger it perked up, and shot away, unaware of how close it had just come to death, and sprinted into an equally obnoxious building of less than reasonable proportions. Truly the debasement of these xenos knew no limits. Around him, his brothers busied themselves with the extermination of the xenos that still walked –or rather panicked—in the open.
“Brother Amitiel! Take the Brother Phul and purge the xenos from their hiding place!” Sergeant Adonael barked.
“Hunt and destroy. Yes brother!” Amitiel replied, his voice doggedly eager. Amitiel took his brother to the building that the pink xenos sought shelter in. He began to knock on the door. It did not take too long before the flimsy wooden thing shattered. Amitiel caught a glance of a gangly cream coloured xeno, the unmistakeable weakness of fear broadcast in the look upon his eyes. “They cower inside brother.”
“Not for long…” said Brother Phul, Amitiel could almost feel the sinister smile on his brother’s helmeted face. Phul effortlessly smashed his way through the weakling xenos wall, into the structure.
The lone xenos stood there awaiting him. Amitiel had to give it some credit, not many in his long life had stood before him in defiance, especially on the field of battle. The xenos held a broom in its mouth, hoping to ward them off. It mumbled words of warning.
“Stay away y-you monsters!” It waved the broom in their direction. Paying no mind Phul approached and nonchalantly in a single fluid motion backhanded the xenos with his gauntleted fist, caving in its skull and sending it flying through the wall. Another dead xeno was all well and good by Amitiel and Phul, but they both saw the PINK xeno flee inside. They began their search. Amitiel had his attention drawn to yet another obnoxiously coloured object on a counter, one of many baked confections on display. It seemed quite appetising. With slow deliberation he set down his holy bolter and removed his helm. He grabbed the sweet, positively miniscule by comparison to his great armoured hand. He sniffed it. Confident it wasn’t inherently dangerous he licked the top. A splash of unknown flavour flooded into his tongue. The Astartes reeled back in surprise.
“By the Emperor…” he whispered to himself.
“Careful brother…” Phul warned. “Do not dabble in xenos cuisine.”
“But Phul, this is delicious!”
Thanks! I made them myself!” The Pink xeno leapt from a door in the floor.
“IcanmakeyousomemoreifyouwantIknowyoureallyreallyreallyreallreallydontseemtolikeusbuttheresnothingthatcantbesolvedbycupcakessaidmygreatauntsallytwiceremovedwellshedidntreallysaythatbutitsreallyfuntosayshedid, hey, do you know what else is fun—“
“THEY ARE IN THE FLOOR BOARDS!”
“PUUUUUUUUUUUURGE!”
The two Marines fired the entirety of their bolter magazines into the floors of the building…
Suffer Not the Unclean to Live
“SPIKE HURRY, grab your things, let’s go!”
“I’m going, I’m going!”
Twilight Sparkle stampeded out her tree home, followed close behind by her bumbling dragon friend. The sky was choked black with smoke as Ponyville was consumed by roaring infernos. At their backs Twilight could hear the booming report of bolter fire as the aliens made their advance through her beloved village, ruthlessly exterminating anypony they could find. She could see them coming.
“Spike let’s go! The chariot is waiting!”
“Hold on Twi!”
She didn't wait, and galloped with all due haste to a chariot several yards away, where two Royal Guard of Celestia’s court anxiously prepared to extract the pair. Twilight jumped in, and the two Guardians began a trot to approach lift off speed. Spike was barely able to latch onto the cart as they began to ascend. Their escape did not go unnoticed.
“Skyward brothers! Strike them down, none but the Sons of Sanguinius may command even these accursed skies!”
Bolter fire whizzed passed the small cart.
“Evasive action!” Neighed one of the Guardians. As they began to swerve from side to side Spike began to lose his grip. Twilight grasped her friend’s scaly arms in a futile attempt to secure him. Gradually he slipped from her hooves and began a plummet to his death. She could not bear to look as he hit the ground with a wet smack. As they escaped bolter range Twilight allowed herself to sink down into the chariot and cry.
Twilight made her flight to Canterlot, to inform the Princess of the situation. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy made a similar passage to Cloudsdale, seeking shelter in their sky city. The Apple family planted their hooves in the mud of their orchard and awaited the arrival of the merciless aliens, determined to protect their land.
Epistolary Librarian Antarius oversaw the burning of the final structures in the pathetic xenos town. The quaint little houses were reduced to naught but cinder and ash by cleansing promethium. Antarius found himself very partial to the smell of burning wood. He passed by a pit which had been dug to house the corpses of the slain xenos. Every few seconds another disgusting body was added, filling the dug out even further.
“Brother Antarius.” Sergeant Adonael’s arrival was cued by the scream of his jump-pack. Antarius turned to see the assault squad sergeant land with crushing force near him, kicking up dust and sod. The sergeant touched his fist to his chest in salute and bowed.
“What have you to report brother-sergeant?”
“Scouts have located a small xenos farming settlement to the south-west of here. They are holding position and awaiting further orders.” Adonael conveyed.
“Order them to move in and clear the area of any of these abominations. What else?”
Adonael gave a brief pause. A sliver of the slightest uncertainty crept into his voice. Using his powers as an accomplished psyker Antarius could detect complications in his brother’s thought patterns.
“Brother, we tracked some of the fleeing xenos. The ones with wings… They have withdrawn to some sort of fortress…”
Antarius gave a grunt. “No matter. We shall bring them to battle none the less. Whether they choose to be slaughtered behind their own fortifications or in the open makes no difference.”
“Yes brother, but…”
“Out with it sergeant.” Antarius snapped, growing rather impatient. His brother was withholding information.
“Their fortress is in the clouds…”
Antarius gave another grunt. “These xenos haven’t exhibited grav capable technology before.” He muttered, half to himself, half to Adonael.
“That is just the thing brother… The fortress isn’t just in the clouds… It IS the clouds.”
Rainbow Dash weary of tending to Fluttershy. The yellow pony insisted on sobbing uncontrollably. The Cloudsdale Guard had her shut away in a room on her own. Dash was glad. Partly because Fluttershy’s crying would no longer sap the morale of the ponies around her, but also it let her tend to her own fear. She was just starting to come to terms with what she had witnessed in Ponyville. Great hulking specters of death, from the sky! Crimson armour made all the more so with slick blood and gore of anypony they came across, and piercing emerald eyes that speared straight through her very soul. She found her heart racing and breathing elevated at the very thought. She put a hoof to her forehead and let out a sigh.
Looking around she saw ponies preparing themselves for something that had not occurred in recorded Pony history: armed conflict. The Pegasus were a proud and strong people, they would not let this crisis go unabated. As soon as Dash delivered the news of the desolation of Ponyville, the council had acted, independently of Canterlot. For the first time in history a Pony army was mobilised or the express purpose to cause harm to others. Ambassadors from Canterlot were sent home in various degrees of disarray, citing that, Equestria should stand and act together against the invaders, that a peaceful solution could yet be reached. The Pegasus council cried for war. A concept which even now she struggled to wrap her mind about. Cloudsdale police armed themselves and their neighbors. Men, women, children. Store owners, factory workers, writers, bakers, carpenters, stonemasons. No soldiers. Dash hung her head, before a Cloudsdale Guardian walked by and dropped a suit of too-large armour, and a fighting lance at her hooves. She wimpered to herself as the Pegasus flew off. She stared into the armoured plates, her reflection staring straight back at her.
Looking out over the cloud upon which she stood, she thought of what would come. Not only seeing those monsters again, but fighting them. Suddenly she took heart. The fluffy white clouds upon which she stood, and all of Cloudsdale was built upon. Only Pegasus Ponies could walk on them. The monsters would be unable to bring the fight to her, at least directly. This brought Rainbow Dash some comfort. Only a people as so one with the skies and utterly in love with the notion of flight as they could set foot on Cloudsdale…
Fluttershy watched through the gap in the door, mouth agape in horror, as the monsters set about their bloody work. With contemptuous ease they brushed aside Cloudsdale’s defenders, and continued to proceed towards the Cloudsdale cloud factory. Tear after tear rolled down her face. She missed her little home. She missed her bunny friends. She missed Rainbow Dash, whom was nowhere to been seen. Fluttershy prayed that her headstrong friend had not gotten into any trouble. But how could she not. So much unprovoked hatred and blind fury played out before her. Fluttershy despaired. How could any hope live in the face of such anger.
Sanguinary Priest Naya'il swung his chainsword in another glittering gore spattered arc. Three decapitated xeno heads fell to the floor, their life’s blood pouring out, staining the clouds glorious red. Clouds. Naya thought to himself. Only the blessing of He Who Sits on the Throne could explain why he and his brothers could walk amongst the clouds. Naya suspected it also lay with their father. Only angels were fit to stride the heavenly domain. The Blood Angels were busy making sure that honour was not to be shared with these winged beasts. The Priest looked down at his feet, there laid a small xeno. It was blue like the sky, and the hair that drooled from its neck was many obnoxious bright colours. Naya knelt down, cocking his head curiously as he scanned the life form. It quivered with fear.
Fear.
The scent of that long forgotten emotion oozed from it’s every pore and tickled his nose. He breathed deep. Naya noticed the small pinion like appendages which grew from its back. It seemed highly illogical that such small underdeveloped extremities could bear this creature aloft, even despite its small stature. He reached a massive gauntlet down and wrapped the shivering pinions in his mighty grip. The creature stopped. It’s eyes spread wide in terror, begging him in silence to not do what it knew was coming next.
“You dare posses wings, you filth?” With little pomp and ceremony Naya tore the creature free of its pathetic wings with a fleshy rip, harmonising with the little monsters shrieks of pain. It began to cry. He shook his head. “Pathetic.” Not bothering to waste a shell from his bolt pistol Naya stood, content to let the tiny thing bleed to death.
“Brothers forward! Librarian Antarius has charged us with the taking of the building ahead!” Naya raised his Blood Chalice.
“Why brother-priest? What is so important that lies inside?” One of Naya’s brothers questioned.
“His far seeing eye reports that it reeks with warp energies.” Naya replied.
“The stuff of Chaos!” Another brother yelled.
“Fools!” A thundering feminine voice echoed across the town. Drawing all the Blood Angels attention. From the doors of the building in question floated another of the tiny xenos. Purple lightning crackled around it, its eyes glowed with a menacing hue, and energy sparked and flew from a horn planted squarely on its head. “You have taken my home! Now I will take your lives!” With that a bolt of lightning flew from the vile thing’s horn, and speared straight through a Marine’s stomach. The brother went down convulsing and spasming. More arcs of lightning splayed across the surrounding area, forcing the Angels to seek cover. Another brother had his leg sheared clean off by another stroke of energy. Naya leapt from his covered position to help his wounded brother. As he knelt dealing with the afflicted leg he turned around. The xeno psyker hovered menacingly at his back. Naya turned, his chainsword at the ready to defend his injured comrade until his dying breath.
“Brother-Naya, something is wrong! I sense a great disturbance in the building, A great power is coaxing the energies inside to go erratic. If something isn’t done there will be a cataclysmic explosion! Enough to crack this planet in half!” The voice of Librarian-Antarius screamed in his hear piece.
“I will take you all down with me!” The xeno psyker half yelled half sobbed, in perfect Imperial Gothic. A raging ball of energy gathered at the tip of its horn, preparing to vaporise the Priest where he stood.
“THE EMPEROR’S LIGHT IT MY TORCH! MY FAITH IS MY SHIELD! MY FURY IS MY SWORD!”
The xeno was knocked aside, causing the beam of energy meant for him to go astray, flying skyward, doing no harm to anyone. Naya looked to his saviour. Blood Champion Kalaziel, with his Glaive Encarmine driven deep into the xeno’s breast. Huge licks of lightning flayed in all directions, traveling up and down Kalaziel’s body. Still, he gritted his teeth, and sent the blade ever deeper into the xeno, as lethal strips of lightning coursed through his body. The creature’s death throes reverberated painfully in Naya’s mind.
“Brother I can feel the Warp tearing at itself! What have you do—“ Antarius was cut off as Naya’s ear piece shorted out.
At that moment Cloudsdale’s Warp core detonated, and both the Blood Angels and the lone Unicorn were engulfed in a flash of white light.
Brither Naya stood. He surveyed the area. Nearby brothers were hauling themselves up from the blast. Many of the cloud buildings had been leveled. He checked his squad’s vitals. All were green except two, which were yellow. There had been no deaths… yet. Walking over to the crater, which was all that remained of the xeno psyker, he nearly cringed to see Blood Champion Kalaziel nestled at the bottom. Or rather, all that was left of Kalaziel. The Blood Champion’s legs were gone. Vaporised in the blast. All that remained of his right arm was a jagged stump and his helmet was gone, removed by him or the blast Naya could not immediately tell, to reveal Kalaziel’s once handsome face, half of which was now burned beyond all recognition by heretical warp flame. Amazingly, yet not entirely surprisingly, Kalaziel yet lived. Naya took his brother up in his arm and brought him to the top of the crater and set him on level ground. The remaining Blood Angels gathered around the crouching Naya and the dying Blood Champion.
“You have saved us…” Naya whispered.
“I have done my duty.” Kalaziel coughed, spattering his precious blood on the ground. His breathing was intensely laboured and ragged. Naya began cutting away at his brothers breastplate in preparation. When the charred armour fell away it revealed Kalaziel’s torso, rent and torn by lacerating bolts of lightning, and still smouldering.
“Aye, and you have done it well. It is now time to rest.” Naya soothed, caressing his brothers check with his cold armoured hand.
“How I long to see the Chapter-Keep again… the sands of Baal.” Kalaziel grunted, his eyes glazing over. His consciousness was not entirely with his brothers anymore.
“You will…” But not with living eyes. Naya elected to not speak that last part
“I see Him…” Kalaziel went limp in Naya’s arms, his breathing growing steadier.
“Go to him brother…” Naya pressed his carnifex to Kalazie’s head, releasing the small spring-loaded piston, driving it through his skull, ending his life with no further suffering. Kalaziel let out a last gasp of air, before falling completely still, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Naya closed his brother’s eyelids.
"He that may fight, heal him.” Naya’s fellow Space Marines began to chant, taciturn, over the whirring of Naya’s Exsanguinator as he began to drill into Kalaziel’s chest. “He that may fight no more, give him peace.”
“And he that is dead…” Naya began the last verse of the prayer. A process which he had performed dozens of times, Naya dug deep into his brother’s bosom to extract that most precious of resources, his gene-seed. Movement caught his attention. Looking up through his brother’s legs he saw a single yellow xeno, attending to the injured blue one from earlier. The sight of these two filled him with a rage he could not well control. With a wet crunch Naya withdrew his hand, his reductor vile filled with Kalaziel’s Progenoid glands. This sickening noise drew the yellow one’s attention. To it’s uttermost horror it saw that Naya had spotted him, and hurried to try and carry it’s blue comrade to safety. Naya grabbed the hilt of his chainsword and growled:
“… take from him the Chapter’s due…”