"SECURE THE HATCHES, LOWER THE DRAWBRIDGE, DO ANYTHING! JUST DON'T LET THOSE BUCKERS ON MY SHIP!"
Octavia nearly jumped out of her skin as the shrill voice of Chapter Master Treble Clef filled every hall of the battlebarge through wall-mounted speakers, clearly placed there for just this purpose. The Space Mareine rolled out of her bunk and dashed to the door, shoving it open and galloping down the hall to the bridge, where Treble would most likely be hiding from whatever got him so worked up. As her hooves thudded against the metal floor, she glanced to her left to see other ponies joining her side. Looking to her right, however, she saw the reason behind Treble Clef's fear.
A massive ship roared toward the battlebarge at incredible speeds, a nightmarish structure of gaudy colors with stereos plastered everywhere they could fit one and then some. Harsh music from the ship ripped through the silence of space and filled her ears, filling her to her core with disgust as the bleeps and bloops made her bones vibrate. She looked to her fellow battle-brethren with terror, an emotion no Mareine should ever feel. "WUB-MAREINES!" She screamed, the other ponies nodding in shock as the music got louder and shook the ship's very foundation. Octavia picked up the pace, sprinting like mad to the armory to equip her power armor. Without it, her ears wouldn't be able to take much more before they began to bleed.
The door to the armory burst open before she could reach it, a massive stallion bolting past her in the chapter's blue and purple armor. She recognized the cutie mark carved into the Mareine's armor; a treble clef. The Chapter Master looked back at her, breathing heavily as he tried to run as fast as possible. "BATTLE-SISTER OCTAVIA! GET YOUR ARMOUR AND MEET ME AT THE BRIDGE! KILL ANY OF THE BASTARDS YOU SEE!" He bellowed as he disappeared from sight.
Octavia nodded and saluted before rushing to her armor's pod, stepping in to have the machines equip it. The moment the sound-proof pod shut, the music stopped and her whole body cried out in delight from the silence. The only noise she could hear now was the whirring of the machines placing the heavy ceramite armor on her body, finishing up as her bolt-gun was slid into the sidelatch on her armor and her helmet lowering to join her neck-guard. Her visor activated, and the pod opened. The music could be heard again, but it was now dulled by her ear-filters. She ran as fast as the armor would allow out the door and down the hall to meet Treble Clef.
The bridge was crowded with Mareines ready for battle, unicorn horns aglow and chainhorns revving for the pegasi and earth ponies. Octavia started up her own chainhorn, the steady purr of the weapon drowning out the music some. A Mareine brushed Octavia's shoulder, making her flinch and turn to face her attacker. She lowered her guard the moment she saw the exposed face of Blossomforth, one of the company's scouts. "Damnit, watch were you're going! I thought you were a Wub-Marei-"
"ANYPONY CALL FOR A DJ!?" A deep bass-like voice echoed throughout the ship, and huge pillars of purple flames filled the room, dispersing to show Mareines clad in neon colors that, with every flicker of the barge's lights, glew in the perpetual darkness. "NOW, EVERYPONY! FOR THE EMPERESS!" Treble Clef screamed in rage and dashed at one of them, chainhorn roaring like a manticore. The weapon's sharp teeth connected with the Wub-Mareine's helmet and dug in, a gush of blood and a scream echoing from the pony before it collapsed and watched its own brains spread across the floor as pieces of greymatter and flesh clung to Treble's blade. "Suffer not the heretic who lives!" He cried before firing his bolter at another Wub-Mareine who dove for cover and fired back. Treble held up the dead Mareine's corpse to take the bolter-round, the explosive shell ripping open the armor and the mare's midsection, blood and organs gracing the steel floor.
Octavia ducked under another heretic's chainhorn, rolling out of the way of another Wub-Mareine's blast spell which collided with the first and removed his head, tinting the area with a fine pink mist. Doing as her Chapter Master did, she gripped the corpse to block another blast from the unicorn Wub-Mareine and then threw it at them, pinning them down long enough for another stallion to rev up his chainhorn and stab it into the heretic's throat, severing the tendons and decapitating them. Octavia didn't have enough time to warn him of the Wub-Mareine about to fire, and her helmet was stained by the blood emitting from the stump that was once her battle-brother's head.
Hearing a scream, Octavia turned to see Blossomforth getting cornered by a pegasus Wub-Mareine. The white pony kicked the heretic back, firing her bolt pistol in an attempt to protect herself, but the pegasus blocked it with the armor on her wings and slammed her hooves on Blossomforth's head, cracking her skull and spilling blood on the floor. Screaming in pain, Blossomforth's voice turned into a blood-gurgled groan as the heretic sunk her teeth into her throat and ripped it open, swallowing the flesh before continuing to eat her. Octavia's eye twitched in disgust/shock before she screamed in rage and charged the pegasus, knocking her back into the wall and firing a bolter round into her chest. The shell punched through her body, and her internal juices spilled out onto Octavia's armour. As she admired her vengeance, she didn't notice the Wub-Mareine readying a Wub-Pulse spell. The other Mareines of the Battle Choir chapter covered their ears, the pulse emitted from the heretic's horn shaking the whole room.
Octavia's eardrums were pierced by the noise and blood began to pour down her face, staining her grey fur and muddying her senses. She screamed in pain, cringing and collapsing as the unicorn Wub-Mareine approached and gripped Octavia's helmet, twisting it and pulling it off. The noise filled her already-destroyed ears and made her body buckle in agony. An earth pony trotted up and pinned her down when Octavia struggled to get on her hooves. The earth pony removed her own helmet, revealing a purple mare with shaggy red-purple hair. She glanced at the unicorn with a sadistic grin, her eyes pale and tinged with an almost insane glow to them. "Say, what should we do with this one?" She almost burst up laughing as she spoke, her voice scratchy like she'd been screaming non-stop - given her religious preference, that seemed likely.
"Take her to the Champ. She'd like to have a word with her, I'm sure." The unicorn said under her helmet, walking past Octavia's writhing form and looking at the bleeding carcass of Blossomforth's killer. "She DID kill her daughter, after all." She pulled a piece of the bolter-round out of the dead Wub-Mareine's lung, watching the organ whine while it deflated. Octavia could barely hear the conversation, but assumed the worst when the unicorn looked back at her and smirked. "Take her, Berry Punch. Now." The unicorn ordered, and the earth pony gripped Octavia by her midsection and lit her teleport homer.
Octavia and the Wub-Mareine disappeared in a flash of pink light and a scream.
The unicorn Wub-Mareine removed her helmet, revealing a light blue mare with a purple/white mane. Her pale eyes met those of Treble Clef and the other surviving Battle Choir Mareines. A grin spread across her lips. "Kill 'em all!" She bellowed to the Wub-Mareines, who cried out in unison and swung their weapons down on the armored ponies. Treble was barely able to elicit a gasp before a heretic charged him and plunged his chainhorn into the Chapter Master's belly, leaving him to lie mangled and choking on his own blood.
Octavia's senses came back once she felt the floor beneath her solidify, and also began to feel the pain again as a bloodcurdling screech shook her bloodied and broken body. Berry Punch dropped her on the floor and trotted out of Octavia's sight, and the grey earth pony lifted her head slowly to observe the room.
The room was made of a rusty metal, covered in bloodstains and yet filled with beautiful works of art and statues of ponies in every corner. The floor had a carpet path leading to the far north side, where Octavia saw a pegasus mare wearing the same neon-colored armor as the other Wub-Mareines (with the addition of a pair of red-tinted goggles). Actually, on closer inspection, Octavia noticed everything on her armor was reinforced in a way that left it sturdy yet appealing to the eyes. Her coat was the same shade of gray as Octavia's, and her mane was a dusty brown and almost as disheveled as Berry Punch's.
Speaking of Berry Punch, the purple mare was talking to the pegasus in the throne in a hushed tone. Berry finished her statement and pointed to Octavia, which made her cringe and brace herself for what would come next. She heard hoofsteps, slow and heavy enough to echo through the room. Octavia opened one eye to observe the pegasus, and felt confused when she saw the smile on her face.
"Rise, young one." The pegasus' voice, flowing and beautiful, seemed to soothe the pain from Octavia's bleeding ears. The Battle Choir Mareine struggled to her hooves, looking terrified at the pony she knew without any doubt to be the warband's Champion of Vaanyl. "Aren't you going to kill me?" Octavia stuttered, taking a step back. The champion giggled, shaking her head. "Of course not! Berry Punch explained the whole thing to me." She patted the cowering Mareine on her head.
"She...did?" Octavia choked out incredulously, looking over to the purple mare. Berry Punch gave her a "go with it" look, and Octavia feigned a grin. "I mean, yes! Of course she did." She said with a nervous chuckle. The champion's smile widened into a grin, and she held out a hoof. "I am Dust Devil, Vaanyli Champion of the Velvet Skulls. I am pleased to hear of your allegiance." She helped Octavia stand up straight, letting the smaller mare lean on her. "I understand you sustained some injuries in the battle. Anything broken?"
"She didn't expect Diamond Mint's Pulse-spell, miss Devil. Her eardrums are ruptured, I fear." Berry Punch stated, saluting. Dust Devil nodded and clapped her hooves, and just like that, the doors on the south end of the room opened and a stallion clad in the robes of a techpriest came walking in. "You called, your Highness?" He asked in a voice more suited for a used car salespony, bowing. Octavia noticed the whirring of his augmented legs and ears, and felt a little uncomfortable. Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus were always off-putting, even to Mareines.
"Yes, tech-brother Flim. I want you to take her to the med-wing and heal her however you can. She'll need augmentics, I'm sure of that." Dust Devil ordered. Flim nodded and took Octavia from her. "Don't worry, missy. I'll have you patched up before you even know it!" He said to console the grey earth pony at his side. Octavia winced in pain as she tried to walk with him, her back and legs hurting. He glanced at her sympathetically, slowing down to help her along.
"So what's your name, miss?" He asked, trying to start a conversation to take Octavia's mind off the pain. "Low Octave. My friends call me Octavia." She answered, gasping when her hoof lost its grip and she stumbled. Flim caught her with his magic, righting her and continuing to help her walk. "Well it's lovely to meet ya, miss Octavia. I'm Flim, one of the Velvet Skulls' many techpriests." He introduced. "The feeling's mutual, Mr. Flim." Octavia smiled, sighing when she saw the med-wing door. The two ponies entered, and the grey earth pony was nearly blinded by the harsh lights on the ceiling. She looked down to the floor to regain her vision, the dull grey metal a welcoming sight to her.
"Well hey there, miss!" A new, deeper voice greeted her as she felt a pair of strong arms helping her up onto a table. The light was filtered to give her eyes a rest, and she was able to focus on the smiling faces of the two stallion beside her. They both looked similar, only one of them had a thick mustache and looked a few inches taller. The unknown yellow stallion held out a hoof. "The name's Flam. Yours?" He chuckled. Octavia weakly shook his hoof. "Octavia." She replied before screeching, her eardrums throbbing and dribbling more blood. Flim looked at Flam, and the two nodded in unison, knowing what to do.
Octavia felt a mask go over her mouth, and started to feel dizzy as gas filled her nostrils. Struggling to stay awake, her eyes grew heavy as the twin unicorns donned their medic-masks. Then, her world went black.
Author's Note
My Little Pony is property of Hasbro.
Warhammer 40,000 is property of Games Workshops.
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No OCs were used in this story...that's rather impressive for my writing.
Good job, me.
