A Light in the Grim Darkness

Shuttle bay of Black Ship Tannenburg.

Each of the Retinue was strapped into their seat of the Aquila shuttle to

accompany their master on one final mission, his journey to the surface of

Equis Prime. They would stay until Ian made peaceful contact with the

ponies, and then they would leave after unloading Ian’s equipment from the

shuttle. They were also there in case things went sour and they had to shoot

their way off of the planet.  The Tannenburg’s scanners had found a suitable

landing space for the shuttle in what the explorator probes had identified as

the capital city, but Ian’s head was not in the mission. He looked into the face

of each member of his retinue, and the memories flooded in.

He knew each of them by name, and had shared in their joys and sorrows over the

past years, they were the closest thing he had to a family, and now he had to

say goodbye. The life of an Inquisitor, glamorous as many Imperial citizens

believed it to be, was dangerous, depressing, and hard. As Ian went through

his memories, the flight deck crews cleared the shuttle bay. The airlock

opened as soon as all personnel were out of the bay, and the landing gear

of the Aquila retracted and its engines kicked on and the shuttle moved out

of the shuttle bay and headed towards its destination at full speed. Ian

meanwhile fell into an uneasy sleep as the shuttle hurtled towards

its destination: the city of Canterlot, the place that the Tannenburg’s scans

had determined to be the best place to land, and the ponies’ capital.

*****************************************************************************

City of Canterlot

Citizens closed their shutters and locked their doors; the princesses has

declared a state of emergency, no citizen was to be out except for police and

members of the royal guard. Luna was head to hoof in pitch black steel plate

armor walking through the streets surrounded by a protective circle of her

elite lunar guard and Captain Shining Armor at her side. When it came to

Equestria’s military matters and defense, the princess of the night was

subordinate only to her sister, who was rare to over ride her on such matters.

In her past, Luna had been the heroic war leader of Equestria, so dread in

fact was her reputation as a commander that it was rumored that the

corrupted Unicorn king Sombra had soiled himself upon hearing that she

was at the head of an army sent to invade the Crystal Empire and remove

him from power. Those however were bygone days that were painful for

Luna, right now she had other matters to worry about such as making sure

that all the citizens were safely in their homes and in their shelters.

Only Luna and her sister knew what these “aliens” were truly called: They were

humans, and the last time Equestria had felt the touch of human feet had

been ten thousand years ago when the Emperor had brought the Alicorns to

the planet’s surface.

“Captain, is everyone safe in their homes?” asked Luna

“Aye milady, all the houses have been checked out and everyone who is not

security personnel is in the basements of their home, it’s the best safety to be

offered at this point.” replied Shining nervously.

“Calm captain, you are doing well. Go now to my sister in the palace square

and tell her what thou hast told me; see her safe.” finished Luna.

“On my honor your majesty.” said Shining bowing his head and taking his leave.

*****************************************************************************

    Palace square, Canterlot.

Princess Celestia looked into the sky and realized that one of the “stars” was

moving at high speed away from the ship that she and Luna had discovered…

and was headed towards the city. As the object came closer however, she

realized that the “star” was merely a light attached to what was a small flying

machine.

“Princess, what is that thing?!” Celestia had not noticed Twilight and her

friends had come out of the palace.

“It is a shuttle Twilight, a flying machine used by humans.” Although this

was a major understatement, she did not have time to give a full explanation.

“Humans? I thought they were just an old mare’s tale?” Asked Twilight.

“No, they are very real, and very dangerous. The last time they set foot in

Equestria was 10,000 years ago, that is not something I wish to speak of

now.” finished Celestia.

The shuttle came in low and began to hover over the square that Celestia and the

Element bearers, and two landing struts descended from within and the shuttle began

to float lower. Guard ponies scattered away from the now designated landing area to

avoid being crushedby the landing craft, which finally touched down with a clunk.  As this

occurred Shining Armor arrived to his princess to report the safety sweep,

but was momentarily distracted by the lander, before being snapped out of his awe by the princess.

“Everyone is locked down your majesty”

“Very well, get the Element Bearers inside.” ordered Celestia.

“Yes Majesty!” Shining wasted no time in getting the 6 element bearers

inside the palace.

Just as the doors closed, Luna and her bat winged guards arrived.

The Guards encompassed both royals with a stoic look on their faces.

The princesses observed the craft. It was rather large for a small

landing craft, and had a black paint job. The pilot and gunner could be

clearly seen and were sitting in the cockpit and upper dome flipping

switches. The craft had a tall “tail” and wings that had folded downward

upon landing, as well as a chin mounted weapon of some sort.

What it was  Celestia could only guess. Painted upon the craft was a letter

stylized “I” with three smaller “I’s” crossing it.Then, the ramp opened and out they

stepped, silhouetted by the light frominside, a dozen tall bi-pedal figures walking

purposefully into the open and clear night air, wind blowing the cloaks of those who

wore them: humans. one race in the universe that appalled Celestia with their acts

of barbarity and on the same token, awed her with their capacity to do good, and

now they were here for the first time in ten thousand years.  She may live on a

planet with no space travel, but that did not mean she couldn’t use her magical

talents to look outside at the universe around her world.  She had seen the

Imperium her father had created tear itself apart in a civil war that had put him

into a comatose state, she had seen the rise of the insane lord Vandire and wept

for the innocents whose blood he had shed, she had wept for the countless souls

who had died horrifically on the ash wastes of Armageddon, and she had wept for

all humanity as it lost its humanity, abandoning tolerance, kindness, love, and

generosity for hate, fear, cruelty, and suspicion.

As the humans advanced she noticed the one who was front and center and appeared to be

the leader.He was tall, at least Celestia’s height and wore a black cloak over a finely crafted

suit of bone white armor and a wide brimmed hat that reminded Celestia of the hats worn by

the witch hunters of medieval Equestria. Hanging on his belt was a large tome and a rosette

that bore the same insignia as the shuttle. On his back hung the biggest hammer Celestia

had ever seen, and both the hammer and its wielder radiated with immense power.

The thing that Celestia noticed most about the man however were his eyes; those piercing

green eyes held within them great qualities. In them she saw a desire to do right, kindness,

dedication, faith, and also a stoic and unrelenting resolve. She also saw feelings she did not

expect; regret, self loathing, and incomprehensible sadness that made her want to weep.

Despite this, the princess of the sun kept her composure, the man was now within range

to hold a conversation. Each of the people with him were armed, but had their weapons

sheathed and holstered. The leader stepped forward from his followers and inclined his

head politely, a gesture which Celestia returned.

“Greetings, son of the Imperium.” said Celestia. If this greeting surprised the

Inquisitor, but he did not show it. “I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria,

and This is my sister Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and commander of

its armies.”

The leader removed his hat revealing a high and tight head of dark hair, and

spoke, in perfect equestrian no less.

“Greetings your highnesses, I am Inquisitor Ian Ludones of the Emperor’s

Holy Inquisition.” replied Ian with a polite bow.

“Ah yes, I have heard of you before, the human’s with the authority to burn

entire worlds to cinders. Tell me Inquisitor, what are your intentions here?”

The surprise in Ian’s eyes showed, but it was more hurt than surprise at the

very mention of the use of exterminatus. The screams of the dying on

Laureus IX echoed through his head; despite this Ian kept his composure.

“I come here with nothing but peaceful intentions your highness. I have been

sent here by my superiors to study Equestrian traditions and way of life and

write down what I see to present them with a missive that will prove that

Equestria means no harm to the Imperium or her subjects. I am also here

because it is said that you possess certain items of great power known as the

Elements of Harmony, these I wish to study as well.” said Ian.

Celestia and Luna were shocked, how could an outsider with no prior knowledge of the

elements know they existed? The probe had been captured before it had

gotten into the palace, and even if it had, the vault where the elements

were kept was guarded full time and it would have never gotten near them.

“How do you know about the elements Inquisitor?” asked Celestia not

showing her surprise. The inquisitor allowed his expression to lighten up a

bit.

“You see princess, in the Imperium, this place, your kingdom, you, and your

sister are known; but as a children’s fairy tale thought only to be myth. The

story states that the Emperor arrived here ten millennia ago and created you

and 1000 equines like you to rule over the rest of the equine population here

and bring about unity and peace among them, and that to defend this world

from the darkness and horrors of space, the Emperor created the elements

to be wielded by the equines who exemplified them the most.” replied Ian.

“What you have said is very true, but I ask; why do you wish to study my

father’s relics?”

“To find out if they can return your father and our Emperor to us and save

us from the darkness and evil of chaos once and for all.” said Ian.

Celestia was still not completely convinced. In her visions, she had seen

the way inquisitors worked. While some were direct and honest men, there

were also many who were duplicitous, scheming backstabbers who as soon

as they got what they wanted, left their erstwhile allies to die or killed them

themselves.

“Inquisitor, I have but one more request.”

“Name it your majesty.” replied Ian.

“May I look into your mind and your soul? I need to be sure I can trust you

before I allow you among my little ponies.”

This request caught Ian off guard. His training as an inquisitor screamed no,

but his dedication to his mission and the sheer possibility that he may be

able to aid in the return of his emperor were more powerful.

“On one condition.” said Ian

“Name it” replied Celestia.

“Allow me to look into yours as well.” said Ian.

Ian had some very interesting psychic abilities, including telepathy and the ability

to look into someone’s mind in search of the truth, and the schola progenium on

Laureus IX had taught him well how to use these abilities.

“So be it. Fair is fair.” replied Celestia offering Ian a hoof.

“Sir, you’re not seriously going to go through with this!? Asked Emil with

concern written on his face.

“If there is a chance to bring our emperor back, then yes I will. If I must die,

I shall welcome death and wrap my arms around it if I were greeting an old

friend.” replied Ian resolutely turning back to Celestia.

Ian took the sable alicorn’s hoof in his hand to shake it as one would shake someone’s hand in

the Imperium, and noticed her eyes glowing an ethereal white, and knew she

was searching his mind and his soul. Ian closed his eyes and looked into her

mind and soul in return. After about a minute both withdrew from what

they were doing. Tears rolled down Celestia’s face at what she had seen, and

the torment and anguish that Ian was constantly going through and spoke to no one about.

She wanted to throw her hooves around the tortured soul in front of her and tell him that he

was not a monster, but right now that would be most inappropriate. He was definitely telling the truth at least.

“Welcome to Equestria, Inquisitor Ludones.” said Celestia.