//------------------------------// // Praeterita // Story: Adepta Sororitas: The Tale of Canoness Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// The Past – First Part/25 years ago Dark metallic behemoths cluttered the sky in an array of alien design in a way that baffled Sunset Shimmer’s mind. While she may be a pony of knowledge in Equestrian technology, she had only seen small vessels filled with hot air and controlled by top of the line enchanted crystals. She knew that those enchantments weren’t easy for most unicorns so they were usually used by ponies of some power or by rich ponies with more money than common sense. The few ships that were not under Equestrian control were usually found travelling across the wastelands beyond the land of ponies, which in turn didn’t make those vessels easy to find or safe to be on them. These monsters of grim power were not like those of Equestria. They simply dwarfed them, making them look more like toys that were used by children at carnivals. No, these enormous vessels were clearly made for one thing in particular. They were vessels of war. As they continued to pour from the sky like an inexhaustible rain of metal, Sunset noticed smaller objects, faster than the titanic ships. These were of different kind, looking like pods and quickly falling into the ground. Even from where Sunset was, she could see that those devices were enormous, big enough to tower over her, so there was only one thing in her mind; What were they transporting? She was one of the smartest ponies in Equestria, her education covered not only the pre-classical period of new magic, but also by herself she had begun to study other aspects of the very dark ages of Equestria, like the military incursions that ponies had after their unification. Most species would believe that Ponies have always been the friendship obsessed beings that wanted to finish every day with a song and dance, that resolved problems with a kind word and a lesson that could be taught in a child’s book, but that was a lie. The truth, as Sunset found out in her travels to the restricted section of the royal library, was that Ponykind loved to get into a good war every single time they could, from fighting with minotaurs and their maze riddled lands, to the invasions of the Elk-kind for control of most of the new Equestrian land after the Wendigo era. Ponies’ history had been written with iron and blood, spilling the blood of brother and invader at equal opportunity, so it was Sunset’s thought that, if Celestia ever disappears, Ponykind with enough time would probably devolve into that part of their story. Another thought was that, if ponies ever found something out there that wanted to bring them to their knees, there not much that could stop them except the Princess. If, by any looks, there were things that could very well do that, it was these monstrosities landing on the planet that just boggled the mind of Sunset, a pony that professed being one of the smartest and most powerful unicorns in Equestria. After watching for several seconds she couldn’t get past the terror and majesty that the ships brought equally on the new human girl. It was literally something out of the world Sunset knew, so alien, so unrecognizable that it stopped her mind from working and thinking what it was that she was seeing. Her skin crawled with the rumblings of the pod’s landing on the ground, shaking the foundations of every building. Sunset’s sense of smell, as dulled as it could be right now in a new form was hit all at once. Gone were the smells of everyday life and bread, now she was basically punched in the face by the acrid smells of fuel, oil, blood and metal burning. The calm breeze of a few seconds ago had morphed into a wind that warmed her face and at the same time made her shiver. Her long hair blew backwards, being carried by the hot wind of dozens, possibly hundreds of pods landing into the planet. In every creature there was an instinctual response called Fight or Flight. Due to evolution, ponykind had always been more of the flight than the fight, being smaller than most predators on Equus. While with years, magic research and finally finding peace ponies had become safe, or as safe as they could be, there was still a switch in their brains that told them it was better to run away than to fight. That reaction was something that Sunset had always said that never happened to her, that she was a born fighter and the true heir of Celestia because of that. Right now, watching the falling pods and the ships ready for the inevitable battle, because what else a major conglomeration of ships and troops could mean, kept the young redhead rooted to the ground, frozen in fear, confusion and curiosity. Never before have she seen something so awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time, but she couldn’t move, she couldn’t utter a word or move a muscle. That’s when the sounds of screams and ponies… whatever the creatures were running around without an idea of what to do. She was suddenly pushed aside by one of those creatures, older than her due to its height and strength. It was the shock and pain of hitting the ground that made Sunset react quickly, standing up and starting to run. It was easy to get that kind of reaction since her body was basically running on auto-pilot. She then stopped, looking backwards, remembering the reason of her travel. Sunset was no coward, but even she knew that jumping into the mirror was not a good idea. Maybe it was the reason why Princess Celestia had never told her of the world on the other side of the mirror. If that was the reason, then Sunset had made a mistake and she could still fix it! She could still jump back into the portal return and beg forgiveness. She could still fix things! Then she heard a roar, Sunset’s hopes shattered. It was a roar followed by a literal monster. It was the creature full of teeth, blades and hunger which stopped Sunset from going back home. It was that creature which was quickly running in Sunset’s direction, the thing that made Sunset’s mind break. It was over. It wasn’t fair and it was all her fault. As she watched the creature run at her, mouth open, ready to pounce on her and kill her in an instant, Sunset only could say one phrase. “I’m so sorry Princess Celestia.” And like that, she waited for her death, because she was a fool that thought she knew everything, because she was a silly filly that had thrown the best thing that could have ever happened to her away, just to die in another world. But death never came, or at least not for Sunset. It was like a cannon had went off, an explosion that blew apart the head of monster, sending it spiraling, crashing into the ground and its body, now completely devoid of life, rolled until it stopped at Sunset’s feet. The sight of such creature was eye-opening, but what had stopped it was even more amazing. Sunset probably didn’t even reach the knee of the massive armored creature that had appeared as if by magic. It was like a colossus, with a grey tinted armor with what must be its emblem painted in the front of its armor, a dark shield surrounded by a laurel crown. Whatever it was, it had its head covered by a helmet, making the creature look like a living wall. On its hands, something that must be what caused the hole, almost like a portable cannon. Well, maybe portable for the creature because it dwarfed Sunset. The creature looked up from the monster’s carcass and focused on Sunset, probably, since its eyes were hidden underneath the helmet. Without saying a single word, the creature took a few steps and with its armored hand, he took Sunset’s tiny body and lifted it. Years later, Sunset would lie and say that she was in awe after seeing her first Space Marine, but in truth, she squeaked like a scared mouse in its presence. “Cassius,” a voice appeared from somewhere, probably a portable communication device, “get the rest of the civilians out of here. There are Tyranids coming close to your position!” “Yes Chapter Master!” Sunset couldn’t escape. Whatever was happening was even bigger than she could imagine. What were these bipedal creatures? What were those savage monsters that were apparently attacking? Sunset didn’t have time to ask or to know, because the colossus was taking her to what seemed like another ship, this one clearly designed to transport people and that made Sunset act. “NO! I NEED TO GO BACK TO THE STATUE! I HAVE TO GET BACK!” “Young child, your love for the Emperor is exemplar. That you want to save it even when you are in danger shows your passion. You have all the makings of a warrior of the Imperium,” Cassius said, completely misunderstanding what the small girl was trying to tell him. As Sunset was escorted into the Thunderhawk, she stole one last look of the statue, and then the door was closed. It was the humming of the engine and the whispers and ramblings of the other people inside the ship that enveloped Sunset as the Thunderhawk began to ascend. Sunset felt the machine’s movement with no real idea of what to do. She tried to use her magic, to feel the energies inside of her to teleport outside and make one final dash into the portal, hopeful that it was still open. It would be better to face Celestia’s anger and her now homeless situation than to stay in a world as alien as this, but even this failed her. There was nothing inside. No magic and no teleportation that could take her from this nightmare and as the Thunderhawk left the planet’s orbit, Sunset’s way back home would be completely inaccessible for her. She just hoped years in the future, that no monster like the Tyranids found a way to use that portal and that all of ponykind was free of the darkness that permeated the universe in which Sunset had become a denizen off. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. The Past – Second Part/20 years ago The Schola’s beautiful stained glass windows, helped by the light of the sun, made everything bright and clear. Up in the mountains, the quietness and harmony of the pine tree forest was perfect for a painting, showing to everyone how bountiful the planet was. The building, as old as the Emperor some say, was a bastion and a symbol to the planet, always there to bring relief and always ready to help those that couldn’t save themselves. The roads of stone were always used by their citizens and by those that had business with the Schola, as it was the most important building in the Capital city of Planet Azar. It was a world that almost seemed so far away from the dangers that were always present in the galaxy, but it was an illusion of sorts. This was not a world destined to become a never-ending world-wide factory, creator of weapons, armors or vehicles for the inexhaustible forces of the Imperium, nor was a scum riddled monstrosity Hive World, with people constantly searching for whatever they could put into their hungry mouths. This was a world of the Adepta Ministorum, a world where the young with no home went, were the education and the love for the Emperor was instilled. This was Sunset Shimmer’s new world. It had been several years since she had been rescued by the Adeptus Astarte, or more colloquially known as Space Marines, the Emperor’s guardians, and had to say goodbye to her ticket back home. She was stranded, with no road back home now that she had not only left the city where the portal was in, but also the planet and most likely the system. She was forever lost amongst an unthinkable number of human beings, just one amongst trillions, and it scared her completely. She listened to their instructor, a woman that seemed to be older, but who showed with pride her scars after years of service. The Adepta Sororitas were the ones in charge of the Schola alongside Abbots that promised to teach them and prepare them for the future, all of this while never letting the children out of the sight. Sunset, who had been raised among the highest echelons in Equestria’s society, quickly found out that she was not going to get that same kind of life on the other side of the mirror. In fact, it reminded her of the days she spend on the Orphanage. It felt like home. It was not a school, but a fortress, with 24/7 surveillance, with creepy floating skulls recording everything around them and with the teachers and caretakers monitoring everything and everyone. It was a grim existence, filled with prayer and lessons. Sunset did not think of it as a school, but a prison designed to contain only children and she had seen some of her companions react rather strongly to their new situation. As orphans, which seemed that all kids were in the Schola, Sunset had already found out the results of rebellious thoughts and desires to be free. A rather petulant child had a been a problem case since they arrived at their new home, screaming at the other children and in general being a brat like most kids Sunset had seen back at Equestria. Mind you, those were usually children of nobles, but in the Schola, there seemed to be a certain conduct that all students had to follow or they would end up like the brat. For all purposes the girl was not who she was after they brought her back from her *ahem* counseling. She didn’t talk, she didn’t even answer to her name.She only listened to the Abbots and the Sisters like a good little children. She prayed all the time and behaved like the perfect angel of death and Sunset decided to never make a Sister angry after watching the kind of human doll that the girl had become. It was a harsh life, but she was simply trapped in a kid’s body. She had already survived a tough place. She had become a powerful sorceress and by the Emperor, this was nothing compared to the kind of self-imposed standards she had given herself back on Equestria. It was harsh, but fair in a way, with so many new things to learn, all about her new species. From philosophy to history, from religious rites to how to properly use a weapon and its maintenance, the school taught apparently everything they needed for their life outside of the Schola. It would have been strange if Sunset hadn’t realized the true purpose of the school. This was not a school where, after spending some years studying, they would go out and start their businesses or join society as a good person. No, it was something even more impressive and in its own way, even more terrifying. The Schola Progenium was a school that trained the best of the best in the Imperium. This was a mixture of brainwashing and training from hell. The scriptures talking about the Emperor as if he was a god, which Sunset had to give it to them, they made him look amazing in the books she had been given. The redheaded girl could not speak too much about humans and their god when ponykind had been elevating Celestia to being their focus on pony pantheon. If one pony that could raise and move the moon, sun and stars could be seen as a goddess, then how could a man that guided humanity from his golden throne not be seen as the God of mankind? Even if he was in a state of undead life, he still used his powers to send forth his light through the warp so every ship could reach their destiny. From a little girl, Sunset grew into a young woman, with year after year becoming harder and harder to remember her days in Equestria as a pony. Every day it was harder to remember how the sun looked like back home when Princess Celestia raised the orb from her room. Every time she woke up, a small part of Sunset was being erased as she studied the history, the rules, the language, the system, the creed and the weapons. This was a peaceful world in a sense, but the galaxy would never be peaceful, with millions dying defending the worlds of the Imperium of Man,  and every single kid that had survived the prison known as Schola Progenium would one day do that too. Sunset knew that sooner or later she would be out of the school and thrown into the dangerous reality that she lived in. She may one day find the planet once more or have a chance to visit it, but she knew that she wouldn’t have the chance if she didn’t survive the Schola. No, scratch that, she had to EXCEL like in everything else in her life. Every day she threw herself into her studies, knowing that any chance she had to survive depended on it. From studies about philosophy and mathematics, to the history of the Imperium and the sacred texts of the Emperor, Sunset devoured all the information that she could get, while at the same time keeping quiet, so no questions and no talking back. She learned about the Emperor, about Horus and his Heresy, about the Golden Throne and the daily struggle of mankind, with only his light offering peace and salvation. She had used her mind and energy of a new childhood to become the best version of herself, so much that when she had bested the Drill Abbott and had him on the floor, with her sword on his throat, it didn’t surprise anyone. After all, this was Sunset Shimmer and if there was anything that people knew about Sunset Shimmer was that she didn’t give up and there was no way to stop her. The Past – Part 3/10 years ago It was a bitter irony, the fact that Sunset’s days as member of the Adepta Sororitas usually were spent in two different ways; if she was on a planet, she usually spent them reading, praying - or sometimes just making it look as if she was praying - and sometimes tinkering with her equipment, much to the dismay of some Adeptus Mechanicus members, what with her creating new stuff without even praying for six hours to their mechanical god or whatever they believed in. The other half of her time she was like this, trapped in a dark ship as it plummeted into the ground, a metal box that had been there to take her from her ‘home’ planet back when she was 6 years old. That was a lifetime ago. Now Sunset was an adult, even older than she was back in Equestria. It was all just a blur, just colors and flashes of ponies that she had known back then, of ponies she had talked to or read about. Nothing more, nothing less. As a Sister of Battle, the militant branch of the Adepta Sororitas, Sunset had been polished into a perfect war machine for the Emperor. The redhead didn’t know how she had survived considering the darkness, the zealotry and xenophobia running rampant across the Imperium of Man. Sunset had an idea that her previous master, Princess Celestia, would be appalled about what she had turned into, just before she got a bolter shell right in between her eyes from one of her companions for being a filthy xeno. It was hard. Every single day was hard to contain those ideas, knowing that years of training, conditioning and life pummeled the old Sunset Shimmer and turned her into what she was now, but Sunset accepted the change. Here on the Imperium she knew that the old Sunset was a bitch, pure and simple. That little girl always thought that she deserved everything just because she was a little bit more powerful than the others. Pure dumb kid and poor dumb teacher, neither realizing how everything crumbled with them, neither realizing their sins, but here she was, Sister Sunset Shimmer, a daughter of the Emperor and the holy light that protected the innocent from the mutants, the heretics and the xenos. It was now that Sunset Shimmer had finally found herself, in a true sisterhood and with companions that will die and live alongside her no matter what. The Thunderhawk shook as it began to re-enter orbit on top of planet Miamat in the sub-sector Carolux. The ship may not be the same one, but to Sunset it had a special place in her heart. After all, how could she forget the first time she was taken into the stars, to never come back to being that young girl that thought she could be a princess by throwing a tantrum. Alongside her, in the darkness of the ship, she saw her sisters, ready to jump right into the thick of things, to do their mission and to ensure the Emperor’s light would always shine. Chroma and Siivet at her right, with their jet packs ready, one with her two bolters and the other with her power maul. At her other side, both Tabitha and Starlight were as focused as always. Sister Tabitha may not look like it, what with her decision of keeping her natural hair color, something that was prevalent among Sunset’s unit, and with the bizarrely colored mohawk always gave her the air of elegant barbarism, if that even made sense. Starlight, well, she was quite the case, renaming herself in honor of her battle master, the one warrior that spoke in behalf of the Emperor. In Sunset’s opinion, it was both creepy and heartwarming in the right combination. The Thunderhawk finally touched ground as Sunset and the rest of her unit kept hearing bullets and other weapons hit the hard exterior of the ship; it was almost hilarious how these people thought that they could keep attacking with their old weapons and think they could win. Raising a hand Sunset signaled the final preparations, with every single Sister putting their helmets in place and taking their bolters, melta or heavy weapons at the ready. “We are the Daughters of the Emperor. Make these heretical rebels realize their mistake when they wanted to take control of one of the Imperium planets!” And then, the door went down and they saw the battlefield, with both sides shooting at each other, but it was time to put a stop to the war. “Make them regret their decision!” And as one, they all poured out, bullets ricocheting away from their power armor, bolters tearing apart bodies and melta weapons burning the rebels to a crisp. The Past – Part 4/Several weeks ago It wasn’t possible. There was no way. In front of her, as every single instrument of the ship tried to make sense of what they were seeing, Sunset saw a very intricate work done millennia ago. It was a thaumatic leylane in which highly compressed vessels of magic that represented stars, a sun and a moon as placed all across the planet to keep a very well regulated system of day and night in place. Nobody knew who put it there, but it had become such a part of their world that nobody wondered what could be beyond their very well controlled planet. That is, until today. “Well, what do you know? I’m home.” Sunset didn’t know if she should laugh or cry at this point.