//------------------------------// // Novam Domum // Story: Adepta Sororitas: The Tale of Canoness Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// Part 1: Lunar-Class Ship Wonder It was quite a sight for the eyes of anypony who had ever dreamed of watching a spectacle like the one that was in front of every monitor on the ship. This was because nopony, that Sunset had knowledge of, have ever tried to take a look at the magical field created around the planet. After all, the very idea of travelling outside of the planet, let alone leave orbit, was but a mere dream. It was preposterous to think that anypony would be able to do it at all. Well, Sunset Shimmer could laugh right at their faces for ages because, with irrefutable evidence, she had not only left the planet, she was right now orbiting around it with many members of a military group that will gleefully take up their arms and kill each and every xeno present on planet Equus… and probably execute her for being a secret xenos, so that dulled some of the enjoyment Sunset had for seeing her planet once more. Whatever she may feel right now for seeing her planet once more, Sunset got back on her role as the leader of one of the most decorated armed groups of the Imperium of Man that wasn’t a Space Marine chapter. Being able to lead a group of crazy zealous maniacs and bring them back in one piece after each missions did require a lot of effort and planning, something that most in the Imperium were woefully deficient on. After all, most of the tactics employed by the average battalions consisted of holding the line until bigger reinforcements could arrive or running directly into the enemy on a death charge. None of those were conducive to a long lifetime of service in Sunset’s opinion. “Navigator! Get me your captain or any other high ranking officer in the ship! We need a report for whatever could have happened with that jump! And someone get the Astropath of this ship so we can get communications open with the Imperium!” Sunset, with years of experience both in battlefield and as an administrator, had found out that a combination of quick-firing orders and screaming at soldiers always made things get faster and with better results. After all, due to it not many wanted to say no to a very angry Sister of Battle that was looking for ways to get things done and make things effective. “Sir, I mean, my lady, I mean-” the redheaded warrior would have rolled her eyes at the classic example of a navy member not knowing how to talk with one of her order. While it was normal and even expected to find sisters of the Order Hospitaller, basically the greatest surgeons and medics available on the imperium, the everyday average members of the Imperial Navy never had to deal with the most… bellicose, shall we say, members of the Sororitas. “It is Canoness Sunset Shimmer.” While most people will relate the rank to one of a high officer among the Sororitas, the truth was that Sunset Shimmer was pretty young and while she was leader of her own order - rather small in comparison with the other orders -, the truth was that the order Sun of Eternity was in itself a splinter order of a splinter order, so in truth, while she was a Canoness, there were others above her that could give her orders. “Yes Canoness. It’s just that, we couldn’t find any of the officers,” the scared young man said, trying to contain that fear and show a confident façade, which was quite admirable from the young man. “What do you mean by that? They couldn’t just disappear like that… could they?” The warp was bizarre and the travel across it was as perilous if not more so. Strange things could always happen. Once Sunset Shimmer left for a mission and after finishing it three months later she took the warp back home, only to find out as she arrived to headquarters that she had been gone for only two days. There were even reports of ships of returning days before they even left for a mission. That’s how crazy warp travelling was. “We found the captain’s data-slate in the middle of the corridor.” The Navy member gave Sunset the aforementioned slate, its grey metallic body unscratched and green letters of a file shining brightly on its screen, clear proof of how well cared it was. The data-slate was the most standard instrument of information at the Imperium and the higher quality slates being able to transport hundreds, even thousands of files on them. This model was little more than the standard model that most citizens would find, but it was of the highest quality. This was not a tool that would be left forgotten just because, so there was something wrong in all of this. “Canoness, I have dire news,” another person said entering the bridge, this one wearing the green armor of the Imperial Guard. “Well, isn’t this day just perfect? What’s the news guard?” “We cannot find the commissar.” Not that that was bad news. Everyone in the bridge thought something similar at that moment. “But, there is a problem,” the guard said not knowing how to give the news to what they all will see as their leader in the next several days. “Well, speak up. So far this day has been excellent so why not make it even more so.” Even with years of blood and battle, snark will always remain a part of Sunset Shimmer. “There are guard platoons that do not belong to our group Canoness. In fact, some of them are from completely different sectors,” Oh, this was just perfect, Sunset knew she was going to have a very big headache due to this. ----- Part 2: Equestria Kingdom – Canterlot City Far away from the troubles of the ship, on the planet they were busy orbiting around, there was a small city. Well, not that small since for the last millennia it had been the center of government for ponykind. It was in this city that most of the citizens were already enjoying respite in their dreams as it was time for the moon to do its job in the sky, accompanied by meticulously placed stars to make each and every night special. Thankfully, since the return of the pony in charge of said night sky, many ponies had turned to the skies, with many becoming amateur astrologists and scientist, every day watching the beautiful work of Princess Luna. Said Princess was right now on her balcony, enjoying the revitalizing cold breeze. After all, being so far up in a mountain brought some of that alpine coldness, just perfect for lovely summer nights as this one. The Princess of the Night was busy checking her work, a tirelessly effort that she enjoyed each and every night. She was back in business you could say, finding both the inspiration and the audience to enjoy her work, something that she only but dreamed when she was younger. This arduous work was but a joy to Luna, something her sister could never understand. After all, moving the stars and the moon to the right places to make each and every night unique was something that was beyond the older sister’s abilities. Only a true artist like Luna could do something like that and make it look effortless. Looking at the stars with a look of concentration, Luna found a certain star to be too far right to her liking, so with a small flash of her horn she decided to move it, but it refused. At this the Princess scowled, determined to put the star back on its place. After all, some of those stars were rather temperamental or in a playful mood and will disobey or simply move around, in search of a partner to play with, something that Luna discovered when she was but a small foal so long ago. Determined to get the star under control she found that there was no holding, no centering herself on the strange rebellious star. Closing her eyes, the younger of the diarchy concentrated her magic, leaving the living world behind, almost as if it were background noise, determined to use all of her ability to sense the problem on the Astral Leylane. It was after all an incredibly old system left in place by those that ruled Equestria since the beginning, of that so long ago, so ancient that Celestia and Luna had no memory or information of that long lost age. Suddenly, the Princess of the Night opened her eyes, her face a mix of shock, terror and confusion. It was rather rare for Luna to feel any of those three emotions during the night, and unfortunately, those three emotions always resurface when the fate of Equestria itself was in play. “Lieutenant Fang?” Violet Fang, one of the dark ponies - also called Thestrals by many - under her command, probably the one Princess Luna had the most trust in, immediately appeared from the shadows that dominated the night ruler’s room. “Yes, your highness?” “Send someone for my sister and do it discreetly. I have dire news for her.” Violet Fang never asked why or what were those news. He simply nodded and followed his orders for that was his job. Once he left the room, as quietly as he always was, Princess Luna looked upwards, to the star that wasn’t a star. “Seems that Celestia was wrong in this, because we have some visitors from beyond the Astral Leylane.” It was scary to finally have proof of something beyond their planet, although Luna had to be careful. This could be after all a false alarm and she and her sister could laugh about her mistake in the days to come, but it was truly horrifying to think that there were true aliens right this moment orbiting their planet and spying on them, like in those new novels full of, what was it? Science Fiction? The term was still strange to the alicorn, but she had found some of them truly fascinating, especially those talking about the existence of creatures from other planets, so powerful that they could invade Equus, but that they would die due to the bacteria present. Something told Luna that true aliens will not die in that manner. She had to wait several minutes, knowing very well that her sister had been quite happy to get her most deserved rest in the hours of darkness after centuries of being the sole guardian of ponykind. These days she went into her private chambers and made full use of her so far neglected bed and pillows, being able to sleep for more than two hours every day. Probably one of many things she was grateful since Luna’s return from her fall of grace. As the diurnal princess arrived at her younger sister room, she looked a little less than the perfect Princess of Ponykind that she tried to be in the day, what with not even wearing her regalia. “Your guard said you have something important to tell me Luna. Does this have anything to do with any new show for our ponies? I remember that your last meteor shower was quite the success, not to mention that many foals got cutie marks related to your stars that night.” “I wish this meeting would be as joyful as that one my dear sister, but I have dire news. If what I think is correct, what we know about the universe may be completely shattered.” While her younger sister was known for her theatrics and rather archaic mannerisms from time to time, even when she had been able to reintegrate on modern society, even Celestia was aware that Luna was not known for lying or playing pranks. In fact, most of her humor came in the form of one liners and sarcastic barbs more than pranks. “Now you are making me nervous Luna. What is it that you found?” “Look in the sky, between the Chariot and the Centurion, what is it that you see?” She pointed then with one hoof into the starry night and Celestia, thanks to years of practice and star studies quickly found those two constellations, her mind already making a mental picture of how those two constellations were represented in art before blinking and staring for a long time. “Please tell me that it is a new star you just moved there.” “Nay sister, this is not my work. In fact, for as much as I try, I have no power over it. It’s movements and presence are but a rogue element in the Astral Leylane, something that we should fix immediately before the whole sky and atmosphere of the planet collapses. But if it is not a problem with the Astral Leylane, then…” Luna stopped talking at that moment, leaving the idea up in the air, unsaid, but still existing in both of the sisters minds. The way in which Celestia looked in confusion and then surprise mixed with horror showed that she understood what was left unsaid. “You are not saying that there is something out there, right?” “I’m not sure sister, but there is energy coming from that object. Faint, yes, but that only adds more evidence to the idea. Whatever is out there does not belong to the Astral Leylane. In fact, it is not in the atmosphere, not in the Leylane, but beyond the planet. Still, this is not a mere rock that has become trapped by Equus’ gravitational pull.” Celestia knew her sister was right and she had to imagine what would happen if the star in the sky was in fact a ship from some other planet. While juvenile books would like to picture aliens in the most bizarre of ways, the truth was that nobody knew what to expect if they were suddenly visited by something from beyond the sky, so while there were some plans already present, the one thing they could do was to keep the knowledge of the mystery dot in the sky a secret. After all, little ponies were prone to panic easily, one of the disadvantages of evolving from simple herbivores with no real predator instincts. “We need to make preparations, quietly, to not alarm our little ponies, I will quickly make a letter to Princess Twilight. After all, if these aliens are here with the intentions of hurting the citizens of Equestria it will soon find out that we are not defenseless.” It was bold claim. Sadly the two sisters knew how well that could go considering past incursions from their enemies and how the two of them came out of those fights. ----- Part 3: Lunar-Class Ship Wonder Contrary to what most people across the galaxy believed about the Astra Militarum, about how they were a single force ready to strike back against the enemies of the empire, the truth was that there was basically no single force. In fact, the forces of the Imperial Guard were as different as the planets from where they came from, so there were hundreds of thousands of differences between battalions. From the uniform, the ideology, the tactics, the names and battle cries, the field operation guidelines, even the missions they took and what they were prepared for varied so much. Looking at the group of men currently reunited in front of Sunset Shimmer, she couldn’t see a lot of similarities beyond the fact that they were all human. Without the standard green flak armor, the soldiers in the ship used different clothes and insignias. Thankfully they all could speak Low Gothic so communication wasn’t a problem. The issue was the fact that none of them knew what was going on and no regiment in the ship had an officer, so things were pretty hectic. “Okay, so far we know that after leaving the warp, every single person with ranking simply vanished from the ship.” The various guardsmen nodded at Sunset. Those that knew of the Sororitas were pretty much on their best behavior, having heard of the Sisters of Battle propensity of using flame weapons with those that they marked as heretics. “That means not only that navy members on the ship are all low ranks, but your different regiments are currently without a leader. To make matters worse, people from other regiments and sectors are now in the ship with no idea of how they appeared here.” “Yes Canoness,” a man that was even taller than Sunset Shimmer said, his chest big and shoulders so wide they made the guardsman look like a mini version of a Space Marine, his dark hair long and unkempt and with what looked like a fang stylized as an earring on his right ear. It was clear that the mountain of a man came from one of hundreds of feral worlds, planets that were savage and barbaric, with barely any technology to speak of, but that due to it they were prepared for almost any mission when they were called into the army. “Your name and squad soldier? I would like to know about the people trapped with me in unknown space.” “Krogar Liziant ma’am.” “At ease soldier, I’m not part of the Militarum.” She tried to keep things informal, even though everyone in the ship was a soldier of some way and capable of killing people without hesitation. “No, but you are part of Inquisition, so that’s scarier,” Krogar answered back with a full grin on his face showing absolutely no fear or stress, like a true warrior. “You are technically incorrect. Sisters of Battle are the army of the Ecclesiarchy and while the Ordo Hereticus can call for our help, we are technically our own branch. It’s complicated.” The way in which the Ecclesiarchy and the Ministorum could deal with the mountains of bureaucracy that existed due to the very same existence of the Adepta Sororitas, the branch of the government Sunset belonged to, could give headaches to any man or woman that weren’t educated since birth to the job. Sometimes she wondered how Sebastian Thor thought it was okay to make that convoluted system. “I’m pretty sure complicated and bureaucracy means the same thing,” a dry voice commented from behind Sunset Shimmer. Navigator Kelsey, a man that seemed made for the role of second on command due to his no-nonsense nature and dry sarcasm, was a young aide in the ship, but he had quickly shown fast thinking and good decision making by organizing this meeting so fast. “Well, we are squad 76 of the Cobalt 19th Division,” the tall man said pulling the conversation back to the original line of questions. “Cobalt… isn’t that planet one that is almost always frozen?” If Sunset could remember well, the planet was in the same sub-sector where her headquarter had been build, back on the Miamat planet. When she had read about planet Cobalt, she was sure that if they had been assimilated into the Empire millennia ago, they would have been by now their own Space Marine chapter, probably rivaling the Space Wolves in savagery and combat prowess. Still, it was good to have soldiers like them on the ship. “Private McMillan, of the 358th Cadian Regiment.” Wait, there were soldiers of Cadia in the ship? Considering every single Cadian soldier was prepared to defend the galaxy from the forces of chaos since they had to battle them almost constantly, it was nice to have that kind of power on their side. The presentations came one after the other, with some squads apparently from the other side of the galaxy, with others completely unknown to Sunset, although considering the sheer amount of human planets, well, it wasn’t that hard to imagine how she could not know every single detail of the Imperium. Also, among them, there seemed to be three other squads that Sunset knew they will give her a headache. Not only there were Krieg soldiers in the ship, there were also testosterone filled monstrosities from Catachan. The first were all suicidal legions that were known for making trenches and for breaking the spirit of all that fought against them due to never breaking. Sunset had already fought at their sides on a mission that many thought would be as suicidal as the Death Korps of Krieg themselves. The others were from a death planet where even the most innocuous thing was trying to kill you so they were all ready to survive and win in any kind of situation. “So… you are?” “I am Aquamarine your holiness, from the 3rd division of the Miamat forces!” the girl said, looking at Sunset as if it she was the envoy of the Emperor, as if her words were holy edicts of the Golden Throne. Sunset hated when people of that planet started to see the Sisters of Battle as holy symbols, even though in a way they were. How else would they be able to fight back Chaos in that way? After all, only the Grey Knights, the Space Marine chapter specially created to combat Chaos were the only ones with better resistances to chaos than the Sororitas and that was only because their armors had enough upgrades for each of them to be considered holy relics by themselves. “Well, I have bad news, because not even the Astropath in our ship is incapable of sending any message through the warp and unless we force her to the max, which will likely cause her death. There is no way in which we could communicate with the Imperium. What’s worse is that we are in Space Incognita, a system that doesn’t exist in any chart aboard the ship, so we are either lost in an uncharted part of the galaxy or, well...” “We are in another galaxy?” Krogar finished for Sunset to which the redhead nodded at how right the man was and how utterly wrong everything was at the same time. “What’s more, without any way to resupply ourselves, we will need to go down into the strange planet that we found ourselves orbiting. A planet that our instruments say it is inhabited.” “By humans Canoness?” Aquamarine asked, making Sunset want to curse whoever was responsible for her current situation. “No, it’s a xeno planet.” And there was no way in which she would tell them about all that she knew of the planet without having to tell them she herself was a native of said planet. She could already see the way in which Sunset Shimmer would be killed for being a filthy xeno and a heretic. This could only end in disaster, she just knew that. ----- Part 4: Thunderhawk – The Present The maneuvers of the heavy flying machine shook Sunset Shimmer from her memories, of things that seemed so long ago and yet the days had barely passed. It was by pure miracle that the redheaded Sister of Battle had been able to survive that long, what with having to keep tempers cool from both sides and not letting their unreal situation scale into full Exterminatus. Sometimes, it seemed as if ponies were as xenophobic as the worst of the Imperium, what with how most so-called royals in Canterlot looked with disgust at the bipeds that had appeared from the sky. Sunset knew that most ponies from old families in Canterlot even discriminated those that weren’t unicorns like them. Thankfully Celestia - and her sister, was that a surprise when she met her - was as diplomatic as ever, even if their first reunion since her impromptu self-imposed exile wasn’t exactly as smooth as either of them envisioned. Taking her harness off and stepping into the clean, chill air of the mountain of Canterlot, Sunset Shimmer let old feelings blossom once again, when she was just a little filly with dreams of becoming an important member of the Kingdom. Sadly that girl had been drowned in blood, mud and the ashes of heretics. Of that young filly, nothing remained but the bitter realization that it was all in vain. Leaving the past behind, Sunset Shimmer began to walk in the direction of the palace as the rest of her entourage kept on with her, Felicia a little bit slower what with finally leaving the ship. The Thunderhawk had landed in one of the biggest garden fields in the palace, with a big open zone that had been converted into an impromptu landing zone. The floor wasn’t a tarmac like the ones Sunset was used to, but it was flat and it would support the weight of the ship. As she walked she saw several ponies already working, soldiers standing guard and many of the workers busy tending to the garden or battling the dust that could accumulate in the big corridors of the palace. Sunset recognized a couple of them, but of course, none of them recognized Sunset, either because she had been such a brat when she lived in the palace, or because now that she walked on two legs and wore the yellow and white power armor of her order. She was not the same Sunset Shimmer of days past. It was a testament of the situation that there were already several guards waiting for them, alongside Princess Celestia’s aide Raven. The professionally looking pony was as stoic as always, standing in front of the guards with several documents already on her magical grasp, floating at her side as she slightly adjusted her glasses. “Everypony is waiting for you in the throne room. Well, except for Prince Shining Armor since he is still in coma,” the pony with her hair in a bun said as the two parties walked into the direction of that said throne room. Sunset would have been able to reach the place with her eyes closed. No matter how long she could have been away from her birth planet, she will always remember that road. “Were his injuries that serious?” Sunset Shimmer may not have liked the pony before, since he always seemed on guard when she was in the palace, but Sunset didn’t hold it against him. In fact, she was proud of his attitude. Unlike most other ponies, he wasn’t in awe or terrified of her presence, he was a true warrior and made honor to his name. Sadly, Sunset also knew that in a battlefield, guts and honor were not enough to make you survive. You also needed tactics, steel nerves and luck, a lot of it. “Yes, but he was quickly stabilized after arriving at Canterlot. Right now he is in a magically induced coma until his injuries get better. Thankfully we have many first-hoof testimonies about the attack on the Crystal Kingdom, including several from the guards that engaged against these… creatures. I refuse to call them ponies.” The usually stoic aid made a face of disgust at the thought of the ponies who had clearly been touched by the forces of chaos. “Good, because whatever or whoever they were, they are gone, forever lost to the taint. Is anybody else in the throne room?” “Beyond the Princesses? There are several members of the army. Sadly Equestria has been severely demilitarized for years, even when we have suffered invasions and attacks from other creatures.” Sunset never thought that Raven was pro-militaristic, but maybe she was simply pragmatic, what with the stories of chaos creatures like Discord or powerful wizards like Sombra popping up all the time. Sunset tried to think of the Imperium of Man without the Astra Militarum and her mind just couldn’t summon the mental image. It was impossible. After decades of training and battle, Sunset just couldn’t imagine a life without the weight of a bolter in her hand. “Well, whatever the case may be, this is not going to be nice.” Sunset knew that many ponies saw them as invaders, only waiting for the moment in which they could pounce into Canterlot to sack it, while others saw them as envoys from the stars, here to become the protectors of the planet, but Sunset thought they had been reading way too many comics to trust people that routinely exterminated xeno species like it was a hobby. The redhead also felt the glare that Chroma was sending her way, silently judging her for having such ‘pleasant’ talk with a filthy xeno. Of all of her Sororitas, Chroma was the most adamant in her hate to everything that was not human, always headstrong and hardheaded that many other orders would have gladly put her on the battlefield to fight and die for the Emperor, but Sunset saw potential in her. She knew she was one of her greatest fighters, she just hoped she could make her see that while they could follow the Emperor, they just didn’t have to follow the Ecclesiarchy to the letter. While the others had been slightly de-programmed, Chroma was too stubborn in her beliefs. Sunset simply sighed, knowing full well that the next few days will put her to the test, and also knew, very deep inside of her, that they would soon be engulfed into another war. She didn’t need to be a psyker to have that vision, for what other reason would they be sent to Equestria? ----- Part 5: Crystal Kingdom, Hell on Equus His visions were filled with dreams and memories, of running around, playing with his friends and later with his children. After years of nothing but a slave, he had finally won his freedom and could be free to enjoy the new Equestria and all of its advancements and marvels. All of it was just dreams now as the once majestic kingdom now was changed. Even when they were under the hoof of King Sombra, they didn’t have to suffer. Their minds were too gone in the nightmares and dreams to really feel nothing beyond submission against the tyrant. This time it was different, with red skies constantly swirling and ashes falling into the streets and what remained of their once tall spires. The snow and the eternal ice storm so far north couldn’t even vanquish the fire and madness that had gone through every street and home in the kingdom. Light Prism couldn’t move his legs and was only capable of keeping his eyes open because his eyelids had been hooked, piercing them and keeping him tied to some kind of metal frame. His whole body being held up by cables and razor-sharp wire that kept his mind on the border between madness and awakening. Everything was lost in a sea of blood and rage as the creatures poured into the streets, tearing apart any kind of resistance from their fighting forces. He could remember well when his youngest had been pulled from his wife’s hooves, before she had been sliced by one of the monster’s scythe-like appendages. Her blood had mixed with his on his coat, while he could do nothing but scream and cry. Sadly for him, death hasn’t come quickly and instead they have been playing with him. He could only hope that his children were dead right now. Anything would be better than having to be tortured for months. His eyes scanned his surroundings, watching the different creatures currently in the room. Once he might have tried to do something, scream in rage or curse them, but he was so tired, so broken, it was impossible for him now. The tyrant Sombra was looking over his kingdom, finally able to regain control of it, but instead of feeling happiness, he could only scowl in rage and impotence as what should have been his victory was nothing more than a mockery to what he used to be. Instead of the leader of a mighty empire, he was nothing more than a puppet dancing amid darkness and ashes. He could almost feel the collar around his neck and the leash being pulled by the woman, or what passed as woman sitting on the throne, HIS throne, while gleefully looking into the adorned ceiling full of paintings and murals. She was an enigma, something that made Sombra shiver in fear of what she represented, the eternal damnation of his soul and the physical representation of all the misery currently parading across the once mighty empire. Sombra’s soulless eyes turned from the empty streets of the Crystal Kingdom and looked at his new master. A woman of another species, a biped with long legs and furless smooth skin. Her ruby lips and beautiful blue icy eyes clashed against her black carapace that worked as her armor and the elongated fingers she used as precise scalpels. Her bald head showed countless scars as a crown of thorns made out of shining light adorned her. The woman’s laughter as she slowly dissected her latest victim was one of the many terrors Sombra had unleashed into Equestria, all because his soul wanted revenge. Well, what was revenge worth if you had single hoofedly doomed your own planet for it? He was only one more tool, not the king. Now, here he was, watching his kingdom become a playground for psychotic demons and agents of chaos. “What have I done?” if he had been able to cry, he would have done so, but now, he just stood there, watching the never ending pyres light up the eternal darkness surrounding the crystal Empire as Light Prism once more screamed, never finding the sweet release of death.