//------------------------------// // Prologue: Rift Between Worlds // Story: Equus Astartes // by HighRoller //------------------------------// The cacophony of battle had begun to die down, but it was far from over. Hulking figures in blue armor, badly bloodied, stood against a growing horde of daemonic creatures. Portals swirling with infernal warp energy were opening up all around the battlefield, twisted monstrosities of all shapes and sizes wading out into the dwindling fray. “Battle brothers! To me! We must show these foul daemons no fear!” A voice rang out across the bloody field that seemed as if it would have been audible even without the amplification provided by the comm-system. "If we die here today, we will not have died in vain! Every foul warp-spawn we bring down will be one less blight upon the face of the Imperium! Now, onward! Chaaaaarge!” The blue-armored figures seemed to be filled with a renewed vigor. Even some who had seemed grievously wounded did their best to move forward, hacking through their foes with grim determination, others with bolters blazing, shell casings spent clattering to the ground unnoticed. Daemons began to screech as bullet and blade bit into their flesh, the former exploding on contact. In the center of the maelstrom of whirring blades and blazing guns was the one who had spoken the words that encouraged his struggling brethren. Seemingly tirelessly, the warrior hacked and shot his way through waves of foes singlehandedly. A howl went up from a red, demonic-looking beast as its sword arm was severed, the creature’s blood spewing forth. A bolt-pistol shell burst the monster’s head shortly thereafter, its brains spattering the rocky ground as it fell to its knees. Another was impaled through the stomach, a roaring chainsaw-like blade penetrating its back, making mincemeat of its innards in the process. Finally, the azure-armored trooper stood before the mouth of one of the gaping rifts from whence his foes came. From the portal emerged a beast like the others, except far greater in size and ferocity. Without hesitation, the heavily armored warrior dashed between its legs and turned, executing a deft backhand slash. The powered blade of his chainsword squealed and caught as it made its way through his enemy’s armor, finally emerging cleanly from the opposite end, black blood spraying in seemingly every direction all the while. The massive, daemonic behemoth dropped its enormous, twisted blade and fell. He made to leap onto its back to finish it, but as his feet left the ground, some mysterious force pulled at him. It was the portal, he realized. The thing was dragging at him, trying to draw him in. Not even his formidable strength was enough to resist its otherworldly, eldritch pull. Before he knew it, he was sucked inside. He flew through the warp, tendrils of energy licking at him, his entrails feeling as if they were in the process of rearranging themselves even as he yet lived. And then, nothing…silence, oblivion. He had no idea what was happening...perhaps he'd found favor with his Emperor and been shielded from the torrential, malignant forces of the warp. Finally, his lack of consciousness became complete. His form tumbled through the storm of hellish energy for what seemed like an eternity, until finally… *** A purple unicorn trotted contentedly across the plains, her violet magic enveloping a book, which she levitated before her face. This preoccupation left her utterly unprepared for the massive, resounding roar and resulting heavy crash that suddenly shook the picturesque landscape. The pony let out a yelp and jumped what must have been several feet into the air, her simple levitation spell disrupted, causing the book to fall to the grass with a thud. The studious mare forgot it for now, though, as there was a far more interesting sight just before her eyes. On the ground about twenty feet from where she stood lay a dark blue unicorn, sturdily built, a strange horseshoe like symbol on his flank. His hair was shortish, raggedy, and black. What was even stranger than his sudden appearance, however, was the heap of dark-blue metal and assorted accessories. As far as she could tell, the metallic wreck looked like some kind of heavy, ornate armor. Cautiously, the purple mare approached the stuff, forgetting the other unicorn for the moment in the midst of her curiosity. She attempted to levitate a hunk of it, a shoulder-pad, she surmised. It was difficult, but she managed. It somehow seemed as if her magic coursed through the heavy, hard material like some kind of current. Her contemplations were interrupted when she felt something slam into her side. She rolled along the ground, somepony else latched onto her, until she ended up on her back. She looked up with wide, terrified eyes, and beheld two blue eyes, full of a fiery rage she’d never seen the like of in all her life. The unicorn from before was now apparently conscious, pinning her down, and very, very angry. He snorted, his breath hot on her face as he leaned in so closely their noses almost met. “Where have you brought me, warp-spawn?!” he demanded in a snarling tone. The female trembled underneath him, more frightened than she’d ever been. Then, she watched the look in the new pony’s eyes change, as if he were suddenly overwhelmed with some great realization. Slowly, he let her up, and lifted a hoof in front of his face, examining it incredulously. “Holy Terra, what am I? WHERE am I?” He looked around frantically, as if searching for something. As soon as he spotted the armor, he galloped over to it, staring at it in shock. He lifted his hoof, then looked back and forth between it and the heap of armor several times. The unicorn shook his head quickly and turned around to face Twilight this time. Gone was the former look of unbridled fury, replaced instead by an expression of bewilderment. “You…you’re a…a horse. No, a…pony.” He blinked and stared at her, as if expecting her to say something. “Um…yes, yes I am. A unicorn, to be exact.” She cocked her head. “And so are you. I don’t know what’s so extraordinary about that.” “Me? A pony?!” The male galloped up to her, then looked at his hooves again. “No…no, that’s impossible. I am a battle brother of the Adeptus Astartes, chosen warriors of the God Emperor and protector of the realms of mankind!” Suddenly, the stallion swayed in place a few times, his eyes rolling back into his head as he fell over onto the ground with a weighty thud, leaving an exceedingly confused unicorn in his wake. “Well…NOW what do I do? Celestia, why does all the weird stuff always have to happen to me?”