A Guardsman in Equestria

by Guardsman_Sparky

Explanations

Twilight sighed as the timid pegasus disappeared in the distance. "That was Fluttershy. She's very-"

"Shy. Yeah, kinda got that from the name." Alexander looked closely at the lavender unicorn, brows furrowed. "Are you a psyker?"

Twilight blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you a psyker?"

"What the hay is a si-ker?" Rainbow Dash asked, forelegs crossed, not liking his accusatory tone.

"You don't know..." Alexander started, unable to finish that thought. "A psyker is a being that draws power from the warp to gain psychic and psionic abilities."

Twilight looked at Alexander askance. "Unicorns' magic comes from within, not from, whatever the warp is." Twilight frowned. "Do you not like psykers?"

Alexander shook his head. "No it's not that, most people don't, but I don't hate them. One of my better friends was a psyker." Alexander's face fell.

Twilight's face softened. "What happened?"

Alexander turned away. "I don't want to talk about it," he whispered.

Before Twilight could say anything, Rainbow Dash flew into Alexander's face and glared at him accusingly. "What do you mean you don't hate psykers?" Alexander jerked back, before sighing.

"It's a long story."

Twilight pulled out a quill and some paper. "I'd love to hear it. I have so many questions about where you came from."

Alexander smirked humorlessly. "Then I should probably start from the beginning. Sit down, this will take a while." Rainbow Dash and Twilight sat down, Twilight holding her quill at the ready. Alexander sat on the chair opposite them.

"I come from the galaxy spanning Imperium of Man..."

"...thousands of years ago, the Emperor of Mankind set out to unify humanity's lost worlds. To do so he created the Space Marines, genetically engineered superhumans. They never tire, never give up, and they know no fear. The Emperor divided the Space Marines into Twenty Legions of ten thousand Marines, each legion to be led by a Primarch, the Emperor's own sons. Along side the soldiers of the Imperial Army, the Legions fought to bring human worlds into the fold. The Imperium's influence grew, and there was peace unlike any before or since.

"But then the unthinkable happened. Horus, the Emperor's favorite son betrayed the Emperor and turned to darkness, worshipping the dark gods of chaos. I dare not speak their foul names, for to catch their attention brings fates worse than death. When Horus turned from the Emperor's light, fully half of the Space Marine legions and much of the Imperial Army followed him into damnation, plunging the Imperium into civil war. Brother fought brother, father fought son, planets drowned in blood, whole star systems wiped from the face of the galaxy. The Horus Heresy burned throughout the Imperium.

"The loyalists fought hard, but the traitors fought alongside demons, foul denizens of the warp (a parallel dimension used to travel between star systems). Eventually the traitors besieged Holy Terra, the birthplace of Mankind. It seemed chaos would win, until the Emperor confronted Horus on his flagship. The Emperor fought with Horus. Empowered by the dark gods, it is said Horus nearly won. But, in the end, the Emperor smote down His traitorous son, breaking the back of the forces besieging Holy Terra.

"But victory was not without it's costs. Many billions had died and many more corrupted by chaos. Warp storms fueled by the conflict burst into the materium, separating many systems from the Imperium. Worst of all, The Emperor Himself was mortally wounded by Horus' final attack. Unable to guide us, the Emperor was interred on the Golden Throne, where He sits to this day, His body decayed, but His mind still active, his psychic beacon allowing humanity to navigate through the warp.

"The Imperial Army was split into the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Guard to prevent entire fleets from revolting as they had during the heresy. Even the loyalist Space Marine Legions were reorganized, split into chapters of a thousand Marines each. Finally, to protect the Imperium from threats from within, the Imperial Inquisition was created. They hold untold political clout, and woe betide those that get on their bad side. It took several centuries before the worlds lost during the heresy were reclaimed, but the Imperium never truly recovered.

"Now the Imperium is beset upon on all sides by all manner of horrors. Xenos assault us on all sides. Chaos attacks us from within and without, corruption turning many from His light. Heretics and mutants abound. For every planet brought into the fold, another goes dark. Paranoia is the rule of the day.

"My home planet was one of those to go dark. I don't remember its name, all references to it have been deleted, and none of the veterans who fought there would tell me. All I know is, the planet fell to chaos, and the 501st Harlech "Thunderbolts" Regiment of the Imperial Guard was sent there to purge the taint. Unfortunately, the corruption was greater than anticipated, and an Exterminatus order was given. The Thunderbolts rescued me during the evacuation, and adopted me as one of their own.

"That was eighteen years ago. I have been in the guard ever since I turned fourteen, almost eight years ago now. I have fought horrors that have turned many insane, yet somehow I've managed to keep it together without losing it. It's said that an Imperial Guardsman's average survival time during a battle is fifteen hours. I somehow managed to survive. My first squad was not so lucky."

Alexander sighed, Twilight noticed that as she wrote down every word he said, that he somehow seemed...older with each word that passed his lips. She shook her head, preparing for Alexander's next words. When none were forthcoming, Twilight ventured a question. "But...how did you get here?" She hesitantly asked, wanting answers, yet unsure she wanted to know.

Alexander grimaced, swallowing before he continued. "Well, better to get it out than keeping it in." he muttered, more to himself than anybody. He took a deep breath.

"The 501st were transiting through the warp between systems aboard the troop carrier Forward Unto Dawn. We were leaving one system-never could pronounce the name of the place, much less remember it-and were heading for some planet called Medusa or something. I had pissed off the platoon sergeant, and he had me cleaning and cataloging equipment in the ship's armory. Everything was going fine, until-" Alexander's voice hitched.

"Until the geller fields surrounding the ship collapsed. The warp flowed into the ship. To say it was horrible does not even begin to describe it. People torn apart by things being born from their own minds." Alexander stopped, unable to continue, his face pale and gaunt as he remembered things that should not even begin to exist.

Twilight was just as pale as Alexander, and even Dash looked like she could hurl. Twilight swallowed the bile in her throat. "How did you survive?"

Alexander shook his head. "I don't know. When the geller fields collapsed, the armory void shields went up, sealing me in. Somehow they kept the horrors out, and gave me enough time to throw some armor on and arm myself." Alexander frowned. "I don't remember anything else until I woke up in the forest."

Author's Note:

Explanations: Also Known As the Horus Heresy abridged.

Comments

[Cobra of England]

How does a mere Guardsman know of the events of the Imperium's founding? It is stated many times that very few know of the Imperium's founding and the Heresy.

[Guardsman_Sparky]

Hm, good point. well...it goes to reason that a guardsman would know the basic history of the worst part of Imperial history. He didn't know about the 2 missing legions or how the heresy happened, just that horus betrayed the emperor and turned to chaos. Nor does he know about the grey knights. i can see him picking up what he knows from soldiers gossip. Besides, guardsmen do know of the traitor legions, so therefore, they know of the heresy.

[Minalkra]

SURE IS HERETICAL IN HERE.

Seriously, why isn't this guy screaming about purging the xeno, the heretic and the pysker? These ponies are ALL of the above. Remember, the Imperial Guard is an army where if you don't pray the right way the appropriate number of times, you're shot. So it's not that far off to assume that the average guardsman is a bit of a religious nutjobber - course, the flip-side is that the IG is more tolerant of 'enemy of my enemy' type of behavior in the mid-echelon officer corp (at least in my mind) so it would be possible for him to come to an understanding with the ponies quicker than, say, a SPESS MAHREEN.

Yeah, it's a good thought but there needs to be more screaming and flailing about on the part of the IG guy here. Good luck mate.

EDIT: Oh, and remember - laspacks can be charged by cooking them in a campfire. So he'll never be out of ammo.

[PrismShift]

2571738 That's just it though, this isn't basic founding, the Horus Heresy is top secret, few know it even happened stuff. People are killed just for discovering there are traitor marines. This man is a simple guardsman. He would only be privy to this stuff if he was facing a traitor legion. The Great Crusade, an edited version anyway, he would know. But not the Horus Heresy in all likeliness.

[Ferrum Requiem]

2571940

Unless Alexander is a factor from an Alpha Legion cell. We never would know.

[Guardsman_Sparky]

good point. However, i have seen an absolutely astounding variation on how much is known about the heresy and chaos in the books. at the one end, whole regiments and fleets have been, erm, silenced just to hide the knowledge of chaos. Heck, Armaggedon was sanitized after the first war there. Meanwhile at the other end of the scale, you have guardsmen dealing with plague marines, plague zombies, and reborn demon princes, and have vast amounts of experience dealing with said corruption, so it really is just a big crapshoot.

As for the las packs, IIRC, recharging a pack in a fire makes it more likely to fail, and by that, i think they mean explode

[Ferrum Requiem]

2571738

Addendum to the Lasgun, the powerpacks can be charged from solar light, heat, and normal electricity I do believe. The former and the latter are the most common. Oh, and Las weapon technology strikes with the kinetic energy of a 30mm auto cannon.

[Guardsman_Sparky]

2572159 Well, just goes to show you how tough a manticore is then. Also, Alexander had just gotten barfed out by a warp rift. Into the everfree forest. which is dark. When did he have time to recharge his powerpacks?

[Ferrum Requiem]

2572165

He could not have recharged his Laspacks during battle. My mind was in the future.

[Sarged]

Halo right or is that an actual Imperial ship

[the_marked_one]

One of my better friends was a psyker." Alexander's face fell.

Twilight's face softened. "What happened?"

Alexander turned away. "I don't want to talk about it," he whispered.

I think this was what happened.
i.qkme.me/35hrlh.jpg

[Hurgusburgus]

2571906 Until the power packs burn out, that is...

[ancientofstone]

Author's Note:
Explanations: Also Known As the Horus Heresy abridged.

you mean

[PrincessLunaTheGamer]

Props, man. Forward Unt Dawn. Don't think ii missed that Halo reference!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

I see that Halo reference!