PonyHammer 40k: Legions At War

by Ozone31

Entry III: Diplomacy

ENTRY BEGINS. 2nd YEAR OF THE GRAND AGE OF EQUESTRIA

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Even in the distant and violent future of humanity it was still possible for one to find oneself in rather awkward situations, even aboard the ever-active warship - The Excalibur.

Furious Storm-Qrow, the mighty Primarch of the Scarred Swords space marine legion, was currently in one of these situations. He had just exited the starship's main strategium on a rather sour note, where a pair of his commanding officers had been at each other's throats. So he had been thankful when a ship serf had arrived to inform them of an approaching native attack force, purely because it would allow him to escape the madness that was trying to tell Commissar General Node that he could not attack something.

He was currently sitting in an elevator, moving swiftly down the ship towards the massive 'Astartes Launch Bay', in a rather tense and uncomfortable silence. With him in the tight, metal box were: Captain of the sixth company - Ozonus Prowl, aka Dragoon. Captain of the tenth and twin brother of Dragoon - Stratos Prowl, Driger. And the Fabricator General Talboran. The three pegasi sat around the elevator on the raised slabs that had once been the seats of the transport.

But despite the circumstances of their exit, Qrow had not expected the trip to be this quiet. Normally Driger would have made some sort of amusing jab about either Dranzer or Node... he pondered to himself, casting a glance towards the unusually stoic Captain. But then-again he has been like this since the Purge Campaign began...

Qrow was suddenly distracted from his thoughts when he felt the elevator come to an abrupt halt and with their minds so distracted, both he and his officers were almost pushed to the floor by the sudden force that acted upon them. The Primarch recovered quickly and glanced to the information panel in the top right corner of the box.

"Someone's attempting to board the transport with a class 'S' priority tag..." Talboran read from the same panel, his voice even more mechanical-sounding than Dranzer's. But this was not surprising, as the Mechanicum representative's hood covered a face comprised completely of metal plates, wires and pipes with a pair of bright green eye lenses being the only thing to illuminate this mesh of living technology. His real mouth and throat had long since replaced with a vox speaker connected directly to his brain through his spinal cord.

The four stallions were at a loss as to who could have a priority tag that ranked higher than their's at that time, but all became clear when the heavy double doors slid apart revealing the one who called for the Primarch's attention. There were three, actually.

The first was an Astartes, clad in the dull white of the Apothecarius with the symbol of the Prime Helix sprawled across his right shoulder guard. He was fully prepared for battle, with his multi-function medical gauntlet attached to his right foreleg and his battle pack fixed to his back, its spotlight turned off but its scanning node was active. He also wore a chain-sword and bolt pistol at his hips and his helm was locked to his head, with a conical horn protruding from the forehead, the colour of autumn leaves. Qrow also spotted a short, black tail sticking out of his armoured behind. This was the chief apothecary in the Scarred Swords legion and one of the most experienced medical officers in the Imperium, having served for as long as Qrow had lead the legion. This was Marcus Kyron.

The second figure was a slender female, clad in a splendorous armour of golden plates with a magnificent black, leather cape draped over her back. Both the cape and her armour were heavily adorned with platinum chains, rubies and other various jewelries, along with a large gold-studded Aquila sewn to the cape's back. At her belt she had a battle scarred kraken bolter and an ancient broadsword that had been wielded by everyone of her predecessors, its blade chipped and stained by age and the never ending thrill of combat. She wore no helm, instead she sported a golden face guard fixed to the neck of her black, slim-fit under armour. Without the presence of full headgear, her facial features could be easily seen but that made it no easier to read her expression, her mismatched blue and yellow eyes locked on the Primarch in a blank stare. A long bright red ponytail sprouted from the top of her alabaster white head and a twin protruded from her rear, so long it almost trailed along the floor. This woman was the Sister-Commander of the Sisters Of Silence contingent of witch-hunters that had accompanied the Swords on their Campaign of Purging, Kerrigan Rodrias.

The final pony walked close to the Sister-Commander, adorning the same mane and tail style and colour as her senior. She wore a simple black robe without any extra adornment aside from a silver Aquila on her left shoulder. She had a pale blue coat and dull grey eyes, turned down in respect for the VERY high ranking officers in the elevator. She must be the Sister-Commander's interpreter Qrow mused as the three entered and the iron doors slide shut again. It was not uncommon for high ranking Sisters of Silence to have an Aspirant Sister speak on her behalf, as the fully inducted sisters of the organisation were all bound under an Oath of Silence but the initiates had no such burden as of yet. This method made it far easier for the sisters to communicate with others outside of their order as well as offering the young initiates a chance to prove themselves ready to ascend to higher ranks.

"This is a rather inappropriate time for a report Kyron, we are currently on full alert." Qrow's deep voice rumbled through the confined space like a thunderclap, rolling around the walls for a few seconds after he spoke.

"I am aware of the inconvenience of my timing lord and I do apologise for that." Kyron's voice was quiet, even when it was being projected from his helmet speakers. This gave him a rather ghostly presence, for even as you listened to him speak one was also keenly aware of the crushing silence needed to actually hear him. He bowed his head as he apologised to his leader before continuing. "But I feel it is a matter of absolute significance regarding our new forms." to this Qrow sighed before grumbling his acknowledgement.

He then turned his attention to the lead sister and offered her a respectful nod. "Sister Kerrigan."

"Lady Rodrias offers her most respectful greetings and- a-an apology to you Master Storm-Qrow." the young interpreter bowed low as she spoke, avoiding all eye-contact with the Lord of Blades. She was clearly nervous, at least nervous enough to try and hide the fact her knees were shaking and her voice was cracking.

"What is your name young maiden?" he asked with a small smile, although it was impossible to see with his helm covering his entire head. He did not recognise this one, but maybe that was simply because of her new equine features. He had to admit, he probably would not have recognised any of his own council if they had not been wearing their own signature attires. Still, he remembered reading in the Sisters of Silence's most recent battle report that the Sister-Commander's last interpreter died in battle on Calipsian II, meaning this mare was in-fact new and thus didn't know him very well.

"Sister-In-Waiting Freida Tolm, my lord." she spoke quickly, lowering herself even closer to the ground as she did so.

She was shaking like an Ork war machine now, sweat beginning to form on her brow and tears threatening to spill forth from her eyes. Do I really create such an air of terror? he mused internally whist letting out a quiet sigh externally. Qrow reached out for her and she tensed, almost pulling away from the approaching hoof clad in green ceremite. She froze completely when that hoof was brought to her chin and then used to gently bring her head up to look at the helmet clad head of the Primarch. She stared into the fierce, crimson eye-lenses of the stoic stallion's helm and through them saw only a form of stern kindness.

"Well then Lady Tolm, one thing you must know about me is that I am no being you should fear. I live to protect the Emperor and his Imperium as you do. So you and I have no reason to come at odds. I do not ask you to fear me, I will not even ask you to bow in my presence, I only ask for you to serve the Imperium with every fibre of your being and every last ounce of your willpower. As long as you can do that you may look me in the eye without fear." the young mare stared at the Blade Lord for many moments, stunned by the way he had addressed her - almost as an equal. "And please, Lord Qrow is sufficient."

After a brief period she swallowed to remove the dry feeling in her throat and nodded.

"Yes lord, I will make the Emperor proud of my service!"

"Very good." Qrow smile broadened beneath his helm, it was always good to see such determination in the eyes of youth. "Take a seat you three and tell me of what you have learned. Quickly."

---

Kyron then proceeded to briefly explain his base finding about their new forms to the Primarch. Qrow logged every detail, every fine-point and every strength and accompanying weakness - Those with wings are capable of flight, those with horns are now psykers if they weren't before and those with neither of those have more enhanced physical strength and endurance... was his brief internal overview, although the first conclusion was a rather obvious one to draw up.

Dragoon interrupted the Apothecary once or twice to pose a question and Kyron even turned to Talboran at one point to discuss the matter of constructing a piece of equipment that could transform between hoof armour and some sort of grasping claw for operating weapons.

The two later went into a deeper discussion about it while Qrow, Dragoon and the Sisters consulted about the sisterhood's new role on a ship that had about a third of its crew turned into psykers - the sisterhood's sworn enemy and prey. Driger merely sat in silent thought, completely removed from the rest of the elevator.

Before long the droning voice of the servitor that operated and controlled the express elevator echoed over a vox speaker in the corner of the box.

"Astartes Launch deck, base level reached. Passengers prepare to disembark." Qrow cast the cyborg a look before he left the elevator. As with all servitors it was more machine than organism, with only half its face and a small section of its upper torso still covered in its original skin and new dull blue fur. Its single organic eye stared ahead blankly, unblinkingly reflecting its inner mindlessness.

Or was it mindless? This question remained a constant mental itch at the back of his thoughts; 'how had the servitors been effected by this change of form and realm?' Qrow sighed, recognising that he lacked the time to ponder the notion, and took his leave of the elevator...

And stepped out into that immense grandeur of the Astartes Launch deck. It was a huge, open space that ran the entire length of the Excalibur's middle section and acted as his legion's base of operations and home. The walls were lined from top to bottom with squad arming bays, armoured support fitters and aircraft hangers - as well as six Titan armouries and the ship's entire complement of drop pod launch tubes. Most of the expanse was painted a simple black but there was enough gold piping, statues and gargoyles to give the place sufficient splendour.

Qrow watched on with silent pride as his sons bustled around, the small portion of those from the sixth and tenth preparing themselves for deployment while their non active brothers and those of other companies attended to their menial tasks; cleaning weapons, inscribing symbols of purity and honour onto bolt rounds, sparring, studying battle plans, etc.

"I could not have asked for a better legion." he mused to himself as he watched them work. He took notice as the sixth and tenth company elements activated for this deployment were now assembling in the blooded snow battle formation, where the astartes from both companies were interwoven with each other with the shining red of the sixth's right gauntlets mixed with the tenth's white helms to create the affect of a frozen winter's war. The two company captains who would accompany Qrow stood in front of their gathering troops marshalling the formation as it took shape. The other four ponies who had been present in the elevator ride down joined the primarch, standing at his sides with Talboran and Kyron at his right and the Sisters of Silence at his left.

Rodrias leaned over to her attendant and gestured something to her. Tolm nodded quickly to her commander before turning to the Blade Lord.

"Lady Rodrias thinks you have marshalled a fine legion here Lord Qrow, she admits she is impressed. It must take a strong man to lead such warriors." she complemented with a small bow, while Kerrigan herself offered Qrow a crooked smile and a nod.

"It takes more than strength to lead my astartes." Qrow shrugged whilst accepting a combi-bolter from the tech-priest offering it to him, awkwardly clipping it to his belt. Fat lot of good this thing's going to do me. he thought to himself before returning to his conversation with the Sister-Commander. "Simply being the warrior to kill the most foes may work for the likes of the Wolves or the World Eaters, but to lead my Swordsmen you must..." he paused mid thought, his mind drifting back to his earliest days as the leader of the second legion and his even earlier days as Hunter King of the Jaeger Praetora and as leader of the Knight's Nobilis World Fleet - all of the harsh trails and battles he'd lived through, the creatures he'd slain, the feats of courage and honour he'd accomplished. All to...

"Lord?" Talboran droned, the concern he felt not hearable in his monotone, mechanical voice. It was enough to snap the primarch from his thoughts though.

"You must be a leader who is worthy of a following, you must earn your right to command the Scarred Swords. If they see you as someone who deserves respect, no, who has earned the right to be respected through years of harsh battle and acts of greatness, then they will follow you eternally without question. I fought my battles, I won my wars, I earned my place as leader of this legion and they know it." he grinned as he finished speaking, watching on as the assembled companies finally stood together and performed a unified salute, slamming their right hooves to their armoured chests.

"KILL FOR THE LIVING, KILL FOR THE DEAD, KILL FOR THE GOLDEN THRONE AND THE EMPEROR WHO SITS ATOP IT!!" they yelled as one, slamming their hind hooves together, causing the entire one hundred and fifty layers of deck to shake.

"It would seem they are ready to set out lord." Kyron whispered, a slight warmth of pride in his voice and he seemed to straighten up a little as he spoke.

"So it would seem." Qrow muttered as he scanned the formation, seeing Dragoon and Driger standing at the forefront of it, their command squads gathered next to them as an honour guard. "Well then...."

"ASTARTES! WE MARCH TO MEET A NATIVE ARMY FORCE. BE AWARE WE ARE GOING IN AS DIPLOMATS, BUT WE MAY NOT LEAVE AS SUCH, SO BE PREPARED FOR ANY EVENTUALLITY!" he turned to face the lower left wall, which was blank of any armoury stations as it was instead:

"OPEN THE PORT-SIDE LANDING BAY DOORS!" with a mighty metallic *CLUNK* the heavy adamantine locks of the doors released and under mighty mechanical cranks the three, 50 metre thick, solid metal doors began to slide up and into the armour above. There was silence on the deck, broken only be the cranking machinery and the hiss of depressurisation.

---

In the short time the equestrian royal army had been outside the massive metal structure, they had established a basic staging ground encircled within a wide defensive perimeter. The centrepiece of this operation was a large golden tent of a simple pyramidal shape, it had the equestrian flag flying proudly from its central support and was protected on all sides by only the finest soldiers from Princess Celestia's own personal guard. Within the tent stood ten ponies: The four princesses of Equestria; Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle. The other ex-wielders of the Elements of Harmony, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity. Finally the ranking Captain of the royal guard and husband to the Princess of Love, Shining Armor.

Celestia and the Mane 6 were all clad in shining gold armour plating, however the latter only donned this attire for their own safety and to a certain degree to give them a look of formality, with none of them bearing weapons on their persons excepting the princess of the Sun herself and her massive halberd. Princess Cadence and her husband wore the glittering armour plate of the Crystal Empire and even the short swords they carried were comprised of expertly-cut quartz crystals. Princess Luna was unique in the room, with nopony else wearing the same royal purple plate of the Night Guard or the hoof mounted combat claws its members where so proficient with.

They ringed a large oak table, its surface taken up by several large photos of the immense, half cathedral-half fortress that they had come here to investigate. It certainly wasn't what Celestia was expecting to find when her sister ran into her room screaming about something falling from the sky towards Equestria. And there I was thinking that the worst case scenario was a meteorite impact... the solar diarch thought solemnly to herself as she returned her attention to the debate Armor and Luna were having about the metal menace's origin.

"I'm telling you!" the prince insisted, leaning on the table and gesturing a hoof to the collage of pictures depicting the mighty structure. "This fortress cannot be what you saw falling from the sky Princess! It's far too big and heavy, nopony could have gotten it up there to begin with." Shining Armor had been adamant on this matter from the moment he saw the mass of towering spires and great lengths of metal plating and he was having a hard time believing what he was seeing could even exist, let alone drop from the sky encased in fire. "It's just impossible!"

"Then where do you suggest it came from Captain?" the Princess of the night questioned coolly. Not once in this frustratingly repetitive debate had she raised her voice or broken her gaze on her nephew-in-law, instead she kept her head and suppressed her growing impatience. Shining showed no such decorum.

"It was probably under a cloaking spell this whole time! And whatever it was you saw falling hit it and broke the spell." his disbelief was making him slightly hysterical - it was all too much. He was starting to hyperventilate, his legs were shaking and tears were beginning to well up in the corners of his eyes. But who could blame him? They were standing only a hundred meters from a structure larger than any ever conceived in Equestria's history, that bristled with weapons of untold numbers and of completely alien designs. He had to rationalise it anyway he could, even if it only made him slightly less terrified of it.

"Shining..." Cadence put a gentle hoof on her husband's shoulder, causing him to snap his attention towards her. Unfazed by his jerky, almost violent movements, she wrapped her forelegs and wings around him in a loving embrace, rubbing his back in soothing circles. She waited until his breathing evened out and he slumped against her before continuing. "There isn't a cloaking spell in existence that could hide the shear amount of power that thing is giving off."

"We have checked." Twilight interjected quietly, before hushing herself again and returning to the selection of war strategy guides and manuals before her.

"This adversary is not of Equestria, love." the crystal adorned princess continued unfazed, looking her husband straight in the eye and fixing him with a solemn look. "We know nothing of it, where it came from or any way to combat it if that situation should arise."

"But...then..." the prince had calmed down now, but that only went to show just how hopeless he felt. He cast his own gaze to the ground, unable to look his wife in the eye. "If I don't know how to fight this menace...then how can I protect you from it?" as he asked he reached out with a hoof and placed it on Cadence's slightly enlarged midsection. "How am I supposed to protect you both?"

The Princess of Love opened her mouth to respond, but just as she was about to a celestial guard barged into the tent. He was breathing heavily and sweat glistened on his fur, his eyes were wide with a mixture of readiness and terror.

"Your majesties!" he panted, picking out Celestia specifically and bowing his head.

"What is it stallion?" the solar diarch asked urgently, beginning to walk around the table with a brisk pace. The guard flopped to his haunches for a moment, fighting to stay conscious and to keep his lunch down after galloping at top speed from the front. Why didn't they send a pegasus? Celestia wondered to herself as she approached the ailing stallion. "Report!"

"Your highness..." he began, his lungs struggling to bring in enough air to sustain him and allow him to speak as well. The two guards stationed at the tent entrance attempted to move in to support him, but he waved them away with a hoof. "The fortress...it's...it is opening..."

Thirty seconds later everypony was standing at the front of the Equestrian camp, watching a section of the metal fort slowly slide upwards into the battlements above it. They watched in awe as thousands of tonnes of solid metal progressed steadily upwards, eventually revealing a rather unique sight.

A tide of green, red and white. An organised mass of metal clad warriors, moving in seamless formation towards the Equestrian war camp. And one thing was very apparent to the assembling ponies - These beings were huge. Equine in form, but each one easily as tall as Princess Luna and many times over more bulky.

On average, each soldier carried two weapons at his side. On his left was carried what appeared at first to be a thick, solid blade but as the force advanced the Equestrians could see that they were not inherently sharp and were instead made up of many individual teeth. Some of the warriors carried what resembled normal swords, but these toothed blades made up the majority of the force's compliment. Then at their right side, was a device that the smaller equines could make neither heads nor tails of. It was a large block of solid, black metal with a circular opening at one end and two protrusions sprouting from its underside. It was clearly a weapon, but its purpose and function was alien to the natives. Once again, there were other types of device among the ranks of these massive metal warriors, some even more exotic-looking than the black block. But like with the toothed sword, it was simply what was carried by a majority of them.

They advanced quickly and soon they were little over two hundred yards from the Equestrian force. It was at this point that the figure at the head of the formation gave a slight nod of its head and Celestia could swear that she heard it say something, but from this distance she could not be sure. At this gesture the main block of the formation halted its advance, every giant warrior coming to a complete stop in perfect unison, with only the command party continuing on.

All eyes were on this troop now, focused exclusively on the leading commander. It truly was a sight to behold, being around about the height of a full grown minotaur (horns included) they stood decently half a foot taller than Celestia and, similar to its troop's comparison to Luna, many times more built out. It was clad in an armour of emerald green, adorned with trims and details of shining gold. On its back was draped a cloak of flowing crimson and at its side was a beauty of a broad-sword, with a blade of black and cross-guard of golden wings. Its mane and head were hidden behind a stoic, metal helm that was formed from several interlocked parts; a winged mouthpiece, a shining crest in the shape of a curved sword that hid its horn and a stunning, blood-red plume that swayed slightly in the breeze. It looked out upon the world from behind glaring, crimson eye pieces and heard through recurved ear dishes fitted to the rear of the helm.

It was flanked by six more of the invaders. Three were more of the massive, armoured warriors that made up their main force, two in the same matt-emerald plate as their leader, although one wore a blood-red right gauntlet while the other donned a snow-white helm. The third hulking knight was clad completely in alabaster-white plate aside from its right shoulder guard and left vambrace which shared its colours with his cohorts.

The fourth figure was shrouded completely in a pale crimson cloak, with a half-bone-half-metal skull surrounded by a cog pendant hanging from the neck. It was a daunting figure, with the only signs of life in it being the pale-yellow wings protruding from the sides of the fabric and two glowing orbs peering out from under the hood. It made a strange whirring sound when it moved... This figure, along with the last two members of this command party were more-or-less normal pony sized, although this made the former no less creepy to the gathered ponies.

The latter were both earth-pony mares, one clad in an armour of gold with a slight reddish tint and the other in a simple, black leather robe. Both had their manes and tails styled in majestic crimson pony-tails and carried sliver rapiers at their sides. The armoured mare had her gaze fixed on the Equestrians in a blank glare, while the other trotted close to her side, eyes and head down in a respectful manner.

Celestia swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and leaned down to whisper to her tense sister, niece and student.

"Walk with me." she breathed and they nodded, following the solar diarch as she set out across the grassy plain to meet this command group. The five remaining members of the Mane 6 watched their leaders go, anxious to go with them but rooted in place by fear and order.

The two groups met about a hundred yards from both the Equestrian and Invader lines, with the two leaders stopping about a foot from each other. For a time, there was silence. The tension in the air was so thick it seemed as if one could cut it. It was hard to tell who exactly would speak first, with Celestia herself being at a loss as to what to say. How does one pony go about greeting another who has just dropped from the sky in a fortress of steel? But as it would turn out, she wouldn't have to.

The towering pony before her began to move its left hoof upwards, slowly and carefully as to not cause too much alarm. This didn't stop Princess Luna taking a step forward and deploying one of her claws. Unfazed by this, however, the leading invader continued to move its left hoof up towards its helm, where it took an uneasy grasp of it and began to pull it upwards. Celestia gave her sister a look and nodded at her to stop to which she complied, albeit reluctantly. When the eldest princess looked back to the knight before her, it - no - He had completely removed his helm and was looking down on her with a relaxed, non-threatening look.

His coat colour was a brilliant autumn-red, littered with flecks of gold and his head was outlined by a mane and short beard of stunning silver-white. His face also sported several savage scars, with one of the worst being a jagged crack of pale fur that ran from his left ear to his jaw bone. And yet all of these features were completely ignored because the attention of the four princesses was elsewhere. They had focused in on his eyes. His sclera were a deep, night-sky-blue dotted with white, swirling around his shining golden irises. His pupils were a very dark blue, borderline black and moulded into the shapes of four-point stars.

It took the bass rumbling of the stallion's chuckle to snap the solar diarch back to attention. Furious Storm-Qrow spoke with a voice of rolling thunder, carrying all the way to the furthest reaches of both ranks of troops and causing the Equestrians to flinch.

"Well met your majesty. I bring you greetings from the Imperium of Mankind."

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ENTRY ENDS