Crystals and Servo Skulls
Our eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden burst of light. After a moment, everything became bright blobs of color.
'Daemons! Purge the Heretic!' Martellus 'thundered'.
I naturally was shocked.
'Martellus! Wait! No-' I tried to say.
But sadly, Martellus' instincts kicked in. He already had his Bolter and Chainsword in hand and was cracking off potshots with it. The colored blobs dodged out of the way of the flying Bolter shells and the screaming superhuman as we came barreling towards them. Then they began to resolve into the forms of the ponies of Ponyville. Martellus stops dead in our tracks.
'Where are the daemons? The foul shapeless beasts?' He asked me, shamefully and quietly.
'There weren't any. Martellus. Haven't you ever been blinded by a light before?' I asked, genuinely concerned.
He doesn't answer. I quickly take back control of the body, feeling even more concern when Martellus doesn't resist. I sheath our weapons and step back towards the door to assess the damage.
The ponies currently were cowering underneath anything they could get underneath. Several were even hiding behind an angry Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Seeing them, I quickly scan the room for the rest of the Mane 6.
I see Fluttershy hiding behind the counter, where a destroyed banner lies. I look to the left, where various party foods had been sitting on a table, which had all been decimated by a Bolter round. Pinkie Pie sat next to them, weeping as Twilight tried to help her. Rarity I spotted helping Ponies up and out of the building, meanwhile glaring balefully at me.
'And the shit storm only gets worse...' I say to myself.
Looking back at the Banner, I walk over it, ponies fleeing for my path, and pick it up. It said: Welcome To Ponyville Martellus/ Bryce!
My twin hearts drop. Martellus is shell shocked by the seriousness of the situation as well. I look over at Pinkie, and begin to walk over to her. But Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash stop me. I stop dead in my tracks and look around. Everypony had left. I sigh heavily and look down at them.
"Hey, listen, I-" I began to say.
"Not one word there Mistah. Ah asked you ta do one thing, and in return, We get this?" Applejack interrupts, gesturing to the destruction around her.
"But I-"
"Ah said not a word! Or can you not do that either?!" She cuts me off.
I remain silent. She storms over to Pinkie who is still weeping, pawing futilely at the destroyed cake. Rainbow Dash hovers up to my face.
"I knew you were no good. You ever do something like this again, and you'll get what you have coming, buster." She says and flies over to the assembling group around Pinkie.
I look down at Rarity, who says nothing, harrumphs, and walks over to the group. Somehow, the last one stung the most. I turn to leave and look back one more time, hurt in my eyes. Pinkie is still weeping.
"No-nopony has e-ever reacted to-to one of my parties this way!" She blubbers.
My twin hearts pang with guilt again, and I duck out of the door. I begin to trudge back to the base, feeling defeated, and receiving glares and looks of terror all the way to the village bounds. I even receive them well out of the village bounds, up until the point I cant be seen anymore. Martellus and I trudge home in sad silence, contemplating what we had done. When we arrive at the tunnel, I collect a couple of dry stick and make my way down. Martellus remains silent as I build a fire in front of me and light it with the Servo-Tool. Then I sit down, leaning against the wall, staring into the fire. I get to thinking and slowly my anger begins to build.
'I thought the Mechanicus were supposed to be smart.' I snap at Martellus suddenly.
Martellus remains silent.
'The lore goes on and on about you guys build amazing war machines and how these machines could level mountains, destroy planets. But you couldn't even stop yourself when you were blinded by a few stupid tiny horses. Daemons my ass, these things wouldn't hurt a fly.'
I sense Martellus' anger begin to build. Being angry myself, I don't give a crap and continue to push him.
'Hell, if these things attacked us, I am pretty sure you would lose. What do you have to say to that, huh?' I say, 'voice' full of anger.
'You do not understand the things the Imperium had to do to survive.' He says, voice so cold it could freeze a man's heart.
But my heart is heated by rage, and its going to take a little more than that to stop my motor mouth with rage at the helm.
'Oh yeah? Tell me, what don't I understand? That you and the rest of the Mechanicus were too afraid to innovate? You were too scared of a few tinker toys with a few pop guns? Were you too scared to admit that the machine is just as weak as humans are?!' I 'shout' the last sentence.
He remains silent. At this point, any rational human being would stop, seemingly having won the argument, but my Rage beckoned for more. It wanted to drive a seething, scalding sword of hate, anger, and resentment, straight into Martellus' pride for doing something so stupid. My rage boiled over, and I was about to say something really stupid. But suddenly, the clop of hooves is heard coming down the tunnel. Martellus and I stow our rage for the moment to look at the new pony as the approach the fire light. The pony stops just short of the fire light.
"You mind if I sit with you chap?" It asks in a British accent.
I glare before waving him to sit. The pony turns out to be Doctor Whooves. He comes over and plops down right next to me, with a sigh. He looks me over once before staring into the fire with me.
"Fire. Its a beautiful thing. Entrancing. An age old power that every species has known to fear since the beginning of time." He begins.
I continue to glare at the fire, trying to keep my rage in check.
"But there is more than one type of Fire. The Fire of Hate and Anger is one. The Fire of Righteous Fury is another. These Martellus is very familiar with. And they burn within him even to this day." He says with a sideways glance.
Martellus looks at him, turning our head to watch him. The Doctor smiles, seeing he has our attention.
"There are many types of Fires. The Fire of Determination, the Fire of Hope, the Holy Fire. Fire is something every race has been entranced with since the beginning of time. And fire has just as much power to build as it can destroy."
He stands and looks at me.
"Mind taking a walk with me?"
I glare at him for a second, before I stand and stamp the fire out. He smiles and nods before leading us out. He walks straight into the woods, heading for massive trees in the distance. After about half an hour of walking, we arrive at the base of a large copse of Redwood Trees.
"These trees perfectly describe what I seek to teach. Every few years, a Fire has to rage here if these Trees are to survive its seedling years and thrive. It is just as instrumental in getting rid of the weak trees as growing the new. And they're seeds are just as dependent on the fire as the Tree's growth is."
He reaches down and picks up one of the seeds.
"These seeds are so dense, that it takes the raging heat of a fire to crack them open and release the seedling inside." He looks up at us. "But of course you already know this."
He walks up to us and holds the seed out. I pick it up and hold it in my hand.
"This seed is comparable to a hardened heart. Specifically, a heart that has never felt the power of friendship or companionship or Brotherhood. Or one that has felt it and turned away from it. What do either of you have to say about that?" He says, staring intently at us.
Martellus growls, closing his fist around the seed, intent on crushing it.
"Now, that is an acceptable course of action. In fact, it is an entirely logical thing to do. Martellus, you have purged THOUSANDS of hearts, just like this one from your own universe, whether by fire, bolt, or Chainsword, you have the blood of thousands on your hands. But perhaps, there was another way? What if the seed could be cracked, or in this examples case, the heart softened? What if it simply needed to be shown what acceptance was once more? What it was like to be part of a Brotherhood?"
I get the idea, and open our hand. Then I take the Servo-Tool and carve the seed open, and shove it in the ground.
"Ah, and there is the other mind in the mix. The ever-receptive and enigmatic human. Quick to forgive in some cases. Tell me lad, what is your name?" He asks.
"My name is Bryce." I say simply.
"A good name. Means Swift in Celtic if I am not mistaken!" He says with a chuckle.
I chuckle lightly as well and nod.
"Now, back to the discussion at hand. I want to wrap up this story as thus. Sometimes, it takes a catastrophe, to make great and wonderful and beautiful things happen." He says, gesturing up at the Redwood trees towering over us.
I look up at the trees and stare for a moment.
'Martellus?'
'Yes?'
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude earlier. I was just so angry about what happened, that lashing out at you seemed like a good idea.'
'I accept your apology.'
I release muscles I hadn't realized I had been tensing. The Doctor nods.
"Ah. Atta boys. Forgiveness is a good thing. The Fire of Forgiveness can be the most penetrating of all, wearing down even the hardest of hearts and releasing the goodness inside. And coupled with friendship? Amazing things can grow as consequence. Twilight and her group have long learned this lesson. I thought it fair to teach you as well." He says with a content smile.
I nod at him.
"So how did you know there was two of us in here?" I ask, tapping my helmet.
"I have seen how normal Techmarines behave. Normally they are a bit of a social recluse, preferring they're work over people. Isn't that right Martellus?" He asks with a smile.
"Affirmative. But I would like to bring up-"
"Ah ah! You are just as much to blame as the Mechanicus and the rest of your Chapter!"
"You haven't finished answering my question." I interject.
He nods.
"Ah. So you've found me out have you? Well, I have tools, like this one," He says reaching into his satchel. "That can tell me this kind of thing."
And he pulls out the Sonic Screwdriver. My mind reels.
"You mean the fans were RIGHT?! Your an ACTUAL DOCTOR?!" I exclaim.
He nods with a smile.
"Indeed. Though the ponies don't know it yet, so lets keep it on the hush hush." He says with a smile.
I nod.
"Your secret is safe with us." I declare, to which he nods.
"I hope so! If I cant trust my secret to a Blood Raven, I cant trust it with anyone!" He says with a laugh. "Now go! Your missing out on an important part in the timeline. Twilight will need your aid shortly!"
I nod, smack my chest with the sign of the Aquila to salute him and make a dash for the Ponyville.
Doctor Whooves calls something after me.
"Oh! And one more thing! Wait for her at your base! You will see why momentarily!"
I throw a thumbs up over my shoulder and turn to head to base.
10 minutes later...
I slow to a stop as we approach the base. I look towards Ponyville and watch as Twilight's Tree rockets into air before slamming back down.
'OH! This must be the Crystal Empire episodes! Looks like Part 1!' I 'exclaim' to Martellus.
'Beginning research...' Martellus 'says'.
I enter the cave and sit down at the fire pit, relighting it with my Servo-Arm. Then I stare at the fire, lost in thought and mulling over what the Doctor said. I sit and wait for a solid 45 minutes before...
'Subject: Twilight Sparkle and Subject: Spike are approaching.' Martellus alerts.
'About time!' I exclaim exasperatedly and look towards the entrance.
Soon we hear the quiet canter of hooves and Twilight, whispering to Spike about something, comes down the tunnel. I grin as I get a devilish idea and stamp out the fire once more. The room descends into darkness and I hide at the cave entrance, just out of sight as Twilight lights up her horn to light the room.
'I highly disapprove of this action.' Martellus 'says'.
'SHHHHH! You'll ruin my fun!'
"Bryce? Martellus? Where are you?" Twilight says timidly, though it sounds like a shout in this cave.
Twilight nor Spike see me as I creep up behind them. I lean down slowly till I am right between they're heads and whisper:
"I've been waiting for you..."
They both shout in pure terror and pelt out of the room as fast as they can, Spike actively using Twilight as a spring board to escape faster. Meanwhile I am shaking with laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! RUN LITTLE BABIES! RUN!" I shout after them in my best TF2 Heavy impression.
Once they are out I sigh and follow them out. They are across the clearing I selected for my base glaring angrily at me. Which only makes me laugh again.
"HA! That was priceless! 10/10! Would do again!"
Twilight glares balefully at me.
"Oh stop! Its just a joke!" I exclaim exasperatedly.
"You know, you shouldn't do that to ponies." Twilight says with a glare.
"In the famous words of Marneus Calgar: 'I do what I like, and I like what I do.' " I proclaim.
Twilight stares at me dubiously.
"What do you want? Cant you see I was busy sulking in my cave?" I ask sarcastically, crossing my arms, which is surprisingly easy due to the Black Carapace.
She rolls her eyes.
"Princess Celestia has ordered my and my friends to go north and investigate the reappearance of the Crystal Empire, not that you know what that is-"
"I know what the Crystal Empire is." I say simply.
She blinks. Spike leans slightly off her back to look at me, surprised as well.
"How-"
"I have my ways." I cut her off.
She blinks again before rubbing her face.
"You are the most confusing pony I have ever met. Short of Pinkie Pie." She says as the sound of an explosion is heard.
We look towards Ponyville and watch as Pinkie soars above it, looking directly at us.
"Did someone say my name?!" She shouts as at us as she reaches her summit, before disappearing behind the trees again.
All 4 of us do a double take before we continue our conversation.
"I assume Celestia wants us to go with you?" I ask Twilight.
"Yes, that is correct. She explicitly said for you to come with us. I don't know why." She says.
I nod.
"One moment." I say.
I walk over to the corpses of the Timberwolves. Twilight and Spike, seeing them, blanch and they're pupils shrink in terror.
"If you want to know, ask Applejack later." I say simply as I pick one of them up.
I grip it at the neck and pull out my Chainsword.
"Might want to look away for this part kiddos." I say and rev it up.
They blanch more and quickly look away as I saw into its neck, just under the skull. I saw off its head, then saw off the lower part of it head, making sure to leave the jaw intact. I inspect the skull as I hear retching behind us. I look and see poor Spike throwing up behind a tree. Twilight looks up, sees the skull, and joins Spike at the tree, retching.
"Geez, y'all act like you've never seen a Skull before... Oh right, ponies." I say to myself.
'While I do approve of what we are doing with the skull, I would not have done it in front of the Ponies.' Martellus chides.
'Oh stop! You were going to do it WITH REAL SKULLS!' I 'exclaim'.
Martellus begins to make a comeback, but Twilight and Spike are making their way back over.
"That... was the most HORRIFYING thing I have ever seen..." Twilight says quietly.
"Well, I need equipment. And you don't have a Graveyard around here. So this will have to do." I say, shaking the skull.
I clip it to my belt and move to get another head.
"Yeah, we are going to wait for you at the Train Station." Twilight quickly says and dashes away.
I look up at her and watcher her go.
'With how fast she is going, she'd give Dash a run for her money!' I muse.
'Indeed.'
I get to work harvesting another skull, and clip it to my belt next to the other one. I begin to leave before Martellus stops us.
'WAIT. We cannot leave without The Package.'
'Package? What Package?'
Martellus turns, jogs into the Cave and retrieves the bag of food.
'Oh! That package!'
He opens a Bacon Cheeseburger box, takes a long whiff and begins to eat. He gently slings the bag of food up onto his Servo Arm and we begin the trek to the Train Station.
'I hope they reinforced the Train somehow. I would be a bit peeved if I had to walk all the way to the Crystal Empire.'
'Indeed.' Martellus 'says', and somehow it sounds like his mouth is full.
I am at first shocked before I am too lazy to continue pondering this and Martellus walks us to the Train Station. As we arrive, we see Twilight talking with the girls, and I get another devilish idea. I take a skull, put my hand in it and sneak around the train that is waiting, then I sneak up on the Mane 6 and stick the skull into the middle of their group, miming a puppet and shout:
"HOW'S EVERYONE'S DAY!?"
The Mane 6 scream in terror and dash into the trees, behind the train, anywhere that can provide cover. All of them except Pinkie, who is happily bouncing away and smiling at me and my puppet.
"Good one Bryce!" She says.
"Why thank you!" I say and take a bow.
The other Ponies migrate back, grumbling angrily, all except Fluttershy, whom is giving a tree its very own earthquake. I chuckle and approach the tree, reach up, and pull her down like a lost cat. I begin to stroke her head and she calms down.
'I don't know if this is weird or cute...' I 'say'.
'I am having mixed feelings as well...' Martellus 'responds'.
I look at the assembled Ponies who are glaring at me. Pinkie is bouncing around them happily, jabbering away about something no one really knows about.
"Before you chew my ass, know that it was a joke." I say.
"My! How vulgar! That wasn't a joke you brute! That was a horror show!" Rarity exclaims.
The others echo her sentiments. I sigh.
"A good joke is just so under appreciated around here." I say with another sigh.
The trains whistle blows. A pony leans out of the Engine window.
"Ready to go!" He shouts.
"Thanks!" Twilight shouts back, not breaking eye contact with me. "Martellus and Bryce, we will be talking about your behavior later."
The Ponies move onto the Train. I let out a heaving sigh.
"Suck..."
I look down at Fluttershy and notice she has fallen asleep in my arm. I smile.
'Bryce?'
'Yes Martellus?'
'What is this feeling?'
'I do believe my friend that it is joy.'
Martellus goes silent, pondering. I step onto the Train, somehow not falling through the floor, and move to take a seat, all of which surprisingly doesn't collapse underneath me. I settle in as the Train begins to move. I look up and notice Twilight is sitting directly in front of me.
'Shit.'
1 hour of boredom, train riding, and ass chewing later...
I sigh and look outside the window a lot.
'I sigh a lot now.'
'Indeed. I find it an unfitting sound to come forth from and Adeptus Astartes' mouth.'
'Your right, it doesn't sound right through the Vox-Grill.'
'Perhaps we should finish with our work?'
I look down at the project I had begun while I was getting bored. In my hand is an almost finished Servo-Skull, made from the head of the Timberwolf and some spare parts that Martellus had. For some reason he had the part necessary to build 2 Servo-Skull whenever he wanted. Yeah, I don't understand it either, so I am not questioning it.
I look it over and let Martellus finish his work. Soon it is done. Martellus releases it and it floats up into the air. It is lacking all of the ornamental symbols and banners and torches and the like, but it will serve its purpose.
"Servo-Skull #1 online. Awaiting command." It speaks.
The Ponies look up and there is a wave of mixed facial expressions that crosses their faces. Rarity, Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy seem appalled, while Pinkie Pie is delighted and Rainbow Dash looks about 2 seconds from launching herself at the thing.
"Now, now. Calm down. its just a Servo-Skull." I say, waving at them.
It turns to eye look at them and Fluttershy begins crying.
'Oh shit.'
' 'Oh shit' indeed.'
"Look, it wont hurt anyone, it cant even if I wanted it to. Its sole purpose it to be a Sensor Suite, okay?" I say, waving at them to calm down.
None of them respond, probably not knowing how to in this scenario, but then the Train comes to a stop.
"Everyone off for Crystal Empire!" The Conductor shouts.
The Ponies wordlessly begin to clamber off the train. I stand up at look at Spike, whom is carrying dozens of boxes for Rarity.
'Of course she brought extra clothes...'
'I do not understand, what is the appeal of extra clothing? Is this extra clothing battle garb?' Martellus asks, genuine curiosity lacing his voice.
'One would think which how much she carries. But sadly, this is not the case, she is just a Diva.'
'Diva? I am unfamiliar with this term.'
'I'll tell you later, got to lend Spike a hand.'
I walk over to Spike and take half the load from him. And he groans in happiness, before growling, realizing that he isn't carrying all of Rarity's clothes anymore. He looks up at me.
"Let me carry them." He says with conviction.
"Look, any other day I would be happy to let you show off your macho man muscles to Rarity, but have you seen the weather outside?" I say and gesture to the screaming gales of wind outside.
He grimaces and nods.
"Fair point."
We exit the Train and follow behind the Mane 6. A gust of wind snags a Scarf and Spike drops his bags to catch it while the girls complain about the cold ahead of us. I snag it out of the air and hand it back to him. He smiles up at me as I look forward into the snowstorm.
'And queue Shining Armor.'
Out of the Snowstorm comes Shining Armor, wearing goggles and a mask made of a scarf. Upon seeing Twilight he lowers the scarf and raises his goggles. I look behind us and see the Train chugging away.
'Oh, so that's where the Train went in the show.' I think to myself.
'You claim to have not watched the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show, yet you seem to have first-hand knowledge, explain.' Martellus demands.
'My little sister made me watch every single episode with her. I found it surprisingly entertaining once I stop choking on all of the Deus Ex Machina of the show.'
'Dues Ex Machina?'
'Another time.' I tell him as Shining Armor approaches with Twilight.
"Hello again! Its great to see you here!" He shouts up at me through the wind.
"Great to be here! But not gonna lie, I am already sick of the cold! Am I right?!" I shout back.
It stirs up the desired reaction.
"Yeah! Come on everyone! We'd better get back before dark!" He shouts.
"Why? What's wrong with the Dark?" Twilight hollers back.
"You don't want to know." Shining says and begins to lead us towards the city.
We continue to walk in the frozen tundra. We march in relative silence, aside from the grunts of effort Spike is making. I keep looking around, expecting Sombra at any second.
'Where is he? I know he is out there.'
'Auspex's pick up nothing. Sending Servo-Skull.'
The Servo-Skull detaches from our belt and begins to float into the air. No one notices. I look around again and see nothing. Suddenly there is an alert.
'Martellus, help?'
He opens to alert to see visual footage from the Servo-Skull. It shows a mass approaching us from the rear at 300 meters and closing.
'There he is.'
I look around and see we are in the same place where the Ponies saw him in the show.
'Right on queue.'
I drop the clothes I was holding and turn to look at the horizon behind us, drawing my Bolter and Chainsword. The Ponies are unaware until Spike shouts about the clothes.
"Hey! Those are Rarity's clothes!" He shouts.
I don't respond.
'200 meters and closing.'
"Hey! I was talking to you! Pick those up!" Spike shouts at my back.
I raise my Bolter and the ponies finally realize what is happening as I level it on the horizon.
'50 meters and closing.'
I am starting to See Sombra's massive shadowy form. And then he has closed the distance.
"RUN!" Shining Armor and I both shout simultaneously.
The Ponies immediately take off running, but I stand my ground and fire off a trio of bolts at Sombra's eyes. They pass through without causing damage.
"SHIT!" I shout and turn tail and run after them.
I am rapidly eating up ground behind them, but Sombra is just as fast as me, and likewise, is eating up ground.
'Shit, gotta slow him down somehow.'
I look ahead and notice we are almost to the shield surrounding the Crystal Empire. Shining, seeing this, stops and makes a stand.
'Right on queue.'
I skid to a stop next to him and begin cracking off shots. He begins to power up a spell and fires a beam of energy at Sombra. The energy passes through just as easily as my Bolts do. Sombra begins to fall on us as Shining charges another blast. I rev my Chainsword as my Servo-Skull hovers close.
"FOR THE EMPEROR!!!" I thunder and suddenly, we are covered in black.
'Martellus, any damage?' I ask as we look around.
I can barely make out the light of the Servo-Skull next to me.
'Negative, we are undamaged.
I peer around and hear the pained shout of Shining to my right. I rush to him and the cloud disappears. Not bothering to check him over, I sprint for the bubble and look over my shoulder at Sombra. He glares after me, laughing maniacally.
"SOON, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE SHALL BE MINE ONCE MORE!" He booms.
"WELL YOU CAN BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS!!!" I thunder back at him.
He roars angrily at my defiance and rushes me again, but I made it to the bubble and I lose sight of him through the sudden flash of color.
I appear on the other side of the bubble where the Mane 6 are looking around in awe and worry.
"Girls!" I shout to them and put Shining Armor down.
They rush over and examine Shining Armor as he stands up. We all see the black crystals on Shining Armor's Horn.
"Shining! Your horn!" Twilight exclaims.
He looks up at his horn and tries to power it. He fails as the black crystal block his progress. He looks back at us, stoic.
"Nevermind me, I have to get you to the palace, Cadence needs you." he says and begins to lead us to the massive crystal palace in the distance.
We have reached the Throne Room, where Cadence is waiting for us. Upon seeing Twilight they both shout in joy and rush to each other. They do their little rhyme, which causes my stomach to roll.
'I really do not like that song.'
'Affirmative, it is slightly irksome.'
We watch as they talk, completely aware of what is about to happen next.
"A Research Paper!" Twilight suddenly shouts.
'And that's our queue to make ourselves scarce before the singing begins.' I 'say' to Martellus.
'Agreed.'
We spin on a foot and quickly walk out before Twilight can leave with her friends and begin singing. I make my way out of the castle and into the surrounding city. I look around at all of the depressed Crystal Ponies.
'Damn, they look borderline suicidal depressed!'
'In the Imperium, suicide is frowned upon due to its cowardice.' Martellus proclaims.
'Yeah, I don't like it either. For lots of reasons really, but in other news before I depress myself to the same level as the Crystal Ponies, am I the only one that has noticed that we haven't reloaded our Bolter ONCE in our time here? Or changed out the Promethium Cells in our Chainsword?'
Martellus pauses, reaches down and unhooks the Bolter as we sit on a Crystal bench in front of the Crystal Library, which Twilight will be arriving at in a little while. Our Servo-Skull floats up beside us and stares at us.
'Indeed. Even I cant remember doing either of those activities. The Standard Bolter Clip contains 30 Bolt rounds. And doing calculations..... We have expended at least 15 clips worth of rounds in the battle for Canterlot alone. Our Chainsword should have run out of fuel long ago as well.'
He pulls out the clip and we peer inside it.
'HOLY SHIT!!!'
'By the Emperor on Terra! This cannot be!'
What greets us on the inside of the Bolt clip is an empty void, going off into black infinity. We drop the Bolt clip.
'This defies every law of physics known to Mankind!' He proclaims.
I sense the sheer amount of surprise and terror this is causing him.
'Bro! Do you know what this means!?' I 'ask' excitedly.
'What in the Emperor's Holy and Sanctified Name could it mean!?' He 'asks', terror uncommon to an Astartes lacing his 'voice'.
'We have an infinite clip!' I answer excitedly.
'That is impossible! All known laws of the Universe make this impossible!' He exclaims.
'But do you know what THAT implies!?'
'By the Emperor, spit it out already!'
'We aren't bound by the laws of the universe anymore! And you know what isn't bound by the laws of physics?! Video-game characters!'
'ARE YOU IMPLYING WE ARE FAKE AS WELL?!' He 'booms'.
'On the contrary, our body is very real, but we may have powers akin to this bodies' Video-Game counterpart!'
'I AM THIS BODIES' COUNTERPART! THIS BODY IS MINE!!!'
'Hold on, I want to try something.'
I reach out with my mind and picture the form of a Tarantula Turret in front of me. And suddenly, one plummets from the sky and lands in front of me! I suddenly lose control of our body as the Servo-Arm drops the food, and our body leans forward to start working on powering up the turret.
'Martellus! Stop it!'
'I am not in control!'
Our body stands back up as the turret comes online.
'...What just happened?'
'By the Emperor's Holy Name, I do not know.'
We sit down as Martellus mulls over what happened. The Mane 6 begin to approach. They see me and stop chattering. As they approach, I de-activate the Tarantula turret remotely so they don't get turned into mulch by 75. Caliber, High Explosive, Diamantine tipped, rocket propelled shells. The Ponies trot up to me, Rainbow Dash and Applejack eyeing the Tarantula turret warily.
"What's wrong?" Fluttershy mumbles to me, attentive to emotions as she always is.
"Just a little shocked is all. I'll be fine, Martellus might not be." I mumble back to her.
She is about to say more, but is cut off as Twilight squeals.
"OHMYGOSH! Look at that Library!" She Screams and joy and rushes the door.
Her friends follow. I stand, and 'pat' Martellus on his 'back' in an effort to re-assure him. He doesn't respond as I walk the body into the library. I turn to the Tarantula Turret, then I elect to self-destruct it so no one asks any questions. It detonates and leaves no damage on anything surrounding it. I elect to not mention this to Martellus, who is having trouble coping as it is.
We enter the library and have the conversation from the show with the Librarian. She of course cant help us and we begin searching the library. I engage in a race to find the book, having what it looked like from the show committed to memory. And of course, since I am a cheater, I use my Servo-Skull to help me look. Eventually, Twilight finds it first.
'Dang, I wanted to find it first.'
I recall my Servo-Skull and come down from a higher level of the library to her. She has already read the part about the fair and the Crystal Heart.
"Girls! I know what to do." Twilight proclaims and rushes out the Library, barreling past me.
The others follow her to go set up the fair. Meanwhile, I leave to begin prepping for the battle with Sombra.
I move throughout the Crystal Empire, setting up Tarantula Turrets of both the Heavy Bolter and Missile Launcher Variant. As I walk and drop Turrets, the Townsponies seem to be all but absent.
'Huh, I wonder where all of the Ponies are?'
Martellus doesn't respond, worrying me. Rather than spark his ire, I send out the Servo-Skull in a Patrol Pattern to investigate. As it travels away, I set up a micro-screen in my HUD to monitor its progress and whereabouts. Soon, it returns, reporting that all inhabitants spotted where either heading towards the Fair. Thus true preparations began.
As, I work quickly on setting up one of the Tarantula Turrets, I notice one of the Crystal Ponies is watching me with an almost depressed look on his face. I stand as the Turret comes online.
"Something wrong?" I ask him.
He shrugs. Then sighs.
"Well, why dont you head to the fair? I hear lots of ponies are having fun there."
The pony sighs before trudging away. But I still sense a dark cloud. I turn my attention inward and sense something wrong with Martellus.
'What's wrong buddy?'
Martellus is silent for a moment.
'Is my whole life a lie? The Imperium of Man? The Blood Ravens? Is it all fake? Is it all made up for the sick entertainment of some random people you call Britian? Is it all just a 'Money Pit' for some other Britian People to profit off of?!'
I pause, shocked that this was the kind of thing that shook a Space Marine.
'Oof. That is one hell of a question. One that I cant answer. But personally? I believe that the Universe you call home is all too real. For me, I personally believe that the imagination is a window into other worlds. Your own easy likely seen and recreated in human pop culture back in my world. It's a crackpot theory, but it's something to think about.'
Martellus is silent, but the dark cloud dissipates. I notice we are near the Castle.
"Let's go check on the girls, see what they are up to."
Martellus says nothing. I turn us and begin walking towards the castle. As we approach, we find Applejack nervously guarding a tarp over what is no doubt the fake Crystal Heart. I sneak up behind her. I grin and take a deep breath, then in my best Smoke impression:
"What's in the Canister?"
She leaps five feet in the air, screaming. She plummets down with a 'SMACK'. Meanwhile, I am dying.
"OHMYGOSH!!! That was the best!!!" I guffaw.
She grumbles angrily. I stop laughing and pat her on the back.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I was just trying to have a good laugh. Now, I already know what's under the Tarp. So, where is Twilight?"
Applejack's eyes flare in surprise.
"How do ya know that?!" She asks, shocked.
"I have my ways. Where is she?"
She grumbles.
"She's looking for you know what."
I nod.
"In the Castle I presume?"
She nods in turn. A Crystal Pony walks up to the Tarp, curious. With but a thought, my Servo-Arm bars her progress. She looks up at me with terror.
"Hands off the Merchandise."
She nods in abject terror and cowers away. I turn back to Applejack.
"Thanks for the advice. I will find her."
I turn and begin walking to the Castle steps. I send my Servo-Skull ahead with but a thought. It finds her as she unlocks the secret staircase.
'Damn, missed the fun part. Well, at least I can 1v1 Sombra!'
I change course and arrive at the Balcony. I watch Cadence as she struggles to maintain the shield around the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor does his level best to support her. I march up and look out into the Shield, watching it flicker and Sombra lurk just outside.
'I would kill for a Void Shield Generator right now.'
'We do not have the necessary resources to build a Void Shield Generator.' Martellus suddenly says.
'I know, idly wishing.'
'Heresy grows from idleness.'
Shining Armor walks up behind us.
"Is there anything you can do to help her?" He asks, desperation in his voice.
We sadly shake our head.
"I have done all I can. But magic is not my forte. I am no psyker." Martellus says.
He grimaces and goes back to comforting her as the mob forms beneath us. Minutes later the other Mane six come careening into the Balcony. Applejack and Rarity wave placatingly at the crowd whilst Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy worry over Cadence. Rainbow Dash stares at the distance with me. She looks up at me as the shield flickers.
"You scared big guy?"
I scoff.
"I am an Adeptus Astartes, one of the Emperor's Angels of Death. I know no fear, for I am fear incarnate."
Rainbow Dash nods, a confused look on her face.
Suddenly, the Shield fails. Sombra streams inside. I pull out my Bolter.
"IN THE EMPEROR'S NAME!"
The Targeting Auspex springs to life. I aim for the massive gaseous head. I pull the trigger and simultaneously trigger all of the Tarantula Turrets set up all around the Crystal Empire. They all hammer Heavy Bolter Shells and Missiles into Sombra, who roars in outrage as the explosive shells and warheads pockmark his form. He slams into the grounds and Dark Crystal destroy most of my Turrets.
"Damn." I say with a grimace.
I leap off the Balcony, still firing.
"SOMBRA! YOU FUCKING AIRHEAD! I'M OVER HERE!!!"
His head rises again and roars as he sees me. He barrels towards me, and just as he is about to impact me, Spike appears bearing the Crystal Heart. He looks up with horror. He goes flying off towards Spike.
"Hey! I'm not done with you!!!"
I fire after him but he outdistances my Bolter. I sprint after him, but watch as Spike falls, Cadence rescues him, and they restore the Crystal Heart. I pause as the shock wave builds. The Cogitator beeps angrily.
Brace for shockwave.
I hunker down as the shockwave explodes out from the Heart. It washes over the city, blasting Sombra to pieces and reversing his evil spell. And as my Vision is restored, I glance down at myself to find...
I have not changed.
"Oh thank goodness. I do not want to be Crystallized!"
Martellus 'nods.'
I look around and then make my way to the castle, where the girls are celebrating. I smile, then enter the room. The girls dont even notice. Spike notices though. He rushes over.
"Hey, thanks for keeping me covered out there guys."
I nod.
"No problem."
The girls begin to leave, fawning over their crystalline form. Spike looks at me.
"Why aren't you all shiny too?"
I look at my arms, then shrug.
"Dont know."
Spike shrugs, then we return home.
I arrive back at the base and take a deep breath.
"Yep, still smells like mildew." I say with a chuckle.
Martellus was quiet all the way home.
'What's on your mind bud?'
He takes a moment to respond.
'What if I can never return to the Chapter? What if I can never return home?'
I 'nod.'
'Both good questions. But I have a better question. What would you do if you could?'
Martellus is silent.
'I find it unlikely that even the Blood Ravens can protect you from the Inquisition for the Heresy you have committed here. But, maybe if you bring this planet into Imperial Rule, you might be able to go home?'
Martellus is silent still.
'Well, I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's eat a Burger!'
I can practically feel our combined mouth begin salivating.
'Indeed.'
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It lives! :D
9374552
My apologies for being gone so long. But I made a promise that this story wont die. SO IT SHALL NOT!!!
PRASE BE THE EMPEROR
9374552
*insert doctor Frankensteins famous scene here*
Ouch. The reality of this predicament really shows with Martellus, and I like it. Nice chapter.
9374652
Thank you, I really tried to picture that here in this Chapter and I am glad that it worked out as intended.
9374590
INDEED HONOURABLE BATTLE BROTHER!
it lives! the emperor be prased! but really now.. I enjoyed this chapter and it was worth the wait~
9374594
Me too my friend. There is a reason I fell offline for a while (no it wasnt writers block) that I may share at one point, but currently I will not be sharing it. I am planning on making a new Chapter here before I post the other story I just put in the Creative Oven. No hints there.
9374782
I am quite glad you like it! Though it really didn't take this long to make it. It was almost done for a while. But something came up before I could post it. I am glad there is an overwhelmingly positive response to this new chapter! I will make another Chapter before I begin work on another Project I have planned. In the meantime, PRAISE BE TO THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND!
9374789
and prase be to the Omnisiah!
9374801
PRAISE BE TO THE MACHINE GOD!!!
Finally another chapter, so good, do do so good, do do do do.
9374905
I am honestly very glad you like it! Thanks for the comment!
well that depends, did he have his helmet on? Because they have photolenses in their helmet, switch means that when bright light hits it lenses will dim sou effect would not be as bad.
could have been worse, it could have been cherub.
Did you just out ork the orks?
Just imagine going to equestria with powers over techpriests like in mechanicus it would be amazing.
Btw I love this story please keep going. FOR THE GOD EMPEROR!
9375233
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! And dont worry, something like that will happen later.
9375198
To your first quote, I am using Pinkie Pie Logic to explain that. To your second, it definitely could have been. And to your 3rd, maybe. UWU.
Thanks for your comment! I am glad you enjoy this story so much!
9375427
Oh OH OH OH SHIT this gone be good I hope I have time to dig my trench befor hand. You know what everyone is invited to help build the trench.
9375439
Invitation appreciated and accepted!
astartes love them some bacon cheeseburger!
9385590
Indeed!
...
I hope you realise that Blood Ravens are one of the least truthworthy chapters.
Magazine, not a clip.
9399174
i disagree, we currently don't know whom succersor chapter blood ravens is, and that they value knowledge above all else. Sou they know thing or two about keeping a secret. And if you are pointing the rumor that they steal relics, that has never been confirmed. Its just a theory because they acquired some relics from other chapters in dow 2 sou its is not a fact.
9399755
I'm pointing towards more of the fact that almost every other chapter is a better choice in that department.
Ignoring the fact that the Blood Ravens themselves didn't exist prior to the Dawn of War games, and that the unconfirmed rumours, there is still the point that almost every other chapter has been able to hold onto secrets.
Space Wolves have managed to hide the fact that one thirteenth of their entire chapter are insane monsters from the Inquisition of all things. The Grey Knights are literally a secret, and even the Dark Angels have somehow managed to hide their Heresy.
Unfortunately, even the Ultrasmurfs have secrets to hide, with one of their most powerfull relics being an actual Daemon. They know it is a Daemon, but they are so Holier-then-thou they refuse to think that the relic is corrupting them.
But that is a whole other can of beans.
A better way to phrase it within the story would be to say 'Tech Marine,' or something of that like. Admech are much more proficient with secrets, and as much as it pains me to bring them up as an example, the Primarus marines are a perfect example.
9399824
actually space wolfs have not kept their 13 great company a secret, in a audio drama " vox tenebris" dark angels actually do know about them but they don't have hard evidence yet. And after wrath of magnus book it is known that space wolfs have gene defeciance because that is a whole point why dark angels went there to fight them in a first place.
And in a book "pandorax" grey knights actually hinted that they know about the fallen in a front of a dark angels.
9400893
Fair, I'll concede these points.
But, as a counterpoint, what makes the Blood Ravens specifically, so good at keeping secrets?
Regardless, I am most definitely biased, but from a Lore point of view, I still believe that the wording for that little tidbit could be better. Thus is the peril of nitpicking. xD
9400895
i do see your point because we actually dont know practically know anything about them. They are cannon, they have a page in space marine codex and i have seen a picture of a comic about them. And few short stories.
i63.tinypic.com/2646kc2.jpg
But knowing everything about them would make them boring in the end, it is good to have little bit of mystery about them. Lets take Carcharodons for a example. They are entirely fleet based, they come and go when they feel like it. Their origin is a mystery, but the way their fight makes even night lords fear them. Little bit of mystery makes them more interesting.
9400930
UnfortunetlyIf I remember correctly, they didn't exist before the DoW games. After that, they were put in because of the large portion of players who joined because of DoW.
Some mystery is good. The lack of detail behind their background is... disappointing.
9400938
I personally believe the Blood Ravens are good at keeping secrets. As a Space Marine Chapter that is obsessed with collecting knowledge, they are bound to collect some forbidden knowledge at some point, which I believe already happened at some point. So in order to still be considered Imperial Loyalists, they must be able to keep that knowledge under wraps.
But ignoring this fact, they have also been able to hide from the Inquisition, an organization that is known for its abilities to practically smell lies, that they have worked with Xenos on at least 2 different occasions, the 2nd time with both Orks AND Eldar. I'd say that's a pretty important secret to hide when you work with a group as xenophobic as the Imperium of Man.
There is a small grammatical issue that was really bugging me. Queue is the word for lines and such. I think you meant to use cue.
HERESY
ALSO MC IS DUMB AS FUCK