• Published 3rd May 2018
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Adepta Sororitas: The Tale of Canoness Sunset Shimmer - ratedoni



Long ago, Sunset Shimmer left her world behind, now she returns as member of Adepta Sororitas, a warrior that burns the heretic in the name of the Emperor; will she save Equestria or doom them all?

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Oculus Tempestatis

Part 1: Thunderhawk

As amazing as it was to leave the power sword right where it was, Sunset Shimmer only had one replacement on her quarters, so she didn’t have the luxury to just walk away as the powerful weapon remained inserted in the table like some kind of decoration.

Unlike most hand to hand weapons from the Sororitas Orders, Sunset’s weapons weren’t a relic that had been recovered or taken care of for generations. This was a run of the mile power sword created deep in the forges of Charybdis, the red planet home to the Mechanicus in the sub-sector Carolux. Basically, every single weapon, every single bullet and the power armors that they used were all given to them after being created in Charybdis, a partnership that had been in place since the inception of the Adepta in the 35th millennia.

Now, trapped in another galaxy, or universe probably, it meant that they didn’t have any way to receive new ammunition or siege and heavy equipment. They were trapped with the ammunition that they brought with them or that had appeared in the ship when they came out of the warp. Even if her power sword was standard equipment, she couldn’t leave it behind. What was worst, they didn’t have any relief, any supply or reinforcements beyond ponies that looked like something out of a child’s coloring book.

The memory of Charybdis filled her with the vision of the red sandstorms hitting the surface of the forge planet every day. It was suicidal to walk outside of the fortified mechanical cities that the Mechanicus constructed and where the great machines of war that feed the insatiable thirst for war in the imperium.

The eternal forges of Charybdis were the only thing that kept humanity going in the almost ceaseless battle for survival in the galaxy in that side of the galaxy. Sunset had loved the planet, the way the twin suns of that solar system made their travel across the tinted sky, how the light reflected on the towers of steel and created an almost surreal vision of light and shadows.

Her stay had been brief since she had finished her mission on the planet, and thanks to it her newborn Order could get armed and armored, with some nice toys like Immolators quickly delivered on Miamat. Even better, since the Sun of Eternity did never say no to new toys they were the first ones to get new stuff. Usually, Sororitas Orders will reject the shipment of new weapons to replace old Bolters, but Sunset, being pragmatic to a degree never seen in the sisterhood, always planned ahead on shipments and equipment. This time won’t be any different.

“I need you to send me the exact number of soldiers and the equipment they will have. Also, we need the itinerary of trains and to requisite enough cars and engines to transport all the troops that will be sent to the North,” she started to shout orders left and right as she walked, with ponies making memos and writing the exact orders. Neither Chroma nor Siivet were surprised at the effectiveness in logistics having seen the way in which she worked, with precise intention and always knowing where to make changes or adjust something so everything will fall into place like a puzzle.

It was one of the reasons why Sunset Shimmer had been able to raise on the ranks so quickly, not only because she was a very capable fighter, enough to survive crazy situations like the siege on Mon Kareti in the Krieg campaign of that world, but because she was capable of taking control of a stronghold or battlefield and make sense of the strengths and tactics needed to defeat the opposition.

Chroma and Siivet were still on the Schola, not yet Sororitas when Sunset Shimmer had already vanquished the green skins on planet Critian. They have only heard the stories of Sunset, who after disposing of the Commissar, had taken control of the Sand Dwellers twenty six company, troops that were ready to defend their planet but had almost no chance to survive.

Apparently, the plan of the commissar was to make enough time until incoming Space Marines troops could arrive and exterminate the Orks. Sunset had changed that and after two days of battle, the main force of the invasion had been annihilated. 453 troops, not counting Sororitas troops had survived a full assault of 3000 green skins, including the warboss, the leader of the Orks.

The Ironhawks, the Space marine chapter that were sent to battle, ended up arriving at the right moment, finishing the circle that trapped the Orks in the middle of a killing zone, not being able to move or do anything as bolters, missile launches, grenade, tanks and flamers massacred every single one of them.

Sunset Shimmer’s fame as a tactical genius had been born that day, which only grew with every single battle that by all rights she shouldn’t be able to survive. Of course, since she rarely if ever adopted the strategy that most Commissars or Astarte used - which was to run directly into the enemy while screaming - she always took enemies by surprise when she used artillery and deployment in a manner that made sense. Apparently not even Eldar thought that a human could use tactics like sniping, encircling, flanking and camouflage against them.

Chroma and Siivet had known about Sunset Shimmer and what she had accomplished, so they were ready and proud to be called into her service and her new born Order. They had quickly taken the Carolux system and with the creation of the cathedral and monastery, quickly gained a foothold on the rest of the sub-sector, pulling human planets back into the Imperium fold and taking control of xeno-infested planets after millennia. It was probable that those planets had been lost since the Age of Strife, so it was with great celebration that they were able to defeat green skins and others.

Siivet and Chroma only knew of one bizarre quirk in the Canoness and that was her strange views on working with Xenos. They had battled alongside Eldar against the Necrons in several occasions. Her actions had made it possible for humanity to not only survive, but to thrive in the Carolux system, giving them power, notoriety, honor and contacts that made the Sun of Eternity a force to be reckoned with. Now, they will need that kind of drive to survive the incoming fight.

Leaving the ponies behind, the four humans went through the gardens. Siivet had always found natural places like this something to admire, knowing how hard it was to maintain a garden and make it beautiful. She had grown to love flowers, remembering her days living alongside her family, but that was a lifetime ago. Her mother had died and her father had been lost among the stars alongside his ship. She had been sent to the Schola where she met others from her home planet, but no matter what, she could never forget those days helping her mother take care of their small garden behind their house.

She was already thinking of ways to give some life to their colony when she noticed the face full of disdain in Chroma, knowing very well that she was not enjoying the beauty of the well cared bushes and flower beds.

Chroma was not happy with everything that had been happening and just staying in a place that stank of xenos was enough to put her in a bad mood. The lack of the cross, the gothic architecture and how odiously stupid the xenos known as ‘ponies’ - by the Emperor, even their name was stupid - made her hate everything they have built, and now she was supposed to fight at their side? She will follow their Canoness, who had trained them, saved them from being wiped out, who had fought with them side by side and who always tried to find the wisdom of the Emperor in the stars. That did not mean she was happy with their new mission.

Felicia, on the other hand was amazed of everything around her. She was but a mere guardsman, deployed in numbers on whatever planet they were defending, just to end up dying in mass. That was the destiny she had imagined when she had been conscripted and trained. Up to this day she didn’t know why she was accepted into the army considering how nervous and pathetic she was in comparison with others that had been born to fight, but she was sure that at least she would die in the name of humanity. Oh, what a surprise destiny had for her.

Tossed into unknown space, following a warrior of the caliber of Canoness Sunset Shimmer and her order and now, about to defend a planet from a Chaos incursion, well, it should be enough to send her into one of her panic attacks, but the words of Sunset Shimmer had brought her from there into something greater. She had reminded her of her mission, what was her purpose as a guardsman and she will not let her down.

So, it was like this that the four reached the Thunderhawk, with Sunset still mulling her decision of joining the battle, knowing full well that Celestia will have a plan hidden beneath her attempts of saving the kingdom. She was probably hoping that by having Sunset working alongside her replacement, a pony she wasn’t still sure why it was ascended, the two will soon become friends or something equally stupid like that.

The idiotic princess of the sun probably didn’t understand how precarious was the situation of ponykind, just how easily everything could collapse and not even Sunset Shimmer could save them from the wrath of hundreds of xenophobic warriors.

As the four humans boarded the Thunderhawk, she gave orders to their pilot to take them to their colony; she needed to talk with the members of the Mechanicus that had been left on the surface of the planet and see how everything was going on their side.

“I assume you all have something to say about my decision to enter this war,” Sunset started, grateful of the heavy walls of the drop ship which allowed them to talk freely. At once, Chroma took charge.

“Are we really going to help these stupid xenos? This is not our war!”

“It is always our war when it involves Chaos Chroma, or have you forgiven the fallen legions of what they did?” The eyes of Sunset Shimmer did not contain that peace or quiet intelligence spark that they usually had. Right now, in front of them was the fighter, the commander that with rage and flame eliminated the heretic and the impure on the Imperium. That look of fire made Chroma stop and think of what she was saying.

“What?”

“Like I said, are you right now going to let the forces of the warp do whatever they want on this planet? Instead of a Sun of Eternity, you are a Luna Wolf.” At those words, it looked as if Chroma had been hit in the face with a power fist. She looked flabbergasted, in a mixture of pain, confusion and incredulity. Even Siivet and Felicia were astonished at the kind of attacked Sunset had unleashed upon the other Sister. Luna Wolves, the legion of Horus, to be called like that, it was an offense that could not be let go. Surprisingly, Chroma took a second to calm herself, looking contrite and sufficiently admonished.

“Forgive me Canoness, I forgot myself for a moment. It was not my intention to look like a coward.”

“Nor was mine to make you feel like that, but it was needed. I know you all still have doubts about what we are doing, but I do believe we did not appear here on a whim of luck. I truly believe that we were guided here. We are the hammer of the Emperor and it is our duty to bring the forces of chaos to their knees. After all, which but those that love the Emperor can save others from the darkness that exists in the warp?” Sunset Shimmer have said those words so many times to so many people, that even she had grown to believe them.

“We are the daughters of the Emperor Canoness, where you go we'll follow,” the melodious voice of Siivet cut through the tension that had been created with Chroma’s outburst, saving her friend from the embarrassment of talking against her superior. Felicia was glad because she has heard horrible tales of soldiers speaking like to commanders of commissars and things never ended well at the end of those stories.

Sunset Shimmer had already shown her that she was not like other officers in the Militia, neither did she behave like a Sororitas or Inquisition member that other guards spoke of in the ship or back in training. She was quick to the point, always asking for the information or what had happened, but left most of the micromanaging of the ship and the troops to the different groups that either patrolled the ship or stayed down on the planet. She did create a training program and they practiced different strategies and even hand to hand combat. If Felicia thought that her training as a guard had been arduous, they all now knew how intensive the training of the Sororitas left them all in the dust.

“I know you all will, but I have no desire to simply jump into the demon infested Crystal Kingdom. We will help them, but we won’t win them the war with our sacrifice. If they want to save their planet, they will have to fight and die for it.” The smile on Sunset’s face said it all. She already was planning ahead and they were all nervous about what kind of strange tactics she will unleash on chaos and ponies alike.

As the Thunderhawk rose on the air and transported them to the human colony on Equus, the four tried to relax, knowing that soon they will once more embark into a terrible ordeal. Soon the whole planet will be engulfed in a terrible war and they will have to be quick and decisive, striking the Crystal Empire before the darkness spread across the planet.

-----

Part 2: Ponyville

The flight across the beautiful landscape between Canterlot and Ponyville had become a routine for the newest princess in Equestria. It had taken her a long time until she felt ready to take a fly that was bigger than going to Sugarcube Corner. She still remembered the first time she tried to fly between the two cities and the dangers that represented a simple landing.

After long sessions of flying practice with Fluttershy and Rainbow, she had finally felt capable of landing on her four hooves instead of starting to roll around and hope something solid will stop her. Not that Rainbow had stopped teasing her about her apparently sub-par abilities as a flier. Easy for her to say. She was born with wings after all.

Seeing the balcony of her beloved Golden Oak Library close, Twilight slowly descended and her hooves lightly touched the wooden floor of the balcony, finally landing on her home after being away for a couple of days. Somehow it felt as if she had been gone for months, what with the worry she had about her brother and the terrible news coming from the Crystal Kingdom.

It was with heavy heart that she began to descend the stairs, hearing voices coming from the first floor. There were laughter and soft voices speaking. Twilight recognized those voices and already, some of the weight on her shoulders diminished knowing that her friends were waiting for her downstairs.

At the foot of the stairs, the princess first saw Spike, wearing his favorite apron, one that had been once a source of shame when he wanted to find himself. Now, after maturing a bit after his encounter with grown up dragons, Spike was not ashamed. Instead, he was rather proud of his tastes. Twilight smiled a bit at how much her little assistant had grown these couple of years since they moved to Ponyville.

Walking into the main area of the library, Twilight found all of her friends present, laughing and joking about something new that had happened to one of them. None of them had seen her enter and Twilight took a few seconds to look at all of them. Her life had truly been blessed for having such good friends and she hoped that the next couple of days will see them alright.

“Twilight, my dear, it’s so good that you came back. How’s Canterlot these days?” the posh voice of Rarity took the princess from her ruminations. The Fashionista had one of her dresses on, a number of purple and jewels. It was obvious that it was a new creation that she wanted to show to the others.

“Come on. She probably had more important things to do than looking at dumb dresses all day,” the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash interrupted the unicorn. The fast pegasus had been hovering around the library as she usually did in this impromptu reunions.

“Oh oh, did you bring us any souvenir?”

“Pinkie, she was called for work. She didn’t go to take some days off.” Applejack grabbed Pinkie by her tail before the hyperactive pony began to bounce everywhere. It was fun to watch the usually preppy pink pony, but after a while it gave them a headache.

“Is everyone okay? What about Cadence and Shining Armor?” the little drake seemed as worried as Twilight was when she received notice of the situation last night, when Celestia’s message had arrived via dragon mail.

“They are alive, but Shining was heavily injured. According to the doctors he will make a full recovery, but he is being maintained in a magic coma until his injuries close.” At those words every single pony and dragon gasped in surprise at the terrible news.

“Oh no, is Cadence alright? What about the Crystal Kingdom?”

“She is alright Fluttershy, they were able to escape to Canterlot. Sadly they lost the city and more than half of the guards there are… lost.” Twilight didn’t want to say the word dead. She didn’t feel comfortable with the idea that so many ponies had lost their life so suddenly.

“Well, what are we waiting? Let’s go there and kick Sombra’s flank once more!”

“Whoa there Lone Ranger, there ain’t no way you can just march there. You heard Twilah, not even Princess Cadence and Shining Armor could stop him this time.”

“The Crystal Kingdom has been occupied by Sombra and I will not recommend you going there by yourselves, so no heroics this time for us. It was decided on the meeting that there will be a full military campaign that will take Crystal Kingdom back.”

“Wait, let me get this right Darling. Are you saying that Equestria is at… well, war?”

“I’m afraid so, yes. In a couple of days Equestria will begin full mobilization into the North.” Twilight hated the idea of her home, her nation walking into the grinder that was full war, but after reading the reports and seeing the portraits of what they were dealing with, Twilight didn’t see another alternative. “We gave up the Elements of Harmony and without them there is no other alternative to defeat Sombra this time.”

“What about the Princesses? I mean, they could defeat Sombra, right?”

“I’m not sure Spike. I mean, sure, there are four of us right now, but last time he sent the Crystal Kingdom a thousand years into the future and that was when Sombra didn’t have an army. Celestia even called Sunset Shimmer for this meeting.”

“Wait, wait, ya mean, ya know.” Applejack pointed with one hoof to the skies, clearly referencing the metallic beast currently in orbit around the planet.

“Whoa, aren’t those humans, like, completely separate from Equestria?” The fast pegasus landed at the sight of Spike placing a plate of cupcakes Pinkie Pie had brought with her, quickly taking a space around the table and taking one of them with her hooves.

“Well, they settled at some distance from my family’s rock farm,” Pinkie said surprising everyone around.

“Pinkie, you never said anything about that.” Twilight was surprised at what the pink pony had said, but at this point she should have been used to something like that with her.

“I didn’t? Well, there’s not much to say. I only know because my sister Maud sent me a letter about humans going back and forth from their ship. Apparently they are settling some distance away from the Pie Rock Farm.”

“Pinkie, what about other ponies? Aren’t they curious about the humans?”

“Not really Twilight. I mean, my family is the only one living that far away. There is nothing in miles and miles around so Maud found it interesting that there was so much movement.” One of the cupcakes disappeared in an instant in Pinkie’s mouth and the hyperactive pony didn’t take long chewing it before going back to the conversation. “I mean, the Pies have been living there for generations and we were the only ones that remained there since, you know. Nothing can grow except jewels so only my great grandpappy stayed and created our rock farm.”

“That is really interesting Pinkie. Maybe I should take a look at how they work on your family’s farm.”

“Ah, Twilah, Ah don’t want to burst yer bubble there but, don’t ya have a war to prepare for?” At the words of Applejack, the young princess almost deflated remembering her obligations as ruler of Equestria.

Ruler, what a joke. The only thing she has done so far is appear in public and wave or simply take notes in a council of war while others took control and planned. Not that Twilight wanted to be close to the battlefield after seeing the injured guards that had been saved from the first attack to the Crystal Kingdom, but it was the lack of power she had as princess of the realm that made her doubt her status.

“You’re right Applejack, I just-”

“Wish all of this never happened?” The soft voice of Fluttershy may have been close to a whisper, but it always brought warmth and no matter what happened, all of her friends stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the pastel yellow pegasus. After all of their adventures and lessons of life, they have begun to pay close attention to Fluttershy and her quiet wisdom mixed with kindness.

“Yes.” Twilight hated to admit this, but it was true. She wished ponies could spend their life without struggle, but the truth of the world was another, constantly testing ponykind and their abilities to survive the feral and deadly parts of the planet and the denizens living in the forsaken prison of Tartarus. “But there is nothing I can do to stop it. Princess Celestia ordered us all to not engage the enemy and that we will go to war against Sombra.”

“Oh darling, I know how you must feel, but it’s not as if we can fly there and shoot a rainbow at our problem like before.” The well-manicured hoof rested on Twilight’s shoulder, giving her some comfort. These would be the days that will test ponykind like no other.

“I know Rarity, I just… I wish there was another way, but all forces have begun mobilization, including new conscription.”

“Uf, it’s a good thing they don’t accept dragons on the army,” Spike joked as he put down a teapot still billowing smoke after being pulled from the library’s stove.

“Ye’re safe of that ye rascal.” AJ slightly rustled Spike’s head scales. “Ah’m not sure what will happen with the farm if we go to war, probably we’ll give some as rations. Is it bad for me to wish Big Mac won’t be called for conscription?”

“Oh, absolutely not, I just imagine if poor Sweetie was called for something similar and I shudder at the thought.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Thankfully dad is too old for the army and I’m not yet a Wonderbolt. If not, I would’ve been already sent as an scout. What about your brother Fluttershy?”

“Wait, Fluttershy? You have a brother?” All the ponies reunited including a young drake looked at their friend in surprise. They knew about some of their families, what with them living in the same town, but Fluttershy and Rainbow were still a mystery.

“Yes. I never talked about it?”

“It’s no surprise. I mean, he is a slimeball.”

“Rainbow, my brother may be a slimeball, but he is still my brother, no matter how obnoxious, arrogant and lazy he may be,” Fluttershy said with as much strength she could in those words which only looked adorable on her.

-----

“Are you Zephyr Breeze?” the young mare asked to the stallion right now leaning over the door frame in what he thought was a winning smile.

“That’s right. Who is looking for me?”

“It has been decided by the new Battle Council of Equestria that ponies with no source of income or work concerning important branches of society, are to be conscripted into the new Equestrian Army forces. Congratulations Mister Breeze, you are now part of the army.”

“Ah, I think you have the wrong person. Zephyr Breeze just moved, he’s now living in Griffonstone,” the mint colored pony lied between his teeth as he slowly began to walk backwards into his parent’s house.

“Now, do not make this process more arduous for you mister Breeze.” As he was about to close the door in front of the young mare and the two guards behind her, the armored ponies grabbed Zephyr and began to haul him away. His screams of fear were simply ignored by all ponies that lived around.

-----

Part 3: Human Colony in Equus

The travel had been fast and without anything special between Canterlot and the outskirts of Equestria. As far as the eye could see, there were mountains in the distance and plains of brown and dust. This was a place that ponies have been calling the Badlands for generations and she knew about them very well.

Somewhere, deep in the deadly desert, there exist creatures that hunt ponies that had been dumb enough to venture into such territory. Creatures like changelings, giant worms, desert manticores, razortalon eagles and many more than preyed upon the unfortunate creatures that made the badland their homes. Thanks to those dumb predators, the camp had some good meat those first few days of creating the camp.

With bolter, flamer and lasgun, predators and creatures quickly understood that there were easier ways to find something to eat. It was harsh life in such a place and every Imperial citizen felt at home at such dangerous place. Well, except for the Cobalt guardsmen since they came from a really cold planet. Sunset knew they will be invaluable in the next fight.

Looking at the new fortifications around the new farms build not too long ago, one of the Mechanicus members of their party began to walk in Sunset’s direction. Well, it was more like shuffling in her direction. Sunset had never quite liked the strange creatures that made the main force of the Mechanicus. They all seemed to untrustworthy, what with their constant operations and exchange of flesh for metal. Not to mention they were shifty and tended to keep things to themselves, but they were needed if their new colony was to be a success.

They had ancient secrets on their hard drives and most importantly, they were the only ones that had the means of making new equipment and ammunition this far away from the Imperium.

“We have been waiting for you Canoness, there have been some changes since the last time you descended upon our new home.” The voice of the Mechanicus member was odd, it had a strange echo, as if it came out of a boom box instead of vocal chords. It was an odd experience to deal with the Mechanicus.

“Give me your report, we need to get everything in order.” The two began their report as the two walked away from the Thunderhawk. Both Chroma and Siivet walked in the direction of the main building. It was not so much a house and more like a big bunker, designed to withstand direct artillery fire. The two Sisters of Battle to meet with the rest of their group while Sunset was busy dealing with the builders in the colony. Felicia simply began to follow Sunset, more or less being her personal guard.

“Yes, the ponies have been excellent beasts of burden. Reminds me of the horses back in Miamat and Tiamat according to the last report in the local populace.” At least Devius Metrat, the Mechanicus in charge of the colony development was from Charybdis, the Forge World close to the headquarters of Sunset’s Order, so the two groups were more or less used to each other’s… eccentricities.

Sunset sometimes did quick repairs on her equipment with just one pray to the Emperor instead of several hours like other orders in the Adepta Sororitas. Meanwhile, the Mechanicus of Charybdis were more into practical and explosive testing than other groups. Since this sometimes ended with new flammable and explosive equipment for Sunset and company, it was all well and good between the two.

“What about our supply situation?”

“Yes, our ability to mass produce enough quantities of bolter ammunition and glorious war machines has been slowed due to the rather ancient industry technology of this planet. Thankfully, the Omnissiah has granted us the perfect place for what we need. This planet, and specifically this zone, is perfect for mining the raw materials needed for our first factory. The assembly line is busy right now creating bolter rounds and autogun ammunition Canoness.” The sheer giddiness in his robotic voice was something that could make lesser soldiers wince due to the sheer strangeness of it.

“What about heavy equipment? Chimeras, Immolators, Leman Russ tanks?”

“Right now we have in operation two Rhinos and a pair of Land Crawlers made with very basic engines working right now on the farm fields. Apparently, those from the Miamat regiment were from farming families and they were quick to work on that menial job.”

“So we only have two tractors and two land carriers, great.”

“Maybe in a week we will have a brand new Immolator if you so wish. Pardon the question Canoness, but is there a reason why you are so interested in our heavy capabilities? Are we perhaps starting the cleansing of this world?”

“Even better, we are about to use our weapons against the forces of the warp. As of today, the Sun of Eternity and our force are going to war against Chaos and demons.” While Devius did not have a mouth in the standard way, she could imagine the bright grin he must have had if there was still a mouth underneath all the steel.

Author's Note:

I gotta say, I love Rhinos and the Immolator.

Next chapter there will be more characters introduced, preparations for war start, conscriptions are completed and many machines of war created for the Assault of the North.

Also, a mysterious tea party is started, something is awakening in the world of Equus. Will the forces of the Imperum be enough to save the planet and the rest of the galaxy?

One thing that I love is the fact that the Mechanicus and the Sororitas have a rather bizarre relationship, with the two working together in many planets and more often than not the Mechanicus never asking the reason why they sometimes accumulate an enormous quanity of guns and bullets. Since they are completely loyal to the Emperor, nobody asks questions. That's probably the reason why they get along so well with the Black Templar Chapter.