Marines Lament

by DracoBrony

Warped Reality Rewrite

Author's Note:

Ill be honest the reasoning behind this story is pretty shaky, some wont mind that, some, like me, do. Part of that is the difficulty of having a space marine Reasonably work with ponies in such a manner, However I don't believe I've done the best i can with this story which is why I've decided to rewrite it

I went in quite the different direction as you'll soon see decided to venture out with something... different than usual. Depending on how its received I'll either spin this off into its own what if and continue both separately or just do this one and delete the other chapters entirely. So please do comment which you'd prefer me to do.

To my my readers I must apologize for my truly awful awful upload schedule. Writting is a beloved passion of mine but for the longest time I have been devoid of both ideas and the pure motivation. It is no true excuse. But I hope it means something.

I feel I have failed you my readers. Failed to entertain and to be consistent. In some twisted sense of duty. I am likely being to hard upon myself but it truly makes me feel terrible that I just disappear for months on end without a word. And I shall seek to correct that fault of mine. Once more I must reiterate my apologies to you all.

Now I have done more than enough rambling so please enjoy this revised chapter. And please remember to comment on what you would prefer I do woth this story as told above.

It was near the end of the 41st millennium. The glorious Space Marines, instruments of his most holy will. His, The Emperor of Mankind's holy avenging angels of death, warriors that cut a swath of mutilation through the battle field in a holy cacophony of divine rage. Dancing upon the bodies of Xenos, Heretics, and Mutants that threaten the Imperium of man in a charnel house of slaughter. It was one chapter, descended, the glorious and revered Blood Angels. The Lamenters, a chapter known for their unfortunate place as the universes and possibly the chaos gods themselves, favored punching bag. Alongside being feared for their seemingly unholy amount of misfortune, the Chapter held the stigma of originating form the Cursed 21st founding.

The 21st founding, infamous for producing an unprecedented amount of traitorous chapters or mutated Monstrosities due to genetic experimentation to such a degree that many imperial organizations outright refuse to work with them, including some fellow Space Marine chapters. It was this that had on many occasions had landed the Lamenters in situations of overwhelming odds. This is the story of one of their warriors.

The Chapter had been on a routine patrol sweep though out the sector. The mighty warp engines had spun up sparking and cracking with otherworldly energies. As deep with in the bowls of the titanic of the Battle Barge Inconsiderable Devastation the hallowed Techmarines of the chapter worked furiously to awaken one of the chapters most ancient and battle-hardened warriors.

The Venerable Dreadnought Stratta Luc'tus was old, incredibly old, even by Dreadnought standards. Having been one of the first Battle-Brothers, of the original one thousand that had been replaced over the millennia by fresh blooded recruits that grew into grizzled veterans, that fell into corpses only to be replaced again. The constant of Stratta remained as he became a pillar of the chapter often being sought out for tactical advice even by senior officers and even the occasional Chapter Master.

The stench of burning incense and low drone of litanies and hymns of repair and awakening filled the room as the Techmarines worked. Sacred oils and polish were worked tirelessly onto the body of the sacred machine housing the Venerable Battle-brother. The Cogitators of the archaic Sarcophagi whirred and thrummed as the equally venerable machine spirit flared to life beeping and squalling as the life support systems brought back the hallowed warrior.

"I wake... Again.." The deep mechanical drone of the warrior's cyberneticaly repaired voice box boomed as mighty Stratta finally woke once more. The Techmarines breathed a sigh of relief at this, each time a dreadnought even half as old as Stratta went to sleep there was no guarantee that they would wake up. "What... Does the chapter will of me?"

The silence that came after stayed heavy in the air for several seconds before the ship was battered and shaken. The hulking behemoth form that was the Venerable Dreadnoughts body, Stratta's famed Assault Cannon 'The Fury of The Angels' was connected to his body through ancient esoteric cables and massive adamantium bolts. On the other side his mighty articulated Power fist, (a rarer more human looking variant) he clamped the five digits together, the machine roaring to life as Stratta went through his routine of attempting each limb of his mechanical body. A small crown was mounted above where his head would be on his carapace. One of the famed, 'Iron Halos'. A personal force field technology able to rob the majority of the energy from an attack be it energy or slug.

The ship shook and groaned more as Stratta spoke. "What is my.. purpose this Awakening?" The senior Techmarine Markellan nodded as the other techmarines set about making sure all the fittings for the ancient's weapons were properly tightened and oiled. "We have come seeking guidance Venerable Stratta, the chapter is soon to set for war agai-" Markellan was cut off as the ships Warp Drives tore a hole in the materium and into the warp, reality recoiling in pain as it was torn asunder. The ship groaned and creaked slightly as its engines propelled it into the hellish dimension.

"Again, Foul xenos in the form of Ork pirates are hunting supply lines in the area, we believe that-" Markellan was quickly short once again as the warp lashed and buffeted the ship. Bolts of hellish energy striking the void shields, bubbles of standard matter and real space keeping the ship safe, of the ship and breaking them in an instant as they had flickered for a mere microsecond.

The ship's monstrously thick armor was crushed, melted, slashed, or in some cases out right atomized while foul deamons and other warp born creatures poured into the ship, flaying alive and annihilating the crew in mere seconds. The walls around the storage bay of Stratta were torn apart exposing the Techmarines to the raw, unbridled power of the warp itself. Mutating them into eldritch abominations of twisted flesh and organic metal that Stratta quickly executed with his massive power fist pulverizing the power armor of the Astartes into a mixture of soft paste and metal dust.

Stratta felt the very room beneath him rumble and groan as it buckled and eventually gave way, being simply torn asunder alongside the rest of the ship, dropping the ancient machine into the very warp itself. Stratta quickly shut his viewing port and prepared himself for death.

Only it didn't come.

Stratta could feel himself drifting in the maddening tides of the warp impossibly unopposed by the horrible deamons that called the living hell home. He could feel his very soul begging to escape, wanting to leave his mortal coil and roam the wastes of the dimension he found himself in. Stratta would not let it. His mechanical body groaned slightly as Stratta was quickly pulled on direction speeding up more and more until it felt as though his metal form would simply me shred apart from the sheer force of it all. Suddenly it simply ceased and Stratta's auspexes noted a soft wind pushing against his hull.

Daring to open his visor Stratta's photo-receptors where blasted with bright light causing them to wildly attempt to focus momentarily. When they had finally settled and focused they brought with them a unique sight. Stone work, like that of ancient Terran cities. It appeared he was in some kind of alley way of some kind. Stratta was no stranger to cities, he had delved into the depths of hive cities, massive man made mountains that reached far above the clouds.

But this city was open to the air and he could clearly see the clouds above him. Perhaps what was stranger was the small black insect like creature resembling the horses of ancient Terra that was pointing a humble spear at him, and shocking him further by speaking in nice, crisp, clear low gothic.

"H-halt!" It spoke, its voice quavering as it pushed the puny spear closer. Stratta almost sighed, he had to commend its bravery... Even if it was insane beyond belief. "By the order of Q-queen Chrysalis, I command you to state your name and busi-" The creature was cut of as a massive crackling power fist smacked it into the wall turning it to a fine green mist. "You do not... Order me xeno.." Stratta grumbled as he walked from the alley to an interesting sight.

A city of luxury on fire. His cogitators whirled informing him that his auspex was picking up other readings in the area around him. Strata stepped out from the alley way the buildings and ground around him shuddering beneath his mighty step. Energy weapons fire peppered his hull, simply ricocheting off of him as he exited into an ongoing fire fight that quickly halted at his presence.

One side, The side he noted of what appeared to be various colored horses, a squad of some twelve to be precise, most with an extra appendage namely horns. Possibly mutations of one form or another, took his disturbance as an opportunity and lay down a blanketing fire upon their enemy. Energy surged through their horns as Stratta realized what they where. Psykers! Combat squads of Psykers!

The revelation simply stunned him, sure the Imperium utilized psykers even occasionally grouping several of them together for various purposes such as navigation and the like. But to do so like this was moronic, even if only using lowest level psykers and to have so many meant that this planets populations must be highly psychically active. Perhaps they were a form of suicide squad? Stratta thought it possible, a last desperate attempt to wipe out their foe?

Stratta simply shook himself from his thoughts as he saw them eyeing him. He gave a mighty booming chuckle as he saw one of the fanciful dressed of them muttering to it's troops. Stratta simply stood there waiting for their move. They couldn't hurt him that much was obvious, even to their minds at least by physical means. He contemplated simply shooting them and ending their lives.

With a start he heard a soft tinking off of his hull. As he turned his mighty assault cannon already revving. Stratta unloading numerous rounds into the bodies of the bug like creatures, shredding them apart in an instant. More and more of the creatures came and more and more of them where evicerated by his rounds. The blaring of his assault cannon filled Stratta with glee. As the barrels became red hot the mighty machine stoped his shooting and charged ahead.

His powerfist crackling with energy while he battered several of his enemys with the barrels of his assault cannon burning and searing flesh before sending them into a wall with a sickening crunch. His mighty fist evaporated the tiny creatures into a fine mist in the air. Strattas underslung flamer burst to life flooding the left over bugs with burning stickey promethium. Screams filled the air as stratta simply turned around and walked away from the decimated force.

He looked towards the largest structure around. A palace of some kind to be sure. With a chuckle he made that his target and marched off. He had only taken but a few steps however when he was forced to stop. An ear piercing screach tore through the sounds of combat the permeated the city. The source was clear, the palace. The shrieking forced the horses form before to the ground screaming in pain along with the voice. Stratta grunted as his ears were filled with the shrill noise and he stared up at the palace before shouting to himself

"By the throne!"

Atop the large castle in the heart of the grand city, a wave of swirling, sickly green energy exploded outward, displacing the very coulds as a bright golden beam shot out into the sky. The explosion decimated the castle Sending debris and burning masonry tumbling into the town below. Quickly the wave of energy crashed upon the helpless town below buildings simply being dozed over by its sheer unbridled weight crashing upon them!

The squad Stratta had been keeping an eye one were simply swept away moments before the building in front of him crumbled. The unyielding tide of ethereal mass slamming into Stratta's carapace. The tide, never ending in its own strength, struggled for but the palest shadow of a moment upon Stratta's mighty bulk. In seconds Stratta was swept away into the rolling tides of the chaos and destruction.

Stratta could feel every inch of his body, both the metal and the biological, groan under the strain as he felt himself being tossed this way and that. In what felt like ages Stratta and in turn the rest of the city was torn from the mountain, sending hundreds of tons of debris hurtling down the slope and crashing into the valley below! Miraculously after precious few minutes stretched out into several life times over, The grizzled veteran felt himself finally come to an uneasy rest.

His mighty form lay back at a slight angle. With a heavy groan in his archaic servos Stratta's mighty form righted itself, all the while his auspexes was blinded by the massive amounts of dust in the air barely able to scan but a handful of meters around him.

'Could've gone... Better' Stratta gave a slight sigh as he tried to wait for the heavy dust cover to clear before he set out trying to find his way to a clear area, and hopefully a way off this rock. As the dust collected upon his yellow hull and his engine's filters tried their best to keep up with the mass intake of particulate. Stratta shuddered at the thought, any future tech adepts he might meet would be rightfully pissed at him for this. That is if he did not rot away on this emperor forsaken rock first.

With a mighty sigh escaping his withered lungs Stratta picked a direction and simply started walking. His steps were slow and purposeful. He was entirely unsure if the ground beneath him was entirely stable and he didn't want to take the chance that it was a ceiling for a ruined building. As he slowly made his way through the seemingly unending debris field Stratta thought to himself slowly. The melancholy tone that preceded his entire chapter was thoroughly at the fore front of his mind influencing his thoughts. Only just now did the unsettling, sorrowful notion strike him.

He was alone

Not just alone but he, was the last of his company. Of the thousands of souls aboard the Inconsiderable Devastation, The mortal crew and servants, as well as his mighty brothers, He was the only one left. Stratta steeled his mind reciting several mantras and litanies in his mind to drown out the deafening cacophony of thoughts that surrounded and bombarded his mind. A solitary pillar of stone amidst a mighty maelstrom. With another sigh Stratta continued his walking while keeping his thoughts at bay.

As Stratta walked the dust began to slowly settle more and more and soon enough, He was able to see the glorious sky above. Clouds floated past seemingly oblivious to the untold destruction and loss of life that lied beneath them. As he looked around Stratta saw the ruined landscape that he was apart of, Twisted and macerated masonry lay in massive heaps around him. The blood stains obvious even when obscured beneath the settled dust.

Occasional pillars of stone, perhaps support pillars or large towers now reduced from their former glory jutted out from the rubble. But everything lied in a piercing silence. Nothing save the very wind rustled about the macabre landscape. Stratta counted his blessings that he was not trapped just to simply rot away, forever a humble enigma in the final moments of the cities demise.

As he stared around more and continued his walking, Stratta noted the sheer distance he had been carried. The city had apparently been founded on the side of a mountain and when it collapsed gravity took hold and sent the rage full rubble careening down the mountain side. As he continued his walking Stratta Increasingly felt a wave of.. He was unsure how to describe it, but it both chilled and warmed his soul at the same time. Spinning his mighty carapace around only to see something that made his mind freeze entirely.

There Standing amongst the rubble was an Astartes, one unlike any he'd ever seen. Wreathed in flickering flames and clad in pitch black armor that eerily sucked the surrounding light into it. Warping the light around it with its very presence the Astartes reached down and picked up a massive section of masonry, an old section of sturdy wall by the looks of it. As the figured effortlessly picked up the masonry they simply reached inside with one hand retrieving a small bundled object. It looked towards Stratta and in an instant was beside him simply showed the bundle to him.

While looking inside Stratta looked up form the bundle to the Astartes then back down several times, shaking his mighty bulk slightly. With what seemed like an annoyed shrug from the Astartes they simply pushed the bundle towards him again. It then wrapped a piece of the cloth around one of the many ornamental decorations that peppered his hull. A piece of spiked trimming beneath a massive 'mostly' decorative sword. From this angle he was able to peer inside with his visor and simply sighed at what he saw.

One of the small horse creatures from before. This one covered in an alabaster color with a pink mane, but that wasn't what drew his gaze. What ultimately drew Stratta's gaze was the way the being glowed. Bathed in golden light Stratta sighed once more running all the possibility in his mind he could think of, and once that was done Stratta looked up and groaned in annoyance as he saw the Astartes completely missing from view.

With yet another heavy sigh Stratta continued his marching on, in hopes to find away off this planet... And perhaps some answers for the bundle he carried.

Comments

[Tempestus]

Very interesting, I admit to being more curious about this line. I look forward to reading more Kinsmen.

Primarch of the forgotten 2nd Legion

[Josiador]

Did you just... Kill off the Mane 6? And everyone else? Well, that's certainly a change in direction, I'll give you that. Is that a depowered Celestia he's carrying?

[DracoBrony]

10815363
Perhaps i did perhaps i didn't. I certainly wont tell before the time is right as for question two same answer. Playing my cards close to my chest with this one.

[Rubberduck]

ah story about the Sad Taxicap-Bois in MLP? i am in!

[Paper Mache Man]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

[clown2107]

If you are going to rewrite the story, you should at least remove the other chapters that you will no longer use.

[Edguy0009]

What you do is up to you.

[DracoBrony]

10815721
The point of this was to gauge interest as was stated in the authors note. Its to see what the readers want. It is ultimately my decision. but i want to take my readers wants and wishes into account

[Venerable Ro]

So Celestia invokes the nuclear option, the city is dust, and a damned legionnaire up and charges this poor dreadnaught with taking care of little Celly.

Huh.

[DracoBrony]

10816003
From a certain point of view. IT was left ambiguous on purpose as to what exactly caused the the destruction. Whether or not I choose to reveal what happens we shall see

[KV2 king of the derp]

Great chapter keep up the great work

[Phantom_Eclipse]

Glad to see this story still up and going? Gonna do a full re-write?

[DracoBrony]

10816391
Potentially. Personally speaking i like the direction of this plotline more the other. The comments seem to agree

[paladinwolf]

I wish you the best on this, I liked the original far better.

[DracoBrony]

10817870
I thank you for that, the original had a mix of a light and dark tone to it. Leaning more to the light. Ill try to find my way to a similar balance but this story was meant to be a bit more gritty

[FridayPie]

Part of that is the difficulty of having a space marine Reasonably work with ponies

Purple or blue guys woyld do, provided they with have psyker in tow..Single marine... very sad creature in any setting.

[TotallyNotAlpharius]

Yeesh how far in the past are that Celestia doesn’t have a rainbow mane? Or did she lose her rainbow mane in that explosion?

[MikiStenbeck]

Wreathed in flickering flames and clad in pitch black armor that eerily sucked the surrounding light into it.

that's a Danmed Legion member from the unluckly Raptorus. o.o all i know is when one of those guys shows up shit has hit the fan H E A V L I Y.