> iron within magic without > by Warsmith keagan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter one (re-edited) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Celestia sighed as Twilight cringed away from her, the smaller pony trembling on the verge of tears. “You have a lot to think about, Twilight. I’ll leave you be.” The Princess turned away. With a snap of her wing the Royal Guards in the throne room quickly moved to follow their Princess out the main doors, each one awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the sniffling mare in the middle of the room. Twilight felt tears crawling down her face as the sound of metal-clad hooves echoed through the throne room, and her eyes dropped to the floor as the heavy doors slammed shut. Twilight sat there for some minutes, hiccuping and sniffling, but eventually pushed herself standing again. She felt terrible, and frankly the last place she wanted to lay down and recover from a harsh reprimand from Princess Celestia was said Princess’s throne room. Turning around, she started heading into the hall that lead to the guest chambers. She stopped, however, when she noticed a door behind Celestia’s throne. It wasn’t secured and didn’t bear any symbols that indicated it was off-limits to palace visitors, yet for the life of her Twilight couldn’t ever remember entering it before. Maybe it was a washroom? She could really use a sink to clean herself up right about now. Trudging to the door, Twilight’s horn flashed and turned the knob when she walked into the room the first thing she noted when she walked into the room was that it was so very dark she was about to summon a ball of light at the top of her horn when she tripped over a protruding metal object. As she fell she felt her head impact on something then all she knew was black. Slowly Twilight opened her eyes looking around her in fear. She realised that she was no longer in Equestria. As she got to her hooves and started walking around the mysterious hell blasted landscape that reminded her of pictures she had seen of Tartarus. Suddenly a shadow flitted across the landscape. Trotting towards it she came across a red pool. Suddenly realising how thirsty she was she dipped her hoof into it and raised it to her mouth. Crying out as a familiar coppery tang filled her mouth—‘blood’— she realised, but then again she was really thirsty and blood was better than no liquid at all. Lowering her muzzle to the pool she took a few hesitant gulps but the more she drank the more she realised that it was the best tasting liquid she ever had drunk. Thrusting her whole muzzle into the lake she gulped down mouthful after mouthful drinking down the sweet sweet nectar until she could drink no more. Raising her bloodstained face she looked out at the blasted landscape suddenly in the horizon Twilight saw a portal in the distance. Galloping towards it, she arrived at the portal thinking that it lead back to Equestria she stepped into it. Walking out of the portal she immediately realised her mistake—she was on a overhang on a cliff face. Realizing that she would never see Equestria again she curled up and started to cry. Peturabo The pain was the only thought in my head as I gently flexed my right fingers just enough that they uncramped but not enough that they would let go from the handhold that I had dug in the rock. I had no memory from before I had climbed out of that hole and started to climb the cliff. I started to climb up the rest of the cliff but out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of purple. Reaching out my right hand I moved closer to it. When I had gotten to the overhang I saw what looked to me like a small purple horse. I was just about to leave it when I heard a sob I realised that this horse was alone, like me. Detaching my left hand from the cliff face I gently nudged the pony. Twilight I was dreaming of being back in the castle of Canterlot around my entire group of friends. They were all congratulating me on seeing through Cadence’s mask when suddenly they started yelling at me how I was the evil one and then suddenly they all started glowing with the elements of harmony on their necks and then Celestia appeared with the Element of Magic on her head they then shot the Elements at me. I could feel myself turning to stone and then as the stone reached my neck I woke up. I saw a creature that looked like the things Lyra always talked about—humans I think. “Are you alright?” the creature asked me. I didn’t answer expecting the human to climb away and leave me to my misery but he didn’t, instead he reached out his hand and picked me up and then put me on his back. I held on to his neck with my hooves. Peturabo With the weird creature on my back I continued to climb up the cliff when I could see the top a rope fell down towards me. “GRAB ON; WE HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THEN HAUL YOUR SORRY ARSE UP!” Ignoring the rope I continued to climb. “SUIT YOURSELF.” Inch by painful inch I haul myself and the pony up to the top when I had hauled myself over the top of the cliff. I could see a massive fortress in front of me silver armoured people pointing elegantly made guns at me. The pony on my shoulder curled up into the foetal position on seeing the guns. “Who are you and why do you approach Fort Secunia in secret?” One of the figures said, He was wearing a gold helmet so he must be a high ranking officer. I smiled, unafraid of the guns pointing at me. “Is that the name of this place?” I said gesturing to the fort. “Aye it is and you are trespassing.” I stood up. Even though I was only young—‘How did I know that?’—I stood just as tall as these fully grown men. “Who commands this fortress?” I demanded. Speaking as if he was unsure to why he was replying to me the leader spoke up, “Warmaster Jason, Tyrant of Olympia.” I smiled even more. “Take me to him,” I commanded. “Of course. Follow me.”. As he started to lead us to the fortress he asked “What are your names?” to which I replied “Peturabo”, and to my surprise the purple pony on my shoulder replied as well “Twilight Sparkle.” Meanwhile in Equestria… “Twilight I apologize for snapping at you like that but I am under a lot of— Twilight?” Celestia looked around her throne room but her student was nowhere to be seen. Just as Celestia was about to leave she noticed that the door to the mirror to the human world was open. Feeling a slight tinge of fear Celestia ran into the room. Upon seeing the mirror was rippling she let out a cry of fear. “Oh no.” She stopped as she heard a cruel laughter coming out of the mirror. “HA, YOU MAKE IT TOO EASY TIA! REALLY, YELLING AT YOUR WHELP LIKE THAT.” Celestia looked at the mirror as a familiar figure appeared in it. The other main six and her sister Luna who came running in when they heard the yelling slide to a halt as they saw it Celestia stood up to her full height. “What do you want Tzeentch? Didn’t you do enough when you corrupted my sister and turned her into Nightmare Moon?” The creature just laughed. “I wanted to thank you Tia; thanks to you when the forces of Chaos invade the Elements of Harmony cannot do anything about it. This world will burn and it’s all your fault.” He laughed again. “See you later Tia, oh and say hi to your student when you see her again will you?” As he walked away he suddenly stopped and turned back. “You have brought this upon yourself Tia.” With a final laugh Tzeentch disappeared. Dramatis Personae THE IV LEGION “the Iron Warriors” Twilight Sparkle - Equerry to the primarch and warsmith of the 2nd grand battalion Warsmith Berrosus - Warsmith of the 2nd Grand Battalion Warsmith Barabas Dantioch - commander of the 51st expedition fleet Kroeger - Warrior of the 23rd Grand Battalion Warsmith Harkor - warsmith of the 23rd grand battalion Warsmith Soltarn Vull Bronn, “The Stonewrought” - warsmith of the 45th Grand Battalion Warsmith Barban Falk - Warsmith of the 235th Grand Battalion Warsmith Andraaz - Warsmith of the 3rd Grand Company Warsmith Koros Warsmith Shon’tu Warsmith Ferrous Ironclaw Warsmith Toramino - leader of the Stor-bezashk Warsmith Khr Vhalen - Warsmith of the 77th Grand Battalion Warsmith Zhorisch Commander Zhigo Trador - commander of the 23rd Armoured Company Captain Erasmus Golg - Captain of the 11th Grand Company Legionary Dionor - Commander of the 5th Grand Company of the 3rd Grand Battalion Legionary Khorius Rex - 3rd Grand Company, 7th Grand Battalion Legionary Zhinnon - Serving under Warsmith Vhalen in in the 77th Grand Battalion, 5th Counter-Armour Wing, 30th Squad Ancient Vhakis - Assigned to the 7th Assault Cohort, 23rd Grand Battalion Jharek Kelmaur - Chaos sorcerer assigned to the 1st grand battalion ‘The forlorn hope” prior to the invasion of Equestria Warsmith Keagan - First Triarch, Warsmith of the 1st Grand Battalion commander of “The forlorn hope” terminator company > Day of iron > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equestria the planes outside ponyville "INCOMING" Raising his head Flash sentry peered over the wall of the ruins his squad were using for cover as a Furo grenade shattered against the building the royal guard were using as a command post engulfing the building in liquid fire. Turning his head flash sentry tried to block out the screams of pain coming from the burning building. Looking out over the battlefield flash saw that despite the equestrian guards best efforts the caribou had broken through to ponyville raising the crossbow in his hooves. Flash squeezed off a bolt which struck one of the caribou in the helmet as the caribou dropped to the ground the rest of its squad swung around to face flash and his squad. Ducking his head back behind the building flash heard the impacts of the caribou's strange weapons against the ruins. Raising his hoof to his mouth he yelled out to his commanding officer "SIR THE CARIBOU HAVE ENTERED PONYVILLE" "BUCK, ALL RIGHT MEN WE HAVE TO BUY TIME FOR PRINCESS LUNA TO GET HERE WITH OUR REINFORCEMENTS SO FOR ALL OF EQUESTRIA CHARGE!!!!!!!!" The sergeant yelled thrusting the sword in his hooves towards the much larger caribou raiding force. Jumping out from behind the wall flash begun to charge towards the caribou only to collapse to the ground as the caribous munitions sliced through his chest into his lungs looking around he saw that almost all the royal guard were dead or dying as he felt his life drain away he looked skywards "I never knew how bright or close the stars were" Right before he closed his eyes for the final time he realized something "Why are the stars getting closer? " And with that thought flash died and so he failed to see the 'stars' crash to the ground revealing large metal pods glowing orange with the heat of reentry. Moving closer to the strange objects the caribou were suprised to say the least when the pods sides exploded out and figures lept out. Pov shift to warsmith keagan "FOR THE LORD OF IRON. SLAY THE INVADERS!!!!!!!!!!. FOR OLYMPIA!!!!!!!!."I roared as my wrist mounted auto canon tore through the strange creatures. as the vanguard force i had brought down to equestria's surface poured out of the dreadclaws and poured bolter fire into the Deer's assembled forces before sheathing them in favour of various close combat weapons as my Terminator annihilation force smashed into the enemy's army. swinging my chainsword at them i felt their flesh tugging at my blade as the envenomed teeth chewed through it. The olympian Chimera venom ensured that if they did not die immediately they would suffer for ages. After the battle As the second last deer fell i looked up and saw a cluster of dark shadows flying towards the plains. as the leader landed it strode up to me and my men pulling off its helm allowing me to see that it was a mare and a beautiful one at that. as she reached us she opened her mouth and the voice that came out was as loud as a blastmaster. "MY NAME IS PRINCESS LUNA AND WHO ARE THOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"