Thousand Son in Equestria, part 11 (Dreams and Reality)

>You recline on your couch, idly chewing a muffin as you think over the day's events, as you remember Trixie.
>As you judge Trixie.
>You carefully shut half of your mind down, entering the natural Astartes state of rest that leaves you aware while your mind recuperates.
>This awareness leaves you perfectly aware of the sharp tinkling of breaking glass from your kitchen, along with a whispered, "Oopsie."
>You check your mental clock.
>Assuming Equestrian time is similar to what you're used to, it's somewhere around five in the morning.
>You scarf down your muffin and don your helmet.
>Apparently pony burglars do exist, though you can't imagine what they'd want to steal from you.


>Your footfalls immediately alert whoever was insane enough to try robbing you, and you hear frantic whispers as you get close.
>Rounding the corner into your kitchen, you spot a white unicorn trying to push the back-end of a butter-yellow pony out the window.
>The yellow pony is flailing her back legs frantically, only managing to drive the white unicorn back.
>Fluttershy and Rarity.
>Inside your home, surrounded by broken glass.
>If half your brain wasn't asleep, you would probably be more suspicious.
>As is, you're just puzzled.
"Rarity?"
>She 'eeps' and turns around, blue eyes widening as she spots you standing in your kitchen and staring at her and Fluttershy's backside.
>"Uh....uh....Anonymous! So glad to see you awake! Did you enjoy the food Pinkie, Derpy, and I left you?"
>Fluttershy's legs stop kicking and fall slack as she freezes up in shock.



>You are dimly aware of the fact that none of this shit adds up.
>It's too early in the morning to care, anyway. Don't ponies sleep?
"It was all quite delicious, Rarity. Now why did you break into my home at this hour?"
>Fluttershy speaks up from outside.
>"Well, Anon, you were supposed to be uncons-"
>She yelps and slips all the way out of your window as Rarity pokes her with her horn.
>Rarity turns a gigantic, friendly grin towards you.
>"Well, you see Anon...it's....a...uh...we're here to....erm.."
"Is this another one of your kind's strange rituals?"
>Her grin suddenly widens.
>"Uh, yes Anon! That's exactly it! We...uh, break into the new pony's home! And then he has to...erm...take his clothing off."
>Uh huh.
>Even in your half-asleep state, you aren't buying that.
"Rarity? Fluttershy?"
>Fluttershy pops her head back in your window, and her and Rarity both grow matching grins, leaning in towards you.
>"Yeeeeeesssss?"
"Go home."
>The grins fall off their faces, and Fluttershy trots out of sight.
>Rarity hops daintily out of the window, looking back at you with half-lidded eyes.
>"Terribly sorry about the window anon, but I'm sure we could come to an arran-"
>You block out her words as you lift the shards of glass back into place in the window, and fuse the pieces back into a whole


>You make your way back to your couch and put the other half of your mind to sleep.
>You had planned to rest like an Astartes, awake and aware, but you are swiftly coming to value the time when you are not exposed to the madness of these ponies.
>While you sleep, dreams find you, creeping into your subconscious like spiders.
>Formless, unknowable dreams of the Warp, filled with the screams and demands of the Dark Gods
>You see them, arrayed against the island that is Equestria, demanding that you, their servant, allow them entryway into this world.
>And you refuse them. You respect them, you worship them, but you do not serve them . You are no God's slave.
>Their screams relent, and Tzeentch, your patron, fills your mind with visions, as he once did during the Long War.
>A portal, torn between Equestria and the True Warp, opened by a reluctant pawn.
>An ancient evil, rising from the dirt to reclaim the lands it once held.
>A ship, lashed together with bones and souls, fleeing along the Sea of Souls towards the island that is Equestria.
>Visions given by Tzeentch, untrustworthy and unreliable, filled with lies and truth in equal amo-
>The ship.
>Ye Gods, Anonymous, the ship! It cries out to you, the bones singing as it cuts its way through the Warp.
>It is close.
>You awake fully, gasping as you draw your mind out of your dream-visions.
>Something is very, very wrong.


>You can SEE it in your mind, the curves and spikes of the living, screaming ship.
>It's coming for you, it's coming for Equestria.
>Tzeentch preserve you, it's so CLOSE.
>You do not notice, but you have begun to trace the curves of the blasphemous ship in the air in front of you, lost in a meditative trance.
>You can still hear it, an endless wailing as alien minds guide their hellish ship towards sanctuary.
>You have to tell the ponies.
>You have to warn Celestia.
>They aren't ready for this, they aren't prepare-
>There is a knock at your door, and the ship's image flies from your mind, the vision shredded as your concentration shatters.
>You turn to answer your door...
>And far, far away, a pair of alien eyes narrow in satisfaction as they succeed in their goal of keeping you blind.


>You answer the door, already prepared to send Rarity packing if she's returned with another strange custom to share with you.
>You are not in the mood right now.
>There's something important, something at the edge of your perception, but no matter how hard you try, you can't remember what it is.
>You scowl down at Ra-
>That's not Rarity.
>A blue pony with a white mane looks up at you.
>A white bandage is wrapped around one part of her face, keeping her jaw in one place.
>As such, her speech is a bit slurred as she addresses you.
>"Trixie iss....Trixie isssh here, creature. You can sstop with the...whatever it issh you're doing to Trixie's head."
>Trixie. Yes. The beacon you left in her head worked.
>You approve of her willpower.
>It is a wonder she didn't race straight to your home, with as much psychic power you poured into that geas when you left her in the Everfree.
>You step aside, holding your door open.
"Come inside, Trixie. We need to have a talk."
>Trixie gulps.
>As polite as your tone was, the both of you are aware that was not a request.
>The blue unicorn trots inside, keeping her eyes on you as she enters your home.


>Trixie makes her way into your living room, and you follow her, idly picking up Gebta's bolter as you make your way inside.
>You find Trixie standing near your sofa, eyeing it warily as you make your way over.
>She immediately speaks as you enter the room, glancing only briefly at the bolter you hold in one hand.
>"Trixie is...may Trixie have a s-"
"That habit of yours is incredibly annoying. Stop using your name like a title and say what you mean to say."
>She gulps again, her eyes widening.
>"Alright, alright, s-shorry. Can Tri-can I sit down on your couch? I-I'm tired."
"Get comfortable."
>She hops onto your couch, and you lean against the wall opposite, toying with your bolter as you do.
>"I tried to get away, at firssht. I kept running, but I'd get confushed and turned around the second I went anywhere that washn't here."
>She says the last with a bit of venom.
>You snort.
"I'm sensing a little enmity, O Great and Powerful Trixie. Before you grow too angry over that, I'd like to remind you which one of us took control of my dead brothers and threatened to kill my friends."
>Trixie winces as that, then winces harder as her wince damages whatever hasty patch-job was done on her jaw.
>"About that....I'd...I'd like to apologize."
>You stop toying with your bolter.
>You look up at Trixie.
"You'd like to apologize? After holding an audience of ponies hostage? After trying to coerce me into killing one of my friends? After commanding my brothers like slaves? After taking a DAEMON into your heart and soul in a bid to end me, NOW you'd like to apologize?"
>Your voice begins rising, and your grip on the bolter grows tighter as you lean over Trixie.



>To her credit, the unicorn stares right back at the menacing gold visage of your helmet, unafraid.
>"Yes. I'm sshorry. I...the artifac-"
"Don't you DARE try and blame what you did on the bolter, Trixie. All it could do was whisper and corrupt. You had to have the desires in the first place for it to act."
>Trixie is still staring at you, unblinking.
>"Fine then. I won't bring up your monsshtrous weapon, creature. I won't make excushes. I bucked up. I lisshtened to a part of me I should have ignored, and you and your friendsh almossht suffered for it. I'm sshtill sorry, creature. I'd like to asshk your foregiveness."
>Such insolence.
>Such arrogance.
>She sincerity.
>You knew very well what the weapon was capable of, and for Trixie to own up to her own part in the past day's hellish events took...guts.
>But she had still done it. She had meddled in forces that ponies should never access, all for the sake of proving herself, of triumphing over a rival.
>She could do it again. Find another artifact, another weapon, and hurt Twilight, or Pinkie, or even the Crusaders.
>She was a danger.
>She was a cancer, a stain in the fabric of the perfect world you had found.
>It would be best if you ended her.


>You idly raise the bolter, and Trixie winces.
>Yes, she did not fit in the order of your Equestria.
>She was a threat, to your friends and yourself, and you should eliminate her.
>It's what Astartes had been doing for millennia.
>It's what Celestia would do.
>That thought gives you pause.
>Celestia. Was it not her who threatened to remove the Crusaders if she thought they were a threat, if they did not fit in to her perfect vision of Equestria?
>Did you not stop her?
>Were you not a Thousand Son?
>Was it not the desire, nay, the very nature of your Legion to seek out forbidden knowledge, to learn and to grow and to improve and change the world around you?
>Were you and Trixie so very different?
>She had sought forbidden knowledge to change her situation, to finally prove her worth to herself and to her rival.
>Who were you to execute her for doing the very thing that had brought the False Emperor's Wolves down upon your world?
>You would be damned to the Warp before you would kill a fellow knowledge seeker for dabbling in powers you could not control.
>You had been forgiven by your friends for your misdeeds. Perhaps it was time you followed in their example.
>It was time you used a little bit of the magic of friendship.
"Trixie."
>She looks up at you.
"I forgive you."


>She opens her mouth, shocked, then winces as it stretches her damaged jaw.
>"T-thank you, creature."
"Anonymous, Trixie. You can call me Anon."
>"Anon, then."
>You lock your bolter to one hip, before kneeling down to Trixie's eye level.
"What's more, Trixie, is that I understand you. I know what it is to seek every advantage, to use any kind of knowledge in an attempt to change your status."
>Her lip curls in a kind of half-smile.
>"Your weapon sshaid thingsh like that, Anon."
"It would. It was there when I did most of the things I spoke of. Speaking of the weapon, Trixie, I have an offer to make to you."
>She hops off your couch as you turn and start walking towards the door.
>"What does Anon offer the Great and Powerful Tri-ow, ow ow. That hurtssh!"
>She rubs at her mouth. All that talking cannot be good for her injury.
"My weapon offered to teach you once, and you tried to earn a tutorship through threats when it influenced your mind. If you promise to me, right now, that you will do no harm to Twilight Sparkle and the ponies of ponyville, then I will be your teacher in the ways of the Warp."
>Her eyes grow wide and luminous, and she lets out a little squeal of excitement.
"Now go take care of that injury. Get a proper medicae to look at it. Meet me back here tomorrow, and we'll have our first little lesson."
>She jumps up and down in silent excitement, and you feel that same warmth in your chest that you felt when you met Applebloom and when you had fun with Derpy.
>She stops jumping and reaches up to shake your hand with her hooves, before trotting out of your front door, still bouncing with excitement.


>You feel good about yourself. You have done a good thing today, Anonymous.
>Perhaps this world was not as perfect as you originally thought, but you've take a step towards making it closer to your ideal.
>You will change Equestria, for the better.
>You turn to your kitchen counter, picking up Pinkie's party invitation and reading over it one more time.
>The party is apparently this evening, and there are some "Canterlot" ponies attending?
>What in the Warp is a Canterlot.
>A question you will solve later. Right now, you need to worry about getting some dress attire for the party.
>Which means you have to visit Rarity.
>Hopefully, she has that 'outfit' ready for you that she was so keen on making.
>You sigh, your warm happy feeling already fading as you ready yourself to be subjected to more strange xenos welcoming customs.
>You step out your front door, making your way towards Rarity's boutique.
>Fortunately, it appears Trixie set off the tripwire this time, and you pause to let her out of a low-hanging net before continuing on to the Boutique.



>You knock on the door of the boutique, and Rarity squeals from behind the door, opening it and trying to drag you in by your finger.
>"Oh Anonymous! I'm ever so glad you came! I knew you'd eventually come aroun-"
"Rarity. Do you have that outfit you were speaking about the first day we met?"
>She visibly deflates, before sighing and pulling you into her dressing room.
>She leaves you standing in the middle while she ruffles around in some outfits.
>A second later, she squeals again, and pulls out what looks to be a very, VERY tiny loincloth.
>"Anon, this is the latest in Diamond Dog fas-"
"No."
>But Ano-"
"I'm not wearing that."
>She grumbles, before ruffling around in her wardrobe and pulling out a white tabard, with the symbol of your Legion stitched in red on the front.
>"I made this to go along with your regular, uh, getup. If you really insist on-"
"This will be perfect, Mamzel, thank you kindly."
>You sweep up the tabard and make your way out of the store, completely missing Rarity's parting whispers, and the look she shoots at your backside.
>"Oooh Anon, you do love playing hard to get, don't you? Well tonight, Rarity will have you all to herself! A little bit of manticore venom, and then I'll swoop in, your mare in shining dress, and save you! You'll have no choice but to love me! It will be so romantic!"



>You will have to admit, Rarity does fine work.
>Your new tabard feels almost like the silks and velvet of vanished Prospero, accenting your armor as if it had been sewn the day your plates were forged.
>It is also quite adept at hiding the hole in your side from bolter fire.
>Practicality and style in one garment.
>You would be sure to repay Rarity in a more solid manner in the future.
>You mentally check your clock. You have a good forty minutes until Pinkie and Derpy's fancy party, but you pride yourself on punctuality.
>You make your way towards the Ponyville town-square, where the open-air party is already being set up.
>Banners and streamers hang from the surrounding buildings, and you can already spot Applejack setting up caskets of cider.
>You offer her a polite wave, but she snorts and ignores you.
>What in Tzeentch's name...
>"Anon!"
>That bubbly, happy voice comes from above you, and you look up to see Derpy barreling towards your for a hug.
>You idly note that she's wearing a nice dress with bubble patters sewn into it.
>Then she hits you, and all you can notice is pain.


>Her pariah aura hits you full in the face, but you grin and bear it even as she tries to envelop you in a hug.
>You give her a soft embrace back.
"Good to see you too, Derpy."
>"I'm so glad you made it! This party's gonna be great! Me and Pinkie spent so much time on it!"
"I'm sure it will be a night to remember, Derpy. Where is that crazy pink pony anyway?"
>"Oooh, she's all over the place, finishing up the preparations. You don't want to get between a Pinkie and her parties."
>Truer words have probably never been spoken.
>Derpy flutters up to your head, tugging on your arm.
"Come on, anon, the party's about to start!"
>You ignore the flash of nausea in your head and follow Derpy's tugging.


>An hour later the party's in full swing
>Ponies dance and drink around you in a storm of smiling and happiness.
>Pinkie stands on a stage, directing a small group of music playing ponies with a fervor she usually reserves for cupcakes.
>The party is a slower, more restrained affair than the barn party, but the cider is still flowing freely.
>To yours and Rainbow Dash's great disappointment, you find that the hard cider is not nearly alchoholic enough to get your body even a little bit tipsy.
>Rainbow has fallen unconscious after trying to beat you in a drinking contest, and you had to endure a Twilight scolding for allowing her to try her luck against you.
>You have not seen Fluttershy, and Applejack has been avoiding you all night.
>Derpy has been your constant companion during the night, having a drink or two with you, talking, and even trying her hooves on the dance floor a time or two, although she eventually quite, saying she was too clumsy.
>Rarity...has been...well...strange.
>She's been glaring at you and Derpy the entire night, mostly at Derpy, even when the grey mare is no where near you.
>You chalk it up to Derpy's pariah aura and continue to enjoy yourself.
>As you recline near Derpy's table, you spot a a glass tumbler where there wasn't one a second ago, holding down a note.
>You lift up the drink and read the note.
> ~For Anon~, in flowery script.
>You examine it, shrugging, before taking off your helmet and tossing back the drink.
>You immediately regret it as fire slams into your throat and stomach, the bite of poison.

>You stagger as the strange venom hits your organs.
>It's powerful, certainly. Almost as potent as Fenrisian Ale.
>You feel the room spin as you stumble to your feet, and you come to a horrifying realization.
>You are incredibly drunk. Whatever it was that you just drank, enough of it got past your natural immunity to poison to intoxicate you.
>You can spot a horrified looking Fluttershy hiding under one of the tables, and you think you see a blur that might be Rarity, but you ignore it.
>Already, you're rebounding, and the room is getting clear again. You hear Pinkie shout out to the crowd.
>"Alright, Everyp0ny! It's time for a sloooooow song! So get with your special somepony, and let's dance!"
>You don't understand exactly what she means, but you see all the ponies slowly partner up and dance slowly with each other, hoof in hoof.
>It reminds you of a remembremancer's ball you once attended, before the 141st Reclamation Fleet launched at the Great Crusade's beginning.
>You smile to yourself, lost in memories, until you notice that Derpy is sitting at the table, her head in one hoof.

>Your smile drops as you look around. Ponies partner up with each other, some obviously familiar with each other, some obviously new couples.
>And they all ignore Derpy.
>It's not cruelty, that you can tell at a glance. Their eyes just slide over Derpy, as if she's not there, and they find some other pony to dance with.
>They're ponies. They are not cruel, not intentionally.
>They just can't help themselves.
>To them, there's just something a little OFF about Derpy, a little strange.
>You know what that thing is.
>But you won't break her by telling her.
>From the look on her face and the cider in her hoof, she's used to this kind of thing, but she obviously is not happy about it.
>That just won't do.
>In your intoxicated state, your mind goes back to your first Pinkie party. You made all your friends happy that night, and you certainly aren't going to abandon that practice now.
>You rise to your feet, the stumble leaving your step as your body works to purge your intoxication.
>You lower a hand towards Derpy to get her attention.
"Pardon me, Miss Hooves. Would you care to dance?"

>She looks up at you, so surprised that her eyes look normal for a moment.
>Behind you, you hear the sound of glass shattering, but you pay it no mind.
>A smile slowly lights up Derpy's face, and she rises out of her chair, flying up to your hand.
>"Anon, you really don't have to..."
"It would be my pleasure, Derpy. We are friends, are we not? Let's enjoy ourselves together."
>She grabs your hand with her hooves, and the pair of you make your way onto the dance floor, waltzing slowly to the astonishment of the other ponies.
>Certainly you are the oddest pair there, and the pair of you laugh at the shocked reactions of the ponies as you cut a rug.
>Derpy's smiling hasn't left her face, and you get the feeling that this is the happiest she's been at a party like this.
>You feel your heart swell with pride. You've done good, Anonymous. You can bring joy into even a Pariah's life. And with the intoxication dulling your mind, it doesn't even hu-okay no it's still agonizing, but you put the pain aside.
>You are so happy with yourself, you fail to notice the enraged look Rarity is giving Derpy as the pair of you laugh and dance. The shattered stem of a drink glass is clutched in her telekinesis, and her face is beet red.

>As the party winds down, you and Derpy find yourselves seated back at a table, laughing and eating muffins as you tell jokes to each other.
>Many of the ponies at the party are glaring at you and Derpy in amazement, and occasionally Derpy flies off to assure a few of the ponies that the two of you are just good friends, and were just enjoying yourselves at the party.
>At this point, you've deduced that 'special somepony' is something like what this species calls a mate. Looking back, if you weren't drunk off that poison, you would have figured that out on your own initiative.
>Still, you have little regrets. Derpy is smiling, and laughing, and enjoying the party, and so are you.
>Twilight and Rainbow make their way over a little later, and soon you have a group of four to chat and enjoy yourselves with.
>It's strange, but you can't find Rarity, Applejack, or Fluttershy anywhere.

>You bid Derpy, Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie goodnight as you don your helmet and make your way back home.
>You have had a productive day.
>You have found within yourself the capacity for mercy.
>You have acquired a student, and strengthened an already powerful bond between you and your friends.
>Tomorrow, you have Trixie to train.
>For once in your long existence, you have no worries.
>Wait....there was that....what was it that happened....
>Ah, there's a problem, right there!
>You don't have any source of income.
>You have no way of paying your new friends back for all the wonderful things they have done for you.
>Obviously, that was your biggest problem.


MEANWHILE, IN THE WARP, SEPERATED FROM EQUESTRIA BY A GULF OF TIME AND SPACE
>You stirred in your warpcasting throne, withdrawing from the feeble mind of Anonymous as you finish repressing his senses.
>Your crewmates had informed you that your pursuers had not broken off on their chase.
>This information infuriates you , and you slowly clenched and unclenched your hands as you sat on your wraithbone throne.
>You idly clutch the artifact you stole from the foolish Mon'keigh Inquisitor.
>A relic of the Necrontyr Empire, a weapon, the only object capable of piercing the Great Shield that the Old Ones had erected around the Promised Land.
>You could sense the Promised Land, so close to you, and yet so far.
>And the only obstacle was this obstinate Mon'keigh witch. It angered you further that such a creature would soil the Promised Land with it's unclean footsteps.
>Soon, you and your fellows would escape your pursuers, these filthy Mon'keigh Knights.
>Soon, you would arrive in Paradise.
>And soon, you would crush the Mon'keigh, and claim this new, clean world as their own.
>You would bend Paradise to your will, and be heralded by your people as a savior, the Great Warlock, Anonymous, who delivered your race a sanctuary from the predations of the lesser races and the daemons.
>You would dwell in wonder and glory forever.
>It was only a matter of time.
>You turn your gaze, and your psychic senses, back to the Barrier. The Necrontyr Scepter was almost ready to fire.
>Only a matter of time.