Title:           A Thousand Son in Equestria, part 24 (Eldar Empire, Finale)
Author:          Sorcanon
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/WMNPeQLZ
First Edit:      Tuesday 17th of April 2012 12:59:48 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Tuesday 17th of April 2012 12:59:48 AM CDT

 
>You had to admit, this was not one of your brighter ideas.
>"OH SWEET CELESTIA WE'RE GOING TO DIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
>Trixie screeched from her position in the tank as you crashed through Canterlot's wooden gate.
>Immediately, the night lit up with shuriken fire and Ranger lance-fire as Eldar snipers struggled to pick you or one of the ponies off.
>"Justy get us OUT OF HERE!"
>Eris is clutching your shoulder pauldron for dear life as Pinkie shouts and fires assorted objects from her party cannon at the Eldar assualting your ride.
>You watch as Eldar Nightwings and Phoenixes wing their way away over your head, making their way towards some greater battle in the rest of Equestria.
>Dire Avengers uselessly turn their shuriken catapaults upon your Prism as you drive it relentlessly towards Canterlot Castle.
>You're going to park this xenos craft right in the Equestrian throne room.
"Eris, Pinkie, Trixie, tighten your grips. I do not know how to land xenos-craft."
>The only sound that greets your ears is screams of fear and Pinkie's deranged laughing as the Fire Prism cracshes into the stairs leading up the Equestrian Royal Court.
 
 
>Pinkie is sent tumbling from the craft, and you reach out to grab her by her puffy pink tail before she can crash to the ground.
>She turns those bright blue eyes on you, grinning from ear to ear.
>"Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh that was amazing! We've gotta do it again!"
>Eris floats out, tumbling from the recoil, before reaching out and grabbing your helmet.
>"Justy."
"Eris."
>"If we ever do that again, I'm going to turn your bolt rounds into cotton candy."
>Pinkie giggles, and you crack a smile where she can't see it.
"I don't doubt i-"
>"BLUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEERGH."
>You turn your head in surprise as you spot Trixie vomiting over the side of the Prism, her hooves held to the wrecked tank by Warp magic.
>She looks up at you blearily.
>"Trixie has decided that she does not like humans. You all scheme to make me vomit."
"Stop horsing around and get out of the tank."
>All three xenos look at you in shock and horror.
>"Did he just..."
>"Was that a jo-"
>You drop Pinkie and start ascending the stairs.
"You can debate on my sense of humor and get overrrun by Eldar, or come with me and kill the Farseer."
>They look at each other, still horrified, before racing up the stairs after you.
 
 
>You keep your blade out and bolter at the ready as you ascend the stairs.
>Your feeble psychic senses can detect Eldar everywhere, in the shadows, on the ceiling, even behind the walls.
>They cling like spiders, watching and waiting.
>Striking Scorpions, the assassins of the Eldar Path.
>They wait, and they watch, but they do not strike.
>You can already guess why.
>The Farseer must want you to himself.
>You ignore the Eldar watching you, brazenly making your way up the marble stairs and the door to Celestia's court.
"Pinkie, keep that cannon ready. Eris, the Farseer is a Warp abomination, like the Boss. Be prepared for lightning. Trixie.....I really can't find a use for filthy Chaos loving xenos, other than corp-"
>"Justy."
>You sigh.
"Trixie, watch our backs."
>Trixie scowls at you, while Pinkie giggles darkly, hooves already on her cannon.
>Eris floats at your back as you shove the door to the throne open.
>And meet the barrels of four brightlance cannons, courtesy of the Wraithlords bent to their knees to aim at you.
 
 
>The sight is so startling that you almost do not notice the seven Dire Avengers pointing weapons at your face.
>You dare not fire.
>You might be able to slay the Avengers with ease, but the Wraithlords would tear you into four pieces the second you mo-
>The Wraithlords withdraw, easing up into standing positions at the side of the room.
>The Dire Avengers lower their cannons and back away, giving you unobstructed view of the throne.
>The Farseer does not sit their.
>An Eldar Autarch reclines on the throne, fingering the wraithbone of his diresword and staring at you.
>Luna and Celestia are no where in sight.
>"Well, well, well. The Mon'keigh who slew my Kin, before me in the flesh."
"I have business with your Farseer, xenos scum. Where is he?"
>The Eldar casually taps his blade as he looks at you, Eris, and the two ponies.
>"And I have business with you, ape. But to answer your query...he is gone, mon'keigh. One of his visions have taken his attention elsewhere."
>The eye slits in his helmet narrow.
>"Taken his attention elsewhere, when a mon'keigh killer arrives on this planet, and monstrosities arise from the Everfree to plague our dominion in Ponyville. I find that suspicious."
>Pinkie stiffens behind you, and you can faintly feel her fear for her friends.
>"Wha...what's happening in Ponyville? And where are the Princesses!?"
>The Autarch ignores her. He has eyes only for you. You know what those eyes mean.
"Eris. Take Trixie and Pinkie. Find Luna, and find the Farseer."
>"Justy, wha-?"
"Just go."
 
 
>Eris recognizes your tone and grabs the other two.
>"Let's get outta here. We need to find your Princesses and rescue your friend. Justicar can take this freak."
>The three of them hustle out of the room, turning a corner to enter the castle proper.
>Not a single Eldar raises a hand against them.
"Why-?"
>"I do not concern myself with the machinations of animals. I am interested in two things. The advancement of my craftworld, and vengeance for my Kin."
"Your 'Kin,' alien? You mean that pathetic excuse for a warrior that I took apart in 'Ponyville?"
>"Pathetic enough to have marked you in four places with her blades before her death. Your blood reeks of filth, mon'keigh."
>He rises from his seat, diresword in hand. You see another on his back, but he has not yet drawn it.
>"It will be a shame to defile this palace by sp-"
>You don't give him time to finish, snapping your arm up and spraying him with bolts.
>He is already moving as your arm comes up.
 
Music:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoWNYzwDYvs
>You look up, raising your arm to fire on the Autarch as his leap carries him nearly all the way to the castle ceiling.
>You can only watch in horror as he twists and weaves between the endless storm of your bolts, coming down at you like lightning from the heavens.
>Your blade arm rises to meet his....
>Too slow, it's all too slow. The wounds you took in Tartarus, the blade in your kidney, your pain slows you down just enough.
>His diresword bites into your shoulder, and you cry out in pain as an Eldar spirit screams into your mind.
>He kicks off your chest, firing his shuriken pistol into your body as you chase him with your blade.
>Daemon blade clashes against Diresword with a clang and a wail as spirit battles daemon.
>Your blades flash like lightning, and you struggle to keep pace with the Eldar warlord as he dances around you.
>Small strikes, jabs and cuts, bleed you like a wounded boar as he circles you, and you feel your mind assaulted by the diresword's spirit.
>"Come, child of the Emperor. Surely you can provide me a better dance than this?"
>You roar and whirl, bringing your blade down on him as he slides once more to the side.
>You shout as you score a hit, cutting him across the arm as he dives out of the way.
>He flips back to dodge your return stroke, his blade kissing your spine as he recovers.
>"Better. But not enough."
>He has 28,000 years of experience on you.
>But it doesn't matter. You just have to keep him busy.
>Keep him busy long enough for Eris to help those damned xenos and gain her vengeance, than make her escape.
>Your life was over the day your bothers died. You can think of no nobler cause than giving what's left of you in service to a friend.
>The Eldar tenses, and dashes at you in a blur of speed.
>Your blades clash, and the dance begins again.
 
Trixie's Perspective
>You are sick, tired, and pretty scared.
>You've just finished vomiting out your lunch, and now you're racing through Canterlot castle with a crazed pink party pony and Discord.
>Discord's daughter, whatever.
>The three of you run from room to room, terrified of the Eldar that casually stalk you as you search for the Princess.
>"PRINCESS LUNA!"
>Pinkie shouts out her lungs as the three of you run, desperately looking for the princess.
>You round three corners, shouting your lungs out, until you come upon the Canterlot Royal Gardens.
>And find Luna sitting in the statues, staring at the moon.
"Luna!?"
>She jumps, startled, before turning to look at you three.
>"Pinkie Pie? Anon's ma-Trixie? And-"
>Her expression grows stony as she spots Eris, before she rises to her hooves.
>Eris grins at her.
>"Long time, no see, blueberry. Didya miss me?"
 
 
>Luna grimaces a bit, before regrowing her stoneface.
>"....Eris. How are you.....you should be in..."
>Eris' grin grows cold.
>"I should be in Tartarus? Well, no thanks to you, I got out, finally. A friend of mine is to thank for that."
>"Your friend must be foolish. Chaos could...."
>"My FRIEND is currently fighting to keep us all safe so Trixie and Pinkie here can get their friend out of the Moon. What'd you banish him for? Wearing the wrong type of hat to a party?"
>"We didn't ba-"
"ENOUGH."
>The volume of your voice startles even you as you glare at your Princess and the draconequus.
>But you don't back down.
"We don't have time for this! Eris' friend is fighting to keep the Eldar king off of us, and you two bicker like children! Luna, where is your sister!? The two of you need to let Anonymous out of the moon!"
>Luna's face grows ashen.
>"Celly is....the Farseer took her and Twilight when he left."
"Buck it, then! Let him out yourself!"
>"I...I"m afraid I can't."
 
 
>You stare at Luna in shock, your mouth open, when Pinkie speaks up.
>"Whaddya mean, can't!? You're the Moon Princess, aren't you? Shake up the moon and drop him out!"
>Luna is already shaking her head.
>"I am afraid it does not work that way, miss Pie. Otherwise, I would have freed myself the moment after I went mad. It took me centuries to recover enough from my imprisonment to release myself. I had to nurse my hate, my desire to change my prison and free myself, to escape."
>"We don't BUCKING have centuries!"
>"We don't even have minutes! Justy could be dying in there!"
>Eris and Luna begin to shout at each other, while Pinkie adds her two cents.
>You begin to think.
>The desire to change....
"Princess."
>She's still shouting at Eris, and you feel your hat fly free as she uses the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"LUNA!"
>"AND FURTHERMORE, THOU WOULD NOT HA-Huh?"
"You're telling me that you needed willpower, and desire, to escape? You had to want it bad enough to draw the power out?"
>"Yes, Trixie. Frankly, I don't know how Farseer escaped."
"I have an idea. Anon let himself be imprisoned, to keep us, his friends, safe. What Anonymous needs now is the motivation to come back."
 
 
>Eris, Pinkie, and Luna stare at you in confusion.
>Pinkie breaks the shocked silence.
>"Uh...Trixie? He's trapped in the bucking moon? What more motivation does he need!?"
>He needs to know that he failed."
>Their noses scrunch up in confusion.
"He needs to know what we're not safe. That his sacrifice didn't keep the Eldar away. That we still need him."
>They're still staring, and you sigh in exasperation.
"Must Trixie do everything!? Come here."
>You reach out and grab Luna and Eris. You need their power to do this.
>You open yourself to the Warp.
>You reach out and touch Pinkie.
>And Twilight, and Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.
>You reach out and grab Fluttershy's mind, and Rarity's, and Luna's, and the vast ocean of strength that is Celestia.
>Your eyes glow white as you touch so many thoughts at once, so many minds.
>You ball up those thoughts, and hurl them through the Warp.
>Straight to the Moon.
 
Anonymous' Perspective
>All is darkness.
>All is quiet and at rest.
>Nothing changes on the moon.
>You see only night. You smell only dust. You feel only the rock crust of the Moon as it entombs you. You hear nothing. Taste nothing.
>Nothing changes. Nothing grows or evolves or mutates or advances or regresses.
>You hate it here. You hate it more than anything. More than you hate the False Emperor himself.
>But you are content. Because your friends are safe. Finally safe. The Eldar will be satisfied with your sacrifice. You have suffered to see them safe.
>Time passes on the moon, but you have no way of judging how much.
>It could have been minutes, it could have been centuries. All is the same to you.
>Madness finds you here, and you scream inside your head for what could have been years before falling silent.
>Madness passes, and you hear the laughter of your God in your ears.
>Then you hear nothing, once more.
>The only way you have to recognize the passage of time is when your student contacts your mind.
>And fills it full of visions.
 
Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NbyUtARW6I
>You feel Trixie's mind on your own as she batters at your consciousness, struggling to reach you.
>And then you SEE.
>You see from the eyes of Rarity as she is enslaved, forced to do the Eldar's bidding.
>You see Applejack and Rainbow Dash as they defend the farm, and the Crusaders, against an Eldar general.
>You see as Twilight is mind controlled, used as a bargaining chip by the Farseer.
"no...."
>You see as Fluttershy is imprisoned by the Eldar, held captive in her own home.
>You see the Princesses, forced to serve the Eldar by the threat of Twilight's death.
>You see Pinkie stabbed by an Eldar Exarch.
"No..."
>You hear Trixie's voice, as she tells you that no one has seen Derpy since you disappeared.
>That she is probably already dead.
>You feel the laughter of your God as he shows you the fate of the world you left behind.
"NO."
>You flex your arm, your fingers twitching beneath the thin skin of stone that keeps you trapped on the Moon's surface.
>You speak, hurling your words into the uncaring void.
"No. Tzeentch be damned, fate be damned, I will not allow this!"
>You wrench your arm, shattering stone as you gather the Warp around yourself.
"THIS WILL NOT COME TO PASS."
>Lightning flares on the moon's surface, unstable warp energy roiling around you as you tear yourself free.
>And launch yourself down to Equestria, a star torn free from Heaven's grasp.
 
Autarch's Perspective
>You slam your blade home into the Grey mon'keigh's stomach, grimacing as you keep your foot in the crook his left arm.
>His right is already pinned by your other blade, and he grunts in pain as you impale him.
>Disgusting creatures. Your jump pack had already been damaged beyond repair, wings torn off by his blade.
>It came close to piercing your mask of indifference, but you were composed.
>"Filthy....xenos......always...you try to steal.....mankind's place in the stars."
>You grind the blade in it's stomach, and it howls in pain.
"Be silent, ape. The stars once lived and died at our command. They will do so again."
>"Thieves...nothing but thieves....your Farseer....filthy thief....stole...artifact...Necontyr."
>WHAT?
>You slip your fingers into his gorget and lift his armored torso, glaring down into his eyes.
"What did you say he stole, Mon'keigh?
WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"
>In answer, he begins to laugh.
>And then you see it.
>Light, bright, burning light, filling the stained glass windows of the pony's court.
>Impact. Fire and pain and more light.
>When your eyes clear, you spot another mon'keigh, armored in red.
>Warp energy boils off of him like heat from a fire, and you lift your eyes to shield them as he looks at you, lightning crackling in his armored fingers.
>Light flashes once more.
>You know pain.
 
FARSEER'S PERSPECTIVE
>Everything was back on track.
>Your sister was dead.
>The bulk of your craftworld's militia was concetrated on Ponyville, waging war on the misguided monster's legions of the walking dead.
>Your brother's agony resonated through the Warp, and you noted with distaste that the Sorcerer was free.
>No matter.
>You pull the Necrontyr scepter from your robes, smiling as you note the green, pulsing glow that lights the scepter.
>Celestia turns her head to look at the moon.
>She sensed it too. Her fear resonated in the Warp.
>"I...Farseer I did not do this....please, don't harm Twilight!"
>She's begging you.
>How pathetic.
"I am a generous lord, Celestia. I will not punish you for what is beyond your control. Now come, lead me to the Palace.
>LEAD ME TO ANARIS.
>She bows, and she and Twilight lead the way, trotting ahead of you.
>Deeper into the Everfree Forest.
 
 
>The two ponies take you through the dark woods, cantering over a broken down bridge, until they lead you to a dark ruin.
>A twisted stone castle, a rotting tower.
>They lead you before the resting place of their greatest weapons, these "Elements of Harmony."
>Celestia withdraws, staying close to the silent, mind-controlled Twilight.
>You put your hand out to the massive orb in the center, and you feel the heat in the Warp as the weapon trapped within senses your presence.
>The presence of a being born to wield it.
>You leave it trapped in the stone.
"Celestia?"
>"Yes, Farseer? Is this enough, finally? Are we free."
"Not yet. Tell me, what did you know of the Old Ones?"
>"They made us. My sister and I, and the ponies. And you say they made you, as well. They made us to live in harmony, Farseer. They were wise, and just, and compassionate, and powerf-"
"They were failures, Celestia."
 
 
>She recoils in shock.
>"But, Farseer, your race, your culture, they were formed around the teachings of the Old Ones. The Autarch, in court....when you two argued...he referenced them like Gods...."
>You whirl on her, robes slithering around you.
"Because he and his ilk worship them like Gods, Celestia. The Gods who made us, who left us to the horrors of the Fall. Who made war on an enemy they could not defeat, and left us to clean up after their mess."
>You clench your fist as you advance on the Princess.
"They made us, the Eldar and the Orks, as nothing but weapons, flawed tools to hurl at the silent doom they dare not give name to. They made us to kill and to die, consumed by our flaws. The Orks in eternal war, the Eldar in their passions and their madness. Madness we cannot control, only hope to contain."
>You rise above her, looming, the scepter clenched in your remaining hand.
"I see the future, Celestia. All dimensions, all possible outcomes are open to me. This weapon, this Dawnlight Blade that my world so seeks, it would make us relevant again. With this weapon, we Eldar might reverse our decline. We might leave our positions as the regulators, the ones who preserve the balance of power."
>Your eyes flash.
"We might have meaning again. We might reverse our decline."
>"Then wh-"
"Because we will Fall again. It is inevitable. An unstoppable cycle coded into our makeup as a race. And so I reject that option, Celestia."
>Your can feel Celestia eye you with real fear in her eyes as you continue.
"I reject an Eldar victory, Celestia. I reject the Old Ones."
 
 
>"You are mad. Why would you-"
"Turn on my own people? Turn on our teachings and our history? Because it is a joke, Celestia, a foul jest played on the creations by their creators."
>Celestia's eyes are widening by the moment as she begins to realize your implications.
>"Your brother...the other Eldar..."
"Know nothing of this. My brother is in the process of being torn to pieces, my sister is already dead, and the incompetent Guardians I handpicked for this invasion are being torn apart by the risen dead. Every single competent military asset my species has on this world is being redirected to Ponyville."
>"Why!? What could poss-"
"So that they cannot ruin this moment. Damn the Old Ones, Celestia. Damn the Paths of the Eldar. I reject it all. I reject the Paths, I reject Chaos, I reject the Warp, I reject mortality itself. I serve a higher power, now. One that ruled the galaxy once before, and will rule it again. I deliver unto them vengeance upon the Old One's greatest creation. I deliver them Equestria."
>"You're a madman! A monster! You betray your own people to die at the hands of an Everfree monster!? You leave your brother to die!? Anonymous will be coming for you, Farseer! The Elements will come to rescue Twilight! My Sister will come! You will lose this little game, Farseer!"
>The Princess stomps a hoof on the ground, regaining her regal spine in the face of your scheme's revelation.
>You savor the moment, the dignified sneer on her face as she regards you.
>And then you lift the scepter.
"My dear Celestia, the game is already over. And I have won."
>You activate the scepter.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NACWZBDtN8
>The scepter sent out the signal as you activated it.
>It fulfills it's final purpose. It had burrowed through the Old One's Barrier, paving the road.
>Now it signals to it's masters that it is time to arrive.
>A doorway opens itself up in the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters.
>A doorway that pierces space, and time, bringing forth guests from hundreds of light years away in the span of an instant.
>The bridge passed narrowly through the hole in Equestria's shield, an invention of science so arcane it made your warp-mastery look like cheap tricks.
>You bow, falling to your knees in supplications as your Lord steps through.
>He towers over you, his regal head scraping the ceiling. A staff of living metal is clutched in one skeletal, metallic hand.
>You see only the shining necrodermis of his feet as you offer supplication.
>You hear the whirr and clicking of metal as your Lord's guard fall into place around him.
>And then you hear his voice. Cold and emotionless as the grave.
>His words sear themselves into your mind as you abase yourself, grateful to be given notice that does not end in death.
>Celestia weeps, to hear him speak.
>Twililght cries, the only act your control can grant her.
>"Rejoice, children of the Old Ones. We have returned, and all your days are at an end."