40k Guardsmares


                                            >Be Anonymous.

                                            >Colonel Anonymous.

                                            >Top of your class in the Schola Progenium.


                                            >In charge of a brigade of Imperial Guardsmen and their support elements on the world of Elenor IV.

                                            >The war has not been as simple as the planners had promised, casualties mounting in the untold thousands in the battles against the accursed Ork menace.

                                            >Aside from the fact that there are damnable Xenos on this world in the first place, the planet had to also be preserved for the use as an Agri-World for one of the Imperium's newest (and only as far as you knew) vassal species.


                                            >Ponies. Such a name seemed laughable, though from the picts you had seen on your data-slate the name certainly did fit their resemblance.

                                            >The only reason that they were even still alive however was due to the meddling of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they having decided that since those creatures were descended from ancestors borne on Holy Terra itself that they were not in fact Xenos.

                                            >There were of course arguments against this, but the Mechanicus were not to be denied so easily.

                                            >Or so you have heard among your circles in the officer corps.

                                            >In truth you did not truly know much about them, or the reasons for their continued existence.

                                            >You just hoped you'd never have to actually ever deal with them.


                                            >Day 453 of the Elenor IV campaign.

                                            >Still be you, Colonel Anonymous.

                                            >Thanks to you and your brigade's daring defense of an important logistics route you have been summoned to visit the Lord General himself, highest of the high amongst the General Staff.

                                            >At the very least this trip gives your brigade time to recuperate and rearm while another brigade takes their place.

                                            >You just hope the Commissars give the poor men a break.

                                            >Or even better, some Amasec.


                                            >The Headquarters of the General Staff is much nicer than even the well furnished forward outpost you had been living in for the last few months, mostly in part due to the static nature of the HQ.

                                            >Certainly there were still tents, but those were around the edge of the base.

                                            >Instead, the center was made up of heavy rockcrete fortifications that extended deep into the soil of this world, a bulwark against any possible raid that the feeble greenskin mind could conceive of.

                                            >Past the numerous checkpoints of Stormtroopers (you still wouldn't use their actual name of 'Tempestus Scions', you were a man of the Guard after all, not some bureaucrat or scribe ten sectors away) and aides you finally managed to attend your meeting with high ranking members of the General Staff.

                                            >You had been hoping that perhaps you would be getting a promotion, Emperor willing, or maybe something else that would improve your standing so that you might further the war effort.

                                            >Until you saw that the Lord General himself.

                                            >WishToGoBackToTheFront.hololithic


                                            >You bow immediately to the highest ranking officer of the General Staff, your life at the Schola Progenium preparing you for dealing with unexpected visitors or officials.

                                            "Lord General Scylfax! My apologies, I had no idea that I would be meeting with you! Please, forgive my appearance!"

                                            >In truth you had prepared plenty, but you had forgot to put on all your medals or put on the /good/ set of riding boots!

                                            >Damnit! The ones made with REAL Bovine leather and spurs!


                                            >Just when you feel as if your heart is about to drop from your arse you hear a laugh that nearly makes that happen.

                                            >"Oh don't be such a bore, young Anonymous! You are not here to be punished, but to be rewarded for your service. Come, stand tall!"

                                            >what

                                            >Looking up you can see that the Lord General appears to be in a jovial mood, a phrase you don't think had ever existed until now.

                                            >As regally as you can you straighten up, adjusting your uniform as you do as he asks (it's really a command, you're not some conscript yokel after all!) and step forward, chin held high.


                                            >"You're quite aware that it was your brigade that blunted the attacking greenskin forces, giving the theater time to adjust logistics and move reinforcements into position, I won't bore you with that —"

                                            >Praise the Emperor.

                                            >"— but it should be noted that despite your heavy losses you held the line, as any true son of the Guard should. And it's not just we who have noticed this —"

                                            >Damnit.

                                            >"But that of the Planetary Governor of Equus as well!"

                                            >Wait.

                                            >"And so, in her sister's own words, 'Thanks to thy efforts in claiming the world of Elenor IV for your glorious Imperiam and in turneth its grateful subjects, we wisheth to offer thy a boon in the form of adding to thy retinue'.

                                            >Alright, now that feeling of your heart dropping through your arse came back.

                                            "Ah... may I ask what that quite entails my Lord?" you barely squeak out.

                                            >Smooth, Anon.


                                            >Rather than giving you an answer, the Lord general merely waves a hand toward the entrance behind you.

                                            >Compelled by both duty and curiosity, you turn, only for your eyes to widen.

                                            "Oh."


                                            >You had expected maybe an aide or two to pad out your retinue, someone to take care of your paperwork or perhaps simply refill your recaff during late-night strategy meetings.

                                            >Definitely not this, though.

                                            >Despite knowing beforehand (however shortly) that you would be getting Equestrians it still takes all of your will to not draw your las-pistol right then and there.

                                            >Four quadrupedal creatures, bedecked in armor that might have at one point been a distant cousin to the same flak-armor your own troopers wore, were it not absolutely covered in admittedly beautiful golden filigree.

                                            >Taking advantage of your surprise, the first one steps forward and bows their body forward.

                                            >And it was definitely not of any equine you had ever seen.


                                            >"Greetings to you, Colonel Anonymous. I hafe been bidden to serfe you on request of der Gofernorness, ahnd I hope to profe useful. I ahm Anstandsdame Razor Plume, at your disposal.

                                            >Frankly its low-gothic was atrocious, but what really grabbed you was that rather than fur and a muzzle of an equine the creature instead had features closer to that of an eagle, bearing a wicked looking beak surrounded by feathers of a muted-brown hue, a pair of bright red eyes staring up at you.

                                            >You force a smile for the sake of propriety and for your own safety; you /were/ in front of the General Staff right now after all!


                                            "It is a pleasure to have you under my command, but, ah, how may I phrase this? I don't believe I have seen a pict of a pony with quite your features before."


                                            >The creature lets out a polite chuckle, its mirth disturbingly human.

                                            "I vould certainly hope not, dear sir! For I ahm not ahctually a pony, but a griffin in ahctuality. Equus, despite der vorld's name, is home to many creatures now under der rule of der Goferness."

                                            >Despite her atrocious accent you couldn't help but admit that there was something quite refreshing about having a subordinate who did more than just stiffly obey your orders and could hold an actual conversation. Still, it somewhat irked you that she was acting a little /too/ familiar with you.


                                            "And I take it that you are the head of this group of... guards, correct?"


                                            >"Yes, zat's right. Goferness Luna sought to mend old vounds ahnd create mixed units of different peoples so zat ve can better serfe Equus ahnd in turn der Imperium."

                                            >Such a strange idea, having different peoples on one world. Nigh unthinkable if you really thought about it — after all, why would there ever be different peoples if one only served the Emperor.

                                            >Leaving such thoughts for later, you gesture to the three other creatures.


                                            "Well, thank you for the introduction. May I know the names of the others?"

                                            >Getting up from her bow the "Anstandsdame" steps back into the line and nods to the one pony next to her.

                                            >This one wore armor nigh identical to the others, save for the fact that her helmet had a hole cut out of it so that her horn could fit through.

                                            >Xenos Studies class (Study the alien, the better to kill it) had only told you about killing the alien, and touched very little on their anatomy that didn't have anything to do with putting holes in it.

                                            >Throne, the ponies didn't even count as 'Sanctioned Xenos' thanks to their Terran ancestry.


                                            >This pony bowed much as the griffon did, though you couldn't help but feel suddenly wary as its horn inadvertently pointed at you, your body tensing in that same feeling you had during your early training whenever someone flagged you with the barrel of a live weapon.

                                            "Salutations, Colonel. My name is Stellar Glow, I am honored to be a part of your guard detail. My talents favor protective spells and enchantments."

                                            >At least she was something less of a chatter box, though her fur coloration did take you a bit by surprise; a deep Catachan-green in her fur, with her hair (or was it mane?) consisting of pink with a single white stripe flowing from the back of her helmet.


                                            "Spells and enchantments? Do I take it to mean that you're a psyker?"

                                            >Please say psych


                                            >The horned pony, which you only now recall is actually called a unicorn, gives a comforting smile.

                                            >"No, sir, our powers are a part of us, and in no way or form connected to that of the Warp. If you would like, I can tell you more about it at your leisure."


                                            >Praise the Emperor! That was one bolter shell dodged at least — you didn't need a ticking time-bomb amongst your command staff after all.

                                            "Excellent. I will take you up on that later, Guardsman," you say with a truthful smile.


                                            >"Guardsmare, sir," a voice corrected, coming from one of the other two ponies.


                                            "I beg your pardon?" you ask, looking for the offender.


                                            >The unicorn steps back into line and another pony takes her place, this one's coat the color of squash and her mane tucked into a blue pony-tail. At least she had the look of contrition on her face as she bowed.


                                            >"I beg your pardon sir, I was merely informing you of the proper title."

                                            >Huh. She has a nice voice. You wonder if she can sing at all.

                                            >You shake the thought from your head, you had to stay focused.


                                            "Understandable, but next time please do not speak out of turn. I am not so sure the level of training you have received on your own world but there are certain formalities that need to be followed. Regardless, please introduce yourself.

                                            >The pony nods her head, still smiling.


                                            >"My name is Mango Blast! If you ever need anything to explode, I will be your mare!"

                                            >You had no idea what a 'mango' was, but now that she had introduced herself after her reprimand she seemed quite lively, more so than even the griffon Guardsmare (does that word apply to bird-creatures? You'd have to check, or ask). You had to actually force down a smile, the mare's enthusiasm infectious.


                                            "Yes, well, I hope we won't have to put that to the test anytime soon."

                                            >You did love a good explosion though...

                                            >You gesture for the mare to return to the line before beckoning the final of your Guardsmare forward.

                                            >Whereas the last two ponies were fairly plain in terms of appendages, with the first having a horn and the second having only what a conventional equine was equipped with, the third was very much like the griffon in one very specific way.

                                            >Wings, to be specific. Feathery things that seemed quite out of place compared to that of the griffon.

                                            >What's more is that unlike the griffon this pony was wearing lighter armor to suit her comparatively smaller frame.


                                            "Mame's wind sheah, Colonel sih. Fastest fliah in all of Bucklyn, at youh sahvice. You evah need any clouds busted then i'm youh maya."

                                            >You couldn't help but cringe at yet another crime against low-gothic as the turqoise mare butchered her way through her sentence.

                                            >You hope nobody saw that.

                                            >Taking a moment to compose yourself you offer another smile.


                                            "I accept the Governess' boon, and I thank you for coming from so far away to attend me as a part of my retinue. I'm sure that I will be safe in your hooves."


                                            >They all take a step back and stomp their hooves loudly against the rockcrete floor before bring up a forehoof to their heads in a salute, their gear rattling with the movement.

                                            >With that introduction out of the way you are given some details on possible assignments in the near future, the Lord General and the General Staff bidding you farewell before you are ushered out of the compound, your four new guards forming up around you in what was clearly a protective formation.

                                            >You're just happy that the symbol of the Imperial Guard is on on their flanks, as the looks you get when you reach your billet are anything but enthusiastic.


                                            >Throne, you need a drink...