***

“The ponies of Equestria have begged me to take a greater mantle, a mantle of total responsibility, and with a heavy heart I accept this mantle. I declare Equestria to be an Empire, with myself as its Empress! And in deference to my beloved Converted subjects, those who have sacrificed much to stand with us today, I shall not rule you as Celestia. I shall rule you as Astra Solamina Maxima! I am the Sun, mighty and resplendent, and none shall stand before my might! Together, we shall assail the humans and utterly annihilate them! None shall survive unconverted!!”
Astra Solamina Maxima, The Avatar of Albion: Tales of the War - The Great Exodus.

***

Canterlot, Equestria, March 18th, Year 1 of the Imperial Calendar.

An army marched in formation, in time to raucous music and the cheers of a crowd. Hundreds and hundreds of Equestrian soldiers marched along the streets, to the thunderous cheers from the crowd watching them march. Hundreds of ponies from all walks of life had come to watch the procession as it marched to war. Pegasi, Unicorns, Earth Ponies… they were all present to see the newly minted Imperial Guards, their armour a polished, beautiful Ivory, march bravely to war against a realm that hated them.

The Guards were the best that Solamina had: the bravest, the strongest, the most skilled warriors that Equestria’s children had to offer to their beautiful Empress and her people. The Imperial Guard were the successors to the noble Royal Guard - they were part of a lineage of service that had watched over the land for generations, seen wars that lesser ponies would have broken in, fought terrors that would make the average pony shrink in terror. Through all of these terrors, these ponies, their brothers and sisters in arms, and their predecessors spanning centuries, had protected the ponies of Equestria with all of their might: they had not failed in the past, and to the ponies that watched them go through the town to the sound of cheers, it was a certainty that they would not fail this time either.

Regal armour shone in the light of sun. The Guards marched on with the same rhythm.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Astra Solamina, Solar Imperator, Maxima Suprema!

Drums played in time with the marching, as though this were some gallant adventure these soldiers were marching to. Bright faces met the soldiers, wished them well on their journey, and showered them with praise and assurance. Innocents were counting on the soldiers to make Earth a better place.

In response, the Guard would nod and shout back something along the lines of, "Have no fear. It will be over by Hearthswarming!"

A cynical mind - of which there were more than a few, though few in the crowd - might say that such a belief was naive. They were going into war, and that war would be… impossible.

The civilians watching the Guard march by, however, believed the Guards when they said that. Why wouldn't they? The entire army marched under banners that bore the crest of the Sun. Solamina's symbol of hope, not just for Equestrian but for Earth as well. Whether the humans thought so or not, this was the right path. The truth would be painful for the human race but one day they would look back on this conflict as Converted and see that it was all necessary.

At the top of one balcony, a stallion named Professor Manewell Trotsworth watched the procession go by, a mournful expression on his face. His grey-maned visage was downcast, and for good reason - his own son, Freemane Trotsworth, was down there, one of many of the newly minted soldiers some were already calling the Ivory Guard. In his mind’s eye, Manewell could imagine the white-steel armour, covered in blood and filth and…

Enough.

Thinking about the danger he had allowed his son to go into (not that stopping him would be possible: Freemane was strong willed, and always had been) would not help Manewell’s fears or quell his nerves: better to focus on those things that he could affect, like the project…

It will work, he thought to himself. It. Will. Work.

It has to.

He checked his watch. In a few minutes, he would hopefully have begun the process that would end this madness - that would save his son, and the sons and daughters of Equestria.

“Professor Trotsworth,” a voice said from behind him.

Ah. Right on cue.

He turned, to see that - as he had expected - High Commander Twilight Sparkle, Empress Solamina’s adjutant and most trusted official, was standing there, a neutral expression on her face. The purple mare wore glasses, and a regal blue cloak of office was slung over her shoulder.

“High Commander,” Trotsworth said politely, inclining his head in greeting. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”

“I am a busy mare, Professor,” Twilight said quietly, a slight edge in her voice. “What is it that you wished to discuss?”

Manewell smiled, a grim thing lacking in mirth. So - right to business it is. Very well, High Commander.

“I wished to discuss victory, Commander,” he said. “Our victory over the humans, and how I can help us achieve that.”

Sparkle’s eyebrow arched. “Victory? Is that a fact, Professor?”

In reply, Trotsworth walked over to a nearby desk. From it, he withdrew a blueprint on a long scroll, and opened it out. Sparkle approached, looking over it slowly. She raised an eyebrow at the title at the top of the plans.

Project Sunstorm.

Sparkle nodded slowly, a grim smile gracing her face as she looked over the plans.

“Alright,” she said. “I’m listening, Professor.”

***

There is an old truism - that innovation comes from war. Perhaps it is because war brings with it desperation - the desire to end the horror that you know is coming - or worse, have already experienced - as quickly as you can.

Desperation has been the cause of many horrors. Often, those responsible for the horrors know full well what they have done, that what they have unleashed is wrong… even evil. But they do it anyway, because they must - because they believe that not acting is the greater sin, that their inaction would only lead to worse horror.

Sometimes… they are right.

Author's Notes:

Welcome to the first side story of the Albion continuity - The Suicide Mission! In which we will explore the early days of the war, encounter some characters you might be surprised by, and learn about the mysterious Project Sunstorm…

Here's hoping you enjoy it all :-)

Jed.