The ponies in the room could only look in shock and amazement as Marcus stumbled out the massive hole that was in the wall, rubbing his now bruised cheek, holding the mystical silver hammer tightly in his other hand.
"Goddamn! That stings!" he hissed in pain, "Why does this thing hate me so much!?"
The lead mare was snapped from her trance and barked toward her followers,"What are you idiots doing!? Kill the ape and take that bratty princess!"
Marcus gulped as half of the raiders pointed their weapons at in his direction. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, even with Mjolnir in his grasp he wasn't really sure how to actually use it to its full potential. The best he could do at this point was to swing and hope that he hits something. As the group of raiders slowly advanced towards him he noticed the rest of them going for Flurry and her parents.
Which reminded him not to piss off Flurry's parents anytime soon.
The group of raiders that advanced on their positions were getting their asses kicked. No, scratch that. Obliterated.
He kind of felt bad for the raiders that had dared to challenger both rulers of the Crystal Empire. That’s when he noticed Flurry slowly backing toward the door that led back out to the hallway. She must be planning to go get the guard, however he noticed the lead mare keeping her gaze on Flurry as well. That wasn't good, Flurry's parents were too occupied with the other raiders to even notice. All that mare had to do was find a right opening and then she'll have Flurry for leverage once again-
'Duck.'
"Huh? SHIT!" Marcus exclaimed as he dropped to his knees from a nearby arrow bolt that nearly struck between his eyes. He let out a breath from that near death experience, but was wondering what that random voice was-
'Roll right!'
Marcus rolled to the side as a nearby blade struck the floor where he once was. He didn't know if he was finally going insane or if there really was a voice speaking to him. He didn't really care about that at the moment, it was keeping him alive and that's was all he needed at the moment.
'Swing left!'
He didn't hesitate and followed the instructions that was ordered. As a result the mystical hammer impacted a nearby raider's chest as a crack echoed through the room. Said pony was then sent soaring across the room and out the window never to be seen again. Marcus paused and looked at the hammer and back at the raiders, who held shocked and fearful expressions.
"Y'all are gonna get it now!" He exclaimed as he struck the hammer into the floor.
Only for the ground to cave in from under him and the raiders sending them under to the next floor. Marcus groaned in pain as he looked up at the hole above him. He looked to the hammer next to him and grabbed it.
He stood up and checked his surroundings to see the raiders slowly pick themselves up, along with their weapons.
'Behind you'
Marcus instantly turned around and blocked an incoming blade with Mjolnir. With strength that surprised both him and the pony, Marcus kicked the pony in the chest sending him tumbling like a rag-doll.
"Jesus! I didn't mean to kick him that hard!" He yelled to himself, "but I guess they do deserve what's coming for trying to kidnap Flurry...oh and trying to kill me."
Marcus watched as the raiders stalked toward him and then glanced down at the hammer in his grip. He felt something spark in his brain as he grinned. Looking back at the group of raiders of approaching, he gripped the strap at the end of the handle and twirled Mjolnir at abnormal speeds.
With a loud yell, he threw the hammer, however he didn't really calculate his height compared to the ponies, so as a result, Mjolnir soared harmlessly over the heads of the raiders and straight through another nearby wall, causing it to collapses behind them. The raiders looked back at the wall and then back at Marcus, who was now sweating more bullets than usual. That had gone much better in his head than the final result.
As they started to advance on him, he almost didn't notice Mjolnir bursting back in the room knocking down a couple raiders in the process. Actually ready for the hammer this time, Marcus held out his hand and caught it in his grasp.
The raiders now started to back away as Marcus smirked and started to twirl the hammer in his grasp, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this."
He let out an....interesting.....battle cry and charged the raiders.
“LEEROY JENKINS!!!”
The grey mare watched in shock as half of her raid was sent through the floor to the one below. The rest of her forces were being decimated by Cadence and Shining Armor alone, and if Flurry left the room she would get the rest of the guard and it would be game over for her. She needed to get involved now before everything fell apart.
Cadence and Shining Armor had quickly gone back into in action after Marcus sent the group of raiders below. The two were glad that he was fighting on their side and not the other. Cadence took a quick glance behind her and saw her daughter visibly shaking and slowly backing away from the chaos. Shining and herself would have dealt with these raiders easily by now, but with their daughter in close proximity they couldn't afford to use all their magical power for fear of catching her in the crossfire.
"Flurry!" exclaimed Cadence, snapping the young princess from her panicked trance, "You have to go and get the guard!"
Flurry looked to the door and the hole that Marcus fell through. Everything was happening so fast that she couldn't keep up with what was going on around her. Not to mention these strange ponies were fighting their way towards her. However that wasn’t the entire reason why she wasso petrified. It was because she wasn’t' doing anything, her parents were right in front of her risking their lives to keep her and the country safe. Even Marcus, the lazy human she had gotten to meet today, managed to suck up some courage and stand up for her.
She could feel the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, "B-But..."
"We'll be fine sweetie!" added Shining as he brought up a a pink barrier blocking multiple arrows sent his way, "But you need to run! If you find Marcus, allow him to escort you!"
Flurry hesitantly nodded before making a break for the doors. She burst through the two and ran down the hallway, looking frantically for a guard that was on patrol. She passed every room and turned every corner, but everywhere she looked there wasn't a crystal guard in sight. Were they all impersonated? No, that can't be right. Most likely they have replaced every guard in the palace. However that meant that the guard outside the palace are still loyal. A sudden shake of the ground almost made her lose her balance.
"Th-That must be Marcus." she said to herself as she ran to the nearest stairwell and descended to the floor below. Once she reached the floor she spread her wings and flew down the hallway toward the source of the tremors. She needed to get to him, so then he could lead her outside. There was no way she could do it alone. The tremors got more frequent until they suddenly stopped.
Flurry flapped her wings harder feeling something tighten in her stomach. She finally came to a door that was barely hanging on its hinges and gulped. With a gentle nudge of her hoof the door fell over revealing the art gallery. She instantly noticed the giant hole in the ceiling confirming that this was where Marcus and the other raiders had ended up.
She gasped as she saw the the unconscious and beaten bodies if the ponies that tried to kidnap her. Did Marcus do this? Did he win? If so where was he?
Flurry then felt a small tap on her flank making her face heat up and causing her to buck her hindlegs backwards.
"AH! SHIT!" screamed Marcus as he fell over clutching his family jewels, "What in God's name was that for!?"
Flurry turned around with an angered expression, with her face still flushed, "Marcus!? What do you think you're doing!?"
"I WAS trying to get your attention. I see now that was a bad idea."
"You think!?"
Marcus just flipped her off and slowly stood to his feet still holding the factory that would probably never produce children now. Flurry's angered and embarrassed expression softened however when she observed Marcus' condition. His clothes were torn and wrinkled. He had a black eye, and a busted lip, which was leaking fresh blood. His hat was also missing ,and there were bruises and cuts along his arms.
She was so entranced by his wounds she barely noticed Mjolnir held tightly in his grasp, while his other held his...special area.
"H-Hey," she squeaked out, "You don't look so good."
Marcus rose an eyebrow and looked down at himself, "Yeah, even with these new bad-ass powers, I kind of assumed I was invincible. Turned out that wasn't the case and got my ass beaten, but a win is a win in my book."
'The only reason you are alive right now was because of me guiding you'
"Shut up!" Marcus yelled making Flurry flinch.
"Well excuse me for trying to be nice!"
"Oh wait! Not you Flurry!"
'It appears you made her mad'
"You're not helping asshole!"
"What do you mean! I'm the one who needs help!"
"Flurry! I will get to you in a moment."
'You know, as a female, it is not wise to raise your voice towards another female'
"Wait...you're a girl!"
"Of course I'm a girl!"
Marcus groaned as he punched the bridge if his nose, "Flurry, I'm trying to be as calm and collected as I can, but I can't do that when you don't listen."
Flurry gave the human a deadpanned look, "Marcus, what the hay are you talking about? Did one of those bandits knock a screw loose?"
"I'll explain later. Right now we need to figure out a plan to deal with these raiders or whatever."
"That's right! I need you to escort me outside of the palace. The raiders have taken control of the whole palace, without the exterior guards knowing."
"So you wanna alert the guards outside and have them storm the place. It's the best bet we’ve got. What about your parents?"
"They’re.... still holed up in the dining room, but I don't know how long they’re gonna last."
Marcus put on a stern expression and crossed his arms, "Crap....looks like we’re going to have to handle this ourselves."
"What!? I can't fight! Not to mention you probably need medical attention."
'The pink one does have a point. In your condition, you wouldn't stand a chance against that mare. However with the palace being taken over there is also a lower chance of you reaching the guards outside in time.'
Marcus cursed to himself; it was just his luck that he would be stuck between these two options. They could sneak to the outside and tell the guards, but that would take to much time due to his injuries. Not to mention that he would be abandoning both Shining Armor and Cadence, just like what he did with..... he paused. He wasn't going to do that again. Marcus gripped his hammer and started to tremble a bit, as Flurry took notice of his strange reaction.
"Marcus?" she asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"
Flurry watched as Marcus clenched harder around Mjolnir and his shaking continuing. He held a grim expression and his eyes were shut, she could of sworn that she saw a single tear threatening to escape his eye. After a moment she watched as Marcus had finally gotten together his bearings and wiped his eyes. She didn't know what happened to him right now, but she knew this wasn't time to be asking questions at the moment.
"Flurry, we're going to save your parents." he said as he walked toward the door.
"What about the guards outside?", she questioned, "There's no way you can take that mare on in your condition."
Marcus stopped and looked at the pink alicorn and showed a bright smile, "Well, I won't know till I try right? Also, don't worry about the guards. I have a plan to gain their attention."
Flurry sighed and smiled back, "You are really something else are you? I can't even begin to explain, at first you act like a good-for-nothing, lazy slob-"
"Hurtful."
"-then you act like you’re completely selfless. You offered to switch places with me when I was being held hostage, and now you're risking your life to save my parents. Thank you."
Marcus knelt down to eye level with Flurry, "Don't mention it. Now are you ready to hear my awesome plan, that may or may not get us killed?"
"As long as it isn't stupid, we'll be fine."
The doors to the dining room was blasted of their hinges as the occupants in the room stopped their tussle and looked toward the distraction. There they saw Marcus standing in the opening with Mjolnir held tightly in his grasp and Flurry beside his covering her face in embarrassment and annoyance. Even the black mare was surprised by this sudden revelation, but from what she could see of this...human....her party had managed to do a number on him, even though he is still standing.
Marcus walked in with Flurry slowly following behind him cursing to herself. He raised the mystical hammer toward the lead mare and called out as loudly and deep as he can.
"I'VE COME TO BARGAIN BITCH!!!"
This is a stupid plan.
Devon watched as Dean scarfed down his third burger and Sam typed on his computer. The three of them were now sitting in on of the booths of the diner, and were supposedly, going to discuss on how they were going to find a witch. However, for the past thirty minutes, it had just been the sounds of Sam typing on his laptop and the slaughter of burgers and fries coming from Dean.
"So..." Devon broke the awkward silence, "Why do we need a witch in the first place?"
Sam looked up from his laptop as Dean kept on eating, "To put it simply we need one for a ritual to help track the thing that's making these people disappear. We would usually ask Cass for help but he's been busy at the moment."
"Cass?"
"He's an angel." bluntly said Dean before throwing a fry in his mouth.
"Don't worry about that right now," added Sam, "unfortunately, like before, I'm finding nothing that could lead us to a witch."
Devon glanced at him with a curious expression, "What are the usual signs of someone being a witch?"
"Like we said, there isn't much since they appear human like the rest of us. However they do sometimes slip up. Usually with hex bags. Which they use to help cast some of their spells. Without them their spells are useless."
Devon held his chin. If these witches are that hard to pin down then, it is next to impossible to save Marcus. Anybody could be a witch, and without a hex bag they are pretty much headless chickens. He eased his thoughts for a moment and took things one step at a time. Obviously witches are female, they use hex bags to cast most of their spells.
"Any other details you have on witches?" asked Devon.
"Well, it's more of a hunch than actual evidence," started Sam, "I have a theory that most of these witches live very sociable lives to scope out their next target. Also they sometimes use seduction to easily plant a hex bag."
"You said sociable lives?"
"Yes. A teacher, therapist, or even a politician. The more contact with other people the easier it is the pick out their targets and blend in."
Devon looked at the two, "Even a tour guide at a museum."
Sam, and Dean who looked up from his burger, had blank expressions as they looked at Devon. After a few moments of silence they both looked to each other as Dean swallowed the rest of his food.
"Son of a bitch."