Several months had passed; An embassy for the humans was established two kilometers from the portal located in the outskirts of ponyville, Pony engineers and scientists were able to reverse engineer firearms and modify it to fit their physiology, discovered Kevlar, different tactics employed by the human military such as the use of paratroopers and raining explosives from above, and finally, Johann was granted the blessing and curse immortality(the first step in being turned to an alicorn, as the royal guard’s field marshal) andwas working as the Lunar Guard‘s Commander-in-Chief. Being a bodyguard was one the things he does best, and now he has 3 platoons under his command, a job, a place to sleep(he had his own quarters at the castle), and food to eat. He had some problems with his clothing here and there but once he straightened his needs with the tailors, he had everything settled and for once in his life, finally felt secure with his job. Though at times, he missed Dusty, he wondered if he’s still back at home base. During one of his shifts, he approached Luna, his charge and asked if he could take a leave and go look for Dusty, a long-missed friend, and fix a few things back at base camp in his homeworld.
“I won’t be more than two weeks; I just need to arrange a few final things back at my world” Johann asked
“I understand, its okay with me; you may go, but do hurry back, here, take my personal chariot, they’ll take you to ponyville, it’s much faster than the express” Luna responded. Johann, knowing luna can be stubborn at times, obliged. He grabbed a parachute and hopped onto the chariot and asked the pegasi to take him to Ponyville.
“Okay sir, hold on, we’re gonna take the shortcut” The chariot sped off into the night and within mere minutes, they were right above Human embassy near Ponyville. Johann motioned that he was going to get off now and asked them to slow down.
“Alright I’ll drop here and you’re free to go” Johann said as he dropped, immediately deploying his parachute. He steered his descent to make sure that he landed a kilometer from the Embassy. He folded up his parachute and left it in one of his caches scattered around ponyville and Canterlot. He was walking towards the embassy when he was flashed by spotlights; he stopped and raised his hands
“Halt! Embassy hours are from 0600 hours to 2200 hours! Identify yourself, take one more step and you will be shot!” a familiar voice blared into a megaphone
“Skullface! It’s me, Ghostkiller!” Johann yelled.
“B-boss? It IS you! Come inside! I’ll get the men, they won’t believe who I’ve found tonight!” Skullface’s voice was overjoyed as he ran towards his comrade and led him inside the warm building. When they got to the security office, all of Johann’s seven comrades were eating donuts and drinking coffee. Skullface and Johann barged in and everyone nearly dropped their mugs.
“Guys! Guess who I found wandering in the dark of night?” Skullface’s cheery voice filled the room
“Boss! Long time no see! Come, have a bite and a drink” the men greeted in unison as they shook the hands of their colleague, they gave him a donut and a mug of coffee. “I bet you have a good job by now huh?” Skullface chimed in
“Yep, I work as the Lunar Guard’s C.O.C, I get a place to sleep in the castle and I get free food as well as some extra cash to keep myself clothed, you wouldn’t believe how hard is it to get the tailors to take my measurements, that led to… awkward moments” Johann told the men, they all laughed heartily, which led to them sharing storied with each other and having a few more cups of coffee and donuts
“By the way, are you the permanent security force here?” Johann added. They all nodded.
“Yep, we got the enough manpower here to take Baghdad all over again!” Skullface boasted
“Im proud of you guys” Johann beamed at his men “Is there any chance that Dusty is still back at home base? I want to bring him here, I miss that wolf.”
“Dusty? Well… you’re in for a surprise Boss!” Skullface whistled loudly and yelled “Dusty! Guess who’s here!” A big, brown german shepherd barked and ran towards his old master, he got up on his hind legs and rested his fore legs against Johann, giving his face a slobbery kiss. Johann laughed heartily and hugged his dog when they both settled down; he rubbed the dog’s head and gave him some of his donut.
“When news reached that you stayed, the dog jumped on the M113 we were on when we decided to work as security for the embassy, he’s been waiting for you ever since. Like that dog… what was his name? uhhh... Hachiko, yeah that’s the one. Anyway, this wolf of yours is pretty damn loyal I’ll give him that, and a painful bite”
“Well Dusty, it’s been a while, do you wanna come with me?” the dog barked and jumped up and down
“Well then, let’s go, c’mere boy” Johann whistled as his dog ran circles around him as he walked towards the front door. The sun was beginning to rise. Did that reunion really take that long?
“I’ll see you soon guys, don’t be strangers! And by the way I hope you’ll notice me by the new color scheme I got, so I won’t have to risk getting shot by Pirate” he was wearing his dark colored clothes, resembling the night as was part of his uniform along with the royal guard.
Johann walked through ponyville and spotted sugarcube corner, he hoped it was open, he knocked and in an instant, Pinkie Pie bursted out the door and tackled Johann to the ground.
“Hi Ghost-guy! It’s been a while!” Pinkie’s short attention span clicked in as she noticed his dog “Ohh! Is that your dog? He’s so adorable! Whats his name?”
“It’s Dusty; by the way, do you have something to eat? I’m hungry for some breakfast” Johann asked. Pinkie dashed back into the house made of pastries and Johann followed, Pinkie had a tray of two sandwiches, glass of juice, and an orange.
“Here ya go!” Pinkie placed them on a table, but the chair was too small for Johann, He sat on the floor and ate, breaking bits of the sandwich and giving some to his dog. He finished his meal and paid Pinkie twenty bits for the food, thanked her, and went for the train station. After stopping to say hi to a few ponies along the way, he reached the train station without much incident. He bought another ticket for canterlot and boarded the train headed there. When he got down at the train station, he made his way towards the castle, though he seemed to take a longer route, going through a park, circling multiple blocks before walking up the road that led to the royal residence of the diarchs.
“You’re going to love it here, Dusty. Just wait and see” Johann cheered his dog, who barked happily while running around him in circles, for a dog of 3 years, Dusty is still as energetic as a puppy who began to learn the different scents and sounds of the world. Ten minutes later, he got to the castle, went introduced his dog to the two princesses, who seemed to simply love dusty wholeheartedly, and got the dog settled for his new home. He took a baseball from his pack and went to an open area in the castle garden. He whistled and the dog followed
“Let’s play dusty, relax a little” The dog barked enthusiastically
“See this ball, boy? Well… FETCH!” Johann tossed the ball and dusty ran after it, jumped and grabbed it with his mouth, wagging his tail and his eyes glinting with pure joy as master and dog were reunited once more. Johann whistled loudly with his fingers and Dusty ran towards him and gave Johann the ball, who in turn, tossed it again. Dusty caught it, and they repeated their game over and over again. Celestia and Luna happened upon them while strolling around the castle, they sat and watched the two play. Johann noticed them but he paid little heed, all that mattered to him now was enjoying his reunion with his dog. And he made sure that that was what he was doing.
“Want to play with us?” Johann invited them; he was getting a little sweaty from running around with his dog. “It’s fun and easy.” The two reluctantly joined, they used their magical powers to lift and throw the ball, and soon enough, they too were enjoying it. Johann drowned himself in the joy of the moment, the laughter of the princesses as they played and looked like little fillies enjoying themselves who didn’t care about the world around them. It was their own island of bliss inside a world full of problems. For once in his troubled life, Johann felt a true calm inside him. He didn’t want it to end.
Meanwhile, in some unknown location…
“We have to get rid of them! Celestia and Luna have failed in protecting the safety of our land! These pests will cause the downfall of our race! They will contaminate our purity! We Have to kill them all! Down with the humans! Hail Protectores Puritatis! “ A strange voice roared. This was followed by multitudes of voices in cheer, hooves with guns were in the air, forces were in motion to urge the society on the edge of inter-racial war.
“Those who join us shall be called heroes and protectors of our race! Join now, and serve in this turning point of our history as a race of ponies willing to protect everything they can!” the same voice roared “I promise you, our race shall not fall, we shall lead them to a brighter tomorrow! Our cause is just and it shall help us prevail over these unclean filth! Come brothers and sisters! Let us arm ourselves and let us fight for our purity!”
Several weeks passed and an unsettling amount of propaganda posters and leaflets were scattered in all the reaches of Equestria. Johann and the two princesses were eating breakfast when they saw on the daily newspaper that multiple acts of violence were being committed, crime was at an all time high, and even more shocking was that the most maximum security prison in all of Equestria suffered from a large scale breakout, all the guards were either massacred or corralled into the cells. Johann cringed at the news. The icing on the cake, was when a guard barged in with one of the propaganda leaflets in his hoof
“Commander, you’re going to want to see this” Johann read it and neatly spat out his food.
“This is not good” Johann crumpled the piece of paper, threw it into the garbage can and stormed out of the dining room, Luna and her sister picked it up and straightened out the flyer, they were shocked by it said:
“
TO THE TRUE STALLIONS AND MARES OF EQUESTRIA:
RISE UP! CELESTIA AND LUNA HAVE FAILED IN PROTECTING OUR PURITY AND PEACE! THE HUMAN FILTH HAS DISCOVERED OUR PURE AND SACRED WORLD AND THEY INTEND TO RID US OF THIS SACRED PURITY BY BRINGING THEIR FILTH AND CONTAMINATION!
PROTECT YOURSELVES! PROTECT YOUR FAMILES! YOUR LIVES! YOUR CHILDREN!
JOIN THE PROTECTORES PURITATIS NOW AND ERADICATE THE PRESENCE OF THE HUMAN FILTH TODAY!
”
Luna and Celestia, both of them being worried, followed. They heard a continuous clicking of metal against metal. They followed the sound to his room. They peeked in and they saw Johann, wearing his battle gear, sitting by the table, loading bullet after bullet into several magazines. After that, they saw him take apart his guns and began cleaning them. He knew that they were watching him, but he was too busy with his guns to pay any attention. He finished assembling them first before facing them. There was an eerie silence that hung in his room.
“What’s going to happen now?” Celestia worryingly asked. Johann’s face was severely grim even under the goggles and helmet, they noticed his grim and foreboding mood. Something very bad must have happened under his nose for him to react in such a manner.
“Riots. Not just two or three, but in the tens, possibly even twenty plus. Im talking about full scale riots, casualties are inevitable, civilians might join this insurrection, and Im not just talking about a handful. I mean civilians in the hundreds, possibly in the thousands, all these events reported by the news were things that no small time crime gang could muster, they’re too unorganized about that. This Protectores Puritatis is no doubt an insurrection, and by the looks of it, we’re looking at not only a full scale civil war, we’re looking at an interracial one. I need to get to the embassy as quickly as possible. The last thing I want is for us humans to send nuclear weapons into this place. I will not allow a nuclear attack so long as I am breathing” Johann quickly explained.
“ You have to trust me, I’m trained to organize revolutions as well as kill anything that breathes with extreme prejudice, and by the looks of it, the latter is bound to happen very soon” Johann boarded a chariot and rode as quickly as he can to the Embassy, but by the time he got there, a crowd of the insurrectionists were gathered at the embassy, a rally was taking place. Guards with ballistic shields barricaded the entrance. Johann dropped in, asked for the chariot to stay hidden, and then fought his way towards the barricade. He was pushed, shoved, spat on, kicked, everything short of being stabbed and shot, he noticed a lot of them had concealed guns. He decided against throwing a flashbang, in this state, any wrong move could spark a bloody conflict. He made it through the barricade once he got there, Pirate let him through. Johann rushed towards the main office and barged in, a conference was going on, diplomats, bureaucrats, consuls, and politicians were arguing in a mayhem of voices. His whole team was also there.
“What in the name of Jesus, Mary, Mother of God is going on!?” Johann yelled. No one paid heed. Johann raised his unsuppressed pistol and emptied a magazine. The loud noise reverberated throughout the soundproofed office. They all shut up.
“I. Said. What the fuck is going on!?” Johann demanded as he reloaded his pistol. A petulant and arrogant politician approached him and berated him. “Just who do you think you are? Barging in and asking us questions as if you own the place? ”He slapped Johann across the face. Hunter-Killer‘s faces went icy. Johann’s , in particular was icier than the rest.
“I am someone you do not need to know, now answer my question; what the hell is going on with you limp-dicked politicians, acting like irrational bitches on their period?” Johann’s voice was grim and very dark. The politician retaliated, “you think that you can come here and shove us around? Huh!? You are wrong! I am the ambassador of America! You are nothing more than an insolent bastard who does not know his place!” He tried to slap Johann again but Johann caught his wrist. He tightened the grip to a point where it crushed the ambassador’s wrist. The ambassador yelled in pain. Johann dragged him closer and brandished his tanto. Avril had a gun trained on Johann
“Boss, sorry about this but you can’t kill him, you do so, you’re fair game for us. Much as we don’t want to kill you, you don’t want to face off against the seven of us and the whole security force alone, please, put the tanto back” Avril warned his former boss
“Fine. I am Johann Ironclad, known as Ghostkiller, former leader of Hunter Killers, current field marshal of the Royal Guard, I am the personal bodyguard of the Royal Princesses Luna and Celestia and at the same time their ambassador. You, will shut up and answer my question before I change my mind and prove to you why I’m called Ghostkiller” The ambassador whimpered in agreement and Johann let him go.
“We’re looking at the edge of a full scale interracial war, we don’t know what to d. These rallies have been going on for the past weeks and everyone’s unnerved. We can’t get a detachment to go home without getting them marauded in their tracks.” The ambassador explained in a jittery voice.
“shit, they’re going to target the places of political power. I knew it” Johann grabbed his radio and called his second in command.
“You heard me Moonshine, triple the guards at every point of entry at the castle gates, raise a magic shield around the castle, double the princesses’ personal guard, and make sure nobody gets in our out without my say-so, I’ll be there in a few minutes” He switched off the radio. His old friend, Skullface asked for advice.
“First off, they’ll try to divide the house, its easier to pick them off one by one when they cannot stand alone, so I want the Embassy to be heavily guarded, divide the whole security force into only two shifts, day and night. Double up the guards at every entrance point, I want every window barricaded, every door reinforced, and every guard has a rifle. Do whatever you can to turn the embassy into an impregnable fortress. Make sure provisions last, if not, radio me, and I’ll pull whatever strings I can to airdrop supplies. Keep your airspace clear, and have a specific pass-phrase for the airspace, the pass-phrase for now is ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum’, make sure that every politician that goes out of the building has at least six guards, and make sure no one gets in or out without your say-so, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go” Johann went out the door into the mayhem and fought his way to the chariot. He went back to the castle and got into the throne room.
“Princesses, there is a panic room in the southern part of the castle, should things go bad, I want you two and a detachment of ten elite guards to be there and wait for me. However, should that happen, I must request the complete military might of Equestria be mustered at to the castle grounds at a moment’s notice. Please have your commanders here before the day ends, I need to brief them about the situation, and please have one of our runners try to contact the leaders of this insurrection in order to schedule a summit in an effort to avoid a bloody war” Johann explained. The Princesses obliged, trusting Johann completely, he had more experience in insurrections than both of the two combined. Johann stroked his goatee as he circled around the throne room. It was eerily quiet inside it. Too quiet for Johann. By instinct, he turned to the top of the thrones and noticed something bad.
“PRINCESSES GET AWAY FROM THE THRONES!” Johann pulled them away from the thrones as they blew up, Johann’s mind was racing, the two diarchs were on the floor, breathing, Johann checked to see if they had been injured by shrapnel, or by the explosion itself. They were fine. He yelled for a medic and for several guards to get inside and keep the princesses stable. He ran towards the alarm and smashed the glass pane with his fist and sounded the klaxon. He grabbed the portable PA mic and yelled
“CASTLE HAS BEEN BREECHED, I REPEAT, CASTLE IS BREECHED, ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS! I REPEAT, BATTLESTATIONS! PROTECT THE PRINCESSES AT ALL COSTS!” Johann’s voice blared all throughout the castle grounds. Johann went to the balcony and watched as troops scrambled and began patrolling the castle grounds, the shield was still up, so someone must have discovered a way to teleport past the shield and it’s redundant magical barriers. He heard gunshots coming from the general direction of the throne room. He made a mad dash for the princesses, the throne room was a mess, all the ten guards were dead, there were seven attackers, all of them dead, the medic and both of the rulers were in bad shape, the rulers’ immortality didn’t help sustaining multiple gunshots, luckily, both of them weren’t hit in any vital areas, the medic didn’t have long though, he died within minutes of seeing Johann. Johann cursed himself for neglecting them. He switched his radio frequency to the one of his personal elite corps; the reapers
“Alpha reapers, come in alphas”
“Loud and clear”
“Shots fired from the throne room, I repeat, shots fired in the throne room, both rulers badly injured, sustained multiple gunshots, I need them to be in the panic room now, I repeat, I need armed escort now”
“Roger that, ETA Seven minutes”
“This is going to be a long Seven minutes” Johann heard hooves shuffling towards his direction, guns were being loaded, he hid the princesses in a safe place behind cover and watched the doorway, rifle in hand. Seconds later, Figures stepped into the doorway and started firing at him. Johann fired back, his instincts kicking in, fighting ferociously. He was holding out but they outnumbered and outgunned him. Johann was getting desperate, and the current situation started to place the odds against him, it wasn’t even three minutes.
“Fire In the Hole!” a pony yelled. A sound grenade landed in front of Johann.
“oh shi-“
Everything went blurry for Johann, multiple ponies stepped into the room, He heard doors being bashed open, two familiar voices screaming. He noticed that he was on the floor, his gun a few inches away from his hands. He saw a rebel officer who was most likely the leader of the incursion taking place at the castle. He instinctively reached for his gun, but it was kicked away from him and he felt a gun butt hit the side of his helmet hard.
Everything went black.
At the moment of the gunfight, Luna and Celestia were in a dark storeroom; they stayed still and remained as quietly as they possibly could. Gunshots rang from the nearby throne room; they could only imagine what was happening to Johann. An explosion was heard from the doorway, light filled the dark room. The two diarchs thanked the heavens that the lighting system in the storeroom was still non functional.
“I want every nook and cranny of this room searched! Find those two, I want them alive!” an angry voice yelled. This was followed by hoof steps. Luna whimpered, celestia cooed her sister. She motioned for her sister to vanish and to stay strong
“Luna, stay invisible, stay hidden, you have the advantage of darkness here, I do not. No matter what happens to me, I want you to lead our people with Johann at your side, if… he is still alive. But no matter what, make sure that you fight to stop this insurrection. Make sure to fight to ensure that you will end this infernal uprising” Celestia ordered her sister, who was tearing up. Luna vanished into invisibility while celestia readied herself. A bright beam of light struck her in the face. She began running as fast as she could. The rebels were on her tail, shooting their guns. One shot her in the hip and she fell to the ground, they dragged her away, she was screaming for help.
“Help! Help! Royal guards! To me! Help me! Anybody! Please help me! NO!!” Celestia screamed as someone injected a sedative on her neck, her form quickly went limp. Luna was still inside the storeroom, hiding from the rebels when they were called off by their captain.
“the younger one doesn’t matter, we’ll get the older one to talk, let’s move now before any reinforcements arrive” A stallion told all the others inside the storeroom. Once she was sure that she was completely alone in the storeroom, she reappeared and sat in one secluded corner, stacked boxes and crates to shield herself.
She began to cry uncontrollably in muffled sobs. Tears flowed like waterfalls.