Several nerve wracking hours have passed. Johann was pacing the corridor frantically, Crosser and his team of surgeons was busy with Luna, operating of her table, when he tried to peek inside the door windows, all he could see was Luna’s head, her muzzle covered by a mask that kept a steady flow of oxygen and anesthetic. At sight, he knew Luna was breathing. That gave him some comfort, but he could not see farther than that. The room had to be sealed off to provide a sterile environment.
“Alright, we have marked her body, there’s xrays to guide you throughout the operation. Are we ready?”
“ready, run the final checklist” Answered another
“Breathing rate?” Crosser began
“Stable, check” a nurse answered, Crosser began ticking items off the list
“Consciousness?”
“Anesthetized. She’ll be out cold for the operation. She wont feel a thing, team 2 is ready to bring her back when needed”
“Okay, Pulse rate?”
“Stable according to the book of Pony anatomy.”
“Blood Pressure?”
“Stable according to the book”
“Body Temperature?”
“Stable. We’re ready to go.”
“Alright, we open on my mark” Crosser looked at the window and saw Johann’s worried face, he gave him a thumbs up and made the sign of the cross. Lord, don’t make me screw up. Crosser mouthed. “alright, 3, 2, 1, make incision!” as the scalpel traced along the lines that ran along luna’s inner flank. Revealing red flesh and bullets where they had lodged.
“Dear god, that’s a lot of lead… remember, take them out, and scrub the area clean” Crosser began as he drew the surgical forceps into one particular wound that lay dangerously close to Luna’s intestines. After that, he dabbed the area of which the bullet had lodged itself to further clean the channel wound. They repeated the process for the next three hours, the surgeons took shifts, as two of them worked, the others rested. The operating room was filled with the repeated sound of metal clacking as the bullets were extracted and dropped to metal collection trays. By the time they were done, they had collected at least thirty-five bullets. Dear god, How did she survive the hydrostatic shock of at least thirty gunshots? No one… nothing’s ever done that… Crosser told himself as he marveled at the resilience of the young diarch. They had cleaned the incision made and were now suturing it shut. Crosser personally handled the suturing, his needlework was exceptional, some of the finest in the world. When he was done, the incision was barely noticeable. Crosser didn’t even bother scrubbing himself in when he went out and looked at Johann with a smile and a bloody scrubsuit. Johann felt a huge wave of relief wash over him at that instant.
“Dear god, thank you so much crosser, I mean it. I really fucking mean it, you have no idea how much this is worth to me” Johann said as he hugged crosser, not paying attention to the blood that stained his shirt.
“No worries Boss, we’re on the same side, it’s the least I could do.”
“Whatever you say man, Im buying you a case of the best damn whisky I can buy when this is all over, How long til she wakes?”
“I’d give her two to five hours, but She has to have bedrest for 3 days.” Crosser said as he got back inside “If you’ll excuse me, I have to clean up”
“Alright, where you keeping her?”
“the Presidential quarters, the most secure room we have, she’ll be there, trust me, and she’ll be guarded.”
Meanwhile...
“Alright, I’ll put them down.” Celestia said with a heavy sigh “but, how?”
“I have got an idea… you guys might not like it..” one from the back of the room, all eyes turned to him. It was Moonshine.
“Whats your idea, boot licker?” a captain questioned him
“I told you to stop calling me that! Here’s what we’re going to do. We get the changelings to work with us, that is, if they haven’t tried to contact them first, and if I am right, they are at the filthy building they call an embassy”
“Where are you going with this moonshine?” The captain’s voice became worried
“As far as I know, the changelings feed on the pony they’re posing, so they have to be alive, so that they can feel their energy pattern and unique aura so that they can better replicate their body they also absorb their life force to add authenticity to the gimmick, let’s make them pose as some of their members and wreak havoc.”
“Alright, we’ll send runners. What about those who join them? What about them?”
“Wartime belligerents, fair game.”
“And the embassy?”
“Once we capture Luna and Ghostkiller, you can go bomb the place to tartarus.”
“Alright, it is set. You send the runners now. So it begins. The Solarian Empire, Luna, don’t make me kill you” Celestia said with a heavy heart.
Elsewhere…
Luna woke up and sat on the bed she was lying down on. Her mind was groggy from the anesthetic. She tried to scan her surroundings, she was in a room, there are humans around her, one of them being Johann, another was crosser, then there were the surviving reapers, reapers 7, 8, and 1. She tried to speak but all that came from her mouth was a prolonged moan
“Luna! Thank the heavens you’re alright!” Johann hugged Luna, at the gesture, Luna was taken aback. Her past came flooding in, memories of being nightmare moon, of being deprived from attention, in her vulnerable state, her past tended to haunt her. She began to sniffle. Johann looked worried.
“Why? What’s the matter?”
“Y-you care for me?” Luna asked with a broken voice
“Luna, I’ve sworn an oath to protect you two, to take care of you two, and if it means walking through tartarus blindfolded, Im going to do it.”
“Are you saying that because it’s your job, or because you really care about me?”
“Im saying that I’ve promised to myself not to lose anyone, anymore, so long as I am standing, I’ve told you that.” Johann pulled Luna in for a hug, who was now tearing up. Johann smiled “I care for you, come hell and high water, I’ll do what I can to keep our necks above it”
“thanks Johann”
“No problem, lets get you some rest. You’ll need all the strength you can get if you’re going to lead a republic
“l-lead? a r-rep-public?” Luna stuttered
“Yep, you and I are in charge of putting this insurrection down, no matter what cost, The New Lunar Republic, a fitting name, is it not?”
“It is.. but who will join us? If what we fear has happened, then sister must have contacted the changelings and other races. What now?”
“ Well, I’ve no idea. I’ve sent runners to the Griffons, and the changelings as well, and we might need Sombra, I’ve sent a distress call to the Crystal Empire, and we might need to bring back discord. For now, let me worry about that, you need rest. I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
Luna rested for the next 4 days, which passed uneventfully for her yet Johann was working overtime ensuring that he had friends at the side of the New Lunar Republic, pegasi, unicorn, and earth ponies who sympathized with their cause came to the embassy to lend whatever form of aid they can.
“ The New Lunar Republic needs your aid in putting down this insurrection, join us, join the cause that is just, Luna and the Lunar Corps need you!” Johann read a flyer out loud as he ordered the pegasi to scatter them all over equestria while he ordered runners to contact the other races in efforts to join them; the dragons, the changelings. And other settlements and kingdoms to ask them to swear fealty to their Princess Luna; the Crystal empire, appleloosa, manehattan, cloudsdale, and the others.
“Here comes war, Seven Heavens and Nine Hells, Celestia please be innocent, and be safe, I do not want to kill you.” Johann pleaded to the sky. Johann was reviewing the daily reports when the klaxon blared throughout the halls
“Enemy Forces inbound! Battlestations battlestations!” The PA system’s voice filled the halls. Johann quickly went to luna, ordered the surviving reapers to protect her and lead her to the safest room possible. He went to the armory and loaded up alongside with Hunter Killers and went outside. Prepared to take what would be their final stand. The republic must not fall Johann told himself. He was at the top of the embassy with the Hunter Killers once more when he saw at least a battalion of ponies outside the fences. But what shocked him was that Celestia, was wearing battle armor and her look was stern.
“Johann and Luna, get out now with your weapons down and with your hooves where I can see them and nothing bad will happen”
Celestia’s voice spoke in the royal canterlot tone
“Commander, follow the princess!” Moonshine spoke into a megaphone
“Boss, nice to be with you, think we can take em?” Crosser asked
“I don’t know, get me a megaphone will you?” Crosser went inside and a few minutes later, he got back with a megaphone in hand.
Johann grabbed the megaphone and yelled “Why should we Celestia? You betrayed me, your sister, and Equestria! everything was going lazily until this pitiful insurrection came along! Why destroy the peace huh!?”
“Because I’ve always hated you and your kind… Commander” Moonshine spoke. Johann turned off the megaphone and walked over to Pirate.
“Pirate, you see that pony over there? His name’s moonshine. Hide yourself, and put the fucker down for good” Johann ordered as he pointed over to moonshine. Pirate rushed to the ladder and got down to the ground and climbed the camouflaged sniper tower.
“Boss, I can’t get a clear shot, he’s too twitchy, talk to him” Pirate radioed Johann
“Alright moonshine! What do you want?” Johann asked into the megaphone
“First off, I want you humans gone! I want you to leave all your munitions behind, I don’t want your kind coming back, and I want the pleasure of killing you myself!
“You’re going to pay for that moonshine” Johann growled as he turned off the megaphone
“Yeah yeah just get on with it you asshole!” Moonshine insulted his former commander. Johann radioed pirate
“Pirate, got a clear shot?”
“yep, permission to take it”
“Send the bastard to hell.” With that, a loud shot was heard and penetrated moonshine’s skull. He died within seconds. Celestia ducked for cover and her entourage opened fire.
“Skullface! We are taking this clearing and we are securing it! Mobilize the entire security force now!”
Alarms sounded all over the base.
“All troops to battlestations, All Troops to battlestations, capture and secure the Immediate vicinity of the Embasy.” The thundering sound of boots against concrete, Doors being slammed shut, Humvee engines being turned on, and guns being charged filled the air. Within five minutes, the heavy gate was being opened.
“Skullface, have two humvees ready.” Johann asked his comrade, Skullface.
“Sir, This is Black Spear of Spear Humvee Group. Requesting Permission to begin attack” Skullface’s radio chimed in.
“Granted. Let’s rock.”
“CHARGE!” The beastly roar of the humvees filled the air as well as the footsteps of the security force, shots were exchanged bullets flew and crashed into face of Ponies and humans. Luna and the Reapers were at the wall of the embassy, in one of the sniper towers. The reapers were picking off rebels. However Luna was shocked at Celestia’s decision to lead the insurrection.
Sister, why do you do such things? You of all ponies I have looked up to, Why? Luna asked herself.
“Keep those guns blazing!” A humvee driver yelled as he drove around, running over ponies while those inside kept firing. The battle was bloody and loud. Johann and his former team got into two humvees and drove out, doing the same as the others did. A rebel sniper spotted the driver that was in the humvee and took out the driver following Johann’s humvee.
“Driver down, I repeat Driver down! We have a sniper!”
Johann got down from the group as well as hunter killers, joining the mayhem of the bloodbath, fighting, killing, maiming, mutilating, Johann and his team made short work of their enemies, their skill showing through savagery and precision. Counter Snipers were deployed once more, trying to flush out enemy snipers, while everyone else did their best to reclaim the vicinity of the embassy. Johann and Skullface pushed further, increasing their bodycount and distracting them all
“We’ll divert their attention, you try to outflank them!” Johann called out to the other hunter killers, the others obliged while Johann and Skullface began to draw attention to themselves
“Jesus, Now would be a really good time for an airstrike!” Johann cursed out
“Yeah boss! We weren’t able to request for aircraft or extra forces to make an airfield!” Skullface replied
“When we’re done, get that bloody idea working!”
“yes boss!” Ponies were nearing them with them guns drawn, both men had empty rifles, they only had their handguns and knives
Johann and Skullface were now back to back.
“what now boss?”
“Stay low, take down as much as you can. Save a grenade for yourself.“ with that, Johann charged at the nearest pony, thrusting his knife at the rebel’s neck and yanking the rifle from his hoof, from there, he used the pony as a meat shield as he fired the rifle at the other rebels. Skullface did the same, they repeated the process until…
BANG!
“FUCK DAMNIT!!!” Skullface was shot in the stomach, he fell down.
“SKULLFACE!!”Johann grabbed a nearby machinegun from a pony and charged towards his friend. “Gods damn it all!” Johann grabbed skullface and dragged him behind cover.
“Stay with me, stay with me, Look at me skullface, Look at me!” Johann repeatedly slapped Skullface, the Hunter killers began flanking them, they covered Johann and Skullface .
“Skull, Im going to get us out of here, I’ll carry you to safety alright? “ Skullface could only nod. With that, Johann picked up skullface and carried him in a firemans carry while firing a machine gun with one hand, he sprinted towards the embassy. When the machinegun ran out, he dropped it and radioed for help.
“Pirate! Skull’s been shot! Im taking him back to base!”
“Alryght sir, we’ll cover you! Men! To the Boss!” The team followed in Johann’s wake, keeping the rebels at bay. The firepower of the humans made it clear that the rebels were clearly losing, but Skullface’s situation decided to say otherwise. The gate was still open as he ran inside, through heavy breaths he screamed
“Medic! We need a Medic! ” Reaper 1 rushed to his side, so did crosser and few other medical staff, Skull was rushed to the medical room for immediate treatment, He was stabilized within the next few hours and had the bullet removed.
“Lucky bastard, it grazed his stomach but he’ll live, other than that, the bullet missed anything vital.”
“Thank god, lets go back out and assess the damage… the medics will stay here. Get the princess” Johann mused to his other men, they obliged. They all circled the battlefield. It was now at last 1 square kilometer. By the time they were done, they had managed to send a team back to the human universe requesting to set up a fully fledged military camp, complete with runway and to completely furbish it with defenses and equipment.
“this is going to take at least three months if we’re lucky”
“Just do it, if we lose this, they’ll send troops through this portal and you know the rest..” the messenger told the commissariat for military resources
“Alright, I can’t promise anything but, at most, we can get you tanks and a few attack choppers as well as food, munitions, water, some fencing material, and medical supplies for now.”
“yes, sir, thank you sir.” The messenger responded. He went back to equestria and notified Johann and he ordered that the clearing be patrolled at all times. And that they needed a hidden location to train the recruits of the Republic’s troopers, as they were pouring in by the dozen. Johann walked with Luna and headed for Ponyville along with four guards, before and during the war, Ponyville had affirmed itself as neutral territory. Armed with a strong militia, it ensured that there would be peace in the town for it had nothing to gain on the war and simply wanted peace.
They passed by their troops as they saluted both of them and cheered
“For the Princess Luna and The New Lunar Republic! Hail!” a captain yelled
“HAIL!” Came the answer of a multitude of Ponies
“You see Luna? These ponies, they’ll die for you. Charge blindly into tartarus for you if it will lead them to victory, that’s how loyal we are” Johann told Luna who was simply walking along.
“Luna? Is there… something wrong?”
“OF COURSE THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THINE PRINCESS! THY PRINCESS HATH LOST HER ONLY KIN TO THIS UNHOLY, DISGUSTING, AND DISRESPECTING INSSURECTION! AND HATH COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ONLY ONE OF US MAY LIVE!” Luna boomed in the royal canterlot voice “I.. Im sorry, I should not have lost my temper, it’s just that… she’s still my sister..” Luna sobbed as she sat on the grass. They were in a field now, Johann sat beside her. The dark alicorn hung her head low and sighed.
“ Luna, We’ll pull through. I promise. I’ve always told my men that.I don’t know why, but when all seemed lost, they always looked at me, their eyes kept saying ‘what do we do now?’ I told them the same thing, I was always the one who kept pushing them, I was always that crazy maniac who would get out of a trench and blindly charge an enemy machine gun nest to coax the others into doing so when they were shitting themselves, I was always the bastard who was laughing his arse off when all hope was lost and I kept telling them that we would always pull through. I don’t know why, but we always did. Every single time, we always did. Perhaps it was just blind luck. Or balls. Probably both. Now, we won’t win this war by defending ourselves, we have to do whatever is needed, Luna, and that is to take the fight to them. Trust me, I’ll get us out of here, is there anything, anything at all, I can do to help you now?” Johann tried to cheer Luna up
“I want my sister back, that’s all. I want her back” Luna said in a forlorn voice.
“Aye, that’s going to be hard, but I’ll do my best Luna, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try not to have her killed unless the future and safety of equestria demands it.”
“o-okay”
“good. Let’s go, get something to eat that isn’t military rations. Stuff begins to taste unpalatable the thirtieth time around” Johann cringed as his stomach grumbled. “Ponyville’s neutral ground, for reasons unknown but thank the nine hells it’s neutral” They got into ponyville without much incident, they just walked through the town center, looking for some decent food to eat. They decided for sugarcube corner and went to the house of pastries. Pinkie pie wasn’t there, only Mr and Mrs cake.
“What it’ll be, princess?” the husband asked.
“Four sandwiches and two glasses of orange juice, that will be all, thank you” Luna answered as she paid for the food and took them into the corner table where there were only few sitting. She divided the sandwiches among her and Johann and began to eat.
“you know, I never thought flowers would taste so good here” Johann shamefully admitted. As he gobbled down a rose
“really? Well, you have been missing out! They are a delicacy in this land, as they are for gifts to pleasing sweethearts, to the most mouthwatering dishes, the flowers here have myriads of uses!” Luna explained with a more energetic voice as she ate. They continued chatting until they finished their food and began to walk around the town. From sweet apple acres to carousel boutique they walked, admiring the peace in the midst of a storm. It was sunset when they began to walk back to the embassy. It was there they knew that peace didn’t last long.
“There they are, jam the airwaves and open fire!” A multitude of guns went blazing as they were almost clear of the everfree forest. Johann and Luna dashed for the ruins once more and used the building as cover.
“Aw fuck me, not this again…” Johann groaned as he fought back. “give me your radio!” one bodyguard obliged and he turned it on.
“Ghostkiller to embassy, come in embassy”
Static.
“I repeat, Ghostkiller to embassy, come in embassy!”
Still static
“If anyone on this channel can read me, I am at the castle ruins with Luna, we are being ambushed by the rebels, we need immediate evac now, I repeat, I am at the castle ruins with Luna, we need evac now!” Johann gave the radio to Luna “Luna, try to contact the embassy, we’ll hold out as long as we can” Johann told his men to regroup and stay close to each other. “Shit this is not good, outgunned and outnumbered.” Johann mused as he kept on firing his rifle, as each minute passed and as each magazine was emptied, the rebels were beating them down. They were running out of options and time.
“We got them! Keep pushing!” the rebels yelled. Luna was worried, Johann and the ponies with them cant die now. A million things were running through her mind, Johann snapped her back to the reality they were facing.
“We have to get out of here Princess, we can’t hold out much longer.” Johann briefed Luna amongst the four guards. “The quickest way is to dive into the woods and make our way to the embassy from there, about two kilometers from here but…”
“But what?” Luna snapped. The guards carefully studied the plan and came to the cold realization
“We need a diversion, and I suppose that diversion’s us four” A guard spoke up, his face becoming pale.
“yes, Im afraid so. I must ask of you this ultimate favor, You don-“
“Can it, sir. We are the Lunar guard, we protect the princess at all costs. We’ll hold them off, hopefully long enough for you and the princess to get out.”
“ Thank you, brave members of the guard” Luna replied “W-we must go, Johann”. Luna began trotting and beckoned for Johann, she felt sad for the sacrifice these ponies were to give, she wished for some other way.
“I’ll make sure to keep her safe, you have my word” Johann promised to the four.
“yes, Commander, We shall see you in the flip side, you’d best be off” the leader of the guard went to see Johann and Luna to the forest. And went back to the fighting
“Sir? We’re going to die are we?” a guard asked. The leader didn’t bother to reply.
“Ponies! We make our final stand here! For the princess, for Equestria! “ The leader encouraged his troopers, who began charging the rebels. “Open fire!”
Johann and Luna were in the forest. Johann had the radio in his hand and tried it once more
“If anyone in the embassy can hear me, I am at the forest southeast by the Everfree forest, en route to the Embassy. Repeart, I am en route to the embassy with the princessI estimate that we will arrive in two to three hours.. Out” Johann said as he tried to make contact. From afar he could hear the voices of ponies being killed, four of them were familiar ones.
“Jesus H Christ on a trike. An ambush, two kilometers from ponyville, TWO KILOMETERS FROM NEUTRAL TERRITORY! GODS DAMN IT ALL! ”Johann burst out. He was furious.