CH47: RE;surrection
In a train near Trottingham, 12hrs before the war ended
The train was rattling along its tracks. Outside, one could catch brief glimpses of the remnants of battles fought barely more than a week ago. The loud clattering of metal against metal made its way through the landscape, as the train chugged on towards its goal: Canterlot.
Inside the train, the clattering noise was dampened, but still very audible, especially since there were no other sounds to overshadow it. This silence was no peaceful one, however, as its only reason was the very downcast moods of the ponies and one human who sat inside.
“Canterlot has fallen.”
That was the message that was only now finally sinking in with all of them, as they were free from the constant fighting for the first time in two months. If one were to look into their minds, one could think that they were part of a hivemind. All their thoughts seemed to be coupled, as they all thought about the same things and came to the same conclusions.
No matter how it happened, whoever had taken Canterlot from right under their muzzles had to be powerful, especially so since the Princesses had remained there and somehow were still beaten.
That, in turn, raised the question if they could even do something about an enemy that seemed to possess such powers. A question, which was quickly answered with only a single glance at their commander.
Markus sat at the far end of the train car. He and his officers had, for the sake of mobility, decided to shed the extra weight of the command cart and instead were now travelling together with their soldiers in the crew cabins. He had his chin rested in his hand, covering his mouth and looking towards the ground, as if he was looking right through it. If one watched him closesly, one could almost hear the gears in his head rattling about, forming potential battle plans and mapping out the possible strength and positioning of their enemy. There was no hint of fear or nervousness on his face, only pure, cold determination.
Seeing their commander in this state quickly put their minds at ease. They knew that, under his lead, they would come out victorious. After all, it wasn’t a secret that some of them considered their commander even more powerful than the princesses themselves. No matter whom they may face, they would come out on top as long as they followed his command.
Markus didn’t notice any of this. He was much too deep in his thoughts to notice anything for that matter. The only thing that was of importance at that moment was that he had to recapture Canterlot. The problem with that wouldn’t really be what to do inside the city, as it would just boil down to standard house-clearing practice. No, the problem would be to get behind the walls in the first place. Sadly, there was no way for him to know the exact defence strategy of his opponent just now, so that part of the plan had to be made on the fly.
“Captain?”
A voice he knew sounded from his side and, as he had reached an impasse anyways, he left the realm of his thoughts and focused his attention on whoever wanted to speak to him. He turned his head to his right and looked right at the source of the voice. His second in command, Mystic Gem, was looking at him with a hint of enthusiasm. She seemed like she was eager to go into battle once again, something that Markus truly found relieving. After all, his Second in Command also had the task of reflecting the mood of the rest of the group and if she was in such high spirits, he knew he could count on the rest of his company as well.
“Yes, Mystic?” He answered her call with a smile, signalling her to go ahead.
“I’ve been wondering: when we try to enter Canterlot, couldn’t you use that ability of yours to your advantage?”
Markus looked at Mystic for a moment, trying to figure out, what ability she meant, exactly. “Well, if you mean the speed boost or the shields, I’d say that I hadn’t even considered not using them, so… I guess that would mean yes.”
Mystic shook her head. “No, I mean your ability to hide your magic signature. Maybe we could use that to sneak up on them or something.”
Markus blinked at that for a moment. “I didn’t even know I had such an ability.” He said in irritation.
Mystic seemed confused as well. “You didn’t? Then what was that back in camp?”
7 months ago in the Everfree Bootcamp
A game of hide and seek? What kind of training is this supposed to be?
Those were Mystic’s thoughts when she heard the first step in their upcoming training program. She sure was expecting almost everything, but a simple game of hide and seek? That definitely wasn’t on her list.
Oh well… She thought, maybe he’s just trying to figure out our determination by giving us a seemingly pointless task? Certainly would make sense considering he promised to show us a whole new level of warfare.
Mystic and a small group of other guardsponies were stalking through the bushes of the forest, looking for every trace their captain could’ve left. They thought it couldn’t be that hard to find his tracks, considering he was the only creature in the forest with feet instead of paws or hooves. However, they found nothing. Not a single broken twig or even a footprint. It was as if he simply vanished into thin air.
That’s it! Mystic thought, as she lit up her horn. If we can’t find him the normal way, I’m just gonna scan for him. After all, every creature has a magic signature!
And so, she cast a scanning spell. Her vision went blue and she could see the magic signatures of every living being in the area displayed in various shades of yellow and red, according to the being’s magical strength. Yet, besides all the trees, her comrades and the odd rabbit or bird, there was still nothing. She grew frustrated, forcing every bit of her magic into the spell, yet there was still no sign of the Captain.
Then suddenly, a voice shouted from behind her: “Time is up!”
Mystic froze, as she realized her defeat. How had he done this? How did he manage to avoid all of her comrades up until now? There was only one way to find out. Mystic went into a full gallop, even neglecting to turn off her magical scan. She came to a skidding halt in the camp area, where Markus stood, covered in dirt, leaves and twigs. However, Mystic didn’t see any of this through her scanning spell. In fact, she couldn’t spot Markus at all. She was about to call out to him, when he started to speak again and, when concentrating on the source of his voice, she indeed spotted something. A tiny speck of magic hovering in the middle of the field. If she hadn’t known that she was standing right before him, she would’ve thought he was miles away. Yet, she still couldn’t believe it, even as she deactivated her scan and saw him with her own eyes, she could still not believe this.
How did he do that?
Back in the train
“Well, I really didn’t know about that.” Markus said, as Mystic finished explaining. “But if that’s really the case, we could definitely use it to our advantage. If everything else fails, we may be able to get the princesses out of there in a stealth operation and then just steamroll the whole town. However, I’d like to keep such brute-force-manoeuvres as a last resort. After all, we do not know what we will be facing. I will come up with a plan to get in as soon as we’re there.”
Mystic nodded, fully trusting the judgement of her leader. If he thought it had to be this way, then it had to be the right choice. She turned her head to look out of the window and watch the landscape quickly swish by. It was still a long trip to Canterlot and yet, somehow it felt like the end was closer than ever...
The gates of Canterlot, 2hrs before the war ended
Already long before they had reached the City, Markus and his troops could see the siege that was going on there. The ponies tried to recapture their Capitol with all their might, but they couldn’t make any progress. Instead, it seemed like they were going to be pushed back or even fully obliterated, given the time. Upon realizing this, Markus made haste to arrive as quickly as possible and avoid a possibly lethal blow to the already weakened equestrian forces.
When their marching was heard, the attackers momentarily stopped their efforts and he could see somepony, who seemed like an officer, as well as his two loved ones and their friends approach. He and the officer saluted each other, before the other, an officer of the reserve, reported to him what had been happening.
While the report was given, Markus was already formulating a plan in his head. The barrier in front of the main gate certainly was an issue, but one that could certainly be overcome somehow. Firstly though, the walls needed to be kept clear, so he ordered Overdrive and Bulkhead to do just that together with the rest of the company, as well as those who were already here. When they had left to fulfil their tasks, he turned to Twilight and the rest. However, before he could finish his sentence, he was caught in a surprise attack by the purple alicorn, in which Rainbow quickly joined as well.
Surprising didn’t mean unwelcome though, as he savoured their embrace. After all, he hadn’t had any contact with them for the past two months. However, his delight suddenly fell and was replaced by a slightly horrified realization, as he noticed that Mystic was still standing beside them and, thus, now certainly knew what was going on between them. However, she waved him off, saying that Twilight had told her long before, which made the alicorn give a short, sheepish smile towards him.
Markus wasn’t angry at that, though. Frankly, he would’ve told her anyways, if there would have been time. And speaking of time, there was none to be lost now either. He inquired about the other princesses and sadly, his thoughts were confirmed by Twilight. The princesses were trapped inside the castle, so a full-on assault was not possible. Sneaking inside was also not an option, as the walls couldn’t be climbed easily and they would have to wait ‘till nightfall to use pegasi. Unfortunately, every second counted, so that plan was out of the question.
Still having found no concrete way, Markus decided that having a closer look upon his problem would certainly aid in his efforts, so he followed the rest of the ponies towards the camp. However, as soon as he took a step into its outer perimeter, a voice suddenly called out into his head.
Be warned, saviour! Setting foot into Canterlot now will indeed liberate and save it from your enemy’s grasp, but the price of this achievement will be your life!
He didn’t know where that voice came from, but there was something about it that felt… familiar. It felt just like in that dream that he had, when that book opened before him and revealed that spell.
A smile formed on his lips, as he answered the call. “Maybe, but I don’t care. As long as I can keep them safe…”
The smile vanished suddenly. He froze and his eyes widened, as he realized something. “The others! What will happen to them after my death? I have to make preparations!”
“Correction:” He continued his conversation with the group of ponies before him. “Mystic, get some of the 37s and try to break this gate. I have some preparations to make. I will be back in a few hours.”
He then thundered off before any of them could object.
Ponyville, 1.5hrs before the war ended
Markus landed in front of the Library and immediately dashed in. He had already thought about what would be best to leave with whom, so all he had to do was package it all. He removed his rank markings, his knife and his pistol and put them into the boxes for Rainbow and Mystic, respectively. He then took the notebook he started when he began researching magic and put it into the box for Twilight. The bunny for Fluttershy, the clothes for Rarity, a few cake recipes for Pinkie and fertilizer for Applejack. Lastly, he took a piece of parchment and wrote down a spell, which he had not written down in his research notes, for fear that it might somehow be abused, or too powerful in general. However, if he wanted to make sure that Equestria shall stay safe, he had to risk it this once. When he was done, he ripped the paper in two and gave one half into either of the boxes marked for the two princesses. Lastly, he took up a quill and wrote his last will.
Having done so, he rolled up the parchment and placed it onto the table, writing ‘read in case of death’ onto it. Spike stood beside him the whole time, but to the question, what this was all about, Markus only answered that those were necessary preparations.
Next, he took the boxes he had prepared and brought them to an old shed close to Fluttershy’s cottage. There, he placed his gifts, until the others would find them when he had found his end.
Wonderbolts HQ, 1h before the war ended
After finishing his preparations in Ponyville, Markus went to the Wonderbolts HQ. Specifically, he went to one of the Hangars, in which his trump card was stored.
He approached the aircraft, feeling the same euphoria he felt, when it was first summoned to this world. He didn’t tell Twilight or any of the others for that matter, but it was actually an exact copy of the one he used during his time in the ‘taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33’ (33rd tactical Airwing), complete with the motto he painted onto it: ‘Alles Gute kommt von oben.’ (Everything good comes from above.)
He placed his hand onto its intakes and slowly walked along its sides, running his hand along the edges of the wings and fuselage, until he came around the back. He knew what his plan meant for this machine and, even though he was hoping that the cannons would be enough, he couldn’t quite come to truly believe it. With a sigh, he took a few steps back to look upon his old friend and partner in its full glory one last time, when suddenly the Hangar doors were opened and a heavily bandaged mare stepped inside.
“So, you are that guy, who overruled my call to arms for the newbie, huh?” Spitfire asked, as she laid eyes upon Markus.
“Yes. My Apologies, but I found her still too inexperienced to risk letting her go into battle. I’m very sorry.” He answered, however, Spitfire shook her head.
“No, I’m the one, who should apologize.” She said, earning her a raised eyebrow from Markus. “You know… originally, I wanted to tell you what I thought about your intervention in the old-fashioned way… but that was before we went out there.”
“You know, we were placed under the command of Prince Blueblood.” Spitfire continued her tale after a short break. “Eighty Wonderbolts collected in one place, that was something that’s never been there before. The prince, of course, wanted to be swift in his ‘victory’, so he sent us as far forward as we could get. None of us objected, of course. We were the best after all. Boy, how wrong we were… Thunderlane was the first to come to know this, or, well, he would have, if he wasn’t dead by the time he could have realized. Really, I didn’t even see the arrow coming. I only suddenly saw it sticking out if his forehead, before he went down. We others were then ambushed by a horde of Gryphons, who quickly decimated us all. No wonder, in hindsight. We were an aerobatics team after all, with only Soarin and me having been with the guards once… And so, Soarin and I were the only ones who came out of there alive. Or rather, I am the only one who actually came out of there alive. Soarin… he lost both of his wings and he is now in a coma in the Cloudsdale hospital…”
Spitfire concluded her tale with a look of sorrow, as she recalled the state, her vice-captain was in. “You know, I’m really gonna miss these halls, but I can’t change the past. The Wonderbolts are done for…” She then added.
“No, they aren’t. You’re still there. You can train new ones.” Markus pointed out.
“Pff, yeah, easy to say for you. I’ve seen those poor bastards get swatted like flies. I’ve seen my training fail them and costing them their lives. From what I’ve heard about you and your successes, there were no deaths in your company so far, so I doubt you’ll understand.”
Markus looked at her in empathy. He knew how that felt. Before coming to this world, he had lost many of his comrades and he always felt like it was his fault. That it was his mistake that caused them to die.
“Oh, you can’t imagine, how wrong you are. I, too, have lost comrades. Many of them, in fact. However, I have learned from my mistakes. I adapted my strategies and made sure that their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. That is, what you should do, Spitfire. Make their sacrifice mean something. Learn from your mistakes and train your new recruits based on that.”
Spitfire looked to the ground for a moment, as if thinking about what Markus had just said, before her miserable frown turned into a weary smile. “You know, I think I know now, why the newbie likes you so much. I will do that. Thanks for lifting me up.”
“No problem. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a capitol to save.” Markus replied, getting into his Tornado and taking off as quickly as possible.
The flight was everything but pleasant to him. The lack of a G-Suit meant that the powers of physics were tugging at him with every movement, but he held strong. Canterlot came into view and Markus came to see that the gates indeed hadn’t been broken yet. He joined in on the barrage that Mystic was placing upon it with a burst of his own, but to little effect. Seeing this, he pulled up again and performed his scorching-manoeuvre, before pulling around and aligning himself again.
Turning around was like sitting beneath a hydraulic press. His whole body was forced downwards and he could actually feel the blood collecting in his feet. His vision went black for a moment, as his body had already given up and it was only his own willpower that kept him awake. He aligned himself one last time, before going into full thrust and activating the afterburner. The engines went to work, accelerating the aircraft with all their might and, after he confirmed the course one last time, Markus pulled on the ejection handle…
???, ?hrs after the war ended
Darkness surrounded him. It wasn’t a darkness like being in a dark room or something. Rather, it was as if there was absolutely NOTHING around him. No light, no matter, no anything. The void between worlds presented itself as just that. A void.
Markus was floating in the void. He was awake and yet he felt as if he was sleeping. He tried to touch the ground, if there was any, but either his feet couldn’t reach it, or it wasn’t there at all. Next, he tried to touch his own body, but yet again, he was met with no results. No matter where he tried it, his hand just went through it. That left the question, what exactly was missing. Was it his body or his hand? Or maybe even both? The thought made him feel sick in both his stomach and head, so he quickly decided that it was a matter of minor concern for now.
“Aaaah, our guest of the hour has finally arrived.” A voice suddenly said from somewhere within the void.
“Euh, it seems so. Might I ask, whom I’m speaking with?” Markus asked in return.
“Yes, you may. However, I cannot fully answer that question. At least not within your limited vocabulary. Therefore, let’s just say, that I am the one who brought you to this world in the first place.”
“Ah, so I’ve basically met my maker, haven’t I? Well, I suppose that means that I’m dead now.” Markus concluded.
“Yes… and no.” The entity replied.
“Ok… could you please elaborate?”
“Of course. You see: from the point where you were born in your old world, you were meant to be something more. The death of your sister and mother, your successful military career, the start of the third world war and the second Gryphon war in Equestria, they all are connected to you. Not because you are a Deathmagnet, no… but because you are death.”
“Wait, what?” Markus noted in slight surprise.
“Indeed. From the very beginning, you haven’t been human. You only bore the vessel of a human, which you then brought over into this world. It has its benefits, indeed, but soon, you will find yourself in your true body. Your journey has only just begun, my child.”
“’My journey has only just begun’? Oh, yeah, sure and now I’m the one to lay death upon them all or what?” Markus commented sarcastically.
“No, quite the opposite in fact. You may have been born as death, but through your life in Equestria, you have become connected to this other aspect. Life. Now, just as Anakin Skywalker was meant to balance the force, you now stand in-between the two forces of life and death. You preside over both and it is your task to keep them in sync.”
Markus remained silent for a while. Was he seriously meant to rule over life and death? He couldn’t deny that it was a compelling thought, but still terrifying at the same time. “So… why does life and death need balancing anyways? Isn’t there just a natural median being followed like with all natural forces?”
“Normally , that would be the case, yes. However, here in Equestria, there are those, who aim to gain immortality or, the opposite, kill as many as possible before they die themselves. Also, there are entities in this world that exist only to disturb that balance that you are now in charge of.”
“Sounds like something that my old, human abilities won’t really be cut out for…” Markus pointed out.
“Of course, you will find yourself with new abilities that you will have to learn to control, however you should be able to master them quite quickly.”
“Like entering and leaving the realm of death?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, in order to leave your realm, you have to be summoned back to Equestria. Only then will your powers activate and you can take on your new role in this world.”
“Ah, so I’ll just have to wait a few millennia, until someone is daring enough to summon death himself.”
Markus could feel the entity grin at that. “Oh, don’t you worry, you have already left them with the formula to do so.”
“I have left them with that formula? I thought the only formula I left was a shield spell?” Markus wondered.
“Yes, and no. The exact phrasing was that ‘the spell shall summon an everlasting shield against the forces that dare endanger the summoners.’ You see, such a task can be carried out not only by a passive shield, but also by a living being…”
“Ah. So basically, you tricked me into following your plans without me knowing it, huh? Well, I could ask, why you didn’t just outright tell me your plan, but I think, I can already imagine why.”
“Quite so. Now, it seems to be time to end this banter, as the ritual has been carried out.”
As the entity said that, a brightly glowing vortex opened up beneath Markus and he was slowly pulled into it.
“When you awake, you will find yourself with new knowledge, both about your new task and your new abilities. Your true persona will awake and you will fulfil your destiny!” The entity said, just before Markus was completely devoured by the vortex.
Canterlot Castle, royal chambers, 3 days after the war ended
Markus opened his eyes. He could feel his arms and legs again, luckily, and yet, something felt different. His head was pounding from the plethora of new information that it was given, but for now, it was a minor concern. He sat up and looked around him, ignoring the two arguing alicorns in the corner of the room, instead laying eyes upon the object he had been searching for.
He stood up and walked towards the full-sized mirror that hung on one of the walls. Every step made a sound like he was walking on dry leaves and he could swear that his back was growing heavier. When he finally arrived at the mirror, he could see the reason for that. His whole body was charred, only his eyes and some of his teeth were still where they belonged. His lower abdomen was missing completely, as well as the respective organs. In some places around his arms and legs, there were even bones left uncovered and burned beneath the thinned skin and on his back… were wings?
Markus stared in wonder, as he watched two pitch-black wings grow from his back. He wanted to touch them, but noticed another change that had to be quite recent. His fingers had merged into hooves… and his arms were elongating…
Suddenly, his whole body flared up in pain, as the transformation started. He felt his bones shift, elongate, shrink and contort in many ways. He wanted to scream in pain, but no sound came out, no matter how much he tried.
When the pain finally subsided, Markus could barely hold himself upright… or could he even do so in the first place? He found himself standing on all fours, with his neck bent backwards to allow for normal head movement in this position. He already knew what had happened, even without looking into the mirror, so when he did, he wasn’t surprised at all. What he saw in the place where the broken human stood before, was an alicorn stallion with two enormous, pitch-black wings. However, the skin apparently hadn’t changed and was still charred and even left his lower jaw, parts of his ribcage, as well as his lower legs bare.
Yet, there were two patches on his flanks that seemed untouched, revealing his new coat colour to be red and the reason why these patches were still intact was also answered, when a flash of light momentarily blinded him and left a symbol on either side. A symbol, displaying a T-Scale, in the bowls of which sat ponified death on one side and a ponified angel on the other.
Yay, it's back. Well, not quite yet. This chapter was pre-written and I'm publishing this on the day my basic training ends. You may take the time between this one and the next chapter as my new upload schedule, unless I say something else in the author's notes. until then: happy reading! 
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I’m glad you are back. Welcome back.
Markus the alicorn of death
I don't mind his Alicornification (try saying THAT three time's fast) as he has more than Earned it!
Welcome back and thanks for the new chapter.
How the hell did the two princesses not notice a floating corpse!!!!
AH-HA! SO MARKUS IS MORTIS! XDD what a plot twist,
yay you and is alive
Our main man has become much like the Raven Queen from Dungeons and Dragons! Watching the line between life and death!
10460196
Actually, re-training someone from Pilot to Infantry only takes 3 Months and while you are right in the sense that he would probably have been redeployed as ground personnel instead of changing the branch entirely, it is actually something that has happened before. Though, I do agree that it's a bit of an info-dump. I'll still keep it in, just so one can feel the growth of the author (me) along the journey ^^
Hey hey hey! Stay out of my shed!