Equestria: The Afterlife

by Timzocker201

CH52: Of Ships, Pilots and Ambassadors

The Canterlot Central Hospital was as busy as ever. Doctors and Nurses rushed through the hallways on their way to their respective patients, carrying bottles, bandages, blood bags and whatever other medical instruments may start with a ‘B’.

From the front desk, however, you would rarely see any of that. The reception was usually a quiet workplace. The occasional patient or visitor would come in, get their directions and be sent off within just a few seconds, allowing whoever held that post to have quite the relaxing work day… or boring, depending on whom you ask.

Being Canterlot’s biggest hospital, the employees of course weren’t unfamiliar with nobles, guardsponies or even the princesses either. In fact, just about a year ago, they had the honourful duty of caring for Princess Luna, who was badly wounded in an attempted abduction.

As such, the receptionist that day wasn’t really surprised at first, when she saw a dark-grey unicorn mare in the standard guard dress uniform walk towards her. However, as she came closer, she came to notice that there were a few things odd with that uniform.

Firstly, there were her rank markings, or whatever these three silver diamonds on grey rectangles were meant to be. It certainly wasn’t a rank anypony in the room was familiar with.

Secondly, there was something that immediately made the receptionist’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets, when she saw it. This mare held three of the highest medals in all of Equestria.

The medal of loyal service, given for… well, loyal service,

The guardian’s cross, given for successfully defending a number of equestrian citizens while badly outnumbered,

But those two, while very high in terms of medals, were nothing against the third in the bunch. The Celestial Medal for Heroic Actions, given only to those who played a major role in ensuring the continued existence of Equestria as a whole. This medal was so rarely given that, apart from the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, there was only one unit of guards that received this medal within the last six centuries.

And then, there was the mare herself. She was a bit more muscular in places where guards normally weren’t. As the guard is usually (as the name implies) guarding the palace, the ponies that serve in it mostly had slightly swollen hooves. That was because standing around all-day caused their ankles to be constantly under strain, though not enough to actually build up muscle.

This mare, however, was visibly trained. Her legs were muscular, yet sleek and her flanks and shoulders looked firm. Her whole figure was that of an athlete, though somehow without losing her femininity. With a body like this, it certainly was no wonder that most of the stallions and even a few mares that were present had their gazes centered on her. Even the receptionist was ogling her, probably a bit more than socially acceptable and for a moment, she even thought that filly-fooling might not be all that bad.

“Excuse me?”

The receptionist was suddenly ripped out of her thoughts by the exact mare she had been staring at this whole time.

“Uh-Uh, yes? What can I help you with?” She quickly gathered herself and tried to be professional about it, in which she just barely succeded.

“I… uh, I am searching for a comrade of mine, who should be a patient here. His name is Bulkhead, 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Guard.” The mare answered.

Deciding to better do her job, lest she risk losing it, the receptionist quickly pushed the thoughts from earlier aside and went to look through the list of patients currently in the hospital.

“Uh, I am sorry to say this, but there is no 2^nd Lieutenant Bulkhead… at least not on this list.”

“What?!”

“…There is a pensioned Captain Bulkhead, however.”

The mare blinked, before apparently suddenly remembering something and giving a sheepish smile.

“Eheh, yeah, that’s him. I forgot he got a double-promotion after… you know… all that stuff that went down.”

The receptionist winced at the memory. It had been only one and a half months since the war had ended, so the images were still pretty fresh in her mind. And even if she hadn’t been in Canterlot at the time, the weeks afterwards were a real nightmare for any shift-worker, as there was such a giant overload in patients that nopony made a day without taking a double-shift. Still, they were getting paid accordingly and even if that didn’t mean much, due to the wage being pretty low to begin with, it was work that had to be done and they could proudly claim themselves to be those few who were willing to put up with it.

“Ah, yes… That… Hard to miss when you’re a Canterlot citizen, really. Anyways, if this Captain Bulkhead really is who you are searching for, then you’ve got to go into the west wing, third floor and search for room number 3-803.” The receptionist read off the list.

“Room 3-803, got it, thanks.” The mare replied, turning away and heading for the corridor to the side, unintentionally giving the receptionist a good view on her hindquarters as she marched through.

After a look that, yet again, was probably longer than socially acceptable, the receptionist turned around in her seat again, her cheeks now a good bit rosier than before.

---

Bulkhead lay in his hospital bed, nearly bored to death. True, he had only woken up a few days ago, but still… laying around in bed all day was a pure nightmare for him. It reminded him of that accursed battle in Hoovesville and the hospital-days that followed. This in turn made him think of his old comrades… and thinking about his comrades also made him think… about Mystic.

Just as he had that thought, it suddenly knocked on the door and after calling out ‘come in’, he nearly fell out of bed, when he saw that the pony who entered was the exact mare he had just thought about.

“Hey, Bulkhead. I heard you’ve finally woken up, so I came to pay you a little visit. Also, congrats on getting promoted – twice.” Mystic offered as she entered, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room. It was one of the special suites reserved for high-class nobility or even the princesses, which, in Mystic’s mind, was only what he deserved after what he did. Unfortunately, the hospital staff didn’t think so at first, stuffing him into a cramped room together with a bunch of short-term patients. Something that Princess Twilight luckily changed personally, after Mystic may have complained about it a little too loudly around her.

“Yep, I outrank you now, Lieutenant! That means you have to do as I say now!” He joked, adopting a tone that reminded Mystic a bit too much about a certain, red-coated traitor.

“Nope, sorry, but I got promoted too, Bulkhead. We are at the same rank again, now.” Mystic said, with a small grin, which dropped immediately as she started her next sentence. “Also, please don’t try to mimic Overdrive. I know you can’t know what he turned out to be, but just… don’t. With that stunt you’ve pulled back then, it is hard enough for me not to put you back to sleep anyways.”

“Which one? The meat-shield or the confession?” suddenly slipped out of Bulkhead’s mouth without him actually wanting to say it.

“BOTH!” Was Mystic’s reply. “Why did you even do that? I mean, it was shocking enough to see you get impaled in front of me, but to hear something like that immediately afterwards was just- just- UGH!” Mystic quickly covered her face with her hooves as a blush threatened to light up her face in a bright pink that rivaled Pinkie’s “And it’s not even like it was just a short moment of irritation! I’ve literally spent two whole weeks thinking about that moment and if you really thought about me that way or if it was just a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing!”

“Euh… sorry about that…” Bulkhead apologized, before he looked from her over to the covers in front of him, staring a moment, pondering what to say next. “Honestly, I don’t know why I chose that exact moment, either. It was just… I held these feelings ever since we finished training in the Everfree. I wanted to tell you again and again, but every time I told myself that I had to wait out a better opportunity. And so, when that moment came, when I was hit and my mind was going through all my memories and all the things I wanted to do while you were holding me, I guess I just went ‘hey, it’s literally now or never, right?’ and then, I just… said it.”

“Still... it’s not something you just blurt out like that! You need a romantic setting, some proper clothes, some… I don’t know, just… not like that.” Mystic replied, having pulled her hooves from her face again and staring at the ground beside her now.

The room went silent again. None of the two knew, how exactly to continue now, leaving a tense silence between them, which was quiet enough to hear a pen drop on the other side of Equestria, while also being tense enough to rip the room apart any moment now.

“So, what’s your answer?” Bulkhead suddenly broke the silence.

“What?” Mystic replied almost instantly.

“Now that I’m – against all odds – still alive… what is your answer?” Bulkhead asked again.

Mystic shifted uncomfortably in place. She knew that his question would come up, but still… “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it. I really did, but… I just can’t quite figure it out yet… I… I don’t think that you are a bad stallion – quite the opposite, really, but… I need some more time to think it over, with all the things that have happened lately. Can you wait a little longer?” She asked him, giving a slightly pleading smile.

“Of course, take all the time you need. After all…” He answered, pulling his covers aside. “It’s unlikely that I’m going anywhere in this state.”

As he said that, he pointed down towards his belly and his motionless rear hooves. While the latter seemed to at least have healed fully to the outside, his belly was sporting a large scar now and Mystic could only imagine what his back must’ve looked like.

“That and the Captain would likely send me to Tartarus if I pushed you too hard.” Bulkhead said with a chuckle. One that Mystic couldn’t share.

“Yeah… yeah, he likely would.” She said, subconsciously stroking the patches she had sewn into her dress uniform. “Have you heard what happened? With the Captain, I mean.”

Bulkhead’s smile dropped as well and he took on a somewhat depressed look. “Yes, I have heard. Honestly, I almost missed it, between suddenly being bombarded with my pension and being paralyzed and such.” He looked down towards his rear hooves, moving them around with his fore-ones and lightly massaging them.

“It is a real shame. I mean it. Even though we definitely had our differences, he was definitely a stallion – a man – that deserved to be respected and after the war, I can most definitely say that I am both glad and proud to have served under his command.” He recalled, looking over at Mystic again with another, sad, smile.

“Yeah. We’re really lucky that we got to serve under him and not under one of the other idiots, who almost got their whole units wiped out. I just hope that… he can rest in peace now.” Mystic mused with a sniffle or two along the way.

“Oh don’t worry about that, Mystic.” Bulkhead said, looking up to the ceiling. “I am sure that, wherever he might be now, the Captain has found his peace and has gotten his well-deserved spot among Starswirl, Queen Faust and all the others.”

---

[Meanwhile, on an ocean liner on its way towards the newly founded Gryphon Republic]

*HURGH*

The ‘Magna Luna’ was a high-class luxury ocean liner, reserved for high-society guests and the occasional royal ambassador. As such, since these ponies rarely left their homestead for too long (apart from the ambassadors, of course) it wasn’t rare to see one or more of them hanging over the railing and emptying their stomach’s contents into the sea. However, never had one been so fast to do so, as this grey stallion with brown mane was.

“Und darum bin ich zur Luftwaffe gegangen und nicht zur Marine…“ (And that’s why I joined the Air Force and not the Navy…)

“Sir? Are you not feeling well?” A gryphon butler suddenly emerged from behind him.

“Frankly, no, I’m not. I’m just not made to be on a ship... say, how long until we reach the Republic?” Markus asked the Gryphon.

“Unfortunately, I have to tell you that we’ve barely just departed, sir.”

Markus’s reaction to hearing this was an agonized groan, before he leaned over and raised the Ocean’s pH again.

“Sir, if you don’t mind: In my experience, passengers who are seasick are best kept below decks, as there, the sway of the ship is less noticeable. Also, you will have the opportunity to busy yourself with something, which might help keeping your mind off the fact that you’re on a ship.” The Gryphon suggested, to which Markus replied with a weak nod.

“Yes, I suppose that’s a good idea. I’ll just go below decks and hide myself in my cabin for the remainder of the trip. I just hope the railroads are repaired soon…”

---

A few hours later, the sun slowly rose over the horizon, just barely hidden behind a multitude of spires and larger buildings. Markus was standing on deck, not vomiting into the sea this time, but admiring the truly spectacular view.

He had been to the Gryphon Capitol once before, during the war, but the circumstances didn’t leave him enough time by far to admire the absolute beauty of the architecture.

The ship reached the port and Markus got off, immediately getting swarmed by a horde of reporters who all wanted to get a picture of the new governor, who was stupid brave enough to take on the job after the fate of his predecessor.

“Out of the way! Clear the way for the Head of the Council!” A voice suddenly boomed out, making all the Gryphon reporters go silent and look to the source. After a moment, they all moved aside to form a passage for another Gryphon, though she seemed to not be a journalist. She was a rather tall Gryphoness, about the size of Luna and decorated with jewelry around her neck. She also wore a purple robe, which was regarded as a symbol of power among the Gryphons.

“Ah, so this is the new pony governor? I must say, you are a bit… younger than I had expected. Your predecessor was old and experienced, but you? You seem like you’ve been picked spontaneously just because you were there at the moment.” The Gryphoness remarked.

“You would be surprised how right you are, Chancellor Scythe Claw.” Markus responded courtly, making the Gryphoness seem a little surprised.

“Oh, well, at least you seem to have informed yourself in advance. Credit where credit is due, your predecessor didn’t know my name when he first set hoof into our lands.”

“It is best to inform oneself before going on a mission like mine. Now, I suppose we should get right to it, would you be so kind to show me to my office and living quarters?”

“Of course. Follow me, governor.” The Gryphoness answered, before stretching out her wings and taking off. Markus followed suit, although he was still a bit shaky with his new wings.

“I suppose you know what happened to you predecessor, don’t you?” The Chancellor asked during the flight. “He was brutally murdered by an unknown group, which we still haven’t found. I don't want to scare you, governor, but you have chosen a very dangerous job for yourself.”

“Oh don’t worry. Whomever I have to thank for this position should really think thrice about doing the same to me. Lest I have to hurt somepony, or rather somegryphon, I suppose.

As Markus said that, the Chancellor suddenly started to laugh. “Oh, you are brave, pony. I like that. Bravery is one of the values that’s still held high in Gryphon culture and as such, it is never a bad idea to show bravery when dealing with other Gryphons.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

---

The duo reached the Palace a few minutes later. The old palace, where Markus and his company had tried to kill the king during the war, had since been repurposed to house the parliament, as well as offer living- and workspace for the various ambassadors and other visitors from Equestria and other nations that had since taken up relations with the Gryphons again. It also held the living quarters and office of the equestrian governor in the repurposed royal chambers.

As Markus and the Chancellor arrived at the double door leading to his new home for the foreseeable future, they were greeted by another Gryphoness, this one clad in golden armor and holding a spear with a golden tip and multiple gems set into its sides. It was obviously more for show than for actual combat.

“Your Highness, sergeant Bloodwing reporting for duty!”

“Ah yes, I almost forgot. This fine hen here will be your personal guard, governor. I can assure you, she is one of the best our military has to offer.” The Chancellor introduced them courtly, before pointing a wing towards the double doors. “Anyways, you will find your chambers and office right behind those doors. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some more work to do.”

The Chancellor bid her farewell and left Markus alone with his guard. He, in turn, immediately made his way over to the double doors and opened them, revealing a rather modern looking office behind them. Actually, it reminded him of one of those mafia movies, with that large wooden table and leather chair standing in front of the window, just waiting for him to do that thing where one would slowly spin around to face whoever just entered the room while already starting an evil speech or something.

Sergeant Bloodwing placed herself at the entrance as soon as Markus entered and was watching him look around the room with great interest, although he also seemed to always keep an eye on her.

“Ok, spill it, what’s wrong, sergeant?” He suddenly asked.

“Nothing, sir! Everything is in order, sir!” The hen replied.

“That’s a lie sergeant and you know it. I’ve been around enough soldiers to see through that mask, you know? Now, come on and say it, you may speak freely. In fact, I order you to speak freely.” Markus told her.

“I suppose if it’s an order then it can’t be helped.” The Gryphoness relented. “Sir, with all due respect, you disgust me.” She then said. “It disgusts me that you are here. I hate you, I want to strangle you on the spot, but I can’t. It takes every fiber of my being not to just slit your throat on the spot. I hate you and don’t even think that your pony-magic would change anything about that, I will never forgive you! Not after you’ve killed my sister! Not after you’ve murdered Gilda!”

She worked herself up more and more, up to the point where her blood was basically boiling with rage. Then, suddenly, she remembered the post she held and forced herself to calm down as quickly as possible. To the Gryphoness’s great surprise though, the new governor seemed completely unperturbed by her outburst. “I am very sorry, sir. After you’ve allowed me to be open, I just couldn’t hold it any longer.”

“Oh, don’t be, sergeant. In fact, I have to thank you for that.” Markus answered.

“…Sir?”

“Yes, you heard right. After all, to fix a problem one has to first learn of its nature and you have just provided me with that knowledge.” He said, turning around and heading towards the doors again.

“Are you going out? I thought you were about to start working?” The hen asked curiously.

“Oh yes, I am going to start working. It’s just that my work includes keeping contact with the people, doesn’t it?”

“Sir, I have to warn you that most of the Gryphons think similar to me.”

“And I hope they are just as vocal about it. After all, I can’t fix their problems if they don’t tell me about them, can I?” The governor replied, leaving his office shortly after.

Sergeant Bloodwing looked after him for a moment in astonishment, before quickly following him out.

He was certainly surprisingly brave for a pony.

Author's Note:

Yay, another chapter! and it's even full legth adn, in my opinion, on par with the old ones in terms of quality! double YAY! :D

Sadly, I have bad news, though: next week will be one of these two dreaded weeks that I have mentioned that will yield no new chapter for you. I am very sorry and I promise I'll try to make up for it in the chapter that follows.

Comments

[Munro]

nice chapter, the gryfons dont know whats komming for them xD

[Fireeaters]

I mean, he could probably resurect the ones who want to come back who didn't land in gryphon hell

[DoctorWhoooves]

I can wait, not like i'm doing anything better lol. Good chapter as usual~

[Kitsune_Kenshi]

Continue plz asap